Would you like to unlock the creative, imaginative and innovative potential in your team or organisation…BUT…don’t want to listen to another serious podcast which offers 7 steps, 5 habits, 3 mantras, and a hard sell in a pear tree? Then join ‘The Occupational Philosophers’, a ‘not-so-serious’ podcast with Simon Banks (middle-aged Australian surfer man, artist and published author) and John Rice (middle-aged British man with a love of curiosity and philosophy) as they chat with a ‘clowder’ (great word!) of curious cats from the fields of Comedy, Academia, Philosophy, Neuroscience, Psychology, Design, Marketing, and Business, to explore how you, your team, and your organisation, can develop your curiosity, spark your creativity, and free your imagination, so you can grow your business and your people….sounds great huh?! But don’t just take our word for it, read what our listeners think: “Worth a listen, one of them has a strange Australian accent” “They’re not philosophers, they’re idiots” “If you like business, philosophy, humour, creativity, and imagination, then have a listen - if not, then I would leave well alone” http://www.occupationalphilosophers.com
Episodes
Wednesday Nov 06, 2024
Wednesday Nov 06, 2024
In this short, sharp Inbetweener episode, The Occupational Philosophers celebrate their “One hundred and something” birthday! As well as an opportunity to blow up some balloons, eat some cake, and pat themselves on the back…they delve back into some highlights from the first 100 episodes and some sage advice from guests who have helped populate the ‘Maniguesto’ tree…
- Dr Brock Bastian….Social psychologist…just remember to enjoy the journey
- Professor Sophie Scott….Neuroscientist….how laughter is the gateway drug to creativity
- Dr Jen Frahm….change fairy….take more hot showers to spark ideas (literally and metaphorically!)
- Ash Perrin…The Flying Seagull Project….every great idea starts out as rubbish
- Neil Mullarkey….improv genius and general legend…remember that people are trying their best
- Dr Cyndi Burnett….creativity in education….be open to the novel
They hope you enjoy the show.
FYI: The Inbetweeners episodes are just that - smaller episodes 'in between' the longer format episodes designed to give a fruity burst of energy to enable you to be the most curious, creative and imaginative cat you can be - and have some fun in the process.
References:
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/icn/people/sophie-scott
https://www.theflyingseagullproject.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cyndi-burnett/
Say Hello
www.occupationalphilosophers.com
Their day jobs
JOHN: https://www.bowlandconsulting.com/
SIMON: www.simonbanks.com.au
SIMON SHOWREEL: https://youtu.be/YZQdJI6qGvg
Monday Oct 28, 2024
Monday Oct 28, 2024
To Simon’s delight, this week's guest is fellow Tasmanian Toby Wilkin.
For over 15 years, Toby has been a noteworthy leader in the entrepreneurial space. Born and raised in Tasmania Toby, thoroughly understands tourism and business in the state and beyond. Growing up in an entrepreneurial family in the construction, business and development industry he has shared this passion and success in his entrepreneurial adventures.
Toby has a series of different companies under the groups control including:
- Wealth Lab - Taking our experience and world-class sales systems to help other businesses thrive, offering sales & marketing coaching, events and digital presence products.
- Torple Energy - An energy rating consultancy firm focusing on sustainable outcomes for new development across Australia.
- Zippi Electric Bikes - Focussed on Raising Balanced Kids, this innovative startup was all about fun and kid-focused with Electric eBikes.
In this show, John and Simon dive into Change Overnight. Toby and cofounder Sam Haberle conjured up the idea behind Change Overnight in early 2018 while dreaming of ways they could extend their mission to make a positive impact in the world.
Outside of being a serial entrepreneur, Toby enjoys technology, making a difference and thinking big!
In this episode, The Occupational Philosophers explore:
- If you’re open, people seem to present themselves at the right time
- How a little wine can bring about some big ideas
- How colours and design can make us feel and connect to emotion
- It’s OK to be a little uncomfortable
- The importance of allowing serendipity and how it can open up opportunity
- Why it’s important to put some good energy into the world
- How 12 months can seem a long time to some people and a short time to others
- Why a little red wine can be the start of a good idea
As always, there is a thought experiment. For this show, it's Trip(advisor) of a lifetime
The Occupational Philosophers hope you enjoy listening to the show as much as they enjoyed making it.
