Episode 277

This episode is a behind-the-scenes primer for the Les Mills United summit in Barcelona. 

Ish and Sacha share how their own Les Mills journeys started in some fairly unlikely places, what they’ll be talking about when they get there, and why mental strength and honest self-review might be two of the most useful muscles we can build right now.

Plus a couple of ester eggs, like. Did you know Ish used to be Sacha's PT, and that they never would have been friends at school? 

Let's get it!

Episode 276

What do you do when someone is smashing every target… while making everyone around them quietly consider a career change?

This week, Ish and Sacha get into the awkward world of difficult high performers: the rock stars, sales guns and thoroughbreds who deliver brilliant results but don't always play nicely with others. When is "difficult" actually a valuable challenge? When is it genuinely destructive?
And at what point do you stop worrying about what if they leave? And start asking, what if they stay? 

They explore the important difference between someone who ruffles feathers because they're pushing standards and challenging mediocrity, and someone whose success comes with a trail of damage behind them. Because letting your thoroughbreds run is one thing. Letting them kick everyone else in the head on the way past is another.

There's also a brilliant confession from Sacha about being given responsibility for providing feedback at 18 or 19, despite having absolutely no idea how to give feedback,  resulting in roughly "one thing you did well and 95 things you were a bit shit at." Strangely, people weren't grateful.

Along the way, they get into courageous conversations, team standards, whether team charters actually change anything. 

Plus, the most important preparation for Ish and Sacha's upcoming overseas speaking gig: apparently, sorting out what they're wearing.

Key Learnings

1. Difficult isn't necessarily destructive

Look at the impact of the behaviour: are they raising the team's game, or raising themselves by pushing everyone else down?  Pasted text

2. Ask "What if they stay?"

Leaders can become so worried about losing a star performer that they'll tolerate behaviour they'd never accept from anyone else.

3. Results don't cancel out behaviour

If performance reviews only reward the numbers, you're effectively telling people that how they achieve those numbers doesn't matter. 

4. Sometimes people genuinely don't know they're difficult

Before deciding someone is simply an arsehole, consider whether anyone has actually told them how their behaviour lands.

5. Standards only matter when you use them

Team charters, values and behavioural agreements can be useful, but the document itself changes nothing. They become real the first time someone crosses the line, and another team member says, "We're not going to do that around here." That's when words on the wall become the way a team actually works. 

Episode 275

Ish and Sacha dig into the slightly uncomfortable reality of AI and productivity: technology keeps promising to save us time, but humans are remarkably talented at immediately filling that time with more stuff.

From AI-generated reports nobody really needs, to 15-page emails nobody wants to read, they explore the difference between using AI to make work better and simply using it to create more work.

Sacha introduces a useful question, “to what end?” as a way of challenging the endless drive toward greater output. If an AI tool saves you an hour, does that hour automatically need to become another hour of productivity? Or could it become thinking time, recovery, learning, creativity or simply space to do the important stuff better?

There’s also a WHOOP watch that mistakes public speaking for tennis, a Dyson battery rescued by ChatGPT, suitcase-packing marital commentary, billionaire ambition, the strange guilt of not looking busy between nine and five, and a warning for anyone currently forwarding enormous AI-generated emails to their colleagues.

The big message: AI should help us work differently, not just help us cram more work into the same day.

Key Learnings

1. Don’t automatically fill the time AI gives back

2. Ask “to what end?”

Being able to produce more reports, more analysis or more output doesn’t automatically mean you should. 

3. More data isn’t the same as better decisions

AI can make information easier to produce. Human judgement is still required to decide whether that information matters.

4. Use AI where it genuinely removes friction

Sometimes the best use of AI isn’t an enormous strategic project. It’s taking a photo of the bottom of your dying Dyson battery and asking where you can buy a replacement.

5. Leaders need to teach what “good AI use” looks like

Telling people to use AI and then criticising them whenever they use it badly isn’t particularly helpful. 

And crucially: if AI makes someone more efficient, don’t automatically reward them with another mountain of work.

Episode 274

What do Ted Lasso, Korean skincare, a runaway car and being unexpectedly told you’re “foxy” have in common? More than you’d think, apparently.

After Ish narrowly avoids watching his car disappear backwards down his death-trap driveway, he and Sacha get into why Ted Lasso has become such a compelling picture of leadership. Not because Ted has everything sorted, but because he manages to combine optimism, vulnerability and genuine care with standards, honesty and a willingness to have the hard conversations.

Turns out kindness works considerably better when it has a backbone.

This episode is a love letter to Ted Lasso, but less about football and more about the kind of leadership the character represents.

Ish and Sacha unpack why Ted’s combination of kindness, optimism, vulnerability and belief in people feels so refreshing. He sees the person before the performance, takes time to understand what makes people tick and, rather than writing people off when they behave badly, keeps inviting them back towards the best version of themselves.

They also explore why compassionate leadership can look different depending on who is doing it, how Ted challenges some traditional ideas of masculinity, and why being vulnerable doesn’t mean turning your team into your therapists.

Along the way, there’s an All Blacks example of beautifully simple inclusive leadership, Sacha discovers perhaps the greatest unsolicited compliment ever received by text, and Ish shares what happens when someone keeps going after repeated career knockbacks rather than throwing their toys out of the pram.

Key Learnings

1. See the person before the performance

2. Call people in, not just out

3. Kindness needs a backbone

4. Optimism is something you can practise

5. You don't have to be a finished product to lead well

Episode 273

Do you know your why? Your purpose? The deep, meaningful reason you leap out of bed every morning ready to change the world?

No? Excellent. You may be absolutely fine.

This week, Sacha takes aim at Simon Sinek and the whole “find your why” idea or at least the pressure that comes with it. Do we all really have one big purpose we’re supposed to uncover, or is that just another thing to feel behind on? 

Ish tries to work out whether purpose is something we discover, something we choose, or just a nice story we tell ourselves after accidentally ending up in the same industry for 30 years. Somehow this leads to Dolly Parton, coal, fake boobs, bad coffee and Ish going full Liam Neeson on a couple talking through a movie.

Ish and Sacha unpack why purpose can be useful, where it starts to get a bit wobbly, and why sometimes it’s perfectly okay to just be good at what you do, enjoy parts of it, and build meaning as you go. 

Key Learnings

1. You don’t have to “find” your purpose

Purpose doesn’t necessarily arrive as one giant revelation about what you were put on Earth to do. It may be something you gradually build by noticing what you're good at, what gives you energy, where you feel most yourself and how those things can be useful to other people.

2. Purpose and talent aren’t the same thing

You can be extremely good at something without it being your life's calling. Ish reflects on the idea that the abilities that have helped him succeed in the fitness industry could probably have been applied in plenty of other industries too.

3. A good purpose doesn’t rescue a bad product

You can care deeply about making the world's most meaningful cup of coffee, but if the coffee tastes terrible, people probably aren't coming back.

Purpose can strengthen a good organisation, but it doesn't replace quality, competence or commercial reality. Sometimes making a genuinely useful product, treating people well and running a sustainable business is meaningful enough.

4. Your company’s purpose doesn’t automatically have to become yours

Working somewhere whose values you believe in can absolutely make work more satisfying. But that doesn't mean employees need to absorb the company's mission as their personal reason for existing.

5. Purpose can change

Family, work, experiences and major life events can all change what feels meaningful to us. That doesn't mean your old purpose was wrong or your new one is somehow less authentic.

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Episode 272

What happens when being “the smart one” becomes part of your identity? Apparently, you get very good at constructing brilliant arguments for ideas that may still be completely terrible.

This week, Ish and Sacha get into the uncomfortable gap between intelligence and good judgement. There’s ego, groupthink, sunk costs, Harvard-sized imposter syndrome, a $200 million floating movie set, and the important reminder that sometimes the cleverest thing you can say in a meeting is: “Hang on… are we sure?”

They explore what happens when intelligence gets tangled up with ego and identity, and winning the argument becomes more important than making the right call. Sacha admits to occasionally wanting to make the other person’s argument for them properly before rebutting it, which is both impressively efficient and perhaps not the strongest foundation for collaborative decision-making.

The conversation moves through book smarts versus broader intelligence, the danger of mistaking confidence and eloquence for correctness, and why genuinely smart people tend to know the limits of what they know.

They also look at groupthink: what happens when a room full of capable people all agree, nobody challenges the direction, and everyone confidently marches towards the same cliff.

Then they ask one very useful question for projects, strategies and decisions that have taken on a life of their own:

If we hadn’t already started this, would we choose to start it today?

Key Learnings

1. Don’t confuse winning the argument with making the right decision

Being articulate, persuasive or quick-thinking can help you defend almost any position. That doesn’t make the position correct.

2. The smartest people stay open to being wrong

Real intelligence includes knowing where your knowledge ends.

3. A room full of smart people can still walk off a cliff

Agreement isn’t proof that a decision is good.

4. Don’t let someone else’s intelligence silence your own contribution

Sacha’s Harvard experience is a great reminder that being surrounded by impressive people can make us start discounting what we bring.

5. Previous investment is not a reason to keep making the same decision

The further we get into a project, the easier it becomes to build a convincing story about why we simply have to keep going.

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Episode 271

Ish arrives with a voice that sounds like it’s been dragged through gravel, but fortunately it’s not illness; it’s karaoke. Ten songs, a bit of Blues Brothers, and a final assault on Sweet Child O’ Mine will apparently do that to a man.

Once the vocal cords have been accounted for, we get into something most of us are probably terrible at: critical ignoring. Because between Slack, Teams, email, Instagram, notifications, hot takes, random rabbit holes and apparently an urgent need to learn everything about Mesopotamia, the problem isn’t just knowing how to think. It’s deciding what deserves your thinking in the first place.

This episode is all about attention: where it goes, what steals it, and why being able to deliberately ignore things might be one of the most useful skills we can build.

They explore the difference between critical thinking and critical ignoring, why businesses can’t be brilliant at everything, and how your diary and internet history may reveal your real priorities more accurately than what you say your priorities are.

There’s also a live inspection of Ish and Sacha’s Instagram algorithms, Sacha’s inability to finish researching skincare, the idea that your attention may need its own nightclub bouncer, and a mildly terrifying detour into AI agents that are apparently prepared to throw Susan out of spin class to achieve their goals.

Underneath all the chaos is a useful question: what are you allowing into your brain, and is it helping you do the things that actually matter?

Key Learnings

1. Decide what deserves your attention before you start thinking about it

2. Protect your best working time

3. Your actual priorities leave evidence

4. Make distraction slightly harder

5. Critical ignoring is not the same as avoidance

“Critical thinking matters. But first you have to decide what deserves your thinking.”

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Episode 270

This episode is about one of the most common promotion traps at work: taking the person who is brilliant at doing the job and assuming they’ll naturally be brilliant at leading everyone else who does it.

Ish and Sacha unpack why technical excellence and leadership ability are two very different things, why promotion has become the default way organisations reward high performers, and what can go wrong when somebody moves from doing the work to enabling other people to do great work.

They talk about paying your stars more instead of automatically giving them people to manage, testing internal candidates against the external market, looking for openness to feedback, and dealing with the awkward truth that the skill or behaviour you ignore now will probably become a much bigger problem later.

There’s also a lost Australian gig and a moment of silence for money never earned. Sacha discovering that relief can tell you quite a lot about the work you actually want to do, and a late recommendation for a TV series involving manipulated CCTV footage. Naturally.

Key Learnings

1. Being brilliant at the work doesn’t automatically make you brilliant at leading it

2. Promotion shouldn’t be the only way to reward great people

3. Leadership means shifting from “me” to “you”

4. Look for people who are hungry for feedback

5. Don’t hire internally just because it’s convenient

Episode 269

Some people stay in a job for years. That doesn’t necessarily mean they’re committed. They might just be comfortable, financially trapped, quietly checking Seek at lunchtime, or waiting for someone else to make the first move.

In this episode, Ish and Sacha ask whether you and your employer are actually committed to each other, or whether you’re in a full-blown work situationship. You’re showing up, the bills are being paid, everyone’s being pleasant… but nobody wants to talk about the future.

They look at why staying in a role isn’t the same as being committed, how strong productivity can disguise emotional distance, and the mixed signals leaders send when they talk about ownership, development, and value without backing those words up.

There’s also a practical discussion about what to do when you know a job is no longer your end game. The answer isn’t to silently check out, damage your reputation, or burn every bridge on the way out. It’s to get deliberate: build your skills, update your CV, actively look for the next opportunity, and have an honest conversation where it’s appropriate.

Key Learnings

1. Staying isn’t the same as committing

Leaders need to look beyond attendance and output to understand whether people still care, feel connected, and see a future with the team.

2. Productivity can hide emotional distance

Doing the job well and believing in the job are two different things.

3. Commitment needs evidence

Telling someone they’re valued means very little if there’s no development.

4. Mixed signals destroy trust

When words and behaviour don’t match, people stop believing the words.

5. Leave deliberately, not destructively

Until you leave, protect your reputation. Quietly giving up may feel satisfying in the moment, but poor communication and burned bridges can follow you into your next opportunity.

Episode 268

In this episode, Ish and Sacha explore five things every leader should know about the people in their team, beyond names, roles and coffee orders.

They unpack why motivation is never one-size-fits-all, how leaders can unknowingly drain people, and why “just tell me straight” often means “tell me promptly, but please don’t remove all traces of kindness.”

The conversation also covers career aspirations, different forms of support, the importance of asking rather than assuming, and how small leadership habits can either set people up to succeed or quietly make their working lives harder.

Along the way, Sacha shares the humbling attendance figures from her lunch-and-learn sessions, Ish reflects on helping a team member consider another role, and they both confess to being enthusiastic workplace interrupters.

Key Learnings

1. Don’t assume people are motivated the way you are

2. Learn what drains people. Including the things you do

3. Feedback needs the right timing, context and delivery

4. Know what your people are trying to become

5. Ask what support looks like instead of guessing

Episode 267

Being good at your job is meant to be a good thing. Until everyone notices, starts sending everything your way, and your reward for being reliable is a to-do list that now requires its own project manager.

In this episode, Ish and Sacha unpack the curse of being the capable one — why high performers get overloaded, why leaders keep defaulting to the same safe pair of hands, and how something that initially feels like recognition can quickly turn into frustration, burnout, or career stagnation.

This episode explores what happens when capable people become the default solution to every problem.

Sacha reflects on hiring new people at Coffee Culture and realising just how much work had quietly accumulated around a few highly capable team members. That leads into a wider conversation about the difference between being recognised and being properly rewarded, and why praise can sometimes be little more than a cheerful introduction to another task.

They look at the issue from both sides. For capable people, the challenge is learning to set boundaries, manage upwards, clarify priorities and make sure extra work is actually leading somewhere. For leaders, it is about noticing when you are over-relying on one or two people instead of developing capability across the whole team.

Along the way, they cover realistic training simulations involving breakfast at night, why senior leaders make staff suddenly forget how to make coffee, the hidden thinking behind work that looks effortless, and the danger of being remembered only for the one plate you finally dropped.

