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
Tuesday May 30, 2023
Tuesday May 30, 2023
In Episode 65, The Occupational Philosophers chat with Dr Jason Fox a wizard-philosopher masquerading as a leadership advisor. His clients include the senior leadership teams of Fortune 500 companies around the world including Microsoft, Toyota, Honda, Sony, Salesforce, KPMG, The International Institute of Research (not to mention: financial institutions, universities, telcos, government agencies, insurers, software developers, associations, intergovernmental forums, and so on).
He has lectured at three universities (systems and behaviour), and is the bestselling author of ‘The Game Changer’ and ‘How to Lead a Quest’ and his Museletter is read by more than 11,000 folk around the world.
In addition to serving as a leadership adviser, Dr Fox is also a globally in-demand keynote speaker who works particularly well with sceptical audiences who have ‘seen it all before’, and in 2016 he was awarded Keynote Speaker of the Year.
He lives with an illustrator-veterinarian and a cat called ‘π’ in an old chocolate factory in Melbourne, Australia. When not liberating the world from the delusion of progress, He enjoys partaking in extreme sports such as reading, sun avoidance and coffee snobbery.
In this episode, they explore:
- How teams and organisations can make meaningful progress and not suffer under the ‘delusion of progress'
- What is ‘anti-fragile brooding’ and how doubt is key to progress
- When is a good time to give audiences a good ‘intellectual spanking’?
- What does curiosity look like?
- The value of just being together as a team and allowing the ‘fireside chats’ to emerge at the end of the day
- Why finding your own ‘Suicide Squad’ is the key to fellowship and creativity
As ever they throw in a few ‘Thought Experiments’, this time they have:
- Philosophy or Foolosophy?
- Listeners questions
Learn more about Jason
References
- https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/play-your-way-sane/202303/7-research-backed-benefits-of-improv-comedy?utm_source=pocket_saves
- https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2023/may/03/italian-historian-claims-to-have-identified-bridge-in-mona-lisa-backdrop
- https://www.amazon.co.uk/Finite-Infinite-Games-James-Carse/dp/1476731713
Wednesday May 17, 2023
Wednesday May 17, 2023
In this short sharp in-betweener episode, the Occupational Philosophers explore the habits of creative door kickers and kick-arse inventors and ponder, "What can we learn from these curious cats?"
As it happens, we can learn a hell of a lot such as:
- How to find your flow and what works for you
- Why it's worth packing a pair of swimming trunks if you want a great idea
- How Churchill won the war despite not getting out of bed until 11 am
- Why having a micro creative habit in your office may be the best productivity hack since micro dosing....(not that we have tried that, just sayin...)
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 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
Wednesday May 10, 2023
Wednesday May 10, 2023
Jemma Enright is a strategic and creative innovator who has an entrepreneurial spirit bigger than Mt Everest. She takes opportunities from little beans to full Jack and the Beanstalk scenario but with a much friendlier ending with no real Giants dying in the process. She is strongly connected to the startup and innovation community, as well as the media and advertising community. She plays an active role in mentoring startups and future innovators as well as being a strong advocate for women and diversity in innovation. She has been an angel investor and has been both an intrapreneur, driving change in large companies, and an entrepreneur, taking an exciting new startup in the personal finance space, MoneyBrilliant, from idea to an exit in the role of CEO and Cofounder.
She is a real-world, kick-ass, start-up Mega star and one awesome person to boot!
In this episode, the Occupational Philosophers explore:
- What surprised her most about launching and selling a business?
- The make-up of a perfect team to launch, scale and then sell a business
- The how/when/where of looking for funding for your idea
- The one key thing to nail on your start-up journey
- What is customer centricity and importantly, how do we become more customer-centric?
- What do potential entrepreneurs need to consider before doing the work of launching a startup?
- Why you need to be careful with the term entrepreneur porn
As always, there are some great thought experiments including “start up or wind up?”
The Occupational Philosophers hope you enjoy the show as much as they enjoyed making it!
Learn more about Jemma
Say hello to the Occupational Philosophers
www.occupationalphilosophers.com
Their day jobs
- JOHN: https://www.bowlandconsulting.com/
- SIMON: www.simonbanks.com.au
- SIMON SHOWREEL: https://youtu.be/YZQdJI6qGvg
Wednesday Apr 26, 2023
Wednesday Apr 26, 2023
In this short, sharp Inbetweener episode, The Occupational Philosophers explore ‘Generic Parts Technique’ or GPT. (Not to be confused with chat GPT)
It’s quite hard to explain in words so we think it’s best to just listen really….
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
Tuesday Apr 18, 2023
Tuesday Apr 18, 2023
In this short, sharp Inbetweener episode, The Occupational Philosophers, inspired by the banning of hip-hop at Sydney’s Royal Easter Show, turn their attention to wicked problems. In this episode, they explore:
- How do you solve a challenge with multiple truths?
- What’s the secret sauce when every problem is different?
- How can you flourish in a FUCA world....(not VUCA...!)?
- The importance of reframing challenges
- Why curiosity, empathy and Hip Hop belong together
- Why saying "It's banned" may not be the best approach....
We hope you enjoy the show AND as The Occupational Philosophers always say: stay curious, make stuff, play more, have fun and date life...
