Podcasts about bradfords

LYSSNA PÅ HELA AVSNITTET HÄR: Snettinatbakat.se Vi pratar om de där härliga kvällarna när små svenska samhällen fick finfrämmat! Christian har gjort ett fint gräv kring Bk Astrio – Watford, Marcus kommer med perversa nyheter om Bradfords skotske tränare, och Emil har fängslats av tempot, de ideella krafterna och landsortskänslan som omgav Vinbergs IF:s match mot Malmö i Skandiacupen 1991. Kent Waide, på er.

Send me a messageThe ‘Fighting Bradford's” were 4 brothers from the north East of England who served in the First World War.The 4 brothers, 3 of whom were killed, were awarded 2 Victoria Crosses, 1 DSO, 2 Military crosses and numerous  Mentions in Dispatches, making them the most decorated British family in that war.You can support my show by...Become A PatronBuy Me A CoffeeSupport the show

Click here to join our FREE NRL tipping comp in 2025 : https://tipping.nrl.com/comps/join/O20F3PX9 In this episode we talk about what a goose Ricky Stuart is, how the Penrith Panthers reign will look when it ends, Daly Cherry-Evans leaving the Sea Eagles, the best defensive team in the NRL, Andrews Buzzonomics article and the big TV at Odsal Stadium in Bradford! Twitter AndrewRLP and LeagueFreak Patreon Rugby League Project Patreon and the League Freak Patreon! Websites The Rugby League Project  League Freak NRL and Rugby League News Rugby League Podcasting Network NRL Rumours NRL Breaking News Podcast Links Site: FergoandTheFreak.com Twitter: Fergo And The Freak on Twitter Instagram: Fergo and The Freak on Instagram Youtube: Fergo and The Freak on Youtube Youve found the best 2025 NRL Podcast! The Official NRL website, For the latest NRL News or the 2025 NRL Draw just click the links! Also if you're looking to  Buy 2025 NRL Tickets you know where to go!