Resources
Toby Wilkin website https://tobywilkin.com/
Change Overnight Hotel https://changeovernight.co/
Why Worry Wally Books https://whyworrywally.com/why-worry-wally
Derren Brown The Secret of Luck (featuring the unlucky butcher!) https://youtu.be/RuRGzZAk7S4?si=z7x84NeFSZPfKPKR
Say Hello to the Occupational Philosophers
www.occupationalphilosophers.com
Their day jobs:
JOHN: www.bowlandconsulting.com
SIMON: www.simonbanks.com.au
SIMON SHOWREEL: https://youtu.be/YZQdJI6qGvg
Thursday Oct 17, 2024
Thursday Oct 17, 2024
In Episode 100, The Occupational Philosophers chat with Julie Trell, whose career has been an adventurous journey spanning three decades and various corners of the world.
She started as an inner-city classroom teacher and later became a middle school technology specialist, where she embraced inner playfulness (as well as fixing - and breaking - the computers and network).
Through serendipity and curiosity, she evolved into the VP of All Things Fun, Meaningful, & Rewarding at a (then) startup called Salesforce.
Her path then took her through the vibrant landscapes of Atlanta, San Francisco, Singapore, and Sydney, venturing into the realms of technology and corporate foundation leadership with the Salesforce and Workday Foundations.
In Australia, she led Telstra's corporate startup accelerator, muru-D - There she managed a team and a portfolio of over 140 companies, focusing on supporting the founders across various cohorts.
As the Chief Play Officer of Playful Purpose, she embraces the power of an improv mindset to foster growth and playful spirits among adults. She co-designs and facilitates dynamic workshops for accelerators, portfolio funds, and corporate teams, helping participants unleash curiosity, build confidence, and deepen their understanding of DEI and empathy. My passion for new technologies and continuous learning blends artificial intelligence, AI, with applied improv, AI!
In this episode, they explore:
- Exciting job titles to share at your next dinner party
- How applied improvisation is the AI we should really be focused on!
- Using play to help individuals, teams and organisations fire up their creative synapses
- How Generative applied improv helps us exercise our critical thinking skills
- How to make people feel heard and feel good when working together
- What is curiosivity?
- Julie’s work with startups, founders and incubators
- Techniques to tackle the ‘play skeptcis’
- And how to create floral bouquets out of old toilet roll tubes!
And as ever, enjoy the Thought Experiments …this time it’s:
- Through the port (manteau) hole
- Listeners questions
Learn more about Julie
https://www.linkedin.com/in/julietrell/
References
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8erpgy727jo
https://www.nosuchthingasafish.com/
Toilet paper roll flowers - You can check link here.
https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/1163022-act-social
https://www.appliedimprovisationnetwork.org/
The quote: "Being heard is so close to being loved that for the average person, they are almost indistinguishable”. (David W. Augsburger) - BOOK:Caring Enough to Hear and Be Heard: How to Hear and How to Be Heard in Equal Communication
Clip from Whose Startup Is It Anyway
Books:
https://www.breakthroughplay.com/playful-rebellion/
https://www.improvwisdom.com/index.html
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44333271-playful-mindfulness
Say Hello to the Occupational Philosophers
www.occupationalphilosophers.com
Their day jobs:
JOHN: www.bowlandconsulting.com
SIMON: www.simonbanks.com.au
SIMON SHOWREEL: https://youtu.be/YZQdJI6qGvg
Tuesday Oct 01, 2024
Tuesday Oct 01, 2024
In episode 99, The Occupational Philosophers, as an antidote to the worrying rise of 'play at work'. ponder the idea of "Is it time for a National Serious Day?
Sure, play is good for many things (that the show talks about a lot), but what about the forgotten folk?
Those who like to start blankly at a wall, never smile and love doing spreadsheets?
What about the person who hasn't smiled since 1997?
Who is thinking of them?
They should be celebrated!
