Episode 23 - Samantha & Pamela Pavliscak and Roman Krznaric / August 14, 2017 by Samantha Clarke

THE SUMMER SERIES - THE POWER OF TWO

As the summer picks up and we retreat to take some relaxation time, here at Conversations with Samantha & we've created a Summer Series called the "Power of Two".

Over the next few weeks we've created some fusion episodes which showcase compilations from some of our past popular interview guests and previously unreleased material to provide key answers to overarching themes and strategic advise to help you make real changes in your life and at work.

In today's episode you will hear Pamela Pavliscak and Roman Krznaric discuss how we can remain empathetic across technological platforms and

In this episode you will learn:

1. How our relationships are evolving with technology

Roman - 1.57

Pamela - 3.47

2. Building empathy across platforms and in technology

Roman - 5.43

Pamela - 8.24

Roman - 11.59

Pamela - 14.17

3. How companies can adopt different practices to become more tuned in to employees

Roman - 15.59

Pamela - 17.43

4. Developing richer and more emotionally complex interactions

Roman - 21.59

Pamela - 23.36

Episode 22 - Samantha & Tom Chatfield and Nir Eyal / August 7, 2017 by Samantha Clarke

The Summer Series - The Power of Two

As the summer picks up and we retreat to take some relaxation time, here at Conversations with Samantha & we have created the Summer Series called the "Power of Two".

In today's episode you will hear Dr Tom Chatwell and Nir Eyal tackle the task of helping us to use technology well.

In this episode you will learn:

Part 1 - The cycle of tech addiction

Q1 Tom - 0.24

Q2 Nir - 3.08

Part 2 - How to unplug when your time is not your own

Q3 Tom - 5.31

Q4 Nir - 10.01

Part 3 - The importance of re-educating yourself and noticing your triggers

Q5 Tom - 12.27

Q6 Nir - 14.49

Part 4 - Tips for balancing tech with life and the workplace

Q7 Tom - 18.58

Q8 Nir - 21.13

Episode 21 - Samantha & Ben Gateley / Charlie HR / August 7, 2017 by Samantha Clarke

Keeping a company people focused

In a quest to dig deeper into the complication relationship between happiness and tech, I wanted to get to the heart of what's really working in companies and what's not when it comes to technological distractions, company culture and employee wellbeing and development.

As part of our continued happiness and tech startup series, this fourth interview meets with Ben Gateley co-founder and COO of Charlie HR. Ben believes that the key feature in all companies is the people and with Charlie HR software saves you time on the admin, so you can get to the heart of what's really affects the success or failure of any business.

In this episode you will learn:

2.54 What is Charlie HR and how was it founded
5.16 Thinking about your people right from the beginning
7.54 The Charlie company culture
9.54 Encouraging self awareness
11.32 Setting a bad example in the workplace
14.30 Helping employees find a work life harmony
16.03 Happiness at Charlie
18.25 Combating stress in the workplace
23.12 Tips for developing people and culture
24.38 What makes Ben happy

Enjoyed listening to Ben? Fab! Find out more about CharlieHR here:

Website: www.charliehr.co

Twitter: @gateley

Episode 20 - Samantha & Your Questions / August 5, 2017 by Samantha Clarke

How can I get to know my employees deeper without being too intrusive?

In my newsletters I often include some of the top questions I’m asked that month by clients. However one lovely reader pointed out recently that they would love to know the answers to some of the questions posed as they are struggling with similar. So it will be business as usual with interviews with myself and one other but randomly sprinkled with some Q&A sessions with yours truly!

So this episode question is...

I want to get to know my employees but what can I ask that will help me to know them deeper without being too intrusive?

Listen to the answers here:

Samantha has four key questions that align with her four pillars for Growth and Happiness at work.

These questions will help to build better relationship and increase trust between you and your team.

[3.18] First pillar - Head and Heart

This pillar is about finding more contentment in everyday activities and naturally seeking more positive emotions.

[3.39] What one thing did you do today to move out of your comfort zone?

And if you haven’t done anything yet, how can we push you forwards?

[4.35] Second pillar - Work and Life

This pillar is about establishing company purpose and integrity. It looks at the processes and systems that exist in the company and which might need to change.

[5.20] What excited you about joining this company and does it still hold true today?

[6.15] Third pillar - Communicate and Connect

This pillar is about building better relationships, taking time to build communication between the team, suppliers, people and management.

[6.44] What is getting in the way of good communication in your workplace? What is the tone of current communication - positive or negative?

[7.29] - fourth pillar - Digital and Mindful

This pillar is about the preventative approach, creating strategies for focus and a feeling of flow in the workplace.

[7.52] What did you create this morning before consuming your work emails?

Create would mean anything that helped you move towards a personal goal, for example

Making time for breakfast, having a good conversation or reading a book.

Episode 19 - Samantha & Jane Bright / Bloom & Wild / July 17, 2017 by Samantha Clarke

Head of People & Talent..we've finally got one! Now what?

