Let's Just Start Podcast with Laura Racky and Christian Cunningham

Christian Cunningham and Laura Racky
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  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Semiweekly

Laura Racky and Christian Cunningham talking business, growth, parenting, leadership, fashion, politics, and some occasional economics.

  1. 12h ago

    Career Maxxing, Gaslighting Managers & Taking Control Of Your Own Success #72

    Nobody cares about your career as much as you do. That might sound harsh, but it's one of the most empowering lessons you can learn. In this episode we discuss why so many people spend years working hard without ever clearly defining what success in their role actually looks like. If your company hasn't set meaningful KPIs, how do you know whether you're succeeding?How do you demonstrate your value?How do you build a case for a pay rise or promotion? Waiting for someone else to create the framework is often a mistake, and taking ownership of your own performance can completely change the trajectory of your career. We then tackle one of the trickiest workplace situations of all: reporting to a weak leader. Not every poor manager is the same, some are simply inexperienced or overwhelmed. Others are political, self-serving or willing to protect themselves at your expense. Understanding the difference dictates how you will approach. We discuss how to build influence, protect your reputation, navigate organisational politics and make decisions that keep your career moving forward, even when your manager isn't. Career maxxing, building your own KPIs, negotiating promotions, identifying weak leadership and taking responsibility for your own career progression. In short: Career maxxingWhy most companies don't define success wellBuilding your own KPIsCreating meaningful performance measuresDemonstrating your valuePreparing for pay rise conversationsPromotions and career progressionWeak managers versus dangerous managersBuilding influence outside your reporting lineOrganisational politicsProtecting your reputationPaper trails and accountabilityLong-term career strategy Find us here: Digital Resources: Therackycunninghamcollective.com Instagram: @letsjuststartpodcast Tiktok: @letsjuststartpodcast Youtube: @LetsJustStartPodcast Laura Insta: @laura.racky Laura Tiktok: @lauraracky Christian Insta: @leaderbiltacademy Christian Tiktok: @leaderbilt Leadership training and coaching: Leaderbilt.co

  2. Jul 17

    The Five Traits Every Great Leader Needs, How To Make Decisions In A Marriage, & The Magic Book #71

    If someone handed you a blank notebook and asked you the 5 traits you need to be crystal clear about as a successful leader, what would you say? In this episode, Christian opens the "magic book" to share the five leadership principles he believes separate good managers and leaders from the average, and it can change your trajectory. We discuss perception, understanding your vulnerabilities, knowing your values, developing commercial awareness and deliberately building relationships over the course of your career. None of these happen by accident, and all of them are within your control. We then discuss the very tricky world of how we make difficult decisions together, particularly in a marriage. Should you take the promotion?Move cities?Prioritise career progression?Spend more time with your children? How do you weigh money family, ambition, presence, or opportunity? When you know who you are and what matters most to you, what you actually VALUE, many of life's hardest decisions become much clearer. In Short: The five traits of respected leadersWhy perception mattersIdentifying and managing your vulnerabilitiesBuilding values that people can trustCommercial awareness and business thinkingRelationships that shape your careerThe "magic book" frameworkHow to make difficult life decisionsCareer versus familyMoney versus integrityParenting and long-term prioritiesBuilding a decision-making filterWhy values come before choices Find us here: Digital Resources: Therackycunninghamcollective.com Instagram: @letsjuststartpodcast Tiktok: @letsjuststartpodcast Youtube: @LetsJustStartPodcast Laura Insta: @laura.racky Laura Tiktok: @lauraracky Christian Insta: @leaderbiltacademy Christian Tiktok: @leaderbilt Leadership training and coaching: Leaderbilt.co

  3. Jul 9

    Albanese’s Poor Behaviour, Kylie Minogue For PM, What To Do After An Interview & Positivity Maxxing #70

    We start with Anthony Albanese’s comments about Kylie Minogue, his wife, and the Japanese Prime Minister, and why it raises a bigger conversation about judgement, leadership, respect and the way people in positions of influence choose to present themselves. Was it just a joke? Was everyone overreacting? Or do small moments sometimes tell us something bigger? We also get into something almost everyone has experienced: Walking out of an interview and immediately replaying everything you said. Did I answer that correctly? Did they like me? Should I follow up? Why haven’t they called? We talk through what to do after an interview, including reviewing yourself honestly, learning from what you could improve, positivity maxxing the things you did well, and then moving forward instead of sitting around waiting. Fun episode. Find us here: Digital Resources: Therackycunninghamcollective.com Instagram: @letsjuststartpodcast Tiktok: @letsjuststartpodcast Youtube: @LetsJustStartPodcast Laura Insta: @laura.racky Laura Tiktok: @lauraracky Christian Insta: @leaderbiltacademy Christian Tiktok: @leaderbilt Leadership training and coaching: Leaderbilt.co

