international Archives - Don't Stop Us Now

Wondering What Next? Greta’s Unique Listening Tour

May 22, 2024May 22, 2024
by Claire

Our episode this week looks at an under-appreciated concept for reflecting on, and gaining new insights for your next career step or business idea.

We go on a journey with Claire to learn about a ‘World Listening Tour’ that Greta did some years back. She had decided to leave her intense role at (RED) and wasn’t sure what she wanted to do next, nor even which country she should live in!

This dilemma about what next prompted Greta to put together her very own listening tour to learn what had been happening in the world outside the bubble of her all-absorbing (RED) role, as well as discover what other interesting things were happening in the space she was interested in. At the same time, she figured, she’d also get a ‘feel’ for whether she’d want to live in particular cities or not.

In this unique episode we share:

What a Listening Tour is
What Greta wanted from her ‘World Listening Tour’
How she secured her meetings, sometimes with amazing people
What you need to consider to have your own successful listening tour, and
How you can have one these days without leaving home.

What we love about the concept of a Listening Tour is that there’s no limit to the kind of topics or themes you might want to explore. And, as you’ll discover, through curious and well prepared conversations with contacts and strangers, a lot of insight can come.

Perhaps a Listening Tour is exactly what you need now?

Enjoy this episode!

Interview

Ellen Broad – Her Surprising Path to Big Data…

November 3, 2020November 13, 2020
by Claire

Brought to you by Microsoft’s The New Next

This week’s episode features a woman who never dreamt she’d end up working in a high tech environment. In fact, Ellen Broad imagined she would be a lawyer or librarian when she was younger.

However this tech exec and academic is now a Senior Fellow at the 3A Institute at the Australian National University. The Institute is a multi-disciplinary department created to help humans prepare for, and navigate, a world that will be forever altered by AI-powered ‘cyber-physical systems’.

A little bit more about Ellen, she trained as a lawyer (more about that in our conversation) and she’s worked in data-related roles in the Hague and in the UK, including being an expert adviser to the UK Secretary of State on Data, and head of Policy for the UK’s Open Data Institute.

Not only that, but Ellen has also written an award winning book on AI and its impact on humans called ‘Made By Humans’.

In this episode you’ll learn:

How Ellen navigated moving countries, and finding work, without having any network in her new home-base
How she’s found her voice to speak up against gender bias
What it’s like working in a truly diverse team – hint it’s not always easy
Why she’s using social media a lot less these days, and
Where she thinks technology will go in the next five years.

Enjoy this episode with the unassuming and very smart Ellen Broad.

Links

3A Institute website

Ellen Broad’s website

Ellen’s Book – Made by Humans

Griffith Review Article – Computer Says No

Resources Recommended by Ellen

Coded Bias Documentary

Algorithms of Oppression by Safiya Noble

Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O’Neil

PAIR Program with Google

The Coding Train – Daniel Shiffman

Interview

Brianne West – Running the World’s most Sustainable Cosmetics…

July 28, 2020
by Claire

Our guest on the podcast this week is Brianne West, the New Zealander serial entrepreneur and founder of global sustainable cosmetics company, Ethique.

Brianne has a bold and pioneering mission, to rid the world of single-use plastics. She started Ethique to replace all those bottled products we use in our bathrooms, from shampoos to moisturisers, with solid bars of concentrated product.

We’ve been so impressed with the degree of sustainability and ethical practices that Brianne has baked into her business, from sourcing her products directly from around the globe, to being a B Corp, to donating 20% of profits to charitable causes. It really is a business that walks the talk.

In this episode you’ll learn:

How Brianne displayed the entrepreneurial gene very early
How she’s funded Ethique with two very successful crowdfunding campaigns, as well as what it takes to crowdfund successfully
What Brianne does to manage her anxiety; and
How Huffington Post and Britney Spears changed everything for her business overnight!

We hope you come away as inspired by this conversation as we were. It’s a real demonstration of what’s possible when a business decides to make a reasonable profit whilst also caring for planet and people.

Finally, a quick request from us, if you enjoy our podcast and have yet to rate or review us on your listening platform of choice, we’d so appreciate it if you would. This is a passion project for us and it would really make a positive difference.

Interesting Links

Ethique Website

Brianne on Instagram

Future Proof Me Mini Episode

Future Proof Me – How an Innovator Stays Creative

July 7, 2020
by Claire

Welcome to this week’s mini Future Proof Me episode all about how to stay creative in a busy world.

We loved the advice that serial Canadian entrepreneur and founder, Vicki Saunders shared with us when we spoke to her last year.

