How I Work

I am running a year-long experiment called My Year of Better. It’s my attempt to test out some science-backed strategies in my own life to become happier, more productive, more creative, and less stressed. If you would like to partake in the fun, join my pack of 1000+ lab rats at: https://amantha.substack.com/On today’s show, I describe Experiment 2: Failure Resume, which has been shown to be a very effective strategy to boost resilience. If you are playing along at home, complete the pre-experiment survey here.Visit 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 Rita McGrath. Rita is a world-renowned professor at Columbia Business School, where she directs the popular Leading Strategic Growth and Change program. She is widely recognized as a premier expert on leading innovation and growth during times of uncertainty. She has received the #1 achievement award for strategy from the prestigious Thinkers50 and has been consistently named one of the world’s top ten management thinkers in its bi-annual ranking.Rita is the author of the best-selling The End of Competitive Advantage and her new book is Seeing Around Corners: How to Spot Inflection Points in Business Before They Happen.Rita has been rated one of the 25 smartest women to follow on Twitter by Fast Company and was voted HR Magazine’s “Most Influential International Thinker.”I’ve followed Rita’s work for several years and got connected with her personally after one of my team mates was lucky enough to be taught by her at Columbia.In this chat, we cover:* How she prioritises what projects she decides to work on* How Rita minimises decisions* How Rita gets the most out of her assistant* Where her book ideas come from* How to make something interesting* Rita’s approach to deciding what to read and maximising the impact of what she does read* Having a personal board of directors* On how failure can lead to a better future* How she arrived at the title for her latest book* Rita’s approach to doing Deep Work* How Rita’s approach to writing has changed over the last year* Rita’s go-to sources for informationFind out more about Rita at https://www.ritamcgrath.com/, follow Rita on Twitter, and get your copy of Seeing Around Corners.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.

I am running a year-long experiment called My Year of Better. It’s my attempt to test out some science-backed strategies in my own life to become happier, more productive, more creative, and less stressed. If you would like to play along at home, join my pack of 1000+ lab rats at: https://amantha.substack.com/On today’s show, I describe Experiment 1: Worry Time, which has been shown to be a very effective strategy to significantly reduce stress. Visit 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 Paul Migliorini. Paul leads the Amazon Web Services business across Australia and New Zealand - a role that he has been in for the last four years. Prior to joining AWS Paul held leadership roles in Asia and Australia with BT, Motorola, Regus and Ernst & Young, most recently as the CEO for Regus ANZ and Regional Managing Director for South Asia at BT.I was keen to speak to Paul because I have heard a lot of things about Amazon’s culture and ways of working that fascinated me. And there is nothing better than being able to get an insider’s perspective on how it all works.So if you have ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of one of the world’s fastest growing and most powerful companies, I think you’ll love my chat with Paul.We cover: How Paul has dramatically changed his mobile phone behaviour Amazon’s 14 key leadership principles How being frugal leads to innovative The importance of “two pizza teams" Why leaders at Amazon do more coaching rather than managing Why input measures matter more than output measures The two types of decisions that can be made at Amazon and how this impacts decision-making speed The importance of disagreeing and committing to decisions How strong opinions are encouraged at Amazon How Amazon identifies people who will fit with the culture during the recruitment process The 50% test that Amazon use in their recruitment process Why Powerpoint is banned at Amazon The critical role of long form narratives at Amazon Why the first 15-20 minutes of meetings at Amazon are spent reading Why Amazon create fictitious press releases for products that don’t exist Amazon’s working backwards process Why Paul sees it as his job to say yes to as many requests as possible.  Learn more about Amazon's Summit, check out career opportunities at Amazon and connect with Paul 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.

Today's mini-episode describes a brand new project I am launching - My Year of Better. I'd love you to be a part of it.Sign up here (it's free!).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.co See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

**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.