Don't Stop Us Now! Podcast

Welcome to our latest How To episode!We’ve had numerous people ask us recently if now is the right time to change jobs or even careers. It got us both thinking and before you knew it, we had a new ‘How To’ ready to go! In this episode we explore why you might want to change careers, when is the best time to change careers, and finally how you go about changing career. We also explain what we mean by ‘changing careers’ versus simply changing jobs. You’ll hear step-by-step examples of how both Claire and Greta have each changed their careers. (Hint - we’ve had a fair bit of practise!)Plus you’ll also learn: The key timing and financial considerations you need to take in to account before you change careersWhy we think now is a time to be cautious and conservative before leaving your current jobAdvice from a resume expert on how to change industries (a potentially common scenario for people working in COVID-affected industries such as Travel and Hospitality right now) Examples of how to think

Our latest Future Proof me mini-episode this week shares invaluable lessons from an entrepreneur who’s truly experienced the highs and lows of building a global business. For this week’s mini episode, we return the spotlight to Jodie Fox, the Co-Founder of the iconic online retail brand Shoes of Prey. Jodie and her co-founders went on an incredible journey over a decade building Shoes of Prey to be a global brand, only to be forced to close it all down in 2018.The advice Jodie shares here isn't just relevant for a budding entrepreneur; it’s actually about how to navigate your way through your chosen career and not short change yourself by holding yourself back or getting in your own way of progress. Jodie has really thought deeply about how we can hold ourselves back and how we like to keep ourselves safe and has some great advice to share. She also shares her views on how we all think too judgmentally about failure - both when it comes to ourselves as well as others.Don’t forget, if you l

This week’s episode features a trailblazing woman in tech who’s had an extraordinary 28 year career at Microsoft.Mitra Azizirad is Corporate Vice President of AI and Innovation Marketing at Microsoft based in Seattle. As you’ll discover, Mitra’s heard it all, including a senior Defence executive telling her he had shoes older than she was! This indomitable woman has also got used to hearing plenty of ‘No’s’ at work but has repeatedly found ways to prove the naysayers wrong.  In this episode you’ll learn: How it’s almost an accident Mitra got into tech in the first place, given she studied and wanted to work in International Relations What it was like being Chief of Staff to the CEO of Microsoft and why she turned the job down several times in the first placeWhy she’s never taken anyone’s advice And the secrets of innovation she’s learnt from working on the cutting edge of technology. We spoke with Mitra in Seattle during the coronavirus shutdown but before the Black Lives Ma

Welcome to another of our short and sweet, 'Future Proof Me' episodes where we focus on the most valuable insights, gems of advice and ideas from our incredible guests, all focusing on the theme of future proofing ourselves and our careers.This week’s 'Future Proof Me' guest is Que Dallara, who is President and CEO of Honeywell’s Connected Enterprise division. She works at the cutting edge leading a new software business with several thousand employees. Que is one of the most deep and smart thinkers we know and her thoughts on career planning and success are so insightful. In this mini episode we shine the spotlight on the three key strategies Que says she’s used in her career and that have clearly served her so well. We think her third point about the importance of developing Mastery in something you do is particularly important for each of us to reflect on. Enjoy this career wisdom from the impressive and humble Que Dallara ...  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out informat

This week on the show we’re excited to introduce you to Deanne Weir, a former media lawyer and executive; turned media entrepreneur, investor and company director. Deanne started her career as a corporate lawyer in Australia and spent years in the telco and television sectors. She became one of the most respected executives in the broadcast industry.In 2012, as a member of the senior leadership team and a shareholder of Austar, an Australian cable TV company, she played a key role in the sale of the company. The capital she personally earnt from the sale, gave Deanne the opportunity to start her own investment company and start a new career.Her company, WeirAnderson.com, invests in entrepreneurs and storytellers in the media and social sectors to help them change the world. She is the Chair of three start-ups including one in data and analytics and one in AI, as well as supporting numerous not for profits including being Chair of the Sydney Film Festival and Global Sisters.In this conversation you’ll lea

