Don't Stop Us Now! Podcast

We’re excited to bring you the latest in our ‘How To’ series. This is our last episode before the Holidays and 2019! Thanks to those of you who sent your requests for what ‘How To’ topic to cover next. We thought this topic of ‘switching off’ was just perfect for this time of year, so thank you Felicity and Sophia! Here at Don’t Stop Us Now! we’re passionate about how important it is for our health and our performance at work to take a break and genuinely switch off. This episode shares research that might surprise you. Plus we are issuing you with a challenge… hint: it’s to do with something that has a battery and a switch off option! Seriously though, Christmas and New Year is the perfect time to practise switching off given how many of us typically rush around like crazy finishing off work projects, doing Xmas shopping and generally feeling a bit manic as the end of the year approaches! In this episode you’ll hear: How Americans use their phones 14 billion times a day and how often you’re likely to look at yours! How taking holiday leave has been shown to improve your performance ratings at work 3 tips to help you switch off over the break and improve your chances of heading back to work feeling refreshed and rejuvenated Plus tips you can try when you’re back at work to make 2019 a great year! We’ll be back with our next episode on January 18th. Wishing you love and joy for the Holidays and a Merry Christmas if you celebrate it. Here’s to an unstoppable and fulfilling 2019! Claire and Greta Xx   Resources and research mentioned in the episode: Research by Deloitte on the number of times we look at our phones daily  How to Find your Brain’s Off Switch article Link to School of Life ‘Digital Sabbath’ video Bronnie Ware’s Top 5 Regrets of the Dying    

This week’s guest is the one and only Nathalie Nahai, The Web Psychologist. She’s an author and in-demand globetrotting speaker on how to apply behavioural science to all things digital to make them more effective and ethical. Nathalie’s been a musician and recording artist, she has a psychology degree and used to be a web designer. Right now, she’s studying art in Barcelona as well as doing her day job! In this episode you’ll hear: How Nathalie juggles life and the unique way she prioritises what to say “Yes” to You’ll learn how she went about reinventing her career She shares fascinating research on how the colour of clothing we wear can affect how intelligently we’ll come across The killer one liner Nathalie uses when she feels she’s been harassed A quick note that there’s occasional colourful language in this episode so if you’re sensitive to this or have little ears around you may wish to monitor accordingly. Enjoy this episode!     Links of interest: Nathalie's Website

We’re excited to bring you this week’s guest, Kriti Sharma; a leading global expert in AI and its impact on society and the future. Kriti grew up in Rajasthan in India. She didn’t have access to a computer at home so she built one herself. She followed that with her first robot when she was 15. Today Kriti applies her AI and tech expertise to solve global issues from productivity to education to domestic violence. And she’s part-time VP of AI and Ethics at Sage. She’s recently been named a UN Young Leader; she features in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for advancements in AI; and was included in the Recode 100 list of key influencers in technology last year alongside Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg. In this episode you’ll hear: How Kriti’s upbringing in India has shaped what she’s doing today How a ‘cat with a jetpack’ has helped her tackle gender bias Her thoughts on the power of AI, both for good and bad and… Her experience of being invited to meet the Obamas and why it was “life changing”, Enjoy this episode with the talented and delightful Kriti Sharma. P.S. Interested to learn more about Artificial Intelligence? Stay tuned for our first ever 'What is?' episode early next year dedicated to AI.     Images: Courtesy Kriti Sharma & Sage   Links of interest: Kriti on Twitter Kriti's TED Talk MIT Media Lab

Our guest today is Dr Fiona Wood, a world-leading burns specialist and innovative surgeon and researcher. She’s a former Australian of the Year for her pioneering burns research and treatments. Incredibly, she was also voted Australia’s most-trusted-person for six successive years. Fiona and her groundbreaking ‘Spray-on-skin’ burns treatment came into the public eye in 2002 when 28 victims of the Bali bombings were flown to Perth in Western Australia to receive life-saving burns treatment under her supervision. (Spray on skin greatly reduces permanent scarring.) Fiona has successfully commercialised “Spray on skin” treatment worldwide and all royalties from this business are used to fund further research into burns treatment through her Foundation. In this episode hear Fiona talk about: Her absolute passion for what she does and the responsibility she feels every day in the operating theatre How she copes and consciously fosters resilience having seen so much suffering first-hand How she approached commercialising ‘spray-on skin’ without having any commercial experience; And her memories of the remarkable experience of being Australian of the Year   If you’re anything like us after listening to this conversation you’ll feel like you want to take Fiona out for a coffee, give her a hug and high five her all at the same time!   Enjoy!       Links of interest: Dr Fiona Wood Foundation Website Avita Medical Fiona's TED Talk

