The Cleverness with Dr Jason Fox

e30 / Part 5 of a 5-part mini-series exploring our favourite questions. Join Michael Bungay Stanier (wizard-scholar and bestselling author) and myself as we explore Our Favourite Questions over a gin or three.Our mini-series concludes with the most difficult question for either of us to answer. It might be a difficult question for you, too. In any event; it’s a fun one to come to terms with.This series is sponsored by my mythical ‘Choose One Word’ Ritual of Becoming and Michael’s new phenomenal book The Advice Trap: Be Humble, Stay Curious & Change the Way You Lead Forever.

e29 / Part 4 of a 5-part mini-series exploring our favourite questions. Join Michael Bungay Stanier (wizard-scholar and bestselling author) and myself as we explore Our Favourite Questions over a gin or three.A sneaky snifter and we are back on the up. In this episode we grapple with the question that both inspires, guides and plagues my life. Probably one of the most important questions anyone can ask.This series is sponsored by my mythical ‘Choose One Word’ Ritual of Becoming and Michael’s new phenomenal book The Advice Trap: Be Humble, Stay Curious & Change the Way You Lead Forever.

e28 / Part 3 of a 5-part mini-series exploring our favourite questions. Join Michael Bungay Stanier (wizard-scholar and bestselling author) and myself as we explore Our Favourite Questions over a gin or three.This one takes us into some dark territory, to which these courageous wizard-fools shy not. Together, we venture into The Abyss—and somehow surface to tell the tale.This series is sponsored by my mythical ‘Choose One Word’ Ritual of Becoming and Michael’s new phenomenal book The Advice Trap: Be Humble, Stay Curious & Change the Way You Lead Forever.

e27 / Part 2 of a 5-part mini-series exploring our favourite questions. Join Michael Bungay Stanier (wizard-scholar and bestselling author) and myself as we explore Our Favourite Questions over a gin or three.In this episode Michael shares one of his favourite questions with me. It’s the kind of question that calls one to content with clarity, and thus—as the Arch-Wizard of Ambiguity—I found it particularly vexing/useful/apt.This series is sponsored by my mythical ‘Choose One Word’ Ritual of Becoming and Michael’s new phenomenal book The Advice Trap: Be Humble, Stay Curious & Change the Way You Lead Forever.

e26 / Part 1 of a 5-part mini-series exploring our favourite questions. Join Michael Bungay Stanier (wizard-scholar and bestselling author) and myself as we explore Our Favourite Questions over a gin or three.This series is sponsored by my mythical ‘Choose One Word’ Ritual of Becoming and Michael’s new phenomenal book The Advice Trap: Be Humble, Stay Curious & Change the Way You Lead Forever.

e25 / Wherein I hint towards the Ritual of Becoming—the annual thing I do to shape and make who I might become (in the everquest for meaningful progress and ‘relevance realisation’). Here I reference our recently launched online learning programme (it’s incredible) along with the usual suspects (awakening from the meaning crisis, meaningness, the listening society, and so on). This podcasts heralds a shift. The Year of the Fool is nearly done for me—2020 heralds the coming of a new Modus and Way. Stay tuned....

e24 / Wherein I share what works for me (an introverted wizard). This is a loose reading based off of a twitter thread I recently made. Apparently it was ‘epic’. I think it was okay—a tad spontaneous, haphazard and pell-mell but hopefully this serves as a useful perspective for you. You can read the full 75-tweet thread via https://www.drjasonfox.com/blog/e24-public-speakingHopefully this might help you feel a tad more comfortable speaking to an audience. Do people even click links here? Who knows. Anyhoo, here’s a link to my museletter. I think you’ll love it.

e23 / Wherein I chat with a friend and arrive at the edge of (my own) knowledge. Wow. What a conversation! I had no idea this recording went over two hours. It felt like only an hour. Verily, if you ever wanted to know what a conversation feels like between two friends sans pretence, this is a conversation to tune into. Note: I spend the first 15 minutes in preamble about the various goings on of my world. I regret it kinda now but it’s too late so oh-well—I shall do better next time. So! My friend Sarah Firth is an award-winning comic artist, graphic recorder, writer and animator based in Melbourne. I was particularly excited to chat with Sarah, as she has one of the most richly verdant and diverse complex minds I know of. She is one of the few folk I know who (literally) makes art of complexity. See look: here’s a sample chapter from her graphic novel Making Sense of Complexity. Sarah has a swag of books she has authored, created and contributed to. This year saw the release of Badass Mums and Drawing Power (an empowering book we talk about in the episode). We also discuss the art and challenges of graphic recording work, the power and nuances of the #metoo movement (in which Sarah referred to Me Too: Stories From The Australian Movement). Sarah has an online shop for self-published books and products. You can find out more about Sarah, and connect with her via her website, medium, twitter, instagram, facebook and her newsletter. What I particularly enjoyed about this chat—in addition to sharing a rich conversation about the navigation of complexity, social media, social anxiety and more—is just how honest it was. Sarah approached this with genuine curiosity and openness, and I never felt as though we became stuck in some pre-ordained narrative (a habit I fall into). It may require a coupe of sessions to get through this 2-hour episode, but I think you’ll enjoy it immensely. Here’s to those with the patience/courage/tenacity to persist in the generative ambiguity of complexity. The world (our society) needs more of this right now.

