Episode 02: How to Stop and Smell the Roses

This episode of Boardroom Hustle covers a wide variety of different topics. My guest, Alan Jones, and I get into things like EQ, IP and everything in-between. Alan is an entrepreneur, investor, board director and startup mentor, and he sheds some light on the life-changing moments he’s experienced throughout his journey: the relationships between startup founders, investors and the boardroom. He also talks about the big changes he’s trying to encourage and bring about in the world.

Throughout Alan’s career, he’s been lucky to realise the importance of stopping and smelling the roses. Today, we discuss how he came to that realisation, as well as:

• Why serenity is such an important part of Alan’s day
• The Darwinian approach that many industries take towards business, and how this can be of detriment to those industries
• How Alan came to value taking time out from the daily grind and learned to relax
• The various flaws within his industry, and who is the most likely to come up against discrimination
• How Alan came to be known as the Chief Hindsight Officer
• Why EQ is such a vital aspect of business, especially in the boardroom
• How to get that ‘spark’ back into your boardroom
• Why we tend to have shallow interactions rather than deep and meaningful ones, and how to start digging deeper with your directors
• The best way to take minutes for your meetings to ensure you get the most out of your time
• The one common theme that can be found in every single boardroom
• Negative outcomes that come from living a hard, fast lifestyle, and how you can avoid falling prey to them
• What it means to be a whole person, and how you can aim to become one
• Can a younger director find that balance between work and life, or is that something that comes with time?

Links:

Alan Jones LinkedIn

Alan Jones Twitter

The New Agency

Startmate

Blue Chilli