Libby Sander made her SXSW Sydney debut last week when she appeared asa panellist alongside Andy Walshe from Liminal Collective, Ben Johnston from Josephmark and Ben Hamley from JLL to talk about 'Why AI's best gift is making us more creative.'
Not only did she present, but she listened and observed and emerged inspired and has some fascinating insights to share.
In their fifth season finale Libby and Matt consider the cost of resentment at work and ponder whether workplace sporting teams are an answer to flagging job enthusiasm.
While on matters sporting, there's also a bit of grand final talk (well, it is the season...)
And a VERY special guest this week!
Bruce Daisley is one of the world's leading voices on workplace culture.
He's a best-selling author and keynote speaker and host of a hugely popular workplace culture podcast - Eat Work Sleep Repeat.
Learn more about Bruce and his work HERE.
Does your workplace have quirky names for its rooms? Ever wondered why?
AI in the headlines this week as some big employers initiate some significant changes.
And Bond University's Associate Professor James Birt joins the podcast.
James was studying AI before most of us owned a smartphone. He argues that gaming represents the height of what computing can do by combining AI, storytelling, music, graphics, vision, and immersion. He also thinks gamers possess unique skills that place them ahead of the workplace game.
Read more about James HERE.
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This week Libby and Matt contemplate the value of boredom.
These days boredom is easily avoidable - instant entertainment is only a short scroll away courtesy of the complex multimedia platforms we carry in our pockets.
It wasn't always thus, of course.
Can we benefit from being bored? What about boredom in the workplace? What is the science of boredom? And given a choice, would you take boredom over an electric shock?
These questions and more touched on by world-renowned workplace boredom expert, Professor Cynthia Fisher.
Also, some fascinating research has emerged linking psychopathy with workplace management.
We also ponder research into the best ways to holiday.
Ever been so immersed in a task you’ve completely lost sense of yourself, forgotten about time and place, and been so absorbed in the act of doing something that all distractions simply fade away?
If so, you may have entered that special place where your individual skill matches the complexity of the task.
You, dear listener, may have entered the FLOW ZONE!
Can flow and work co-exist in a meaningful way?
That’s what Libby and Matt talk about this week before Libby delves a little deeper with Chicago-based architect David Dewane, the creator of a workplace called theEudaimonia Machine. It’s a workplace design that attempts to ‘go with the flow’ to make a work zone more efficient, inspiring, creative and innovative.
Learn more about David here.
You can read more about the Eudaimonia Machine at many places, but here's a good place to start.
So much to discuss this week.
Is a simultaneous bias by employers against both younger and older workers starting to gather steam? Data out of an Australian Human Rights Commission report seems to suggest it. But when all the talk is 'skills shortage' and when younger workers aren't so keen on tackling management roles, how have things come to this?
Also, Libby chats with ex-Googler, Tristan Cameron. What is life really like at one of the world's most sought-after workplaces?
Matt and Libby consider the economic cost of unhappiness at work and ponder the price of anxieties brought on by the speed of workplace change.
And if younger employees aren’t particularly interested in taking up management roles, who will be the leadersof the future?
Libby enjoys a terrific chat with Tony Bacigalupo. At just 23, Tony took a big chunk of his savings to IKEA and led the charge to open New York's first dedicated co-working space. He’s since become extremely active in the global co-working movement.
Also, Libby doesn't mind a spot of medieval swordplay. Who knew?
A bumper edition this week with Libby back from the Big Apple!
Both Libby and Matt share some tales from the road and ponder whether the secret to a happy workplace may be found through its (collective) stomach.
Also, Libby enjoys an in depth chat with Stanford University economics and management guru Professor Nick Bloom who - among lots of other things - has all the numbers on working remotely (and isn't afraid to use them!).
About Professor Nicholas Bloom
Nicholas (Nick) Bloom is the William Eberle Professor of Economics at Stanford University, a Senior Fellow of SIEPR, and the Co-Director of the Productivity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship program at the National Bureau of Economic Research. His research focuses on management practices and uncertainty. He previously worked at the UK Treasury and McKinsey & Company.
He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the recipient of the Alfred Sloan Fellowship, the Bernacer Prize, the European Investment Bank Prize, the Frisch Medal, the Kauffman Medal and a National Science Foundation Career Award. He has a BA from Cambridge, an MPhil from Oxford, and a PhD from University College London.