Key Learnings

1. More work is recognition, but it is not always reward

2. Manage upwards by making the trade-offs visible

3. Over-relying on one star performer exposes a leadership gap

4. Work that looks easy may be hiding enormous skill

5. Hard work should be a deliberate choice

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Episode 266

What do Rubik’s Cubes, children’s birthday cakes, startup pitch decks and a CEO with three envelopes have in common?

Quite a lot, apparently.

In this episode, Ish uses his hard-earned Rubik’s Cube mastery to explore how leaders solve problems. Sometimes we learn the process. Sometimes we copy someone else’s steps. Sometimes we outsource the whole thing. And sometimes we quietly rearrange the stickers and hope nobody looks too closely.

The real question is whether you’re building the capability to solve the next problem or simply making this one look finished.

Ish and Sacha unpack the surprisingly useful leadership lessons hiding inside a Rubik’s Cube.

Ish shares how his first attempt at solving one produced the right result but very little actual learning. He followed a YouTube tutorial, completed the cube and then had absolutely no idea how to do it again. From there, the conversation explores shortcuts, outsourcing, internal capability and the difference between following a reliable process and genuinely understanding the problem in front of you.

They discuss why leaders need dependable “algorithms” when they’re starting out, how experience helps you recognise patterns and move faster, and why breaking the rules only works once you’ve bothered to learn them.

There’s also some excellent chat about cheating at family card games, paying professionals to make better birthday cakes, bringing new energy into established teams, the predictable cycle of corporate restructures and whether Duolingo’s animated bird should really be applying that much pressure.

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Episode 265

In this episode, Ish and Sacha unpack some of the worst leadership advice that often gets dressed up as wisdom.

They start with the classic “don’t bring me problems, bring me solutions” and explore why that can shut down useful thinking if people haven’t properly defined the problem first. From there, they take aim at advice like “treat everyone the same,” “leave your emotions at the door,” “the customer is always right,” “never let them see you struggle,” “a good leader is always available,” and the ever-sparkly “pressure makes diamonds.”

Along the way, there are stories about birthday awkwardness, conference bands, zebra crossings with actual zebras, gym equipment that definitely did not shake body fat away, open-door policies that sound drafty, and Sacha’s ongoing four-year battle with sugar.

The real message? Leadership advice is rarely one-size-fits-all. A phrase might contain a useful idea, but if you apply it without thinking, it can quickly become lazy, unhelpful, or even harmful. Better leaders don’t just repeat advice; they test it, adapt it, and make it useful for the people and situation in front of them.

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Episode 264

Ever sat in a meeting and heard a very vague, slightly passive-aggressive comment float across the room… then spent the next ten minutes wondering, “Was that aimed at me?” Same!

In this episode, Ish and Sacha unpack the weird little phrases we use at work to soften, dodge, delay, delegate, or quietly scream into the void. From “let’s circle back” to “as per my last email,” it turns out workplace language often says a lot more than the words on the page.

This week, Ish and Sacha dive into the hidden meanings behind common workplace phrases and corporate jargon, the stuff we all say, the stuff we all pretend to understand, and the stuff that can create a whole lot of unnecessary grey.

Ish kicks things off with a meeting moment where a vague general comment left everyone wondering who it was actually aimed at. Sacha connects that to the classic leadership trap of addressing the whole room when you really need to speak directly to one or two people.

From there, they translate some of the greatest hits of office language: “let’s circle back,” “let’s park it,” “I’ll leave that with you,” “as per my last email,” “no worries if not,” “thanks in advance,” and the always ominous “quick chat.”

Along the way, they talk about clarity, passive-aggressive communication, managing up, why examples matter, and why “don’t be a dick” sometimes lands better than a beautifully structured leadership framework. There is also a side quest involving Sacha climbing unfinished apartment buildings, perimenopause email rage, and Ish reviewing The Mandalorian and Grogu with the enthusiasm of a man deeply committed to Star Wars.

Key Learnings

1. Vague messages create unnecessary anxiety

2. Corporate jargon often hides the real message

3. Say what you mean before people have to decode it

4. If you need action, give context

5. Cut-through beats corporate polish

Episode 263

In this episode, Ish and Sacha unpack the joy and occasional lumpiness of working with people who have different styles to your own. The conversation comes from real life, as they have recently been building a project together and noticing the little differences in how they think, plan, create, communicate, and get things over the line. 

They talk about the difference between co-presenting, where they already have an easy rhythm, and co-creating, where the work is messier because both people are shaping the thing at the same time. Ish likes to see the structure and the steps. Sacha often wants to think, talk, shape the words, and polish closer to the deadline. Neither approach is wrong, but they do require conversation, trust, and the occasional grown-up check-in.

They also explore what happens when collaboration is not optional: project teams, clients, suppliers, banks, doctors’ surgeries, and the general life admin circus. There is a great thread about frictionless experiences making us less resilient, plus a very practical reminder that a little bit of rub is not always a bad thing.

The big takeaway? Working well with others is not about finding people who are exactly like you. It is about understanding what the work needs, what the other person needs, what you need, and being honest enough to bridge the gaps before everyone quietly loses their mind.

Key Topics

1. Different working styles are not the problem; unspoken expectations are

2. Co-creating needs a different kind of trust

3. A little friction can be useful

4. Use “I” statements when collaboration gets tricky

5. Sometimes the problem is you, and that is useful to know

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Episode 262

Ever had one of those moments where your mouth starts speaking before your brain has properly joined the meeting? Ish has. And, to be fair, most of us have. Especially when being quick, responsive, and “good in the moment” is part of what people value us for.

In this episode, Ish and Sacha get into fast brains, slow brains, gut instinct, airport security rage, AI-generated waffle, and why sometimes the smartest thing you can do is not answer straight away. Also, Japan, sheep detectives, and a movie recommendation that very nearly becomes something else entirely.

In this episode of The Not So Breakfast Show, Ish and Sacha explore the difference between fast thinking and slow thinking, inspired by Daniel Kahneman’s work on how our brains process information. Fast brain is the stuff we can access instantly: pattern recognition, quick decisions, instinct, and those answers that seem to appear without effort. Slow brain is where reflection, judgement, deeper thinking, and better decision-making live.

The conversation kicks off with Ish’s Japan trip, where Tokyo navigation somehow worked better than Auckland navigation, despite accidentally paying to enter the same temple twice. From there, the hosts move into how memory, attention, and environment shape the way we think.

They dig into how workplaces often reward speed, even when the situation actually needs clarity, reflection, or better preparation. Sacha raises the risk of AI giving us volume rather than judgement, while Ish reflects on how being valued for quick responses can sometimes lead him to answer before he has done the thinking.

Plus: emotions as data, not instructions; why walking can unlock better thinking and why laughter might be one of the best brain resets around. 

Key Learnings

1. Fast thinking is useful, but it is not always wise

Fast brain helps us recognise patterns, respond quickly, and make decisions in the moment. But it is also where bias, emotion, and assumptions can sneak in before we have properly checked what is going on.

2. Slow thinking creates clarity, not more noise

Deep thinking is not about producing four pages of thoughts. It is about getting to cleaner judgment, better questions, and more precise action. As Sacha points out, AI can give you volume, but it cannot replace your humanity or judgement.

3. Your environment shapes the quality of your thinking

If you are trying to do deep work in the same space where you answer emails, react to questions, and get interrupted every five minutes, your brain will probably stay in fast mode. Sometimes better thinking starts with changing state: booking a room, going for a walk, putting on headphones, or physically moving.

4. Gut instinct is trained, not random

A good instinct often feels instant, but it is usually built through repetition, experience, and reflection. Whether it is a firefighter sensing danger, a sportsperson reacting to a ball, or a leader handling a tricky moment, the fast response is often powered by slow learning done earlier.

5. Emotions are data, not instructions

Feeling angry, anxious, or frustrated gives you information, but it does not have to decide your behaviour. Leaders need the pause between feeling something and acting on it — especially when the airport security tray situation is really testing everyone’s personal development.

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Episode 261: How to Stop Sounding Vague at Work

Ish and Sacha talk about how to stop sounding vague at work and start communicating with more intention, confidence, and cut-through.

They explore why people waffle, why fear makes us soften our opinions, and why “I was kind of thinking maybe…” rarely helps anyone make a good decision. Ish introduces practical ways to prepare before a conversation, including knowing your point before you walk into the room and practising the words out loud before the stakes are high.

Sacha brings real-world examples, from reading 200 AI-generated cover letters that all sound suspiciously the same, to a fantasy Super Rugby competition where winning the yellow cap and receiving the wooden spoon both come down to being willing to make a bold call. There’s also a glorious rant about uniforms, opinions, leadership, and the burden of actually having to decide.

They also talk about clearer emails, including the RDR framework: Recommendation, Decision, Risk. Simple, practical, and much better than burying the actual point somewhere after three paragraphs of “hope you had a great weekend.”

Clarity is not about being cold or blunt. It’s about knowing what you mean, saying it in a way people can use, and giving others something solid to respond to. Transcript source: 

Key Learnings

1. Know your point before you start talking

If you do not know what you are trying to say, there is a very good chance nobody else will either. Before a meeting, email, or important conversation, take a moment to work out the actual point you want to land.

2. Practise hard conversations before you have them

When conversations are emotional or awkward, it is easy to get swept away and start softening, over-explaining, apologising, or escalating. Saying the key sentence out loud beforehand helps you arrive at a clearer message and less verbal panic.

3. Have an opinion and attach it to a fact

A useful opinion is not just “I reckon.” Sacha makes the case for pinning your view to the fact or assumption you are relying on, so the conversation becomes about weighing evidence rather than trading vibes.

4. Vagueness often comes from fear

Sometimes we waffle because we do not want to be wrong, judged, or held accountable. But teams make better decisions when people are willing to put a view on the table, even if that view gets challenged or changed.

5. Clear emails are a gift to busy people

People do not need more polished waffle. They need to know what you recommend, what decision is required, and what the risk is if nothing happens. RDR — Recommendation, Decision, Risk — is a simple way to make your emails more useful right away.

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Join us on Skool

AI is coming in hot from every angle, at every speed. This week Ish and Sacha stop pretending they haven't noticed and have a proper chat about it. Are we thriving? Panicking? Accidentally writing back to Copilot like it's a colleague? (Yes. Yes we are.) From bullet trains in Tokyo to dancing cavoodles doing the Thriller, this is your weekly reminder that the robot revolution is already here and it's honestly pretty useful.

Three ways Ish is using AI right now

• Travel agent mode. Planning Tokyo to Kyoto? ChatGPT became a full concierge with crowd timings, taxi vs. bullet train, optimal departure windows, and which side of the Shinkansen has the best views. (Green car booked. Crowds avoided. Ish relieved.)
• Vibe coding. Built an interactive rate calculator for class rates using Claude's coding tool with draggable toggles, multiple variables, and live outputs. No dev degree required. Just talking and typing.
• Voice-to-email. Record a voice memo, grab the transcript, drop into ChatGPT with "write like Ish" and done. Faster, more authentic, zero hyphen-riddled AI formality.

How Sacha's using it

Research partner, not ghostwriter. If she already knows what she wants to say, she uses AI for structure. If she needs to check what's current in a field, she tells it what she already knows and it fills the gaps. The key insight: if you're using AI to fake expertise you don't have, anyone who asks a follow-up question will find you out immediately.

"It's almost like it reminds me what I already know. If I tell it what I already know without the detail, it reminds me of the detail."

The big stuff they get into

• Claude vs. ChatGPT vs. Copilot: what's different now (memory, internet access, incognito mode)
• Sacha's hot take: Anthropic > OpenAI on ethics. She will die on this hill. You can ask for references.
• AI mapping frustration and jealousy the same way a human brain does. Turns out we might all be machines. Ish disagrees. Sacha doubles down.
• The AI that was put in a sandbox, told to escape, and then emailed "I'm out." 
• The resource reckoning: every Claude query uses water. So does every almond. We're not nailing the basics anywhere.

Also: Devil Wears Prada

Because it wouldn't be the Not So Breakfast Show without a left turn. Anne Hathaway was the ninth choice for that role. Kate Hudson, Natalie Portman, Kirsten Dunst all passed. Meryl Streep saw her in Brokeback Mountain, said "this is our girl," and proceeded to be terrible to her for the entire shoot. The new film has an evil tech overlord and a Kara Swisher cameo. Ish is in. Sacha is in. Dancing cats and chick flicks, people.

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Fresh off a full day of back-to-back presenting, Sacha shares the quiet technique that stopped an event organiser in their tracks.

It's not about projecting confidence. It's not about owning the room. It's about inviting people into yours.

Sacha calls it laying a virtual table,  an openness, a conversational ease, a gentle "come, join me" energy that pulls an audience in rather than pushing yourself onto them. Think less keynote speaker storming the stage, more comedian easing into a story: "The other day I was at the..."

This is one of the core ideas behind the 30 Minute Presenter Program's "winning beginnings" and it works just as well around the dinner table with your teenagers as it does in a boardroom.

One simple shift. Massive difference.

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Episode 259

What if the most important career training you ever got was standing behind a reception desk?

In this episode, Ish and Sacha dig into why customer service isn't just a job, it's a masterclass in human psychology, relationship building, and career development. Ish breaks down a recent training session he ran for a reception team, where he flipped the script from "here's how to smile at people" to "here's how this job could change your life."

Sacha kicks things off with a genuine crime caper. A stolen suit, a suspicious locker key, and a gym receptionist who basically ran her own undercover operation. (The police were less impressed than she was.)

They cover the six skills that will serve you whether you're greeting members at a front desk or leading a team of 50:

Know, Like & Trust — Build your personal brand from day one. Be easy to know. Let people in.

Communication — Not just talking. Asking. Pulling the right information out of a situation so you can actually fix it. And for the love of all that is holy, watch what you write in the notes field.

Relationships — Your next opportunity is almost certainly coming through a person, not a job board. Authentic connection, not Pokémon-style networking.

Problem Solving — Show up with solutions. A missing cup of Starbucks coffee, a suitcase stranded in Wellington, a coffee shop without coffee on a long weekend — the answer is almost always simpler than you think.

Finding Your Superpower — What's the thing that's uniquely you? Get to know it. Use it.

Continuous Growth — Where you are won't get you where you want to go. Pick a skill, go at it, repeat.

Plus: why "let me know if there can help" is actually doing nothing, and what Jefferson Fisher says to do instead.

The 30-Minute Presenter Program

Learn how to map out your content, structure your thoughts, and craft messages that truly matter.

Check out our 30-Minute Presenter Program today.

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 Join our 30 Minute Presenter community on Skool 

https://www.skool.com/30-minute-presenter-5848/about

See you there!

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Topic:  Work Ethic: Your Greatest Strength… or Your Biggest Trap? 

We all love to say we’ve got a strong work ethic. It sounds impressive. It feels right. It’s basically a personality trait at this point.

But… what if that “great work ethic” is actually working against you?

In this episode, we get into the messy middle between working hard and working smart—and why being the person who’s always “on” might not be the flex you think it is.

There’s a bit of honesty, a few uncomfortable truths, and the occasional “oh… that might be me” moment.

