Sparks by Ignium Ignium Consulting Ltd

From having a ‘JOB’ to running multiple businesses: David Braithwaite on the power of coaching to create freedom
In this episode of the Sparks by Ignium Podcast, Phil Rose talks to David Braithwaite from Strategic Coach about his experience and advice to entrepreneurs in helping them find the balance they are looking for in their lives. Amongst some of the things discussed he provides valuable insights into the complexities of entrepreneurship and the pursuit of a balanced, fulfilling life. What more could we want!
Summary:
The summary from Read.ad said ‘the speakers shared insights into their approaches to coaching, sales, and entrepreneurship, highlighting the importance of effective communication, delegation, and self-motivation. They also discussed the significance of prioritising personal time and family over work, and the need for freedom in various aspects of life.’ I wonder what more needs to be said! But just in case you need more, here’s my take…
The conversation delved into the challenges and rewards of business ownership, reflecting on the importance of taking risks and learning from past experiences. Phil and David shared personal stories and reflections on the impact of being present for family moments, highlighting the need to avoid prioritizing work over family. They also discussed the significance of retirement and finding purpose in later life, emphasizing the value of doing what one loves and staying active in later years.
David shared his insights into the Strategic Coach program and how it has contributed to his success in achieving his goals. Some of the key take aways for listeners include: 
·         the importance of setting and tracking goals,
·         the impact of accountability and self-discipline on overall fulfilment and progress. 
 
(Some of) The main points for listeners:
David's Journey to Entrepreneurship
David Braithwaite shares his journey from a young age, where he worked multiple jobs to earn money and gain independence. He explains how his desire to provide honest advice to people led him to transition into financial services, seeking the freedom to guide others based on his own knowledge and experiences, rather than being restricted by representing a specific bank.
Running Your Own Business
David and Phil share their experiences and insights about the entrepreneurial journey, emphasizing the need for self-motivation and the realization that success is self-driven. They discuss the differences between being employed and self-employed, highlighting the challenges and rewards of running their own businesses. Additionally, they explore the concept of becoming ‘unemployable’ after being self-employed for an extended period.
Prioritising Life and Business
The need to prioritise personal time and family over work, emphasizing the limited nature of time. They share their experiences in setting up their own businesses and the challenges they encountered in achieving a work-life balance.
Key words to listen for: Freedom of time, money, relationships, and purpose
Reflections on Priorities and Realizations
David shares a personal anecdote about feeling disconnected from his father during a game of golf due to work distractions, leading to a realization about the importance of being present in the moment. He also reflects on his past mindset of prioritizing pension contributions as an escape plan, and the subsequent realization that he was wishing his life away.
Reflections on Business and Work-Life Balance
Phil shares his emotional reaction to his parents' experience running a business and the sacrifices they made for work. He reflects on the need to find ways to make the business self-managing to achieve a better work-life balance. David discusses his successful hires of a COO and a PA, emphasizing the importance of delegating tasks to focus on one's unique abilities for a more fulfilling work-life balance.
Key words to listen for: Importance of Delegation