  4. Jun 20

    Top 5 Life (And Work) Shocks After Motherhood, Top 5 Ways To Know People Don't Respect You, Racky Rant, Disgusting Politics, Budget Madness, Stark Reality & The Stories We Tell Ourselves #69

    Competing Top 5 Lists (List Maxxing)!! Who wins, Christian or Laura? What happens when reality doesn't match the story we've been telling ourselves? We with a discussion about respect. The signs that someone may not value you as much as you value them, the people who only call when they need something, the colleagues who undermine you in front of others. The friendships that quietly drift out of balance. From there, Laura shares her Top Five Things That Shock You After You Have A Baby (Career Edition). Not the LinkedIn version, the real version. How your priorities can change overnight. Why your tolerance for workplace nonsense suddenly evaporates. Why people view mothers differently, whether they admit it or not. And why the person who returns from maternity leave is often not the same person who left. The conversation then politics, public debate and modern Australia. Why has public discourse become so angry? Why do so many conversations revolve around what should be taken away from somebody else? Why are we so focused on dividing the pie rather than growing it? We cover empathy, accountability, opportunity, growth, national confidence and whether we've forgotten that the people on the other side of these debates are still our neighbours, colleagues and fellow Australians. In short: The subtle signs someone doesn't respect youWorkplace respect and personal relationshipsFive things that shock you after having a babyWhy your tolerance for workplace nonsense collapsesIdentity, confidence and adjustmentPolitical discourse in AustraliaEmpathy, accountability and resentmentGrowth versus divisionNational confidence and leadership Find us here: Digital Resources: Therackycunninghamcollective.com Instagram: @letsjuststartpodcast Tiktok: @letsjuststartpodcast Youtube: @LetsJustStartPodcast Laura Insta: @laura.racky Laura Tiktok: @lauraracky Christian Insta: @leaderbiltacademy Christian Tiktok: @leaderbilt Leadership training and coaching: Leaderbilt.co

  5. Jun 13

    Christian's 3 MOST Important Messages, How To Prepare For INTERVIEWS, Supermarket Fights, Reputation And How People Perceive You (Why It Matters But You Also Shouldn't Care) #68

    How do other people experience you? It's a simple question, but one most of us rarely stop to consider. In this episode we discuss the gap between intention and perception, why people can have a completely different experience of us than the one we think we're creating, and why understanding that difference can change careers, relationships and leadership outcomes. We talk about confidence, reputation, first impressions and the reality that perception often shapes opportunity whether we think it's fair or not. We also explores interviews, workplace dynamics, body language, reception areas, leadership blind spots, social awareness and the importance of understanding how your behaviour lands with other people. We also cover unusual feedback from an aura reader, real-world examples of perception shaping outcomes, and why some people unknowingly make themselves harder to approach than they realise. The episode finishes with a broader discussion about risk, opportunity, backing yourself and a simple idea that sits underneath many of life's biggest decisions: Don't die wondering. In Short: Confidence versus intimidationLeadership blind spotsFirst impressionsInterview preparationReception staff and hidden assessmentsAI taskforces and workplace changeSelf-awareness and social awarenessRisk, opportunity and backing yourselfWhy most people wait too longDon't die wondering Find us here: Digital Resources: Therackycunninghamcollective.com Instagram: @letsjuststartpodcast Tiktok: @letsjuststartpodcast Youtube: @LetsJustStartPodcast Laura Insta: @laura.racky Laura Tiktok: @lauraracky Christian Insta: @leaderbiltacademy Christian Tiktok: @leaderbilt Leadership training and coaching: Leaderbilt.co

  6. Jun 5

    Court of UNPOPULAR Opinion Is Back, 5 Secrets To TRUE Life Success, Business Maxxing For Scaredy Cats, And Science Corner #67

