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 Sep 07, 2022
Wednesday Sep 07, 2022
In episode 43, The Occupational Philosophers explore the life, times, and creative inspiration one of the most enigmatic, admired, and misunderstood artists of all time (possibly but not backed up with quantitative evidence), Vincent Van Gogh.
Mr Van Gogh is maybe the originator of two false myths about art and artists:
- Artists don't get famous until you die
- All artists are a bit mad
In a repeated theme throughout time (by all early adopters), Vincent was a true disruptor and was so far ahead of his time that his work was derided by almost everyone at the time. His empathetic nature enabled him to see the diversity that existed all around him and he was able to bring that to life in his art.
What's not known to most was that it was an entrepreneurial single mother that showed the world what a wonder he was.
There are some great insights into what we can learn about change, breaking rules and why if you are in change management, why Vincent Van Gogh should be your poster child.
Once and for all, they try to settle how to say his last name!
As usual, there are some great thought experiments such as:
- Can a squirrel truly be happy?
- Do AI and good manners mix?
The Occupational Philosophers hope you enjoy the show! (and tell your friends)
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What's the show about?
The Occupational Philosophers is a not-so-serious business podcast to spark creativity, curiosity, and imagination.
Every fortnight, John, a mild-mannered, middle-aged British man with a love of curiosity and philosophy, and a slightly louder, middle-aged Australian surfer man, artist, and published author on creativity chat with guests drawn from many walks of life who have woven creativity, curiosity and play into their everyday lives - and thrived personally and professionally in the process.
So, if you would like to listen to a “not so serious business podcast” and would like some thoughts, tools, and tips on staying curious, creative, and asking those really great questions (and leading a most interesting life in the process) then this is the podcast you have been waiting for all your life. Well, maybe not all your life, but for a while…
You can check it all out at https://www.occupationalphilosophers.com/
Tuesday Aug 30, 2022
Tuesday Aug 30, 2022
In this short, sharp Inbetweener episode, John reflects more on his recent Wilderness Festival experience as he and Simon ask the question: What can a corporate conference learn from a kick-ass festival experience? (And it's quite a lot as it happens....)
Amongst other things, they explore:
- How to create an environment where it's OK to fail at new things (and it's actively encouraged)
- Why it's important to create a plethora of stimuli and things to experience
- Why inspiration is important
- The joy of random connections and conversations
- Why disconnection may be the key to human connection
- The importance of sharing expertise and an open mind
- How we all need a multi-sensory explosion
- Why safe places are happy places
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.
Links:
https://www.wildernessfestival.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
Wednesday Aug 17, 2022
Wednesday Aug 17, 2022
In Episode 41 The Occupational Philosophers chat with Tiffany Markman, an international speaker, trainer and writer, known for her work on communication, messaging, marketing and more.
She’s collaborated with over 450 brands worldwide — both big and small — over the last 17 years, encountering writing that ranges from the sublime to the absurd. She’s also delivered keynote addresses, created masterclasses and presented training in 14 countries.
She likes her coffee strong and black, her paragraphing short and tight and her apostrophes in all the right places. She also has insatiable appetite for reading about cults, multi-level marketing schemes and crypto scammers who fake their own deaths!
In this episode, they explore:
- The global study that explores the 4 creative competencies which will help boost your own creative awesomeness
- Why you need to capture & record your ideas…without judgement!
- How challenging yourself and stepping outside your comfort zone is essential to creativity & growth
- Why broadening your skills beyond your current niche will help improve your creative output
- How to immerse yourself in different environments and seek out new stimuli which will feed into your work
- The top 3 tips to be a successful freelancer
- And why you should never, ever, be an insular arsehole!
As always, there are some original thought experiments and this time they have:
- Copyright or Copywrong?
- Cat or Bat?
Learn more about Tiffany Markman
- https://tiffanymarkman.co.za
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffany-markman
- https://www.instagram.com/tiffanymarkman
References
- Portugese Tart https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastel_de_nata
- Wilderness Festival https://www.wildernessfestival.com
The Occupational Philosophers is a not-so-serious business podcast to spark creativity, curiosity, and imagination.
Every fortnight, John, a mild-mannered, middle-aged British man with a love of curiosity and philosophy, and a slightly louder, middle-aged Australian surfer man, artist, and published author on creativity chat with guests drawn from many walks of life who have woven creativity, curiosity and play into their everyday lives - and thrived personally and professionally in the process.
So, if you would like to listen to a “not so serious business podcast” and would like some thoughts, tools, and tips on staying curious, creative, and asking those really great questions (and leading a most interesting life in the process) then this is the podcast you have been waiting for all your life. Well, maybe not all your life, but for a while…
You can check it all out at https://www.occupationalphilosophers.com/
Monday Jul 25, 2022
Monday Jul 25, 2022
Have you ever been on a curiosity tour? John and Simon jump into some insights around what can happen when you tour all five of your senses and they pull the metaphorical golf balls from Simon's mind after his NYC sojourn.
Amongst other things, they explore:
- What we can learn from public space and how it can influence workplace culture in making everyone feel welcome
- What happens when we create serendipitous cross overs or people and ideas
- How life changes when we look at the world in a different angle
- Does it really feel a little more woo-woo at intersections? (and can you measure it?)
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
Monday Jul 11, 2022
Monday Jul 11, 2022
In episode 39, The Occupational Philosophers honour their Philosopher forefathers and foremothers and unleash their Northern Hemisphere summer solstice Thought Experiment extravaganza!
Or in language with more brevity.....revisit some of their favourite thought experiments with their guests over the last year.