Intro

In this episode of the Sparks by Ignium Podcast, Phil Rose continues the discussion of storytelling, communication, and creativity with Jeff Bartsch. Jeff shares his journey from music to communication development, emphasizing the importance of understanding audience desires. They explore infusing soul into work, strategic storytelling elements, and effective audience communication.
Summary:
Phil Rose talks to Jeff Bartsch, covering a range of topics related to storytelling, communication, and creativity. Jeff shares his personal journey of musical development and how it leads him to pursue a path focused on meaningful communication and storytelling. He also discusses his entrepreneurial journey, from coaching television editors to specializing in thought leader and communication development for the accounting and financial world. The discussion delves into the concept of thought leadership, with an emphasis on understanding the audience's desires and obstacles to create impactful storytelling.
Phil and Jeff engage in a deep conversation about the essence of communication and creativity, delving into the idea of infusing soul into one's work and connecting with the audience on a deeper level. They draw parallels between playing the piano and building with Legos to underscore the importance of mastering the fundamentals and creating meaningful connections in storytelling and creativity. The discussion also touches on the concept of attaching meaning to ideas and the significance of understanding the audience's perspective, highlighting the transformative power of communication.
The conversation covers the core elements of strategic storytelling, including identity, desire, obstacles, and change, and emphasizes the significance of understanding the audience's identity and desires. They explore the concept of understanding the audience's identity, desires, obstacles, and the change they seek, emphasizing the need for businesses to communicate effectively by addressing the audience's problems. The conversation also touches on the strategic level of communication, highlighting the importance of choosing who to communicate with and who not to, in order to narrow down the market and effectively serve the audience's needs.
(Some of) The main points for listeners:
Jeff Bartsch’s Journey to Playing from the Soul:Reflections on his musical journey.Transition from being known as “Jeff the Piano Guy.” Realization of playing from the soul and connecting deeply with the audience. Shift from technical skills to infusing emotion and meaning into music. Impact on communication and human connection in his career. Transition to Thought Leadership:Jeff’s shift from coaching television editors. Focus on thought leadership and communication development in accounting and finance. Significance of helping accountants become thought leaders. Effective communication and emotional connection.The Power of Storytelling:Highlighting storytelling’s role in connecting with the audience. Tailoring narratives to resonate with the medium used. Fundamental communication and storytelling skills.Empowering Accountants to Become Thought Leaders:Leveraging fundamental skills. Overcoming the “curse of expertise.” 
Case study: Virtual CFO Hannah’s successful communication of financial meaning to the CEO.
Balancing Numbers and Meaning: The Hannah Case Study
o    Meet virtual CFO Hannah, a master of balancing company valuation and employee compensation.
o    Discover how effective communication about financial numbers transformed her interactions with the CEO.
o    Learn how Hannah’s ability to convey meaning behind the metrics elevated her role and impact.
Creativity, Communication, and Legos
o    Jeff and Phil explore the transformative power of creativity and communication.
o    Beyond mastering the basics, they discuss infusing soul into work and creating something meaningful.
o    Drawing parallels between playing the piano and build

Unlocking the Power of Storytelling: Insights from Jeff Bartsch on Creativity & Communication
In this episode of the Sparks by Ignium Podcast, Phil Rose discusses storytelling, communication, and creativity with Jeff Bartsch. Jeff shares his journey from music to communication development, emphasizing the importance of understanding audience desires. They explore infusing soul into work, strategic storytelling elements, and effective audience communication.
Summary:
Phil Rose talks to Jeff Bartsch, covering a range of topics related to storytelling, communication, and creativity. Jeff shares his personal journey of musical development and how it leads him to pursue a path focused on meaningful communication and storytelling. He also discusses his entrepreneurial journey, from coaching television editors to specializing in thought leader and communication development for the accounting and financial world. The discussion delves into the concept of thought leadership, with an emphasis on understanding the audience's desires and obstacles to create impactful storytelling.
Phil and Jeff engage in a deep conversation about the essence of communication and creativity, delving into the idea of infusing soul into one's work and connecting with the audience on a deeper level. They draw parallels between playing the piano and building with Legos to underscore the importance of mastering the fundamentals and creating meaningful connections in storytelling and creativity. The discussion also touches on the concept of attaching meaning to ideas and the significance of understanding the audience's perspective, highlighting the transformative power of communication.
The conversation covers the core elements of strategic storytelling, including identity, desire, obstacles, and change, and emphasizes the significance of understanding the audience's identity and desires. They explore the concept of understanding the audience's identity, desires, obstacles, and the change they seek, emphasizing the need for businesses to communicate effectively by addressing the audience's problems. The conversation also touches on the strategic level of communication, highlighting the importance of choosing who to communicate with and who not to, in order to narrow down the market and effectively serve the audience's needs.
(Some of) The main points for listeners:
Jeff Bartsch’s Journey to Playing from the Soul: Reflections on his musical journey. Transition from being known as “Jeff the Piano Guy.” Realization of playing from the soul and connecting deeply with the audience. Shift from technical skills to infusing emotion and meaning into music. Impact on communication and human connection in his career. Transition to Thought Leadership: Jeff’s shift from coaching television editors. Focus on thought leadership and communication development in accounting and finance. Significance of helping accountants become thought leaders. Effective communication and emotional connection. The Power of Storytelling: Highlighting storytelling’s role in connecting with the audience. Tailoring narratives to resonate with the medium used. Fundamental communication and storytelling skills. Empowering Accountants to Become Thought Leaders: Leveraging fundamental skills. Overcoming the “curse of expertise.” 
Case study: Virtual CFO Hannah’s successful communication of financial meaning to the CEO.
Balancing Numbers and Meaning: The Hannah Case Study
o    Meet virtual CFO Hannah, a master of balancing company valuation and employee compensation.
o    Discover how effective communication about financial numbers transformed her interactions with the CEO.
o    Learn how Hannah’s ability to convey meaning behind the metrics elevated her role and impact.
Creativity, Communication, and Legos
o    Jeff and Phil explore the transformative power of creativity and communication.
o    Beyond mastering the basics, they discuss infusing soul into work and creati

