How to Get Loads of Marks

Something a little different this time, I left the virtual studio behind and recorded this one in Alan King's living room in the lovely town of Mumbles, South Wales. Alan is the founder and CEO of AI consultancy ITAA.ai, founder of the AI-Your-Org community (which I'm a member of), and AI Strategy Director at the Global AI Association. He's also the author of Harnessing the Power of AI in Organisations and, more recently, Further State, a book about how intelligent systems reshape organisational logic. All built on a background spanning automation and robotics at Hewlett Packard and an MBA from Brunel.Alan spends his time both pushing organisations forward with AI and pulling them back to do it safely, so we dig into that tension: why risk and purpose should be your first two questions, how to build a "brain" that genuinely knows your subject rather than just firing questions at an empty chat box, and why defining the problem matters far more than the answer. Along the way we cover needle-in-a-haystack tests and models that seem to know when they're being watched, Blockbuster and Kodak getting their organisational logic completely wrong, the case for an AI CEO of Amazon, and why for all its power AI still hasn't written The Great Gatsby or given us a Taylor Swift. There's loads in here for any student trying to use these tools to do better work, not just less of it.You can find out more about Alan at itaa.ai and aiyourorg.org, or through the Global AI Association.

This time I'm joined by Stephen Taylor, Learning Technology Lead at Regents University London — and as he puts it, his job is less "IT support fixing your laptop" and more "driving instructor teaching you to actually use it." We dig into the difference between "edtech" and proper pedtech (technology with the science of teaching behind it), why a lecturer reading straight off their slides is a "sage on the stage," and how real learning happens in a constant loop between you, your tutor and your peers. Stephen shares a genuinely handy framework — TPACK — for working out whether a shiny new tool is worth your time, makes the case that AI should be a critical friend rather than a ghostwriter, and explains why play, board games and even The Incredibles can teach you more than you'd expect. Also: how to stop your TikTok algorithm feeding you Jordan Peterson, and the right way to treat a chatbot like a horse.Links to Stephen:LinkedinPortfolioBlogOther things we mentionedTikTok STEMJISC Website

In this episode I’m joined by Andy Cook. Freelance Content & TV producer, director, trouble shooter and all-round problem-solver. Andy has spent 15 years making everything from A Place in the Sun to Piers Morgan’s Life Stories and Eat Well For Less. (even the occasional dog show). We talk about the high-pressure world of short-deadline TV, the art of leading a team you’ve only just met, and how to prioritise under pressure. Also: the time a job to film "some royals" turned out to be slightly more than Andy was expecting. Loads of really useful tips which work for any projects where you have a team and time pressure. You can find out more about Andy on his website https://www.andycooktv.com/ ...or on his socials https://www.instagram.com/andycooktv/ and https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-cook-31890bb/

Alex Fell has been teaching English as a second language for over a decade, working with everyone from business professionals to university students across multiple continents. In this episode, he shares some of the insights he’s gained from 11 years in the classroom—like how managing expectations can be more important than mastering grammar, why learning a language has more in common with going to the gym than sitting in a lecture, and how cartoons like Peppa Pig can actually be a great diagnostic tool for your English level.We also talk about the cultural nuances of teaching, how to handle feedback without feeling patronised, and the right (and wrong) ways to use AI tools like ChatGPT in language learning. Whether you're an English learner, a teacher, or just curious about how language acquisition works in practice, there’s a lot in here for you.https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderfell1/

Something a little different in this episode. We hear from executive fitness coach Asher Kennedy. After transforming his own physique and mindset despite a demanding career, Asher founded LevelONE Coaching to help busy professionals achieve remarkable fitness results without extreme measures.In this conversation, Asher shares insights on how to prioritize workouts effectively, straightforward nutrition principles that don't require extreme dieting, and thoughtful perspectives on maintaining motivation long-term. His approach focuses on sustainability and efficiency—helping people transform their bodies without sacrificing their careers or social lives.What makes Asher's perspective refreshing is his emphasis on building systems that adapt to your life, rather than forcing drastic lifestyle changes that rarely last. Whether you're struggling to find time for fitness or looking to make your current routine more effective, this discussion offers practical wisdom for real-world results. You can hear more from Asher on his website , via his LinkedIn Page or on Instagram

Piers is a regular guest on the podcast and as his day job he helps students improve their study skills are Escape Studios. In this episode we talk about the idea of retrospectives and how they can be useful in both creative projects and everyday life. Sometimes it turns out we are a lot smarter after the fact.

With over a decade of experience working in a wide variety of sales organisations, Tom Parker combines technical expertise with real-world, quota-carrying experience. Tom has built an impressive track record of helping B2B start-ups and SMEs achive sales excellence. Tom’s industry knowledge (along with a first-class network of partners) makes him a valuable resource. He was generous enough to share some of his expertise on how to approach sales in this conversation. Far removed from the cheesy second hand car salesman, sales has developed into a complex business and Tom covers everything from c-suite level "revenue operations" to the techniques you can use to sell yourself in a job interview.

This is a bit of a bonus episode. I decided to see what an LLM could tell me about the uses of LLMs. Claude was happy to oblige so I took his parts of the conversation and ran them through elevenlabs. Then I recorded my bits and edited it together. It's a little shorter than my usual episodes as the AI voice can be a little grating, however I think there were some interesting points mentioned. We talked about the value of subjective writing, and about how Buzzfeed may have snuck into his training data. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this feedback form Notes: I've not changed any of the text, but I've trimmed it down a little. (This is nothing different to my regular conversations with humans) You can see the whole conversation here https://docs.google.com/document/d/15YpY0wGfbospInXOlsdB6FRQEjUz03fCDgMEKs-JrfQ

Andrew Griffith is a man of many hats, but all of them hang on the same sustainable business rack. Passionate about making a tangible impact on the world, Andrew simplifies the complexities of carbon jargon and advocates for supportive environmental policy. His work isn’t just about finding solutions—we already have many of those—but about bringing people along on the journey to a greener future. As a leader at Planet Mark, a community of over 800 organizations driving toward a regenerative economy, Andrew focuses on building powerful partnerships. He believes business is personal, with success rooted in genuine, human relationships rather than impersonal transactions. Whether it's business-to-business or community-focused, Andrew is committed to unlocking the potential of regenerative business and helping organizations accelerate toward net zero and beyond. Andrew is also deeply involved in celebrating and fostering sustainable communities. A self-confessed “community addict,” he believes that through connection and collaboration, businesses can do more good and create meaningful change. As an active Institute of Directors Member and Ambassador for over seven years, Andrew is a prolific networker. He attributes his recent opportunities to the meaningful connections he’s built, both online and offline, advocating for authentic relationships over empty networking. In this conversation Chris and Andrew discuss everything from the power of networking, to why gold mining companies have their eyes on landfill sites. You can find out more about Andrew on his linked in page here https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewthomasgriffiths/

Jamie Qiu is managing director and founder of Studio Zao. An innovation consultancy that focuses on helping the people in organisations and ecosystems to innovate faster and more productively. He has experience in both, having formerly worked at EY, but then leaving to found Studio Zao. We talk about how to be "interpreneurial", (entrepreneurial, but inside a large company) and we discuss how perhaps you don't create ideas, but rather "find them", in the landscape of possibilities. It turns out there is a lot more to innovation that just coming up with good ideas. You can find out more about Studio Zao on their website www.studiozao.com. And you can find Jamie on LinkedIn