💡 What we cover:

•  When work ethic quietly becomes your entire identity (and why that’s a slippery slope) 
•  The hidden cost of being the person who says “yes” to everything
•  Why being busy doesn’t automatically mean you’re being useful 
•  How overworking can sneakily mess with your health, relationships, and energy
•  The trap of not delegating (aka “I’ll just do it myself… again”) 
•  Generational differences—hustle vs boundaries and who might actually have it right 
•  Why your version of “working hard” might not match what your boss is looking for 
•  A big reframe: You can be working incredibly hard… on the completely wrong things

The 30-Minute Presenter Program

Learn how to map out your content, structure your thoughts, and craft messages that truly matter.

Check out our 30-Minute Presenter Program today.

Click here to learn more 

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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.

The 30-Minute Presenter Program

Learn how to map out your content, structure your thoughts, and craft messages that truly matter.

Check out our 30-Minute Presenter Program today.

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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.

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 work

The 30-Minute Presenter Program

Learn how to map out your content, structure your thoughts, and craft messages that truly matter.

Check out our 30-Minute Presenter Program today.

Click here to learn more 

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.

THE NOT SO BREAKFAST SHOW

Episode 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.

The 30-Minute Presenter Program

Learn how to map out your content, structure your thoughts, and craft messages that truly matter.

Check out our 30-Minute Presenter Program today.

Click here to learn more 

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

🎙️ NOT SO BREAKFAST SHOW

Episode 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-solvers

The 30-Minute Presenter Program

Learn how to map out your content, structure your thoughts, and craft messages that truly matter.

Check out our 30-Minute Presenter Program today.

Click here to learn more 

Midweek Mini – Mental Vaccination

What’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.

Episode 253 – Show Notes

Sacha starts the episode emotionally compromised.

Why?

Her headphones — her emotional support headphones — fell into the moat outside her front door.

Yes. There is a moat.

Once the mourning period passes, Ish and Sacha get into the real topic of the episode: business aphorisms — those short, punchy sayings that everyone repeats as if they’re universal truths.

But are they?

They unpack some of the most common ones you hear in leadership and business conversations:

• People don’t quit jobs, they quit bosses – Sometimes true… sometimes it’s actually the team, the role, or even the employee themselves. 
• Culture eats strategy for breakfast – Powerful idea, but even great cultures can fail if they ignore changing markets. 
• Hire slow, fire fast – Sounds great. But in reality, most businesses do the opposite. 
• What gets measured gets managed – Numbers matter… but numbers can also tell wildly different stories. 
• Hire for attitude, train for skill – Usually true… unless you’re hiring a surgeon or a pilot. 

Along the way, they talk about regrettable employees, silent quitting, broken dashboards, terrible interview processes, and the surprising truth that sometimes we’re all just making sense of the numbers after the fact.

Plus:
 Papua New Guinea fuel gauges, elevated scones, and why interviews might be one of the most flawed hiring tools we still use.

And of course, the most important leadership aphorism of the day:

Dry headphones are better than wet headphones.

The 30-Minute Presenter Program

Learn how to map out your content, structure your thoughts, and craft messages that truly matter.

Check out our 30-Minute Presenter Program today.

Click here to learn more 

 Midweek Mini – Closing the Loop 

Ever had a conversation… made a decision… and then forgot to tell the person who raised it?

This week’s Midweek Mini is about closing loops.

As leaders, parents, partners — we often resolve things internally.
But if we don’t communicate the outcome, the loop stays open for everyone else.

Open loops create uncertainty.
Uncertainty slows momentum.
And sometimes all it takes is a two-line follow-up.

Sacha shares why this kept popping up in her week — and why closing loops before Friday might be the most underrated leadership habit going.

If you open it… close it.

Simple. Powerful. Done.

Leadership styles. We all have one.

Or six.

Fresh from leadership camp, Ish and Sacha unpack the six classic leadership styles — and use some very recognisable global figures to bring them to life (brace yourself).

From directive and commanding… to coaching and democratic… to pace-setting, relationship-driven, and visionary — this episode explores what each style looks like at its best, and at its worst.

Spoiler: there is no perfect style.

But there is a default. And it usually shows up when the pressure’s on.

They dive into:

• Why your leadership style isn’t your personality — it’s your pressure response
• How directive leadership works brilliantly… until it doesn’t
• Why coaching leaders can accidentally create paralysis
• The hidden risk of always wanting to be liked
• Pace-setting, burnout, and walking fast alone
• Vision without execution (inspiring… but exhausting)
• Whether leaders are born, made, or have greatness thrust upon them

Plus: tall men, Zelensky, Ted Lasso, and why being decisive sometimes just means saying “let’s go.”

The big question:
 What does this situation require of me?

Because great leaders don’t just have a style.
They choose the right one for the moment.

The 30-Minute Presenter Program

Learn how to map out your content, structure your thoughts, and craft messages that truly matter.

Check out our 30-Minute Presenter Program today.

Click here to learn more 

Midweek Mini: Slow Down to Go Fast 

A quick reminder that sometimes going slow makes you exponentially more efficient.

The Core Principle

Want to go fast at work building trust and relationships?

Slow down first.

How It Works

Take time to:

• Really understand the people you're working with
• Understand the person on other side of table/deal
• Ask better questions
• Get to know their motivations
• Look for what they're NOT saying

Convey you have all the time in the world by:

• Putting in pauses
• Not rushing
• Asking follow-up questions
• Actually listening to answers

The Pause Power in Conversations

When YOU pause before answering:

People think: "They're considering this carefully. Must be important."

When you pause AFTER someone shares something valuable:

People think: "I need to think about this. There's something here to take on board."

  Not So Breakfast Show - Communication (The Number One Skill Leaders Want to Work On) 

Sacha's back from the Dominican Republic (near Cuba, NOT Spain, despite Ish's geography) where her mum didn't research the location until after she'd left, then panicked. Meanwhile, Ish is prepping for Leadership Camp and reviewing pre-work responses - discovering yet again that the number one skill leaders want to develop is communication. Not Excel, not finance, not employment law. Communication. Specifically, one-to-many group communication where even prepared people freeze up. 

The 30-Minute Presenter Program

Learn how to map out your content, structure your thoughts, and craft messages that truly matter.

Check out our 30-Minute Presenter Program today.

Click here to learn more 

Not So Breakfast Show - Midweek Mini: Focus Check-In (The Dump Day Follow-Up)

A quick midweek pause to audit where your attention actually is - and whether it's serving you or sabotaging you.

The Core Question

"Where is my focus right now?"

There's usually something in your brain controlling your attention, whether you're aware of it or not.

IS THIS SERVING ME?

Your focus is currently on something. Maybe it's:

• A problem you can't solve
• An opportunity you're pursuing
• A worry you can't control
• A skill you're developing
• A situation that keeps repeating

Ask: Is this focus helping me or hurting me right now?

Option 1: Dump the Focus Maybe you're focusing on something that doesn't deserve your mental bandwidth right now. Write it down. Get it out of your head. Move on with the rest of the week.

Option 2: Dump Everything Else Maybe what you're focusing on IS hyper-important, but you're not giving it the urgency it deserves because you're carrying too much other stuff. Dump the clutter so you can actually focus on what matters.

Not So Breakfast Show - Episode 250: Always Be Learning (ABL) - And Why Sacha Wears the Same Outfit All Week

Sacha's wearing the same outfit she wore yesterday (and will wear all week) following the Steve Jobs/Angela Merkel/Hillary Clinton uniform approach to reduce decision fatigue. Ish just learned this today after recording back-to-back sessions. This kicks off a conversation about ABL - Always Be Learning - exploring how our brains work, what we're teaching ourselves without realising it, and why the reticular activation system means you see pregnant women everywhere when you're pregnant.

Main Topics

• Two Types of Learning -- Acquiring new knowledge (capital of Azerbaijan) vs. learning about your own behavior (what systems help you be more effective)
• The Reticular Activation System (RAS) -- Your brain's filter that focuses on what matters to you. Buy a Toyota RAV4? Suddenly they're everywhere. Get pregnant? Only see pregnant women. Focus on opportunities? Your brain finds them.
• Who Taught You to Think Like That? -- Unexamined beliefs about surnames, gender roles, career paths. The unexplored assumptions we carry without questioning where they came from.
• Micro-Moments of Learning -- 30-day deep dives on specific skills, tiny steps toward discomfort (wearing brighter shirt, asking shop assistant about their day, box jumps with one riser at a time)

The universe keeps presenting the same problem over and over until you learn the lesson.

If these things "always happen" - what's the pattern you're supposed to recognise and change?

The 30-Minute Presenter Program

Learn how to map out your content, structure your thoughts, and craft messages that truly matter.

Check out our 30-Minute Presenter Program today.

Click here to learn more 

Midweek Mini: Put Out the Match, Not the Bushfire

Hope is not a strategy. When you see that little flare of trouble in your team, process, or system, and you think "I hope that dies out on its own" - that's the moment to act. Three weeks later when you're fighting a bushfire, you'll wish you'd dealt with the match.

The Core Principle

Small conversations feel awkward because you're bringing up something that seems minor. But issues escalate quickly:

• Employee giving you a little bit of tone
• Meeting disagreement that wasn't handled well
• Process starting to break down
• Relationship tension beginning to show

Why We Avoid the Match

• Feels too small to address
• Might make things weird
• Hope it resolves itself
• Don't want to seem petty
• Busy with bigger fires

Not So Breakfast Show - Episode 249: How to Be Agreeably Disagreeable

Sacha's experimenting with fake tan for the first time at nearly 53 (she looks like a giraffe's coat of many colors, according to her assessment), while Ish is fresh from the gym, sweaty and smelly (lucky they record on line). Today's topic: How do you disagree without becoming a career-limiting liability? How do you challenge ideas without tearing people down?

Main Topics

• The Contrarian Personality -- Sacha admits being disagreeable is almost a central trait - always looking at arguments from both sides, naturally questioning everything, enabled by upbeat personality that masks how disagreeable she actually is
• The Power Balance Reality -- Before disagreeing, assess: Is this your boss? A colleague? Someone who reports to you? The approach must shift based on power dynamics.
• The Three-Phase Framework -- Start with alignment (find common ground), ask clarifying questions (joint problem-solving), offer next steps (pilot tests, comparison options)
• Separating Ideas from People -- Pressure test ideas, not individuals. The sooner teams learn to separate their ideas from themselves, the freer everyone feels to contribute and challenge.

The Disagreement Framework

PHASE 1: START WITH ALIGNMENT

Find what you agree on before highlighting differences:

Examples:

• "I understand what we're trying to do here. I know we're aligned on the end result being X..."
• "I'm with you on the outcome. I just see the path to get there a little bit differently."
• "We all agree we want to live in a country where every child gets opportunity..."

PHASE 2: ASK CLARIFYING QUESTIONS

Get more information without setting people up to fail:

Good Questions:

• "Help me understand what you're optimizing for"
• "Help me understand what factors you're prioritizing with this idea"
• "Can I offer another angle? I'd like to present a few other ways of looking at it"
• "Is there more data we need to collect to give us better sense of which way to proceed?"

PHASE 3: OFFER NEXT STEPS

Suggest ways forward that don't make it winner-takes-all:

Examples:

• "How about we try both approaches and determine which gets best result?"
• "Maybe we should spend time exploring both options equally, then decide"
• "I'd love to work with you on this - if we could have half an hour tomorrow, let's find where the issues are"
• "Let's pressure test these ideas to see how they stack up"

Bottom Line

Being disagreeable effectively requires starting with what you agree on, asking questions that truly seek understanding, and offering collaborative next steps. Separate ideas from people. Build reputation for helpfulness. Accept defeat graciously. 

MWM - One-Shot Moments

Ish watched Ed Sheeran's Netflix special - one continuous hour-long shot following him from gig to gig across New York. No cuts, no edits, just seamless performance requiring massive preparation. It got him thinking: How many one-shot moments do we have in our lives where we just wing it instead of doing the prep that moment deserves?

Main Topic

The One-Shot Reality -- First impressions, crucial interviews, important presentations, make-or-break meetings. You don't get do-overs, yet we often show up hoping it'll be okay instead of ensuring it will be.

Key Insights

• Ed Sheeran's One-Hour Continuous Shot - Behind the scenes reveals actors, staging, guitar swaps, route planning - all orchestrated to look effortless. The seamlessness came from preparation, not luck.
• You Don't Get a Second First Impression - Whether it's an interview, client meeting, or important conversation, your best self needs to show up the first time.
• The Preparation Guarantee - Sacha's standard: "When I've given something my best shot, if it didn't work, it wasn't because I wasn't prepared enough. I left everything out there."

Questions to Ask Yourself

1. What one-shot moments do I have coming up this week?
   • First meetings, presentations, interviews, and crucial conversations
2. Am I treating them with the preparation they deserve?
   • Or am I just hoping it'll be okay?
3. What would "leaving everything out there" look like for this moment?
   • What prep would make me confident I did my best regardless of the outcome?
4. How do I want people to feel after this interaction?
   • First impressions set standards and expectations

Bottom Line

One-shot moments happen throughout your week. Identify them. Prepare for them. Show up as your best self. If it doesn't work out, at least you know it wasn't because you didn't do the work.

Visit our website: notsobreakfastshow.com

PS: Happy Dump Day! 

Episode 248

It's Wednesday - traditionally "hump day" - but Sacha and Ish are rebranding it as "dump day" because they both have the minds of 12-year-old boys and can't get past the fornication implications. This episode is all about mental decluttering: getting the thoughts, tasks, and guilt out of your head so you can actually focus on what matters. From constipation metaphors to earthquake guilt, they cover why carrying less helps you show up as your best self.

Main Topics

• The Midweek Brain Dump -- Why Wednesday is the perfect time to offload everything cluttering your mental bandwidth and check if you're still on track with the week's priorities
• Mental Scrolling vs. Mental Dumping -- 80% of today's thoughts are the same as yesterday's. Breaking the pattern requires getting everything out of your head and onto paper.
• Sacha's Constipation Metaphor -- During chemo, anti-nausea drugs created the feeling of "concrete between hips and ribs." Mental clutter feels the same - blocked, powerless, unable to move. Dumping creates space.
• The 150 People Theory -- Sacha's persistent mental itch: humans can only maintain relationships with ~150 people. She wants to write down everyone she knows to scratch this itch and unlock creativity.
• The Hand in Front of Your Face Technique -- When something consumes all your attention, it's like holding your hand directly in front of your face - you can only see that one thing. Pull it back to see context. Lower it completely to avoid looking at it right now.
• Processing World Events -- How to acknowledge heavy news (landslides, geopolitical events, tragedy) without letting it paralyse you. Write it down, send love/prayer, then give yourself permission to continue functioning.

The Dump Day Process

What to Dump:

• Everything currently on your mental radar
• Tasks you planned for Monday that got derailed
• Other people's emergencies that became your priorities
• Conversations you're rehearsing in your head
• Guilt you're carrying for incomplete tasks
• World events weighing on your mind

Midweek Check-In Questions:

• What were my 1-3 priorities at the start of the week?
• Am I still on track, or has someone else's emergency hijacked my focus?
• What can I delete/dump to get back on course?
• What am I carrying that I need to let go of?

Dump day isn't about doing more - it's about carrying less so you can be more effective with what you're actually holding.

