Our guest for this episode is Natasha Bye, also known as the Strategy Doctor, who has made a name for herself by bringing comedy into the boardroom. So what is the link between strategy and comedy? Do you get better conversations by wrapping it into a joke? How many people does it take to fix a lightbulb in your organisation? This and more will be topic of conversation in this month's Work Punks episode.Some useful references:- On Natasha Bye: https://strategydoctor.co.uk/- "The future doesn't just happen; the future results from the conversations we have today" - We think this is Ralph Stacey. But we can't find it anywhere. Please help us locate the source.

Our Punks try to get behind the root causes of why working practices seem to be broken in so many companies. Is short-termism behind it all, and if so, what is causing this behaviour in the first place? Are there examples that buck that trend and what can we learn from them? Join us for this episode and share your experiences of broken or trend-bucking organisations in the comments. As always, here are some links for further contemplation: - Bill Anderson - the former CEO of Roche Pharmaceuticals and currently heading the working revoluation at Bayer - on how to reduce bureaucracy: https://www.garyhamel.com/video/busti... - Clay Christensen’s view on the impact of financialisation on innovation: https://www.forbes.com/sites/steveden...

Our guest for this episode is Michael Pattinson, a 'tech enabler' formerly of Network Rail and PwC, who recently decided to go it alone in his new venture The One Hour Sprint Company. In this lively conversation we try to unpick what it takes to make a drastic career move, explore the power of meetings as key tool to change organisations, and amble past many related observations in the process. Worthwhile references as well further reading on the topics touched upon: - Michael Pattinson:   / michael-pattinson-8713464   - Death by Meeting: A Leadership Fable About Solving the Most Painful Problem in Business, by Patrick Lencioni, published by Jossey-Bass, 2004 - Working Identity: Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career, by Herminia Ibarra, published by Harvard Business Review Press; Revised edition, 2023 - Find your Why: A practical guide for discovering purpose for you and your team, by Simon Sinek, published by Penguin Audio, 2017

At the occasion of Mental Health Awareness Week our punks explore what role our working environment plays when it comes to our mental health. Despite billions spent on measures to reduce work related stress, employees report higher than ever rates of burnout and are leaving the workplace altogether en-masse. And this concerns younger generations as well as older. Is there something fundamentally wrong with how companies lead, manage and organise work? And what role do new technologies play in all this?Join us for this episode and share your thoughts in the comments. Here are some references to points raised by our punks: - The annual spend by businesses on mental health and wellbeing: https://www.reportlinker.com/p0589592... - 'How burnout became the new normal', HBR: https://hbr.org/2024/04/how-burnout-b... - The UK government is seeking to reduce benefits to people with mental health issues: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/...

Inspiration for this month's episode has been Boeing's slow but steady slip from great engineering firm to hesitant choice for your next holiday flight. How the actions and words of a few people at the top drive the behaviours and decisions throughout the organisation. With real impact for customers and workers alike. Can organisations on a cultural decline be turned around? Do we as individuals also need to have a good look in the mirror? Join us for this episode for a few spiky views.As always we quote some people much smarter than us. Here are the references from this episode:- 'Ultra-Processed People - Why Do We All Eat Stuff That Isn’t Food … and Why Can’t We Stop?', by Chris van Tulleken (https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/45130...)- '1,500 UK businesses have become B Corp certified, an increase of 50% in less than a year': https://bcorporation.uk/- 'Quality Is Free', by Philip B. Crosby (McGraw-Hill Books, 1979)- 'Humankind - A hopeful history', by Rutger Bregman, Bloomsbury Publishing - 'School for Moral Ambition':   / moralambition