In this episode of Sparks by Ignium, Phil Rose talks to Coach Christie Garcia. The conversation includes a detailed discussion about the impact of ego management on leadership and team dynamics. Christie provides insights into the nature of ego as the unconscious brain and its pervasive influence on communication, stress management, and decision-making processes. They also explore the significance of self-awareness and the power of making mindful choices in leadership, emphasizing the need to recognize and manage one's ego to achieve intentional and impactful leadership.
Finally, they discuss ego management and improvement strategies for personal and professional development. They underscore the value of seeking external feedback to understand one's impact and perception and emphasize the need to embrace feedback and commit to making small, daily improvements in various roles. The discussion encourages individuals to recognize the reality of their impact and perception, and advocates for a conscious effort to be 1% better every day, leading to significant growth over time.
(Some of) The main points for listeners:
Understanding Ego ManagementPhil Rose and Christie Garcia delve into the significance of ego management in leadership and team dynamic Christie emphasizes that ego is the unconscious brain and influences communication, stress response, and decision-making. They also explore the role of self-awareness and the empowerment of making mindful choices in leadership and decision-making processes.
Key points: Mindful Choice Leadership Overcoming Ego Traps 
Transition to CoachingPhil inquires about Christie’s path to coaching. Christie recounts her transition from a career in medical sales and recruiting to exploring various entrepreneurial ventures. She explains how her boss suggested life coaching as a potential fit for her
Initially sceptical, she delved into coaching out of personal interest in personal development. Christie shares her realization about bringing life coaching into the business world during a course in Toronto.
Christie’s Wake-Up Call Christie recounts a harrowing experience of falling from her fire escape. This incident led to a profound realization about her ego and emotional detachment. The wake-up call prompted her to start her coaching business and reexamine her priorities. She recognized the importance of emotional availability and personal connections in life.
Self-Awareness and Ego Management Christie and Phil dive into the concept of self-awareness and ego management. They highlight the role of the ego in sabotaging success and happiness. Moving from self-awareness to ownership is crucial. Recognizing the impact of one’s behavior on others is essential. Christie explains the use of the Leadership Circle tool for providing visual and third-party feedback to aid in self-awareness and personal development.
Ego Management and Mindful Choices Phil and Christie explore the concept of ego management and mindful choices, highlighting the significance of recognizing and questioning one’s own reactions and behaviors.
They stress the power of intentional and conscious decision-making to manage egos, improve communication, and foster empathy within teams, ultimately leading to better leadership and organizational culture. Key points:Communication Team Dynamics 
Recognizing and Managing Ego Christie and Phil delve into the concept of ego, identifying three main ego types: controller, protector, and complier. They discuss the impact of overusing strengths associated with each type and the importance of recognizing and managing one’s own ego to achieve balance and authenticity in interactions. Key point:Self-Awareness 
Ego Management and Improvement Strategies Phil and Christie delve into the significance of recognizing and managing ego in personal and professional settings. They stress the need for seeking external feedback to understand one’s impact and perception. Advocating for making

