WB-40

I don’t really know what to say about this one other than this is it. After 10 years, 1 day and 351 episodes, this is the last one. Thank you to everyone who has been involved; our interviewees, our hosts, the folk who have been involved in the Signal groups (which will continue past the […]

Ever organised an event and just assumed “accessible” meant a ramp at the front door? This week on WB40, Michelle O’Connor — co-founder of the Access Given conference — explains why that’s nowhere near enough, and what actually changes when you design an event around access needs from the start rather than bolting them on […]

On this week’s show, Julia and Nick meet Matthew Knight to discuss freelancing, community-building and the shifting economics of self-employed work. Matthew, self-employed since the age of 15, runs several communities supporting freelancers, with particular focus on mental health, strategy professionals and those new to self-employment. The conversation explores how the freelance market has evolved […]

On this week’s show, Nick and Julia meet Phil Clark to discuss the surprisingly complex world of technology procurement, and why it’s a profession almost nobody plans to enter but many find genuinely engaging once they do. Phil walks through procurement’s longstanding branding problem and CIPS’s efforts to fix it, including the QCD (Quality, Cost, […]

On this week’s show, Matt and Nick meet Chengwei Liu, professor of strategy and behavioural science at Imperial College, London, to discuss the role of luck in decision making — and why we routinely underestimate it. Chengwei traces his own serendipitous path from consulting in Singapore to a PhD at Cambridge, and explains why so […]

On this week’s show, Matt and Lisa meet Dan Bowsher to discuss Good Enough Chats, his podcast focused on men’s mental health through lived experience. Dan founded Good Enough Chats following his own experience of burnout, anxiety and depression, which left him feeling profoundly isolated. His podcast deliberately features ordinary men — not celebrities or […]

On this week’s show, Matt Ballantine and Julia Bellis meet Sian Basker, co-founder of Data Orchard, to discuss what data maturity actually means for organisations — and what a decade of benchmarking data reveals about who’s doing it well and why. Sian explains how Data Orchard‘s assessment tool, now used by nearly 20,000 people across […]

On this week’s show, Matt and the team meet Shaline Manhertz and Kristianah Fasunloye to discuss their business partnership, which began formally in 2018 when Shaline’s cancer diagnosis forced a pivot from individual business plans to joint working. The conversation explores how their partnership survived extraordinary pressure by rejecting the conventional 50/50 model in favour […]

On this week’s show, Matt and Nick meet Alexander Feick, Vice President of eSentire Labs, to discuss his book “On Trust and AI” and why organisations need fundamentally different approaches to govern AI systems. Alex explains that whilst traditional computers multiply human intent predictably, generative AI acts more like an autonomous agent capable of creating […]

On this week’s show, Lisa and Julia meet Emma Bruce, Software Engineering manager. The conversation explores the often-overlooked transition from individual contributor to engineering manager, examining why technical excellence doesn’t automatically translate to management success and what skills actually matter when leading teams. Emma discusses the historical lack of training for engineering managers and how […]

On this week’s show, Lisa Riemers and Chris Weston meet Sharon O’Dea to discuss digital nomadism and the evolution of remote work. Sharon shares insights from her decade-long journey as a digital nomad, including her recent seven-week stint in Japan, where she worked from locations ranging from traditional coworking spaces to foot spas in town […]

What if most organisational problems aren’t unique at all—and treating them as if they are is exactly what’s holding you back? Mark Earls joins Matt and Lisa to challenge how we think about innovation, time, and human behaviour in organisations. From why you should prototype multiple solutions before perfecting one, to the critical difference between […]

On this week’s show, Chris and Julia meet Claudia Plen McCormack and Mia Serra to discuss their newly formed leadership training company, Surface Deep, and their approach to “deep inclusive leadership.” Both late-diagnosed with ADHD, Claudia and Mia draw on their experiences of burnout and masking in corporate environments to help organizations move beyond superficial […]

What happens when you bring together data geeks and sports enthusiasts? In this fascinating episode, Matt and Nick are joined by John Carney to explore the hidden world of sports analytics and the surprising role of randomness in athletic competition. John dives deep into the intersection of probability, statistics, and sports performance, revealing how data […]

