Episodes
-
On the morning of your company's massive online shop launch, the only person who knows the crucial password misses their alarm, sleeps in and everyone's left waiting.
Oh dear.
In this episode we speak with the tireless behavioural scientist and Human Risk expert, Christian Hunt who tells us about the fundamental elements of human risk and how to avoid it; with plenty of juicy examples to bring this topic to life. Whilst the majority of the episode focuses on Human Risk in the professional environment, we also talk about how we all experience it in our day-to-day personal and family lives too; in Christian's own words, we all do stupid things every now and then.
When Christian talks with companies about their Human Risk and how to mitigate it, he talks about "getting people to do what you want without p*ssing them off" - which we do reference a fair bit in the podcast. [potty mouths].
Get in Touch
You will definitely have examples of Human Risk in your own personal or professional lives, and we'd love to hear about them. Anonymous submissions very welcome :-)
email us: [email protected] leave us a voice noteReference Links
In this episode we also reference:
Jono's sketch on PhishingAbsolute carnage at the Oscars when the wrong film was read out for Best Picture. Kinda funny. Hugely awkward.In our Listener Comments at the end of the episode we reference an awesome inforgraphic on "The Emotion of Colour" in reference to our episode with Lucia Fraser on The Basic Colour Wheel. It's well worth a look.Guest Profile
Christian Hunt has over 27 years of experience in Financial Services, working in Investment Banking, Asset Management and a Family Office.
His work benefits from the unique perspective of having held senior roles as both a Regulator and Risk & Compliance Officer.
You can find more information about Christian and his services and his book, Humanizing Rules at www.human-risk.com
You can peruse his collection of amusing "Compliance in the Wild" spotting on LinkedIn.
You can also listen to the Human Risk Podcast.
All music on this podcast is provided by the very talented Franc Cinelli.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
Do you like the thought of heading off on an adventure but don't really have the time to see it through?
Why not try a MicroAdventure?
They're smaller, achievable, won't break the bank and will go a long way to scratching that itch you might never have reached anyway.
In this episode we speak with the charming and inspirational Al Humphreys about adventures in his life, before focussing on the smaller, more achievable things we could all fit into our busy lives to keep our thirst for fun, physical activity and spiritual reward truly quenched. Al is the author of 14 books to date, is an accomplished and entertaining public speaker, podcaster and general all-round good guy. Our conversation is packed full of ideas for things you can do from your own doorstep that will ensure you have some great stories (and maybe photos) to share with friends and family - in fact, why not share your MicroAdventures with them too?
I know for a fact that since this conversation, Tommy climbs a tree near his office once a month during his lunch break!
Amongst many topics, we talk about the character traits of someone who enjoys adventure and adversity, what drives us to seek adventure and the legal & moral wrangling of responsible wild camping.
Get in Touch
How important is adventure in your life?
Do you have examples of your own MicroAdventures?
Let us know:
email us: [email protected] leave us a voice noteReference Links
In this episode we also reference:
Custom Made Ordnance Survey MapsThe Fun Scale podcast episodeSmall Little People TRIZ Tool podcast episodeThe book "As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning" by Laurie LeeExample of a simple Bivvy BagHow to find the halfway point between you and others to define the perfect place to meet.All music on this podcast is provided by the very talented Franc Cinelli.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
Episodes manquant?
-
Colour.
Life wouldn’t be the same without it.
But there are so many to choose from, how do we know which is the right colour?
eg. What colour car would you buy? What colour shoes? What colour paint for the new feature wall in the kitchen?
Sometimes you just instinctively know what colour(s) to choose. It’s a vibe thing.
Other times, it’s nice to get a bit of help. And in this episode we speak with celebrated artist and ceramicist Lucia Fraser about the Basic Colour Wheel: Bringing a bit of structure and dare we say it, science to proceedings to help understand how colours relate to and complement each other.
We also discuss how colour can affect and reflect our emotions.
