The Not So Breakfast Show

Sacha and Ish

Listen, laugh and learn as we share our latest thoughts about staying relevant, contemporary leadership and doing life right. Ish Cheyne is the Head of Fitness in New Zealand for global fitness juggernaut Les Mills. Sacha Coburn is the COO of Coffee Culture, a leading group of boutique coffee shops, and the co-founder of The Company You Keep.co.nz.

  1. 2D AGO

    The First 5 Minutes That Make or Break Your Presentation

    Send us Fan Mail Join us on Skool Episode 257: The First 5 Minutes That Make or Break Your Presentation We’re recording early, with Sacha dialling in at 6am in full Hugh Hefner-style pyjamas ahead of a big trip to Mexico  In classic Sacha fashion, preparation has gone deep… including discovering that Mexico City sits at 2,200+ metres above sea level (a slight difference from Queenstown 😅). So if altitude sickness hits mid-podcast next week, you’ll know why. Now… onto the topic. Whether you’re presenting to a room, leading a meeting, or speaking on stage… 👉 The first five minutes matter This is where your audience decides:  Are you worth listening to?  Is this relevant to me?  Or can I mentally check out now? In this episode, Ish and Sasha break down exactly how to capture attention from the start—and what most people do wrong. 🔑 What We Cover  Why the first 5 minutes shape your entire presentation  The 3 key questions every audience is asking:  Why this?  Why now?  Why me?  The biggest mistakes presenters make early on  Why “housekeeping” kills momentum  How audiences are judging you before you even speak  Real-world presentation fails (and recoveries!)  Practical ways to instantly grab attention 💡 Common Mistakes  Starting with apologies or low confidence  Wasting time on logistics (toilets, exits, admin)  Building confidence slowly instead of starting strong  Ignoring the environment (temperature, layout, sound)  Forgetting you’re “on” before you begin 🧠 Powerful Ways to Start Strong  🔥 Bold statement → Grab attention instantly  ❓ Thought-provoking question → Interrupt the mental scroll  📊 Surprising fact/stat → Create curiosity  📖 Short story → Pull people in emotionally  🎯 Clear outcome → Get straight to the point  😂 Light humour → Relax the room  👀 Visual hook → Use your screen effectively  ⚡ Call out a problem → Make it relevant immediately  ⏱️ Quick interaction → Get people engaged early 🔥 Key Insight You are “on” before you start speaking.From how you enter the room… to how you stand… to what’s happening before you begin—it all shapes perception. If you waste the first five minutes… you spend the rest of your presentation trying to win people back. If you haven’t come across it yet, Working Genius is one of the simplest, most practical models I’ve seen for helping teams understand how they actually get work done. Not personality. Not fluff. Just clarity on where people thrive — and where they get frustrated.  If you’re planning your next team day, offsite, or work event, I’d love to bring this to your crew.  Find out more at IshCheyne.com

    28 min

  2. APR 14

    MWM - The Rant

    Send us Fan Mail Join us on Skool Stop Consuming—Start Controlling What You Can This week’s mini is a full rant… and honestly, it hits. With everything happening in the world right now, economic uncertainty, global conflict, constant updates, it’s easy to feel like you need to stay informed. But here’s the truth: More information doesn’t always help. In fact, it can leave you feeling more anxious and more powerless.

    4 min

  3. APR 12

    Busy or Avoiding? The Truth About Your Workload

    Send us Fan Mail Join us on Skool Episode 256: Busy or Avoiding? The Truth About Your Workload We kick things off mid-real-life chaos, with Sacha juggling admin dramas , a perfect reminder that sometimes the small stuff can feel way bigger than it should. And it sets the scene perfectly for today’s conversation… 👉 Are you actually busy… or are you avoiding the work that really matters? In this episode, Ish and Sasha unpack the uncomfortable truth about busyness, how it can become a badge of honour, a distraction, or even an avoidance strategy. What We Cover  Why busyness can feel productive (even when it’s not)  The difference between urgent tasks vs high-impact work How we use “being busy” to avoid hard conversations or decisions  The cognitive load of unfinished tasks (a.k.a. “the rubbish bin effect”)  Why some work gets delayed until it becomes stressful  The role of Working Genius in task avoidance  How systems (and support like EAs) can free up real thinking time  Why productivity should create space—not just more workIf you haven’t come across it yet, Working Genius is one of the simplest, most practical models I’ve seen for helping teams understand how they actually get work done. Not personality. Not fluff. Just clarity on where people thrive — and where they get frustrated.  If you’re planning your next team day, offsite, or work event, I’d love to bring this to your crew.  Find out more at IshCheyne.com

    27 min

  4. APR 7

    MWM: The Real Cost of “Just Passing It On”

    Send us Fan Mail The Hidden Damage of Gossip A bit of a different one this week… This mini was sparked by a real situation where a piece of “well-meaning” information turned out to be completely wrong, but not before it caused stress, confusion, and unnecessary action. It’s a powerful reminder: 👉 Not everything you hear is true.  👉 And repeating it can do real damage.

