The Evolution Partners

A place for the world’s leading thinkers, planners and doers.The Evolution Partners is a weekly podcast hosted by Brad Giles. Join Brad as he engages in conversations with some of the world’s sharpest minds, learning a bit more about them and delving into what makes them tick.

The Evolution Partners is a business podcast hosted by Evolution Partners, with 122 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Evolution Partners hosts The Evolution Partners, a business show with 122 episodes published.

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  Episode #122

  E122 | The DNA of Performance with Alessandra Edwards

  Oct 4, 202646 minS1

  Discipline, ambition and experience are not enough to sustain high performance, because what actually runs out is biological capacity, not capability. That's according to executive performance advisor Alessandra Edwards, author of The DNA of Performance, which introduces the DNA energy signature, a framework for sustaining high performance around individual biology rather than one-size-fits-all routines.  Alessandra explains how genetic factors like circadian wiring, glucose metabolism and stress chemistry determine when and how someone performs best, and unpacks superhuman syndrome, the deceptive high-functioning state that often precedes burnout.  She shares the early warning signs leaders miss, from needing more caffeine to shortened emotional fuses, and offers practical guidance for self-assessment and for supporting a struggling direct report.  Takeaways   Capability rarely declines with age, but daily capacity often does.  Circadian wiring determines when someone naturally reaches peak cognitive performance.  Genetic testing revealed one client's early rising was undermining their sleep.  Understanding your energy rhythm beats copying someone else's morning routine.  Blood glucose stability affects focus, mood and leadership quality daily.  Superhuman syndrome feels invincible but quietly drains long-term capacity.  Needing more caffeine than usual signals approaching burnout, not resilience.  Knowing your stress-response genotype helps you turn pressure up or down.  Follow Alessandra Edwards  Alessandra’s book  The DNA of High-Performance Leadership Action Plan https://link.amazon/B05CehPJb   Book recommended by Alessandra  Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity by Dr Peter Attia with Bill Gifford  https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/1785044559/   Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheEvolutionPartners   Newsletter – each week I share interesting insights, articles and ideas you can use. Join other leaders and subscribe to The Evolution Partners newsletter  https://evolutionpartners.com.au/subscribe/   Books – Learn more about our books  https://evolutionpartners.com.au/books/   Made to Thrive : The practical, prescriptive guide on how to be a great CEO  Onboarded:   How to bring new hires to the points where they are more effective faster. A business case for leaders on why you should commit to an effective onboarded process  Onboarded for Managers: Helping managers bring new hires to the point where they are more effective faster  Bigger isn’t Better, Better is Better:  Avoiding the pressure of endless growth to build a better business (and better life)  Follow me:  on https://au.linkedin.com/in/bradleygiles   on https://twitter.com/Evolution_Perth   Enjoying the show? Leave a review  Support the show: https://www.facebook.com/evolutionpartnersperth See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  Episode #121

