Ross Examination

I had no idea at all what to expect when starting a podcast, what would be easy, what would be hard or what to expect. Before the podcast moves in a different direction, I thought it would be interesting to take you through the process of starting a podcast and what I learned throughout as well as some of the big mistakes I made and a couple of wins. It's a also a great time to introduce the plans moving forward and who I've brought on to help make the podcast better, so if you're interested, join me for a 20-minutes and find out all about it.

In this episode I speak with an old teammate of mine, Marcus Watson. Marcus had a really diverse career that saw him compete at the Olympics, tour the world with England 7's and compete at the highest level of club rugby in both the U.K and Italy. What I think you'll learn most from Marcus is how to reflect on your experiences in a healthy way. One of the benefits of a conversation like this is that you get to see how people were really experiencing events in a way that would have been hard to observe at the time. For example, Marcus talks about how winning an Olympic medal left him feeling fairly apathetic despite his expectations. Enjoy!

In this episode, I sit down with Jamie Monk. Jamie used to be a top level runner who trained with Mo Farah and posted some unbelievably fast times. Jamie gives insight into just how must of a gulf there is between good runners and the best of the best as well as how you could very quickly improve your running times and technique. While running was Jamie's sport, his thoughts on performance and achieving your potential are extremely valuable and his experience interviewing British sporting heritage like Jonny Wilkinson, Joe Root and Jessica Ennis have given him a fascinating view on what it means to be high-performing. Jamie is a great guy to be around and makes the area of high-performance very simple, when it can often be over complicated and drowned in buzzwords and vagaries. Enjoy the episode!

Conor Gilsenan played 9 seasons of professional rugby in Ireland and England before retiring due to concussion. He then went on BBC's 'The Apprentice' before finding a groove in the sales world. Conor was incredibly honest about how his career panned out and how he struggled after his career came to an end. If you want to understand how to thrive in a high-performing environment, I don't think you could find a better man to listen to. Not because Conor has achieved everything he wanted to but because of his ability to reflect and analyse honestly. Professional sport is hard, Sales is hard and reality TV is hard. Gilly has experienced it all and shares his learnings brilliantly in this episode.Enjoy! 

In a slightly different episode, I sat down with Alan Hertz in one of London's oldest pubs that has a fascinating story. While he hails from North America, Alan considers himself a Londoner after 40 years in the capital. Alan was a professor of the humanities at Hult International Business School for over 25 years and he's one of those people with a vast knowledge of all things but especially the history of London. In this episode, Alan talk about the Blitz, the best parts of London and much more.Enjoy!

In this episode, Ben Mercer takes us through his journey from professional rugby in England and France, retirement, becoming a bestselling author, building a brand as a literacy influencer and leveraging his passion. Ben has a great view of life and gives really useful insight into how you could develop your own passions and build a career that is fulfilling and rewarding. Enjoy!

Part 2 of my conversation with Sam Larner focuses on where game theory can be applied in professional sport, how stats can influence recruitment and more sneaky stats and tactics from the world of sport.Enjoy!

Sam Larner is at the forefront of a statistical revolution in Rugby. Sam's knowledge of stats across a wide range of sports makes for fascinating listening and he gives insight into the sneaky statistics that can make a big difference in professional rugby while also highlighting the best use of stats in other fields. Enjoy!

My guest this week is Matija Karaula. Matija went from growing up in Croatia to becoming the Global Head of Sales at a multi million pound software company as well as a managing director of another multi million pound company in Asia all before the age of 30. Matija takes us through his journey from selling cookies in Croatia, to selling vacuums in LA, to Asia and then to the U.K as well as detailing the key skills that lead to success in sales, observed through hiring hundreds of sales people. He also describes the benefit of going above and beyond what's asked of you.Enjoy!

Vince Walsh, a Professor of Human Brain Research at UCL with over 300 published papers, joins to unravel the intricacies of learning and team dynamics. He tackles the pervasive neuro myths in society, emphasizing critical thinking in the face of oversimplified science. Walsh reveals how smaller teams boost productivity and shares insights on mastering the basics for excellence. He also examines the mental resilience of athletes during Ramadan and recommends essential reads to transform learning and group effectiveness.