Octavius is now the co-founder of one of the most interesting training companies in the world, as well as the author of three successful and excellent books – available almost everywhere in the world except, inexplicably, North America.
But I first met him over a decade ago, when I joined a small change management consultancy and Octavius was one of the partners. Even then he had a certain flair and a willingness to buck the system, all with a terrific sense of humour.
He’s been leading the Mind Gym for almost ten years now. In that time, it has become a global success and they have trained close to half a million people and worked in over 30 countries with every big name company you can think of. And what’s particularly cool for me is they’ve done it by changing the way coaching is sold and delivered, building courses that are delivered in 90 minute blocks.
In this conversation we talk about:
- How the idea for Mind Gym was first conjured up, and how it fell flat in its first iteration
- Why challenging the orthodoxy is critical to success
- How to ignore advice your accountant gives you (if you don’t like it, that is)
- A powerful strategy for when you’re feeling down
- What the Rubicon has to do with Great Work