Our guest in this episode is Rebecca Cullum, who earned her stripes in leadership development in the IT and mobile phone sectors. Now operating independently, Rebecca supports leaders and their teams in establishing the culture, behaviours and mindsets that are required for 2024 and beyond. No surprises that these include being open to flexible working practices, encouraging learning and experimentation and accepting that what worked in the past may not work in the future. Some of the references from this episode: - Professor Saras Saraswarthy explains ‘Effectuation’, how serial entrepreneurs approach new ventures, including the principle of ‘Affordable Loss’: https://effectuation.org/hubfs/Video%... - W.L Gore - the story of the organisation and the Four Guiding Principles, including the Waterline principle: We are all shareholders, and we will consult with the appropriate Associates before taking an action "below the waterline" that could cause serious damage to the long-term success or reputation of our enterprise. - Manual Of Me: Explore and explain how you can work better together: https://www.manualof.me/

Our special guest on this episode is Henry Stewart, who not only named his company 'Happy', he helps other companies become happy too. It took a Damascene epiphany for Henry to change from self-confessed micro-manager into a CEO who makes no decisions. Since then, Henry has transformed his company into one that not only practices what it preaches, it positively ploughs the furrow by experimenting with new ways of working and challenging accepted wisdom when it comes to creating effective, productive and most of all happy workplaces. Henry and Happy are well-known for their  programmes for leaders and organisations that want to create more joy at work. In this Punks episode we quiz him on his methods, his inspiration, his successes and his 'failures'. Some of the references from this episode: - Happy: https://www.happy.co.uk- Semler, Ricardo. 2001. Maverick. London, England: Random House Business Books.- Wiseman, L., & McKeown, G. (2010). Multipliers: How the best leaders make everyone smarter. HarperBusiness.- Laloux, F. (2014). Reinventing Organizations: A Guide to Creating Organizations Inspired by the Next Stage of Human Consciousness. Brussels: Nelson Parker.- MLA. Marquet, L. David. Turn the Ship Around! Portfolio Penguin, 2015.- Stewart, H. The Happy Manifesto. Kogan Page, 2012- Reed Hastings CEO Netflix Quote  "At most companies, the boss is there to approve or block the decisions of employees. This is a surefire way to limit innovation and slow down growth. When the boss steps out of the role of 'decision approver,' the entire business speeds up and innovation increases."  Taken from No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention By Reed Hastings and Erin Meyer- Creating Joy at Work: 501 ideas for creating a happy, productive workplace Paperback – 25 Jun. 2023. Henry Stewart (Author) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Creating-Joy...- The “Happy MBA” https://www.happy.co.uk/apprenticeshi...- The Productivity Bltz https://www.happy.co.uk/leadership-an...

Our special guest on this first episode of 2024 is Geoff Marlow, well-known for his work with large organisations on getting them to become more innovative, agile and adaptive, and for the Five Fatal Habits he identified as key when organisations fail in their attempts to become more nimble. Both in his education and his early career, Geoff realised that being empowered and encouraged to explore, experiment and learn suited him better than adopting so-called best-practices and (re)produce what others told him was best. It turned out this insight helped him greatly when organisations starting asking him for help to become more innovative and nimble. In our conversation with Geoff we explore these career themes, his views on what makes the difference between inert organisations and adaptive ones, and on the detrimental role that large management consultancy firms play in keeping organisations from developing their own innovation muscle mass. For more details on the research, articles, blogs and other sources mentioned: - Geoff Marlow: https://www.geoffmarlow.com/ - Plowden Report: https://education-uk.org/documents/pl... - Max Plack’s quote “A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.” In Scientific Autobiography and Other Papers, (1949), as translated by F. Gaynor, pp. 33–34, 97 (as cited in T. S. Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions). Translation revised by Eric Weinberger. Via Wikiquote at: https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Max_Planck - The Principles of Scientific Management, Frederick Winslow Taylor, Dover Publications Inc. 1909, ISBN 13 9780486299884 - The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization, Peter Senge, Cornerstone Publishing, 1990, ISBN 0-385-26095-4