Vicki is CEO and Founder of SheEO. SheEO is an international network of women who support, finance and celebrate female innovators who run ventures solving important world problems.

As a serial entrepreneur and true original thinker, Vicki has learnt she needs to create space for ideas to flow. As you’ll hear in this episode, she’s very conscious of ensuring she has a routine and practices that give her that space and stimulus despite facing, as we all do, the demands of a hectic busy work life and all the usual stresses we all experience.

You’ll hear how Vicki carves out time in her schedule to consume a wide variety of different topics in order to fuel her creative thinking, and you’ll hear how she’s found meditating makes a big difference.

If you’re struggling to have fresh ideas or see old problems from new perspectives, then this mini episode is just what you need!

Links of interest

Our full interview with Vicki

SheEO website

Interview

Mitra Azizirad – How Resilience and Persistence Can Make…

June 16, 2020June 17, 2020
by Claire

This week’s episode features a trailblazing woman in tech who’s had an extraordinary 28 year career at Microsoft.

Mitra Azizirad is Corporate Vice President of AI and Innovation Marketing at Microsoft based in Seattle.

As you’ll discover, Mitra’s heard it all, including a senior Defence executive telling her he had shoes older than she was! This indomitable woman has also got used to hearing plenty of ‘No’s’ at work but has repeatedly found ways to prove the naysayers wrong.

In this episode you’ll learn:

How it’s almost an accident Mitra got into tech in the first place, given she studied and wanted to work in International Relations
What it was like being Chief of Staff to the CEO of Microsoft and why she turned the job down several times in the first place
Why she’s never taken anyone’s advice
And the secrets of innovation she’s learnt from working on the cutting edge of technology.

We spoke with Mitra in Seattle during the coronavirus shutdown but before the Black Lives Matter protests.

Without further ado enjoy this episode with the forward thinking and very persistent Mitra Azizirad.

Links of interest

Mitra on LinkedIn – see her speeches here too! Well worth a look!

Microsoft Innovation – Mitra’s team

Microsoft AI – also Mitra’s team

Microsoft’s AI Business School – Free Course

Interview

Cecilia Tham – Predicting the Future

February 11, 2020
by Claire

If you’ve ever wondered about what we’ll all be eating in 10-15 years time then this is the episode for you!

Our guest is Barcelona-based Cecilia Tham, a Social Technologist and Futurist. She happens to have the coolest day job working for Alpha, which is Telefonica’s innovation arm briefed to build moonshots to address some of society’s biggest problems, including the future of food.

Cecilia was raised in Macau, attended high school and Harvard university in the US, and then found herself in Spain having to start from scratch, language included. She describes herself as an entrepreneur by heart, a designer and biologist by training, and a maker for life.

On her journey to working at Alpha, she founded and co-founded 3 separate ventures including a Maker cafe, a co-working community, and a coding and tech academy for women.

We think you’ll find Cecilia’s life and career lessons really inspiring. In particular you’ll learn:

How Cecilia’s former husband’s gift of a sewing machine first insulted her and then led to her uncovering a passion and her first entrepreneurial venture
What ‘Trim Tabbing’ is and why it makes her more productive
How Cecilia managed to turn her mindset around and be comfortable being different to everyone else in the room
And…. how she and her colleagues are looking at future scenarios where you’ll be able to grow an entire meal, including meat and veg, with the one plant – yes you read that right – grow your dinner!

Enjoy this episode with the multi-talented and dynamic Cecilia Tham.

Links of Interest

Cecilia’s website

Alpha

Makers of Barcelona (MOB)

FAB Cafe

allwomen AI Training School

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Interview

Margarita Herdocia – The Compassionate Capitalist

August 27, 2018December 5, 2018
by admin

We have a truly international businesswoman and global citizen on the show today.

Margarita Herdocia, is Nicaraguan by birth, was educated in New York, and lives in Costa Rica. She owns and runs Renaissance Holdings which operates multiple businesses based in Central America, the Caribbean, Russia and Europe.

Incredibly, she’s using her businesses to further the cause of democracy in her dictator-run country of birth where she finds herself having to make decisions in the current civil unrest that have life or death implications for her staff.

Margarita began – with no experience – by taking over a failing, family owned fast food and casual dining business and totally blitzed it. She’s expanded her portfolio over the years to also include real estate development, some retail, and financial asset management interests as well.

In this episode you’ll hear:

How a comment in her living room saw her go overnight from no experience in business, to turning around a failing business in Nicaragua
Her philosophy as a leader, and how her purpose is to create what she calls ‘happy jobs’
How she takes advantage of the times when men in meetings won’t look at her – she’s often the only woman in the room
Her advice for women who want to negotiate a pay rise