Skip the Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. Your host is Paul Marden.If you like what you hear, you can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue or visit our website SkiptheQueue.fm.If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review, it really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on Twitter  or Bluesky for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned in this podcast.Competition ends on 22nd January 2025. The winner will be contacted via Twitter or Bluesky.  Show references:https://litlablondon.wixsite.com/lit-laboratoryhttps://www.instagram.com/litlablondon/https://www.threads.net/@litlablondonhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/litlablondon/https://www.facebook.com/people/The-Lit-Lab/100090991921959/ Abi Fafolu has a Master's degree in Bioengineering from Imperial College, and over 7 years' experience in public engagement with science. She spent her early career in science engagement, including on the Science Desk of The Guardian Observer and promoting open-access publishing at the European Medical Journal and Springer Nature.Since joining the UK government in 2015, she's worked in strategy, policy and programmes across four government departments including the Office of the Government's Chief Scientific Advisor, Lord Patrick Valance, upholding the role of science and evidence in decision making, and promoting developments in science as a Press Officer to the UK Science Minister. Abi is currently a government policy and strategy maker, and runs the Lit Laboratory (Lab), a "Science and Sip” experience reconnecting underrepresented audiences aged 21 to 40 with science. Transcription:  Paul Marden:  Welcome to Skip the Queue. A podcast for people working in and working with visitor attractions. I'm your host, Paul Marden. Paul Marden:  In today's episode I'm joined by Abi Fafolu, Founder of The Lit Lab. Abi has a Master's degree in Bioengineering from Imperial College, and over 7 years' experience in public engagement with science.Since joining the UK government in 2015, she's worked in strategy, policy and programmes across four government departments. She currently a government policy and strategy maker, and runs the Lit Laboratory, a "Science and Sip” experience reconnecting underrepresented audiences aged 21 to 40 with science.Unfortunately the internet wasn't kind to us when we recorded this conversation, and so the audio quality isn't great, but the conversation definitely was.Paul Marden:Welcome, Abi. Welcome to Skip the Queue.Abi Fafolu: Thanks, Paul. Thanks for having me. Paul Marden: Lovely to have you. Today's a little bit weird because we're recording this just before Christmas, but it's not actually going to go out until the new year. So what I'm going to say is happy New Year to you. I hope you've had a lovely Christmas, but the reality is we haven't had it yet. So strange. Abi Fafolu: Thank you and likewise. Paul Marden:So we always start our interviews with some icebreaker questions which you're never prepared for. So here goes nothing. I've got a couple for you. I think they're quite nice ones actually. What's your go to coffee order when you go to a coffee shop of your choice? Abi Fafolu: Embarrassingly, I saw a skit about this recently where I thought that I had a unique choice, but clearly I've been very moth by the Internet. It is a skinny flat white and the skit that I saw actually was people ordering hot chocolate, which has gone extinct in coffee shops. I think there were a few people doing kind of hot chocolate watching. They were seeing where the people would order hot chocolates and have the binoculars out to watch those people as they made that rare order in the shop. But no, mine is very common. It's a skinny flat white. Paul Marden: Yeah. So mine is just a normal straight up flat white. No nonsense, no fuss, just give me coffee. I just want a nice coffee. My daughter, her order, she's only 11, but she's taken to iced hot chocolate. But what do you call it? Is it iced chocolate like an iced coffee or is it iced hot chocolate? I always stumble over the order and it's never up on the menu. So I always feel a bit awkward asking for whatever it is that she wants. Abi Fafolu: I like that. Paul Marden: Yeah. Okay, next one. What animal do you think best represents your personality? Abi Fafolu: Oh, gosh, I'm probably like a reliable owl or something like that. Yeah. Kind of cosy in my tree when I feel like it, being a bit nosy and flying out to have a look at what's going on. Paul Marden: And every now and again savage on little animals. Abi Fafolu: Oh. I mean, maybe a bit of that, probably. But yeah, I think something like that. Paul Marden: Okay. I think mine would have to be one of those, one of those dogs that is really annoying and full of energy because I'm just, I'm always at like full power. I'm one of two extremes. I'm going full at it. Yeah, I'm just zonked out, shattered at the end. Yeah. Abi Fafolu: Okay. Paul Marden: So I'd probably be like a springer spaniel where loads of walking is necessary to get rid of all the energy. Otherwise I'll be really annoyed.Abi Fafolu: Got you. A little dog who doesn't know that they're little and springs out into the world. Paul Marden:I'm sure there's something Freudian about that. I'm not sure. So we are talking a little bit about your project called the Lit Lab today which as listeners will know I always have a little chat with people before we do the interview and you know, I'm really interested in this concept, the tagline that you talked about which was the idea of getting adults to drink in a Science lab. We first met at the Association of Science and Discovery Centres and you know, we had a lovely conversation whilst were at the ASDC conference and I found out a little bit more about Lit Lab. But I think before we get to that point let's just talk a little bit about you and your background. So tell us about you. Tell us about your background and maybe a little bit about day job. Abi Fafolu: Yes, of course. So I am a Scientist by training. I have a Master's degree in Bioengineering from Imperial College and about 7 years experience in public engagement with Science. So that has looked like working on the Science desk of the observer newspaper, publishing medical research at Spring and Nature, working with the Chief Scientific Advisor and in government and with the Science Minister as well doing kind of comms and press releases. At the moment I work in strategies by working thinking about where my organisation wants to get to and how we do that. And for me I think it probably brings together a lot of the skills and interests I have. Abi Fafolu: It's really about kind of seeing that bigger picture and wondering how things come together and wondering what things will be different and kind of looking at the evidence and friends and things that are going on that help to paint a picture actually of kind of what the options are and gives you a sense of what's possible. So I think there's a thread really through my kind of career history which is a lot about being nosy and having that kind of owl sand view of the world. And yeah, I think my kind of interest and passion in and Science has also kind of given me a lot as well in the subject and things that have piqued my interest. Paul Marden: I think it's such an interesting opportunity for you to being in public policy and Science within government over the last few years. It's a really interesting perspective and it's the kind of career that no kid at school would ever dream is a career. Yeah. You know, kids at school can imagine being a chemist or a biologist, they can relate to that. But the idea that Science exists at the heart of government and influences everything the government does is not something that your average kid would think about doing. So how do you end up falling into a role like that? Abi Fafolu: Yeah, well, I mean, I suppose my reflection on what you've just said is sort of. So I think for me, you know, I'm currently the only person in my network who has a background in Science, so I didn't really have a clear picture of what it would look like to be a Lab Scientist. You know, you do those practicals at school, you meet teachers and, you know, lab assistants who are, you know, models of that for you. But I didn't know anyone that did that sort of work and I wasn't sure if I was good at it. I just knew that I enjoyed it. Abi Fafolu: And I think when I stumbled across the idea that actually there's a whole strand of Science that's about communicating with people, what's going on, about bridging that gap, really, between the doing and the using of Science, that, for me, opened up a whole new world. And a lot of the kind of journey I suppose I've been on in my career is thinking about how to really help people see the impact of the Science in their everyday life. So I think, you know, in publishing, you're at the forefront of all the developments, you see everything that's going on and it's really interesting. But the average person on the street, you know, has no idea how to apply bioengineering techniques that are, you know, novel and coming out of the lab for their everyday life. Abi Fafolu: But then when we have a situation like Covid, where we're starting to look for novel ways to make vaccines, you know, that's the sort of application, I suppose, of the work that people are doing and the interest that drives them. So for me, I think following that curiosity into this kind of world of Science engagement has been a bit of a journey. Paul Marden: So that leads nicely to the association of Science and Discovery Centres, how we met at their conference. There was a lot of talk at the conference, wasn't there, about public engagement? How do we enrich people's lives with Science and help people to feel that Science is part of their them and that they can influence the Science decision making and the direction that Science takes over the next decades. You're a trustee of ASDC, so what does that involve? Abi Fafolu: Yeah, you've said it really. But ASDC's mission is absolutely that, to make Science accessible and inclusive for more people and to be seen as a valuable part of everyday life. So their role broadly is to kind of bring together and support Science engagement centres, discovery centres and other spaces like that together. And I know you've had probably doing a wonderful job of explaining what ASDC does and the value it brings. I won't go too much into that, but as a trustee, I suppose the core of that role is to give support and challenge to the CEO. I suppose you think of it as, you know, a CEO doesn't really have colleagues or peers and so, you know, we're head trusted advisors in her, in this case. Shaaron ASDC. Abi Fafolu: We are the people that help the sense tech decisions and make sure the organisation is living up to its purpose. Paul Marden: Absolutely. So that's a little bit of background. Let's talk about the Lit Lab. Explain to our listeners who know nothing about the Lit Lab. What is it? Let's start with the broad picture of what it does. Abi Fafolu: Yeah, yeah, sure. So the Lit Lab is the UK's first Science and bit. It is a laboratory or Science themed social event where people do fun homestyle Science experiments, make drinks and take part in kind of friendly challenges. It's a social event that is something I do alongside my day job, as I mentioned. And so it runs quarterly at the moment. But essentially people arrive or kind of pop up Science lab, usually in the basement of a bar or a pub. We've done bigger venues like box parking spaces like that as well. But when they arrive they will find kind of their own lab coat and goggles waiting for them. They might get a drink at the bar while they settle in and then we have a host and lab assistant who will walk them through three experiments and two games. Abi Fafolu: So we always start with a drink, we make a drink. We call that our kind of molecular mythology series. So anything from kind of dry ice cocktails, cool kind of layered drinks and then we end with an explosion. So yeah, some of our more popular ones tend to be ones that involve a bit of cleanup at the end. So that's kind of the model for the event and it's really about helping adults to reconnect with Science and have a good time doing it. Paul Marden: Excellent. So you're taking this out into pubs and bars. It sounds like a Science centre in the back of a van or something. So what sort of kit are you taking with you into the event spaces? Abi Fafolu: Yeah, I mean you're not far off with the kind of back of a van analogy. I have a garage full of labware.  But my neighbours always look at me a bit suspiciously when I start to pile up my pipettes and bits of lab coats and that sort of thing. Paul Marden: Awkward conversations with the neighbours as they're watching what you're taking out the garage. Abi Fafolu: I mean, if I suddenly see flashing lights at my door, I'll probably have a sense and someone's got the wrong end of the stick. But no, we, as I said, you know, kind of a small pop up and so really it's a startup and it's got all of the kind of all that comes with that. So, you know, storing lots of kit in my garage means that the event is intimate because there's only so much, you know, test tubes and beepers and chronicle class I can fit in one space. And then we're on the day, kind of a group of lab assistants and me who will set up the stations for guests. So, you know, for different experiments where we're really trying to replicate, you know, the type of materials and tools that you would use to explore the same sort of things. Abi Fafolu: So one of the things that we do in the lab is DNA extraction with home style ingredients, things that you can find in your skin do with skids. But we're using, you know, conical glass and pipettes and syringes so that we're really being accurate with our measurements and people have that chance to get stuck in. Abi Fafolu: But we don't do any tutorials. It's not, it's not a lesson. It's really for people to get hands on and try things out for themselves. So we give them a QR code that they scan for instructions and it will tell them kind of what the stats are. But you can take that all either, you know, you've got all this in front of you and if you want to mix some things together and see how it goes, then that's the, you know, that's the spirit of Science. They're more than happy for people to do that too. Paul Marden: Excellent. So where did the idea come from? How did, how did you come up with the idea for the lit lab? Abi Fafolu: So it's like a lot of people thinking about kind of, you know, what they want to do with themselves and kind of what skills they have and things they're passionate about. Particularly kind of post lockdown where, you know, you had a lot of time to reflect and think about whether you were making the most of, you know, your skills and abilities. I was seeing a lot of kind of social events come out that were particularly focused around sort of activities. People, I think, wanting a bit more purpose as well when they do leave the house, because that was a luxury. We didn't take for granted that when we step out, we're spending time and that means so much. So a lot of activities that people were doing were things like pains and sips. Abi Fafolu: So this is the model, really, that I've reprised, where people buy tickets to an event and they create art and have drinks and really, it's a model that's really growing globally. So I think that the market in America is in the millions, if not billions, as a kind of global event concept, and definitely picking up here as well, but you see it kind of taking off in different formats. So there are pottery and sips and D Day and sips and all sorts of things like this. And so for me, I kind of. I looked at that and I thought, I think I should do something like this, too. And so I spoke to kind of friends and family and I said, I kind of wanted to try out this thing. I think I could make something similar here. Abi Fafolu: And so I got together a group of friends at my mum's church hall, bought some lab coats from Amazon and spent absolutely ages writing loads of Excel sheets about the experiments that we could do and what I need to buy to kind of get that together, and had them for far too long for an evening after work, doing all sorts of great experiments. And they loved it. Abi Fafolu: They thought it was. It was great and really fun. And so, yeah, it kind of took off from there. I thought, you know, this maybe might be something that we can bring to more people. And so since then, with, I think, about 300 guests, we've got, I think, sort of a thousand or so followers on social media. We've been in timeout London and Secret London magazines and that sort of thing. So, yeah, I think it's reaching some of the right people, but I think you could do more. Paul Marden: So for me, I think there's something about it that really attracts me. I'm an extroverted introvert, so I like to be around other people, but it can be challenging going into a new social situation. For me, I might not feel comfortable. What makes me feel comfortable is being in the context of having a shared mission with people. Paul Marden: So the idea of, you know, having these experiments to conduct with people, there's something to focus on rather than just the people that are around you. And you know, I need to speak to everybody. I need to be the life and soul of the party. No, no, I'm focusing on this thing. And the social element of just being with other people happens around you when it's done at its best because it's not taking all your conscious effort. Your conscious effort is focused on this thing that's in front of you. You and the rest of it is just blossoming around you. Abi Fafolu: So yeah, no, absolutely. I think the other part of that is that you're in a room with people with similar interests. Right. You're