Navyn Salem was told over and over that with no previous relevant experience she’d never succeed. Her vision was to build a factory to manufacture a food supplement called “Plumpy Nut” that could save the lives of children with malnutrition in the developing world. Fortunately for the world, she chose to ignore all the pessimistic advice and forged ahead to set up her not for profit, Edesia Nutrition. In the past 11 years and a state-of-the-art factory later, Navyn and her team at Edesia have helped 7 million malnourished children in 51 countries. It hasn’t been easy but Navyn is not someone who likes to give up easily. In this episode, hear Navyn speak inspiringly and openly about: How she was never afraid to ask for help The importance of being curious and getting outside of one’s bubble to learn new perspectives Her belief that being a female CEO should never be something unusual and how she's encouraging her four daughters to be fearless in their pursuit of leadership The life changing stories of the impact of the nutritional supplement, ‘Plumpy Nut’, and how it inspires her every day. We just loved our conversation with Navyn. She’s one of those people who is clearly amazing but also incredibly down to earth and authentic. Enjoy this episode with the inspiring and motivating Navyn Salem.       Links of interest: Edesia Nutrition website Facebook Instagram Twitter Little Nut on Amazon

Few of us enjoy the prospect of having to negotiate on behalf of ourselves. We typically find it much easier if we’re negotiating a business matter or something on behalf of others. When the time comes for us to speak up for ourselves it can feel a whole lot more confronting. Add to that the fact that money and salary amounts are often taboo subjects, it’s no wonder many of us sell ourselves short at the negotiating table. And it’s not surprising that a number of you have been in touch asking us to cover this topic as well. (Thanks for your emails ☺). So here at Don’t Stop us Now! we thought, what better subject for our next How To episode? We think you’ll get lots of great inspiration from this episode to help ensure you do yourself justice in future. In this super practical episode you’ll learn: Reasons why we have the gender pay gap How being underpaid early in her career taught Greta a lesson she never forgot Why you shouldn’t think of negotiating a pay rise as a one-off conversation Tried and tested advice for preparing yourself for a money conversation including a Chatbot set up specifically to advise women on negotiating their pay Plus a whole host of practical and data-backed tips, tools and even phrases from us and some of our CEO guests to help you in your next negotiation conversation. Even if you’re happy with your current situation, don’t miss this episode because we’re sure you’ll learn something new that will help you in future or be of service to your friends or family. The better we all are at negotiating, the more we can collectively contribute to closing the gender pay gap that exists around the world. We’d love to hear your thoughts and stories too, just email us. Enjoy this episode!   Link Ask Cindy Gallop ChatBot    

This week’s guest describes herself as someone who likes to blow shit up. They are her words not ours.  Cindy Gallop is a globe-trotting consultant, speaker and entrepreneur who was a former North American head of the famed advertising agency, Bartle Bogle & Hegarty (BBH). As you’ll hear in this conversation, Cindy is a strong, edgy character with clear views about many topics including diversity and sex, to name just two. She’s not one of those people who just say things, she’s out there trying to change the world! And it hasn’t been easy. Around 13 years ago, she decided it was time to leave advertising and do her own thing… Her mission for the past nine years is to make it easier for everybody in the world to talk about normal sex vs pornography through her start up MakeLoveNotPorn. You’ll hear about how her now infamous TED talk led her to embark on this journey which would prove to be filled with unexpected challenges. In this episode you’ll learn: How Cindy’s life and career have always been a complete accident. How asking about where her career was going led to her dream job starting and running the BBH US business How her own experience of dating men in their 20’s led to MakeLoveNotPorn Her powerful thoughts on why you should shamelessly self promote Why she’d tell her younger self to "don't give a damn about what other people think" and; How she’s been turned into a chatbot that you can’t afford to ignore. You really don’t want to miss this episode with the very unique Cindy Gallop!   Links of interest: MakeLoveNotPorn Cindy on Twitter Cindy on Facebook TED Talk     Check out the Cindy Gallop ChatBot on Facebook Messenger to get Cindy's advice to negotiate your salary. You'll need to use a US postcode (such as as 90210) as the bot was built using US salary data. The advice is still useful wherever you live in the world. Ask Cindy Gallop ChatBot    