e22 / Wherein I offer a brief glimpse into the workings of my past mind. I was in a hotel room with a morning to spare, in-between a keynote for a multinational and lunch with a bunch of CIOs and CTOs. I’d just had some exquisite coffee, and was feeling peppy. What the heck, I thought. Let’s record a podcast. And so I did. This podcast is an unplanned, agendaless saunter through thorny thickets, fetid swamps and—occasionally—sweeping vistas ‘pon the mercurial bluffs of my mind. I can’t say I still agree with whatever version of self was recorded a few days ago, but I kinda like these free-flow things. There’s a perverse honesty that manages to creep through, for those patient enough to hear it. Show notes at https://www.drjasonfox.com/blog/e22-say-what

e21 / Wherein I relish a deft and fluid approach to leadership, strategy and culture. Andy Fallshaw is the co-founder and CEO of Bellroy, an evolving company (and certified B Corp) that exists to help you—and the world—flourish. Specifically, this is achieved through considered design of the goods in which we carry things, so that we may move through the world more effortlessly. Andy and I got to have a deeply immersive and emergent conversation—positively grappling with complex and nebulous concepts pertinent to ‘pioneering meaningful progress in a complex world’. I admire Andy’s humble yet brilliant, deft, meta-rational, encompassing and fluid approach to leadership, strategy and culture (and to society at large). He has one of those rare minds that—ah, well: you’ll hear. Show notes at http://www.drjasonfox.com/blog/e21-andy-fallshaw

e20 / Wherein I find new ways to do/be better. I’m so excited to share this podcast with you. Kiah Morris is a leader, trainer, facilitator, visual/written/performance artist, activist, reformed politician, gardener, amateur chef, live music junkie, mom, wife, daughter, friend, change maker. She loves spicy foods and despises fascism and other modes of oppression. Kiah recently gave a TEDx talk offering 3 tools for anyone serious about radical diversity. In this podcast, we go deep on this and similar such matters. In this episode we covered domains that would be apt for anyone who wants to actually champion diversity and bring about meaningful change (beyond words)—without falling prey to hubris or the many snares along the way. It calls for many of us in privileged positions to actually listen and in many instances: cede power. Which is, ironically, one of the most powerful things we can do. You can find show notes, links and resources at http://www.drjasonfox.com/blog/e20-radical-diversity

e19 / Wherein I contemplate stepping back into the arena. This was an odd podcast—done on a whim one evening last week. I played with a new intro/opening piece (which still needs a lot of work), and I generally shared a glimpse at my own turmoil at deciding how to best approach ‘social media’ (hoho, nothing new there). Basically: I expanded upon the things I shared in my latest museletter. I shan’t make a habit of sharing my museletter beyond my subscribers (as it will diminish its exclusivity and defeat the point of maintaining it as my Dark Forest)—but in this instance, most of the show note links for this podcast can be found there. Other show notes can be found at www.drjasonfox.com/blog/e19-dark-forest

e18 / Wherein I learn a new depth to listening. This episode sees me share a wonderful conversation with Oscar Trimboli, host of the award-winning podcast Deep Listening—Impact Beyond Words. Oscar has rich experience as an executive (he headed huge roles at Microsoft) and has cultivated a wealth of empathy and perspicacity as a coach. He shares the same love of questions as I do, and is quite comfortable exploring the ambiguities that exist in the domains of leadership. I took this opportunity to delve into some of the nuances that Oscar and I share as speakers and facilitators—making this episode particularly apt for anyone looking to help folks arrive at new insight and depth. It wasn’t the kind of thing where we dropped references to articles, books or obscure academic terms. Instead, this episode offered a deep insight into how Oscar approaches the some of the trickier elements of keynote speaking (the opening and close), and how to approach the facilitation of a leadership offsite (with all its politics and perspectives)—all woven up in real stories laced with empathy and warmth. I’ve been a fan of Oscars’s for many years now, and it’s a joy to bring this episode to you.

e17 / Wherein I find new lightness and pragmatic fluidity at play. I’ve been a fan of Dr Zac Fitz-Walter for more than half a decade now. He has a PhD in gamification and actively works in the field. Since my ‘How to ‘Gamify’ an Industry’ episode was (according to the numbers) quite popular, I thought I might have a conversation with Zac to see if he might help lift me out of the jaded bitterness I have accrued about gamification. He did this and more! Come, witness the warm abundance and playful insightfulness Zac brought to the conversation. Show notes, references and resources can be found at https://www.drjasonfox.com/blog/e17-gamification

