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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

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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.

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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.)

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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)

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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.