8 Words or Less

It is a privilege to be joined by Céline Cousteau for the season finale to discuss the book The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell. As a filmmaker, author and environmentalist, Céline is in a unique position to understand and appreciate the power of storytelling. Picking up on Campbell’s assertion that ‘the only myth worth thinking about in the immediate future is the planet and everyone on it’, we talk about what this means in reality today, and whether there is a place for myth in the modern world.In the episode, we explore what it means - in Campbell’s words - to 'find your bliss' and ‘slay your dragon’, and what these concepts have meant to Céline throughout her life and career. Finally, we hear from Céline about the work she has done in the Amazon and the impact this magical place has on all our lives, including how it is said that the rainforest produces oxygen for one in every five breaths we take.

In this episode, we discuss the book The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell and take on the challenge to try and distil it into a central message of #8wordsorless. The book is vast in scope, covering the themes and symbols of ancient narratives and how these continue to bring meaning to our lives, offering lessons that can be applied to leadership today. We talk about the power of storytelling, and how leaders can, and should, utilise this to communicate a vision and inspire their teams. Samie also talks about Campbell’s famous concept of ‘Follow your Bliss’ before touching upon the monomyth, and the dragons that need to be slayed if we are to ‘be the hero of your journey’.

For this week’s bonus episode, we are joined by Becks Beere - the founder and CEO of Avec UK, a market-leading strategic brand and product partner for global retailers.Becks recommended 'Principles' by Ray Dalio and shares the many ways the book has influenced her life and how the insights influenced the considerable success of her business. Basing our discussion on insights garnered from the book, Becks speaks about how failures on her leadership journey have fuelled the desire to create a strong foundation for a lively workplace and inclusive culture. We also discuss the benefits and challenges of radical transparency, and what that means in practice if we are to encourage open conversations among employees and meaningful feedback loops.

In this episode, we discuss Ray Dalio’s book Principles. Dalio is one of the most successful entrepreneurs and investors in the world, and in this book he distils the, somewhat unconventional, principles that have underpinned his success. The author shares his life’s journey and how his experiences shaped his principles – particularly the ‘crucible moment’ where he lost everything and had to start all over again. The principles are structured into ‘work principles’ and ‘life principles’, all of them grounded in the experience of implementing them in the real world and how this contributed to the success of Bridgewater Associates. Samie and James pick on some of the key principles – namely those focused on radical transparency, facing into reality, learning from failure and radical openness. We discuss how these can be applied in our day-to-day lives, what we can learn from them, and how we can encourage even more transparency and openness in our leadership.

In this bonus episode we are joined by Amna Al Owais, chief executive and registrar of the DIFC Courts, to talk about the key themes and messages from Samie's book #Time4Humanity.We discuss why Amna has placed values and culture at the centre of her leadership and how she discovered her purpose. Amna shares more about her leadership journey and how she learned, over time, to bring her full authentic self to work. Finally, we discuss the implications of technology in the legal industry, and how retaining the human perspective is vital in the courts of the future.

In this episode we discuss the book #Time4Humanity by Samie Al-Achrafi. In a wide ranging discussion that matches the breadth of the book, we discuss the implications of advancing technology in all elements of our lives, and whether the right questions are being asked as to the long-term impact of this. Samie talks about the importance of a more conscious leadership style that embraces the full range of our nature. Linked to this - and particularly relevant in a world increasingly reliant on Zoom - we touch on the criticality of listening, how to create space for deeper listening, and become more aware of what can distract leaders in any given moment. Samie argues that how we show up as leaders – how we listen and connect, and care for others – are not just commitments; they are intentions as much as skills. Finally, Samie shares the central message, it’s #Time4Humanity.

In this episode we are joined by Rob Gardner, investment director for St. James's Place Wealth Management, co-founder of Redington, author and thought-leader on financial education and inclusion.Rob shares his experiences from founding and successfully growing his own businesses and the significant impact that Clayton Christensen’s book had both on his career and keeping him focused on what is really important in his life. Rob talks about the motivations that led him to leave a successful career as an investment banker to start-up his own business, how he stays focused on his ‘why’ (helping others to become in control of their financial future), the concept of ‘Ikigai’, and how he stays intentional about the way he spends his time and energy. Clayton Christensen’s fantastic book stimulates a lot of reflection and is very relevant for the challenging times we are currently experiencing.