I particularly enjoyed our discussion about how brand logos are different to art when it comes to colour and that the colours chosen often have clear functions to play.
Get in Touch
How important is colour in your life?
Have you ever used the colour wheel to help make a decision on something?
Let us know:
email us: [email protected] leave us a voice noteLucia Fraser profile
Lucia studied for her Honours degree in Fine Art at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. She has since exhibited her work in galleries across the UK and has collaborated with iconic British design brands such as Hobbs and Heal’s Furniture.
Lucia is a friend of mine, and I’m very proud to say that I have a few bits of her work in my house, like this gorgeous landscape-inspired ink canvas.
For more information on Lucia's work visit LuciaFraser.com
And you can follow her antics on Instagram.
Reference Links
In this episode we also reference:
The iconic Gulf Oil racing liveryJono's Sketchplanation on Atmospheric PerspectiveAll music on this podcast is provided by the very talented Franc Cinelli.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
Just like Goldilocks' porridge, often the most enjoyable activities and tasks are those in the sweet spot; where the balance between competence and the difficulty of the job at hand is juuuuuuuuust right. Making it a challenge, but not too much so.
We discuss our own tolerances for menial tasks (such as loading the dishwasher) and find examples of our own Goldilocks Tasks (like tough IKEA furniture builds). Through this, we dissect what makes us feel motivated in the work we do, and more importantly the work we enjoy doing.
How do ours compare to your Goldilocks Tasks? Where have you found your flow? Let us know:
[email protected] leave us a voice noteIn the podcast we reference the following which you might like to read more into:
The Basic Colour WheelBiz Stone's Book: Things a Little Bird Told MeMatch challenge with skills to avoid boredom and anxietyThe concept of FlowAll music provided by Franc Cinelli.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
How easy do you find it to step back momentarily to gather your thoughts when your world continues at 100 mph?
So often in our professional and personal lives we're too busy to ever pause, reflect, and recharge before continuing.
One of the key mantras from Stephen Covey's book, 7 Habits of Highly Successful People is to stop and sharpen the saw every now and then to gain perspective, refresh thinking and re-prioritise.
Jono & Tommy give examples from their lives about how this approach has helped them at work and at home.
Rob brings the metaphor into the literal world with stories from his wood workshop.
In our discussion, we mention the following items, which you might want to take a closer look at:
This song, It Costs That Much did the rounds on social media a while back for frustrated makers and crafters. It made me laugh.We covered the 5 Ways to Wellbeing with wellness expert Nancy Hey in podcast #15 from Series 1.Here's an example of a 5-year journal that Tommy was talking about. (Tommy sent me one of these in the post after we recorded the episode! :-)Jono references Arnold Schwarzenegger's motivational speech. Here's a clipped edit of the 1-hour a day section.Sketchplanations referenced:Jólabókaflóð - Icelandic tradition of giving books at Christmas and staying in to read them.
Forest Bathing - to soak in the atmosphere of a forest
Solvitur Ambulando - It is solved by walking
From the postbag, Jono also references sketches to do with the dining / kitchen table:
Kitchen Table Survival SkillsSet your table in time-honoured positionsTell us your stories or experiences with Sharpening The Saw.
email: [email protected] or leave us a voice note by clicking the blue microphone button.
All Music on this podcast series is provided by Franc Cinelli. Find many more tracks at franccinelli.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
Whether it's a home renovation project, a presentation for work, a piece of writing or an actual race you need to train for, the thought of the finishing line can be the ultimate motivator to get you started.
We chat with charming and witty, American author, illustrator, film-maker and ultra-runner Brendan Leonard about how he motivates himself to get going on various projects. Through his stories of physical adventure and creative endeavours we explore the different ways in which a definitive end-point to something (and sometimes a fear of it) can serve as the biggest kick.
In this discussion we reference:
Brendan's latest book; Ultra SomethingBrendan's book on the journey of creative expression; Make It - 50 Myths and Truths about CreatingBrendan's book on running; I Hate Running and You Can TooBrendan's film (and look out for the bit at the Finish Line that Brendan references in the podcast); How to Run 100 milesJono references his sketch on Forcing Function
We'd love to hear your stories of any experience with Finishing Lines. How much of a motivator are they for you?
