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 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
Monday Feb 28, 2022
Monday Feb 28, 2022
In Episode 23, The Occupational Philosophers chat with Mike Parsons - This guy is one curious cat. He’s left a footprint across the globe with multiple careers in music, advertising, design, technology and innovation.
Since quitting university after seven weeks, Mike has gone on to achieve remarkable feats. He launched Australia's first internet radio station, lived and worked in Europe and USA, claimed a Guinness Book of Record and sold his Silicon Valley Startup.
Mike is currently the Chief Executive Officer at Qualitance. Together with over 200 staff, he helps clients build future growth products - from banks in Europe to Ford Motors in Australia and Anastasia Beverly Hills in the USA.
During his time in advertising, Mike won many global awards - DA&D Pencils, Cannes Lion's, Effie's – even a TED award.
His talks span innovation, marketing and embracing change in the business world. He's passionate about understanding how to unlock the value in Design Thinking, Lean Startup, Rapid Prototyping, and Agile Development in a world defined by technology and data. He's appeared on CNN and the FT.
Mike's Moonshots Podcast has over 50,000 monthly listeners (that's a lot of fans) and goes behind the scenes of the world's greatest superstars, thinkers and entrepreneurs to discover the secrets to their success.
In this episode, they explore:
- What 3 things unite some of the most creative, innovative and entrepreneurial minds of our time
- Why mindset and working ‘on yourself’ is crucial to success in any endeavour
- How visual storytelling and rapid prototyping helps people get on the same wavelength at speed
- How to introduce structured learning into your teams and organisation
- The conditions you need to cultivate creativity and innovation
- What are the Moonshot questions which create a 10x transformation?
As always, there is an original thought experiment and this time they ask Mike:
- Moonshot or Moonshit?
There is so much goodness in this episode and we hope you enjoy the chat with Mike as much as we did.
Learn more about Mike
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeparsons/
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ailsa_Craig
https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/all-about-the-moon
Monday Feb 21, 2022
Monday Feb 21, 2022
In this Inbetweeners episode, The Occupational Philosophers build on the idea of a curiosity advent calendar - for teams.
Imagine.....every team meeting, reaching into the curiosity box (interesting already isn't it?) and pulling out a short activity to drive creativity, curiosity and imagination in that meeting or in the week ahead?
Or in a more businessey way - "driving an innovative force of agile and entrepreneurial dynamism across the different learning modalities and networks of the brain to master workplace performance."
Mmmm, that could be interesting.......
How about:
- Inventing a team holiday?
- Watch a 15 min Ted Talk and share what you liked?
- Have your own "What's caught your eye?" this week?
- Share a travel story. What insight from your travel time could be useful at work now?
Small, tiny shifts in thinking can bring about BIG changes - and the odd smile as well.
Watch this space for when we release the full curiosity advent calendar (for any month of the year)
We hope you enjoy the show.
www.occupationalphilosophers.com
Monday Feb 14, 2022
Monday Feb 14, 2022
In Episode 21, The Occupational Philosophers re-dive into the business, life, and leadership lessons we can learn from three very well-known artists - Salvador Dali, Andy Warhol, and Picasso.
Along the way they explore:
- How innovation happens when we join the dots and make connections from wildly different things
- How we need to be open to change and constant reinvention
- The importance of not overthinking, just get started and the thinking will come
- Why we need to be open to all types of thinking styles
- How curiosity and asking why can change the way you see the world and the life you live. If you're curious, we can see unseen opportunities
- How great things can happen at the intersection of art and science (or any intersection of different fields)
- Why you should never hide your light under a bucket and also be careful with cutlery experiments in bed
- How the setting of a joyous intent can set your day up for a little magic
As with all episodes, The Occupational Philosophers conduct a thought experiment called "Things artists do"
As always, there are some great lessons and ways to bring more imagination, creativity, and curiosity into your workplace and how to live a most interesting life in the process.
They hope you enjoy the show.
www.occupationalphilosophers.com
Links
-
National Gallery of Victoria displays 3D-printed artificial reefs, showcasing fusion of art and science https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-03/artificial-reefs-showcased-national-gallery-of-victoria/100736484
Monday Feb 07, 2022
Monday Feb 07, 2022
In episode 20, The Occupational Philosophers build on the idea of a curiosity advent calendar - for teams. For all of us, it's easy for things to become a little 'vanilla/boring/same-same. As we know, a great question can do the heavy lifting and can power creativity.
Imagine, sitting down each day and asking one of these questions each day?
- If we hosted a forum on why our products and services suck, what would be the main points?
- Steve Jobs comes back from the dead - what would you showcase as your greatest innovation?
- What’s the most outlandish idea that could bring the biggest change to this team?
- If our team is currently playing a safe game of vanilla lawn bowls, what would a game of no holds barred ice hockey look like - possibly naked?
- Who moved my cheese? And my crackers? And other condiments?
Truthfully, question five had good intentions but there's some debate as to where it ended up.
We hope you enjoy the episode, and, as always:
- Stay curious
- Make stuff
- Have fun
- Play more
www.occupationalphilosophers.com