About Time - with Chris Nichols

Minni Jain is a pioneer in participative work around river restoration and in the indigenous wisdom around living waters. In this episode Chris and Minni explore the roots of her work, and her connection to Satish Kumar, to Tagore, and to Schumacher College. Then they dive into the work of The Flow Partnership and its work worldwide, as well as the new award winning book Minni has written with Philip Frances, The Language of Water.

Phoebe Tickell describes herself as a renegade scientist, systems thinker and social entrepreneur. Chris describes her as a world shifting human dynamo! Chris and Phoebe first met at Schumacher College in Devon. Phoebe is the founder of Moral Imagination, an organisation that helps to bring about an ecological shift in society and consciousness through the power of imagination. This episode explores this work, the amazing range of foundations and influences that underpin her work, and look at where the amazing energy of Phoebe may take it next. This is a great episode for anyone needing to see how, even in dark and troubling times, the power of imagination breathes light and possibility into making something new and better possible.

Chris and Mark first met during the Ashridge MSc in Organisational Consulting, when Chris was struggling to find colleagues who could bear his love of ambiguity and improvisation. Mark immediately struck Chris as someone who rejoices in creating experiences to explore the unknown. In this episode, Chris and Mark explore the roots of Mark’s work, from being a professional musician to his time as a sound engineer, and the joy of weaving his worlds together when he developed his form of organisational work called Grounded Creativity. This was a form of musical constellation inquiry, that Chris and Mark took into organisations as diverse as the NHS, Lufthansa, Beiersdorf, financial services and many more, to help address systems changes when the use of words was just not sufficient for the job.

In this episode, Chris Nichols talks to Professor Roger Kneebone, who has been a surgeon, a GP, a medical educator, a harpsicord player (and maker) and explorer across many frontiers.  Roger and Chris first met during Roger’s engagement fellowship at The Wellcome Trust, and from there dived into many adventures in looking at the world through richly different lenses. Roger’s book, Expert, is one of Chris’ favourite pieces of writing on the subject of expertise, and in particular the improvisational edges that it embraces. This episode includes a treasury of references and links, kindly provided by Roger, which we have included in the show notes.  Roger also talks about his latest work, using artful collaborations and simulation to address the problem of knife crime.Here are some links to some of Rogers work: Roger's website (lots of info about projects and podcasts) - ⁠www.rogerkneebone.co.uk⁠An Imperial feature on SHARP - ⁠https://www.imperial.ac.uk/Stories/the-sharp-project/⁠ And a BBC London News item on SHARP - ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8EYlLlD1fE&t=4s⁠Countercurrent episodes with engravers:Howard Phipps - https://rogerkneebone.libsyn.com/howard-phipps-in-conversation-with-roger-kneebone Anne Desmet - https://rogerkneebone.libsyn.com/anne-desmet-in-conversation-with-roger-kneebone David Dobson - https://rogerkneebone.libsyn.com/david-dobson-in-conversation-with-roger-kneebone Andrew Davidson - https://rogerkneebone.libsyn.com/roger-kneebone-in-conversation-with-andrew-davidson 

This episode finds Chris in conversation with his old friend and colleague Alex Steele. Alex is a professional jazz musician as well as being a visiting Professor and Fellow at business schools and universities. He is a coach and an academic specialising in environmental matters. This episode takes a playful deep dive into Alex’s work, including its roots in his family where music was the first language. Alex talks about how his jazz improvisational work helps leaders in organisational life to develop deep and heartfelt collaboration skills that allow them to work differently with uncertainty. This episode concludes with a lovely piece of jazz improv from Alex at the keyboard.

In this episode of the About Time podcast, Chris Nichols is in conversation with Helen Sieroda, a leadership expert and coach. They discuss Helen's journey through eastern philosophy, psychosynthesis psychology, her coaching philosophy, the impact of her master's degree, and the importance of action inquiry in leadership development. Helen shared her insights on purpose in business, the challenges of B Corp certification, and the significance of paying attention to the world around us. The conversation also delves into the concept of sub-personalities in leadership and the importance of finding joy in the work we do. Helen reflects on her writing practice and the personal growth that comes from embracing discomfort and creativity.

In this episode Chris spends time with long time colleague Michael Chaskalson, buddhist teacher and mindfulness practitioner. Michael is a writer, consultant, coach and academic, and author of many books. His work brings the wisdom of buddhist practice together with the latest work in physiology and neuroscience, to help leaders and teams be more fully human and effective in turbulent times. Michael’s latest research and writing explores the importance of the move from being mindful to being wakeful. It’s vital stuff. 

This episode features Chris in conversation with author, educator and master story-teller Geoff Mead. Geoff and Chris have often worked together over the past twenty or more years. Chris explores with Geoff the roots of his practice, and its links to the therapeutic and leadership development worlds, and dives into Geoff’s latest work on writing, identity and the remaking of possibility. 

In this first episode of the Project 65, About Time podcast, Chris Nichols and Philippa Hardman discuss their long-standing collaboration in strategy engagement. They reflect on their work together, innovative approaches to strategy implementation, and the impact of their practice over the years. They also look ahead to future conversations and guests.