The Squid of Despair
Unscripted musings on business life, leadership, creativity, transformation and all the myriad of other work-life events that get in the way of a good night's sleep. The Squid of Despair is a conceptual summation of what can go wrong, and often does, with mind-mapping or other creative techniques. Born out of an idea for a book back in 2010, David and Peter have now made this mythical beast rise once again, phoenix like (from under the ocean waves, so a bit soggy probably), to explore all matters relating to 'business life, leadership, creativity, transformation and all the myriad of other work-life events that get in the way of a good night’s sleep' in the form of an unusual podcast
Episodes
25 episodes
Squid #24 - Identity
What is your identity? How do you get one in the first place? And what happens when you meet 'disruptors' in life that impact or change your identity?DAS and Peter are joined on this podcast by a special guest - S...
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Season 1
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Episode 24
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47:08
Squid #23 - Getting your Mojo back
In which DAS shares some personal experiences around losing your mojo and both Peter and DAS share some (possibly) new words with their listeners on descriptions of the human condition.It is all about recognition of entering the state o...
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Season 1
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Episode 23
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33:59
Squid #22 - Sisu
Shockingly there are 3 people in this podcast – DAS and Peter welcome their first ever guest, Donna Cooper – Services Leader and Untra-Marathon runner.DAS kicks it all off by introducing a brand-new word (to Peter anyway) – Sisu: A Finni...
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Season 1
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Episode 22
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31:58
Squid #21 - Personal Branding
In which David (aka DAS) and Peter (aka The Lazy Project Manager and now also aka Pedro) explore the value and purpose of evolving a personal brandAlong with stories of branding successes the dynamic duo (think the Ant and Dec of the bu...
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Season 1
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Episode 21
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27:26
Squid #20 - Balance
Where DAS assumes complete control of the podcast topics for 2024 (not precisely a coup but Peter is assuming a subservient role...)Exploring Balance in LeadershipDAS and Peter reflect on the 'old school' style of command and di...
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Season 1
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Episode 20
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29:55
Squid #19 - Uninformed Opinions
This week, we're tackling a topic that's increasingly relevant in today's world Peter feels: The danger of uninformed opinions.Opinion is the medium between knowledge and ignorance – Plato.Opinion has caused more trouble on this l...
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Season 1
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Episode 19
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32:02
Squid #18 - Resilience
Incorporating the now famous 'lost episode of Squid' when a technical issue caused a significant loss to DAS and Peter but the subject of this episode is resilience and they are committed to therefore being 'resilient' about it all.Resi...
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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36:24
Squid #17 - The Quiet Voice
An episode spoken with a soft voice but with a strong message in which DAS argues that the quietest voice in the room can, in fact, be the loudest (which initially confuses Peter a lot)Can a quiet voice be a powerful voice?Can you m...
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33:23
Squid #16 - Artificial Intelligence
Perhaps the #1 topic out there at the moment - the rapid (or so it seems) rise of artificial intelligence with technology like ChatGPT and Synthesia and MS Co-Pilot and Bing (and more) had to be discussed by the hosts eventually, and here it is...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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41:52
Squid #15 - Time Travel
In this episode DAS has a proposition: He would like to suggest that we experience time as a variable, not a constant. Interesting start, he continues:That you think our experience of time changes depending on the context, wh...
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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36:39
Squid #14 - The Challenge of Adoption
Peter gets sneaky and challenges DAS to talk about a subject that DAS promised to write about in Peter’s new book (2,500 words due by mid-June)Change Adoption is not Change Management – but the two go hand in hand – DAS and Peter explore...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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37:33
Squid #13 - The Positivity of Hope
Is hope just a vague, passive, woolly idea or is it something much more?DAS takes Peter on a journey re-evaluating the idea of hope as a strong and positive thing that can be very personal but sometime become a collective showing at dif...
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28:37
Squid #12 - The Imposter Syndrome
Peter reminisces about featuring in Glamour Magazine (with Brad Pitt) and DAS considers taking out a subscriptionOn a more serious note the podcasting duo worry that they shouldn't even be speaking or sharing their thoughts due to that ...
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38:00
Squid #11 - Global Thinking
DAS and Peter have been thinking, and discussing, everything 'global' - especially relating to business, but also the scientific world, which seems to have got the 'global' thing generally sortedPeter peaks early with an internet statem...
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36:51
Squid #10 - A Look Back at 2022
A light hearted (and short) look at back a the first year of the SquidIntroductions - Compliments - Insults - and Banter
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6:47
Squid #9 - Competition - Does the Winner Take it All?
A festive edition of this beloved (by at least three people) podcastExploring competition - at a business level - at team level - and at a personal levelUnderstanding why Peter needs a photo of DAS and why DAS should never be pu...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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30:49
Squid #8 - Optimism - The Argument For and Against
Optimism is an attitude reflecting a belief or hope that the outcome of some specific endeavour, or outcomes in general, will be positive, favorable, and desirable. A common idiom used to illustrate optimism versus pessimism is a glass filled w...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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40:02
Squid #7 - Thinking Inside and Outside the Box
We heard from our listener Mike B – thank you for your kind comments We kicked off with a Terry Pratchett quote 'I'll be more enthusiastic about encouraging thinking outside the box when there's evidence of any thinking going on in...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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33:03
Squid #6 - Strategy and the road to Successful Transformation
About 2,500 years ago, Chinese military strategist, Sun Tzu, wrote “The Art of War.” In it, he said: “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” Tactics and strategy should al...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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27:44
Squid #5 - The Building of a Great Team
There is no Squid in the Room – all such ‘squids’ have been addressed head on and dealt with like the mature professionals that we are, but you can learn the best place to find squid on Paxos.This episode is all about teams:A team...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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33:10
Squid #4 - The Use of Fun in the Workplace
Exploring the complex world of fun and what makes people laughIts appropriate, and inappropriate, use in the workplaceAnd how it can be incredibly bonding in many situations but how it can be used in a negative and 'bullying' ma...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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39:08
Squid #3 - The Art of Expectation Management
Beginning with the necessary addressing of the 'Squid in the Room'Exploring why the Tooth Fairy is a great example of expectation management (or it can be)All happiness is dictated by the reality compared with expectation - deep...
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32:51
Squid #2 - The Value of a Great Question
Exploring the problem of 'DSAS' - Difficult Second Album SyndromeConsidering what is the 'Squid of the Day'How formulating a really great question is critical to problem resolution and changeSeeing the world differently<...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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44:46
Squid #1 - The History of the Squid of Despair
Meet David, DAS and Peter - the two podcast presentersLearn more about cephalopods than you ever thought that you wanted toUnderstand the ancient origins of 'The Squid of Despair' as we explore the world of creativity and fun in...
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Season 1
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Episode 1
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48:21
Introducing 'The Squid of Despair' Podcast
Squid, any of more than 300 species of 10-armed cephalopods can be found in both coastal and oceanic waters. Squids have elongated tubular bodies and short compact heads. Two of the 10 arms have developed into long slender tentacles...
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Season 1
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Episode 0
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2:43