In this episode, we explore the powerful and wide ranging book by Clayton Christensen that offers a series of guidelines for helping the reader find meaning and happiness in life.The book hits home in many ways and manages to deliver a holistic message grounded in both his experience and the case studies of successful organisations.Samie and James discuss the difference between hygiene factors and true motivating factors, and how often money gets confused for the latter. We talk about the importance of aligning personal resources (time and energy) to what matters most, and how to avoid letting a 'just this once' attitude knock you off-course.A fantastic book and one that stimulates a lot of reflection, leading to James's central message 'Don't leave your life's purpose to chance'.

In this bonus episode, we are joined by Harvard Business School professor, former Medtronic CEO, and bestselling author Bill George.Bill shares anecdotes from his leadership journey, as well as reflecting on the interviews and stories from his book ‘Discover Your True North’. We discuss the impact of ‘crucibles’ on our lives and how these can help forge authentic leadership, and how every leader needs a good ‘support group’ around them. Bill then shares the central message from his book, in 8 words or less: Authentic leaders serve with character and integrity.

Authentic leadership has never been more critical than now. In his excellent book Discover Your True North, Bill George outlines how, by following our internal compass, and staying focused on our True North, we can chart a course to being truly authentic leaders.In this episode, Samie shares his central message of 'Authentic Leaders go from Me to We'. Picking on examples from the book, we discuss the importance of ‘crucibles’ in our lives, and how these can be used to drive authenticity. We touch on the concept that Bill calls 'servant leadership’, and even manage to combine both Mandela and basketball into the same petal!

In this bonus episode we are joined by John Flint who shares with us his insights on Simon Sinek’s book ‘The Infinite Game’. The economic dislocations caused by this crisis are forcing leaders at all levels to make quick decisions, often with incomplete and changing information - decisions that have been accelerated or compressed in a shorter time frame. This book can be helpful for leaders either as a challenge - or as a comfort - that our decision-making framework is built around something that is beyond the immediate challenges we face today.John shares his views around the importance of balancing all stakeholders, and that the stewards of long term businesses need to be thinking over a time-frame of 10 to 15 years. He discusses how there is a mythology around investors only being interested in short-term results when, in reality, the pressure usually comes from other sources, and that leaders need to have the courage of their convictions to ‘sit through this’ and focus on the long-term. Drawing from his own leadership journey, John shares his thoughts on how leaders can demonstrate courage and why authenticity or just ‘being human’ is so critical for leadership today. We also touch on the lovely illustrated book 'The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse' by Charlie Mackesy, where John shares with us his insights on what success is as a leader, what bravery means, and his greatest discovery as a leader.

In the first episode of our new season, we discuss Simon Sinek’s latest book ‘The Infinite Game’. This is a book that is very relevant for the time that we are currently living through and one that provides a new way of thinking about how we choose to lead. Whenever there are at least two players, a game exists. And there are two kinds of games: finite and infinite.A finite game is like a game of football - everyone knows the rules, they largely play by them, and there is a set time period at which point someone is declared a winner. Infinite games, by contrast, have infinite time horizons, they are played by both known and unknown players, and there are no exact rules. Crucially, because there is no finish line or no practical end to the game, there is no such thing as winning in an infinite game.The critical problem, and the heart of this book, is that unfortunately most leaders confuse these two games, and by adopting a finite mindset in an infinite game we are creating significant problems. Samie and James review in more depth the difference between these two types of games and the cost of the short term ‘finite game’ mindset. The different elements of what constitutes an infinite mindset are discussed, as well as an acknowledgement of what it takes to have the courage to lead in this way.

In this short bonus episode Samie talks about the importance of having a 'central message’ of 8 words or less for effective communication and what is a 'petal'.Samie discovered the art and science of how to communicate a powerful idea when he did a TEDx talk, and we use this methodology to structure the podcast. This 'tool' can be used to help improve our communications across all mediums and situations and Samie shares some tips on how to do this.

In this bonus episode we are fortunate to have with us Professor Niro Sivanathan who has joined us to answer some questions from listeners following our episode on 'Getting to Yes' by Roger Fisher and William Ury.Professor Sivanathan is an expert in negotiations and his research and teaching have received international recognition. As an associate professor in organisational behaviour at London Business School he has researched how the psychology of the self – specifically our motivation to maintain the integrity of the self – influences decision-making and negotiations.Answering questions from our listeners Professor Sivanathan is able to provide a unique and in-depth insight into 'Getting to Yes' as well as provide us with some useful tips on negotiations in our current environment.