Are you struggling with a toxic, overbearing boss, to the extent that you have sought professional help to deal with it? If so, you're not alone. In this episode, our Punks reflect on a recent study that identified one-third of workers requiring therapy to deal with their work situations. Why is that? Are you perhaps one of those bosses? And how could this be overcome? Sources mentioned: - Article about workers with toxic bosses requiring therapy and the Sunday Scaries. https://africa.businessinsider.com/ca.... - It links to the Harris Poll - Toxic Bosses Survey https://theharrispoll.com/wp-content/.... - Colin's post on Sunday Scaries: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/colinn... - AntiWork Reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/antiwork/ - 'OpenAI staff threaten to quit en masse unless Sam Altman is reinstated’ article https://www.theguardian.com/technolog... - Steve Glowinkowski's book "It's behaviour stupid! What really drives the performance of your organisation, 2010" talks about a longditudinal study looking at health markers in relation to the quality of management. - HBR article "What Makes Leadership Development Programs Succeed" refers to the enormous spend on leadership programmes, yet only 10% are effective: https://hbr.org/2023/02/what-makes-le...

In this episode our Punks discuss Ben's ambition to create a progressive MBA programme, one that leaves the formulaic traps of established MBAs for dust and prepares the leaders of the future with the skills that the 2020s demand. After all, with large parts of the workforce working flexibly, AI looming large over everyone, and Gen Z entrants to the labour market no longer interested in climbing the corporate ladder, traditional leadership skills (whatever they are) no longer fit the bill. Listen to our mavericks' debate on the subject and let us know what key skill you would want to be tought at a thoroughly modern MBA. Colin's quote is from Geoff Marlow, the full version of which is “a future-fit organisation is one where sense making, decision making & action taking are tightly coupled, rapidly and repeatedly iterated, deeply embedded and widely distributed throughout the organisation.” For more context, Geoff suggests the following edition of his newsletter, although it doesn’t include this exact phrase https://geoffmarlow.substack.com/p/fr...

Special guest in this episode: Charles Towers-Clark, writer of "The WEIRD CEO" (and the CEO of the title). Artificial Intelligence has gone mainstream lately, with ChatGPT and other tools now firmly in the public eye. Years ago, Charles concluded that in order to prepare his company POD Group and its workforce for the advent of AI, a radical rethink of how work is organised was called for. And so he went about introducing concepts of autonomy and self management to his company. What it takes to do this well, he summarised in the menomonic WEIRD (Wisdom, Emotional Intelligence, Initiative, Responsibility and Development). In this Work Punks episode we quiz him on his learnings and what he - in hindsight - would have done differently. We touch upon a new definition of a company's assets, and why 'purpose' is so fundamental. We also delve into his current research, since leaving POD, and what AI might mean for our children's career choices. Work Punks are Colin Newlyn (Decrapify Work), Ben Simpson (VitalOrg) and Paul Jansen (Trust Works). Also available as a webcast at https://youtu.be/i1Trt1Z4zAo?si=WNq3Ask1aacVsY90

This week we wrestle with the issue of holidays. We all agree that we need holidays and they have a postive impact on our health and our performance, yet there are very mixed messages from employers. We discuss different norms in US and Europe, whether people should decide for themselves how much holiday they take (the Netflix approach) or should we be insisting they take the holidays they are given. We look at how organisations consider holidays and whether they allow for them in their planning and their expectations on employees. The issues around holidays are a microcosm of the bigger debate around the demands made of employees that are causing distress and burnout. Holidays can be a balm but they are not the solution to that.This is also avaialble as a webcast at  https://youtu.be/UVvNg-7wxjQ

As the tug of war continues between companies demanding employees come back to the office and workers choosing organisations supportive of flexible working arrangements, one key question concerns the future of the office. In this episode of Work Punks our guest Damian Mears sheds light on this conundrum, and what it means for the design of the future workplace.

