Battling with Business

Episode 45 - Lessons in stress management from Bomber Command with Mary Brazier

Mary is both a historian and senior manager.  She is currently researching the lengths the RAF went to to protect Bomber Crews from the stresses of a very new type of warfare - strategic bombing.  In the episode, we discuss how to identify mental stress and mental fatigue, prevention vs cure, and the meaning of resilience.  Join us as we learn about the wartime RAFs approach to stress management and mental heath, as we discover if there is anything we can learn for todays hectic work environment. 

Episode 44 - Influencers #5 - Dolly Parton

Perhaps a surprising choice for this Podcast, what could a country & western singer possibly teach us about business, leadership, or decision-making? Turn out, quite a lot.  Listen to Gareth and Chris explore the remarkable life of one of America's most beloved singers.  From her humble routes, she set out to be successful. As a musician, businesswoman, and philanthropist she has undoubtedly changed the world for the better!  Perhaps most impressively, she reaches across many generations, diasporas, and demographics and despite her considerable influence, fame and fortune, is almost unanimously loved by everybody.  

Episode 43 - Why people do bad things: Exploring the systemic and institutional failures that led to the Holocaust with Dr. Waitman Beorn

In this episode, we are privileged to be joined by Dr. Waitman Wade Beorn.  He is an author and historian and one of the preeminent academic experts on the Holocaust and the events that led up to the most heinous and barbaric episodes in human history.  He is also a previous Tank Commander from the US Cavalry and as such has a tactical appreciation of small team management. In this facinating discussion, we explore the combinatorial factors of bad individuals, bad organizations, and bad systems. Why do good people stand by when bad things happen? What is the role of leadership in preventing or propagating ethical drift?  Recognizing that this is a deeply sensitive and distressing topic, Gareth and Chris try to explore the analogies and the potential lessons for today without trivialising or over generalising.   
 
  

Episode 42 - How to get people dancing; first followers and loyal dissent

After a party at Chris's house, he pushed the emergency podcast button to ask why he couldn't get anyone dancing?  We explore the concept of the first follwer and the power they have in driving group behaviours.  The conversation moves on to wider group dynamics, group-think, and  the idea of loyal dissent.  We discuss the conditions required to allow team members to normalise good behaviours and support the overall mission.

Episode 41 - The Loneliness of Command

When leaders feel that the decisions they need to make isolate them from their teams or even their superiors, they can feel the stress and pressure of their position.   In this episode, Chris and Gareth share their experiences of feeling the loneliness of command and explore why this happens. Emotional stress is normal, but there are things that can exacerbate it and there are mitigations to help reduce it. Gareth talks about a time when he refused an order and the lessons that all involved learned from the experience and Chris talks about being put on the spot in front of his team and how this induced stress and made him feel detached from the organization.

Episode 40 - The Influencers #4 - Erwin Rommel, ’The Desert Fox’ - Part 2

Johannes Erwin Rommel, 'The Desert Fox' was a German Field Marshal during the Second World War. Perhaps no other military leader came out of the war with a greater reputation. In this 2-part Influencers episode, Chris and Gareth explore how the legacy of Rommel has endured.  Was he a genius or is he over-rated? And why does the myth of the ‘Good German’ endure despite him being a senior Officer in the Nazi regime?  What can we learn about tactics, strategy and, leadership from one of the most well-known but arguably one of the most misrepresented leaders of the 20th century?

Episode 39 - The Influencers #4 - Erwin Rommel, ’The Desert Fox’ - Part 1

Johannes Erwin Rommel, 'The Desert Fox' was a German Field Marshal during the Second World War. Perhaps no other military leader came out of the war with a greater reputation. In this 2-part Influencers episode, Chris and Gareth explore how the legacy of Rommel has endured.  Was he a genius or is he over-rated? And why does the myth of the ‘Good German’ endure despite him being a senior Officer in the Nazi regime?  What can we learn about tactics, strategy, and leadership from one of the most well-known but arguably one of the most misrepresented leaders of the 20th century?

Episode 38 - Battling with VUCA. Making sense of Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity

VUCA, a term that originates from US Army thinking around the dynamic and dangerous conditions of contemporary warfare, that bleeds across into the corporate lexicon.  But what is it and what can we do about it?  In this episode, Gareth breaks down each of the constituent parts of what makes things VUCA, and then in discussion with Chris, they try to find ways to overcome these challenges. 

Episode 37 - Do you want to play a game?

Chris and Gareth introduce games that they have each run with corporate participants.  Both games are quite different and as a result, engender different experiences, emotional responses, and lessons. Over the course of the episode, they discuss the specifics of the workshops they've run using these games as well as the wider value of games and these sorts of events.  

Episode 36 - Leading teams through transformation and the power of external perspectives with Pia Wendell

Gareth and Chris are delighted to be joined by Pia Wendelbo an experienced mentor and business coach from 'Scandinavian Change Agents'.   Between them, they explore the value of having external advisors within organizations, especially within the C-Suite. Begging the question 'who mentors the people at the top? The conversation also covers change and transformation programs and the need to shift the culture as well as the goals.   One of the key discussions revolves around the difference between coaching and management consultancy.