Ping us an email to: [email protected] or leave us a voice note when you click the blue microphone button on the website.
All Music on this podcast series is provided by Franc Cinelli. Find many more tracks at franccinelli.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
We're on our podcast summer holiday, but wanted to check in to let you know that we're still here, that we'll be back with Series 3 on Thursday 22nd August, and that you can vote for us in the British Podcast Awards - Listener's Choice category.
As mentioned in the podcast, here's me on my 80s BMX with my 1st place trophy for cycling proficiency.
And here's a clip of the awards ceremony Jono referenced with the inimitable Steve Martin.
If you'd like to get in touch with us about any of our previous episode topics, your own experiences with the subjects we explore, or just to say hi, you can email us:
Or you can leave us a note or even a voice note on the podcast website.
Oh - and here's Jono's Imposter Syndrome sketch which is the best possible artwork we could chose for this episode - and which I'm sure we'll come back to at some point for a full podcast as it feels like something a lot of people can probably relate to.
Have a great summer and we'll see you in August.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
This week is International Men's Health Week and Sunday is Father's Day, so what better time to team up with life-saving charity Prostate Cancer UK for this episode of the podcast?
1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with Prostate Cancer in their lifetime and that number rises to 1 in 4 for black men.
Chances of survival increase dramatically with early diagnosis and so the best thing you can do as a man in the next 30 seconds is complete this Online Risk Checker which will guide you through your personal risk and advise on any next steps.
There's not a latex glove in sight! And that's exactly the point with the new and improved way for detecting prostate cancer.
We speak with Amy Rylance from Prostate Cancer UK to understand the new process for detecting prostate cancer and how it's both safer and more accurate.
You can see a bigger version of this week's sketch here.
We reference a number of research papers in the episode, which you can find here:
The Lancet Commission on Prostate Cancer (gives a global perspective).The BJGP piece on how the evidence has shifted on the value of the digital rectal exam.If you have any thoughts or stories you'd like to share with us please email us: [email protected]
Alternatively, leave us a message or even a voice note through the contact form .
I'm so grateful for my Dad's early diagnosis and treatment and will be celebrating that this Sunday.
And in case anyone's interested, I did phone up my GP after we recorded the podcast and was told my PSA blood results were normal.
It feel good to have started the conversation with my doctor though.
Find many more sketches at Sketchplanations.com
All Music on this podcast series is provided by Franc Cinelli. Find many more tracks at franccinelli.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
In this episode we discuss the phenomenon of organisations working to keep alive a problem for which they are the solution.
It was observed and written about by American technology writer and consultant, Clay Shirky and has thus been given the name The Shirky Principle.
Through many examples, we explore how prevalent it's been in the world of products and consumables and try (but in all honesty, probably fail) to offer advice on how to avoid falling foul of it oneself.
We conclude that it's definitely something much easier to spot in others!
Here are some useful links if you want to find out more about some of the bits we discussed:
Clay Shirky's book on Cognitive SurplusJono's sketch on the Data, Information, Knowledge, Wisdom chain. Mitchell & Webb Toothbrush design marketing comedy sketchStructure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas KuhnSketchplanations on the S-CurvePlease consider giving us a review or subscribing to our podcast on your podcast player. It really helps.
We'd love to hear your stories of any experience with The Shirky Principle.
Ping us an email to: [email protected]
All Music on this podcast series is provided by Franc Cinelli. Find many more tracks at franccinelli.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
We spoke with mechanical wristwatch designer Gordon Fraser, of Marloe Watch Company, to hear his perspective on the pros and cons of product design when you set out to be different.
It's not always a given that your customers want dramatically different and perhaps there are times when you should swim against the current and others when you should let yourself go with the flow.
The real skill comes from experience, to know which mode to activate when.