On this week’s show, Matt and Lisa meet Tris Oaten to discuss whether writing tools actually matter—and the answer might surprise you. While musicians have interfaces like Ableton and sequencers that fundamentally reshape their creative output, Tris argues that writers’ real tools are invisible: patterns of thought, environmental context, and the mental associations we build […]

In this episode, Chris and Nick continue discussions about the world of interim management and welcome Rebecca Fox to discuss her extensive experience across public and private sectors. Rebecca shares candid insights about the realities of interim work, emphasising that there’s no time for a hundred-day plan—it’s all about a day-one approach. She explains how […]

This week Matt welcomes back Lisa alongside guest Matisse Hamel Nelis to chat about their upcoming book “Accessible Communications: Create Impact, Avoid Missteps and Build Trust.” The duo spent 18 months crafting what sounds like a much-needed guide to creating digital content that actually works for everyone – not just the mythical “average user” that […]

Welcome back to the WB 40 Podcast! In this episode (334), Chris and Julia sit down with special guest Duncan Stott, an interim CIO extraordinaire, to really dive into the high-stakes world of interim management. We explore how the role of the CIO has completely changed, especially since COVID brought tech to the forefront and […]

In the first WB 40 Podcast of our 10th Season, Lisa and Julia delve into the critical, yet often overlooked, area of internal crisis communication with expert Alison Arnot. Alison emphasizes that the biggest misconception about crisis communication is its external focus, arguing that employees feel crises personally and are crucial to an organization’s recovery. […]

While AI tools promise to revolutionise work, the reality is far more complex – and unequal. Guest Susi O’Neill shares her research into “inclusive AI,” revealing a stark 25% gender gap in workplace AI adoption, with women significantly less likely to use these tools than men. Income plays a massive role too: those earning over […]

On this episode, Matt, Lisa and serial entrepreneur Rufus Evison delve deep into the challenges and potential dangers of current Generative AI, particularly Large Language Models (LLMs). Rufus argues that LLMs inherently lack three crucial tenets: they are not correctable (corrigible), transparent, or reliable. He asserts that LLMs are “none of the three” and have […]

On this week’s show, Chris, Lisa and Michelle dive deep into Agentic AI, exploring how it differs from traditional automation and current AI tools. Chris explains that while regular agents follow basic rules (like a thermostat) and AI agents respond to commands (like Alexa), Agentic AI systems work autonomously toward outcomes – they’re proactive, learn […]

On this week’s show Julia and Matt interview Matt Cockbill, an executive search consultant specializing in hiring tech leaders for over 20 years, A fundamental challenge for organisations is finding experienced leaders to navigate the new wave of AI and generative technologies. While the possibilities are vast, Matt emphasises the crucial need for leaders to […]

On this week’s show Matt and Michelle are joined by Professor Nancy Doyle to talk about her new book, and what we can all learn about better leadership. You can find Nancy’s book here https://uk.jkp.com/products/learning-from-neurodivergent-leaders

On this week’s show Lisa and Matt talk with community builder and poet Janice Whyne about her work, the need to understand culture to work with communities, and the power of peer mentorship amongst many other things. You can find out more about Janice on her website here: https://janicewhyne.com/, and more about Luminary Bakery here: […]

On this week’s show Chris and Michelle are joined by data specialist Tia Cheang to talk about increasing diversity in the field.

On this week’s show Lisa talks to Matt and Nick about their ongoing literary project, Random the Book. You can follow the progress of their writing (or not) at randomthebook.com

On this week’s show, Matt and Lisa are joined by Tom Whitwell, the designer of modular synthesisers and synthesiser modules. You can find out more about Tom’s work at https://www.musicthing.co.uk/ Tom mentioned this article from Andrew Chen about Vibe Coding: https://andrewchen.substack.com/p/predictionsthoughts-on-vibe-coding And here is Lisarbie:

On this week’s show Matt and Julia are joined by writer and poet Rishi Dastidar. Find out more about Rishi and his work at rishidastidar.com

On this week’s show Chris and Nick meet with Ali Farahani to talk about how he coaches technology leaders, and the need to move away from anger…

On this week’s show we meet with communication expert Julian Treasure to talk about his new book Sound Affects. You can pre-order the book here: https://geni.us/SoundAffects

At a time when a group of rich, white, middle-aged American men seem to be claiming that inclusion has gone too far, Michelle and Julia have a fabulous conversation with diversity consultant Liz Crutchley. You can find out more about Liz’s work at https://diversityrocks.co.uk/

