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8 Words or Less

Samie Al-Achrafi and James Elwes

25 episodes

6 months ago

It is a privilege to be joined by Céline Cousteau for the season finale to discuss the book The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell. As a filmmaker, author and environmentalist, Céline is in a unique position to understand and appreciate the power of storytelling. Picking up on Campbell’s assertion that ‘the only myth worth thinking about in the immediate future is the planet and everyone on it’, we talk about what this means in reality today, and whether there is a place for myth in the modern ...

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Self-Improvement

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It is a privilege to be joined by Céline Cousteau for the season finale to discuss the book The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell. As a filmmaker, author and environmentalist, Céline is in a unique position to understand and appreciate the power of storytelling. Picking up on Campbell’s assertion that ‘the only myth worth thinking about in the immediate future is the planet and everyone on it’, we talk about what this means in reality today, and whether there is a place for myth in the modern ...

Show more...

Self-Improvement

Episodes (20/25)

8 Words or Less

Bonus Episode - Discussing the Power of Myth with Céline Cousteau

It is a privilege to be joined by Céline Cousteau for the season finale to discuss the book The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell. As a filmmaker, author and environmentalist, Céline is in a unique position to understand and appreciate the power of storytelling. Picking up on Campbell’s assertion that ‘the only myth worth thinking about in the immediate future is the planet and everyone on it’, we talk about what this means in reality today, and whether there is a place for myth in the modern ...

4 years ago

22 minutes

8 Words or Less

The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell

In this episode, we discuss the book The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell and take on the challenge to try and distil it into a central message of #8wordsorless. The book is vast in scope, covering the themes and symbols of ancient narratives and how these continue to bring meaning to our lives, offering lessons that can be applied to leadership today. We talk about the power of storytelling, and how leaders can, and should, utilise this to communicate a vision and inspire their teams. ...

4 years ago

22 minutes

8 Words or Less

Bonus Episode - Discussing Principles with Becks Beere

For this week’s bonus episode, we are joined by Becks Beere - the founder and CEO of Avec UK, a market-leading strategic brand and product partner for global retailers.Becks recommended 'Principles' by Ray Dalio and shares the many ways the book has influenced her life and how the insights influenced the considerable success of her business. Basing our discussion on insights garnered from the book, Becks speaks about how failures on her leadership journey have fuelled the desire to creat...

4 years ago

22 minutes

8 Words or Less

Principles by Ray Dalio

In this episode, we discuss Ray Dalio’s book Principles. Dalio is one of the most successful entrepreneurs and investors in the world, and in this book he distils the, somewhat unconventional, principles that have underpinned his success. The author shares his life’s journey and how his experiences shaped his principles – particularly the ‘crucible moment’ where he lost everything and had to start all over again. The principles are structured into ‘work principles’ and ‘life p...

4 years ago

21 minutes

8 Words or Less

Bonus Episode - Discussing #Time4Humanity with Amna Al Owais

In this bonus episode we are joined by Amna Al Owais, chief executive and registrar of the DIFC Courts, to talk about the key themes and messages from Samie's book #Time4Humanity.We discuss why Amna has placed values and culture at the centre of her leadership and how she discovered her purpose. Amna shares more about her leadership journey and how she learned, over time, to bring her full authentic self to work. Finally, we discuss the implications of technology in the legal industry, a...

4 years ago

19 minutes

8 Words or Less

#Time4Humanity by Samie Al Achrafi

In this episode we discuss the book #Time4Humanity by Samie Al-Achrafi. In a wide ranging discussion that matches the breadth of the book, we discuss the implications of advancing technology in all elements of our lives, and whether the right questions are being asked as to the long-term impact of this. Samie talks about the importance of a more conscious leadership style that embraces the full range of our nature. Linked to this - and particularly relevant in a world increasingly r...

4 years ago

24 minutes

8 Words or Less

Bonus Episode - Discussing 'How Will You Measure Your Life' with Rob Gardner

In this episode we are joined by Rob Gardner, investment director for St. James's Place Wealth Management, co-founder of Redington, author and thought-leader on financial education and inclusion.Rob shares his experiences from founding and successfully growing his own businesses and the significant impact that Clayton Christensen’s book had both on his career and keeping him focused on what is really important in his life. Rob talks about the motivations that led him to leave a successful car...

4 years ago

22 minutes

8 Words or Less

How Will You Measure Your Life by Clayton Christensen

In this episode, we explore the powerful and wide ranging book by Clayton Christensen that offers a series of guidelines for helping the reader find meaning and happiness in life.The book hits home in many ways and manages to deliver a holistic message grounded in both his experience and the case studies of successful organisations.Samie and James discuss the difference between hygiene factors and true motivating factors, and how often money gets confused for the latter. We talk about the imp...

4 years ago

19 minutes

8 Words or Less

Bonus Episode - Discussing 'Discover Your True North' with Bill George

In this bonus episode, we are joined by Harvard Business School professor, former Medtronic CEO, and bestselling author Bill George.Bill shares anecdotes from his leadership journey, as well as reflecting on the interviews and stories from his book ‘Discover Your True North’. We discuss the impact of ‘crucibles’ on our lives and how these can help forge authentic leadership, and how every leader needs a good ‘support group’ around them. Bill then shares the central message from his...