Gordon also speaks about the need to be allowed to dream as an antidote to creative blockages.
Could this mindset help with any endeavours, be they creative or otherwise, in your world?
Additionally, we reference:
Jono's Prints & Performances sketch.Approach Buffet from both Sides sketchThe British Museum Clock GalleryPlease consider giving us a review or subscribing to our podcast on your podcast player. It really helps.
Please also consider ordering a copy of Jono's Sketchplanations book: Big Ideas, Little Pictures. Out now!
We'd love to hear your stories of creative mindsets and how you've overcome any barriers.
Ping us an email to: [email protected]
All Music on this podcast series is provided by Franc Cinelli. Find many more tracks at franccinelli.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
Music.
It can be a very personal thing. It can be most powerful when shared.
It's on the radio, in our headphones on the commute, at the gym, on TV ads, in our favourite movies... what would the world be without it?
And what would the world be without the people who create it?
This episode, we interrogate singer, songwriter, producer, and friend of the show Franc Cinelli to find out how he goes about creating new music.
Where does it come from?
What are his processes?
And how does creating music relate to other areas of creativity in our lives?
if you're a regular listener you may or may not be aware that it's Franc's music we use on the podcast.
Most notably:
Driver - as our intro music.
The Impossible Breaks Free - as our transition into the episode's sketch-specific discussion
Julius Play His Winning Ace - (my favourite) at the end of the Listener Comments that round off each episode.
Find his music here on Apple or Spotify
Here's some good stuff to check out that we reference in the podcast:
Short Film: From Somewhere - Franc talks about his music making
Axis of Awesome - songs that use the same 4 chords
Steal Like An Artist - Book by Austin Kleon : 10 things nobody told you about being creative
And what would an episode of this podcast be without referring to another of Jono's sketches: 3,500 lifetime reads
As always, we'd love to know your thoughts about our discussion and you can email us here
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
We think beaches are great!
What about you?
In this episode:
We discuss how beaches are prime spots for enjoyment for all ages and at any time of year.We talk about how they can be places for excitement and adrenaline; places to encourage creativity; places for quiet contemplation; and places that bring perspective to life.Tommy goads Jono into a debate about what's better: Mountains or Beaches.We share our best beach-find storiesand as ever, we bring in a few of Jono's other related sketches:+ Sea Jellies and Sea Stars
+ Types of surf breaks (waves)
+ The Anatomy of a wave
+ The Strand Line
And here's the photo of "the bomb" found on the beach up near Middlesbrough.
We'd love to hear from you about your best finds or your most memorable moments at the beach.
Email us: [email protected]
All music on this podcast series provided by the very talented Franc Cinelli.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
This week, we ask ourselves if we've reached our professional peaks and if we now fall foul to the Peter Principle, having tipped into our levels of incompetency.
Amongst many other clever things, Jono applies the principle to Football Management.
Tommy gives his insight to how relevant it is managing at the very top of a business.
And I tell how my capacity to teach stuff is severely limited by exactly the kind of incompetence the Peter Principle is based on.
Where do you feel you or maybe more interestingly, where do those around you sit within the Peter Principle?
Here are some useful links if you want to find out more about some of the bits we discussed:
The Peter Principle was first proposed by Canadian educator, Laurence J. Peter . In one of his books, he also said that "noblest of all dogs is the hot dog; it feeds the hand that bites it."Creator of The Paula Principle is Tom SchullerThe Dilbert PrincipleThe Generalised Peter Principle sketch#1 Rule of Indoor GamesThe BBC Peter Principle sitcom with Jim Broadbent on YouTubePlease consider giving us a review or subscribing to our podcast on your podcast player. It really helps.
Please also consider putting in a pre-order for Jono's Sketchplanations book: Big Ideas, Little Pictures. Out very soon.
We'd love to hear your stories of any experience with The Peter Principle.
Ping us an email to: [email protected]
All Music on this podcast series is provided by Franc Cinelli. Find many more tracks at franccinelli.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
So much we didn't know about the wonderful world of plants.