Possible activities could be:
- Mandatory silence for the first three hours of the day (with fines for facial expressions and any type of talking)
- A meeting about meetings (Mandatory of course)
- Mandatory team activity of going through all HR handbooks or any ISO 9001 Quality Manual
It's almost like a corporate liver cleanse diet to flush out any frivolity and fun.
Worryingly, John started to realise that he actually likes the sound of this and realised that he just wants to get on with looking at his screen.
Numerous studies also back up what's possible when teams, families and even couples embrace a more serious outlook. It's like a modern-day version of stoicism that is about to take off.
They hope you enjoy the show.
FYI: The Inbetweeners episodes are just that - smaller episodes 'in between' the longer format episodes designed to give a fruity burst of energy to enable you to be the most curious, creative and imaginative cat you can be - and have some fun in the process.
Is your company innovative? Take the Scorecard for an instant report
https://empoweringinnovation.scoreapp.com/
Say Hello
www.occupationalphilosophers.com
Their day jobs
JOHN: https://www.bowlandconsulting.com/
SIMON: www.simonbanks.com.au
SIMON SHOWREEL: https://youtu.be/YZQdJI6qGvg
Friday Sep 20, 2024
Friday Sep 20, 2024
How might one think like a Philosopher in the workplace?
In this short, sharp Inbetweener episode, diving into a book by a previous guest, Dr Julian Baggini’s “How to Think like a Philosopher” " the Occupational Philosophers discuss exactly that!
Julian Baggini has 12 key principles that the book is built around for a more humane, balanced, and rational approach to thinking.
These include:
- Pay attention
- Question everything (including your questions)
- Watch your steps
- Follow the facts
- Watch your language
- Be eclectic
- Be a psychologist
- Know what matters
- Lose your ego
- Think for yourself, not by yourself
- Only connect
- Don’t give up.
Whilst they don’t want to big themselves up, The Occupational Philosophers think that diving into Julian’s Book helps them sound a little more intelligent than normal! Whilst you may not agree that they sound smarter, the book is excellent.
They hope you enjoy the show.
FYI: The Inbetweeners episodes are just that - smaller episodes 'in between' the longer format episodes designed to give a fruity burst of energy to enable you to be the most curious, creative and imaginative cat you can be - and have some fun in the process.
References:
- Selective Attention: Gorilla walking video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJG698U2Mvo
- Julian Baggini “How to think like a Philosopher” https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/62708028-how-to-think-like-a-philosopher
Say Hello
www.occupationalphilosophers.com
Their day jobs
JOHN: https://www.bowlandconsulting.com/
SIMON: www.simonbanks.com.au
SIMON SHOWREEL: https://youtu.be/YZQdJI6qGvg
Thursday Aug 22, 2024
Thursday Aug 22, 2024
Have you ever sat in a brainstorm and thought, "Well this is pretty shit."
Most of us have and it sucks the energy out of the room like a backwards tornado.
John had a great week, read a book and got so excited about it, he wanted to share some of the possible antidotes to those crap house brainstorms.
In this short, sharp Inbetweener episode, The Occupational Philosophers discuss:
- How conventional structures for the way teams meet, problem-solve, and think creatively may be holding them back
- Why “Liberating Structures’ can help unleash a culture of innovation
- What happens when you get bats, nans and hippos in the room
- Some examples of liberating structures; 1-2-4-All, Troika consulting and Min Specs
- What is the difference between an MVP and a prototype?
- Why we still need to think about the environment along with structures
- How to reach out beyond your immediate domain of knowledge to open up minds to possibilities
As ever, The Occupational Philosophers hope you enjoy the show (and tell your friends)
FYI: The Inbetweeners episodes are just that - smaller episodes 'in between' the longer format episodes designed to give a fruity burst of energy to enable you to be the most curious, creative and imaginative cat you can be - and have some fun in the process.