e16 / Wherein I wherein I muse upon existential crises and fluidity of character. Ugh—is that title click-baity? I hope not. It’s a bit audacious though. Anyoo:—What-ho and hello! The question at the heart of today’s podcast arrived to me in the most wondrous manner—via the post, in glorious wax-sealed hand-written letter form—and thus naturally it shot straight to the top of my regard. In this podcast I find myself talking about existential crises (which aren’t simply happening in mid-life anymore: they’re happening earlier and more often). I currently find this domain particularly rich, as I navigate my own form of transition and flux. (To what? Who knows!). I free-flowed this one, but I think we covered some rich terrain. Fertile soils in this one. Dark fruits of wisdom for those willing to sample. Show notes, references and resources can be found at https://www.drjasonfox.com/blog/e16-fluidity

e15 / Wherein I espouse and purport a post-rational kind of magic. This is a relatively short ‘meander of a podcast’—a turn about the garden maze, cognac in hand—is for those seeking to ‘re-enchant’ their most important rituals. I share this mainly because the word ‘ritual’ is becoming a tad too popular now. This happens with most good words. They start off as humbly apt, and then they get garner a too much attention in the zeitgeist. And because meaning is co-created—and thus subject to memetic drift—the result is usually that a word’s meaning becomes distorted, corrupted, hijacked or reduced alongside the acquisition of ‘buzz’. As such, we now have a situation where many would nod perfunctory at the notion of rituals. I worry that many folks most important rituals have become routine—mere heartless systems and habits, devoid of the ‘specialness’ that makes them so powerful. And thus so, I find myself rolling up my proverbial wizard sleeves to opine somewhat practically on the fundamentals of Enchantment. Here we explore the notion of meaning itself (and how it can be manufactured), post-/meta-rational sensibilities (and how to use ‘magical thinking’ in big air quotes with sincere irony—and without succumbing to regression), and how to imbue our rituals (so that they may ‘seem’ and ‘be’ more than they are). Show notes, references and resources can be found at https://www.drjasonfox.com/blog/e15-enchant

e14 / podcast & show notes, wherein I unabashedly champion Brave New Work. I also partially answer one of the first questions I received when putting out the Call for Questions during the launch of this podcast. Namely: what is my ‘top tip’ for CEO’s of legacy organisations. I’m not entirely sure if it was a joke, given my avowed allergy to ‘tips’. But, as a Fool, I take humour very seriously (’tis no laughing matter—a lot of truth is said in jest). Ergo, join me as I share a few thoughts on how CEO’s and their senior leadership teams can better progress deep conversations and make meaningful progress in complex domains. I do arrive at an incredibly practical tip—though very few really want to hear or contemplate it, and it can be tedious to implement. Hoho, mysterious! Show notes, references and resources can be found at https://www.drjasonfox.com/blog/e14-toptip

e13 / Wherein I wax philosophical on co-creation, status, not-not doing, cultural capital and new narratives. The Crone-of-the-Grove recently asked me a few questions, in response to some some of the points I raised in my appearance on The Daily Talk Show (see episode 11). I thought it might be apt to share my responses with you here. These questions strike to the heart of that which I am particularly fascinated in right now, and so I couldn’t resist the opportunity to plunge into the barely known, all cavalier-like. This indulgent epistle shall traverse the following domains: How one might relate to co-creation (and the nebulosity of ‘self’) The plague of busyness (and how to ward yourself against such) Distinctions of thinking and reflection (and the notion of ‘not-not’) The notion of ‘cultural capital’ (and why you might want to accrue it) Our tentative return to Grand Narratives (along with all the caveats) I also wrote about all of this before recording the podcast. I feel that I usually write better than I speak, so for a more coherent experience, head to http://drjasonfox.com/blog/e13-questions

e12 / Wherein I share 7 ‘tips’ (I suppose) for making events ‘meaningful’. This time I actually put a wee bit of thought into the show notes, which you can find at https://www.drjasonfox.com/podcast The conference and event space has become dangerously safe. A predictable pantomime of stale narratives perpetuated by self-interested business leaders and consultants. And yet, amidst the warm and platitudinous mediocrity, there are glimmers of sheer brilliance. Events that fly beneath the radar, where ideas and conventions are challenged—ruthlessly, with empathy and care—so that something more useful, more beautiful might emerge. As someone whose work sees them attend and speak at many such conferences, I naturally want experience more of the latter. I think everyone does. Nothing comes close to the catalysing and transformative power of a well-designed event. It’s magic. So: what happens? What gets in the way of conferences, events and gatherings being as efficacious and eventful as they could? Well, it’s complex of course, hoho. But here are 7 patterns I’ve noticed that contribute to an underwhelming and uneventful affair (along with some thoughts as to what we can do about it)...

e11 / Wherein I am asked all sorts of things by Josh Janssen and Tommy Jackett, including: why consistency isn’t key, the perils of perception management, the importance of thinking in draft, how to handle feedback, how to suck at social media (and why), neomasculinity, what makes for authenticity, and my #1 public speaking tip. And more! This one’s a doozy and a hoot. » Some show notes and bonus tidbits at https://www.drjasonfox.com/podcast » Watch the video recording of this episode https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjckgJwbNoc » Subscribe to The Daily Talk Show https://www.thedailytalkshow.com/292 » Watch the short documentary Josh Janssen made for me https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hypoYnvCgc