creating community. There are people there that are really excited and curious about kind of rekindling that passion that they had for Science or that interest that they had. And so there's a real energy of people kind of wanting to get stuck in and being excited kind of for every thing that we bring out. And yeah, it absolutely is, you know, part of my plan for it to be able to build a bigger community around it. And we have some of that online. Abi Fafolu: So there's a lab Patreon site where we share Science news, blogs about kind of running a pop up Science lab, you know, behind the scenes and really helping people to reconnect with Science, even if they're not in that space with people, but also just to find that community with that said interest. Paul Marden: So you come up with these spreadsheets at the beginning. You tracked all your mates in a church hall for the first evening. Was there a lot of experimentation involved in. I'm a meta level here. Yeah, experimentation around the experiments that you want to run. Were there some that you did that just weren't successful? Abi Fafolu: Oh yeah, absolutely. Yeah. So I do have a mega spreadsheet of kind of experiments like I could do a lot of the ones with fior. I've had to rule out the various disappointingly. But we'll see how we can get around that in future. But no, absolutely, there's the constraints of, you know, the idea of this is that a lot of the Science is home style and you could absolutely kind of go home and replicate that. One of the things that we do online is created tutorial videos used to try some of the experiments from the lab. And so what I don't want is to have to find kind of lab grade chemicals because that's not homestyle Science. Paul Marden: No. Abi Fafolu: And so I really want it to be accessible in the truest sense. And so that's a, you know, a philtre for me when it comes to thinking about what sorts of things we could do as much as possible as well. You know, having experiments that have real world kind of application or implication. I talked about the kind of DNA one, you know, the method that we use for that at home is really similar to what we do in the lab. It just has, you know, different types of reagents, you know, more specialised or more tailored to doing that. But yeah, I think being able to really kind of illustrate kind of core concepts in Science as well as do them with materials and things like that are accessible is a strong philtre for me. Abi Fafolu: But thinking about some of the ones, I suppose that haven't made the cut. And as I say that actually I should say that we do have a kind of core set of experiments as well as seasonal ones. So the most recent event was Halloween and we started by making blood transfusion cocktails. So we had blood bags with grenadine in them. We did a kind of gruesome DNA extraction with picking livers, we made potions that are wrapped to finish off the session, that sort of thing. But yeah, a lot of the ones that are kind of more temperamental, I guess, and not so resilient for people who are not going to read the instructions are the types that don't quite make it in. And they can be things like, you know, dry ice doesn't last forever, it eliminates, it evaporates quite quickly. Abi Fafolu: And so there are things like that where, you know, over the course of the kind of two hour event maybe is not the best type of experiment to try and do because by the end of it some people will still have dry ice and some people won't. And I'm not, you know, I'm not in a degree where I can, you know, just turn the corner and get some more. So yeah, some of them are just kind of practical, why they don't quite make the part. But yeah, definitely a longer list of things I try with more opportunities to do. Paul Marden: I talked a little bit about why it piques my interest. But who is the audience that you're seeing coming along to events? Abi Fafolu: Yeah, so I think both from kind of attendance at events and you know, the feedback that we get and the kind of data from that, but also our insights from social media and things like that. We can see that the audience is largely women. So about 70% women age between 21, maybe 45. Interest really in Science culture, trying new things, meeting new people. And I'm especially interested actually as well in targeting minority audiences. So the women, but also black and ethnic minority people who are underrepresented in Science, who maybe, you know, don't have access to Science and that sort of discourse and really just to change perceptions about who Science is for. So I think the idea that you can do Science outside of a classic setting, outside of a lab, outside of research, outside of academia is really important to me. Abi Fafolu: So, yeah, I think it's a broad audience and I think Science is absolutely for everyone. But part of my mission is also to make sure we're reaching some audiences who aren't really. Paul Marden: That's the audience. Are you doing, is this a solo effort for you or have you got teams of lab rats that come along and help you? Abi Fafolu: And so I'm a solo entrepreneur, I am the founder, one of those hats. But on the day of the event I do have a team, we call them lab assistants rather than lab rats. But I do have a team of people who are amazing at preparing the experiments. People so they can get stuck right in troubleshooting any kind of niggling issues, you know, with the experiments on the day and making sure that people kind of know what they're doing. And for me, actually it's been really important to open those opportunities up to up and coming Science communicators. So, you know, people who want that experience really in practising and engaging the public directly with Science. Abi Fafolu: And again, you know, there's nothing quite like this at the moment, so I'm hoping, you know, that's a good opportunity for them as well to kind of pick off those sorts of careers. Paul Marden: Yeah, it's quite nerve wracking, isn't it, doing what you're doing, stepping into a sector where. Or creating your own segment. Yes, you're taking inspiration from things that already exist, but nobody else is doing this. And you've got. It's at the core of being entrepreneurial, isn't it? You've got to test the market and experiment to see where it goes. But that can be quite nerve wracking. So having that team of lab assistants, those people that are helping you on the day, you know, it's invaluable because you can't have eyes in the back of your head when you're at the event, it's really, you know, it's really hard, I guess, to be able to run one of these events, keep it all flowing, solve the problems and be a gracious host at the same time. Abi Fafolu: Yeah, absolutely. And I should say, actually I'm not the host, so I am very much kind of in the background for the events themselves, they are hosted by. I have a few different people that kind of tap into this role, but essentially they're presenters and people whose job it is that have that sort of MC role to keep the crowd engaged and enthused. And again, like I said, they don't teach, they don't set out. Kind of made the story of what we're going to do, but they encourage and, you know, prod and make jokes with the group and that sort of thing. One of the elements of it that I think works well as well is that we try to introduce kind of competition. Abi Fafolu: So if we have, you know, two or three tables, depending where we're doing it, you know, each table is a group that competes and they choose a table name which is made up of a range of things that might be for that month, elements in the periodic table, their favourite horror movie and their favourite brand of alcohol. So they get kind of wacky table names and earn points as they go along. And we actually, for most events, compete for spots or fleets. So if you're a winning table, you'll find a rap of spots coming your way. So, yeah, it's definitely a social event I think we major on as well as Science in our event. Paul Marden: Of course, it does sound a little bit like a kind of classic Science communicator role at the Science Centre, doesn't it? You know, that job to engage people in Science. But you're hiding. You're hiding the vegetables, aren't you? They're learning a little bit about Science, but at the same time they're enjoying themselves and you've got to major on the enjoyment and engagement, otherwise they're never going to learn something. Abi Fafolu: Yeah, no, I absolutely agree with that. And we provide some of that background to people that want it. So, you know, in the same way that you can scan the QR and find out what the instructions are, you can also scan and find out kind of what the Science is behind what you're doing. Because I think, you know, if people are particularly curious, you want to make sure that they have the opportunity to follow up. Paul Marden: Yeah. So you're taking this out to pubs and bars. Have you got future plans to try other types of spaces or to take this to other places? Abi Fafolu: Yeah, so I know that you we're alluding to as well, the kind of theme of this. So, you know, absolutely, we're doing Science, but this is. This is culture, this is creativity, this is all of the things that, you know, make Science real and enjoyable for people as well. So Absolutely. I see it as a kind of creative cultural endeavour. I've done a few events in sort of different contexts. I, for example, was just running a winter fair event called University of East London. And that, I think, gives us the opportunity to have people kind of zip in and out from what we're doing and see it in the context of other things as well. And I think this brings to the forefront even more that, you know, this is something that's for entertainment. Abi Fafolu: You know, like, there's education here, that this is an entertainment concept. So, yeah, I think it really has a place in lots of different spaces and I think there's lots of opportunity, really, to see where it can go. Yeah, absolutely. Would love to work with different types of venues, so universities. But also there are these other cultural institutes, talking museums and places like that, where I think there could be a really nice partnership opportunities there. Paul Marden: Yeah, absolutely. There's an element of. And it was something that somebody said at the ASDC conference. It was one of the questions that got asked at the Skip the Queue episode was all about getting the A into STEAM. So getting. Getting the Art into STEAM. Subjects. There's an element of if you could take this into a bar and a pub, you can take this into art institutions, to galleries, to museums, other cultural institutions. All these sorts of institutions are looking for ways in which they can extend their reach, that they can. Can serve different audiences, generate revenue for themselves at times when the institution is quiet. And this is just a lovely concept to be able to pop the things in the back of the van and take it to institutions and help them to do those things. Abi Fafolu: Yeah, thank you. And I think, just to add to that, I think we're definitely seeing a rise of that with the kind of museum lakes. It's a theme across lots of different venues completely. And. And it's absolutely that. It's about the kind of adult market and recognising, I think that, you know, just because you're an adult doesn't mean that you can't still have fun with the things that you were interested in as a younger person or, you know, hobbies that you don't have the opportunity to do. So, yeah, Science is a hobby, definitely something I'm all the way behind. And I think the kind of adult space is a really good opportunity for that. Yeah. Paul Marden: Oh, completely. I get to masquerade behind my daughter. I'm taking her to Science centres for her benefit. But the reality is I have a whale of a time and I love going to the Science central, Science museum And I'd feel a bit odd going as a single bloke wandering around some of these institutions on your own during the daytime. It might not feel quite right. But a Science late event, I could totally, you know, I've done enough ASDC events at Science centres where we've had the evening meal in a Science centre in the evening and it's been delightful to wander around these places in the evenings. There's a huge amount of opportunity at your local Science centre to find things that engage adults as well as kids. Abi Fafolu: Yeah, absolutely. Paul Marden: What are your goals? Where do you want to take the Lit Lab for the future? Abi Fafolu: Yeah. So, I mean, again, this concept of kind of popping things in the van and kind of rocking up wherever is definitely a perk of the current model, but it still sort of means that at the moment, you know, the little ad is in London big as I am, you know, I don't want that to be a kind of barrier for it and I definitely don't want it to stop the right people from reaching it. So for me it would absolutely be that to be able to reach more parts of the country and particularly, you know, like the cities of culture. I'm thinking that, you know, the Bristols and the Manchesters and the Bradfords next year as the 2025 or this year. Paul Marden: That was slickly done. Well done. Abi Fafolu: Yeah, I think, you know, being able to meet people where they're already exploring these interests and then hopefully see that Philtre out as well would be wonderful. Paul Marden: Okay, so is that partnership model or is that a kind of a franchise model or are you open to conversations with people about how you could deliver this? Abi Fafolu: Yeah, no, absolutely open. I think that's, you know, a perk of being. Being the first, isn't it? But, yeah, all things are on the table and I think that's a wonderful thing. You know, I'm probably still in the. It's my baby face. I can imagine. I can imagine that there's probably a bit of hand holding that would. Would come before any. But yes, I think absolutely open. Paul Marden: Yeah, that's interesting. Well, look, it's been lovely talking to you, finding out a little bit more about you and finding out more about The Lit Lab. I think it's such a wonderful concept. I feel a team rubber cheese evening event coming along soon where I think we bring the team and we do a little bit of Science together. I think that might be a nice idea. Abi Fafolu: Idea more than welcome. I'd love that. Paul Marden: So we always ask our guests to give us a book recommendation. So Abi, what's your recommendation for the listeners today? Abi Fafolu: Yeah, I had a good think about this and you know, in all that I've talked about, I think there's probably also something about reclaiming this kind of nerd label. I think my recommendation is probably going to fall in that space, but I'm happy with that and I own it. But mine is in the genre of sort of mythology, magical realism, fantasy, and I really love Greek mythology. But I'm actually also getting into African mythology, of which there are loads of kind of classic but also kind of up and coming writers. And one that I'm really enjoying now is called She Would Be King by Wayétu Moore. And it's a story of basically the kind of creation of a new space in Liberia during the kind of transatlantic slave trade. Abi Fafolu: And it basically imagines the stories of the three different people in a sort of anthology way, who get powers as they go through the real horrible and inhumane kind of trials of, you know, being part of that. So from America to Jamaica to West Africa, you know, these three people go through different experiences of that and they all get powers that help them to cope with that. And it draws on the types of powers that you might see in African mythology. So it's a really beautiful book and a really inspiring and kind of educational one too. I think there's a lot of, you know, factor accuracy in terms of, you know, what happened and the types of experiences that people accounted. Yeah, that's one of my definite recommendations and I'm actually rereading it at the moment. Paul Marden: Wowzers, listeners. So if you'd like a copy of the book that Abi recommends, normally I'd say get over to X and repost the show announcement on X, but you can do that on bluesky now. So go find us. We are @skipthequeue.fm on Bluesky and do whatever you do to repost a notice on bluesky and say I want Abby's book. And the first person that does that will get a copy of Abi's book sent to them as a gift from us. And I'll be very excited because we'll have more followers on Bluesky. X is a bit of a dumpster fire now, so we are moving rapidly to Bluesky. Abi, it has been delightful to meet you. Paul Marden: If listeners would like to find out more about the Lit Lab, all of your links and your socials and the website will all be posted in the show notes. So listeners, you'll be able to go and find out about where the next Lit Lab events are all on Abi's website. It's been lovely to meet you. Thank you ever so much for coming on the podcast. Happy New Year. Abi Fafolu: Thank you so much. Paul. Thanks so much for having me. And Happy New Year to you too. Paul Marden: Thanks for listening to Skip the Queue. If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review. It really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on Twitter for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned. Skip The Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. You can find show notes and transcriptions from this episode and more over on our website, SkiptheQueue.fm. The 2024 Visitor Attraction Website Survey is now LIVE! Dive into groundbreaking benchmarks for the industryGain a better understanding of how to achieve the highest conversion ratesExplore the "why" behind visitor attraction site performanceLearn the impact of website optimisation and visitor engagement on conversion ratesUncover key steps to enhance user experience for greater conversionsDownload the 2024 Rubber Cheese Visitor Attraction Website Survey Report