Colin Newlyn (Decrapify Work), Ben Simpson (VitalOrg) and Paul Jansen (Trust Works) discuss news, developments and innovations from the world of work. This time with special guest Lizzie Benton of Liberty Mind. The 2023 Gallup survey on employee engagement rears its head in this latest episode, and make Lizzie and our Punks wonder why we in the UK fail to learn from better performers. Changing our ways seems hard but why is that, and which approaches would be more likely to succeed? And should Artificial Intelligence be seen as a threat or a potential ally in our endeavour to make work more human? Some recommended sources on the topics discussed: - LibertyMind: www.libertymind.co.uk/ - State of the Global Workplace report - 2023, Gallup: https://www.gallup.com/workplace/349484/state-of-the-global-workplace.aspx - The Leader's Handbook: Making Things Happen, Getting Things Done, by Peter Scholtes: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/1639 - Nine Lies About Work: a freethinking leader’s guide to the real world, by Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40086702-nine-lies-about-work

Does it help to be 'a little bit narcissistic' if you aspire to be a good leader? A recent survey says so, but you can trust our Punks to tear this piece of research to threads.So what does good leadership look like? This episode covers such ingredients as authenticity, personality traits versus skills, roles versus positions, and how to encourage a diversity of candidates to step into the limelight.Some recommended sources on the topics discussed: "Leading from the Heart with Mark C. Crowley" podcast episode "Jim Harter: Gallup’s Guidance On Leading In The Post-Pandemic Workplace": https://markccrowley.com/jim-harter-g..."Nine Lies About Work: A Freethinking Leader’s Guide to the Real World" by Ashley Goodall & Marcus Buckingham"The Art of Action - How Leaders Close the Gaps Between Plans, Actions and Results" by Stephen Bungay‘s"Humble Leadership" by Edgar Schein and Peter Schein - Forward Institute: https://www.forward.institute/"Team of Teams" by Gen. Stanley McChrystal

In "HR: Victim or Perpetrator" our punks discuss the unenviable position HR professionals find themselves in while working practices around them are changing at a rapid pace. Should they cling on to the policy-making, company-protecting interpretation of their role? Should they bring in new ways of working more in tune with the hybrid wave and Gen-Z's expectations? Or is a completely new interpretation of their role called for, and is the whole concept of 'HR' anachronistic?

In this episode our old punks sink their dentures into the question whether Employee Ownership is the route staff engagement and therefore to success. They discuss: The woes of the John Lewis department store and whether its employee ownership model is at risk of being undermined by possible new measuresThe perils of picking one or two incentives from the employee ownership world, without going all the way. Those unintended consequences strike again...How democratic decision-making processes are increasingly supported by new technologies to benefit from the knowledge of all employeesThat employee-owned doesn't always mean employee-centricSome recommended reading on the topics discussed:Guardian article "John Lewis: would ending staff ownership help the retailer": https://www.theguardian.com/business/...Blog "Employee Ownership + Self-Management = Mind blowing performance?" by Paul Jansen: https://trust-works.co.uk/blog/f/empl...Book "Citizens" by Jon Alexander: https://www.jonalexander.net/

In this episode our old punks are debating (and expressing some sympathy for) the position of the middle manager. In particular:Why in all those years of management training and leadership development so little progress has been madeWhat of the recent developments in work have made the role of the middle manager even more challengingWhat systemic change is required and where we might look for alternativesHow remote monitoring technology in this age of working from home has proliferated, and the next generation of tools is knocking on our doors, for better or for worseSome recommended reading on the topics discussed:Neurotech at Work, Harvard Business Review, Mar-Apr 2023

Under the headline 'Size Matters' in this episode our old Punks are debating:Team size and Social Loafing: myth or something to worry about?The benefit of good conversational skills (and what are they?)Why is poor mental health an issue especially in large companies? Some recommended reading on topics discussed:Why Less is More in Teams, Mark de Rond, HBR August 2012The rational manager: A systematic approach to problem solving and decision making by Charles H. Kepner & Benjamin B. TregoeTo find out more about VitalOrg's “Teams in Flow” intervention check out: https://vitalorg.co.uk/index.php/2023... and https://vitalorg.co.uk/index.php/2022...

Colin, Ben and Paul each bring a topic up for discussion, which then gets booted around and generally deconstructed. Colin kicks it off with the 4-day week, Ben rants about Bullshit Jobs and meaningless work and Paul finishes off with the issue of psychological safety.