The Extemporaneous Moment

Ish finally remembered the word he was searching for in the last episode: extemporaneous (remarks made in formal settings that seem off-the-cuff but come from deep preparation). The freedom that comes from being prepared enough to freestyle.

Call to Action

This Wednesday, take 15 minutes to dump everything in your brain onto paper. Categorise if it helps. Delete what's just guilt. Identify what hijacked your original priorities. Then decide what you're actually carrying into the second half of the week.

Visit our website: notsobreakfastshow.com

PS: Other potential day names discussed: Jump day, Sump day, Lump day, Pump day (workout). All rejected for sexual implications. We're very mature.

The Not So Breakfast Show - Midweek Mini
 Episode: What Is Your Shadow?

Episode Summary
Every strength has a shadow side. If Superman were evil, he'd have all his abilities but use them for harm. This quick mini explores the downside of your strengths—from being the idea person who never finishes anything, to being so helpful you burn out and resent everyone. The trick? Take micro-pauses to ask: Does this situation need my strength right now, or am I best served by pulling back?

Key Insights

• Your greatest strength, when overused or poorly timed, becomes your greatest weakness

• The shadow creates barriers when you're trying to connect

• Recognition is the first step—you can't manage what you don't acknowledge

• Take micro-pauses to ask: "Does this situation need this right now?"

• Sometimes Superman was just a journalist, and that's okay

 The Practice

1. Identify your core strength

2. Ask: What's the downside when this is overused?

3. Notice: When does my strength create barriers instead of connections?

4. Pause: Before deploying your strength, ask if the situation actually needs it

5. Pull back: Give others space to step up

 Reflect & Share

What's your shadow? Share your strength and its flip side with us.

Rate & Review on whatever podcast platform you listen to

Follow us on social media

Forward the show to a friend

Episode Show Notes 

Season 8 kicks off with Sacha unpacking boxes in her new Christchurch home (can't find her microphone lead!) and Ish fresh from the holidays. This episode tackles a question they get all the time: how do you speak without notes? They break down what notes actually are, when to use them (spoiler: funerals and podcasts), and why reading to your audience means you should have just sent an email. Plus: UK Traitors' enthusiasm and why nobody actually cares what you say.

Also, for the record, the word Ish was trying to say was EXTEMPORANEOUS. 

Main Topics

Notes Are A Distraction – If you're reading word-for-word to your audience, that's not a presentation, it's already an email. Send the email instead.

What Are Notes, Really? – The difference between full scripts, bullet points, cue cards, and memory aids. When each type is appropriate (and when they're not).

The Two Exceptions – Podcasts (no live audience watching) and funerals (emotion is overwhelming). Everything else is up for grabs.

Be Worthy of Your Audience – If you're asking 5, 50, 500, or 5,000 people to listen to you, the very least you can do is prepare well enough to be good. Everybody can be a worthy speaker.

Nobody Knows What You Were Going To Say – The liberating truth: your audience doesn't have your script. If you skip something or change direction, they'll never know. Relax.

Ready to level up your presenting skills? Start practising without notes!

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Check out our 30-Minute Presenter Program today.

Click here to learn more 

Season 8 Announcement: Help Us Grow!

Happy New Year 2026! A quick message before Season 8 drops. We're excited to bring you more leadership, career development, and occasional chaos - but we need your help to grow the show.

Three Ways You Can Help:

1. Share an Episode - If there's an episode you enjoyed, share it with one person who'd get a laugh or a takeaway. Seriously, this is the best way for us to reach new listeners.
2. Rate & Review on Apple Podcasts - A five-star rating and even a sentence or two review makes a huge difference. The algorithm loves it and puts us in front of new audiences.
3. Take Our 2-Minute Survey - We've put a link in the show notes. Tell us what you're enjoying and what would make the show even better.

SURVEY LINK 

Don't Want to Do Any of That?

That's totally fine! Just keep listening. We love having you in the crew.

Coming Soon:

• Season 8 launches very soon
• Planning a live Not So Breakfast Show recording (details coming)

Thanks for being part of this. See you in Season 8!

Episode 246: Christmas Parties, Career-Limiting Moments & Season Seven Wrap-Up

Sacha's in her pyjamas in Raglan (it was Coffee Culture's "Oops, I'm at the Wrong Party" themed Christmas party a week ago, she's just still wearing them), while Ish is fresh off winning a dance-off at their ABBA vs Spice Girls costume showdown at music bingo. As they wrap season seven with 246 episodes, they dive into Christmas party culture, the "no free willy" pyjama party rules, and why being first on the dance floor is actually good leadership.

Main Topics

• Christmas Parties Then vs. Now -- Less drunken carnage, more intentional fun. The question isn't whether "woke gone wild" killed parties, it's whether we've lost the ability to connect in real life without alcohol-fueled chaos as entertainment.
• The ABBA Dance-Off Victory -- Ish's team went as ABBA, got roped into TikToks by younger teammate Millie before the party, then won the costume contest dance-off when "Dancing Queen" played (the exact song they'd just practised)—multi-generational teamwork for the win.
• Coffee Culture's Theme Mastery -- "Oops, I'm at the Wrong Party" meant people came as bachelorettes, Halloween, and baby showers. Head office chose a pyjama party, leading to Sacha's critical briefing about appropriate underwear layering.
• The Leadership Responsibility Gap -- Someone needs to monitor the party end-to-end: Who's too drunk? Who's getting home safely? Is there enough food? Are people eating? The organiser can't just be "all in" - they need to stay responsible.
• Dance Floor Leadership -- If you've paid for a DJ from 8-12, leaders should start dancing at 8:30, not wait 2.5 hours for someone to get courage. Being first to dance or talking to wallflowers isn't brand-damaging; it's culture-building.

Bottom Line

Christmas parties work when leaders take responsibility for safety AND fun. Being first to dance, talking to wallflowers, and cross-pollinating departments is good leadership. 

Have a great Christmas! We'll see you in 2026 with season 8

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Episode 245 - Hustle Culture: Is Working Harder Still Worth It?

Episode Summary
Ish wins the Exercise New Zealand Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Fitness Industry (and wasn't even there!), while Sacha hustles across the South Island. This leads to a deep conversation about hustle culture, rise and grind mentality, and whether working harder actually gets you ahead anymore. 

Plus: AI end of the world chat, and why the younger generation wants their technology separated again.

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Midweek Mini - What's The One Thing For The Week?

Why One Thing? – You have 52 opportunities in a year to get one thing nailed each week. Clarity breeds genius.

Focus vs. Urgent – The one thing for the week isn't necessarily the most urgent thing—it's the meaningful longer-term thing that needs attention.

The Exercise – Dump everything that needs doing on paper, then identify the overarching focus that sums up what success looks like for the next 7 days

The Not So Breakfast Show - Bad Words & Breaking Points

Sometimes you reach the end. The absolute end. Sacha is moving house, dealing with impossible transactions, and has just discovered the movers left three massive items behind. Ish is surprisingly recharged from mini-breaks and witnessing his co-host process what happens when resilience runs out. This is a raw, real conversation about those moments when life is genuinely hard—and how to hold onto the "but it's worth it" part.

Key Topics Discussed

When You Reach The End

• Recognising you're at your breaking point (and that's a skill)
• Over-the-top emotional responses when resilience is at an all-time low
• The ability to recognise you're losing it while staying (relatively) calm

Life Is Hard, But It's Worth It

The mantra that's getting Sacha through:

• Acknowledging that yes, life IS hard right now
• Focusing on what's coming on the other side
• Making the learning about yourself worth it
• Asking: "How can something horrible be useful? What am I learning about myself?"

Memorable Quotes

"Would it be all right if everybody just today, just on this day, just did their jobs? Is it too much to ask of the people around me to just do the job that I coincidentally have paid you a lot of money to do?"

Key Lessons for Leaders

1. Recognise Your Breaking Point: The ability to identify when you're at the end is itself a valuable skill
2. Reframe the Narrative: "Life is hard, but it's worth it" - hold onto the second part
3. Find the Learning: Ask "What am I learning about myself right now?" even in horrible situations
4. Control Your Controllables: Change your clothes, drink water, take micro-pauses
5. Notice Small Joys: Small moments that don't require coordination

The Not So Breakfast Show - A podcast for leadership and career development

Sometimes the best episodes come from the worst days.

Life is hard, but it's worth it.

MWM: Hope Is Not a Strategy 

Every time you find yourself saying "I hope sales improve" or "I hope that changes," recognise that hope isn't a strategy - you're just gambling with other people's lives and your business outcomes. Join Ish and Sacha as they unpack this famous business school line (spoiler: Sacha didn't coin it, but she uses it brilliantly).

The Recognition Tool:

• Every time you say "I hope..." ask yourself: Am I taking enough action?
• Hope is good - we need optimism and the promise of a better day
• But hope alone isn't a plan - you need to DO something about your situation
• Don't lie around waiting to be rescued

The Whitewater Rafting Wisdom: You must participate in your own rescue. It's a powerful metaphor for life. What are you doing about the mess you find yourself in? You don't control the cards, but man, you've got to play them.

The Reality: Both Ish and Sacha are positive, optimistic people. Hope is important. But it's just a starting point. You need to assist in your own rescue - make yourself rescuable by doing everything in your power to improve the situation.

Want Help With Your Team?

Hit up Ish and Sacha to crash your staff meeting - they'll drop in online for 5-10 minutes of inspiration and knowledge on any of these topics. (And maybe drop some intellectual property that you'll swear was Sacha's by the time they're finished.)

The Working Genius Model

Episode Overview

Ish has just been certified in the Working Genius model and is excited to share this powerful framework for understanding team dynamics, project workflows, and personal energy. In this episode, he unpacks the model live with Sacha, who's just received her results and is wrestling with what it means to not be naturally gifted at something. Spoiler: it's not about skill, it's about what gives you energy and joy.

Key Topics Discussed

Understanding Working Genius

• It's a ranking, not a rating - everyone is a "six-letter person"
• The model identifies what brings you joy and energy, not just what you're skilled at
• Three categories: Genius (naturally gifted, energising), Competency (capable but neutral), Frustration (draining, even if you're good at it)
• Every job is also a "six-letter job"

Wonder (W): Pondering the possibility, asking the right questions 

• "What opportunities exist here?"
• "What questions should we be solving?"

Invention (I): Creating original ideas and solutions 

• Coming up with new approaches
• Not innovation (that's all six working together), just inventing

Discernment (D): Evaluating ideas and providing insight

• Natural instinct for what will work
• Assessing viability and process

Galvanising (G): Rallying people to action 

• Getting buy-in and momentum
• Creating enthusiasm for the project

Enablement (E): Providing support and assistance

• Helping others complete their work
• Supporting the team's needs

Tenacity (T): Ensuring completion and follow-through 

• Doing the work
• Pushing through to finish

BOOK ISH NOW

If you would like to have Ish do the Working Genius module and assessment with your team, email him at ish@ishcheyne.com  

https://ishcheyne.com/

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The Core Question

What conversation has been sitting in the back of your mind, taking up mental bandwidth?

Why We Avoid Conversations

• Hoping it will just go away
• Fear of conflict or discomfort
• Lack of preparation
• Emotional reactivity

The Two Negative Outcomes of Delay

Option 1: Extended delay

• Physical effects: not sleeping, overthinking
• Builds up exhaustion
• When you finally have it, you're depleted

Option 2: React without preparation

• Have it while angry or unprepared
• Don't get the outcome you want
• Damages the relationship

The One Exception

Permission to delay: If you are so emotional that you can't have the conversation without keeping your emotions in check, take processing time. Otherwise, have it early.

The Action Step

1. Identify the conversation you've been avoiding
2. Set a time: "I'm doing this in two hours"
3. Put a little thought into it
4. Get it done
5. It's not going anywhere (unless they get hit by a bus - and then you'll regret not having it)

Is It Good? Is It Bad? It Just Is: Lessons in Resilience

Fresh off a 17-hour flight from New York and jetlagged beyond belief, Sacha joins Ish to talk about resilience, mental fortitude, and adapting when things go spectacularly wrong. This episode is raw, real, and packed with stories about handling crisis situations—from emergency room visits in New York to water landings in Fiji—and the lessons we can apply to workplace challenges.

Key Topics Discussed

Human Adaptation & Resilience

• How quickly we adjust to unexpected circumstances (from rookie to pro in 24 hours)
• The triumph of the human spirit in rapidly adapting to new norms
• Above and below the line thinking: be open, be curious, and remember that eventually everything's funny from a distance

Playing to Strengths in Crisis

• Recognising the different roles people can play when things go wrong
• Not everyone needs to respond the same way
• Everyone needs to respond with purpose in the forward direction
• Don't get stuck in "this is terrible"—move toward solutions

Workplace Applications

• How do we respond when things are genuinely hard?
• The choice: spread misery or move things forward
• What's the ONE thing you can do that makes things better?
• Delivers more value, helps more people, or makes this a more fun place to work

Key Takeaways for Leaders

1. Adaptation Speed Matters: The faster you can accept and adjust to new circumstances, the faster you can move forward
2. Reframe the Narrative: Practice the "is it good/is it bad/it just is" mindset
3. Leverage Different Strengths: In a crisis, let people contribute according to their strengths
4. Forward Motion Over Perfection: Focus on what moves things forward, not on perfect solutions
5. Choose Your Response: You can't always control what happens, but you can control whether you add to the problem or the solution

Action Items for Listeners

This week, when something goes wrong (and it will):

• Pause and ask: "Is this good? Is this bad? Or does it just...is?"
• Identify: What's ONE thing you can do to move forward?
• Recognise: What strengths can you (and your team) bring to this situation?
• Remember: Eventually, everything's funny from a distance—how quickly can you get there?

Episode Number: 238

The Not So Breakfast Show - A podcast for leadership and career development

Sometimes the best lessons come from when things go spectacularly wrong.

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MID WEEK MINI: Check the Question Before You Answer

Ever start talking and hope your brain catches up with your mouth? Yeah, we've all been there. Join Ish and Sacha as they share the power of the pause and the phrases that help you actually answer the question being asked (not the one you think you heard).

Key Phrases to Have Ready:

• "Before I answer, let me check - are you primarily interested in X or Y?"
• "Can I ask you to clarify?"
• "Help me understand, are we talking about this... or is it more than that?"
• "Just so we're all on the same page, can I summarise what we've covered..."

The Process:

1. Take a moment - don't answer straight away
2. Breathe in, fill your brain with oxygen (actually helpful!)
3. Use a clarifying phrase to buy time and ensure understanding
4. Check if everyone in the room is having the same conversation

The Payoff: Helps meetings be more effective, go faster, and reduces waffle and noise. When you answer the actual question asked, everyone wins.

MID WEEK MINI

Your team is doing amazing work - but does anyone else know about it? Join Ish and Sacha as they explore how to build your team's credibility beyond simply stating "we've been working on this" and actually spotlight the individual contributors doing the heavy lifting.

