inspired energy Murray Guest

In this episode I speak with Dr Rajesh Kumar — an expert in International Business Strategy and Cross-Cultural Management — on the importance of cultural competence in shaping global business success.

Originally from India, Dr Kumar has lived and worked in the United States, U.K., Denmark, France, Finland, Netherlands, and New Zealand. He has developed a deep appreciation and awareness of the importance of the cross-cultural dimension and how it impacts strategy formulation and implementation. He has a Ph.D. degree in International Business from New York University, an MBA from Rutgers University, and a Masters degree in Economics from the University of Delhi. He has published numerous research papers in academic journals and is the coauthor of a book on Doing Business in India which was published by Macmillan in 2005 and International Negotiations in China and India published by Macmillan in 2011. Dr Kumar is also a certified Global Dexterity Trainer and is currently appearing on Leadership Podcasts as a guest where he highlights the importance of managing the cultural dimension for global companies. He also leads training programs for companies engaged in global business.

Rajesh gives some examples of cross cultural mistakes that can be made in business, what we can do about it (hint: it includes building psychological safety), and what it means to be culturally competent. We also discuss curiosity, assumptions and the issue of slowing down, and how all three are linked to cultural openness.

Key highlights:


When there is an element of exceptionalism, it impacts the ability to learn from others.
If you're doing business globally, you have to be prepared. Preparation is the key to success.
A big part of cultural competence is the ability to decode what is going on as opposed to what appears to be going on. What you might see overtly, may not be what's happening internally. There's often a difference.
People are moving apart with globalisation, rather than coming together. A curious focus on culture helps improve this.
In international business, you have to look at three important things; culture, history and politics, and the context of the situation.

To connect with Rajesh further head over to LinkedIn, and check out the work he does over on his website.

In this episode I speak with Rupal Patel, an ex-CIA agent turned business owner who helps her audiences leverage the CIA mindset to remake the rules of success.

Called a ‘Power Woman’ by Harper's Bazaar Magazine, Rupal Patel is a sought-after international speaker and business consultant who has spoken in front of thousands. As a sitting CEO, author of From CIA to CEO (Bonnier Books, May 2022), executive advisor, coach and mentor, Rupal helps founders, leaders, and next generation change-makers reset their mindset and make the impossible possible. She brings tools and tips from the top-secret world of the CIA into everyday living and leading.  

After a thrilling career at the CIA, she earned her MBA from London Business School and started her first award-winning business 10 years ago. With motivating stories and truly unique exercises, Rupal helps her audiences leverage the CIA mindset to remake the rules of success and become unstoppable in all aspects of life.

We speak about Rupal's incredible time as an agent in the CIA, our identities as leaders and the societal conditioning around that, and how to separate noise from the signal (your task/mission/goal).

Key episode highlights include:


Start making small and incremental tweaks so that you can live more authentically, more powerfully and with less friction in your life in every way possible.
No matter how smart we are, how capable, how well trained, there's always a part of the picture that we just don't have.
It takes a lot of work to separate your sense of self from what you do.
It's really important to start developing that skill of knowing what is noise and knowing what is the signal, and then choosing to ignore all of the noise so you can focus on the signal.

The best place to find out more about Rupal is over on her website, where you can also find links to her book From CIA to CEO.

#leadership #selfleadership #coaching #coach #executivecoach #business 

In this episode I speak with Chloe Oestreich, who coaches leaders from Fortune 500 companies on how to communicate effectively, be heard and lead with impact.

As a consultant, Chloe equips leaders with the tools and techniques they need to thrive, adapt, present and communicate with impact.
An ICF accredited coach, she specialises in executive developmental coaching, which explores the inner game of the leader. Through coaching, Chloe empowers and stretches curious individuals to step into self-organisation and self-management of their own developmental growth. It is this sense of ownership that helps her clients step into their potential and purpose.

We speak about the four types of listening, why those in leadership positions really need to be adept in self leadership, the components of executive presence and we also explore tweaks to how you show up that can make a big difference in how your message lands with people.

Key episode highlights include...


How deliberate and connected are you towards your underlying intention? What do you want people to really walk out with?
Listening is one of the most undervalued skills. It is the most extraordinary gift you can actually offer up to another person.
Make it easy for people to contribute.
When we offer up sacred listening, there is no judgement, there is no chatter, there is no evaluation, there is no second guessing there is just pure 'being'.
Leadership starts with self leadership

As mentioned in the episode, Chloe has generously created a free video training for our listeners which you can find here. But you can also find out more about Chloe and what she does over on her website and connect on LinkedIn.

#podcast #leadership #executive #coach #coaching #leadership #leaders #developmentalcoaching #entrepreneur 

In this episode I speak with Shirley Dalton, an author and business mentor who is on a mission to help businesses regain control through the power of their people and their systems.

Shirley Dalton is the creator of the Blueprint For Business Freedom and author of The Loyal Lieutenant: How The Second-In-Command Brings The CEO’s Vision To Life.
Her teachings demonstrate how blending people, processes and possibilities can help business owners create their ideal business lifestyle to avoid burnout and their personal and business lives working against them.

Over 30 years, she has helped thousands of business owners and employees around the world:
- release lifelong limiting beliefs,
- put in place solid systems and procedures, and
- develop and improve their leadership skills.