Our guest this week is Japanese luxury hotel and hospitality entrepreneur, Aya Aso. Until last year, Aya ran the hotel chain she founded a decade ago, the Agora Hotel Group, a multi award-winning chain of resort and luxury hotels in Japan. Aya spent most of her childhood living in Brazil and in her 20’s studied to become a concert pianist in Los Angeles. However, that idea was put on the back burner when a part time job at the Sheraton led to the discovery that she loved the hospitality industry. This set Aya on her career journey and led her back to Japan where she ultimately started her business. In today’s episode, you’ll hear: How growing up in Brazil has impacted her as a business woman How one of the most influential entrepreneurs in Japan took her under his wing and helped her learn the most important thing about running a company What it was like to be a woman starting a business in Japan How she lost most of her business after an earthquake devastated the travel industry in 2011 and What it felt like to build the company back up to 1,000 staff only to reach a point where she felt she had no other option but to walk away We can’t wait to see her next business, the SAVVY Collective, a Luxury Hotel Concept Consulting business, go from strength to strength. Click below to listen to this episode with Aya Aso.   Links of interest: Linkedin SAVVY Collective

Our guest this week is Japanese luxury hotel and hospitality entrepreneur, Aya Aso. Until last year, Aya ran the hotel chain she founded a decade ago, the Agora Hotel Group, a multi award-winning chain of resort and luxury hotels in Japan. Aya spent most of her childhood living in Brazil and in her 20’s studied to become a concert pianist in Los Angeles. However, that idea was put on the back burner when a part time job at the Sheraton led to the discovery that she loved the hospitality industry. This set Aya on her career journey and led her back to Japan where she ultimately started her business. In today’s episode, you’ll hear: How growing up in Brazil has impacted her as a business woman How one of the most influential entrepreneurs in Japan took her under his wing and helped her learn the most important thing about running a company What it was like to be a woman starting a business in Japan How she lost most of her business after an earthquake devastated the travel industry in 2011 and What it felt like to build the company back up to 1,000 staff only to reach a point where she felt she had no other option but to walk away We can’t wait to see her next business, the SAVVY Collective, a Luxury Hotel Concept Consulting business, go from strength to strength. Click below to listen to this episode with Aya Aso.   Links of interest: Linkedin SAVVY Collective

We have a truly international businesswoman and global citizen on the show today. Margarita Herdocia, is Nicaraguan by birth, was educated in New York, and lives in Costa Rica. She owns and runs Renaissance Holdings which operates multiple businesses based in Central America, the Caribbean, Russia and Europe. Incredibly, she’s using her businesses to further the cause of democracy in her dictator-run country of birth where she finds herself having to make decisions in the current civil unrest that have life or death implications for her staff. Margarita began - with no experience - by taking over a failing, family owned fast food and casual dining business and totally blitzed it. She’s expanded her portfolio over the years to also include real estate development, some retail, and financial asset management interests as well. In this episode you’ll hear: How a comment in her living room saw her go overnight from no experience in business, to turning around a failing business in Nicaragua Her philosophy as a leader, and how her purpose is to create what she calls ‘happy jobs’ How she takes advantage of the times when men in meetings won’t look at her - she’s often the only woman in the room Her advice for women who want to negotiate a pay rise Enjoy this episode!       Links of interest: Margarita's profile

We have a truly international businesswoman and global citizen on the show today. Margarita Herdocia, is Nicaraguan by birth, was educated in New York, and lives in Costa Rica. She owns and runs Renaissance Holdings which operates multiple businesses based in Central America, the Caribbean, Russia and Europe. Incredibly, she’s using her businesses to further the cause of democracy in her dictator-run country of birth where she finds herself having to make decisions in the current civil unrest that have life or death implications for her staff. Margarita began - with no experience - by taking over a failing, family owned fast food and casual dining business and totally blitzed it. She’s expanded her portfolio over the years to also include real estate development, some retail, and financial asset management interests as well. In this episode you’ll hear: How a comment in her living room saw her go overnight from no experience in business, to turning around a failing business in Nicaragua Her philosophy as a leader, and how her purpose is to create what she calls ‘happy jobs’ How she takes advantage of the times when men in meetings won’t look at her - she’s often the only woman in the room Her advice for women who want to negotiate a pay rise Enjoy this episode!       Links of interest: Margarita's profile