On the personal side he is English, living with his Scottish wife and American kids on Stanford campus, in a multi-lingual English household.
That'll be ASSOCIATE Professor, thank you!
The return of The Floorplan coincides with a promotion to Associate Professor for our favourite organisational behaviour expert. And a richly deserved nod it is! How good!
To kickstart the new series, Matt and Libby discuss the longevity industry boom and its implications and ponder whether Gen X-ers have fair reason to feel a little forgotten.
Also, the stats don't lie when it comes to the ever-growing throng opting for a nomadic working life - and that makes it the perfect moment to catch up with one of our most popular ever interviewees, Ella Cotterell.
About Ella Cotterell
Ella is an online business management consultant and a proud advocate for work on your terms.
She holds a First-Class Honours degree in Psychological Science and is a qualified rehabilitation counsellor. Her background is rooted in mental health, trauma, and recovery— once working alongside veterans and ex-police officers navigating life beyond institutional systems. Over time, her path shifted toward “helping the helpers”—supporting practitioners, creatives, and entrepreneurs building values-led businesses at the intersection of justice, healing, and systems change.
Along the way, Ella retrained as an Online Business Manager (OBM) and Digital Marketer, combining her foundations in psychology and trauma with practical systems expertise.
Ella's relatively late-in-life neurodivergence diagnosis has inspired her to think deeply about creative ways to make work fit life.
A very special episode with very special guest to end the fourth series of The Floorplan!
Freshly returned from her annual trip to Japan with Bond University Business School students, Libby spends a fascinating hour with Dr Andy Walshe.
Andy is a globally recognised leader and expert in the field of elite human performance.
He is co-founder of and a partner at The Liminal Collective, a collective of partners and ambassadors dedicated to reimagining the future of what is possible as a human 2.0, humans 2.0, and humanity 2.0. The Collective helps create, plan, organize and execute against some of humanity's greatest opportunities ranging from space flight and deep sea exploration to reimagining the future of national security and elite sport.
For more than two decades the has focused on the goal of “de-mystifying talent” by researching and training individuals and teams across a vast network of world-class programs in sport, culture, military and business settings.
Andy's been the Director of High Performance for Red Bull, where he worked with hundreds of international athletes and cultural opinion leaders and supervised a team of industry-leading scientists, engineers, physicians and technologists to develop and implement elite performance models.
He was the Performance Manager for Red Bull Stratos, leading the performance plan for Felix Baumgartner’s record-breaking jump to Earth from the stratosphere in 2012.
Can you build a perfect workplace?
Isaac French thinks so.
"People are hungry for one-of-a-kind experiences. Spaces with soul, and that tell a story. And anyone with a dream and some good old-fashioned work can make good on that opportunity," he says.
In a complicated, rapidly moving world where more and more workers demanding more meaningful work opportunities supported by more flexible employment structures, it's the perfect time to ponder how environment and productivity can happily co-exist. More about Isaac French
Isaac grew up on a farm in central Texas, homeschooled by his parents alongside nine siblings in a traditional faith-based community.
Best childhood ever, he says.
He's been dreaming up business ventures ever since he can remember: from home-brew soda to antique repair, and plenty in between.
At 24, with a whole lot of help, he turned $20k of savings and a dream into a modern village of lakeside cabins. He poured everything he had into his 5-acre slice of Texas, and Live Oak Lake welcomed its first guests just ten months after groundbreaking.
But two weeks later, disaster struck: Airbnb suspended his account. No warning, no explanation.
With a loan payment looming, he had to get creative.
He paid a local influencer a few hundred dollars to post an Instagram giveaway, and within days, he had $40,000 in direct bookings and thousands of followers.
Within a year, he's built an audience of over 100k which drove 80%+ direct bookings and 95% occupancy.
Guests have returned time and again, drawn by timeless design, authentic storytelling, and experiential hospitality.
Professor Raj Choudury from Harvard Business School joins The Floorplan to discuss, among plenty of other things, his new book The World Is Your Office: How Work from Anywhere Boosts Talent, Productivity, and Innovation.
And perhaps policy makers will be once bitten, twice shy when it comes to politicising flexible working arrangements from now on - Libby and Matt discuss the federal opposition's rapidly ditched attempt to force public servants back to the office.
Also on the agenda: 'Polyworking' among younger employees - what is it and why is it a thing? And what would you do with a compulsory 'recharge day'?