For years, Jeff and Tricia Bradford kept their abortion a secret from their friends and church community.  “We hid our story, because of the deep shame and regret that we had,” Jeff Bradford says.  The couple was engaged when Tricia, then 20, learned she was pregnant. "Fear didn't waste a second coming into that conversation and shame," she said. "And so, we just immediately thought, ‘What are we going to do?'" The couple reached out to a family member and received some “terrible advice,” the husband says, adding that a few days later, he and his wife “ended up at Planned Parenthood, and we took the life of our first daughter, and we didn't talk about it for 17 years.”  Even being active members in their church, the couple says, they “sat in the pew silent” because no one in their community talked about the issue of life or abortion. But counseling and a connection with two pro-life leaders led the couple down a road that changed their lives. Today, Jeff Bradford serves as president of Human Coalition, a pro-life organization that aims to help women choose life, and the couple have four children. Now, 32 years after aborting their first baby, the Bradfords are sharing their story in their new book, “Beauty from Ashes: A Christian Couple's Journey From Abortion to Redemption.”  The couple joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to share their story and encourage churches across the country to be intentional about providing care for women who have had abortions.  Enjoy the show!

"Hey, that's Résumé Girl!" Hear the "Meet Cute" story of how Cody Bradford met his wife Madi.  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On today's show, Andrew talks about what the South Carolina Gamecocks need to show on Saturday night against the Tennessee Volunteers, discusses the latest on the recruitment of 2024 QB Jayden Bradford and recaps the men's and women's basketball games from Thursday night. With the Gamecocks impending game on the gridiron, Andrew talks about why the team needs to show effort and competitive spirit and points out the reasons why this is something to potentially be concerned about when facing a mismatch against a team as good as the Tennessee Volunteers. Regarding Jayden Bradford's recruitment, Andrew pontificates on where he thinks Bradfords final four teams stand and discusses why he thinks at the current moment it's more likely that Jayden goes somewhere other than South Carolina. Lastly, Andrew dives into the absolute thrashing Lamont Paris and his team suffered last evening against the Colorado State Rams in Charleston while putting Dawn Staley and her team's annihilation of the rival Clemson Tigers into multiple statistical perspectives! Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! LinkedIn LinkedIn jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at Linkedin.com/lockedoncollege Terms and conditions apply. Built Bar Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you'll get 15% off your next order. BetOnline BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts! Underdog Fantasy Sign up on underdogfantasy.com with the promo code LOCKED ON and get your first deposit doubled up to $100! SimpliSafe With Fast Protect™️ Technology, exclusively from SimpliSafe, 24/7 monitoring agents capture evidence to accurately verify a threat for faster police response. There's No Safe Like SimpliSafe. Visit SimpliSafe.com/LockedOnCollege to learn more. Upside Download the FREE Upside App at https://upside.app.link/locked to get $5 or more cash back on your first purchase of $10 or more. Nugenix Text now and get a complimentary bottle of Nugenix Thermo, their most powerful fat incinerator ever, with key ingredients to help you get back into shape fast. Text COLLEGE to 231-231 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On today's show, Andrew talks about what the South Carolina Gamecocks need to show on Saturday night against the Tennessee Volunteers, discusses the latest on the recruitment of 2024 QB Jayden Bradford and recaps the men's and women's basketball games from Thursday night.With the Gamecocks impending game on the gridiron, Andrew talks about why the team needs to show effort and competitive spirit and points out the reasons why this is something to potentially be concerned about when facing a mismatch against a team as good as the Tennessee Volunteers.Regarding Jayden Bradford's recruitment, Andrew pontificates on where he thinks Bradfords final four teams stand and discusses why he thinks at the current moment it's more likely that Jayden goes somewhere other than South Carolina.Lastly, Andrew dives into the absolute thrashing Lamont Paris and his team suffered last evening against the Colorado State Rams in Charleston while putting Dawn Staley and her team's annihilation of the rival Clemson Tigers into multiple statistical perspectives!Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!LinkedInLinkedIn jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at Linkedin.com/lockedoncollege Terms and conditions apply.Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you'll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!Underdog FantasySign up on underdogfantasy.com with the promo code LOCKED ON and get your first deposit doubled up to $100!SimpliSafeWith Fast Protect™️ Technology, exclusively from SimpliSafe, 24/7 monitoring agents capture evidence to accurately verify a threat for faster police response. There's No Safe Like SimpliSafe. Visit SimpliSafe.com/LockedOnCollege to learn more.UpsideDownload the FREE Upside App at https://upside.app.link/locked to get $5 or more cash back on your first purchase of $10 or more.NugenixText now and get a complimentary bottle of Nugenix Thermo, their most powerful fat incinerator ever, with key ingredients to help you get back into shape fast. Text COLLEGE to 231-231 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Plumber Bradford announces a new Customer Experience Manager to help manage the growth of the business over the last few years. This is an exciting move for the plumbing company.

I hyllade kärleksdramat "Ali & Ava" återvänder regissören Clio Barnard ("The Selfish Giant") till Bradford en liten stad i norra England som länge tampats med socioekonomiska problem sedan industrierna slagit igen. Ett minne: Hon är tonåring, och hade åkt in till stan, och är vid en skridskobana. En DJ kliver ur ett bås, passerar tonåriga Clio och kysser henne i förbifarten och skrinnar vidare.Det var romantiskt. Och det var där Clio Barnards kärlek till staden Bradford började. Det berättar hon för P1 Kulturs Lisa Bergström.

