Two ex-special operations guys armed with MBAs seek out people leading lives less ordinary, in order to find out how they fill their ‘unforgiving minutes’, and what helps them go, always, a little further. Like intellectual bowerbirds, we collect shiny little objects of knowledge that will help build better humans. Co-hosted by Ben Pronk and Tim Curtis.
Episodes
Thursday Apr 18, 2019
Thursday Apr 18, 2019
Simon Bailey is all about order! He is a former journalist and TV producer and is now a PR and crisis communications expert. But he's also known for being the 'Movie Guru' and the 'Man About the House' on prime time radio.
In this wide and varied U60 episode we talk with Simon about journalism and its stressors, the evolution of reporting and the changing landscapes. We talk public relations done well .... and done poorly.
We talk about ordering your house.... including that abundance of t-shirts and the chaos of your underwear drawer.
And how does not having a routine work for Simon?!?!
This episode will get your thoughts, messages, communications.... and your undies in order !!
Intelligence Summary
- From 05:15. Being a journalist
- 06:15. Radio v television ... stupid questions and smart answers
- 07:50. Being the Movie Guru ... and our favourite movies of all times!
- 10:15. The evolution of journalism. Changing landscapes. Social media and perspective & context. Competing for immediacy.
- 14:45. Getting organised and simplification.
- 18:45. Advice for the completely ineffective husband in the house!
- 20:30. What skill we can use to impress our partners.
- 22:40 Tim's Mum's wise advice.
- 23:00. The strategy for t-shirts and the dreaded socks & underwear drawer.
- 24:00. Corporate crises.
- 27:20. Dreamworld's PR crisis.
- 28:40. PR done well.
- 29:47. Owning a public relations nightmare!
- 32:30. Reputation= Behaviour + Communications.
- 35:10. Errors of judgement versus errors of character.
- 39:25. Ben on 'balconies and dance floors'.
- 42:59. What writes your report on crisis communications.
- 46:20. Simon Bailey has no routine!?!?
-49:00. On Happiness.
- 51:05. What Simon draws inspiration from.
- 53:30. Rudyard Kiplings opinion (and reflections).
About Simon Bailey & Counsel Communications
Thursday Apr 11, 2019
Thursday Apr 11, 2019
Sabine Bird is an endurance cyclist who is the 24 hour Road Race World Champion .... breaking the world record at the same time for the most distance covered in the 24 hour race period. She is now preparing for the Race Across America (RAAM), an ultra endurance cycling event of some 5,000km across the USA.
How would you deal with zero sleep? How long can you stay in the saddle for? How about 22 hours a day?
Sabine talks fitness v toughness and how she segregates and deals with (& even embraces!) pain.
She talks training regimes, race nutrition and keeping 'busy' on the bike and in her head. Sabine also talks about her other passion- her research on Alzheimers.
And modestly, Sabine says all she does is pedal a bike! What an understatement!
(Music by The Externals, 'Never be the Same')
Intelligence Summary (INTSUM):
00:00 - Introductory Reflections on Episode 11, Jason Semple, The Strength of the Thin Blue Line.
12:35 – Discussion on Fitness versus Toughness
13:45 - Breaking the 24h Road Race record
18:45- On nutrition
20:00- About the Race Across America (RAAM)... preparation, training and focus
27:30 – Sabine discusses her Alzheimer’s research
29:50 – Sabine talks about building resilience...
31:45 – Discussion about failure ... What is the role of failure.
38:30- Music by The Externals, 'Never be the Same'
References
https://www.cyclingdevelopment.org.au/sabine-bird-making-a-world-champion/
Social Media: Instagram - @wabeanie https://www.instagram.com/wabeanie/
Wednesday Apr 10, 2019
Wednesday Apr 10, 2019
In this RV.....
- 00:32 . More on L'esprit de l'escalier
- 01:50 . Q1- When witnessing behaviour that is not constructive or at worse destructive....
- 06:22. Q2- How would you 'Justify your Existence' (if your life depended on it)?
- 07:30. Q3- Why are ytiou spending time on this podcast?
- 09:10. Q4- 'How can our lives get better'
- 11:51. Planning future episodes. The principles of war and unarmed combat and their applicability into business .....
- 12:30. Rob Redenbach. http://redenbach.com
- 14:33. Quick Quiz. Quotes (Who said this......?)
- 17:05. Music from The Externals, 'Edge of the World'
Thursday Apr 04, 2019
Thursday Apr 04, 2019
Jason Semple was stabbed in the street and should be dead.
Jason (then a rookie cop) and his experienced partner, Constable Peter Forsyth, after having a social beer, were both stabbed and left for dead. They were ultimately stabbed over a Panadol. It led to Peter losing his life and Jason having his Police career ended.