These include:
- Famous love parents with Tamara Campbell
- Is this a real job? with Ash Perrin
- What's in the box? with Neil Mullarkey
- Curious garden of delights Jez Rose
- Tweddle or twaddle? with author Eleanor Tweddle
- Guess the source of my pain? with Dr Brock Bastian
- Moonshot or Moonshite? with Mike Parsons
These are a lot of fun and I hope you enjoy them as much as we did 'running' the experiments.
We hope you enjoy the show AND we hope you join us for another great 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.
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 Jul 01, 2022
Friday Jul 01, 2022
As John and Simon traverse the northern hemisphere summer, John takes on a little walk into the world of Purposeful Questions.
Questions which:
- Ask for clarity on their thoughts
- Ask to challenge proposals
- Ask to examine ideas
- Ask to draw out someone's perspective
- Ask to understand the impact of an idea
- Ask to find out what are the right questions to ask!
Key Things to Remember:
- Ask with a curious mind and tone
- Be careful with language ...Asking 'Why' can feel confrontational
- Use questions to have people 'raise their gaze' or 'delve in deep'
- Ask yourself 'What's the right question to ask?'
- Think about the order of your questions
- If your question draws blank looks, then reframe it
- Declare the intent of your question 'Hey, I am curious about the impact of this idea?
So whilst it's a short episode, there is LOADS of goodness.
As a side note, whilst the Occupational Philosophers have been steadily improving as Podcast hosts, today's show makes us realise that they still have a long way to go......
We hope you enjoy the show AND we hope you join us for another great 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
Thursday Jun 23, 2022
Thursday Jun 23, 2022
In episode 37, The Occupational Philosophers chat with highly engaging, world class storyteller and very funny Tim Vaughan-Hughes.
Tim is one interesting cat!
He began his career with the stage management team at Glyndebourne Opera, and trained as an actor at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. He has subsequently performed extensively in all media. He joined the Monty Python production team for their feature films Monty Python and The Holy Grail, Monty Python’s Life of Brian, and Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life.
He now acts as a mentor and 'enabler' to senior management and executives in the areas of creating impact, change, confidence building, presentation skills and personal development. His clients include Sony, HSBC, PwC, Cisco Systems, BT, Lloyds Bank, DHL and HBOS to name a few.
He is also one of the most entertaining keynote speakers and after dinner speakers going around!
His training skills and personal development include media coaching, Presentation Polishing and script writing for Business executives. He helps individual clients with finishing touches to their speeches, rehearsing and prepares them for camera or conference appearances.
As well as working with business executives privately or in a group, he runs open classes, and regularly presents a popular master-class to help people create impact in both their business and private lives (with the course being delivered across the globe).
In this episode, they explore:
- What we can learn from the principles of stage management
- How we can find more confidence from finding our inner alter ego
- Why it’s important to recognise the difference between nerves and fear
- Why all great performers practice, practice, practice and get loads of help
- How the right to fail is a god-given right - it should be in your team charter
- How if you're not nervous you are either drunk or you died yesterday (one of our favourite lines ever)
- John also struggles to even get out a basic sentence then looks blame others....
As always, there are some great thought experiments.
This time it's "Whose speech is it anyway?"
You can connect directly with Tim on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-vaughan-hughes-927930a/
We hope you enjoy the show!
Tuesday Jun 14, 2022
Tuesday Jun 14, 2022
In ep.36, The Occupational Philosophers explore the idea of tensions. Mmmm, what does the mean?
Que music...."Tensions here, tensions there, tensions everywhere, yeah, yeah, yeah..." Whilst this lyric may never win a grammy (but lets not put boundaries on what's possible), tensions are everywhere
i.e.
- Working harder to achieve success v.s taking that little bit of extra time off to look after yourself
- The tension of breathing in v.s breathing out. Both are essential and one is not more important than the other - or are they?
- The tension of being a man child vs. not doing things that will break your ankle
- The tension between John and Simon. John thinks Simon is an idiot bogan from Australia and Simon thinks John is and old posh grey head.
So, tensions are everywhere and there is a real excitement in managing and navigating this.
We hope you enjoy the show AND we hope you join us for another great 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
Monday Jun 06, 2022
Monday Jun 06, 2022
In their 1st birthday anniversary show spectacular most amazing achievement podcast (yes, they made it to 1 year old - we are surprised as you are), the Occupational Philosophers explore the concept of the half baked idea and most importantly, how we need to create an environment where these 'half-baked ideas' thrive.
Half baked ideas and overcoming our addiction to perfection is at the heart of a culture of innovation.
You will also why bears can make great electricians (loosely) and John and Simon have a moment of enlightenment when they share two half-baked ideas to form something even better.
We hope you enjoy the show AND we hope you join us for another great 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
Monday May 30, 2022
Monday May 30, 2022
In Episode 34, The Occupational Philosophers explore the topic of play and ponder the crucial question “Why does any game of Monopoly always end in a fist fight?
In this episode, they discuss:
- What happens to our brains when we play?
- Why unstructured play is key to our development as children (and adults!)
- How play improves our cognitive skills so we can problem solve, create and learn more effectively
- Who said ‘play is the highest form of research’?
- How play enables us to produce our best work in whatever form that takes
- How there is an actual national institute of play (true fact)
- Why playing like a cat is at the heart of art and creativity
As always, there are original thought experiments and this time they ask:
- To play or to play?
We hope you enjoy the episode as much as The Occupational Philosophers enjoyed making it.
You can learn more about the show at www.occupationalphilosophers.com
Remember, if you like the show (or found it mildly tolerable) tell your friends and leave a review and rating …we mean a positive review not as a warning to others….
References