Oliver: Welcome everyone. I’m delighted to be here with a couple of guests. Here at Highspot, we’re lucky enough to work with hundreds of enablement leaders from across the world and one of the key things that we’re seeing is that the function is really moving from tactically, owning some programs like maybe sales onboarding to truly becoming a strategic lever for growing the business. But when we talk to customers, it’s really all over the map still. Some companies are investing deeply, they’re aligning enablement with the business, other teams are underfunded, overwhelmed, and really just basically trying to keep their noses above the water line. So I’m here today with two seasoned experts in the enablement space who’ve really been helping to mature the discipline generally and especially within their companies. I’m really looking forward to hearing what they have to share with us. Heidi runs enablement at Nvidia and Bradford runs it for Slack. Thanks for joining the conversation and let’s dive in. So I want to start with what enablement really tries to do. One of the key things that it tries to do is help companies take on really hard challenges. Heidi, we were talking about this the other day, and you shared some of your experiences in helping to move Nvidia into this incredibly lucrative, but also incredibly complicated new market, which is to use GPU’s for AI and machine learning. How did you help the company which had traditionally focused on very different spaces, really try to enter this incredibly complicated, but exciting new space? Heidi: Thanks very much for the question Oliver, and you’re right. Embarking on sales into areas like artificial intelligence, which your customers are going to have potential fear or see some areas of risk has to be done in a very careful way and a very well-informed way. The way that that happened with Nvidia is that we would hire absolute experts, top of their craft in a specific industry area. For example, when we were embarking on introducing the power of AI into healthcare, we brought into our sales organization, heart surgeons. Somebody who had the credibility and had the language and understanding of the market to be able to connect the dots between the value of accelerated computing that Nvidia could offer in both hardware and software and putting that into play in specific healthcare use cases. That model has actually worked quite nicely by spreading into other industries. Nvidia isn’t a unique position where we’re not competing on price necessarily or just performance factors alone, but it’s really specifically meaning the challenges of an industry use case. So we’ve also brought in experts in the areas of, autonomous driving in the automotive industry or oil and gas and on and on. Now here’s the challenge though, that does not scale. We won’t have a team of sales leaders that come out of healthcare expertise, but we will have at least one. And that’s where enablement comes in. The enablement organization will partner with that subject matter expert on the sales team that understands the complexity of that industry really well. And they also understand what conversations resonate most, and what types of, enablement resources have the biggest impact. What kind of training really helps scale that knowledge and we’ll codify that and spread it across the rest of the sales organization. So we don’t have just one expert, but we have a team of experts that are tackling that industry. It’s made a big difference in our ability to grow and scale. And it’s happened through the enablement organization. Oliver: So that sounds like a really hard challenge because, you know, if a typical seller doesn’t know anything about heart surgery and you bring in this heart surgeon, I could imagine that those sellers would be really scared about engaging with people in this industry, in a space they really have no background in. How did you help them really overcome the fear of having those conversations in such a challenging area? Heidi: Another great question. And I would say that we would not be setting up our salesforce for success if we were bringing people in who had no expertise in the area of healthcare, into the healthcare sales team. So we might bring somebody who came from another organization, which is common in so many different tech companies in particular, but, but any industry. We might bring somebody who had been selling networking equipment, for example, or working with different software or working with different audiences within those different organizations. But what we’re looking to do is to scale the true understanding of connecting the value of NVIDIA’s offerings into these use cases. So you might understand healthcare, you may not understand the power of AI in medical imaging. Or the power of AI specific to, proteomics and, and the types of research that is being done. So what we’ll do is bring people who have general industry expertise and make them prepared to scale that very specialized expertise that we begin with. Oliver: Got it, that makes a lot of sense. When I talked to enablement leaders in a wide variety of industries, though, many of them are grappling with much more prosaic problems than the kinds of things that you’re describing. Many of them, you know, they’re just really struggling to get out of fire drill mode. They’re understaffed. They get hit by this constant succession of demand after demand. It feels like they’re on this sort of perpetual hamster wheel. You know, the business is saying, “I need you to do more of this and more of that and more initiatives and build more content.” Bradford, when we were talking about this and how you’ve seen enablement teams get out of that mode, one of the things you mentioned that really struck me, and I’ve always sort of kept thinking about is, turning that team into essentially a special ops teams for strategic initiatives. Tell us a little bit about what you meant by that and how can an enablement team really develop that ability? Bradford: Well, first, I’m just turning over in my head, the term proteomics. And what it must be like to have to learn how to sell to someone who’s asking about that, but I love what you shared Heidi, it’s fascinating. In terms of creating an enablement team that really is a special operations team for strategic initiatives, there are a few ways that I break that down. The first is that an enablement team above all can be uniquely positioned to harden the problem statement. What is it that we are trying to achieve? And how will we know if we were successful? Even in relatively mature sales organizations, that question is not asked enough and not interrogated with enough rigor. An effective special operations team like mine, dare I say. Practices that skill practices, the skill of asking that question and demanding an answer to that question in a consultative and supportive manner, because a special operations team for strategic initiatives is not an execution team. A special operations team is not simply carrying out a mission. What we are doing is upleveling a go-to-market organization to be successful against discrete objectives. And so for us, that means for enablement to be successful, we need product marketing to be successful. We need business operations to be successful. We need sales strategy to be in place. We need sellers to be communicated with. We need managers to be prepared. We need sales leaders to be providing air cover. And we can do that in a scramble mode, which certainly I think most enablement leaders have experienced, and it is transparently a scramble mode when that happens. It’s hard to target outcomes when you’re scrambling. I’ll give you an example, just perhaps if it’s helpful. We at Slack relatively recently went through a verticalization exercise. Similar to what you shared, Heidi, where we took our sales teams and moved them into a number of much more strategic verticals. The objective was sort of similar to what you shared, Oliver, enable people on these industries and we could have left it at that and said, okay, we’re going to go enable across 12 industries and 22 subsectors and a hundred subsectors, and we’ll get back to you when we’re done. Everyone involved in that initiative would have been set up for failure, if, in fact, that would have been our mandate. So we have to prioritize, we have to specify, we have to understand revenue goals and how those goals are going to be broken down from pipeline and targets. Then start at the top. Oliver: I love that example because I think it really puts your finger on something that a lot of companies struggle with, which is they have this new initiative, they get excited about it, they try to do a lot of things simultaneously, and then it just doesn’t land. It’s hard to prioritize because prioritizing means you have to say no to good ideas. How did you convince the organization to say no to good ideas when you were deciding which of those things to prioritize? Bradford: It’s a great question. And I’m very open to debate on this, but I don’t think it is enablement’s mandate, it should not be enablement’s mandate to be responsible for the decision-making. Enablement’s mandate is to facilitate decision-making and ensure that the decisions that have been made are actionable. But I do not see my team as responsible for saying healthcare is the focus over manufacturing. That’s simply not where we are positioned to have credibility. However, where we can be really good is saying okay, if healthcare is prioritized over manufacturing, here’s how we can action on enabling our healthcare teams to be effective against the defined goals. Oliver: Heidi, I’m curious if you’ve run into challenges where the business wasn’t making those hard trade-offs and decisions, and how do you go about really convincing people to do that if you need to? Heidi: In fact, I couldn’t agree more with what Bradford had just said, the decision does come from the business. Each of us are business people with a different perspective. We have opinions and that’s great, but when it comes to limited resources and important deliverables that need to be prioritized, the best way I’ve seen to do that is basically to go back to the business and those senior decision-makers to explain there’s four things we can do. Which four would we believe is going to move the needle most effectively and in the biggest way. And then it becomes a natural conversation about what gets left behind or what gets shifted out by whatever time period. But it’s a more logical conversation rather than the big conversation of I’ve got 22 things I could be doing, tell me in what order they ought to be. That that’s not necessary to get from senior leadership, but what is most important is if we can only do a few things, let’s agree on what those are. Oliver: When you started at Nvidia I think the team was pretty small and since then it’s grown quite a bit. I’m curious for those people in the audience who have a small team and who want to grow its capacity, what did you learn in the process of really building out the team that they could potentially get benefit from or learn some lessons from? Heidi: Well, what I learned is that you start at the beginning and you have to have a solid foundation. If your sellers are not clear on the basics of what your selling motion is, what resources help them with their product set, what the products are, and what the value is. Those are just the minimum requirements. So firstly doing that really, really well and really well means not only have great information and resources available but do it in a practical sense, such that people can find what they need easily. They know where to go. Where is the watering hole? Get what’s the easy button for me as a seller. So I’ll make sure I take advantage of those chest foundational resources. So I organize the team by product set. We had three significant product groups. My sales enablement leaders were each assigned to a different product group. They sat at the go-to-market and launch table so they understood what was happening when and they were constantly thinking about how to translate that into field readiness. For those launches and for the ongoing care and feeding of the product sets. So we started at the place where you can’t skip. We had to start with the product and as the team grew, because we became more complex. We went through something awhile ago that Bradford just mentioned that he went through and that is how do you then ensure that there’s another layer of sophistication and that is the map to your go-to-market. Our go-to-market is by industry use case. We needed to ensure that the next couple of headcount that joined the team could then take that product enablement and customize it really customize it for individuals who are focused on a specific industry verticle. And again, to do it in such a way that it felt like an easy button. If I was in the financial services industry, I knew exactly where to go, to get what I needed. I’m only being asked to be informed and educated in the things that I will actually deploy in the market. And then thirdly, to get even a little bit more sophisticated, we started to look at who are our key go-to-market partners and is there value in us investing dedicated enablement resources for some of those really important partners. With NVIDIA’s primary hardware side of our business being focused on chips and processors, major OEMs were really important to us, and we need to ensure that we’re connecting dots for our OEM sellers. In terms of the value of upselling, a GPU accelerated systems rather than something that might be CPU-based or other solutions. So we now have added additional resources to focus on each of the major OEMs so they’re speaking their language, their delivery and resources directly through OEM sellers and then onto those OEM seller partner community. So as you get more and more sophisticated and want to reach a more relevant and resonant message for those different markets and audiences. You start with a foundation and then you continue to move with your go-to-market model and your commercial strategy in order to ensure that you’re supporting the way that has the biggest impact. Oliver: That’s really interesting. The focus on partners is hugely relevant for some of our customers. Obviously, some of them are more of a direct business. Bradford, I’m curious, sort of building on that. What do you find is the best way to organize an enablement team because that’s a topic that a lot of our customers ask us about. What are the best practices, what do you think works really well? Bradford: It’s so interesting listening to you share, Heidi, because in some ways I just have a lot of feelings about this one. I think I’ll share my fear because I do think in some ways my organizational structure is oriented around compensating for my fear. And my fear is that enablement, as we grow drifts up into the clouds and becomes a high altitude, global scaled function that is out of touch with the seller. That is what I at all times want to mitigate against and am committed to mitigating against because I’ve seen that it’s scalable and maybe your metrics are easy to pull, but truly doesn’t matter on the ground. So for me, the foundation of my enablement organization is my field enablement team. Those are field-embedded, leader-aligned, enablement partners who are literally having daily conversations with ICS and managers, literally shadowing calls, literally hearing from customers that feedback loop back to the global enablement organization. There is pressure. There is a temptation to say, maybe I should divert some of that headcount up into a more scaled global role, because I need to be enabling all AEs rather than a specific team. But to date, you know, talk to me in a year. But to date, I really resisted that because a field-connected enablement team is a strong enablement team. In my opinion, it does add extra pressure to enablement to unlock that feedback loop. Right? So as we grow, as we scale, it is more and more important that the feedback loop with the field matches based on the conversations that any given enablement partner is having. But we have to aggregate what’s happening with customers and we can do that in a number of ways. Conversational intelligence has been a remarkable boon for enablement and our ability to aggregate insights from customers and use those to inform both our enabling roadmap, as well as our product roadmap, our product strategy, our go-to-market strategy, has been hugely impactful. So there may be a world in which someday we can tap into the minds and read the minds of sellers and managers, but in lieu of that, having enablement as considered to be part of the sales organization and living and breathing the experience of the sales organization is the most important piece. Oliver: That’s super interesting the way you couch that. Heidi, as you were thinking about scaling a small enablement team to make it larger. What are the key areas of expertise that you think the team really has to be or become great at kind of building a little bit on what Bradford was saying? Because I think that’s something a lot of enablement people struggle with a little bit is where should I try to get great. I’m curious as you scale a team, how do you think about that? Heidi: It’s not easy. I’d say that we typically when looking for a new team member or considering where we’ve got gaps and looking to close them, the term unicorn comes out of the mouth in every conversation because you really want somebody who has sales, empathy, and understanding. So you want somebody who’s been in this sales field and is interested in willing to move into an enablement role and that’s a bit of a unicorn. In our case, we also want somebody who’s got probably, some decent engineering chops. They may have also had either formal education or a deep experience in a very technical role in the past. Again, that adds another layer of that unicorn. But what we’re looking for, I think, is somebody who is empathetic and understands the reality of being in the field. And that’s where I resonate a hundred percent with what Bradford said, you can’t move your enablement focus away from the field in any way, shape, or form, it’s that honest advocacy for the field. And you can only be an advocate if you understand what the challenges are when you’re out there. So you’re looking for the ability to listen well, understand well, and then translate that into what the resources are that are provided to the field, whether it’s training or anything else, programs and sales motions, and so on. I think in addition to that, you also have to be that face back into the company. So we have a lot of forums where the sales organization has dialogue back with everybody from the product development teams to the product marketing team. So that there’s a lot of understanding of what’s working and what’s not working. That doesn’t always come into play, or it doesn’t translate into the final mile in enablement. What has to happen is I think that you’re looking for individuals who have the skill set to also negotiate internally. They’re also able to have the dialogue and educate the corporate headquarters in a lot of instances that you’re trying to create that sensitivity and empathy more broadly for a more efficient delivery against the support that the sales team needs. So those are somewhat soft answers, but that’s what makes up that unicorn. It’s skillset experience and the way that they go about that. That together makes the difference whether you’re really successful in enablement or not. Oliver: I want to pick up on something you mentioned earlier, Heidi, about the importance of really nailing the fundamentals. Bradford when we were talking recently you mentioned that you had a situation where you ran into some trouble because you kind of drifted away a little bit from the fundamentals. Can you tell us that story and what you learned from it? Bradford: It’s interesting. I think as we’ve grown and as some of our programs became more mature. You mentioned earlier onboarding, you said it’s probably the first thing you set up, and then to keep paying attention to it or not our onboarding program, didn’t keep up with the change that our organization was experiencing. We reached a moment, avery significant change in Slack as an example. Acquisition. Verticalization. Sales process changes, tooling changes, expectation, changes, and hiring profile changes. I think that we missed a little bit, the fact that we had turned a little bit more onboarding a little bit more into a cultural and product evangelism experience than a do my job and be successful in my role experience. There were lagging indicators in the business so what we’ve done is reapplied with rigor, our approach to onboarding, to say the purpose of onboarding is not purely to welcome people into the organization and make them feel part of a shared culture. Certainly, that is important, but even more important, is that they understand what differentiates Slack from other enterprise software organizations they may have seen or experienced before and what makes us successful when navigating and executing against defined goals, whether you are a success manager, solutions engineer, a BDR, or an AE. That reorientation has not been hard to sell to reps. That is in fact, what they ache for, help me understand how to do my job successfully and quickly. And that’s been a bit of an eye-opening moment for me. There are moments in enablement where you feel like you’re forcing content into the sales organization’s collective mind. And there are opportunities where it’s very fluid and the enablement that tends to go down very fluidly and where I’m going to continue to apply even more focus, is enablement that is incredibly actionable, incredibly relevant, and hopefully quite delightful in design. Oliver: How do you identify the enablement that meets those criteria? Because I think that everybody aspires to that, but I think that if for those of you out there who are sellers, you can attest to the fact that enablement doesn’t universally achieve that. So how do you do that? What are some ways you really make that happen? Bradford: So I will address that, but I will say we do aspire to that, but there are must dues and there are a lot of must do’s and enablement, which occupy enablement bandwidth. Whether that is a big product launch or some sort of organizational shift or restructure or a change to a particular system, which simply aren’t delightful experiences. There are things that aren’t delightful that occupy bandwidth and so I think in an ecosystem where that is true, it is setting a vision from people like me and Heidi, that the highest leverage and brand protecting elements of enablement are outside of that. There will be a temptation to focus on the big or either sexy or necessary kind of operational moments. But outside of that