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On some of my previous podcasts I have talked to people about how to survive and thrive in hostile and high consequence environments. This episode’s guest Rob Swan took his 23 year old son with him on his latest expedition to The South Pole. Early on in the trip, he knows he has a problem when the silence of Antarctica is broken by the sound of his hip grinding against bone. Turning back and leaving the team to continue without him was the hardest thing Rob has ever had to do, and as it turned out the source of enormous learning for Rob as a leader, an explorer and a parent. While the environments we operate in are unlikely to be this hostile and high consequence, there are some great leadership lessons for us all. One that leaps out, and which is at the heart of my work, is the recognition that what got us here won't get us where we are going. Here is Rob Swan.

The word “curiosity” seems to be appearing increasingly frequently in the world of business.  Someone with a very distinctive perspective on the topic is Professor Nick Thomas, author of a recent book entitled "The Return of Curiosity," an anthropologist and historian who has been Director of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Cambridge since 2006. In my conversation with Nick, we explore why a visit to a museum is unique and different from other cultural activities. As leaders, we encounter the unknown on an increasingly regular basis: it could be an unknown competitor, an unknown technology. And how we choose to respond to this encounter, the choices we make, will impact and shape our future and potentially that of our business and organization. Show notes: http://www.outsidelens.com/outsidevoices  

I find stories of leaders who have successfully reinvented themselves mid-career both compelling and informative. This is mainly because I have been on this journey for the past 4 years and am always on the look out for guides. Chip Conley has successfully made this transition, and is now helping many others take the same journey. Rather than being a “sage from the stage”, Chip describes himself as a “guide from the side”. His story of going from founder and CEO of the leading chain of boutique hotels in the US, le joie de vivre, to being essentially an intern at AirBnB and mentor to founder Brian Chesky, will be of interest to anyone feeling overwhelmed by changes in their industry, or worried about becoming irrelevant in the workplace as a result of technology or other disruptive forces shaping our world of work. As a result of his experiences at AirBnB, and the success of his latest book Wisdom at work, the making of a modern elder, Chip has recently launched the Modern Elder Academy, with the tag line: Where midlife mastery is the launchpad to growing whole, not old. In our conversation he tells his story.

Benedict Allen is described by a British newspaper as one of the top 10 British explorers of all time. Benedict is also an environmentalist, film-maker and author of a number of books, including “Mad White Giant”, “Into The Crocodile Nest” and “Hunting the Gugu.” In our conversation we cover a number of topics which are very relevant for leaders: how to adapt to changing circumstances; how to manage risk and uncertainty; the mindset required for surviving and indeed thriving in high consequence environments; what we can learn from indigenous cultures about change, about cause and effect, about resources and resourcefulness.  Show notes: https://outsidelens.com/outsidevoices/09-benedict-allen-exploring-cultures/  

Dave Kesby is an organizational coach and author of the book “Extra-Dependent Teams: Realising the Power of Similarity”, in which he challenges much of the conventional wisdom of teams. As he writes in his introduction, “through the lens of convention a lot of the features of Extra-Dependent Teams are misdiagnosed as faults: working apart is seen as working in silos, lack of interdependency is seen as uncollaborative, and working only towards their individual goal is seen as not being a team player.” Dave served in The British Army for seven years before turning to a career in  organizational and leadership development. He combines military, academic, corporate and volunteering experiences to provide a fresh and challenging perspective on what it means to lead, as well as be part of a team. Show notes: http://www.outsidelens.com/outsidevoices 

Safi Bahcall is a second generation physicist and entrepreneur, whose first book, Loonshots, has been described as a cross between Freakonomics and the da Vinci Code. At the heart of the book is a philosophy which is foundational for everything we do at OutsideLens: that you can learn a great deal by applying the tools and techniques from one world, in this case the world of physics and to a lesser extent psychology, to the world of innovation in business.  In this episode, there are several important insights for anyone leading change or building out a business: for example, how to manage the interface between the artists and the soldiers in your organization; how to use a systems mindset, combined with curiosity, to understand failure; and for those of us working on challenging problems, a reminder that “there are no experts of the future.” And don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.   Complete article and show notes: http://www.outsidelens.com/blog  

We all wish that our lives were a little less complex: as Jennifer Berger explains in her latest book on the subject, while humans are brilliantly designed for operating in a less connected, more predictable world, we all run the risk of falling victim to 5 “mindtraps” that can significantly hinder our growth, agility and effectiveness when faced with complexity. The good news: she offers several approaches for escaping from these unproductive patterns of behavior, enablers leaders to take advantage of complexity rather than be overwhelmed by it.  Show notes: http://www.outsidelens.com/outsidevoices 

Diversity in all its forms is key to solving many of the most significant challenges we face today, and if we fail to address these challenges, future generations will inherit the consequences. Preserving cultural and intellectual diversity is the purpose of the Cultural Sanctuaries Foundation, and enables us to take advantage of useful wisdom hiding in plain sight. Learn more in my conversation with the founders Chris Rainier and Olivia McKendrick.  Show notes: http://www.outsidelens.com/outsidevoices 

Vas Narasimhan is not your typical CEO, having started his career in public health, where he became passionate about how to impact health on a large scale. Now, many years later and a little over a year into his role as CEO of Novartis, his passion remains undiminished. The impact the company is having on patients is remarkable, be it with “miraculous” treatments that cure children of deadly diseases with one pill, or with the Novartis Access program.   In the second half of my interview with him, we talk about some of the changes underway in Novartis, such as how AI is being used to overcome organizational biases, the importance of both big “P” and small “p” purpose in an organization of 125,000 associates, of whom over 50% are millennials, and the 5 year cultural transformation the company has embarked on.  Show notes: https://outsidelens.com/outsidevoices/04-vas-narasimhan-transforming-the-organization/

So reads the title of a chapter in the keenly awaited new book by Professor Clay Christensen, Efosa Ojomo and Karen Dillon, The Prosperity Paradox. The concept of looking at markets from different perspectives is at the heart of this optimistic yet practical book, in which the authors apply robust management theories to help leaders uncover and capture opportunities in developing markets. 

Vas Narasimhan is not your typical CEO, having started his career in public health, where he became passionate about how to impact health on a large scale. Now, many years later and a little over a year into his role as CEO of Novartis, his passion remains undiminished. The impact the company is having on patients is remarkable, be it with “miraculous” treatments that cure children of deadly diseases with one pill, or with the Novartis Access program.   In the first half of my interview with Vas, we discuss what Reimagining Medicine means in an R&D based company that is deeply committed to innovation; addressing the needs of the 2 billion people with no access to health care; and the potential for, and challenges of, radically improving patient outcomes with advanced therapies.  Show notes: http://www.outsidelens.com/outsidevoices

This is OutsideVoices with Mark Bidwell, bringing you fresh and diverse perspectives that help you navigate the world we live in.