We’re excited to feature our latest guest, serial entrepreneur Rebekah Campbell. Rebekah has just founded and launched her third business, Zambesi, an online marketplace for career-related workshops. Prior to Zambesi, she was co founder of a well-known cafe ordering app in Australia called Hey You! Raised in New Zealand but now based in Australia, Rebekah started her career and first significant business in the music industry following a university summer holiday project she did that took off. We love this interview because it is so jam-packed with honest stories, useful tips and advice. In this episode you’ll hear Rebekah share her thoughts about: How she figures out what business to start next and, related to that . . . How she found her new purpose - one that would really last Her fascinating experience working out how to ‘own the room’ The surprise in store when she shared how inadequate she felt compared with some of her peers. Enjoy this episode with the entrepreneurial and insightful Rebekah Campbell   Links of interest: Rebekah’s website including articles Rebekah on Twitter Zambesi AFR Boss Monthly Column

We’re excited to feature our latest guest, serial entrepreneur Rebekah Campbell. Rebekah has just founded and launched her third business, Zambesi, an online marketplace for career-related workshops. Prior to Zambesi, she was co founder of a well-known cafe ordering app in Australia called Hey You! Raised in New Zealand but now based in Australia, Rebekah started her career and first significant business in the music industry following a university summer holiday project she did that took off. We love this interview because it is so jam-packed with honest stories, useful tips and advice. In this episode you’ll hear Rebekah share her thoughts about: How she figures out what business to start next and, related to that . . . How she found her new purpose - one that would really last Her fascinating experience working out how to ‘own the room’ The surprise in store when she shared how inadequate she felt compared with some of her peers. Enjoy this episode with the entrepreneurial and insightful Rebekah Campbell   Links of interest: Rebekah’s website including articles Rebekah on Twitter Zambesi AFR Boss Monthly Column

Welcome to our second ‘How To’ episode! This is where we choose a common theme or challenge raised in previous episodes and unpeel the topic a little bit more to give you some really practical and actionable tips and tools to try out for yourself. This week’s episode is all about Purpose, how to think about it (and how not to!) and how to go about finding your own authentic Purpose. You’ll hear Claire and Greta and a number of our guests talk about purpose in their lives and the really different ways we can all go about finding our own Purpose. Hear and learn: Why you should never worry or feel inadequate about where you are at on your Purpose journey The different ways Purpose can reveal itself and there’s not one ‘right’ way The journey one guest went on to literally visualise her Purpose Whether your Purpose can change or not Plus, a number of tips and tools for you to try Enjoy this episode! And don’t forget to check out all the cool resources below … A video by Professor Jennifer Aaker from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, explaining how what makes us happy changes over time. Question Journey Via Character Strengths - free online self assessment taken by more than 6 million people Books we love on this topic Flourish by Martin Seligman How Will You Measure Your Life by Clayton M Christensen The Element - How Finding your Passion Changes Everything by Ken Robinson Man's Search for Meaning - Viktor Frankl Find your Why by Simon Sinek Start with Why by Simon Sinek (about leadership and organisational purpose) Ikigai - The Japanese secret to a long and happy life by Hector Garcia Photo credit (top image): Samuel Scrimshaw, UnSplash Here's another video from Jennifer Aaker's research on why Purpose is important

Welcome to our second ‘How To’ episode! This is where we choose a common theme or challenge raised in previous episodes and unpeel the topic a little bit more to give you some really practical and actionable tips and tools to try out for yourself. This week’s episode is all about Purpose, how to think about it (and how not to!) and how to go about finding your own authentic Purpose. You’ll hear Claire and Greta and a number of our guests talk about purpose in their lives and the really different ways we can all go about finding our own Purpose. Hear and learn: Why you should never worry or feel inadequate about where you are at on your Purpose journey The different ways Purpose can reveal itself and there’s not one ‘right’ way The journey one guest went on to literally visualise her Purpose Whether your Purpose can change or not Plus, a number of tips and tools for you to try Enjoy this episode! And don’t forget to check out all the cool resources below … A video by Professor Jennifer Aaker from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, explaining how what makes us happy changes over time. Question Journey Via Character Strengths - free online self assessment taken by more than 6 million people Books we love on this topic Flourish by Martin Seligman How Will You Measure Your Life by Clayton M Christensen The Element - How Finding your Passion Changes Everything by Ken Robinson Man's Search for Meaning - Viktor Frankl Find your Why by Simon Sinek Start with Why by Simon Sinek (about leadership and organisational purpose) Ikigai - The Japanese secret to a long and happy life by Hector Garcia Photo credit (top image): Samuel Scrimshaw, UnSplash Here's another video from Jennifer Aaker's research on why Purpose is important