    2 min

  5. APR 5

    My Boss Stole My Idea… Now What?

    Send us Fan Mail THE NOT SO BREAKFAST SHOWEpisode Show Notes: Who Gets the Credit? Sacha is fresh off a near miss with an Easter chocolate bunny, after realising she’d already eaten lunch (sushi, no less), she heroically returned the bunny and opted for an apple instead. Discipline levels: questionable… but improving. Meanwhile, this episode was sparked by a real-world frustration pulled straight from Reddit, someone claiming their boss took credit for their idea. And let’s be honest… we’ve all either experienced that or wondered if we have. When it comes to leadership, who gets the credit and when matters more than we think. Should leaders say:  👉 “I did that”  or  👉 “My team did that”? And what happens when it feels like your idea has been taken, repackaged, and presented without you? This episode dives into the messy, nuanced reality of ownership, recognition, and leadership responsibility. If you haven’t come across it yet, Working Genius is one of the simplest, most practical models I’ve seen for helping teams understand how they actually get work done. Not personality. Not fluff. Just clarity on where people thrive — and where they get frustrated.  If you’re planning your next team day, offsite, or work event, I’d love to bring this to your crew.  Find out more at IshCheyne.com

    25 min

  6. MAR 31

    MWM: Feeling Overwhelmed? Do This One Thing

    Send us Fan Mail Mid-Week Mini The world feels heavy right now—uncertainty, rising costs, global tension. It’s easy to slip into anxiety when everything feels out of control. In this quick Midweek Mini, Ish and Sasha share a simple but powerful strategy: 🔑 What We Cover  Why anxiety increases when we feel powerless  The science behind action to reduce stress  Simple ways to regain control in uncertain times  Creating intentional moments of joy during your week

    2 min

  7. MAR 29

    Squeaky Wheels at Work

    Send us Fan Mail 🎙️ NOT SO BREAKFAST SHOWEpisode Show Notes: Squeaky Wheels at Work Before we get into today’s topic, a couple of updates… Sacha’s headphones have made a miraculous recovery. After a dramatic fall into the moat (yes, actual tears were involved), she pulled them apart, dried them out in the sun, and somehow brought them back to life. A lesson in resilience and maybe not giving up too quickly when things go wrong. Meanwhile, Ish has just returned from the US, navigating eerily quiet airports on the way out and packed flights on the way over. A reminder that even when things feel uncertain globally, the world is still moving, just in slightly unpredictable ways. Today’s topic. Ever worked with (or been) the “squeaky wheel”? You know—the person who always has something to say, something to flag, something to fix. In this episode, Ish and Sasha unpack the double-edged sword of speaking up at work:  Sometimes the squeaky wheel gets the grease…  Sometimes it gets replaced. So how do you know the difference? This conversation explores the tension between valuable feedback and constant noise, and how both leaders and team members can navigate it more effectively. 🔑 What We Cover  Why not all “squeaky wheels” are a bad thing  The hidden value behind complaints (the “rule of 50”)  Signal vs noise: how to tell what actually matters  Why over-communicating can make people stop listening  How leaders can respond without shutting people down  Practical ways to coach “squeaky” team members  Setting boundaries without ignoring real issues  Turning complainers into problem-solversIf you haven’t come across it yet, Working Genius is one of the simplest, most practical models I’ve seen for helping teams understand how they actually get work done. Not personality. Not fluff. Just clarity on where people thrive — and where they get frustrated.  If you’re planning your next team day, offsite, or work event, I’d love to bring this to your crew.  Find out more at IshCheyne.com

    26 min

  8. MAR 10

    MWM: Mental Vaccination

    Send us Fan Mail Midweek Mini – Mental VaccinationWhat’s the worst that could happen? No really. Write it down. This Midweek Mini explores a concept used by high-performance athletes, military teams, and leadership groups: mental vaccination. The idea is simple. You deliberately imagine the worst-case scenarios so that if they happen, you’re already prepared. What if the market crashes?What if there’s a cyber attack?What if the plan fails?Elite teams rehearse these possibilities so they aren’t shocked when pressure arrives. But there’s a catch. For some people, this builds resilience.  For others… it just creates anxiety. So the real skill is knowing when scenario planning builds confidence — and when it just becomes a list of things to worry about. And sometimes the worst-case scenario isn’t war, business collapse, or global pandemics. Sometimes it’s just dropping your headphones in a moat.

    3 min
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About

Listen, laugh and learn as we share our latest thoughts about staying relevant, contemporary leadership and doing life right. Ish Cheyne is the Head of Fitness in New Zealand for global fitness juggernaut Les Mills. Sacha Coburn is the COO of Coffee Culture, a leading group of boutique coffee shops, and the co-founder of The Company You Keep.co.nz.

Information

  • Creator
    Sacha and Ish
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    268
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Not So Breakfast Show
  • Show Website
    The Not So Breakfast Show

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