Battling with Business
In this podcast, Gareth Tennant, a former Royal Marines Officer, and Chris Kitchener, a veteran of the software development world, explore ideas and concepts around teams and teamwork, leaders and leadership, and all things in between. It’s a discussion between a former military commander and a business manager, comparing and contrasting their experiences as they attempt to work out what makes teams, leaders, and businesses tick.
Episodes
In this episode we have the privilege to be joined by the award winning journalist and Defence Editor of 'The Times', Larisa Brown. We discuss her new book The Gardener of Lashkar Gah: The Afghans who risked everything to fight the Taliban.
This book explores the courage of the people of Afghanistan who risked everything to work with British Soldiers in the fight against the Taliban. Larisa tells the story of Shaista Gull, a ki...
In this episode we look at the concepts from the Book The Starfish and the Spider by Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom. We discuss the benefits and disadvantages of decentralisation.
Using the analogy of the Starfish as a decentralised and self-healing system and the Spider as a centralised system, the book introduces the contrasting characteristics between organisations that...
Mary is both a historian and senior manager. She is currently researching the lengths the RAF went to to protect Bomber Crews from the stresses of a very new type of warfare - strategic bombing. In the episode, we discuss how to identify mental stress and mental fatigue, prevention vs cure, and the meaning of resilience. Join us as we learn about the wartime RAFs approach to stress management and mental heath, as we discover if ...
Perhaps a surprising choice for this Podcast, what could a country & western singer possibly teach us about business, leadership, or decision-making? Turn out, quite a lot. Listen to Gareth and Chris explore the remarkable life of one of America's most beloved singers. From her humble routes, she set out to be successful. As a musician, businesswoman, and philanthropist she has undoubtedly changed the world for the better! P...
In this episode, we are privileged to be joined by Dr. Waitman Wade Beorn. He is an author and historian and one of the preeminent academic experts on the Holocaust and the events that led up to the most heinous and barbaric episodes in human history. He is also a previous Tank Commander from the US Cavalry and as such has a tactical appreciation of small team management. In this facinating discussion, we explore the combinatori...
After a party at Chris's house, he pushed the emergency podcast button to ask why he couldn't get anyone dancing? We explore the concept of the first follwer and the power they have in driving group behaviours. The conversation moves on to wider group dynamics, group-think, and the idea of loyal dissent. We discuss the conditions required to allow team members to normalise good behaviours and support the overall mission.
When leaders feel that the decisions they need to make isolate them from their teams or even their superiors, they can feel the stress and pressure of their position. In this episode, Chris and Gareth share their experiences of feeling the loneliness of command and explore why this happens. Emotional stress is normal, but there are things that can exacerbate it and there are mitigations to help reduce it. Gareth talks about a tim...
Johannes Erwin Rommel, 'The Desert Fox' was a German Field Marshal during the Second World War. Perhaps no other military leader came out of the war with a greater reputation. In this 2-part Influencers episode, Chris and Gareth explore how the legacy of Rommel has endured. Was he a genius or is he over-rated? And why does the myth of the ‘Good German’ endure despite him being a senior Officer in the N...
Johannes Erwin Rommel, 'The Desert Fox' was a German Field Marshal during the Second World War. Perhaps no other military leader came out of the war with a greater reputation. In this 2-part Influencers episode, Chris and Gareth explore how the legacy of Rommel has endured. Was he a genius or is he over-rated? And why does the myth of the ‘Good German’ endure despite him being a senior Officer in the N...
VUCA, a term that originates from US Army thinking around the dynamic and dangerous conditions of contemporary warfare, that bleeds across into the corporate lexicon. But what is it and what can we do about it? In this episode, Gareth breaks down each of the constituent parts of what makes things VUCA, and then in discussion with Chris, they try to find ways to overcome these challenges.
Chris and Gareth introduce games that they have each run with corporate participants. Both games are quite different and as a result, engender different experiences, emotional responses, and lessons. Over the course of the episode, they discuss the specifics of the workshops they've run using these games as well as the wider value of games and these sorts of events.
Gareth and Chris are delighted to be joined by Pia Wendelbo an experienced mentor and business coach from 'Scandinavian Change Agents'. Between them, they explore the value of having external advisors within organizations, especially within the C-Suite. Begging the question 'who mentors the people at the top? The conversation also covers change and transformation programs and the need to shift the culture as well as the goals. ...
Once again we deep dive into the life of an individual who has changed the way we think about the world. Col John Boyd is the creator of the infamous 'OODA loop' as well as many other concepts that have changed our perceptions of strategy. In the discussion, we try to untangle myth from reality, tackle misconceptions of the OODA loop, and chat about the links between mechanics and human dynamics in systems.
Chris and Gareth explore the difficult subject of Mis, Dis, and Mal information. trying to work out when, if ever, it's appropriate for a leader to mislead people or hide things. They also discuss the difference between honesty and transparency, how to capture the narrative, and how to lead people in an ever more polarised world.
Having just come back from a screening of the Christopher Nolan film, Oppenheimer, Chris and Gareth discuss what we might learn from such a profound and important moment in our collective history. From project management, through to leading teams on morally difficult tasks. Gareth discusses leading teams in Combat and they both try to understand what led to General Groves and Dr Oppenheimer ultimately being successful in the purs...
In this episode we are joined by Ian Pegg, a senior manager in his own right, but also a historian who has focused on the role of the Chaplain during the Second World War. We talk about the surprising role chaplains have on Unit cohesion and explore the need for soft skills in Leadership that they often fulfill. Is this a gap in the civilian workplace?
In the second of our bonus episodes Gareth has recorded an essay he wrote for Karve International on the lesson we can learn from the current conflict in Ukraine on the role of Human Machine Teaming and the future of military collaboration.
There are few people who achieve greatness and leave a lasting impression on the world after they die. To do it twice in two completely unrelated fields is truly remarkable. Leonard Cheshire, a decorated pilot, commander, philanthropist, and charity worker. In the second of our Influencers series, we try to unpack the extraordinary life of Leonard Cheshire and try to understand what made him so successful in such a diverse range...
In the second of our chats with Douglas, we discuss the difference between the visionary leaders that change the world and the mavericks that break things and people. We discuss the Ocean Gate disaster and examples from our own career where arrogance and exceptionalism have led to poor outcomes.
In this episode, we chat with Douglas Waterfall about the concept of technical debt and why software engineers may have a different perspective from project managers. We explore why some teams can build shared consciousness and cohesion whilst others don't and what this can mean for strategy.
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