In this compilation, double-header episode discussing some of Jono's sketches that cover fascinating elements of botany, we are joined by 2-time gold medal winner at the world famous Chelsea Flower Show, author of 6 best-selling books, and ambassador for Kew Gardens; celebrated botanist, James Wong.
Rather than edit out a tonne of insightful, educational discussion points from James, we decided to publish this episode in two parts. This is Part 2.
The sketches we discussed are:
Heat IslandsThe Browse LineThe Hungry GapPhoenix TreesNurse LogsHow to make your own Fresh AirThis last sketch was based on a TED talk by Kamal Meattle - and it's an interesting listen to hear how James dissects the theory behind it.
It was also a delight to discover that all 4 of us attended the University of Bath at the same time.
Please consider giving us a review or subscribing to our podcast on your podcast player. It really helps.
Please also consider putting in a pre-order for Jono's Sketchplanations book: Big Ideas, Little Pictures. Out very soon now.
Have a story or a thought about botany and your experiences with plants?
Ping us an email to: [email protected]
All Music on this podcast series is provided by Franc Cinelli. Find many more tracks at franccinelli.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
So much we didn't know about the wonderful world of plants.
In this compilation, double-header episode discussing some of Jono's sketches that cover fascinating elements of botany, we are joined by 2-time gold medal winner at the world famous Chelsea Flower Show, author of 6 best-selling books, and ambassador for Kew Gardens; celebrated botanist, James Wong.
Rather than edit out a tonne of insightful, educational discussion points from James, we decided to publish this episode in two parts. This is Part 1.
The sketches we discussed are:
Heat IslandsThe Browse LineThe Hungry GapPhoenix TreesNurse LogsHow to make your own Fresh AirThis last sketch was based on a TED talk by Kamal Meattle - and it's an interesting listen to hear how James dissects the theory behind it.
It was also a delight to discover that all 4 of us attended the University of Bath at the same time.
Please consider giving us a review or subscribing to our podcast on your podcast player. It really helps.
Please also consider putting in a pre-order for Jono's Sketchplanations book: Big Ideas, Little Pictures. Out very soon now.
Have a story or a thought about botany and your experiences with plants?
Ping us an email to: [email protected]
All Music on this podcast series is provided by Franc Cinelli. Find many more tracks at franccinelli.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
The three of us are tired of being misunderstood when we've used the words "biweekly", "bimonthly" and "biannually".
It's just no fun.
And so we're starting the campaign to ditch biweekly and use fortnightly instead. See sketch here.
Try it out. You won't regret it.
Our discussion turns to the general ambiguity of language and how in many senses it's quite a good thing.
It allows for creative writing, comedy and ease of communication.
Lots of bits to link to this week from this week's episode - enjoy:
Ian Hollingshead book - Imagine my surprise... William Empson's book - The 7 types of AmbiguityTED talk by Lera Boroditsky & here's her Instagram account too.Sketch on the Oxford commaSketch on Context is KingSketch on CapitonymsSketch on homonyms, homographs, homophones, heteronymsPlease consider giving us a review or subscribing to our podcast on your podcast player. It really helps.
Please also consider putting in a pre-order for Jono's Sketchplanations book: Big Ideas, Little Pictures. Out very soon now.
We'd love to hear your stories of any confusion with the words biweekly, bimonthly or biannually.
Ping us an email to: [email protected]
All Music on this podcast series is provided by Franc Cinelli. Find many more tracks at franccinelli.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
Do you work with data and statistics?
Actually, it doesn't matter if you do or not, you're bound to have come across averages of some kind at some point.
And, as we discuss in this episode, the average can often hide key information about a data set.
We'd love to know your thoughts or experiences with Sneaky Averages.
email us: [email protected]
There's an old story about the statistician who drowned after seeing that the average depth was 3ft. Averages, or in this case the mean, necessarily hide some data, but very often they also hide what's really going on.