4 years ago

23 minutes

8 Words or Less

Discover Your True North by Bill George

Authentic leadership has never been more critical than now. In his excellent book Discover Your True North, Bill George outlines how, by following our internal compass, and staying focused on our True North, we can chart a course to being truly authentic leaders.In this episode, Samie shares his central message of 'Authentic Leaders go from Me to We'. Picking on examples from the book, we discuss the importance of ‘crucibles’ in our lives, and how these can be used to drive authenticity. We t...

4 years ago

18 minutes

8 Words or Less

Bonus Episode - Discussing Simon Sinek's 'The Infinite Game' with John Flint

In this bonus episode we are joined by John Flint who shares with us his insights on Simon Sinek’s book ‘The Infinite Game’. The economic dislocations caused by this crisis are forcing leaders at all levels to make quick decisions, often with incomplete and changing information - decisions that have been accelerated or compressed in a shorter time frame. This book can be helpful for leaders either as a challenge - or as a comfort - that our decision-making framework is built around something ...

4 years ago

21 minutes

8 Words or Less

The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek

In the first episode of our new season, we discuss Simon Sinek’s latest book ‘The Infinite Game’. This is a book that is very relevant for the time that we are currently living through and one that provides a new way of thinking about how we choose to lead. Whenever there are at least two players, a game exists. And there are two kinds of games: finite and infinite.A finite game is like a game of football - everyone knows the rules, they largely play by them, and there is a set time peri...

4 years ago

24 minutes

8 Words or Less

Bonus Episode on Finding Your Powerful Idea - Tips and Insights from Samie

In this short bonus episode Samie talks about the importance of having a 'central message’ of 8 words or less for effective communication and what is a 'petal'.Samie discovered the art and science of how to communicate a powerful idea when he did a TEDx talk, and we use this methodology to structure the podcast. This 'tool' can be used to help improve our communications across all mediums and situations and Samie shares some tips on how to do this.

5 years ago

7 minutes

8 Words or Less

Bonus Episode: Discussing Getting to Yes with Professor Niro Sivanathan

In this bonus episode we are fortunate to have with us Professor Niro Sivanathan who has joined us to answer some questions from listeners following our episode on 'Getting to Yes' by Roger Fisher and William Ury.Professor Sivanathan is an expert in negotiations and his research and teaching have received international recognition. As an associate professor in organisational behaviour at London Business School he has researched how the psychology of the self – specifically our motivation to m...

5 years ago

20 minutes

8 Words or Less

Uncommon Sense, Common Nonsense by Jules Goddard and Tony Eccles

This book puts forward the notion that the application of uncommon sense - thinking or acting differently from other organisations in a way that makes unusual sense - is the secret to competitive success. Written shortly after the 2008 financial crises it offers some useful insights and tools to leaders for these times.Listen to the episode to hear Samie's central message 'It's time for a new paradigm in business' and our discussion around the importance of collective input in strategy, the c...

5 years ago

20 minutes

8 Words or Less

Rebel Ideas by Matthew Syed

Mathew Syed’s latest book, Rebel Ideas, brilliantly encapsulates why cognitive diversity is fundamental to team success. Mathew combines insightful research with wonderful anecdotes - ranging from Bletchley Park, to Mt Everest, nutritional science to snow clearing in Sweden - to illustrate why only collaborative thinking can unlock human potential and help us solve some of the burning problems we face today.In this episode Samie and James discuss the above elements of the book. James expands ...

5 years ago

23 minutes

8 Words or Less

The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work by Alain de Botton‎

In this book Alain de Botton explores the joys and perils of the modern workplace, illustrating through 10, self-contained, case-studies what other people get up to all day – and night – to make the frenzied contemporary world function. Ultimately the author is looking to understand what make jobs either fulfilling or soul-destroying!Samie shares his central message of 'the future of work is human' and why this is an important theme for the challenges of today.

5 years ago

22 minutes

8 Words or Less

Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher and William Ury

"Negotiation is a fact of life" and in their classic book ‘Getting to Yes’ the authors Roger Fisher and William L. Ury suggest that, despite its importance, many of us are still not that good at it!In this episode James and Samie talk about the difference between the way we traditionally negotiate, referred to as positional bargaining, and the approach proposed by the authors called ‘Principled Negotiation’. Through four key elements (1. Separating the people from the problem, 2. Focusing on ...

5 years ago

24 minutes

8 Words or Less

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini

Cialdini opens his best-selling book on Influence with the words 'I can admit it freely now. All my life I've been a patsy.' These are words that resonated for both James and Samie and, throughout this book, there are 'lightbulb moments' which help explain how we have fallen for people using the six rules of influence outlined by Cialdini.In this episode Samie outlines his Central Message and we discuss some of the different examples outlined by Cialdini as well as instances from our own expe...

5 years ago

24 minutes

8 Words or Less

The Black Swan by Nassim Taleb

Are we currently living through a black swan event? Taleb, in recent articles, argues this is actually a 'white swan' event but either way it is an interesting time for James and Samie to talk about Nassim Taleb's groundbreaking book (described by The Sunday Times as one of the twelve most influential books since World War II) 'The Black Swan'.James and Samie discuss Taleb's views on the 'Scandal of Prediction', his insights around why our inbuilt biases make us more susceptible to Black Swan...

5 years ago

19 minutes