is the, how do I generate this order form where tons of sellers are falling down, potentially deals are getting posted because we haven’t created a simple two-minute video or experience, which walks them through that process. So some of that, those fundamentals, I don’t know that it’s, that we don’t know that they’re necessary. It’s that we get distracted from those things by the, um, kind of Olympics of enablement. The kickoffs and the launches and the other things. Oliver: Heidi, how do you make sure that you’re staying focused on and keeping fresh the basics at the same time that you’re exotically figuring out about heart surgery and entering entirely new industries, which sounds hard and super fun, but what about, you know, the order form and making sure quote to cash is in the right shape and so forth? Heidi: You know, as Bradford was talking through what the basics mean in Slack, we’re, we’re really living in different worlds in some ways. If I think about what the basics mean at Nvidia, the predominant value that enablement brings is in the form of education. Going back to the fact that our business model is to work through partners. So a lot of those steps in the sales process are done either differently or you’re relying upon your partners to fulfill so much of that. So what a lot of the objective around enablement is, is to ensure that both partners and sellers are doing a fantastic job of sharing the art of the possible. It does seem like it’s a very different role and a different world. And that’s probably partly the reason why so many enablement organizations have different definitions as to what enablement means. So for example, we do use a CRM, of course, and we’ve got a lot of rigor around the CRM and my team does support the aspect of training, whether it’s new hire onboarding or adjustment to process through CRM, we’ll, we’ll deliver the training and resources and all of that in that phase. But a lot of the traditional multi-step process that lives within an overall broader sales process looks dramatically different. For us, it’s more about deep proof of concept or it’s about bringing somebody into our executive briefing center as part of the sales motion. And we want to ensure that we have clarity for our sellers about all the different steps in those motions as well as resources available to them throughout and make that as simple as possible. But there is a lot more art than science in the type of sales motion that we’re supporting. Oliver: It’s really interesting to hear about the challenges that you’re both facing because in many ways, there are some really different aspects to it, depending on the nature of your go-to-market. And also the challenges that the business faces. Sometimes it’s really getting the very basic process pieces in place. In other cases, it’s mastering areas of knowledge that are novel and challenging for the sellers involved. And it really speaks to how enablement, I think has to be a bit of a chameleon and it has to figure out what does the organization need and how do you then go drive that? So Bradford, I’m curious if you were parachuted into a new company and you wanted to figure out what was most important for the sales organization and how could you deliver the most value, how would you go about figuring that out? Bradford: That’s a very good question. A tough question, Heidi, you said something earlier, focus on the process, right? Start with the basics. What is our selling motion? How do we execute against that selling motion? It’s interesting for me, certainly in my time at Slack that has evolved and changed so dramatically, that has never been one. Just as an example, when I started at slack, we didn’t have a professional services arm. Our executive briefing center was a kind of once a quarter, there’s an event type of thing. And so I really think it does depend so much on the size of the organization and the go-to-market. But for me, if I’m putting myself in a sales mindset rather than success for a moment, the most important thing is where are my leads? Are they good? Can I action on them? And that never goes away. That is always true. And sometimes that sits with enablement. Sometimes it sits with more than enablement, but it should never not sit with enablement. Our focus should always be on, are we supporting reps to have the right conversations, with the right people, based on the right attributes? And for a product-led growth organization like Slack, we have some real advantages in that regard in that we have what we call product qualified leads or signals based on usage of our free product or customers paying with a credit card. But even without that, in the broader ecosystem of pure green field accounts, the highest leverage thing that any sales organization or anyone attached to the go-to-market process can do, including enablement is support reps to disambiguate good from bed and to get in front of customers early with the right message. Oliver: Heidi, when we were talking about ways that the enablement team supports Nvidia’s go-to-market, you mentioned one of what is often a foundational piece for many sales organizations, which is the sales play. It’s an area that there’s a tremendous focus on right now because I think a lot of companies tell us that the sellers have a lot of resources, but they don’t always know what to do with them. And the company doesn’t always help them enough. They might say we’re launching a new product. Here’s a pitch deck. Here’s a description of it. Here’s a demo script, but they don’t give them really clear guidance about how to go sell the darn thing. You had a challenging experience with sales plays when you tried to address that, tell us a little bit about that and how you’ve evolved your approach on this? Heidi: Yeah, absolutely. Thanks for bringing that up. I’m still feeling the bruises from that. What we found is for the most part, the way that we strive to operate within the bigger field organization is to understand what we, as a bigger Nvidia are trying to achieve. By understanding what we’re trying to achieve, that allows us to bring some recommendations and proposals as to how that might come to life. In the span of enablement, our sales play exercise many years ago now came in the opposite form. It was, Hey, I’ve got a great idea. It hit someone’s desk, and it was activated. This is as we became increasingly focused on this go-to-market by industry. So we used, as I mentioned earlier, these subject matter experts who truly understand, we used them to take their knowledge and create sales plays. Who do I talk to? What is the conversation? All of the great resources that really bring that to life. Years ago though, the size of the team that would be focused on each of these different industries was very small, which meant they were already experts. So we were preaching to the choir. We were burning a lot of cycles by going through the preparation of this sales play, delivered it to people who didn’t need help, they already understood these things and really kind of burned out the opportunity for us to do this in a more meaningful way. What we realized is we didn’t ask the right questions right up front. It really should have been more of a, what are we trying to accomplish? What is the strategic objective here and then figure out how to address it? Fast forward to today, the team has grown in size by at least double in the last five years. So we don’t have 1500 specialists around the world. We have a lot of account managers. We have a lot of partner managers, and then we’ve got a series of specialists as well. What we understand today is that sales play concept is going to be quite valuable and we’re at the early phases of reigniting. Now that we’ve got a bigger need, we have a better understanding of objectives. We’re early on in the process of defining what needs to be done, and what the value will be. So we’re now coming all the way back again, starting with those small groups of subject matter experts, but the audience who is eager to take this guidance from their peers and to do so in a way that is easily scaled. That audience is very hungry, so it’s rather than trying to feed a hunger that didn’t exist, we’ve got great demand. Oliver: That speaks also a little bit to some of the things that you were mentioning earlier, Bradford around making sure that the enablement team really stays connected to what’s happening on the ground. It doesn’t drift up into the cloud layer. One of the things that we’ve seen repeatedly is that sales plays are often built by people who really don’t understand the details of the go-to-market at the ground level and in some cases, have never actually sold anything. And those sales plays really struggle to land with the field. I’m curious, given your focus on connecting with what the field needs and what’s really going on, how do you think, providing guidance to them can be done in the most effective way? Bradford: I love that question, a lot. And I also love what you started Heidi, especially because what you shared, really proves to me that you are paying attention, which is the most important thing, right? And that you can try something, fail, learn, change, and come back to it because it was a good idea. It just wasn’t the right time. I think that is so important for all of us in enablement. To admit that we don’t know, and that there’s a lot of good ideas out there and sometimes you’re just going to have to try and learn and adapt. I like the sales play. I certainly liked the concept of a sales play less because it is the answer for a seller and more because it formalizes the coalescence of supporting teams across the GTM organization. So often what partner marketing, product marketing, solutions, strategy, are looking for is a way to tell a single story. The sales play has provided a mechanism by which enablement humans don’t have to serve that function, that there is an asset that there is collateralization of steps in a process and a suggested modality or motion to be successful. And I stress suggested there because rare is the seller who will look at a sales play and be like, they figured it out. Here we go. I’m in the money. That’s where my field team and sales leaders really have to pick up the ball. Right. What we’ve given you is a guide. What we’ve given you is a way to navigate through the forest, but what we haven’t given you is the answer. A sales play well-executed should accelerate, and mitigate against the time spent, not knowing where to look and not knowing what to do, but I don’t think we should fool ourselves into thinking it is the solution. Oliver: Let’s take a minute and look forward to where the discipline of enablement is headed. Heidi, what are you excited about in the future that you’re working towards to really take your organization and enablement generally to the next level? Heidi: Great question, and it’s a question that’s probably a different answer every six or 12 months. Today’s answer a couple of different things. Personally, Nvidia is at a point where we are, I feel that I’m constantly describing us as being at an inflection point, but we absolutely are. Where we are today is identifying the fact that we are growing the organization. One of the areas in doing so is to move to a more mainstream market. Nvidia tends to have very high share in some really high potency, but narrow markets. If you’re looking to expand more broadly, the things that Bradford just mentioned are really, really critical. What is the map through the forest? That’s going to allow somebody who’s new to the market, and more importantly, talking to customers who probably have not given these topics consideration. So they’re talking to more lay people, rather than those really fabulous lunatic fringe who finish your sentences for you. But instead, you’re talking to people who are in their early stages of consideration. So what I’m excited about is that we are, I see enablement is being very critical in codifying some of that map through the forest to help get that journey to success. The other thing is in going about that map, you need to understand what’s working and what’s not working. What I’m excited about going forward is more of the analytics that come back to us that say, do more of this and do less of that. Not only does that help you do a better job of defining either what your sales motion is or what your sales process ought to be, or where you’ve got the strengths and where you’ve got some gaps that allows all of us to become surgical in where we put our efforts as enablement professionals. It also allows you to avoid those pitfalls of here’s the laundry list of things that I’d like for you to deliver as an enablement organization. Instead, it puts the focus on what are we trying to accomplish and how do we believe based on data, data that comes from the different systems that we’re now using, the engagement with those systems, that tie between them that tell us the correlation between certain activities and the success of closing a sale. All of that is going to allow us to become much more strategic and much more aligned to the outcomes that the business is looking for. That’s what I’m excited about. Oliver: Bradford, same question for you. What are you excited about looking forward in terms of things that you want enablement generally to step up to, and specifically at Slack? Bradford: I think I’m pretty aligned with Heidi. I will own up to something that I would guess other enablement leaders do, but which just isn’t going to work in the long term for me is, I have a Slack channel called Bradford’s buds. In the Bradfords buds channel are a bunch of ICs, sales leaders, people who’ve collaborated with enablement in the past, people I trust, people who are generally high performers and what you might call enablement minded. I will confer with them on our prioritization, our suggested it’s kind of modalities and timing. I think historically I have over-relied on that group of people. What I would like and where we are moving forward, you know, we’re a seven year old kind of sales organization, and we are sitting on an enormous wealth of data and information in terms of what works and what doesn’t work. I alluded to conversational intelligence before I, we are sitting on just the world’s greatest trove of product metrics. But what we haven’t successfully done at scale, is provide a robust recommendation engine and an aggregation of winning tips built out of that mountain of data. And I see the technology like really moving in a direction and Highspot certainly is part of this, moving in a direction to provide people data-driven trend analysis and indicators. Discrete from what sales strategy and operations tend to look at that is built on the more qualitative aspects of the sales motion, which forever have been the hardest to unlock and why enabling organizations tend to rely so heavily on those five or six friendly SMEs who will come in and speak at your training is because we don’t know what else to do. That is changing and it’s changing very rapidly. I think enablement teams that can capitalize on creating intelligence out of information will really be the most successful. Oliver: Building on that, I think it’s a really interesting point. Doesn’t that call for the enablement team to have new skills? And how do you tackle that? Because traditionally enablement was, I would say, I think it’s fair to say a more intuitively. As it becomes more analytical and more anchored in data. That means you’ve got to have people who are able to do that. I’m curious how you think about that and how you take taking that on? Bradford: I would disagree, I think not fully Oliver, but I think the same could be said of sales, right? Sales used to be an intuitive art and we, there probably are sales organizations that put sellers through a data analytics bootcamp with some kind and certainly data of fluency is critical to be a seller of Slack. I don’t put the onus on enablement to learn how to pour through mountains of data and pivot and build a recommendation engines. I put the onus on the systems. We rely on to make that easier for us. And when I’m in conversations with vendors, for example, that is constantly where I’m pressing and probably what you hear a lot in your conversations. The hiring profile and sort of the enablement profile will change over time, much as it has with the AE. But for me, what will always be most important are the relational aspects of enablement. Someone who can build credibility with sales, someone who can lead and inspire a room. And I don’t want to trade that for someone who is a data analyst, I want to enrich that with someone who’s armed with insights. Oliver: Heidi. I’m curious how you respond to that answer and what your take on it is? Heidi: Similar and different. So I agree that the core enablement profile in terms of what kind of hiring profile you’re looking for, it won’t change much, but I do see augmentation in the organization. For years have worked through a mound of data and I’ll be quite transparent a couple of years ago, we would get reporting from Highspot and really do some gymnastics in order to figure out what the value and what was the message it was telling us. Now I’ve seen great improvements so that it’s more intuitive for us to take other reports directly and make some decisions with it. But I still think that, uh, you know, to Bradford’s point, we’ll continue to look to the vendors who are coming up with improved analytics that are actionable analytics, but there’s still multiple vendors that we’re working across. How do you decipher the key, um, connective tissue across those different solutions that you’re using? For us I would say I would augment my team and we have since done so by hiring somebody who’s really good with understanding data, even if it’s just wrangling data from different sources. Even creating high-level insights out of it, that’s a value we couldn’t operate without having a dedicated role like that. Oliver: One of the things that I find very interesting about what both of you bring up as we look forward in terms of where the discipline is headed is you both focus very much on analytics and data. That’s something that we’re hearing from many, many of our customers. It’s definitely one of the reasons why we’ve been making such really heavy investments in that space and we see huge promise from it. I was listening to a venture capitalist and I stole a phrase that he is, he described a lot of SAAS environments as moving from Madmen to Moneyball. The notion that you’re moving from a, you know, a world where it’s people who are making decisions on intuition and conviction and charisma, and have the ability to it’s way people to a world where you’re making decisions through a combination of intuition and data. That really unlocks possibilities that have been latent for so long because both enablement, marketing, all of these disciplines historically often just sort of threw things over the wall and hoped they were landing. Now you can know. And now you can make decisions based on that. So I think that’s really exciting and it’s an area that we, as a vendor are very heavily invested and encouraged by customers like yourselves. We’re really excited to see how that helps the teams that we serve to be able to really go to the next level in delivering strategic results, not just tactically running programs that are necessary, but that are just so much less than what enablement can offer to the organizations that they have. Bradford: Oliver, can I ask you a quick question? Oliver: Yeah, of course. Bradford: This is not been enablement driven, but certainly enablement supported. We’ve invested heavily in what we call a sales intelligence function at Slack. That is an organization that is separate from strategy, separate from enablement, and it is its own thing and they are product builders truly. What they’re building are Slack native products fed by information from multiple database, including Highspot and others. We surface signals from that data, both to enablement and directly to reps and managers, in Slack. And I think it is one of the greatest differentiators of selling in Slack is that we have that function. Would I want that function in enablement? Potentially I can see that, but I also really love having it as a district function within the organization. I wonder if you are seeing that or Heidi, how you think about that more in the marketplace? Oliver: Well, let’s let Heidi go first and then I’ll give you my take on it. Heidi: We haven’t been thinking about it in a discreet fashion. I’d say it seems to me Bradford that you’re in a really fantastic position in terms of your ability to get data and insights. It seems to me that you’ve got a more advanced situation than perhaps where we’re starting from and that’s probably why I emphasize that that’s something we’re looking forward to the evolution of in the future. So we do have sales analytics, but we don’t have a great way of connecting them. We don’t have a great way of connecting sales, analytics, enablement analytics, some marketing analytics, but I’d say that today, unfortunately they’re not fully integrated. It sounds like you’ve got a more holistic visibility of which I’m envious. Bradford: I don’t want to overplay it. Heidi: I like the aspiration. Oliver: What we’re seeing is people are experimenting with different models and nd also many people are struggling to be able to get access to the analytics and BI resources to do these kinds of experiments. We’ve had kind of funny situations where we have customers who are extremely large, extremely well-funded technology companies, and they struggle to get a very simple BI initiative really funded. We’ve seen some people experimenting with the kinds of things you’re talking about, Bradford. And then we’ve seen a lot of people say, can’t you just build some scorecards for us, so we don’t have to do any of that stuff. So we get a lot more of the latter. I think that the former, but there are definitely people exploring in this space and I think there’s just such possibility there I’m really eager to see those experiments begin to bear fruit. I think ultimately we will develop industry best practices for how to go pursue that. I think we’re very much in the early stages and we’re still experimenting, but I’m really excited about it and to see where it’s headed. So with that I would just like to say thank you to both of you for taking the time, love the insights that you shared with us and really appreciate you giving us a glimpse into what enablement is like at two of the very successful companies in the technology industry and how you’re tackling these problems and upleveling enablement functions in your company. So thanks very much. Heidi: I appreciate the opportunity, and Bradford, I was furtively taking notes. I’m sure we’ll be in contact. Bradford: Thank you, Oliver and thank you, Heidi.