  E121 | Is Technology Making Us Less Capable? With Dr Kristy Goodwin

  Sep 27, 202645 minS1

  Dr Kristy Goodwin has spent her career studying what technology does to the way we think, work and perform, and her own descent into burnout taught her the cost of ignoring the warning signs. With a PhD examining the impact of digital technologies, she works with leaders and organisations to understand how stress, distraction and constant connection affects sustainable performance.  Kristy explains why our ancient biology can't keep pace with AI-driven acceleration, and how the "botsitting" left over from automation is quietly exhausting knowledge workers. She unpacks the concept of a success tax, the hidden price high performers pay when they live out of sync with their human operating system.  Kristy shares her three pillars of powered-up performance – stress adaptability, focus and proactive recovery – along with practical tools like the energy audit and piccolo, tall and grande breaks.  Takeaways   We are living and working incompatible with our ancient human operating system.  AI adoption increased digital intensity instead of delivering promised efficiency gains.  “Botsitting” now consumes nearly a full workday evaluating AI output.  Burnout is a slow, erosive process that blindsides even the experts.  Stress adaptability, focus and recovery form the three performance pillars.  Piccolo, tall and grande breaks structure recovery throughout the working day.  Energy, not time, is the real lever leaders should be pulling.  Consistent sleep and wake times matter more than total sleep hours.  Follow Dr Kristy Goodwin https://www.drkristygoodwin.com/   Kristy’s books Dear Digital, We need to talk: A guilt-free guide to taming your tech habits and thriving in a distracted world https://link.amazon/B0dqwwuQk Raising Your Child in a Digital World: What You Really Need to Know!  https://link.amazon/B0fsF3UX9   Books recommended Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less https://link.amazon/B0bunCrL1 Four Thousand Weeks: Embrace your limits. Change your life. Make your four thousand weeks count. https://link.amazon/B0hCB3Pui   Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheEvolutionPartners   Newsletter – each week I share interesting insights, articles and ideas you can use. Join other leaders and subscribe to The Evolution Partners newsletter  https://evolutionpartners.com.au/subscribe/   Books – Learn more about our books  https://evolutionpartners.com.au/books/   Made to Thrive : The practical, prescriptive guide on how to be a great CEO  Onboarded:   How to bring new hires to the points where they are more effective faster. A business case for leaders on why you should commit to an effective onboarded process  Onboarded for Managers: Helping managers bring new hires to the point where they are more effective faster  Bigger isn’t Better, Better is Better:  Avoiding the pressure of endless growth to build a better business (and better life)  Follow me:  on https://au.linkedin.com/in/bradleygiles   on https://twitter.com/Evolution_Perth   Enjoying the show? Leave a review    Support the show: https://www.facebook.com/evolutionpartnersperth See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  Episode #120

  E120 | Who should facilitate the company's planning session?

  Sep 20, 202633 minS1

  The best person to facilitate a company’s planning session is often the one who knows the business least. Because their job is to challenge assumptions, surface disagreement and create genuine alignment. A plan only becomes powerful when the people responsible for executing it have helped build it.  I’m joined by my fellow Evolution Partners coaches Andres Zylberberg, Richard Peake and Sue Turk, to discuss the role of the facilitator in creating a planning process where everyone has a voice, ideas are challenged and the team genuinely commits to the outcome.  We explore why AI can support strategic planning but shouldn’t replace human debate, how the “power of the pen” can create unconscious compliance, and why an external facilitator can uncover blind spots, encourage psychological safety and challenge the thinking inside the room.  Takeaways   A good plan creates commitment when the people involved build it.  AI can support planning, but it cannot manufacture genuine team commitment.  External facilitators challenge assumptions that internal leaders may unconsciously overlook.  The team that builds the plan is less likely resisting.  Leaders cannot effectively facilitate while simultaneously participating in strategic planning discussions.  Psychological safety allows teams to surface disagreements, concerns and alternative perspectives.  Great facilitators create tension that leads to better strategic decisions.  The cost of executing a weak plan far exceeds facilitation fees.  Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheEvolutionPartners   Newsletter – each week I share interesting insights, articles and ideas you can use. Join other leaders and subscribe to The Evolution Partners newsletter  https://evolutionpartners.com.au/subscribe/   Books – Learn more about our books  https://evolutionpartners.com.au/books/   Made to Thrive : The practical, prescriptive guide on how to be a great CEO  Onboarded:   How to bring new hires to the points where they are more effective faster. A business case for leaders on why you should commit to an effective onboarded process.  Onboarded for Managers: Helping managers bring new hires to the point where they are more effective faster.  Bigger isn’t Better, Better is Better: Avoiding the pressure of endless growth to build a better business (and better life)   Follow me: on https://au.linkedin.com/in/bradleygiles on https://twitter.com/Evolution_Perth   Enjoying the show? Leave a review  Support the show: https://www.facebook.com/evolutionpartnersperth See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  Episode #119