On this week’s show the full crew are together to answer listener questions. Our shows of the year are as follows: Julia – Paul Clarke Lisa – Tim Plester, Timandra Harkness and James Eves Chris – Mark Bjornsgaard and Martin Sadler Michelle – Cat Barnard, Paula Brockwell, Tammy Watchorn and Katrina Collier Matt – Alice […]

On this week’s show Matt and Julia talk with critical futurist Johannes Kleske about how the future is as much of a way to deal with the present as anything else. You can find out more about Johannes and his work at https://johanneskleske.com/en/ Matt’s small collection of historical visions of the future is here: https://mmitii.mattballantine.com/2015/02/27/envisaging-the-future/ […]

On this week’s show Matt and Lisa are joined by actor, film director and self-proclaimed folknographer Tim Plester to talk about folk traditions, saving archives, and Doctor Who. You can find out more about the Doc Rowe film, and contribute to the crowdfunder at https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/docrowe You can watch Way of the Morris athttps://vimeo.com/ondemand/wayofthemorris Find out […]

On this week’s show, Michelle and Matt are joined by Victoria Dioh to talk about personal purpose and how we are trained to not follow it. Find out more at https://www.victoriadioh.com/victoria Michelle’s book is available for a few more days on Kindle for 99p – get it now here.

On this week’s show, Julia and Michelle meet with Clara Bettina Behrmann to talk about how psychological safety can become performative.

On this week’s show, Matt and Michelle meet Henry Oakes, co-founder of Pathfinder to learn how AI might be used to help project and programme managers to make connections they’d otherwise miss.

On this week’s show Lisa and Julia are joined by Gallup Certified Strengths coach (and, for full disclosure, Michelle’s partner) James Eves to talk about finding out what we are good at doing.

On this week’s show Matt and Lisa are joined by seasoned IT contractor Neil Millard who had written a book about how to work freelance. You can find out more about Neil’s book here:https://www.confident-contractor.co.uk/confident-contractor-the-book/

On this week’s show Michelle joins Chris and Lisa to talk about the experience of turning her book into an audiobook. You can get Good Girl Deprogramming exlusively on Audible here: https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Good-Girl-Deprogramming-Audiobook/B0D9MKBDBW

On this week’s show Cat Barnard joins Matt and Michelle to talk about the ongoing debates about the future of work, the UK productivity challenge and whether it’s all just a problem of BIG.

On this week’s show Julia and Matt are joined by Mon Dessert’s founder Samina Courtin to talk about her journey from kitchen to supermarket, and the challenges of scaling physical product businesses. You can find out more about Mon Dessert at https://www.mondessert.co.uk/

Michelle’s got a new podcast, and here’s the first episode! If you’d like to hear more, you can find all the details at:https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/michelle-minnikin

On the first show of the Autumn, Matt and Michelle are joined by recruitment expert Katrina Collier to talk about her new book Reboot Hiring. You can find out more about her book at https://katrinacollier.com/reboot-hiring/ Katrina mentioned Benchmarcx – https://www.benchmarcx.io/refrkco (this is Katrina’s affiliate link), and also Sue Ingrams Disrupt HR talk https://vimeo.com/254246171 Matt talked […]

For the first time all five regular WB-40 hosts are in the same show! This week Chris, Julia, Lisa, Matt and Michelle answer questions about the IT job market, AI regulation, first jobs and more besides! Here’s the chart Tony Harper shared with us… That’s it for the Summer – we are back in September!

On this week’s show Michelle and Lisa are joined by polymath Minter Dial to talk about Artificial Intelligence, human self-awareness and the wonders of Padel tennis.

It’s Election Week in the UK, and so Matt and Michelle speak with digital news veteran Kevin Anderson about how the interaction between journalism, technology and news media has changed over recent decades.

On this week’s show, Michelle and Chris are joined once again by OpenUK CEO Amanda Brock to talk new agendas for Open with new governments, remote working, diversity and AI in the Open Source world.

On this week’s show, Michelle and Chris meet with Martin Sadler to talk about his new book about being a CIO –Aspirationally Idle. You can get your own copy at https://aspirationallyidle.sumupstore.com/ Header image Roland TB-303. (2024, February 21). By Steve Sims – Steve Sims, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=53932063