This episode is about the 'sense of duty' and commitment that our Police Officers have as they provide a thin blue line between good and evil.
- Special medical comment by Dr Dan Pronk, ex Special Forces Doctor.
* RIP Constable Peter Forsyth. And god bless all Police that stand daily watch over the unknown evils that exist in our World.
Show Notes:
- Up to 4:40: Reflections on Nick Caldwell.
- From 4:50: Jason Semple's story........
- 14:28. Interlude 1: Dr Dan Pronk on treating a stab wound.
- 25:20. Interlude 2: Dr Dan Pronk on the probability that Jason would/ should survive.
- 39:30. The intimacy of 'human on human' killing.
- 'On Killing', Dave Grossman: https://www.amazon.com/Killing-Psychological-Cost-Learning-Society/dp/031604093
- 45:45. Why mindfulness is important.
- 48:30. Jason on the importance of a 'safety person'.
- 49:20. The importance of mutual support.
Tuesday Apr 02, 2019
Tuesday Apr 02, 2019
Welcome to the RV! In this episode we take a number of questions from listeners on the following topics:
- Can initiative be taught?
- Gut feel and intuition? & unconscious bias?
- Planning v winging it?
- Identifying and grooming leaders?
Following this, we reflect on the episodes featuring Brigadier Rupert Hoskin and Rod Bridge. Rupert also returns to provide 'l'esprit de l'escalier" - an additional vignette of a life decision that is now a dinner party story!
We wrap the RV up with a discussion about the song we used to close out the Rod Bridge episode - a tune titled, coincidentally, 'Bridges' by Atlas Chasers, an outstanding emerging band from Perth.
Show Notes:
-
Reference to Anne-Marie Grisogono, Complexity Scientist: https://crawford.anu.edu.au/people/visitors/anne-marie-grisogono
- Atlas Chasers, 'Bridges': https://itunes.apple.com/au/album/bridges/1452081590?i=1452081593
Thursday Mar 28, 2019
Thursday Mar 28, 2019
Recorded in the Mill Gym, this week we meet Nick Caldwell. Nick is a former Special Air Service (SAS) soldier who, at the peak of his military career, was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome. Nick explains about how chronic fatigue became his 'normal', and how for years he suffered through it; including on high tempo SAS operations. Nick talks about the most challenging (and unselfish) decision he ever made - to leave the SAS. From this lowest ebb, Nick was able to establish the Mill Gym, which he has since built into a location where normal people can get started on the road to elite performance, the first step of which is to get out of bed and get your feet on the floor!
Finally, Nick, Ben and Tim compare an SAS Patrol against the High Performance Team model (by Pat MacMillan) .... and deliver their verdict on whether the SAS fundamental force element is, indeed, a high performance team.
Intelligence Summary
- https://themillgym.com
- Gym Jones: https://gymjones.com
- At 53:40. The Performance Factor, Unlocking the Secrets of Teamwork, Pat MacMillan: https://www.amazon.com/Performance-Factor-Unlocking-Secrets-Teamwork/dp/0805423753/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1497454453&sr=8-1&keywords=the+performance+factor
- At 1h01:24. The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell: https://www.amazon.com/Tipping-Point-Little-Things-Difference/dp/0316346624
- At 1h03.55 Helmut Von Moltke. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helmuth_von_Moltke_the_Elder
Thursday Mar 21, 2019
Thursday Mar 21, 2019
What’s your worst fear? In this episode, through our guest Rod Bridge, Tim is exposed to his one and only fear: Outliving his children.
In February 2013, Rod Bridge lost his only son, Preston. Preston died at the age of 16, after taking a synthetic form of LSD, during his school ball after party. Rod first talks about ‘that day’, and how, through a hunch, he was one of the first to arrive at the incident scene. He describes the shock and disbelief and his final days with Preston in hospital, including the agonising decision to turn off Preston’s life support system. There was overwhelming school and community support throughout the incident, but Rod still had a total feeling of loneliness and emptiness. He explains how he channelled his emotion in the days, weeks and years that have followed.
Last year, Rod Bridge personally spoke to 61,000 school kids through his charity SideEffect. SideEffect is Rod's campaign to educate our youth, on substance use in order to empower them to make informed decisions.
Sorrow, grief, anguish, agony, heartbreak, anger, emptiness…. there are no words in the English language that can describe what Rob has been through, and continues to go through every day.
This is a gripping episode of loss, courage, bravery and growth. For parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles …. and for you teenagers, you MUST listen to this episode as it will stimulate discussions that are desperately needed in our homes to keep our youth informed, and ultimately, safe.