    What does it actually take to build a successful life? Not just financially or professionally. A genuinely successful life. In this episode we discuss the five foundations that we believe sit underneath long-term success: CommitmentHealthFamilyFaithPurposeThe conversation explores why talent eventually runs out, why commitment matters more than motivation, how health underpins everything else, and why people need a tribe around them if they want to thrive over the long term. We also spend time on one of the more difficult topics, faith. Not necessarily faith in religion, but faith in something. Faith in yourself, your family, your future, your community, or the belief that tomorrow can be better than today. We discuss starting a business, overcoming fear, volunteering, building purpose when you feel lost, a new study into anxiety, Court of Unpopular Opinion, open-plan offices, government spending, boredom, social media and why modern life seems increasingly designed to keep us distracted. We are always surprised how much ground we cover. In Short: Entrepreneurship and riskCommitment and resilienceHealth and performanceFamily and communityFaith and beliefPurpose and meaningVolunteering and contributionAnxiety researchOpen-plan officesEconomic challengesTechnology and attentionModern life and fulfilment Find us here: Digital Resources: Therackycunninghamcollective.com Instagram: @letsjuststartpodcast Tiktok: @letsjuststartpodcast Youtube: @LetsJustStartPodcast Laura Insta: @laura.racky Laura Tiktok: @lauraracky Christian Insta: @leaderbiltacademy Christian Tiktok: @leaderbilt Leadership training and coaching: Leaderbilt.co

  7. May 31

    Impulse Control, The 4 Fastest Ways To Ruin Your Reputation, AI Maxxing, Starting A New Job, & Genghis Khan - Ep 66

    We start with Birkenstocks end with leadership, impulsivity, artificial intelligence, Genghis Khan, reputation, career advice and simple rules for avoiding unnecessary problems. We talk about impulsive decisions, why some people repeatedly find themselves dealing with the consequences of avoidable mistakes, and how to deal with it. We cover emotional reactions, delayed decision-making and why a small pause can change the trajectory of a conversation, a relationship or even a career. The conversation then moves into artificial intelligence, the future of work and whether people are focusing on the wrong part of the AI revolution. Technology may continue to accelerate, but human beings still need meaning, purpose and connection. We also discuss leadership, first impressions, starting a new job, building credibility, asking better questions, and the behaviours that damage trust before people even realise they are doing it. Somewhere in the middle we end up talking about Genghis Khan. Pretty standard episode, really. In short: Why impulsivity is rarely the real problemThe gap between reaction and actionThe seven-day email ruleDelayed decisions and better outcomesAI, work and the search for meaningWhy human beings need purposeLeadership mistakes people make earlyFirst impressions in a new roleThe fastest ways to damage credibilityQuestions that build trust across teamsGenghis Khan, Temujin and long-term thinkingBirkenstocks and unnecessary purchases Find us here: Digital Resources: Therackycunninghamcollective.com Instagram: @letsjuststartpodcast Tiktok: @letsjuststartpodcast Youtube: @LetsJustStartPodcast Laura Insta: @laura.racky Laura Tiktok: @lauraracky Christian Insta: @leaderbiltacademy Christian Tiktok: @leaderbilt Leadership training and coaching: Leaderbilt.co

  8. May 27

    Deep Reflections, Irrational Fears, Competitiveness, Getting Older, and What We Wish We'd Done - A Love Story #65

    Another Fast Five. Five questions, no preparation, and wherever the conversation goes is where it goes. This episode goes from secret competitiveness and teenage expectations into free will, parenting, ageing, irrational fears, spiders, boxing, skydiving, piano lessons, filing cabinets, and whether “Lawyers Ding Dong” should become a legitimate sporting event. The five questions were: What are you secretly competitive about?What would 16-year-old you think of you now?What’s the best part about getting older?What’s your most irrational fear?What’s one thing you wish you’d done, but probably never will? Along the way we talk about: Secret competitiveness and internal pressureWhat 16-year-old you would think todayThe calmness and self-knowledge that comes with ageFree will, parenting and modern uncertaintyWhy younger generations face more paths but less certaintyIrrational fears and imagined problemsStoicism and managing anxietySpiders, Mike Tyson and fear responsesPiano lessons and unfinished ambitionsProfessional fighting and “Lawyers Ding Dong”Filing cabinets, libraries and workplace nostalgiaA thoughtful episode hidden inside complete nonsense. Find us here: Digital Resources: Therackycunninghamcollective.com Instagram: @letsjuststartpodcast Tiktok: @letsjuststartpodcast Youtube: @LetsJustStartPodcast Laura Insta: @laura.racky Laura Tiktok: @lauraracky Christian Insta: @leaderbiltacademy Christian Tiktok: @leaderbilt Leadership training and coaching: Leaderbilt.co

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Laura Racky and Christian Cunningham talking business, growth, parenting, leadership, fashion, politics, and some occasional economics.

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