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 17, 2022
Tuesday May 17, 2022
In episode 33, The Occupational Philosophers explore the idea of looking at the world with travellers' eyes. Mmmm, what do you mean by that? Great question!
Think back to one of those great trips you have been on.....Just think about how curious you were about everything that you saw around you. It was eyes wide open taking in as much as possible.
Imagine.....What would things be like (at work or otherwise) if we spent more time looking at the world with travellers' eyes?
Imagine, what would be possible? What would we see?
Tune in to go on a great travel adventure and get your eyes wide open.
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' our 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 09, 2022
Monday May 09, 2022
In Episode 32, The Occupational Philosophers chat with Dr Jen Frahm…a tamer of ambiguity, speaker of truths and a solver of problems. She is a global expert in change and organisational transformation.
She is the author of two books, with the most recent being “Change.Leader” which offers 33 areas in which leaders can make small but intentional personal changes in the way they lead that will result in being able to navigate disruption better.
Jen lectured and developed university-level curriculum for over 8 years and is known for her ability to bust silos, empower big ideas to come to life and is more agile than a leaping gazelle on steroids.
In this episode, they explore:
- How curiosity, creativity and imagination are the fuel for transformative change
- When the drive for resilience within organisations masks the real problems in the system
- What the agile mindset and methodology can offer as we navigate change
- How teams need to stress test their team charter before embarking on a change initiative
- Why great digital transformation is really about risk
- How to tell if the lint filter in your washing machine needs changing
As always, there are some original thought experiments and this time they have:
- Wand of Change
- Listener questions
Learn more about Jen
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferfrahm
Find Jen on Twitter - @jenfrahm
References
Wim Hof
Change. Leader
https://drjenfrahm.com/change-leader/
Agile Manifesto
Agile Change Leadership Institute
Kanban Canvas
https://canvanizer.com/new/kanban-canvas
Monday May 02, 2022
Monday May 02, 2022
In Episode 31, The Occupational Philosophers reconnect with the amazing Jez Rose as they design a garden of creativity, curiosity and imagination. They loved this piece so much that it needed its own episode.
With Jez's love of nature, he became a landscape gardener as he designed his own garden of creativity, curiosity and imagination.
You will hear about what's needed for:
- The soil, providing nutrients, foundations and roots
- Flowers, providing sensory stimuli, sights, sounds, sense and touch
- Fauna providing......
Jez is a wonderful storyteller and you will not be disappointed as we journey into his imagination.
Simon also makes a pledge to bring this garden to life via an artwork as well! (watch this space)
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 our 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 19, 2022
Tuesday Apr 19, 2022
Would you like to have better ideas? Do you sometimes need more inspiration? Would you like an easy way to achieve both of these? If so, read on (and listen to this episode)
In episode 30, The Occupational Philosophers explore a really simple technique to create a bunch of new ideas, seek inspiration and have an enjoyable time in the process.
Importantly, it's easy, free and anyone can do it.
We hope you enjoy the show.
And as The Occupational Philosophers always say: stay curious, make stuff, play more, have fun and date life.
www.occupationalphilosophers.com
JOHN: https://www.bowlandconsulting.com/
SIMON: www.simonbanks.com.au
FYI: The Inbetweeners episodes are just that - smaller episodes in between our 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.
Tuesday Apr 12, 2022
Tuesday Apr 12, 2022
In episode 29, the Occupational Philosophers ask the very important question of "Is technology killing our creativity?"
Fulfilling John's high school dreams of a career in law they take a for and against argument and explore both sides of the argument.
In this episode, they discuss:
- The different types of curiosity and how technology drives each of them
- How technology both fuels and diminishes empathy
- Why it's important to consider the spaces and places we create for curiosity and creativity
- How travelling pre-mobile phone may have been a very different experience
- Why we need to create online and offline spaces for creativity
- How interrupting your flow can drop your IQ (watch out!)
- Why our humanness is more important than ever
- Can robots create art (or is it just craft?)
- Why data is nothing without.....
As always, (and in the tradition of the great philosophers of the past - not the John and Simon count themselves in that space by any means - John is in training, however), there are some great thought experiments.
For episode 29, the thought experiment is:
- App or Crap?
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 (fingers crossed...) tell your friends and leave a review and rating and you will be showered with 10,000,001 blessings.
Show Links
AI, robots and painting
Monday Apr 04, 2022
Monday Apr 04, 2022
In this short, sharp episode of starting your week goodness, The Occupational Philosophers explore the idea of priming the pump for creativity and curiosity, and why it's important.