With a unique set of skills including teaching and psychology degrees, she is on a mission to help even more business owners, leaders and managers to get their businesses under control by growing themselves and their teams to create more money, more time and less stress.

We speak about Shirley's three year travel in a motor home across Australia and navigating relationships in very small spaces, how leaders are able to create psychological safety for their teams, plus the blueprint for business freedom (including Shirley's 3 P's - People, Process and Possibility).

Key episode highlights include:

- Not speaking up is actually the kiss of death for the team.

- It's important to have squabbles within a team, as long as the communication with each person is strong and healthy.

- Have conversations about how you have conversations.

- Assertiveness is getting your needs met but not at another's expense.

- When you're stressed, your limiting beliefs can become magnified.

To find out more about Shirley, head on over to her website which is chock full of information, and also connect with her further on Facebook and Instagram.

Resources spoken about in this episode:
Shirley's book: The Loyal Lieutenant: How The Second-In-Command Brings The CEO’s Vision To Life
Fearless Leadership
The E-Myth
Go for No



#leadership #business #podcast #entrepreneur #mindset #attitude #freedom #coaching #coach

In this episode I speak with Liz Dingle, an executive mindset coach whose goal it is to help people lead with love rather than lead with fear.

After 20 years of working in senior corporate marketing, Liz decided to follow her heart rather than her head. She realised that limiting beliefs kept her exactly where she was and unknowingly stopped her from doing what she wanted to do in her career. So, with a great marketing career behind her, she put a line in the sand and decided to walk away from it all to start a new career and her own business that would suit who she was and the life she wanted for herself and her two boys.

Liz is a sole parent with two boys aged 10 and 12 and really wanted to be present during their schooling years. She found that her corporate career kept her from doing this and decided to make a big change. But still wanted to be extremely successful and prove to her boys that anything was possible.
This realisation led her to become an executive mindset coach, as it was meaningful and gave her the flexibility she desired.
After 2 and a half years of running her own business, Liz has coached over 60 senior executives and created an incredible network that has inspired others to truly, be their best. She is very proud of what she has achieved, especially as a single mum, through the pandemic and having started with nothing. Liz has also helped people improve themselves and reach their potential.

We speak about setting yourself up for success and how it often comes when your back is up against a wall, how working on just one part of you has a huge flow on effect to all other parts, and Liz offers a great perspective on negativity and how that can bounce back to you in other areas of your life.

Key episode highlights include:What you want is right there in front of you, but you're the one blocking it
- In order to make something different, you have to do something really different.
- Things happen when you draw that line in the sand.
- Own ALL of your stuff when it comes to both positive and negative interactions with people.
- You can't have professional growth without personal development.

You can find out more about Liz and the work she does over on her website, or connect with her on LinkedIn.

#coach #coaching #business #entrepreneur #mindset #goals #coaching

In this episode I speak with Kent Weed, a powerhouse producer and director who is also extremely passionate about meditation and the full spectrum of health and wellbeing.

Kent Weed is a multiple Emmy nominated Producer and DGA nominated Director and Co-founder of A.Smith & Co Productions. He has over 25 years of experience in Television in multiple genres, Music, Talk, Game, and Reality including creating formats such as “American Ninja Warrior”, “I Survived a Japanese Game Show. “ and “Hell’s Kitchen”. He has a unique skill of taking niche ideas and creating formats that appeal to broad audiences.

He founded reality television powerhouse A. Smith & Co. Productions with Arthur Smith in 2000 and His career spans 3 decades and He has produced over 150 shows for 45 different networks.

He was an executive producer on all of the company’s projects, including the Emmy and People’s Choice Award-nominated hit shows Hell’s Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares, American Ninja Warrior, I Survived a Japanese Game Show, Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura, Full Throttle Saloon, The World According to Paris, Unsung, American Gangster, Pros Vs. Joes, UFC Countdown, The Swan, and Trading Spaces.

In addition to his duties as President and Executive producer, Weed also Directed many of the company’s projects, receiving two Directors Guild of America nominations for Spartan – Ultimate Team Challenge in 2017 and I Survived a Japanese Game Show in 2009, in addition to winning the international Rose d’Or award for Best Reality show in 2009.

We speak about Kent's 20 year partnership in business and how he's been able to maintain that, how he started on the path into wellness and the huge changes he noticed when he started meditating, ultimately leading him to help others in this area by creating the program, Taming Your Monkey Mind.

Key episode highlights include:


The key to long-standing relationships in business is respect.
Health and longevity is ultimately a combination of mind, body and soul.
There's many opportunities for things to go wrong. And if you look at it with a different perspective, you're much more able to deal with those challenges and come up with resolutions.
You can reprogram your brain, you can reprogram your thoughts through constant repetition and consistency.
The world is chaos and the universe is chaos, and when you just accept things and surrender to them and deal with them in the moment, rather than try to fight and push back, it's much easier to deal with.
Have the conversations before you need to have them.

You can check out the wellness work Kent does by visiting Live Ur Purpose, and definitely look into Taming Your Monkey Mind - something we all should be doing!

Other resources mentioned in this episode were the Waterkeeper Alliance and the book, Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters by Meg Meeker.

#coach #business #media #entrepreneur #leadership #health #mindset #wellbeing #entertainment #meditation