How I Work

**BEST OF 2019**My guest today is Dan Pink. Dan is the author of six bestselling books, including Drive, A Whole New Mind, and his latest book "When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing", which has spent four months on the New York Times bestseller list. You might also be familiar with Dan through his TED talk about the surprising science of motivation, which has been viewed over 20 million times.I am a big Dan Pink fan so I was very excited to be able to chat with him. I think he has such a knack for dissecting complex science and finding a way to make it not just accessible, but memorable and impactful for his readers.We cover a bunch of things during this chat, including: How Dan works out whether an idea is great or whether it stinks How the idea behind his latest book "When" came to be The importance of the structure of a book, and Dan’s approach to mapping out a book’s structure Dan’s process for coming up with the title for a book or project How he came up with the title for Adam Grant’s bestselling book Give and Take Why Dan structures his work day into three distinct sections Why Dan isn’t a big believer in willpower How Dan constructs his working environment to make it easy to stay off digital distractions Dan’s approach to radically reducing the amount of emails he receives How Dan decides what to say yes to and what to say no to Dan’s approach for saying no politely Dan’s process for translating a book into a keynote speech Why Dan asks his wife to read his books out loud to him during the editing process Find out more about Dan at danpink.com and subscribe to his newsletter right here. And you can check out his latest book When here.For comprehensive show notes on this episode, go to: https://www.amanthaimber.com/podcastGet in touch at amantha@inventium.com.auIf you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work, I write a short monthly newsletter that contains three cool things that I have discovered that help me work better, which range from interesting research findings through to gadgets I am loving. You can sign up for that at http://howiwork.coSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Marcus Buckingham, author of best-selling books on workplace truths, discusses the four questions he asks himself every week, the flaws of 'do what you love' advice, the unhelpfulness of 'work-life balance', his approach to networking and firing people, creating great keynote presentations, and why the annual planning process organizations use is broken.

**BEST OF 2019**My guest today is Abbi Jacobson. Abbi is a co-creator, writer, director, executive producer and star of the critically-acclaimed Comedy Central show Broad City, with Ilana Glazer. And that’s how I first became familiar with her work. I am a hard core fan of Broad City and would go so far to say I think it’s the funniest show on TV right now (although it recently wrapped it’s fifth and final season). Seriously, if you have not watched Broad City or have no idea what I am talking about check it out.Aside from Broad City, Abbi has done a stack of things ranging from voicing the character “Bean” in Netflix’s series Disenchantment by Matt Groenig, hosting the podcast A Piece of Work with WNYC and MoMA, in which she discusses modern and contemporary art.Oh and she has also written and illustrated a stack of NYT best-selling books, ranging from, I Might Regret This (a memoir style collection of essays), her illustrated book, Carry This Book, and two coloring books called: Color This Book: New York City and Color This Book: San Francisco.We cover: Her strategies for keeping herself accountable and meeting deadlines Abbi’s form of productive procrastination How Abbi tricks herself into getting work done Abbi’s strategies for overcoming writer’s block Abbi’s preference for going analogue rather than digital How getting a dog has helped Abbi get out of her head Abbi’s love-hate relationship with social media Why Abbi still transitions in and out of Imposter Syndrome Why Abbi and Ilana would shake hands before filming big scenes for Broad City How Abbi manages her nerves before big events and moments Find out more about Abbi via her books (I Might Regret This, Carry This Book, Colour This Book), watch her shows (Broad City, Disenchantment), listen to her podcast A Piece of Work, and you can follow Abbi on Instagram.Visit https://www.amanthaimber.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.auIf you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work, I write a short monthly newsletter that contains three cool things that I have discovered that help me work better, which range from interesting research findings through to gadgets I am loving. You can sign up for that at http://howiwork.coSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