This book puts forward the notion that the application of uncommon sense - thinking or acting differently from other organisations in a way that makes unusual sense - is the secret to competitive success. Written shortly after the 2008 financial crises it offers some useful insights and tools to leaders for these times.Listen to the episode to hear Samie's central message 'It's time for a new paradigm in business' and our discussion around the importance of collective input in strategy, the challenging positions line managers often find themselves in and the dangers of sharing best practise.

Mathew Syed’s latest book, Rebel Ideas, brilliantly encapsulates why cognitive diversity is fundamental to team success. Mathew combines insightful research with wonderful anecdotes - ranging from Bletchley Park, to Mt Everest, nutritional science to snow clearing in Sweden - to illustrate why only collaborative thinking can unlock human potential and help us solve some of the burning problems we face today.In this episode Samie and James discuss the above elements of the book. James expands on his central message (Cognitive diversity and constructive dissent drives team performance) and both share their own experiences and takeaways.

In this book Alain de Botton explores the joys and perils of the modern workplace, illustrating through 10, self-contained, case-studies what other people get up to all day – and night – to make the frenzied contemporary world function. Ultimately the author is looking to understand what make jobs either fulfilling or soul-destroying!Samie shares his central message of 'the future of work is human' and why this is an important theme for the challenges of today.

"Negotiation is a fact of life" and in their classic book ‘Getting to Yes’ the authors Roger Fisher and William L. Ury suggest that, despite its importance, many of us are still not that good at it!In this episode James and Samie talk about the difference between the way we traditionally negotiate, referred to as positional bargaining, and the approach proposed by the authors called ‘Principled Negotiation’. Through four key elements (1. Separating the people from the problem, 2. Focusing on interests not positions, 3. Looking for mutual advantage and 4. Using objective standards) there is the potential to achieve better outcomes, more efficiently and with improved or, at least, maintained relationships between the parties.

Cialdini opens his best-selling book on Influence with the words 'I can admit it freely now. All my life I've been a patsy.' These are words that resonated for both James and Samie and, throughout this book, there are 'lightbulb moments' which help explain how we have fallen for people using the six rules of influence outlined by Cialdini.In this episode Samie outlines his Central Message and we discuss some of the different examples outlined by Cialdini as well as instances from our own experiences.

Are we currently living through a black swan event? Taleb, in recent articles, argues this is actually a 'white swan' event but either way it is an interesting time for James and Samie to talk about Nassim Taleb's groundbreaking book (described by The Sunday Times as one of the twelve most influential books since World War II) 'The Black Swan'.James and Samie discuss Taleb's views on the 'Scandal of Prediction', his insights around why our inbuilt biases make us more susceptible to Black Swans and how to maximise our exposure to positive serendipity. James explains why his central message from this book is 'don't become the Turkey'.

In this episode Samie tells us his central message from 'Great by Choice' written by the bestselling author Jim Collins.Samie reflects on how it is important sometimes to 'go slow to go fast' and shares some insights around the need for discipline and vigilance as well as discussing the relative benefits of being 'one fad behind'.Essentially this book asks the question of why some organisations survive in periods of chaos while others don't - a very valid question for our current times.

In this episode Samie and James talk about Peter Hinssen's book - The Day After Tomorrow. It is a title that probably resonates with a lot of us as we look through the challenging times to hopefully a more positive 'day after tomorrow'. A serial entrepreneur and one of the most sought-after thought leaders on radical innovation, Peter's book provides an interesting insight into how companies can react to the exponential world we are living in, how culture impacts innovation and how to reach the 'day after tomorrow'.

In this episode Samie and James talk about Margaret Wheatley's book - Who Do We Choose to Be? The themes running through the book - Facing Reality, Claiming Leadership, Restoring Sanity - are very relevant for the challenges we see around us with the COVID-19 pandemic. In this episode we discuss some of the key themes from the book, understand its relevance in the current climate and, of course, distil this into 8 words or less.

In this episode Samie and James talk about Matthew Syed's excellent book - Black Box Thinking. In this book Mathew compares the approach to failure in the airline industry with that of the healthcare industry and, through the use of well researched and fascinated examples, illustrates the surprising truth to failure and how crucial it is to ultimate success.Samie and James share some of their favourite anecdotes from the book, some insights and key takeaways and, of course, distil this into 8 words or less.

8 words or less is a new series where, on each episode, James and Samie select a leadership or management book that has inspired them and, drawing on their own experience and insights, distil some key themes from the book into a central message of 8 words or less.