The Importance of Discomfort feat. Aidan McCullen

Sharing fresh information to empower new thinking. That's the north star behind Aiden McCullen’s podcast The Innovation Show. This podcast is actually what inspired Greg to create unSILOed! 

Aidan McCullen is a former Ireland national rugby player and current change consultant, working with organizations to improve how they collaborate and create the environment for change. 

He has developed and delivers a module on Emerging Technology Trends in Trinity College Business School, ranked as one of the top Business Schools in the world, and wrote the book, “Undisruptable: A Mindset of Permanent Reinvention for Individuals, Organizations and Life” 

He joins Greg to chat about reinventing himself from being a professional athlete to a successful businessperson, the importance of discomfort, how he sources guests for his own podcast to promote learning, and when to let go. 

Episode Quotes:

Don't box yourself into one field

I think to your point of not being an expert, I think we're moving away from the expert. The world still needs experts, don't get me wrong. We still all need a core competency. But with the speed of change of information and theories being disproved so quickly and new information being uncovered, we need to be just wary that when we get to the top of the ladder, the wall is getting higher. Or when we get to the top of the ladder that we may sometimes realize we're against the wrong wall. We don't like what we've got to the top of. And that's a shame to be stuck there because you're like, I have nowhere else to go. 

Discomfort is good

You don't get a gain unless you get pain. I need the weights to be heavy enough to cause discomfort, to break down the muscle and then I need to feed it and nurture it in order for it to grow again. It's the same with any kind of learning or any kind of organization. So we talked about disruption in organizations. If there's no extrinsic pressure for me to change, I won't. Because, ultimately the brain is an energy saving machine, always looking for shortcuts. And it will create atrophies wherever it can, including in an organization. 

When your job becomes your identity

We cling to that persona wondering, oh, what if I don't make it if I let go. I'd rather be a prisoner to this history, this record of my past, rather than take a chance on a vision for my future. And in American football for example, so many players cling to that Jersey they become the jersey. Instead of letting go and going look, I've loads of transferable skills. I can apply them elsewhere and I can achieve elsewhere and enjoy another series of decades, series of personas because life can offer you that. 

Show Links:

Guest Profile:

• Professional Profile at Trinity College Dublin
• Speaker’s Profile on London Speaker Bureau
• Aidan McCullen’s Website
• Thursday Thought Blog
• Aidan McCullen on Linkedin
• Aidan McCullen on Twitter

His Work:

• The Innovation Show
• Undisruptable: A Mindset of Permanent Reinvention for Individuals, Organisations and Life