Ever felt a lot of self-imposed pressure to keep on moving up the career ladder? That’s the key topic of this week’s Future Proof Me episode. These mini episodes are all about sharing a ‘nugget’ of an idea, a piece of advice or a thought provoking insight to help us all navigate our way ahead in these uncertain and unusual times. This week we revisit a conversation we had a year ago with well known Australian media entrepreneur, Mia Freedman. One of our favourite parts of our conversation with her was some great advice she shared on how to think about your next career move. With COVID-19, we’re hearing from many of you who have lost their roles or are fearful of losing their jobs, and whilst this advice from Mia was recorded before, we think you’ll agree that what Mia has to say is particularly useful in this new context. So if you’re curious about what connection ‘ladders’ and ‘lattices’ have in the context of your career; or what the heck ‘flearning’ means…. Listen on. We promise yo

We have a real treat in store for you today with a truly remarkable changemaker and NY Times bestselling author as our guest.Acumen Founder and CEO, Jacqueline Novogratz, has been named one of the 25 Smartest People of the Decade by the Daily Beast, and one of the world’s 100 Greatest Living Business Minds by Forbes, amongst numerous other honours. Jacqueline pioneered the notion of 'patient capital', investing in social entrepreneurs around the world. Acumen supports them to establish sustainable businesses that serve some of the world’s poorest people.What makes this episode a particularly fascinating one is that all this work with entrepreneurs has taught Jacqueline and her team so much about what it takes to succeed when trying to create change. And now she’s also just released a new book sharing what it takes to be a changemaker. It's called Manifesto for a Moral Revolution (and there’s a free course too if you buy the book). In this episode you’ll hear: How her early attemp

Welcome to our second Future Proof Me mini episode. These mini episodes will be uploaded in the weeks between our usual, longer interview and ‘How To’ episodes. They are designed to snappily share nuggets of ideas or insights to help us all thrive in future. This week’s nugget is all about how important technology is to our future regardless of whether we consider ourselves as ‘tech-people’. First you’ll hear from Martha Lane Fox, one of the UK’s most respected technology leaders and entrepreneurs. These days she has an illustrious board career, sits in the House of Lords, and she campaigns for responsible technology through her foundation, Doteveryone. Martha shares great advice around positioning yourself in your career and how important it is to be curious about technology. She then goes on to talk about how, with the quickening pace of change, we need to be prepared to have multiple different careers.Then we hear from the Artificial Intelligence expert, Kriti Sharma. She builds really

We have a fascinating episode this week with our guest, Taiwan’s remarkable Digital Minister, Audrey Tang.Audrey became the youngest Government Minister ever in Taiwan when she was appointed a few years ago at the age of 35. She is also the world’s first ever Transgender Government Minister. Audrey’s childhood was anything but conventional, in her early years she was something of a child prodigy who also had a serious heart condition. She dropped out of school at the age of 14 to manage her own education and at the age of 16 started her first successful software business. Fast forward in time, and after some years working in Silicon Valley and further success, Audrey found herself moving from being a Government activist in her home country to a Government Minister!In this episode you’ll hear:How Audrey’s quick involvement in creating a valuable app has played a key role in Taiwan’s extraordinarily successful management of Covid-19, with the country never having to stop workingHow her heart condition

Welcome to our first Future Proof Me mini episode! These episodes, will share a 'nugget' of an idea, advice or a thought-provoking insight to help us all thrive and adapt in future. Our environment’s changing so fast right now, this seems more important than ever … In these mini episodes we’ll feature the best from previous and future guests including brand new content. Plus, we’ll share ideas and great tools to try that we’ve put into action or experimented with ourselves. This week’s 'nugget' comes from investment banker Lindley Edwards who we had on the show about a year ago. Her episode was very popular and you could really tell from that, that Lindley is a deep thinker. Lindley runs a corporate advisory business called AFG Venture Group which specialises in cross-border investments and transactions, particularly between Asia & Australia. She’s also Chairperson for two startups and a Non-Executive Director of a Think Tank called AsiaLink.We love these insights f