He swims, she's a fan, what could go wrong?! Well a lot apparently. Leah and Quentin revisit the absolute CLASSIC Swimfan starring Erika Christensen and low-rent Freddy Prince Jr Jesse Bradford. These sexy but possibly sociopathic? New Jersey teens take us on a wild early aughts ride. Here as laugh a lot about Madison's conservative dresses and Bradfords "awww shucks" smile!

Episode 64When l get older losing my hair.Ironically we talk a lot about age.Shauna Rae is a 22 year old American who looks 8,would you?I put this to the Dutchman with answers that don't surprise me from a liberal man from Amsterdam.Also,Bradfords finest Mason Greenwood using his hands rather than his feet to do the talking.Rape AND battery, dropped by Manchester United,Nike and all the other money he was generating.And finally protein powder.Too disgusting to write down you have a listen.Full episode on You Tube get the link below.Darren and Duncan.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/justpassingthroughpodcast?fan_landing=true)

Shiggity and Missy welcome the Bradfords back!  We had a great time having conversation with Mike and Julie talking about the Gaby Petito case and Brian Laundrie's possible involvement; Dog the Bounty Hunter; Jeff Bezos sending William Shatner to space; Weeknd and Angelina Jolie seen out again; the NFL having 2 national Anthems being sung at the beginning of each game; Batman Begins symbolizing black history; Tyron Woodley getting tattoo for losing Jake Paul fight; R. Kelly found guilty; Anderson Cooper mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, offered to surrogate child; Poetic Justice and Janet Jackson; Shopping While Black.  We had such a great time discussing these topics, we hope you have as much a great time listening. Thanks for listening. You rock with us, we'll rock with you. Until next time. Peace.

This week the girls travel to Sacramento to visit their favorite TV family, the Bradfords. They dissect everything from Diana Hyland’s tragic and untimely death at the beginning of the series to which Bradford kid they related to the most. Who picked Tommy? Who loved Nancy? And who — shockingly and questionably — liked MARY the best?? Whomever they chose there’s one thing for certain, Eight Is Enough to fill our lives with love!Follow us on Instagram, Twitter & Facebook

I am working on a history of Dickinson and the families there — Bradfords, Larrimores, Wilsons and others. I have been unable to locate photos of a lot of the older landmarks such as the railroad depot, the sawmill, businesses, homes and more. If you have photos from the late 1800s through the 1960s that would show any of these structures, I'd like to have copies. You may email me images at bgoutlaw@bellsouth.net or call me at 850-463-7061 if you have photos or information. Any and all help will be appreciated. You may take old photos by The Clarke County...Article Link

How annoying must it have been being a West Brom fan, winning 5-2 against top 4. If those performances are there, why are they in for relegation? We say goodbye to Aguero, can he leave with a Champions League Trophy? And with Bradfords joint managers working wonders, Sam and Elliot discuss how they would be in a joint manager role with their ambitions set on one team....Alfreton Town. Plenty of talking points and fun in this one, enjoy!

In this episode we talk to Bradford's new fitness coach, STEVE, about Bradfords 20 -day challenge leading up to the PORT CHUCK concert later this month. We also talk GH recaps! This week's episode is brought to you by: THE JORDAN HARBINGER SHOW! Got to JordanHarbinger.com/subscribe or search for The Jordan Harbinger Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

I had a great chat with artist Bradford J. Salamon. I highly recommend watching it if you are a painter or artist of any kind. There was so much to talk about we went over so I split this interview into 2 parts. Please Like, Subscribe or comment and let me know what you think. Here is a link to Bradfords website: https://www.bradfordjsalamon.com. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/creativecourage/support

This episode I'm joined by owner of Electric Motion Ltd and cousin of mine, The Bradfordian Elon Musk - Tim Ahad. We discuss his journey into the world of Electric Motor Vehicles, coinciding with the positive environment changes we've seen since the lockdown due to COVID-19. We discuss the the huge impact in which diesel vehicles have on the planet and how the emergence of electric vehicles is the way forward to protecting our human existence. The beers flow and we also get very self indulgent and talk about our joint love for UFC. With UFC 249 just around the corner we look at some of the fight card and give our thoughts and predictions on how they might go down. Socials - Instagram @Tim_Ahad / Website www.electricmotionltd.co.uk