Technology entrepreneur Charles Hoskinson joins the podcast to talk about early influences on his thinking, decentralised governance, trust, challenges in cryptocurrency, and the problem he'd most like to solve.
A fascinating conversation with a deeply thoughtful and insightful leader.
About Charles Hoskinson
Charles Hoskinson is a Colorado-based technology entrepreneur and mathematician. He attended Metropolitan State University of Denver and University of Colorado Boulder to study analytic number theory before movinginto cryptography through industry exposure.
His professional experience includes founding threecryptocurrency-related start-ups – Invictus Innovations, Ethereum and IOHK – and he has held a variety of posts in both the public and private sectors. He was the founding chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation’s education committee and established the Cryptocurrency Research Group in 2013.
His current projects focus on educating people about cryptocurrency, being an evangelist for decentralization and making cryptographic tools easier to use for the mainstream.
This includes leading the research, design and development of Cardano, a third-generation cryptocurrency that launched in September 2017.
More
Charles is active on social media. You can follow him on X.com (Twitter) here.
And the YouTube video of Charles Argentinian talk that originally piqued Libby's interest can be found here.
A packed episode this week with Libby and Matt considering the implications of research suggesting AI is beginning tounderstand us better than we understand ourselves.
Also, what do young employees REALLY think about ever-fattening CEO paycheques?
And a discussion about ‘taskmasking’ – basically the art of making yourself appear productive at work – extracts a ‘George Costanza/Pensky File’ confession from one of your hosts.
Special guest Michal Matlon joins the podcast too.
Michal is architectural psychologist who creates environments that support human well-being and helppeople fulfill their potential.
His fascinating work explores how space influence behaviour, thinking, and emotional experience.
He’s also the co-founder of the Venetian Letter, a project focused on spreading awareness of science-based, human-centred architecture.
This week Libby and Matt discuss the Governor of Tokyo's workplace initiative that he thinks will prop up Japan's sluggish population growth - as long as marriage is the end goal, of course.
Libby is surprised to learn Darwin has something similar on the go (sort of).
And a fascinating practical insight into organisational behavioural change when Libby meets Leschen Smaller.
Leshcen is Director, Element Business & Accounting Solutions.
Her business analysed 4-day week data, applied lessons learned, and now reaps significant workplace rewards.
Libby and Matt take a look at a very Gen Z phenomenon that should make employers and recruiters alike think twice about overstating the merits of workplaces.
Daisy Mack joins the podcast too.
Once a high-flying talent agent who represented some of entertainment's biggest names at William Morris Endeavour, Daisy now teaches meditation, sound healing and breathwork.
She's learned a lot along the way and her insights into navigating modern workplace challenges are a must listen.
Learn more about Daisy Mack here.
In their final episode of the year, Libby and Matt discuss the latest research on work from home (WFH) practices and ponder a Gallup report that suggest the time may now for those who want to trade down their work ambitions to focus on a better life.
Workplace wellbeing expert Dr Jenna Mikus and Founder and Managing Partner of the Eudae Group talks about her researching for and advising clients seeking architectural and organisational transformational change, and how work environments can be curated for health and wellbeing.
There's even a bit of cricket talk Well it is summer...
Why are Australians hording their annual leave? Libby and Matt discuss.
They also consider some interesting research pointing to a less collegiate work experience for younger employees.
And after a couple of BBC radio presenters made their true (not particularly kind) feelings public via a 'reply all' email sent in error, your hosts fess up to their own email disasters.
A fascinating interview for you too.
Regular listener 'Jen' was listening to an earlier episode of The Floorplan featuring Professor Gretchen Spreitzer (S2E2) on the value of thriving at work when she had a revelation.
It wasn't a particularly good one.
Jen realised she was not thriving.
For a host of different reasons she was experiencing the exact opposite.
But the forensic and considered way she thought her way through everything is genuinely inspiring. We reckon her story will resonate.
Organisational psychologist and leadership expert Dr Vicki Webster returns to the podcast to encourage us to think a little differently about how we handle workplace conflict.
While on conflict, can we 'AI' our way out of difficult workplace conversations?
Also, do stand-up desks help or hinder workplace health? A new UK study might shift the furniture...
And, as always, plenty more!
Libby and Matt deliver a quick whip around of the organisational behaviour stories and issues making headlines.
Among them:
All this and more!