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
Thursday Apr 06, 2023
Thursday Apr 06, 2023
In Episode 60, The Occupational Philosophers chat with Julian Baggini, a philosopher, journalist and the author of over 20 books about philosophy. He is a co-founder of The Philosophers' Magazine and has written for numerous international newspapers and magazines. In addition to writing on the subject of philosophy, he has also written books on atheism, secularism and the nature of national identity. In 2012 he was commissioned by the National Trust to be the philosopher-in-residence for the White Cliffs of Dover where he was required to reflect on the chalk cliffs and their significance to the national identity.
His books include
- How The World Thinks: A Global History Of Philosophy
- Freedom Regained: The Possibility of Free Will
- Should You Judge This Book by Its Cover?
- The Duck That Won the Lottery: And 99 Other Bad Arguments
- The Pig that Wants to be Eaten and 99 other thought experiments
- What’s It All about? Philosophy and the Meaning of life
- And his most recently published book - ‘How to think like a philosopher’
In this episode, they explore:
- The 12 practices, habits and attitudes to help us think like a philosopher
- Why paying attention is the key to sound thinking
- Why ‘faffing’ isn’t a waste of time
- How to put some ‘speed bumps’ in your organisation so you arrive at better solutions
- Whether curiosity killed the cat? Well, yes, and no…
- Is creativity an attempt to become immortal?
- How listening to David Gilmour of Pink Floyd might explain the meaning of life
- Why Croissants and Coffee are the secrets to a happy life
- And if an eyebrow is transplanted to above the top lip, is it still an eyebrow?
Learn more about Julian
References
Thursday Mar 23, 2023
Thursday Mar 23, 2023
What would you do if every time you sent an email, a bag of coal would turn up next to your desk?
Would it change how you think about emails?
Would you send a few fewer emails to play your role in not crapping on the planet?
Would an ever-expanding collection of coal in your office make you think about how much energy you use?
Is it time to do a personal energy audit over where and how you spend your energy - emotional/mental/physical?
Is it time to do an energy audit with your team?
- Where are we most wasting our energy?
- Where do we need more energy?
- What outdated practices consume too much energy - literally and physically?
Join the Occupational Philosophers to discuss how we may reimagine how our behaviours and actions can both consume and create energy. It's maybe not the usual discussion but a fantastic topic to get curious about...
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
Thursday Mar 16, 2023
Thursday Mar 16, 2023
In this short, sharp Inbetweener episode, The Occupational Philosophers, turn their attention to meditations, or well-known philosophical quotations which may offer some insights into how we work, play and collaborate together. In this episode, they explore:
- The quotation attributed to Confucius, “If you are the smartest person in the room, you are in the wrong room’
- How ensuring you have diversity of thought in your ‘room’ is key to problem-solving and creative thinking
- Why changing the word ‘room’ to ‘meeting’ may offer a very practical way to challenge yourself before any group discussion
- And why ‘smart’ doesn’t just mean IQ
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
Monday Mar 06, 2023
Monday Mar 06, 2023
In this episode, the Occupational Philosophers (having looked down at their calendar and realised that it's the end of February) thought it may be a good time to revisit what everyone was talking about 8 weeks ago - New Year's Resolutions.
As absolute non-experts in achieving goals and being productive, they thought it may be worthwhile to throw the idea of New Year's Resolutions up in the air and look at it from all angles (not just the sciency type stuff)
We hope you enjoy the show AND we hope you join us for another year of a not-so-serious business podcast. And as The Occupational Philosophers always say: stay curious, make stuff, play more, have fun and date life.
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
Tuesday Feb 21, 2023
Tuesday Feb 21, 2023
In Episode 56, The Occupational Philosophers chat with Dr Samuel West, a licensed psychologist with a PhD in Organisational Psychology. He has explored the psychology of happiness, in particular happiness related to work. He has taught courses on positive psychology, creativity, and organizational science, and in his PhD, in organizational psychology, he focused on how workplace playfulness boosts innovation.
More recently, he is the founder and creator of the Museum of Failure, which is a collection of failed products and services from around the world, with every item providing a unique insight into the risky business of innovation.
He has become the leading expert in helping teams and organizations understand the role of failure in innovation and progress, improve the acceptance of failure, and appreciate the benefits of psychological safety. He is a global keynote speaker and seeks to educate and inspire with the fascinating stories of the artefacts at the Museum of Failure.
In this episode, they explore:
- Why leaders need to listen more to those around them
- How organisations can flip their view on failure and embrace it
- What we can do as individuals to be more creative in our own work
- The critical importance of having psychological safety in your team and how to create it
- How fostering a playful environment can kick start innovation
- What’s the best way to rebrand the side effect of Diarrhea on your product?
As always, there are some original thought experiments with this episode featuring:
- Hit or Miss?
Learn more about Samuel
References
- https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/news/2023/01/is-toadzilla-a-sign-of-enormous-cane-toads-to-come/
- https://petkeen.com/do-goldfish-grow-to-the-size-of-their-tank/
- https://www.greenmatters.com/news/japan-birth-rate-decline
- https://www.liveabout.com/what-is-oud-oudh-346101
About the show
The Occupational Philosophers hope you enjoy the show (they really enjoyed making this episode of their not-so-serious business podcast.) And as The Occupational Philosophers always say: stay curious, make stuff, play more, have fun, and date life.
Say Hello to the OP's
www.occupationalphilosophers.com
Their day jobs
JOHN: https://www.bowlandconsulting.com/
SIMON: www.simonbanks.com.au
SIMON SHOWREEL: https://youtu.be/YZQdJI6qGvg