For 14 years, David Imai was a Design Director at Tesla, helping shape every car the company put on the road. Before that, GM and Opel. Today he advises the startups building the future of transport and robotics, and he's obsessed with one question: why do the best ideas keep dying inside big organisations?

His answer will surprise you.

Every team has two types of people. The Mad Hatter, who throws out wild, half-formed, maybe-genius ideas. And the White Rabbit, who gets things done on time. Most workplaces only protect one of them, and it's almost always the wrong one. That's why your best thinking never makes it out of the meeting room.

In this episode, David sits down with Cathal (his old London housemate, small world) to unpack the three things every curious culture needs. Why psychological safety isn't optional. Why Tesla sends its robotics engineers to Disney Imagineering. And the one habit that separates teams that innovate from teams that talk about innovating.

If you've ever walked out of work wondering why nobody listens to your best ideas, press play. This is the episode.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's listener questions episode, Cathal and Annette revisit three powerful ideas from their conversation with Marcus Collins.

First, Emile Durkheim's sociological definition of culture, and why Marcus uses it: culture isn't something we create as individuals, it creates us as social beings. Second, Marcus's definition of brands as "vessels of meaning," identifiable signifiers that conjure thoughts and feelings in the hearts and minds of people. And third, his surprisingly direct advice: if you don't believe in the brand you work for, leave.

Cathal also shares what he picked up from a recent TV media training session (including why you should never say "hello everybody"), and Annette updates on her Camino preparation with seven weeks to go.

Then they turn to something Cathal encountered across multiple conversations in Ireland over Easter: a sharp rise in abuse directed at retail, pharmacy, and healthcare workers. Signs in shops asking customers not to abuse staff. Young workers blindsided by aggression they never expected. Nurses flagging the link between understaffing and escalating hostility. They want to hear from you if you're experiencing this, especially if you work outside the typical corporate environment.

Finally, Better at Work is approaching the end of this series and planning the next season. If you've got a guest suggestion or a topic you'd love covered (someone already pitched workplace design), send it through to betteratwork.net.

Next week: David Eime joins to talk about how to create curiosity in the workplace. And Cathal has an unusual connection to him that he's keeping under wraps until then.

Key topics: culture as a system, brands as vessels of meaning, brand alignment, retail worker abuse, psychosocial hazards, customer service training, workplace design

New episodes every Thursday.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.