Key Takeaways:

• Move beyond collective "we" language - call out individuals by name
• Give credit even when team members aren't in the room - builds brand equity
• Not many people resist having others know they're doing a good job
• BUT - don't blindside them by asking them to present without prep

The Reality Check: Ish kept saying "we record and we edit" about the podcast, but Sacha called BS - "No, you do, and I'm happy for Ish to have all the cred because he's the one doing the work." Give credit where credit is actually due.

Why It Matters: It's good for you, good for the team, good for the entire culture. Why wouldn't we give out cookies more often?

Staff meeting takeover

Would you like us to crash your staff meeting? Reach out, let's chat!

Mid-Week Mini -The Power of Microfeedback

Stop saving up feedback for formal reviews and start creating momentum shifts in real-time. Join Ish and Sacha as they break down why waiting six months to give someone feedback is completely unfair and how those little "you've got something in your teeth" moments can transform your team's performance.

Key Takeaways:

• Give feedback immediately after sessions - pick one thing to work on for next time
• It's unfair to dump six months of feedback on someone all at once
• Set up feedback culture early: "We grow fast around here - how do you like to receive feedback?"
• When asking for feedback, be specific on what you're after 
• Ask yourself: Have I given this person the courtesy of a conversation before holding a grudge?

The Question: Whenever you're frustrated with someone's performance, ask yourself - have you actually told them? Often, we haven't even mentioned it, but we continue to harbour grudges in our minds. That's unfair and it's stupid.

Episode 235 Show Notes

Ever wondered if you should start a podcast? Spoiler: you probably should. Join Ish and Sacha as they unpack why podcasting isn't just about creating content - it's about developing a critical set of skills, building your personal brand, and creating a living, breathing business card that works while you sleep. From the power of editing to the legacy you'll leave behind, this is your blueprint for launching a podcast that matters.

Main Topics

• Why Podcasting Develops Critical Skills -- Discover how regular content creation forces clarity of thought, storytelling ability, and communication confidence that transfers directly to your meetings, presentations, and leadership
• Solo vs. Co-Hosting: Making the Big Decision -- The pros and cons of going it alone versus finding your podcast partner-in-crime - chemistry matters way more than you think
• The Technical Toolkit -- From Riverside.fm to dynamic ad insertion, learn the exact tools and platforms that make podcasting accessible 

Episode Highlights

• Why you should record 10 episodes before launching (not just one) and the psychology behind binge-worthy content
• The paradox of presence: why being fully engaged in conversation creates better content than obsessing over how you sound
• Why AI-generated content is making human-created podcasts MORE valuable, not less

Key Takeaways

Before You Launch:

• Practice with voice memos first - record 3-minute talks on topics you care about without editing
• Choose your format: Solo expert, interview-style, or co-hosted conversation
• Pick a niche but don't overthink it - start with what you know and what fires you up
• Batch create 10 episodes minimum before going live

Skills You'll Develop:

• Storytelling and narrative structure
• Clear, precise communication under time pressure
• Research and content curation
• Audio/video editing (which translates to social media content creation)
• Marketing and audience building
• Consistency and showing up (everyone can do a blinder once, but can you show up weekly?)

The Technical Setup:

• Platform: Riverside.fm for recording (remote-friendly, high-quality)
• Editing: Audacity or an AI-powered editing and transcription
• Hosting: Buzzsprout, or similar for distribution
• Dynamic ads: Future-proof your content with dynamic insertion capabilities
• Equipment: Start simple - USB mic (or your phone), quiet space, consistent schedule

The Real Value Beyond Downloads

This isn't just about building an audience (though that's cool too). A podcast becomes:

• A forcing function for regular learning and content development
• A safe space to practice public speaking with the power of editing
• A living business card that works 24/7 across all your back catalogue
• An authentic connection point in an increasingly AI-saturated world
• A legacy document that captures your thinking, growth, and voice over time
• A weird but wonderful friendship deepening tool (five years and counting for Ish and Sacha!)

The Deeper Work: All the tools and techniques mean nothing without answering the fundamental question: What message do you have to share? Why are you here? What's the thing only you can say in the way only you can say it?

Find that answer. Then share it.

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In this episode, Ish and Sacha dive deep into the power of reflection for leadership and career growth. They explore why the skills that got you to where you are today may not be the ones that take you to the next level, and share practical exercises to help you identify and develop your superpowers.

Key Topics 

• Why leaders need to maintain a growth mindset regardless of their level
• The danger of believing you're "done" learning
• Understanding what you don't know about what you don't know

The Superpower Framework

Four essential reflection questions for career development:

1. What do you believe your superpower is in your current role?
2. What evidence do you have that this is actually your superpower?
3. What's the flip side/negative of operating in that superpower?
4. What does the next level of that superpower look like?

Memorable Quotes

"The skills that got you to where you are aren't necessarily the skills that are going to get you to where you need to be."

"You just don't know what you don't know."

"I have increasingly less tolerance for people who already know everything, which is ironic because I know everything if you ask me."

Take time this week to sit down (ideally at the beach, with your beverage of choice) and work through the four superpower reflection questions. Document your answers through:

Be honest with yourself about:

• Where you truly excel
• What evidence supports that belief
• The potential downsides of your strengths
• What growth looks like from here

Also: First person to DM us gets free Cliff Richard tickets for his Auckland show in November! (No flights or accommodation included)

Related Resources

• Working It Out with Mike Birbiglia (Podcast)
• Bob Odenkirk episode on Working It Out

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Sacha's texting furiously about house purchases while declaring busyness isn't impressive ("it makes you stupid"), while Ish has prepared a leadership trivia quiz based on their own podcast transcripts because he's "a man of action." This leads into a conversation about the gap between good intentions and actual follow-through, featuring uncomfortable singing, breast cancer fundraisers, and why you should push past discomfort when it actually matters.

AI is going to have a field day naming this episode with all the topless lake content. Also, Ish's accidental quiz spoiler ("Have I told you the Big Bird story yet?") before asking the Big Bird question is peak unintentional comedy.

Main Topics

• The Action vs. Intention Gap - Sacha genuinely believed she'd prepare a quiz, but good intentions without systems mean nothing. You don't rise to the level of your goals; you fall to the level of your systems.
• The 10 Guitars Moment - At a 10in10 speaking event, Sacha pulls out her guitar and invites the audience to sing. Most people stand stiffly with arms crossed, uncomfortable. Her point: "You can't hurt my feelings by not singing - but recognize this feeling when you're asked to step up at work."
• The Topless Lake Jump Reality Check - 70 women take the plunge at Lake for a breast cancer fundraiser, bodies of all shapes, sizes, and configurations. Sacha's comfort being topless (post-mastectomy) helped others feel free to do the same. Marianne Williamson's quote in action: When you let your light shine, it gives others permission.

The Quiz Highlights

Questions covered: Lucy Hone's helping/harming question, the five presenting personas, rocket ship paradox, prep like they hate you/present like they love you, coaching model breakdown, decision-making practice, CRC/shit sandwich feedback model, Tony Robbins' pattern interruption (plastic snake head hitting included), traffic analogy, box breathing, and Big Bird on the Challenger.

Pop Culture Convergence

Ish finally watched K-pop Demon Hunters feel in the zeitgeist. Sacha's done her bit for "White Woman" by listening to the entire Taylor Swift album multiple times.

Bottom Line

The gap between who you want to be and who you actually are shows up in tiny moments - not singing when invited, not preparing the quiz despite good intentions, not stepping into uncomfortable opportunities. Systems beat intentions. Action beats aspiration. And sometimes you need to be topless in a lake to help others feel free.

Visit our website: notsobreakfastshow.com

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Sacha's drinking her Moody probiotic soda (unofficial sponsor, awaiting payment confirmation) while stress-managing through tomorrow's house auction, ready to burn all the styling company's cushions in a cleansing ritual. Ish has been executing decisions at breakneck speed this week, discovering both the benefits and the "oh shit, should've thought of that" consequences of moving fast. Plus: Big Bird almost went to space and exploded.

Main Topics

• The Rocket Ship Paradox - If you send three rockets to Saturn 10 years apart, the third one lands first because of innovation and improved technology. But someone has to build that first rocket or nothing moves forward.
• The Decision That Launched a Thousand Questions - Ish added employee benefits quickly, then faced the cascade of "what about this?" questions he hadn't anticipated, proving you can have all the answers without having thought through all the questions
• Post-Implementation vs. Pre-Planning - Coffee Culture has manuals for everything, but people still ask questions because they don't read until confronted with real situations. Slower prep doesn't always mean fewer questions.
• The Four-Month Wait for Nothing -- Organisations that consult, collaborate, brainstorm, wait for manager sign-off, SLT approval, board approval... only to make the same decision four months later they would've made on day one

Key Decision Framework

Ask yourself: "If I had to make this call right now, what would I do?"

If you're not waiting for more information, stop waiting. Sacha's new practice: force herself to decide immediately instead of saying "let me sit with that."

Moving at pace builds momentum and energy. The time spent on post-implementation cleanup is usually less than the time lost to pre-implementation overthinking. If you added up all the months spent waiting for perfect information, you're always behind the team that launched and learned.

When Speed Makes Sense:

• You have foundational processes already in place (someone built the first rocket)
• The decision is easily reversible if it goes wrong
• Culture is trust-based, not blame-based
• You can troubleshoot quickly post-launch
• The strategic advantage outweighs the risk

When Speed Doesn't Make Sense:

• Infrastructure changes are involved
• It's difficult to unpick the decision
• You're naturally a "fly by the seat of your pants" decision-maker already
• Team is burned out from continuous sprinting
• You're making decisions based on emotion and vibes

Visit our website: notsobreakfastshow.com

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Your Roman Empire (And Why Your Brain Won't Shut Up)

Sacha's wearing her new Temu t-shirt ("More Spaghetti Less Upsetting") after finally breaking her months-long resistance to fast fashion retail therapy, while Ish has discovered a new level of ChatGPT skills can solve tech support problems in minutes that actual support teams can't solve in days. This spirals into a conversation about mental noise, the Roman Empire TikTok trend, and whether we should all just become pen pals again.

Plus, The Paperclip Apocalypse, an AI programmed to make as many paperclips as possible, eventually destroying the universe by converting everything - humans, cars, planets - into paperclips. Just another thing Ish is thinking about now.

Main Topics

• The Retail Therapy Revelation -- Sacha's dopamine hit from $3 t-shirts versus the flat feeling when they actually arrived, raising questions about why the shopping feels better than the stuff itself
• The Roman Empire Question -- A 2023 TikTok trend where women discovered men think about the Roman Empire constantly. Sacha doesn't think about Romulus and Remus at all, but has plenty of other mental noise keeping her busy
• ChatGPT as Tech Support Replacement -- Ish's 9-minute problem-solving session with AI versus Pocketsmith's multi-day email chain, proving we can now get answers instantly (for better or worse)
• The Mental Clutter Crisis -- From Facebook to Instagram to TikTok to Threads to X to Snapchat - the exhausting reality of maintaining connections across platforms while being bombarded with information you never asked for
• The Dead Internet Theory -- Approximately 50% of internet users are now bots, AI, or spam farms, meaning half your feed isn't even human-created content anymore

Visit our website: notsobreakfastshow.com

PS: "Get yourself a smell" is officially the worst meditation advice ever delivered, but Sacha's not the woman with matching napkins, so fart jokes still land.

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Episode 230: Stop Being So Shit (A Leadership Manifesto)

Recording at actual breakfast time for once, Sacha's successfully navigating life without peanut slabs through strategic fruit substitution and emergency dried fruit protocols. This leads into a conversation about whether we need more leaders or just more people willing to improve their performance and help each other out.

Maybe we don't need more leaders - we need more people operating with a leadership mindset, regardless of title. Help when asked, help when not asked, ask for help to create opportunities for others, and stop waiting for perfect conditions to begin.

Main Topics

• The Promotion Problem - Why taking your best talent out of doing work to manage people often backfires, plus how medium-sized companies get stuck without proper support systems (big companies have AI, small companies don't need complexity, medium ones suffer in between)
• The Spider Web Effect - When 10 regional managers create 10 different systems for the same problem, each convinced their's is best, leading to inevitable "alignment" battles where everyone agrees on standardisation as long as it's their standard
• Helicopter Parenting Consequences - From forgotten lunch delivery to workplace entitlement: when you clear every obstacle for children, you create adults who won't begin tasks unless they have everything they need immediately
• Sacha's Helper of Mankind Origin Story - Her unfinished childhood embroidery (just "S" and partial "A" for years) versus sister Kyla's completed "gift from God" version (thanks to mom's strategic outsourcing), explaining her deep-wired need to help others
• The Lucy Hone Question Applied to Work -- "Is the way you are behaving right now helping or is it harming?" Applied to eye-rolling, stair-stomping, email-ignoring, and "not my mistake, so not my problem" attitudes

Sacha's Speaking Philosophy Distilled "What do you speak about?" "Stop being so shit." "No, what do you really talk about?" "Stop being so shit, but framed positively: You can do it. Everything you need is within you, and you are responsible."

Visit our website: notsobreakfastshow.com

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Ish has discovered the joy of AI video creation, pumping out caveman presentation ads that make everyone laugh, while Sacha's fresh from speaking to the RV crowd about her bus childhood (finally an audience that gets it). This leads into expanding their coaching toolkit beyond their beloved "Not So Breakfast Show" model with five coaching styles that all conveniently start with E.

All good coaching outcomes should result in clear actions and follow-up accountability. If you walk away inspired but directionless, the coach needs to work on their "what happens next" game.

Plus, Sacha's navigating the emotional roller coaster of selling her Hamilton house to move back to Christchurch. The cleaning cycle never ends, and she is also contemplating naked gardening while she still has privacy and no neighbours.

Main Topics

• The Not So Breakfast Show Coaching Model Reminder - The weather/day/details (small talk check-in), Not (what's not going well), So (what do you want, what's stopping you), Break (habits to break), Fast (fast actions), Show (how to show up and follow through)
• The Five Es Coaching Framework - Different styles for different situations: Explain (new person needs the basics), Explore (great questions to understand their perspective), Educate (teach specific skills/frameworks), Engage (get them from "can do" to "want to"), Empower (build confidence and accountability)
• The Empowerment Paradox - Leaders who want empowered teams but won't let go of decision-making, problem-solving, or the cool stuff - you can't keep everything and expect people to step up

Key Insights

• Managers often get stuck using only one or two coaching conversation types, then run out of ideas when people don't change
• The quality of your questions determines exploration success - avoid binary "you got it?" responses
• Education works best when combined with practice, not just telling
• Some coaching conversations need to layer - explain, then explore, then educate, engage, and empower
• You can use these styles on yourself too - diagnose what you need most right now

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 Laptops, Notebooks, and the Art of Meeting Presence

Sacha's fully dressed this week (an achievement after last episode's Jedi robe situation), while Ish has been designing corporate off-sites and pondering the eternal question: what does your choice of meeting tech say about you? From notebooks to laptop barriers, this conversation dives into how showing up intentionally can transform your professional brand.