As Jono's psychology professor at UC Berkeley, Sheldon Zedeck, taught him; spend time with your data.
You can find the headline sketch here.
Other sketches referenced in this episode include:
SwimRunWealth inequality in the USThe BS Asymmetry PrincipleAdditionally, we mention the very entertaining website spurious correlations - where you'll find a whole load of amusing graphs.
We mentioned Edward Tufty's work: The Visual Display of Quantitative Information
There's the ever-fascinating musings of Tim Harford in his podcast (More or Less) and his book (The Undercover Economist)
And there's our mate Jez Clements who holds the Guiness World marathon record for the fastest male dressed as a 3D TV Character.
Finally, I'm not the only one who struggles saying the word "statistics" repeatedly!!
Find many more sketches at Sketchplanations.com
All Music on this podcast series is provided by Franc Cinelli. Find many more tracks at franccinelli.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
It can be uncomfortable to express opinions different from those of a group. Perhaps you remember that feeling when a teacher asked a question in class and if everyone raised their hand to one answer it wasn't always easy to be the only hand up for a different one.
That's Groupthink!
Do you remember the story of 12 Angry Men? How it took the resilience of one jury member to arrive at a correct verdict of not guilty.
That's Groupthink.
Thankfully, Jono suggests various ways to help avoid falling into the Groupthink mentality. See the sketch online for more details.
The sketchplanation itself is set in a professional environment - where I'm sure many people have experienced it.
Let us know.
email [email protected]
Other sketches referenced include:
Bandwagon EffectBystander EffectFirehouse EffectAbilene ParadoxWe also reference the concept of psychological safety - a very apt phrase in this context coined by American author and Professor of Leadership at Harvard Business School, Amy Edmondson
All Music on this podcast series is provided by Franc Cinelli. Find many more tracks at franccinelli.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
Ah, that satisfying, superior, at once gleeful and slightly sinful feeling when the aggressive driver that overtook you gets their comeuppance and is flashed by a speed camera. Or when you find yourself laughing when a loved one falls over.
#EpicFail comes to mind.
This human experience can also be described as Schadenfreude, a nifty German word made up of schaden for damage, harm or hurt and freude for joy. Taking pleasure in others’ misfortunes.
And so begins a litany of examples amongst the three of us of times we've felt schadenfreude.
We learn that there are different types (summarised as 'good' and 'bad'), that some of us experience it more than others, and that there could be learnings in it for all of us to help consider our relationship with those around us.
You can find the headline sketch here.
We regularly reference the writing of cultural historian, Tiffany Watt Smith and her book on the topic.
Let us know your stories where you've experienced schadenfreude. We'll try not to laugh.
email us: [email protected]
alternatively, you can find all three of us on Social Media here too: Jono Hey, Tom Pellereau, Rob Bell.
Find many more sketches at Sketchplanations.com
All Music on this podcast series is provided by Franc Cinelli. Find many more tracks at franccinelli.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
Are you a perfectionist?
Do you identify as someone who regularly spends too much time on various projects or endeavours for the quality of output required?
Yeah - you're not alone.
This week we discuss the Law of Diminishing Returns and explore how prevalent it is across all our lives: professionally, academically, socially - it's everywhere.
We try to identify various ways to know when enough is enough. But it's not always easy.
You can find the headline sketch here.
Other sketches referenced in this episode include:
In Tandem5 User Tests find 85% of problemsFor want of a nailAdditionally, we reference the inspiration for Jono's sketch itself from this absolute favourite sketch of mine about Too Many Cooks Spoil The Broth from the masterful comedy team Big Train.
Go on. Lose yourself for 10 minutes!
We'd love to know your thoughts or experiences with The Law of Diminishing Returns.
email us: [email protected]
alternatively, you can find all three of us on Social Media here too: Jono Hey, Tom Pellereau, Rob Bell.
Find many more sketches at Sketchplanations.com
All Music on this podcast series is provided by Franc Cinelli. Find many more tracks at franccinelli.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- Montre plus