This week as the economic impact from COVID-19 continues to unfold, we wanted to give anyone affected, or anyone who fears they may be affected in future, something seriously practical and useful to action. One thing we know for sure is that the best and fastest way to reduce your anxiety and stress over financial or employment issues is to have a plan. This episode will give you the steps to create your very own game plan so you too can feel prepared for whatever happens. Not only that, we’re super excited that this episode shares invaluable advice from an international resume writing expert who is also a former long-time recruiter and search consultant. Handy eh? Yes indeed, no mucking around here, if you want some amazing advice to help you bounce back and ‘get that job’ then you are in the right place. In this episode you’ll learn:   3 key areas to focus your game plan on Why it’s important to know where you stand financially Winning tips to create a fanta

We have a brilliant episode for you this week with the renown entrepreneur and Shark Tank investor Naomi Simson. Given these unprecedented times, this is just the tonic we needed and we think you will love her too. On the topic of COVID-19, wherever you’re listening to us from, we hope you’re safe and well and not doing it too tough. Please know that you are not alone, #weareinthistogether . As you’ll hear in this episode, Naomi has some great thoughts for what leaders and businesses need to be thinking about. Nearly 20 years ago, Naomi took her savings and founded her online business ‘RedBalloon’ when she was a Mum of two small children. The site she built is an aggregator of a vast variety of experiences that people can buy vouchers for from thousands of tourism and adventure operators around Australia and NZ, and they’re expanding internationally as well. Today the ‘Big Red Group’ has 5 separate businesses under its umbrella with revenue over $70 million and literally millions of experiences

Our guest this week is entrepreneur and philanthropist, Bobbi Mahlab. We think you’ll love Bobbi; she’s authentic, brave and very humble! More than 20 years ago, Bobbi founded the content marketing and communications agency, ‘Mahlab’. Given how much the publishing and content businesses have changed in two decades, it’s a testimony to Bobbi’s foresight and agility that the business thrives and continues to evolve today. Much more recently, Bobbi also co-founded the fast-expanding Australian arm of Mentor Walks, an initiative she was exposed to when she took part in a Mentor Walk in China, the brainchild of one of our earlier podcast guests, Michelle Garnaut. Bobbi’s business has won multiple awards and accolades, and Bobbi herself also has her fair share of honours including recently being appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for her services to women, publishing and philanthropy. Bobbi has some fascinating insights and perspectives on women in business and being an entreprene

Our guest this week is Kristina Karlsson, the entrepreneur and founder of global Swedish design and stationery business, kikki.K.   What’s unprecedented about this episode is that just as we were in the process of putting this out to the world, Kristina’s beloved nearly 20 year old business fell in to Administration with the latest news saying they are looking for buyers or investors to keep the business alive.  When we recorded our interview with Kristina just a few weeks ago she talked about challenging times in retail but, not surprisingly, she didn’t go into details of the current situation.  What we’ve been struck by is how positive and strong Kristina is, even now in her social posts. And that comes through so strongly in this episode where you’ll hear about:  The ups and downs of starting your own retail business and how tough you need to be  Kristina’s passion for having dreams and chasing them (She’s also written a book called ‘Your Dream Life Starts Here’ to inspire others to write down and

Our guest this week is former military leader and now Quantum Computing pioneer, Mandy Birch. Born and bred in the USA, Mandy is super qualified . . . she has a Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering from MIT; another Masters in in Military Operational Art & Science, and a third Masters in International Relations! Mandy’s entire career has been in male dominated industries. She spent 16 years climbing to senior ranks in the United States Air Force and now she’s working on Quantum Computing with a company called Rigetti. Rigetti is one of four companies (Sept 2019) to have a fully operational quantum computer.  During our conversation, we were fascinated to hear how Mandy only truly thrived in her career in the military when she learnt to be herself. She talks about how important it has been to her career to feel comfortable in her own skin, even when she was different to nearly everyone else in the room.  In this episode you’ll learn:  How to summarise Quantum Computing in a single sentence How