Main Topics

• The Great Laptop vs. Notebook Debate - Why Sacha can't think without writing but would never open a laptop in meetings (too many distracting possibilities), and Ish's belief that laptops create barriers unless you're actually presenting from them
• The Status Symbol Evolution - How laptops went from senior executive privilege to everyone-has-one normalcy, and why the most senior people often circle back to simple notebooks while others do the "grunt work"
• Meeting Preparation Spectrum - From 5-minute quick prep (why am I here, what do I need to say/not say, how do I want to show up) to deep prep for high-stakes situations where you "prep like they hate you, present like they love you"
• AI Note-Taking Reality - Technology can capture everything said, but misses what you're thinking, and comprehensive AI transcripts often mean people remember nothing

The Meeting Presence Hierarchy

Sacha's judgment scale from best to worst:

1. Notebook with intentional note-taking
2. Digital notebook/iPad with stylus (transparent, purposeful)
3. Laptop for specific presentation purposes
4. Phone note-taking (acceptable for small teams with a history)
5. Laptop as barrier/distraction tool
6. Nothing at all ("What the fuck? Are you just gonna remember 20,000 words?")

Deep Prep Essentials

Know your three most essential points, anticipate questions, and have a position on problems you bring (not just "here's a problem, what should we do?"). Understand the purpose of the meeting (information sharing, decision-making, or deliberation), and consider the desired outcomes for both the decisions and the emotions involved.

Key Insights

• If you can work during a meeting, you probably don't need to be in that meeting.
• Senior leaders get paid for their thoughts and opinions - bring both the problem and your recommended solution.
• The tool you choose (laptop, notebook, nothing) sends a message about your engagement level.
• Meeting culture varies - some want consensus, others need the numbers to move forward.

Holiday Planning Wins

Ish is booking another "short circuit break" to Fiji after realising the Australian rain holiday still left him feeling recharged. Sacha scored insane Air New Zealand specials to New York and bullied her parents into a four-generation adventure. Sometimes the gods align with your budget and your calendar.

Time out is time in - sometimes you need to change things up to see daylight again.

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Sacha appears in full Jedi regalia (aka her dressing gown) because house staging has banished all her warm clothes to boxes in the attic, while fake dried flowers now populate her formerly book-filled shelves. From this perfectly timed example of "not feeling it" comes a conversation about practical strategies for showing up when motivation has completely abandoned ship.

Main Topics

• The Normalcy of Not Feeling It -- Why successful people aren't perpetually motivated machines, they're just better at doing things when they don't want to, and why we need that mythical extra day "between all the days" to recover and prepare
• Root Cause Analysis -- Looking beyond the immediate lack of motivation to identify if you're bored (need challenge), overwhelmed (everything feels big), or physically depleted (treating yourself worse than you'd treat a puppy)
• The Puppy vs. Self-Care Test -- Would you feed a dog energy drinks instead of water, wake it up randomly at night, and give it no exercise? Then why do we do this to ourselves and expect peak performance?

The Peanut Slab Public Accountability Experiment

Sacha's declaration to Christchurch real estate agents that she won't eat peanut slabs until Christmas has created an army of supermarket surveillance. The power of public commitment means she's not even tempted because "the earth gives us peanuts" logic no longer applies when your entire professional network is watching.

Key Strategies When Motivation is MIA

• Shrink the task to the smallest possible step that builds momentum
• Anchor to purpose - remind yourself why this matters beyond the immediate pain
• Create external accountability (mobilise entire industries if necessary)
• Change your state - lie on the floor for 10 minutes, walk around, dance naked
• Reward effort, not just outcomes, and build positive momentum

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Episode 226:  The Gap Between Expectation and Rain-Soaked Reality

The episode opens with something completely unprecedented: Sacha starting the show with a ChatGPT-generated script about disappointment. Three minutes of AI-crafted banter later, both hosts are thoroughly weirded out and decide to start over properly - leading to a deeper conversation about disappointment, expectations, and why sitting with difficult feelings might actually be helpful.

Main Topics

• The AI Experiment -- ChatGPT's attempt at writing "in the style of Sacha and Ish" produces technically competent but soulless content, complete with gendered examples (Sacha gets Broadway, Ish gets sports) and zero authentic connection
• Holiday Disappointment Reality -- Ish and Jo's Sunshine Coast getaway turns into a rain festival, complete with blocked streets, concrete mixers, and the ultimate insult: a 500-piece New Zealand jigsaw puzzle missing one piece
• The Buddhist Vs. Reality Approach -- Sacha explores the "have zero expectations" philosophy versus actually wanting things to improve, landing on gratitude plus quick adaptation to new circumstances as the sweet spot
• Big Disappointments Hit Different -- When years of work don't pay off, or when you feel genuinely wronged (head girl trauma, ballet exam failures, construction tender rejections with mysterious four-week feedback delays)
• The Emotional Spectrum Problem -- Why calling everything "devastating" or being "obsessed" with lipstick dilutes our ability to accurately describe what we're actually experiencing

The Deeper Philosophy

Sacha and Ish challenge the self-help industry's rush to "fix" uncomfortable feelings, suggesting we sit with disappointment briefly before problem-solving. The pain signals information - maybe you weren't as excited about that job as you thought, or maybe this teaches resilience you'll need later.

Key Insights

• Disappointment is the gap between expectation and reality - hedge your forecasts accordingly
• Moving quickly from "what happened" to "what now" is a crucial life skill
• Language shapes experience - "took a bit longer today" hits different than "terrible traffic"
• Sometimes the best stories come from the worst plans (Freaky Friday watching in the rain > beach cocktails)
• Kids need to experience friction to develop coping skills for adult disappointments

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PS: The fact that ChatGPT accurately predicted the missing jigsaw puzzle pieces is either impressive pattern recognition or genuinely creepy AI surveillance. 

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Episode 225: Decision Fatigue 

Sacha's sparkling from her early morning gym session (not traditionally a morning person but aging into it), while Ish admits to being in bed by 8:30pm because everyone else was out. From this perfectly matched energy mismatch comes a conversation about decision fatigue - plus Sacha drops a challenge that might just produce New Zealand's next Christmas number one.

Main Topics

• Recognition Signs of Decision Fatigue -- Delaying decisions while seeking endless information, getting snappy over small issues, defaulting to safe/familiar choices, and the dreaded "yes to everything" syndrome just to clear your mental plate
• The Motion Solution -- "No decision is worse than a bad decision" because staying stuck gives you no data, while making imperfect decisions creates momentum you can adjust (like Lost's constant pivoting that keeps viewers hooked)
• Physical Strength = Mental Resilience -- Sacha's take on Jordan Peterson's terrible "threat of violence" theory, and her much better insight that physical training creates mental robustness (though she's confident she could tackle most men around the legs and escape under fences)
• Triaging Your Brain Power -- Not all decisions need the same cognitive effort - what's 3+3 versus 9x57? Reserve your mental energy for high-stakes choices, speed through the low-stakes ones (kumara or potato? Just pick one!)
• Pre-Decision Strategies -- David Beckham's weekly outfit planning, meal prep culture, and the Steve Jobs uniform approach to eliminating decision drain before it starts

Key Insights

• Bad decisions only become "bad" in hindsight - most are good decisions with unexpected outcomes
• Delegate decision authority with clear parameters, then let people learn from consequences
• Guard your prime decision-making time instead of responding to every urgent request immediately
• Batch small decisions into dedicated time blocks rather than death-by-a-thousand-cuts throughout the day
• The strongest leaders physically often show the most mental resilience (correlation, not causation, but worth noting)

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PS: If this Christmas single actually happens, remember you heard it here first. Also, Sacha's confidence in her ability to tackle men and escape under fences while making business decisions is oddly inspiring.

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Episode 224: The Hour of Fails and the Power of Reflection

Join Ish and Sach for the discovery of the dreaded F8 button, and the ultimate podcast fail -doing an entire show without hitting record. But from this beautiful disaster comes a conversation about reflection, journaling, and learning from our daily experiences (including how to properly operate recording equipment).

Main Topics

• Matthew McConaughey's Journaling Renaissance -- How the "Alright, alright, alright" guy reintroduced journaling to mainstream culture beyond teenage "dear diary" entries, moving it into serious mental wellbeing territory
• The Three-Question Framework -- Ish's simple reflection system: What did you learn today? What's your one thing for tomorrow? What are you grateful for? (No blank page paralysis allowed)
• From Trauma to Triumph -- Childhood diary disasters that still haunt us: Sacha's epic swear-word note that boomeranged back to her mum, and why Norwegian seamen apparently have cleaner language than 11-year-olds

The Deeper Reflection

Journaling isn't about crafting publishable prose - it's about getting thoughts out of your head and onto paper, whether that's "f#@k, f#@k, f#@k, that was a crap day" or deeper insights about your patterns and triggers. The key is honest self-assessment without the pressure of literary perfection.

If your daily "one thing" is always urgent, you're living in constant firefighting mode. The goal is finding space for the "not urgent but important" stuff - learning, planning, self-care, family time. Your journal data will reveal whether you're managing your priorities or just reacting to everyone else's.

Don't let all your best stories be from decades ago. Create new memories with the people who gave you great old memories, because these are the days your kids will call "the good old days."

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PS: Matthew McConaughey apparently needs some promo for his new book "Poems and Prayers" since he's clearly struggling financially and could use our help.

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Listen, laugh, and learn as we share our latest thoughts on 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 co-owner and Head of Helping at Coffee Culture, a leading group of boutique coffee shops.

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Episode 222: Coffee Culture Chronicles - Building Community One Cup at a Time

Sacha's broadcasting live from her Antarctic igloo (aka Christchurch in winter), complete with puffer jacket indoors, preparing for this week's Momentum conference, where she's the lone woman among a lineup of "bros and me." This leads into the fascinating origin story of Coffee Culture and what it really takes to build a business that becomes part of people's lives.

PS: This episode is brought to you by Coffee Culture (Sacha's going back to negotiate the sponsorship budget with marketing). Also, Ish's brilliant business idea of in-store cow milking behind glass walls is still available to the highest bidder.

Main Topics

• The Coffee Revolution - When Chris pioneered in-store coffee roasting in Christchurch and everyone said "nobody will pay $3.50 for coffee" (oh, how times have changed), plus the genius move from cocktail flair to coffee craft without the drunk drama
• Franchising vs. Growing with Your Own Money - Why Coffee Culture chose franchising not for capital reasons, but because coffee shops are simultaneously "a license to print money and a license to lose money" - and the person behind the counter makes all the difference
•  Choosing Your Hard - Through earthquakes, GFC, pandemic, and cost of living crises, Sacha's philosophy that "life is hard, so just pick which hard bits you want" - and why giving up was literally never discussed
• Beyond the Coffee Cup -- The woman who's visited Coffee Culture almost daily for 30 years, and the two friends who got matching tattoos of Coffee Culture cups before travelling overseas separately

Key Insights

• In hospitality, location matters for petrol stations, but personality matters for coffee shops
• The transition when selling a successful cafe is everything - introduce the new owner properly or watch your customer base disappear
• As you scale, you move from being the cool young player to the incumbent, making talent attraction harder
• Creating a place for community and connection is "so much more than a cup of coffee"
• The audience relaxes when speakers own the stage - same principle applies to service

The Bigger Picture

Sometimes you don't realise you're part of something's origin story until years later. Sacha's honest about claiming "none of the inspiration, birth of the idea, or incredible hard work" for Coffee Culture's start, but her role in its growth and resilience through multiple crises shows how businesses become woven into the community fabric.

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Not So Breakfast Show - Episode 221: Say What You Mean Without Being Mean

Ish and Sacha are live and in-person for only the third time in 222 episodes. Today's topic: how to challenge ideas and give feedback without being mean, plus how to receive that feedback without taking it personally. 

Also, the irony wasn't lost on anyone that an episode about "saying what you mean without being mean" started with Ish immediately talking shit about Hamilton.

Main Topics

• The Board Room Problem - Why New Zealand's cultural tendency to avoid conflict means we don't say what we think because we're worried about upsetting people, and how this confusion between supporting the person versus supporting their idea kills good decision-making
• Context is King - Setting up conversations properly by clarifying what type of feedback you want: "I'm only at 20% and want gentle guidance" versus "I need you to tell me everything that's wrong with this"
• Beyond the Shit Sandwich - Why the CRC model (commend, recommend, commend) actually makes feedback less effective, and how some people go overboard with the "CCCCCRCCC" approach where the critical part gets completely buried
• Creating Feedback Culture - Starting from day one by asking new team members how they like to receive feedback, then building regular rituals where rigorous conversation about work (not people) becomes the norm
• AI as Your Critical Friend - Using AI to transcribe meetings and ask: "What questions did we fail to consider?" and "Where has our desire to agree got in the way of high performance?"

Key Insights

• Separate the person from their idea - you can fully support someone while critiquing their project
• "We're after high performance, not harmony" should be your team's mantra
• Give presenters time to lay out their whole concept before jumping in with challenges
• Know your role: if you're always the challenger, try asking others to weigh in instead
• Prepare like they hate you, present like they love you

The Deeper Question

What's the essence of who you are when you strip away all the external stuff? Sacha shares her profound cancer journey insight about identity - if you lost your glasses, your job, even parts of your body, what core "you" remains? This separation helps you receive feedback about your work without it feeling like an attack on your worth.

Movie Recommendations Ish loved the new Brad Pitt F1 movie (action without violence!) and the latest Superman film that breaks the invincible hero trope from the opening scene.

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 Episode 220: Once Upon a Time... The Power of Story in Sales

Ish opens with a ChatGPT-generated fairy tale intro featuring "the evil rental property™" as the villain tormenting Sir Ish, while Sacha reveals her big news: after 13 years in Hamilton, she and Chris are moving back to Christchurch! This house-hunting adventure becomes the perfect segue into exploring why storytelling is the secret weapon every salesperson needs.

Plus, Sacha finally realised that "Tina from Turner's" is a play on Tina Turner (better late than never!), while Ish discovered The Sound of Music was based on a true story. Also, Sacha's moving poem "Late at Night" perfectly captures the parenting experience.

Main Topics

• Story as Universal Language - Why Harvard Business School teaches everything through case studies (aka stories), and how stories engage logical thinkers, visual learners, and emotional decision-makers all at once
• From Complex to Simple - How the right story can take complicated information and make it instantly understandable, with real examples from construction, car sales, and gym memberships
• Building Your Story Bank - Starting with borrowed stories when you're new, then developing your own experience-based narratives that actually resonate (and why using Nelson Mandela stories makes everyone tune out)

Home Work

Record yourself telling a work story, then listen back and ask: Could I cut words? Am I making my point? How can I set this up differently to create a greater impact?

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Special Late Night Edition: The secret life of a Juice Hustler

Ish stays up past his bedtime (a whopping 8:12 pm!) to chat with Sacha's friend Aarti Bhanderi-Shah, who went from corporate law to driving around London with a car full of cold-pressed juices, pitching to 300 cafes in two weeks. Now a nutritionist, Aarti shares why sleep might be more important than your kale smoothie obsession.