References:
https://www.liberatingstructures.com/
Say 'Hello'...
www.occupationalphilosophers.com
Their day jobs
- JOHN: https://www.bowlandconsulting.com
- SIMON: www.simonbanks.com.au
- SIMON SHOWREEL: https://youtu.be/YZQdJI6qGvg
Get in touch
Friday Aug 16, 2024
Friday Aug 16, 2024
In Episode 96, The Occupational Philosophers chat with a returning guest, Neil Mullarkey! Neil who embodies the ethos of this shows and plays at the intersection of curiosity, creativity, and serendipity!
His last conversation with the show was way back in 2021 when the world was still reeling from the pandemic, the Tories were still in power, and Jeff Bezos was launching himself into space into a strangely shaped spacecraft….
He co-founded the world-famous improvisation group The Comedy Store Players here in the UK with Mike Myers, later appearing with him in the fabulous Austin Powers movies….who can forget “This sort of thing is my bag baby”...and more recently with Mike Myers in the Pentaverate sporting a lovely moustache.
He is also highly accomplished in the field of management training, running many workshops and conferences for private and public organisations, using the techniques of theatre improvisation to inspire business people to embrace their creativity and enhance their communication skills.
He is a published author of Seven Steps to Improve Your People Skills, and the more recent, In the Moment - both great books and highly recommended
It’s a real delight to welcome back, the man both ‘In the moment’ and man of the moment....Neil Mullarkey!!!!
In this episode, the Occupational Philosophers explore:
- The different ways you can organise your bookshelves
- What is a moment?
- How you can build a Cathedral if everyone brings a brick!
- What is adaptive leadership?
- Why you need to trust the process of collaborative creativity, saying ‘Yes to the mess’
- When you need to be prepared and when you need to let go
- Could AI replace Neil?
- The experience of writing his book ‘In the Moment’
- Why don’t people say ‘ancillary’ or ‘flan’ anymore?
- When is a LAGER a LASER? And what does that have to do with Improv?
- The wave-particle duality of light…..quantum facilitation anyone?
- Why is curiosity the yin to serendipity’s yang?
- The story of the ‘lucky butcher’...
And as ever, enjoy the Thought Experiment …this time it’s:
- In the What?
Learn more about Neil
- https://neilmullarkey.com
- https://neilmullarkey.com/inthemomentbook (Discount code available!)
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilmullarkey
- https://comedystoreplayers.com
- https://www.improvyourbiz.com
- https://acknowledgements.substack.com
References
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-67871679.amp
- https://news.sky.com/story/hotel-looking-to-hire-banter-merchant-to-entertain-guests-during-edinburgh-festival-fringe-13175451
- https://www.michaelconnelly.com
- https://www.waterstones.com/book/my-family/david-baddiel/9780008487607
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambozola
Monday Jul 29, 2024
Monday Jul 29, 2024
In episode 95, whilst exploring the nuances of everyday occurrences and slipping between conscious states of being, The Occupational Philosophers dive into the concept of ambiguity.
Why?
The reason? So many challenges that need to be solved have a huge amount of ambiguity around them.
- There may be multiple answers
- It's a multi-faceted question
- It's something where there are no comparable, predictable scenarios
- As such, there is risk
What to do?
It's hard for organisations to sit in this space as they are hardwired to try and rationally avoid risk and to look after their profits and shareholders.
However, innovation is born from that space of uncertainty, experimentation and what often hasn't been done before.
Herein lies a conundrum!
The Occupational Philosophers go for a swim in the lake of ambiguity, backstroking through curious questions and diving to the bottom to pick up some rocks of enlightenment.
Whilst not having all the answers, they did feel slightly smarter at the end of the episode.
They also dive into the ambiguous mind puzzle of the Rubix Cube. Mmmm....
The Occupational Philosophers hope you enjoy the show!
FYI: This is a shorter episode 'in between' the longer format episodes designed to give a little kickstart to enable you to be the most curious, creative and imaginative cat you can be - and have some fun in the process
Say 'Hello'...
www.occupationalphilosophers.com
Their day jobs
- JOHN: https://www.bowlandconsulting.com
- SIMON: www.simonbanks.com.au
- SIMON SHOWREEL: https://youtu.be/YZQdJI6qGvg
Get in touch
Friday Jul 12, 2024
Friday Jul 12, 2024
Professor of Engineering Innovation and expert in creative problem solving
In Episode 94, The Occupational Philosophers chat with Dr David Cropley, a Professor of Engineering Innovation at the University of South Australia. He specialises in helping people and organisations become better, more effective, problem solvers.