  E119 | The Cognitive Athlete with Clint Rahe

  Sep 13, 202640 minS1

  You can't out-hack evolution, says cognitive performance specialist Clint Rahe. Business leaders who try to operate at peak intensity all year are setting themselves up for burnout instead of sustainable results.  A former Royal Air Force physical training instructor, Clint has since worked with business leaders, teams and elite athletes on preparing for high-stakes moments without running at full throttle year-round.  Clint explains why leaders should treat their calendar as a performance tool, how to train for high-pressure moments the way athletes and military operators do, and why recovery doesn't require a week in Bali. Sometimes it's just the gap between two meetings. He also unpacks how AI is quietly increasing cognitive load, and why after-action reviews deserve a place in business as much as they have in sport and the military.  Takeaways  Elite athletes and soldiers train hard, then deliberately recover fully.  Business leaders rarely rehearse the high-pressure moments that matter most.  Cognitive periodisation structures your year, quarter, month, week, and day.  Treat your calendar as a genuine performance tool, not clutter.  Schedule preparation and decompression time around your hardest meetings daily.  Recovery can simply be the gap between two back-to-back meetings.  After-action reviews turn experience into lessons instead of repeated mistakes.  AI creates spare capacity, and leaders instantly refill it again.  Follow Clint Rahe  The Cognitive Athlete  https://thecognitiveathlete.com.au/   Clint’s book The Cognitive Athlete: Sustainable Peak Performance for Leaders, Thinkers and Doers https://link.amazon/B0hA2t6el   Books recommended  Turn the Ship Around by David Marquet https://link.amazon/B04xHQKaH   Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheEvolutionPartners   Newsletter – each week I share interesting insights, articles and ideas you can use. Join other leaders and subscribe to The Evolution Partners newsletter  https://evolutionpartners.com.au/subscribe/   Books – Learn more about our books  https://evolutionpartners.com.au/books/   Made to Thrive : The practical, prescriptive guide on how to be a great CEO  Onboarded:   How to bring new hires to the points where they are more effective faster. A business case for leaders on why you should commit to an effective onboarded process.  Onboarded for Managers: Helping managers bring new hires to the point where they are more effective faster.  Bigger isn’t Better, Better is Better: Avoiding the pressure of endless growth to build a better business (and better life)  Follow me:  on https://au.linkedin.com/in/bradleygiles   on https://twitter.com/Evolution_Perth   Enjoying the show? Leave a review  Support the show: https://www.facebook.com/evolutionpartnersperth See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  Episode #118

  E118 | Have you outgrown your business operating system?

  Sep 6, 202631 minS1

  The right business operating system isn’t the one with the best software or the most passionate followers. It’s the one that helps your people consistently execute, adapt and achieve what the business needs at its current stage.  I’m joined by Evolution Partners leadership coaches Andreas Zylberberg, Sue Turk and Richard Peake to explore what happens when a business outgrows its operating system — and whether the real problem is the system at all.  We discuss why habits, discipline and execution matter more than methodology, how a business’s needs change as it grows, and the difference between an implementer, advisor and coach. We also explore why the quality of the coach can matter more than the tool, and why the best coaches meet businesses where they are rather than forcing them into a one-size-fits-all framework.  Takeaways  The right operating system adapts as your business evolves.  Software cannot compensate for poor habits, discipline and inconsistent execution.  Your business needs change as complexity, people and markets evolve.  The best coach adapts frameworks to your business’s specific circumstances.  Don’t choose a system because everyone else says it works.  The quality of coaching matters more than the software itself.  Great coaches identify blind spots and strengthen leadership team capability.  Choose what helps your business achieve its desired outcomes.  Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheEvolutionPartners   Newsletter – each week I share interesting insights, articles and ideas you can use. Join other leaders and subscribe to The Evolution Partners newsletter  https://evolutionpartners.com.au/subscribe/   Books – Learn more about our books  https://evolutionpartners.com.au/books/   Made to Thrive : The practical, prescriptive guide on how to be a great CEO  Onboarded:   How to bring new hires to the points where they are more effective faster. A business case for leaders on why you should commit to an effective onboarded process.  Onboarded for Managers: Helping managers bring new hires to the point where they are more effective faster.  Bigger isn’t Better, Better is Better: Avoiding the pressure of endless growth to build a better business (and better life)   Follow me:  on https://au.linkedin.com/in/bradleygiles   on https://twitter.com/Evolution_Perth   Enjoying the show? Leave a review  Support the show: https://www.facebook.com/evolutionpartnersperth See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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