SHOW NOTES:
- 60 Minutes Episode: https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/reality-tv/rod-bridge-went-to-china-to-learn-the-truth-about-the-synthetic-drug-trade/news-story/b04a4413cf8335ffa538631d32020952
- 47:51 … Episode Music - Special thanks to The Atlas Chasers, for the use of the song ‘Bridges’ for this episode. Atlas Chasers were kind enough to offer a song.... and coincidentally it was titled Bridges! When we listened to the track it was perfect.... we sent it to Rod for his approval and he responded immediately that it was beautiful and brought him to tears.
- Please support Atlas Chasers: 'Bridges' is available at: https://itunes.apple.com/au/album/bridges/1452081590?i=1452081593
- About SideEffect: https://sideffect.org.au
Thursday Mar 14, 2019
Thursday Mar 14, 2019
Brigadier Rupert Hoskin, AM is the Commandant of the Royal Military College (Australia) and the Director of Army Leadership. He has the lead responsibility for the training and development of leaders inside the Australian Army.
In this episode we talk about training people in the 'art of leadership'. We discuss what has changed over the last two decades and how digitisation of the battlefield impacts leadership. Rupert shares his insights on the things that are important for leaders; their burden of responsibility and authority and the importance of a fountain pen and champagne to leaders! How resilience is developed. What can Army learn from the Corporates.
And no military episode would be complete without doing some time on the parade ground with drill sergeants - a component of military training which seems to never change!
About Rupert
Rupert entered the Australian Defence Force Academy in 1988, and subsequently graduated from the Royal Military College Duntroon to the Royal Australian Engineers. He has had a diverse career, incorporating regimental and operational military service with engineering, project management, representational and diplomatic roles, as well as working in private industry. He has worked in the UK, Tonga, Niger, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Canada, Timor Leste, Papua New Guinea, Afghanistan, France, Morocco, Algeria, Kuwait and Iraq. Rupert has a Bachelor of Maritime Engineering with Honours from UNSW/ADFA, a Masters of Defence Studies from the Canadian Forces Command and Staff College, and a Masters of Business Administration from Latrobe University. He is a Chartered Professional Engineer, and a Fellow and Engineering Executive of Engineers Australia. He speaks French fluently and has a Diplôme approfondi de langue française (Higher Diploma of French) from the French Ministry of State Education. He is a 2016 graduate of the Defence Strategic Studies Course, for which he was awarded the Chief of Defence Force/Secretary for Defence Prize for leadership and strategy. In 2017, he was made a Member of the Order of Australia (Military Division) for his contribution to Defence international relations. He was made an Officer in the US Legion of Merit, and awarded an Australian Commendation for Distinguished Service, for his work in the campaign against islamic State (ISIS). Brigadier Hoskin was also awarded a Chevalier de l’ Ordre national du mérite (Knight of the French National Order of Merit) for his contribution to Australia/France relations.
Thursday Mar 07, 2019
Thursday Mar 07, 2019
How's your battery? If you're not sure then tune in! This week Tim Jack Adams gives us the no nonsense view of 'mindfulness'. How do you get started and what's important? Tim Jack Adams talks breathing, sleeping and movement .... and Ben goes Zen (see You Tube!). How can you be 'present'? The importance of routine. And critically, how can you connect with friends and families and share how you are feeling ... while avoiding stigma or judgment.
NOW .... how's your battery!?
Further Reading & References
- At 14:28. Tribe, Sebastien Junger -https://www.amazon.com/Tribe-Homecoming-Belonging-Sebastian-Junger/dp/144344958X
- At 25:50. Why Walking Helps You Think (Stanford Study): Although re-released in 2018, it was originally a 2014 study.
- At 30:20. ‘Third Space’, Adam Fraser - https://www.dradamfraser.com/shop-content/the-third-space
- From 34:00. How to breathe..... and then a breathing exercise
- At 39:25. Cal Newport’s New York Times article on Deep Work: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/13/smarter-living/how-to-actually-truly-focus-on-what-youre-doing.html
Find Tim Jack Adams
https://www.timjackadams.com.au
Also see Tim Jack Adams on You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pqFRjGe2n0
The free GreenX7 App can be found at your favourite App Store and also here: https://greenx7.app
Wednesday Mar 06, 2019
Wednesday Mar 06, 2019
Questions from listeners.....
- How do Ben and Tim define success & happiness?
- Is the virtue of an act judged by 'intent' or 'outcome'? (Question from 'the Chronic Overachiever')
- Your expectations prior to Special Forces and the realities once you got in?
- Your thoughts on 'gut feeling'. Do you truly believe it can be relied upon?
Further Reading
- 'Sources of Power', Gary A. Klein: https://www.amazon.com/Sources-Power-People-Make-Decisions/dp/0262611465
Contact