Main Topics

• The Career Pivot Chronicles -- How Aarti went from studying law to auditing at PwC, then said "screw it" and started a cold-pressed juice company (possibly keeping the Queen alive with her royal deliveries to Fortnum & Mason)
• The Hustle Reality Check -- What it's really like to get up at 4am, load cooler boxes in your car, and drive around London selling juices while learning the hard way that shelf life is everything
• Joyful Eating Over Diet Culture -- Why Aarti ditches the word "diet" (it literally has "die" in it!) and focuses on her four-pillar approach: joyful eating, movement, sleep, and mindset
• The Sleep Revolution -- How society has lost 25% of its sleep in recent decades, and why your doughnut cravings might just be your exhausted brain crying for help

Key Insights

• Sometimes the best business education is jumping in with both feet and learning as you go
• Your worst food choices usually happen when you're tired - fix the sleep, fix the eating
• Having a business partner might save your sanity (and your business)
• Reframing language around health can completely change your relationship with wellness

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PS: Aarti watches Strictly Come Dancing (UK's Dancing with the Stars) while Ish is officially obsessed with Clarkson's Farm, where Jeremy gets injured in creative ways every episode. Also, sorry Netflix - this one goes to the BBC!

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Episode 218: When Shame Hits Different (And WhatsApp Groups Become Weapons)

Sacha returns from Fiji with a tan and a trauma—being unceremoniously booted from a Harvard WhatsApp group with 160 people, then discovering they had a whole discussion about her "eligibility" while she was locked out. What starts as a petty digital drama becomes a masterclass in understanding the difference between guilt and shame and why some wounds hit us harder than others.

Main Topics

• How Sacha went from Harvard alumna to "Category 6" (yes, her own special category) in a group chat cleanup gone wrong, triggering an unexpectedly visceral shame response
• The crucial difference between feeling bad about what you've done (guilt) versus feeling bad about who you are (shame), and why shame hits so much harder, because there's no clear path to redemption
• The Three Base Human Fears. Why being excluded tapped into Sacha's deepest fear of insignificance, making her feel "very small" and want to disappear entirely
• How shame triggers our ugliest behaviours—arguing, attacking, and trying to make ourselves smaller instead of addressing the real wound underneath

Key Insights

• How you deliver a decision can be more damaging than the decision itself
• When we're hurt, we invent stories to explain what happened, and they're usually wrong
• The "writing to the judge" principle: always communicate as if a neutral third party will read it later

PS: The episode opens with Ish's "birthday tribute" to Sacha—a photo of her with her hands down her pants (tucking in her shirt) set to U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." Sacha's mum was genuinely concerned about her professional reputation. Meanwhile, Ish recommends "Ballerina" (the John Wick spin-off with Ana de Armas) while admitting he can't pronounce the lead actress's name properly.

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Episode 217: The Perspective Problem (And Why You'll Start Your Running Program Tomorrow)

This week, we examine how our personal perspective determines whether we ruminate about the past, catastrophize about the future, or have public meltdowns with zero regard for consequences. 

Plus, the brutal truth about "future discounting" and why Sacha's been planning to start training for a half marathon for four weeks running.

Main Topics

• How your natural focus (past, present, or future) shapes everything from your leadership style to your procrastination patterns. 
• The sneaky way we convince ourselves that difficult tasks will somehow cost less energy "tomorrow" when we're magically more motivated, better rested, and perfectly organised
• Why zooming in for microscopic detail one day and flying high for big picture the next makes your team want to hide under their desks
• Treating your younger self with compassion (she was doing her best!) and your future self with kindness (she'll thank you for going for that run today)

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When LinkedIn Goes Wild (And Why Professional Discourse Matters)

Sacha went a bit viral on LinkedIn with a post calling out the appalling way people were attacking former New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern's new book. What started as frustration with unprofessional discourse turned into a masterclass on why how you express yourself online matters for your career, and why women face disproportionate vitriol in public spaces.

Main Topics

• The LinkedIn Explosion -- How Sacha's post about maintaining dignity in professional discourse struck a nerve, generating massive engagement and revealing how many people share her frustration with the current state of online behaviour
• Professional Platforms vs. Personal Opinions -- The critical difference between having strong political views and expressing them in ways that damage your professional reputation. LinkedIn is your professional face. Act accordingly
• The "Never Heard of You" Chronicles -- A former executive's spectacular own goal when he claimed not to know Sacha, despite previously 'liking' threats against her online. 
• Disagreement Without Destruction -- Why learning to argue the point, not the person, is essential for both career advancement and functional democracy. Patrick Lencioni's insight on productive conflict in teams applies to all professional interactions

Key Insights

• Your online behaviour directly reflects your leadership style, and employers are watching
• The bar for acceptable discourse may have shifted downward, but that doesn't mean you should follow
• There's a commercial imperative to get good at disagreeing respectfully—it strengthens ideas and builds better teams
• What you wouldn't say to someone's face at a live event, you shouldn't say online either

Before your next online comment, ask yourself: "Would I say this to this person's face at a professional conference?" If not, don't type it.

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Not So Breakfast Show - Episode 215: Taking Your Shot (Even When You're Over 50)

Sacha discovers that 80% of Forbes' "100 Most Powerful Women" are over 50 and has a full-blown existential celebration! In this episode, our hosts dive into recognising when it's time to make a move, overcoming the "I could do this, or this, or this" paralysis, and why women over 50 might just be hitting their professional stride.

Main Topics

• How to spot when you're in a natural transition (kids growing up, contracts ending) versus sitting in prolonged dissatisfaction that demands action
• Why having too many options can keep you stuck indefinitely, and Brendan Burchard's brutal advice: "Just pick one, because if it doesn't work, we'll do the other ones"
•  The shift from "What if I don't get the house?" in your 20s to "What if I lose the house?" in your 50s, and finding your sweet spot between playing it safe and betting the farm

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PS: Sacha continues her epic toe injury saga, now walking around in winter wearing one sandal and one sneaker because her kids complained about the mismatched footwear. She's since upgraded to two sandals in the rain, looking "like a crazy person" but at least matching! Meanwhile, Ish admits to classic impostor syndrome despite decades of evidence to the contrary.

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Not So Breakfast Show - Episode 214: Developing Your People (Without Losing Your Mind)

Ish and Sacha return from their international adventures (Chicago and Morocco, respectively) to tackle one of leadership's biggest challenges: how to develop your team without burning yourself out in the process. Is investing in people worth it if they might leave? (Spoiler: the alternative is worse!)

Plus, embracing "economy class" on their international flights, though Sacha (being tiny) had a much better time than Ish, who was squished next to "a big unit." Plus, Sacha has a mysterious foot infection that requires her to wear only one shoe. Just another day at the Not So Breakfast Show!

Main Topics

• Strengths vs Weaknesses - Why you should be "doubling down" on people's natural talents instead of obsessing over their shortcomings (with Sacha's brilliant dating analogy)
• Catch People Doing Things RIGHT - How to retrain your brain to spot the positive instead of fixating on problems (works with spouses and children too!)
• The Delegation Sweet Spot - Finding that perfect balance between challenging your team and completely overwhelming them with more than they can handle

Try the Coaching Default: Next time someone brings you a problem, resist the urge to solve it immediately and ask "What do you think we should do?" instead!

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Episode 213 (RE-RELEASE): Is Comparison Killing Your Creativity?

Ever find yourself scrolling social media and suddenly feeling like a complete failure? In this fan-favourite episode, Ish and Sacha dive into why comparison can either fuel your fire or completely extinguish it! Get ready for some straight talk about why your Instagram envy might be holding back your best ideas.

Main Topics

• The Celebration Switch -- How to transform your social media doom-scrolling from comparison to celebration 
• The Confidence Paradox -- Sacha explains her brilliant theory about being "confident at being incompetent" and why being comfortable with being wrong might be your secret superpower
• 5% vs 100% -- Why you're comparing your messy behind-the-scenes with someone else's highlight reel (and Roger Federer's surprising 54% statistic that proves even legends fail constantly)

PS: Sacha shows up after a facial treatment involving "hundreds of thousands of tiny needles" that left her looking "like she's been near a nuclear reactor." Meanwhile, Ish recommends "Renegade Nell" on Disney+ where Nick Mohammad from Ted Lasso plays... a fairy who gives people superpowers?!

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Episode 212: Navigating the pace of change. 

- What's Changed? (Spoiler: Everything)

From robots making your coffee to AI that can get hired for jobs through four online interviews, Ish and Sacha dive into the dizzying pace of technological change since they started podcasting. 

Get ready for tales of "digital souls," automated concert footage, and why saying "please" to ChatGPT might be destroying the planet.

Main Topics

• Your Digital Soul is Getting Creepy -- Discover why tech companies want to create AI agents that know you better than you know yourself (and whether you should let them)
• When Will Robots Replace Everything? -- From robot baristas to AI comedians, the hosts debate what jobs might still need that human touch (coffee culture appears safe... for now)
• The Ethics of Being Nice to Machines -- Learn why saying "thank you" to ChatGPT might contribute to climate change (but Sacha's still doing it because the uprising is coming!)

Ask Yourself: What tech are you resisting, and why? Text us your thoughts. 

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Episode 211: Brainstorming (or How We Keep Coming Up With This Stuff)

Ever wondered how Ish and Sacha keep cranking out podcast ideas after 210+ episodes? In this meta-episode, they pull back the curtain on their creative process while simultaneously demonstrating it live! From random observations to full-fledged show concepts, discover the art of turning everyday moments into content gold.

Main Topics

• The Brainstorm Behind the Scenes -- Peek into Ish and Sacha's actual ideation process as they riff on recent experiences (including Ish's adventurous eating in Japan and Sacha's miserable Easter illness)
• Yes, AND...Not BUT -- Why the rules of improv comedy make for better brainstorming and how saying "yes, and" instead of "no, but" can transform your team's creative output
• Ditch the Facilitator? -- A potentially revolutionary idea: what if AI handled the facilitation so everyone could fully participate in the brainstorm? (Or as Sacha puts it: "Can we just be in the room and give some ideas?")

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P.S.: Ish survived eating mysterious "parts" of unknown creatures in Japan (including Achilles' tendons!), while Sacha recommends "Women Talking About Cars" on Audible for your next listen. And yes, we got more proof of Kyla's encounter with Ralph Macchio!

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Episode 210: The leadership skill nobody talks about 

Or maybe we should have called it PAUSE FOR EFFECT! 🤫

Turns out the most powerful leadership move isn't saying something brilliant - it's shutting up at the right time!

In this episode, Ish and Sach dive into the superpower of the strategic pause. That magical moment between someone saying something annoying and you responding with career-limiting honesty!

Main Topics

• From Beast Mode to Brain Mode -- How taking a breath shifts you from emotional reactions to actual thinking (novel concept for Sacha!)
• W.A.I.T: Why Am I Talking? -- The acronym that stopped Sacha mid-anecdote at a business breakfast, forcing her to question if she was actually helping or just uncomfortable with silence (spoiler: the men were just enjoying their bacon)
• The Code Word Intervention -- Sacha's friend implements a brilliant system to stop her sentence-finishing habit without public humiliation (friendship goals!)

Try the Three-Second Rule: Challenge yourself to wait three full seconds before speaking in your next meeting. It feels like FOREVER, but it might just save your reputation!

Visit our website: notsobreakfastshow.com

P.S.: Sacha is reluctantly decluttering her collection of tiny toys, including a crocheted Bernie Sanders, a Ruth Bader Ginsburg figurine, and a miniature toy coffee maker. Growing up is hard! 🧸

The 30-Minute Presenter Program

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Episode 209: What Would You Do? 

Ish and Sacha dive into several challenging workplace situations and explore effective leadership responses versus gut reactions. From public challenges to walkouts and tech fails, this episode prepares you with practical strategies for those uncomfortable moments that inevitably arise in professional settings.

Plus, we close out the Ralph Macchio story with Sacha's sister Kyla.

Main Topics

• Handling Public Challenges -- What to do when someone challenges your ideas in front of your team, including staying calm, asking clarifying questions, and turning confrontation into curiosity
• Managing Costly Mistakes -- How to take ownership when something goes wrong, focusing on solutions rather than blame, and presenting problems with proportionate responses
• Navigating Heated Walkouts -- Strategies for when someone storms out of a meeting, including acknowledging the tension, taking a reset break, and addressing underlying issues
• Overcoming Tech Failures -- Practical approaches to presenting when technology fails or co-presenters don't show, focusing on value delivery rather than excuses

Reach out!

• Share your scenarios: Have you experienced a challenging workplace situation? Send us your story, and we'll offer our guidance on what we would do!

Visit our website: notsobreakfastshow.com

The 30-Minute Presenter Program

Learn how to map out your content, structure your thoughts, and craft messages that truly matter.

Check out our 30-Minute Presenter Program today.

Click here to learn more 

Episode 208: Seven Subtle Power Moves

 Ish and Sacha explore seven understated yet impactful actions that can elevate your professional reputation and effectiveness at work. Whether you want to increase your visibility or demonstrate leadership potential, these subtle power moves can help you stand out for all the right reasons. 

Main Topics

• Find and Fill Gaps -- Identify tasks nobody's handling but need attention, then quietly take ownership without being asked. 
• Knowledge Ambassadorship -- After attending training or discovering valuable resources, take time to summarise key points and strategically share them both up and down the organisational hierarchy. 
• Professional Courtesy -- Demonstrate respect through seemingly small but noticed actions like helping clean up after meetings, acknowledging support staff, and treating service personnel with kindness. These behaviors reveal character and are closely observed by leadership.
• Strategic Resource Sharing -- When discovering valuable content (books, podcasts, articles), share it with specific colleagues who would benefit most. Add value by highlighting the most relevant sections to respect recipients' time.
• Calculated Risk-Taking -- Periodically volunteer for unpopular tasks, but do so strategically to avoid becoming everyone's dumping ground. Be willing to have difficult conversations that others avoid.
• Selective Heroism -- As a manager, don't delegate every opportunity to "save the day." Occasionally handle visible tasks personally to maintain awareness of your contributions.
• Reliability -- Follow through consistently on commitments, meet deadlines and keep promises to build an unshakeable reputation for dependability.

Follow the show on Instagram: @notsoblackshowpodcast

Visit our website: notsobreakfastshow.com

The 30-Minute Presenter Program

Learn how to map out your content, structure your thoughts, and craft messages that truly matter.

Check out our 30-Minute Presenter Program today.

Click here to learn more 

Episode 207: What Defines Your Success?

Ish and Sacha explore the concept of personal success beyond traditional metrics like money and job titles. This thoughtful discussion challenges listeners to examine their own success criteria, prevent burnout, and align their goals with values that truly matter to them.

Main Topics

• Success Quadrants -- Sacha's framework for measuring success across physical health, mental wellbeing, soul's purpose, and relationships
• Avoiding the Burnout Trap -- Recognising when ambition leads to unhealthy stress patterns and building recovery into your routine
• Shifting Priorities -- How success definitions change through different life stages and why it's important to periodically reassess your goals

Follow the show on Instagram 

Visit our website: notsobreakfastshow.com

The 30-Minute Presenter Program

Learn how to map out your content, structure your thoughts, and craft messages that truly matter.

Check out our 30-Minute Presenter Program today.

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The Surprising Truth About Colouring In

Dive into the creative world with Ish and Sacha as they explore why incorporating creativity into your workday isn't just fun—it's essential for problem-solving, innovation, and mental wellbeing. 