After serving for four years in the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy, David joined the School of Engineering at the South Australian Institute of Technology (SAIT) in 1990,. Following the establishment of the University in 1991, he completed a PhD in Measurement Systems Engineering in 1997, and a Graduate Certificate in Higher Education in 2002.
He has taught a variety of courses on engineering, including digital electronics, linear electronics, systems engineering, and engineering design. He teaches creativity and innovation across programs, from gifted education through to management, and his research interests span creativity in education, the assessment of creativity and innovation in organisations, the role of creativity and innovation in terrorism and crime, and the nexus of creative problem-solving and engineering. Most recently, he has been researching the intersection of creativity and artificial intelligence (AI).
David is author/co-author of 10 books including Creativity in Education: A user’s guide for educators, parents and students (Hawker Brownlow, 2022), Core Capabilities for Industry 4.0 – Foundations of the Cyber-Psychology of Engineering (Wbv Media, 2021) and The Psychology of Innovation in Organizations (Cambridge University Press, 2015).
He is also a recognised expert in creative problem solving and innovation, Dr David Cropley was a scientific consultant and on-screen expert for the Australian ABC TV Documentaries Redesign My Brain (2013), Life at 9 (2014) and Redesign My Brain, Series 2 (2015). For more than 25 years, he has helped schools and organisations in Australia, the US, and Europe develop more effective, creative problem solvers.
In this episode, they explore:
- The gap between creativity research and application
- What is the difference between creativity and innovation
- Whether David has built an intergalactic transporter or it’s still just an idea
- The different phases of innovation
- How personality, motivations, past experience and environment affects our ability to be creative
- What ‘Life at 9’ discovered about children’s levels of creativity as they grow
- How AI and LLMs will improve opportunities to objectively measure creativity
- What assessments provide the most holistic measure of creativity in individuals
- What is ‘malevolent creativity’?
- How we can cultivate creativity as a habit
- What three things do we need to provide teams to unleash their creativity?
- Why creativity is like spinach….and why we need to start eating more of it!
And as ever, enjoy the Thought Experiment …this time it’s:
- Malevolent or Benevolent?
Learn more about David
https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidcropley
https://unisa-au.academia.edu/DavidCropley
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dark-Side-Creativity-David-Cropley/dp/0521139600
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Homo-Problematis-Solvendis-Problem-solving-Man-Creativity/dp/9811331006
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habituation
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/2024/miami-grand-prix/results
https://www.abc.net.au/contentsales/programsandgenres/life-9/13962452
https://studylib.net/doc/8167692/the-test-for-creative-thinking---drawing-production
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Against-Gods-Remarkable-Story-Risk/dp/0471295639
Say Hello to the Occupational Philosophers
www.occupationalphilosophers.com
Their day jobs:
JOHN: www.bowlandconsulting.com
SIMON: www.simonbanks.com.au
SIMON SHOWREEL: https://youtu.be/YZQdJI6qGvg
Wednesday Jul 03, 2024
Wednesday Jul 03, 2024
In this short, sharp inbetweener episode The Occupational Philosophers explore Synesthesia...when senses get their wires crossed...
Amongst other things, they discuss:
- How artists notice the world through multiple senses
- What happens when different senses blend together
- How does synesthesia affect how Pharrell Williams composes music?
- Why we should listen to our 'gut brain' more often
- What does Billy Joel smell when he plays piano?
The Occupational Philosophers hope you enjoy the show!
FYI: The Inbetweeners episodes are just that - smaller episodes 'in between' the longer format episodes designed to give a little kickstart to enable you to be the most curious, creative and imaginative cat you can be - and have some fun in the process
Say 'Hello'...
www.occupationalphilosophers.com
Their day jobs
- JOHN: https://www.bowlandconsulting.com
- SIMON: www.simonbanks.com.au
- SIMON SHOWREEL: https://youtu.be/YZQdJI6qGvg
Get in touch