Think of it like this..... Imagine if someone at work said, "the whole company is going to run a marathon, it will be great for company morale, raise money and we are going to do it RIGHT NOW!
It just wouldn't work. You don't go and run a marathon without doing some warming up, stretching and practice and it's the same for creativity and curiosity. We need to prime the pump.
Tune in for seven minutes as The Occupational Philosophers explore a great way to do that with a team and get the curiosity firing.
They hope you enjoy the show.
Check us out at www.occupationalphilosophers.com
If you haven't checked out Simon's showreel, you can do that right here https://youtu.be/YZQdJI6qGvg (yes, it's a little plug)
Monday Mar 28, 2022
Monday Mar 28, 2022
n Episode 27, The Occupational Philosophers chat with Jez Rose, a true example of someone with boundless curiosity and a hunger to keep learning. He has been a presenter on children’s television, hosted his own show for ITV1, been a co-host of Saturday Kitchen (BBC1) and special guest on James Martin’s Saturday Morning.
He’s written six books, including ‘Flip the Switch: achieve extraordinary things with simple changes to the way you think’. He’s a podcaster with the Roots, Wings & Other Things podcast AND more recently the human podcast, which over 23 episodes, explores what it really means to be human.
Jez is an internationally renowned behaviourist, professional speaker, and the “go-to” guy for memorable presentations on how to change human behaviour. Today, Jez travels extensively, presenting to organizations worldwide and for more than sixteen years has been working with organisations worldwide to help engage, inspire and upskill their teams. Phew....that's a LOT of stuff.
In this episode, they explore:
- What it means to be human
- Why ‘grow slow’ could be a more useful mantra as everything else speeds up
- How observing nature and the seasons can teach us valuable lessons about change
- What can you do with a team to unleash its’ innovation and imagination
- How leaders need to provide the fuel which sparks the fire of creativity
- Why John knows more about Jez than his Mum does
As always, there are some original thought experiments and this time they have:
- Listener questions (including the worry of Bladderwort)
Learn more about Jez
Flip the Switch
https://www.jezrose.co.uk/shop/books
References
Dream Coaches
The Choice
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Choice-Edith-Eger/dp/184604510X
Man’s Search for Meaning
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mans-Search-Meaning-classic-Holocaust/dp/1844132390
Monday Mar 21, 2022
Monday Mar 21, 2022
In Episode 26 - an Inbetweeners episode - The Occupational Philosophers explore Simon's epiphany whilst watching MTV out of the corner of his eye at the gym and ask, "Are we disrupting enough?"
What are the areas in our lives - work or otherwise - that absolutely ripe for disruption? Or, in another way; what needs a really good dose of creativity, freshness or some new ideas?
Have things been the same for 25 years just because they have always been done that way? Is it time for a little disRupTioN?
Inbetweener episodes are short, sharp episodes with just one idea to kick off the week with a little more creativity, curiosity and imagination.
As always, if you enjoy the show, tell your besties and leave a 5* rating!
www.occupationalphilosophers.com
Oh! and check out Simon's new showreel (He needs a few extra Youtube hits) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZQdJI6qGvg&t=1s
Monday Mar 14, 2022
Monday Mar 14, 2022
In Episode 25, The Occupational Philosophers dive into the world of Philosophy as they learn more about some of their favourite chin strokes and importantly, what we can apply in life and business right now (yes, that's correct - right now!)
In this episode, they explore:
- How asking questions like Socrates can help teams define success
- Why humility is the essential wingman of curiosity
- What can Plato’s allegory of the cave tell us about reality
- Why philosophy begins with wonder
- How Aristotle can help you build your team’s creative muscle
- Why running a dating agency for chickens is not a viable business
As always, there is an original thought experiment and this time they ask:
- Would you rather?
The Occupational Philosophers hope you enjoy the show.
Simon's new showreel (MUST SEE VIEWING!!)
References
www. occupationalphilosophers.com
https://www.channel4.com/programmes/lego-masters-australia
https://nga.gov.au/exhibitions/jeffrey-smart/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socrates#Trial_of_Socrates
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato#The_Cave
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotle#Influence
Jeffrey Smart show
https://nga.gov.au/exhibitions/jeffrey-smart/
Monday Mar 07, 2022
Monday Mar 07, 2022
In episode 24, The Occupational Philosophers explore the question, "How often do we date life?"
Life throws us up many opportunities but how often do we take them, embrace them and date life?
Do we date life often enough?
Inbetweeners episodes are a short, sharp blast of 10 minutes to kick start your week with a sweet boost of creativity, curiosity and imagination (and some other things thrown in as well)
Here's to dating life this week.....
www.occupationalphilosophers.com