Andy speaks with Giles Bradford, Communications and Engagement Manager for Bradfords, a builders’ merchant with an illustrious history that has been trading for nearly 250 years, serving the South West of England. Giles is a former Royal Navy Officer who specialised in flying helicopters for the Royal Navy’s Commando Helicopter Force and who has a lifelong passion for being on the water. He also has a deep interest in studying and practicing servant leadership, helping teams excel and understanding what makes people tick. In this engaging and revealing episode, Giles shares 5 stories that guide and inspire how he lives into better leadership…in his own way, including: (Go to 02:05) Be the bow-man before being the skipper. Giles shares an insight from sailing that is applicable to anyone leading a team. He offers his view that ‘you need to have been the bow-man, before you can be the skipper’. He talks about the interplay within a team, the positive synergy, communication and the shared understanding. But most importantly he talks into the requirement to trust one another: for the leader to know and have experienced what other members of the team at the coalface are contending with, in the knowledge that everyone wants the ‘boat to go faster’. His story speaks into the need to ‘trust the man on the ground’ (a military phrase) – and the truism that ‘the quietest boats are always the fastest’ – a metaphor worthy of consideration when examining communication during tasks within effective and cohesive teams. (Go to 06:53) Maximum growth with minimal direction. Giles’ second story takes us back to his school experience as an avid sailor. Fond memories of an exceptional teacher and the environment he set up for growth, enjoyment, resilience, problem-solving and camaraderie. Modern business words like ‘empowerment’ spring to mind when hearing Giles’ recollections of his teacher who had an almost unconscious and organic way of leading the activities and development of those in his charge with minimal intervention. As Giles put it …‘he was only there to pick up the pieces if required’. And later in the story we get to hear of how this approach played out when Giles and his fellow students were put through their paces in an outdoor activity: the organisation, the problem-solving but most of all, that ability to know the importance of looking after those in your team – that at its heart, leadership is about people. (Go to 12:30) Right words, right sentiment, right time. Giles shares a pre-deployment anecdote from his time flying helicopters for the Royal Navy. It is a story set in challenging circumstances, and an honest reflection on the impact one inspirational leader had in renewing a positive mindset and resilient approach in his unit as they prepared to deploy to a warzone. (Go to 16:50) Understand the context and the principles behind it..and you won’t go far wrong.  Giles shares the story of returning from military operations and highlights the ‘normalisation’ process. He speaks of the re-integration process, the desire to do the right thing – not just an internal activity, and to do something that created value for both returning comrades and the community. It’s an anecdote where we see the value in serving the community, the growth and development of individuals who had yet to formally experience leadership roles and an example of that most challenging aspect of ‘leadership’: taking a risk to suggest something ‘different’ than what your team might ‘want’ to do – in order to ‘do the right thing’ in line with the context and principles behind it. (Go to 21:55) When things get complex…stop and make sure everyone is on the same page. Giles shares his recollections from his flying career in the Oil and Gas sector. Whether you are an aviator or not, the transferable message is powerful: in complex and complicated times, ensure your team are on the same page, regularly. Don’t let any members of the team get ‘behind the aircraft’. Have a process to make sure you bring everyone with you, and attack each new part of a challenge together. And Giles shares his candid view on how his inattention to this ‘press on’ behaviour was manifesting itself beyond work into his home life – and how he now intentionally guards against it going forward.    

Transforming company culture is always challenging, especially when going from a family culture to a commercial one. Lynda Moore, Head of Talent and Development at the Bradfords group, explains how communication was key and has improved collaboration. She talks openly about the challenges of attracting a younger and more diverse employee and the impact that has on the business and the managers within it.

Transforming company culture is always challenging, especially when going from a family culture to a commercial one. Lynda Moore, Head of Talent and Development at the Bradfords group, explains how communication was key and has improved collaboration. She talks openly about the challenges of attracting a younger and more diverse employee and the impact that has on the business and the managers within it.

Auditions are held for, "Whistling at the Moon," and the talent pool is not ideal. Not ideal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sportstalk from Minnesota's Sports Governor, Vince Wright

Tweet On Eagles preseason Eve, we get fired up over the birds match up with Pack. We reminisce over past early season pain the Pack has caused us with Bradfords 10 for 10 and Bryce Paup tearing up Randall's knee. Odubel has the Phils hot, and there is plenty of excitement around the young players getting called up. We tackle Cutler's fit with the Fish, with plenty other NFL talk. We go 4 for 4 plus more with our predictions on the PGA Championship. Don't miss this entertaining hour of sports talk, only on Wildfire Radio!! The post 4th and Go – Episode 114 appeared first on Wildfire Radio.

The Bradfords leave the village. Anna delivers a baby.

Dawn,T, Red, M and Alpha review Perfection (A Neighbor From Hell Series Book 2) Perfection Written by: R. L. Mathewson Narrated by: Fran Jules Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins Series: A Neighbor From Hell, Book 2 Unabridged Audiobook Release Date:11-25-13 Publisher: Audible Studios Publisher's Summary Zoe is used to taking care of herself and has long ago accepted that if anything bad was going to happen, it was going to happen to her. So when she loses her job over something most bosses would probably be happy with and her life starts going downhill from there, she doesn't expect it to get any better.  She certainly didn't expect any help from the loud jerk next door, but then again she has nothing to lose so puts her trust in him and hopes for the best. What she didn't expect was the once in a lifetime opportunity that he offers her through an arrangement where they both benefit and no one is supposed to get hurt - but she should have known better because her luck has never been that good.  Like most Bradfords, Trevor has a soft spot for food, but that's about all. He leads a pretty straightforward life and likes to keep things simple and that includes his relationships. He wants the perfect woman and knows exactly what she'll be like. So when he discovers much to his horror that he's thinking about his frumpy little neighbor he decides the best way to get his head straight is by working her out of his system. He'll keep her around, but only until he finds perfection. Lay of the Land Marlborough Pinot Noir 2015   Our Take: Fruity, but not sweet. Very good... We all drank 2 bottles.  Bright cherry notes and yummy red fruit. This is like a triumphant chorus of Pinot Noir with a lean elegance and brightness that really differentiates it from our Californian Angel-funded Pinots! Angels loved Lay of the Land Sauv Blanc, and we couldn't wait to see what Mike would deliver if we asked him to make an iconic New Zealand red. There's a fresh, almost breezy quality here that you'll only get out of New Zealand Pinot and we're sure it's going to be flying out of stock. Get in now before you miss out. Food suggestions Wild Marlborough pork or roast / BBQ chicken. Always good versatile wine for anything that comes off the BBQ

Vi fortsætter nedtakten fra årets draft og ser i denne uge nærmere på nogle af de spillere, der kan være nødt til at frygte for deres jobsikkerhed efter deres holds investeringer i draften. Programoversigt: 0.45: Det forlyder at San Francisco 49ers håber at Blaine Gabbert tager starterjobbet foran Colin Kaepernick i år - er det reelt dét 49ers skal håbe på? 6.55: Sam Bradfords agent har udtalt at håbet var at Bradford kunne komme til Broncos og at Bradford dermed nu må "nøjes" med at vende tilbage til Eagles. Er det dumt at udtale sig sådan om Bradfords klub eller er der reelt ikke noget i det? Vi ser nærmere på ti klubber hvor en eller flere spillere kan frygte for sin jobsikkerhed ovenpå draften: 15.05: Baltimore Ravens 27.55: Cleveland Browns 34.55: Tennessee Titans 39.20: Kansas City Chiefs 43.35: Houston Texans 48.25: Dallas Cowboys 50.40: Washington Redskins 54.25: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 57.15: Los Angeles Rams 1.01.15: Seattle Seahawks

Painter Katherine Bradford and her son Arthur (a Portland writer and filmmaker) are having entirely too much fun talking about each other's work. See "Katherine Bradford: Divers and Dreamers" at Adams and Ollman gallery this month.

Philly Influencer Podcast Live Podcast Episode 26: Eagles, Flyers, MLB Playoffs & Bradfords Ass by Philly Influencer

Er det egentlig som artist Kjartan Salvesen er best, hvordan fungerer samisk trolldom på fotball og selger Real Madrid deler av sjela si når de nå endrer logoen?

Joe and Clownbaby join the show / Altanta Issues / Listener Email / No More 911 Talk / We reach out and try to contact Bradford / Bradford on Skype, sound quality improves / Bradfords stupid friend Lance / Bradford does not care about current events / They Live, the greatest fight scene ever / Bradford spotted a park jerker, sent in a video / Bradford hates his local music scene / Alex Jones Clips of the week / Mike's new invention, Private Munchies / Hard News / Drunk naked school teacher / school is starting too early / NYC video taper harassed / GEO Penis Drawing / NSA Obama Promises / Fake Burger King Story / North Korea Lube / 55 Gallon Lube Kick Starter / Amazon Reviews of Lube / Relationships

The Bradfords were an active and energetic family of 6 who traveled the world, living in numerous locations and happily adjusting to each new environment. Then, just as they were embarking on a move from France to Germany, something unimaginable happened. Their oldest son Parker, a fine young man just heading off to college, died. It was not at first comforting to know that he died trying to help someone else; that in his death he had shown his character. And their deep faith could not save them from the staggering grief. The family was plunged into an unfamiliar world of agony and alienation. Throughout their long road to come to terms with the loss, Melissa Dalton-Bradford, Parker's mother, read every word she could find to attempt to touch any comfort available. She collected the words that touched her aching heart and wove them into a book about her family and about grief. Join us for a deep look at the loss of a child and what soothes, and doesn't sooth, such a loss.

The Bradfords were an active and energetic family of 6 who traveled the world, living in numerous locations and happily adjusting to each new environment. Then, just as they were embarking on a move from France to Germany, something unimaginable happened. Their oldest son Parker, a fine young man just heading off to college, died. It was not at first comforting to know that he died trying to help someone else; that in his death he had shown his character. And their deep faith could not save them from the staggering grief. The family was plunged into an unfamiliar world of agony and alienation. Throughout their long road to come to terms with the loss, Melissa Dalton-Bradford, Parker's mother, read every word she could find to attempt to touch any comfort available. She collected the words that touched her aching heart and wove them into a book about her family and about grief. Join us for a deep look at the loss of a child and what soothes, and doesn't sooth, such a loss.

Denne uka tar Offside for seg El Clasico i Copa del Rey, Bradfords tap i ligacupfinalen, derbyet i Milano og nedrykksstriden i Premier League.

Are you a die-hard fantasy footballer? Are you good? You think so huh? Well if you're not playing high stakes, you have NO IDEA! Experience the world of High Stakes Fantasy Football! Join Scott Atkins aka Team Legacy and Michael "Teez for Sheez" Trent as they explore the major national competitions in the annual quest to crown the best of the best. Don't worry, if you don't have a grand to pony up, enter one of the lower priced satellite leagues ($50-$100)in one of the contests we discuss and take your SHOT at GLORY! Wow, this is the first week all year we don't have to MAKE S*** up for what we're going to talk about. ADP will be flying all over the place.  Brady/Chad Ochocinco, Dwil/Stewyl, Moreno/McGahee, Tavaris/Sidney Rice/M Williams, Hasselback/Britt/Cook, Holmes, Kolb/Fitz, McNabb/Harvin, Reggie/D Thomas, Breaston, Olsen... and just wait til next week with Bradshaw, Addai, Benson, MSW, Plax, JamesJones etc... Anybody surprised that the Rams didn't grab a WR? Who will be Bradfords #1? 

Have you ever seen American Gothic? I bet you haven't seen it like this. We hung out at Gothic Days in Eldon, IA.