***BEST OF HOW I WORK***I'm currently taking a few weeks off, so today's episode is a Best Of episode. I've gone back through the archives of the last 2.5 years of hosting How I Work and picked out my absolute favourite episodes!My guest today is Cyan Ta’eed. Cy is one of Australia’s most successful entrepreneurs, having co-founded Envato in 2006 and growing it to being valued at over $1 billion. Last year she tried her hand at chocolate (why not?!) and Hey Tiger is now one of Australia’s fastest growing purpose-driven brands. Oh, and in her spare time, she recently launched Milkshake.app, which allows users to make a free website for their Instagram profile all on their phone, instantly.In this chat, we cover: How Cy went from spending four hours a day on her phone to just 15 minutes How Cy changed her mobile phone to make it less addictive The game that Cy’s family play on January 1, every year The five minute activity that Cy does every morning to set herself up for the day How Cy manages her energy levels as a self-described introvert who presents as an extravert. Cy’s approach to constant learning and development How and where Cy has found great people to work in her businesses. Cy’s strategies for overcoming Imposter Syndrome How Cy mentally prepares herself for stressful events Why Cy had an app on her phone that reminded her she is going to die 5 x per day Cy’s go-to apps and gadgets What happened when Cy had an eyesight-threatening ulcer and had to rest in darkness for several weeks. Balancing sprints with periods of rest Find Cy on Instagram at @cyantaeed, check out her amazing chocolate social enterprise Hey Tiger and her most recent business Milkshake that allows users to create a webpage from their Instagram account.Visit https://www.amanthaimber.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.auIf you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work, I write a short monthly newsletter that contains three cool things that I have discovered that help me work better, which range from interesting research findings through to gadgets I am loving. You can sign up for that at http://howiwork.coSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My favourite tip from my chat with Chris Guillebeau was on how perfectionism gets in the way of success.You can find the full interview here.If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work, I write a short monthly newsletter that contains three cool things that I have discovered that help me work better, which range from interesting research findings through to gadgets I am loving. You can sign up for that at http://howiwork.coVisit https://www.amanthaimber.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My favourite tip from my chat with award-winning magician Simon Coronel was on how he pays people to give him negative feedback.You can find the full interview here.If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work, I write a short monthly newsletter that contains three cool things that I have discovered that help me work better, which range from interesting research findings through to gadgets I am loving. You can sign up for that at http://howiwork.coVisit https://www.amanthaimber.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My guest on today’s show is Dean Swan. Dean is the Country Manager of Dropbox, where he oversees Dropbox's business operations across Australia and New Zealand. And in case you haven’t heard of Dropbox, it’s one of Silicon Valley’s unicorns, which is a company valued at over $1 billion. Dropbox provides file hosting and I’ve been a customer of Dropbox for many years.I got connected with Dean as Dropbox Australia have been experimenting with how they work and challenging a lot of the working norms that exist. This has resulted in the launch of Dropbox's ‘Enlightened Summer’, which is a summer-long initiative encouraging workplaces across Australia to reimagine a more enlightened way of working.In my chat with Dean, we start by talking about how Dropboxers have changed their approach to work, and we then delve into how Dean has adapted his own working behaviours too. And if you like the sound of what Dropbox is doing, I finish my chat with Dean talking about advice he has for listeners who are trying to influence their boss on changing the working norms. So on that note, over to Dean to hear about how he works.We cover: Dropbox’s Enlightened Summer campaign How Hack Week’s work at Dropbox The range of productivity techniques that Dropbox Australia have been trialling Why Dean moved the Dropbox office to the Bondi Surf Life Saving club for a day Why Dean had to unlearn everything he learned in his corporate life at Microsoft when he moved to being a start-up founder How being a chef helped Dean think about how he manages his energy during the day How Dean uses his runs for problem solving How Dean combined Manager and Maker time when he moved to Dropbox as head of sales for Asia-Pac Dean’s ideal weekly schedule How Dean uses walking meetings to change energy levels The importance of retrospectives at Dropbox Tips on how to convince your boss that the current way of working is broken and that change needs to happen. Find out more about Dropbox’s Enlightened Summer campaign and download the toolkit.Visit https://www.amanthaimber.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.auIf you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work, I write a short monthly newsletter that contains three cool things that I have discovered that help me work better, which range from interesting research findings through to gadgets I am loving. You can sign up for that at http://howiwork.coSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My favourite tip from my chat with Marcus Buckingham was about why work-life balance is a useless concept - and how we should think about it instead.You can find the full interview here.If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work, I write a short monthly newsletter that contains three cool things that I have discovered that help me work better, which range from interesting research findings through to gadgets I am loving. You can sign up for that at http://howiwork.coVisit https://www.amanthaimber.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My guest today is Wendy Stops. Wendy is a Non Executive Director at the Commonwealth Bank (Australia’s largest bank), Coles Group, and Fitted for Work. Prior to her board career, she spent sixteen years with Accenture, most recently as the Senior Managing Director for Technology in Asia-Pacific.I was really keen to have Wendy on the show to understand more about what it’s like to have such high profile board positions. If you have ever wondered what it’s like to be a board director, or perhaps you are considering this kind of career for yourself, I think you’ll get a lot out of this interview with Wendy.We cover: How to get onto a high profile board The recruitment process for becoming a board member How Wendy coped with being on the board of Australia’s biggest bank during the royal commission Wendy’s surprising approach to managing stress Wendy’s approach to protecting her personal time How Wendy makes sure her voice is heard in amongst the other confident, capable and dominant personalities on the boards she sits on Wendy’s approach to influencing people The role of intuition versus data in making big decisions Wendy’s “should we” test for ethical behaviour Wendy’s experience with Imposter Syndrome, and her approach to overcoming it The most challenging thing about sitting on a board Wendy’s top tips for having a great career. Connect with Wendy on Linkedin.Visit https://www.amanthaimber.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.auIf you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work, I write a short monthly newsletter that contains three cool things that I have discovered that help me work better, which range from interesting research findings through to gadgets I am loving. You can sign up for that at http://howiwork.coSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My favourite tip from my chat with Clinical Psychologist Dr Doris Brett was on how stories can help us deal with failure.You can find the full interview here.If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work, I write a short monthly newsletter that contains three cool things that I have discovered that help me work better, which range from interesting research findings through to gadgets I am loving. You can sign up for that at http://howiwork.coVisit https://www.amanthaimber.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.