The Watchword Podcast

Adam Hugill spent 18 months riding his bike 20,000km through Asia and North America having been in the Army before that. When he returned he found it difficult to re-adjust to normal life and starting out on a new career. In this episode he talks us through how how he made that adjustment, the role cold water has played for him, the importance of finding a community you relate to and the five key lessons from his bike trip around the world.

Krishna Thapa grew up in mountains of Nepal, he applied to join the British Army's Royal Gurkha Rifles as a teenager and was successful. He spent 7 years in the Gurkhas before attempting SAS selection, becoming one of the first two Gurkhas to ever join the Regiment. Krishna spent 17 years in the SAS, deploying overseas 12 times. During one of his first deployments a team mate was killed right in front of him, a moment which he admits led to some dark times. He found sanctury in the Buddhist teachings of his childhood. He is now a mountaineer who has climed Everest several times and recently helped the first double above the knee amputee to summit the mountain. We talk about his journey and spiritual outlook, with the assistance of Magnus the dog.

Paul spent 35 years in the Army, reaching the rank of Major General, having completed his initial training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst he returned nearly 30 years later to run the Academy. During his career he also commanded an Armoured Brigade of 5,000 soldiers before latterly being responsible for Army recruiting, Army basic training and the centre for Army leadership. In this episode we talk about the challenges of leaving the military, regardless of rank, the evolution of training even within the last few years and how to build a high performing culture in the workplace. Paul is happy to connect with anyone who would like to on LinkedIn. Please leave a review for the podcast if you enjoy it!

Huw founded the Motivational Preparation College for Training 23 years ago after a long career in the military. Whilst working in Army recruitment he spotted a gap between the standards the military required vs how prepared some applicants were. Huw started the MPCT with a handful of people, 23 years later their team is 180 strong, has 35 colleges across the UK and has trained over 20,000 learners. Profit with purpose and responsible capitalism are two terms that we hear more now than ever before. The reason I was excited to talk to Hugh is that he and his team are achieving exactly that, helping people get a better start in life and find a more fulfilling job than they otherwise might have. You can find out more about the MPCT at mpct.co.uk

This week's episode is with rugby player Toby Flood, Toby has played professional rugby for nearly 17 years, earning 60 England caps during that stime. He started his career at Newcastle, moved to Leicester Tigers where he captained the side and won 3 Premiership titles, then in France where he played with Toulouse and became fluent in French before returning to where it all began with Newcastle. Toby is planning a big career change, his departure from rugby, in this episode we talk about what Covid has been like for a professional sportsman, how he has achieved longevity as an athlete in such a brutal sport and how he has developed as a person and leader during his career. I recently completed a 493 mile bike ride in 5 days to raise money for the Motor Neurone Disease Association, like many people I was inspired by the rugby player Rob Burrow. I've raised just over £2,000. A disease we can't do much about at present, but hopefully with investment one day it will be curable.  The link to sponsor is here - Just Giving

Alex spent 10 years in the Army, six of which were with the Special Forces. His journey into the Army was result of a childhood ambition but his career in Special Forces started as a result of a setback… Alex left the Army in 2020 and now works for cyber security company Senseon as an Account Executive, he has also founded his own business called WILDNIS, which exists to provide bespoke adventures in exciting environments. You can find out more about senseon at sension.io and wildnis at wildnis.co.uk You can also find all episodes of the podcast on our website thewatchword.co.uk

There has been a lull in podcast related activity despite having some great guests in the pipeline. The delay has been caused by Covid related activity. Last year I spent several months working with the Army Reserve in support of the effort to counter Covid-19, spending time working on the testing programme before moving into a regional headquarters. When I went back to running Watchword Security full time I was asked if I could help with Covid-19 testing. As a business we have subsequently put our experience to good use by helping colleges and businesses establish their testing plans. As a result, this episode is completely different to what we normally do, I spent time talking to Penny Wycherley, the Principal and CEO of our first Covid testing client, Highbury College, and also the Member of Parliament for Portsmouth North Penny Mordaunt. Penny Mordaunt is Paymaster General & Cabinet Office Minister, she has previous held roles in Government as International Development Secretary and as the Defence Secretary. In this episode we talk about how the project came to be and how things have gone so far. You can see more about what we have been doing in support of Covid-19 testing at watchwordsecurity.co.uk

Martin started mountain biking age eleven, and as you’ll hear, his passion for it is all consuming. His journey reflects the why the podcast exists – his childhood passion, the deviation away from it due to the challenges of everyday life, but then a return to mountain biking and then the planning and delivery of a huge project in the most dramatic fashion. Martin had an idea to build the first dedicated private mountain bike park in the UK. 4 years later Bike Park Wales opened their doors, 7 years later they are still going strong, despite huge setbacks from COVID. Martin’s story is about realising a dream and having the determination to overcome every hurdle that comes your way in doing so. This is the last episode before Christmas and I wanted to a say a huge thank you to everyone who’s listened to the podcast in 2020. It has been absolutely brilliant to start the podcast as it is something I have wanted to do for about six years. To realise an ambition that you have had for a long time is hugely rewarding. I have also recently received a few messages from people who are listening to the episodes from the beginning, as I have with my favourite podcasts, which is great to hear. In these podcasts we don’t talk much about current affairs, the focus is on the person and their journey, the idea being that they are relevant whenever you listen to them, so thanks again to those who have got in touch. We have some awesome guests in the pipeline for 2021 including a couple of well known sports people, which is always exciting. So back to this episode…check out bike park wales on facebook and Instagram, You can also find the Watchword podcast on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram – if you enjoy the podcast please leave a review on apple podcasts. Check out the Watchword podcast website!

This bonus episode is a short 8 minute breathing exercise with Clemmie. We hope you enjoy it.  You can find out more at her website Clemmie.london or on Instagram @clemmie.london You can also find the Watchword podcast on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram – if you enjoy the podcast please leave a review on iTunes as it makes all the difference!

Clemmie worked in office-based jobs for about 10 years but gradually came to the realisation that it wasn’t for her, she became desperate to do something else and having discovered yoga she found the courage to leap from a safe career to running her own business teaching yoga, which she has subsequently taken all over the world. The reason for doing this podcast is twofold – firstly to explore a big career change and understand how Clemmie made it happen, and secondly to talk about yoga and the huge benefits it can bring both physically and mentally. Clemmie has also agreed to give listeners of the podcast a special price on an introductory yoga chat and online private yoga session. You can find out about yoga and get started with Clemmie for £40 instead of the usual price of £60. Go to Clemmie.london to get in touch with her and mention the podcast. Also check out the short bonus episode in which Clemmie takes us through a breathing exercise... You can find out more at her website Clemmie.london or on Instagram @clemmie.london You can also find the Watchword podcast on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram – if you enjoy the podcast please leave a review on iTunes as it makes all the difference!