A LOAD OF BS ON SPORT

This week, we are joined by Mo Bobat, until recently Performance Director at the English Cricket Board, now fulfilling the same role with IPL team the Royal Challengers Bangalore. We discuss how elite athletes and teams harness mental strength and innovative strategies to achieve greatness. From the art of managing maverick talents to the science behind creating cohesive, high-performing teams, Mo shares his insights, experiences, and the cutting-edge techniques that make him a sought-after expert in the sports industry. Show notes:The psychology behind elite performanceCultivating a high-performance mindsetManaging talents and team dynamicsStrategies for mental strength and resilienceThe impact of leadership on team performanceMo 's own sporting journey  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Former cricketer Ed Smith discusses sport, art, and decision-making. Topics include emotionally intelligent coaches, team selection, risk-taking, and making good decisions in sports. The podcast explores the connection between sport and artistry, as well as the complexities of effective communication in cricket.

Dr Grace Lordan is an Associate Professor at the London School of Economics in the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science. She is also Founding Director there of The Inclusion Initiative which focuses on bringing together teaching, research and practice to build more inclusive work environments.She has also written a book which I personally took huge value from, 'Think Big: Take Small Steps and Build the Career You Want', which uses behavioural science to give really practical advice about, amongst other, how to ask for pay rises, get promoted and change careers.Show notesAbout Grace’s book ‘Think Big: Take Small Steps and Build the Career You Want’When is it a good time to ask for a pay rise?And how to get your narrative rightWho is Me+, your future self?How dating experiences are different for girls and boysHow to escape the evils of your phoneThe Inclusion Initiative at LSE: improving company leadership and cultureIs the pipeline problem a myth or reality?Covid’s mass resignation; and its great regretFighting for greater workplace gender equality Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I welcome this week the behavioural scientist Patrick Fagan, described by comedian David Mitchell as a "Mother Superior in nipple tassels".He's also a former Cambridge Analytica man, if your minds can take you back to that scandal and time in history. Patrick is the author of Hooked whose by-line is 'Why cute sells and other marketing magic we just can't resist.And by the way, he is soon to publish a new book Free Your Mind: The New World of Manipulation and How to Resist It in collaboration with Laura Dodsworth.You’ll pick up some old references in this conversation to our former PM (which one you may reasonably ask?!) Boris Johnson here as this episode was recorded before he toppled. That aside, all the chat is super relevant.Show notesMagic and creativityPioneering work as lead psychologist at Cambridge AnalyticaWhat factors influence political preference?Status quo bias and fear of changePatrick’s book: the 10 psychological principles for crafting effective communications in 3 categoriesGrab attentionGet people to think about your messageInfluence behaviourWhy do we get dressed?Unintended consequencesWhy we need to take care with nudges Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back and firing with the final part in my mini-series with the wonderful Dave Blakely, Executive VP at venture builder Mach49, talking innovation, design and creativity in organisations. In this episode, we talk about risk taking, storytelling, how we live in partnership with AI and the invention of Scrabble. And plenty more.Show notesDo corporations take enough risk?What do we mean by acceptable failure?How Alfred Butts invented ScrabbleTS Elliot’s answer to the problem with processWhy Dave admires Mark Zuckerberg and Elon MuskThe wonders of good storytelling as told by Dave TrottAI and creativity: impacts on how we work, live and playHow we live in partnership with AIOur constant state of distraction Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today is the second in my A Load of BS on Best Behaviour with Dave Blakely, Executive VP at venture builder and super growth builder Mach49, who I continue to be delighted to collaborate with on this mini-series of conversations on innovation, design and creativity in organisations; answering questions on how we move leaders and teams to change their behaviour, to lose their conservatism and scepticism and experiment wisely.Today Dave and I talk about discipline. We argue that leaders should have the right to beat up their employees when things go wrong. No, we don't do that really. But we do consider the value of letting a little chaos into the firm to let great ideas germinate safely.Show notesDiscipline: a punishment for disobedience or letting some chaos in?The BS of imposing discipline on CEOsWhy Google is brilliantWho Dave has stolen from and made it his ownWhy generalists connect the dots better and are masters at lateral innovationApplying SV in Paris, Bangkok and NairobiPlaying mind games with clientsGoogle Save and turning round violent extremists in Nazi US hate groupsErrors of conservatism, scepticism and pessimism Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today is the first in a 3-part series with Dave Blakely, an extraordinarily talented, sharp-witted and humble man whom I’m so happy to be collaborating with and indeed his company Mach49 where he is Executive Vice President. We talk innovation, creativity, design and the vagaries of the human condition.Check out some of the amazing work Mach49 does driving growth and building new ventures with some of the greatest brands around.Dave was a leader at design agency IDEO for many years and has advised organisations on innovation and design thinking as wide ranging as NASA, Google and Eli Lilly over a decades long career. He has sailed the Silicon Valley seas, studying engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, working in a Hewlett Packard spin off as well as teaching at Stanford's renowned d.school.Show notesLoving building new thingsDesigning the robot armLearning and leading at IDEOVets accidentally jabbing themselves with cattle needlesWhat Mach49 does better than IDEOTranslating research ideas into big ideas at Stanford’s d.schoolRory Sutherland’s ‘Make it Pink’ boardroom strategyWhen did Dave last stand up and fart in front of clients?Unusual rituals, violent extremists, unique food packaging in the Philippines and getting in and out of a space suitAndy Grove’s innovation cliché at IntelPredictions for the MetaverseHow does Dave remain sufficiently illogical? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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I welcome Nate Barr and Shannon O’Malley to wrap up my series with the BEworks team. We share our highlights of the series and what the future holds for BS and BEworks. Show notesSurprises and learning: what does it really mean to be a behavioural scientist practitioner?Issues at the centre of our zeitgeist: our money, healthcare, sustainabilityMeeting the drop in the bucket challengeUnderstanding the Anthropocene: our human epoch and disruptions to earth’s systemsLanguage affects the experience and outcomePandemic induced fractured nature of our health systemsHow to board a bus in Santiago, Chile; making payment easyWhat are the big human challenges before us which would benefit from behavioural solutions?Why don’t more businesses apply psychology to daily life?Challenging the predominance of nudge theory Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I welcome David Thomson, VP and Head of the Sustainability Practice at BEworks. Dave is a cognitive experimental psychologist working with large multinational corporations and governments on behaviour change challenges such as electricity consumption reduction, adoption of energy efficient technology and food waste reduction; all of which we touch on in the podcast.Show notesHow do we bridge the values-action gap in sustainability?Who’s responsibility is it – companies’ or consumers’?The Tesla status symbolGiving immediate benefits to solve a long-term problemHow prevalent is corporate greenwashing?How to help people reduce domestic electricity consumptionMoving from small, isolated experiments to impact at scaleWhat makes great experimental design?What mistakes has Dave made? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.