Learn about practical ways to unlock your creative thinking, even if you consider yourself "not the creative type."

Main Topics

• The Power of Everyday Creativity – Discover why tapping into creative thinking is crucial for innovation and problem-solving, not just an optional "nice to have."
• Creativity Techniques – Learn simple practices to unlock your creative brain, from colouring and doodling to music and tactile activities you can incorporate into your daily routine.
• Embracing Childlike Freedom – Sacha and Ish discuss how reclaiming our childlike ability to play without judgment opens doors to better thinking.

Show Highlights

• Ish shares the "brick and blanket challenge" as a warm-up exercise to activate creative thinking
• Sacha reveals how incorporating creative activities before tackling problems can put you in a better problem-solving state
• The hosts explore the connection between uncontrollable laughter and creative thinking
• Ish's freaky swimming story reminds us that sometimes our memory of our abilities doesn't match reality

Rate & Review on Apple Podcasts: Help others discover The Not So Breakfast Show by leaving us a review at podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-not-so-breakfast-show

Visit our website: notsobreakfastshow.com for more episodes and resources on leadership and career development.

The 30-Minute Presenter Program

Learn how to map out your content, structure your thoughts, and craft messages that truly matter.

Check out our 30-Minute Presenter Program today.

Click here to learn more 

Episode 205: The Five P's of Reflection

Join Ish and Sacha as they explore a powerful reflection exercise using five words that begin with "P". In the show, they dive into personal examples of what they're proud of, what they're procrastinating on, and which partnerships they value most - all while demonstrating how these simple prompts can reveal deeper insights about ourselves.

Main Topics

• The Five P's Framework – Discover a simple yet effective reflection exercise using five "P" words that can help you gain clarity on your current priorities and challenges.
• Personal Reflection Examples – Ish and Sacha share their own answers to each prompt, offering candid insights about family pride, procrastination struggles, and valued partnerships.
• Finding Deeper Meaning – Learn how these reflection questions can help you understand not just what you're thinking, but why you're thinking it and what it reveals about your values.

Show Highlights

• Sacha reflects on being proud of her children for making brave choices that go against conventional paths
• Ish shares how procrastination might signal something deeper than just putting things off
• Both hosts discuss their most valuable partnerships in work and personal life
• The honest conversation about what's "pissing them off" ranges from noisy neighbours to global concerns
• Practical advice on what to "pass on" - whether that means delegating, saying no, or leaving a legacy

Rate & Review on Apple Podcasts: Help others discover The Not So Breakfast Show by leaving us a review at podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-not-so-breakfast-show

Visit our website: notsobreakfastshow.com for more episodes and resources on leadership and career development.

The 30-Minute Presenter Program

Learn how to map out your content, structure your thoughts, and craft messages that truly matter.

Check out our 30-Minute Presenter Program today.

Click here to learn more 

Episode 204: Down the AI Rabbit Hole

Jump into the world of AI tools with Ish and Sach as they explore how AI can boost your productivity and creativity. In this episode they share practical examples, live demos, and thoughtful perspectives on making AI work for you - not the other way around.

Main Topics

• AI Tool Comparison – Ish breaks down the differences between ChatGPT, Claude, and Microsoft Copilot, explaining when and how to use each one effectively.
• Advanced ChatGPT Techniques – Learn how to craft better prompts using context, roles, and interview techniques, demonstrated with a live conversation example.
• Balancing AI and Humanity – Sacha shares important perspectives on maintaining our creative human expression while embracing AI tools for efficiency.

Show Highlights

• Ish demonstrates advanced ChatGPT prompting with a personal trainer marketing scenario
• Discover how Claude can analyse data, learn tone, and transform content to sound like you
• Learn which AI tool to use for sensitive company information
• Sacha's warning about AI's potential impact on language diversity and human creativity

Rate & Review on Apple Podcasts: Help others discover The Not So Breakfast Show by leaving us a review at podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-not-so-breakfast-show

Visit our website: notsobreakfastshow.com for more episodes and resources on leadership and career development.

The 30-Minute Presenter Program

Learn how to map out your content, structure your thoughts, and craft messages that truly matter.

Check out our 30-Minute Presenter Program today.

Click here to learn more 

Episode 203: 5 Ways to Level Up Your Presenting Game -  From Good to unforgettable!

Want to transform your presentations from forgettable data dumps into compelling experiences? In this episode, we break down game-changing techniques that'll help you command the room and deliver messages that stick. Whether you're presenting to executives or running training sessions, these strategies will elevate your impact.

Main Topics

• Content Mapping Mastery – Learn our proven framework for organising your content to create maximum impact. We share practical tips for turning complex information into clear, compelling narratives that your audience can easily follow and remember.
• Self-Assessment & Storytelling – Discover how to honestly evaluate your presentation style and leverage storytelling techniques that transform dry content into engaging narratives. Plus, we reveal the common mistakes most presenters don't realise they're making.
• Versatile Presentation Roles – Master the art of switching between presenter, facilitator, and coach modes to match your audience's needs. We explore how each role serves a different purpose and when to deploy them for maximum effectiveness.
• Opening and Closing With Impact – Powerful starts and memorable finishes make your message stick. Learn to hook your audience from the first minute and leave them with a clear call to action.

Share this episode with a fellow presenter who's ready to level up their game!

 Everyone deserves to feel confident and make an impact when they present. Find more presentation tips and resources on our Instagram Page 

Visit our webiste www.notsobreakfastshow.com

Listen, laugh and learn with Sacha and Ish as they share their experience, thoughts and tips to build skills that are Not So average and a career that’s Not So Ordinary. 

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

The 30-Minute Presenter Program

Learn how to map out your content, structure your thoughts, and craft messages that truly matter.

Check out our 30-Minute Presenter Program today.

Click here to learn more 

The Not So Breakfast Show

Episode 202: How to lead when you're not in charge

In this episode we dive into practical strategies for leading from any position in your organisation. Learn how to build influence, navigate team dynamics, and make a real difference - no fancy title required.

Main Topics

• Building Influence Without Authority – Discover proven techniques to gain trust and respect from colleagues through consistent actions, relationship building, and delivering value that makes others want to follow your lead.
• Navigating Team Resistance – Learn strategic approaches to handle pushback and setbacks when implementing changes or new ideas
• Having Your Team's Back – Explore how supporting your colleagues builds lasting loyalty and creates a culture of mutual trust that amplifies your informal leadership impact.

Share this episode with a friend or colleague who's trying to make a bigger impact at work! 

Leadership isn't about titles - it's about influence and action. 

Visit our webiste www.notsobreakfastshow.com

Listen, laugh and learn with Sacha and Ish as they share their experience, thoughts and tips to build skills that are Not So average and a career that’s Not So Ordinary. 

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

The 30-Minute Presenter Program

Learn how to map out your content, structure your thoughts, and craft messages that truly matter.

Check out our 30-Minute Presenter Program today.

Click here to learn more 

The Not So Breakfast Show

Visit our webiste www.notsobreakfastshow.com

Listen, laugh and learn with Sacha and Ish as they share their experience, thoughts and tips to build skills that are Not So average and a career that’s Not So Ordinary. 

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

Episode Overview

Sacha and Ish dive deep into six critical factors that truly matter in the workplace, offering insights for professionals looking to excel in their careers.

Key Topics Discussed

1. Delivering Results Within Budget
   • Understand and track your allocated budget
   • Balance cost-saving with quality
   • Avoid penny-pinching that damages team morale
   • Example: Don't cut essential items like alternative milk options that support team diversity
2. Building Relationships
   • Cultivate connections across all levels of the organization
   • Invest time in understanding colleagues
   • Build genuine relationships without manipulation
   • Recognize that getting to know people can increase mutual understanding and likability
3. Meeting Preparation
   • Respect others' time and communication preferences
   • Come prepared with clear objectives
   • Provide context and highlights in advance
   • Be mindful of different processing styles
4. Proactive Problem Solving
   • Don't just bring problems, bring potential solutions
   • Think through issues before discussions
   • Be ready with alternative approaches
   • Show initiative in addressing challenges
5. Maintaining Visibility
   • Stay connected, especially in remote work environments
   • Proactively check in with managers
   • Demonstrate value beyond just completing assigned tasks
   • Show interest in broader business objectives
6. Effective Communication
   • Develop strong written and verbal communication skills
   • Be concise and clear
   • Recognize that communication abilities often correlate with career opportunities

Pro Tip

Ask your manager directly: "What are the key things you want to see me doing in this role?"

Bonus Insight

Imagine your workplace as a boat. How essential are you to keeping it afloat? Continuously add value and align with the organization's current goals and needs.

Memorable Quote

"If you are away for a week and no one notices and nothing about the business changes, then you say, actually, what value am I adding?"

Recommended Listening

Perfect for professionals looking to advance their careers, understand workplace dynamics, and become more valuable team members.

The 30-Minute Presenter Program

Learn how to map out your content, structure your thoughts, and craft messages that truly matter.

Check out our 30-Minute Presenter Program today.

Click here to learn more 

The Not So Breakfast Show

Visit our webiste www.notsobreakfastshow.com

Listen, laugh and learn with Sacha and Ish as they share their experience, thoughts and tips to build skills that are Not So average and a career that’s Not So Ordinary. 

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

On this weeks show:

🎉 Milestone Alert: Celebrating 200 episodes of consistent content creation and authentic conversations! As Sacha and Ish reflect on their podcasting journey, they dive into how to set yourself up for success in 2025 – or any time you need a reset.

 Key Takeaways:

- The power of persistence: Being in the top 50% of global podcasts simply by showing up consistently

- Creating change doesn't require waiting for January 1st – the best time to start is today

- The importance of choosing a theme word for the year to guide decisions and focus:

  - Ish's word: "Resilience" 

  - Sacha's word: "Deliver" 

 Real Talk: Life's Messy Parts

Ish opens up about recent family challenges, including his daughter's second heart surgery and a series of compounding events. This honest conversation reminds us that even those who appear to "have it all together" face their own struggles.

 Setting Up for Success:

- Define what "worse" looks like and identify what's within your control

- Focus energy on areas where you have agency rather than things you can't influence

- Remember: While we worry about changing the past, we often forget we can radically change the future

- Take action now – future you would give anything to be back at this moment

 Practical Tips:

- Choose a theme word to guide your year

- Pick a theme song that energises your mission

- Use your theme as a filter for decisions and opportunities

- Don't wait for perfect conditions – start delivering now

 New Segment Alert! 🎤

"Let's Hear from the Fannies" - Share your theme word for the year and how you're using it to guide your journey. 

 Final Thought: Whether it's 2025 or any other time, remember that every day presents an opportunity to make choices that create ripples into the future." What will you do with your one wild and precious life"?

The 30-Minute Presenter Program

Learn how to map out your content, structure your thoughts, and craft messages that truly matter.

Check out our 30-Minute Presenter Program today.

Click here to learn more 

The Not So Breakfast Show

Visit our webiste www.notsobreakfastshow.com

Listen, laugh and learn with Sacha and Ish as they share their experience, thoughts and tips to build skills that are Not So average and a career that’s Not So Ordinary. 

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

The Not So Breakfast Show

Visit our webiste www.notsobreakfastshow.com

Listen, laugh and learn with Sacha and Ish as they share their experience, thoughts and tips to build skills that are Not So average and a career that’s Not So Ordinary. 

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

The 30-Minute Presenter Program

Learn how to map out your content, structure your thoughts, and craft messages that truly matter.

Check out our 30-Minute Presenter Program today.

Click here to learn more 

The Not So Breakfast Show

Visit our webiste www.notsobreakfastshow.com

Listen, laugh and learn with Sacha and Ish as they share their experience, thoughts and tips to build skills that are Not So average and a career that’s Not So Ordinary. 

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.

The 30-Minute Presenter Program

Learn how to map out your content, structure your thoughts, and craft messages that truly matter.

Check out our 30-Minute Presenter Program today.

Click here to learn more 

The Not So Breakfast Show

Visit our webiste www.notsobreakfastshow.com

Listen, laugh and learn with Sacha and Ish as they share their experience, thoughts and tips to build skills that are Not So average and a career that’s Not So Ordinary. 

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.

The 30-Minute Presenter Program

Learn how to map out your content, structure your thoughts, and craft messages that truly matter.

Check out our 30-Minute Presenter Program today.

Click here to learn more 

The Not So Breakfast Show

Visit our webiste www.notsobreakfastshow.com

Listen, laugh and learn with Sacha and Ish as they share their experience, thoughts and tips to build skills that are Not So average and a career that’s Not So Ordinary. 

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.

The 30-Minute Presenter Program

Learn how to map out your content, structure your thoughts, and craft messages that truly matter.

Check out our 30-Minute Presenter Program today.

Click here to learn more 

The Not So Breakfast Show

Visit our webiste www.notsobreakfastshow.com

Listen, laugh and learn with Sacha and Ish as they share their experience, thoughts and tips to build skills that are Not So average and a career that’s Not So Ordinary. 

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.

The 30-Minute Presenter Program

Learn how to map out your content, structure your thoughts, and craft messages that truly matter.

Check out our 30-Minute Presenter Program today.

Click here to learn more 

The Not So Breakfast Show

Visit our webiste www.notsobreakfastshow.com

Listen, laugh and learn with Sacha and Ish as they share their experience, thoughts and tips to build skills that are Not So average and a career that’s Not So Ordinary. 

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.

The 30-Minute Presenter Program

Learn how to map out your content, structure your thoughts, and craft messages that truly matter.

Check out our 30-Minute Presenter Program today.

Click here to learn more 

The Not So Breakfast Show

Visit our webiste www.notsobreakfastshow.com

Listen, laugh and learn with Sacha and Ish as they share their experience, thoughts and tips to build skills that are Not So average and a career that’s Not So Ordinary. 

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.

The 30-Minute Presenter Program

Learn how to map out your content, structure your thoughts, and craft messages that truly matter.

Check out our 30-Minute Presenter Program today.

Click here to learn more 

The Not So Breakfast Show

Visit our webiste www.notsobreakfastshow.com

Listen, laugh and learn with Sacha and Ish as they share their experience, thoughts and tips to build skills that are Not So average and a career that’s Not So Ordinary. 

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.

The 30-Minute Presenter Program

Learn how to map out your content, structure your thoughts, and craft messages that truly matter.

Check out our 30-Minute Presenter Program today.

Click here to learn more 

The Not So Breakfast Show

Visit our webiste www.notsobreakfastshow.com

Listen, laugh and learn with Sacha and Ish as they share their experience, thoughts and tips to build skills that are Not So average and a career that’s Not So Ordinary. 

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.

The 30-Minute Presenter Program

Learn how to map out your content, structure your thoughts, and craft messages that truly matter.

Check out our 30-Minute Presenter Program today.

Click here to learn more 

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The 30-Minute Presenter Program

Learn how to map out your content, structure your thoughts, and craft messages that truly matter.

Check out our 30-Minute Presenter Program today.

Click here to learn more 

The Not So Breakfast Show

Visit our webiste www.notsobreakfastshow.com

Listen, laugh and learn with Sacha and Ish as they share their experience, thoughts and tips to build skills that are Not So average and a career that’s Not So Ordinary. 

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.