If you’ve ever wondered about what we’ll all be eating in 10-15 years time then this is the episode for you!  Our guest is Barcelona-based Cecilia Tham, a Social Technologist and Futurist. She happens to have the coolest day job working for Alpha, which is Telefonica’s innovation arm briefed to build moonshots to address some of society’s biggest problems, including the future of food. Cecilia was raised in Macau, attended high school and Harvard university in the US, and then found herself in Spain having to start from scratch, language included. She describes herself as an entrepreneur by heart, a designer and biologist by training, and a maker for life.  On her journey to working at Alpha, she founded and co-founded 3 separate ventures including a Maker cafe, a co-working community, and a coding and tech academy for women. We think you’ll find Cecilia’s life and career lessons really inspiring. In particular you’ll learn: How Cecilia’s former husband’s gift of a sewing machine first insulted her and

Our first ‘How To’ episode of 2020 brings you super useful tips and advice to set yourself up for an awesome 2020! To put this episode together, we scoured the latest research and we drew upon the content and expertise we’ve developed delivering leadership programs around the world for major companies such as Google, Salesforce and Pinterest. And, as usual, you also get to hear thoughts from some of our amazing guests on the topic as well.  You may well have thought about some New Year’s resolutions or goals recently, but whatever your situation, we’re confident that this episode will turbocharge your prospects for the rest of the year.  Here’s a taste of some of the many invaluable things you’ll learn from this episode: The somewhat surprising first step we advise you take when planning a great year ahead The huge benefits you can reap from cultivating a more positive outlook and mindset,  plus easy tips to help you do just that How to avoid being over-ambitious with all the goals you want to set

From extreme disadvantage in her childhood, Honeywell Connected Enterprise (HCE) President and CEO, Que Dallara, has been driven all her life to ensure she and her family are far from the memories she has of begging for rice as a child refugee.  We’re in awe of what Que has so thoughtfully achieved over the years taking her from supporting her family and herself through school and uni, to reach the highest echelons of corporate America. Que grew up in Australia and worked there for McKinsey and numerous corporates before moving to the US almost 20 years ago via an MBA at Insead. She worked in senior roles for Microsoft, TE Connectivity and now is running HCE for Honeywell. Que is leading the industrial giant’s transformative push into software sales and the Internet of Things.  Alongside all of this, she’s also the mum of three kids! We urge you not to miss this episode which shares not only Que’s incredible life story but also some of the finest career advice you’re likely to hear.  In this episode you’

Our guest this week has taken the road less travelled, and pioneered her industry in Hong Kong and China for more than 30 years. We’re talking about one of Asia’s most celebrated restaurateurs, and a philanthropist as well, Michelle Garnaut AO. Michelle grew up in Australia but always knew she wanted to travel. The fact she founded and launched her business, the M Restaurant Group, in Hong Kong in the late 1980s makes her one of the first independent restaurateurs to set up shop anywhere in Hong Kong or China.  Time Magazine has even described Michelle as an ‘industry celebrity’ and someone who ‘pioneered the fashionable-dining scene in China’.  Michelle is well known for the upscale restaurants and bars she’s created and launched in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing - including M on the Bund restaurant still delighting diners in Shanghai.  She’s also committed to giving back, and founded the Shanghai International Literary Festival the M Literary Residency, the Village People Project and the women’s initia

This week’s guest has an insatiable passion for learning and the future and she has the career portfolio to prove it! We’re talking about international company director, entrepreneur and global philanthropist, Laura Anderson. Laura grew up near Chicago in the US. She found out early on that she was good at maths and loved ideas and set about immersing herself in areas that fascinated her. As a girl she wanted  to be an astronaut and to this day is convinced the Space Program is critically important. And yes, she’s passionate about humans getting to Mars! Laura’s “why not?” attitude ultimately led her to a career in the technology industry where she worked around the world for companies such as HP, KPMG and Perot Systems, as well as starting her own successful supply chain company.  Laura is now based in Australia where she has a full and fascinating portfolio of local and international interests and directorships including being Chair of LaunchVic (a Government organisation to foster a start-up ecosystem),