As part of our continued happiness and tech Start up series, this third interview meets with Jane Bright who has just started at Bloom & Wild as their Head of People & Talent. Bloom and Wild is a floral delivery system and a fast growth company recognised by the Future 50 Programme. The Future 50 is part of Tech City and they support businesses who are going through rapid expansion. We discuss the unique challenges of a fast growing company that is ready to lay some real people foundations as they scale. Previously it was all hands on deck to tackle the people challenges. Jane discusses her mission to elevate the people, spread happiness and create the right framework for growth.

In this episode you will learn:

1.24 Who are Bloom and Wild and the Future 50 Programme

3.21 Reflecting the joy of flowers internally and keeping staff happy

4.52 Building a happy culture while the company rapidly expands

9.03 Picking people for the values teams

10.25 Key people issues in the workplace

15.12 The balance between technology and work culture

19.15 Key legacy points for Bloom and Wild

20.15 Measuring company happiness

Enjoyed listening to Jane? Fab! Find out more about Bloom & Wild here:

Website: www.bloomandwild.com

Twitter: @BloomandWild

Episode 18 - Samantha & Adam Popeck/Raising IT / July 14, 2017 by Samantha Clarke

What is this charity tech company doing to stay happy?

As part of our continued happiness and tech Start up series, this second interview meets with Adam Popeck, COO of Raising IT. Raising IT is the UK’s leading charity and fund raising platform. We discuss the unique challenges of a small start up with distributed teams, measuring happiness and how they plan to scale and keep the culture going.

In this episode you will learn:

1.48 The working culture at Raising IT

4.30 Past and future techniques for improving culture

7.01 Managing stress throughout remote teams

9.52 Monitoring happiness

14.43 Overcoming technology problems in the workforce

17.51 Plans for developing company culture in the future

23.03 What makes Adam happy?

Enjoyed listening to Adam? Fab! Find out more about Raising IT here:

Website: www.raisingit.com

Episode 17 - Samantha & Tim Leberecht / July 3, 2017 by Samantha Clarke

Can Romance save your business in an increasingly digital age?

When we think of romance we don't automatically think of business. But Tim is on a mission to get us thinking about how we can create more enchantment, love and romance into our work especially in a time of rising automation. I came across Tim and I was instantly keen to get him onto the show.

Tim Leberecht is a German-American author, entrepreneur, and consultant with 20 years’ experience in marketing leadership roles in the design, software, telecommunications, and entertainment industries in the US and Europe. He is the founder and CEO of Leberecht & Partners, a consulting firm that helps leaders and organizations with their vision, story, and culture change, and a Senior Advisor to global design studio and creative consultancy A Hundred Years that is specialized in social impact and long-term transformation. Tim is also the author of the international bestseller, The Business Romantic: Give Everything, Quantify Nothing, and Create Something Greater Than Yourself (HarperCollins, 2015), that has been translated into eight languages to date. He is also the founder of The Business Romantic Society, a global collective of strategists, advertisers, curators, artists, developers, designers, researchers, and data scientists with the shared mission to bring beauty and enchantment to business.

In this episode you will learn:

1.49 Adding romance to the business world

4.36 Tim's key romance principles

8.07 Ways to introduce these principles into a company

9.33 How to embrace mess and move away from perfectionism

13.08 Practising these principles in non-western offices

14.57 Tim's favourite principle

16.59 Company culture tips for someone scaling up quickly

22.59 What is 'The House of Beautiful Business' and who can take part?

27.32 What life might look like when we don't have to work?

29.24 What Tim does to stay romantic in his business

30.45 Advice for adding romance to your organisation now

Enjoyed listening to Tim? Fab! Find out more about him here:

Websites: http://timleberecht.com , https://www.houseofbeautiful.biz

Twitter: @timleberecht

Episode 16 - Samantha & Maria McKavanagh / June 26, 2017 by Samantha Clarke

Work/life realities in the start up tech world

First in the series is Maria is the COO of Verve. Verve produces a home energy assistant that can turn your home appliances into smart products. The Verve box allows appliances to tell you when they're starting to break, and to communicate with engineers who can arrive to fix them with the correct parts. Maria has a wide range of experience in aerospace, defence and consumer electronics before taking on the role of COO. Maria is in charge of hiring, employee wellbeing all the way to pitching for new investment. Verve has 20 employees so far and has doubled in the last year and hopes to double again in the next year. With fast growth on the agenda how do they make the space to tackle the challenges of scaling company culture, technological distractions and mindfulness in this vibrant start up ....listen to find out more!

In this episode you will learn:

0.51 Who is Maria?

3.46 What is verve like as a company

9.14 Taking on employee suggestions to improve company culture

12.02 The effect of remote working on team dynamics

23.12 Keeping the company connected as it grows

26.41 How happy is Verve?

28.46 What makes Maria happy

Links mentioned in the episode:

Boat exercise

https://luis-goncalves.com/sailboat-exercise-sailboat-retrospective/

Minute of mindfulness