In this episode of Sparks by Ignium Phil Rose talks to Laura Gallaher about organisational psychology and its role in understanding and predicting behaviour in the workplace. They discuss the challenges of predicting behaviour in complex adaptive systems and the importance of leaders being open to introspection and self-awareness. They also talk about the Columbia shuttle accident and its impact on organisational culture at NASA, and the changes that were made to address these issues and enable the organisation to launch the next shuttle safely.
The episode explores the importance of understanding specific behaviours in organisational culture and the difficulty of getting clients to articulate them. They emphasized the need for a continued presence to ensure sustainable change and the importance of having a common purpose to inspire people to buy in. They also talked about the significance of storytelling and preserving history in organisations and society.
The episode also covers the concept of effective culture in organisations and how it can be achieved through the missing links culture model. They discussed the critical role of unity and communication in organisational change, and the importance of leaders staying humble, being vulnerable, and being open to feedback. 
(Some of) The main points for listeners:
1.    Understanding and Predicting Behaviour in Organisations
Phil Rose and Laura Gallaher explore the concept of organisational psychology and its focus on understanding, explaining, and predicting behaviour in the workplace. They discuss the challenges of predicting behaviour in complex adaptive systems and the importance of leaders being open to introspection and self-awareness.
2.    The Columbia Shuttle Accident and Organisational Culture
Laura and Phil discuss the Columbia shuttle accident and its impact on organisational culture at NASA. They explain that the accident was caused by a psychology problem within the organisation, rather than an engineering problem. They also discuss how Dr Philip Mead led the culture change initiative at Kennedy Space Center following the accident.
3.    Analysis of Organisational and Team Dynamics at NASA
They discuss the intrapersonal fears that prevented engineers from speaking up about concerns regarding the Challenger disaster. They also discuss the impact of hierarchy and retribution on psychological safety and the importance of changing organisational design and leader behaviours to create a more open environment.
* Organisational culture and its impact on behaviour
4.    Importance of Specific Behaviours in Organisational Culture
The importance of understanding specific behaviours in organisational culture and the difficulty of getting clients to articulate them. They also discuss the need for a continued presence to ensure sustainable change and the importance of having a common purpose to inspire people to buy in. The speakers also touch on the issue of safety in mission-critical businesses and the importance of keeping safety as the number one priority.
* The role of storytelling in preserving and shaping culture
5.    The Importance of Storytelling and Preserving History
Laura and Phil share their personal experiences of visiting the 9-11 memorial and how it brought the story alive for them. They discuss the importance of experiencing the story multiple times to truly understand and reflect on it. They also highlight the risk of the story degrading if it's not told the right way or passed down through Chinese whispers.
6.    The Importance of Effective Culture in Organisations
The speakers delve into the missing links culture model and how it can help organisations achieve effective culture traits such as maturity, diversity, community, and unity. They discuss the importance of self-acceptance, self-awareness, and self-accountability in achieving maturity, and how diversity of thought and respect for differences are key to achieving diversity in an organ

In this first guest episode of 2024 we talk to Sam Bishop. Sam has over 10 years experience working with elite performing athletes and professional sports teams and so this conversation covered many areas of his experience and how that translates to the world of ‘business’.
Sam Bishop and Phil delve into the topics of managing energy, dealing with pressure, and building trust in sports and business. They discuss the importance of oscillating between periods of push and recovery to maintain performance levels over longer periods of time. They also explore the impact of expectations on energy levels and the need for leaders to delegate and trust their teams. Finally, they examine the concept of trust and how it differs between sports and business, with a focus on building trust from the ground up to enable healthy debates and cohesive teamwork.
They also discuss the importance of understanding the human behind the mask in coaching and performance psychology sessions. They emphasize the need for empathy and emotional intelligence in leadership and communication, and suggest that different perspectives and life stories can lead to different reactions to the same situation. They encourage business owners and senior leaders to become reflective and ask open questions to understand what might be going on for a person who is acting a certain way. They also suggest that having deeper discussions can lead to insights and deeper connections with team members, and that appreciating each other's strengths and weaknesses is key to supporting each other.
The discussion also covers the key elements of achieving elite performance in business and sports, including preparation, adaptability, and reflection. Drawing on their experiences in the aerospace and sporting industries, they emphasize the need to plan for eventualities and be adaptable in the face of challenges, while also acknowledging that some individuals prefer structure and certainty. They highlight the missed opportunity for growth and development when businesses overlook the importance of reflection and encourage listeners to enter a space of reflection to see its benefits. They also discuss the challenges of encouraging individuals and teams to engage in reflection and suggest that people are more likely to do so when they see the benefits of it. 
(Some of) The main points for listeners:
Join Sam Bishop and Phil as they explore the keys to success in sports and business. They discuss managing energy, handling pressure, and building trust. From alternating effort and recovery to understanding individuals on a personal level, they share insights on elite performance. Learn from their experiences in aerospace and sports about the importance of preparation, adaptability, and reflection for growth and development. Tune in for a concise guide to thriving in both fields!
·         Managing Energy and Trust in Sports and Business
·         Pressure management in high-performance situations
·         Understanding the Human Behind the Mask
·         Importance of reflection for growth and development
·         The Importance of Preparation and Execution
·         Understanding Pressure and Adversity
·         Preparation, Adaptability, and Reflection
·         Adapting to challenges and setbacks
·         Reflection and Curiosity
·         Sam Bishop's Journey to High Performance Coaching
·         Ways to connect with Sam Bishop and access his content
·         Discussion on Promoting Podcast and Video
·         Reflections on Sam Bishop's Podcast
·         Different approaches to preparation and execution

Key Questions to consider:
* What is the importance of preparation, execution, and reflection in achieving success?
* How do individuals at the top of their game manage pressure?
* Why is reflection important for growth and development?
* How can individuals and teams improve their adaptability