The Power of Collaboration: Lessons from Surviving the 2004 Tsunami | Michelle Mills-Porter

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In this inspiring and deeply moving episode of Man: A Quest to Find Meaning, James sits down with speaker, behavioural profiler, and collaboration expert Michelle Mills-Porter to explore the transformative power of working together. Michelle shares the life-altering experience of surviving the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami in Sri Lanka — an event that not only reshaped her personal values, but also ignited her lifelong mission to help people collaborate more effectively.

From the chaos and devastation, Michelle witnessed something extraordinary: strangers pooling skills, resources, and ingenuity to create solutions no one could have achieved alone. A broken mobile phone became a lifeline to the world when individuals each contributed one small but vital piece — a battery, a SIM card, a length of wire, technical know-how. It’s a vivid example of how, when we each bring what we have to the table, we create something greater than the sum of its parts.

Michelle explains why so many people undervalue their own contributions, and how letting go of control can open the door to deeper trust, connection, and impact. She also shares her analogy of barbershop harmony to illustrate how collaboration can create a “fifth note” — something magical that emerges only when voices blend in unity.

The conversation covers:

• Recalibrating values after life-changing events
• The courage to stand up first so others can follow
• How society can move from competition to connection
• Why true collaboration needs to become second nature
• Michelle’s behaviour and values analysis tools, designed to help people understand themselves and others

This episode is a heartfelt call to embrace connection, celebrate what you bring, and stretch beyond old patterns — because collaboration isn’t just about achieving more, it’s about creating a better world together.

About Michelle:

Michelle Mills-Porter FPSA is the President of the Professional Speaking Association.

She is a veteran, a past CEO and a Tsunami Survivor.

In an extraordinary shift in trajectory, Michelle is now a renowned behaviour expert and the creator of The People Reader Analysis tools, a suite of empowering tools that help unlock people's magnificence.