Brand Strand/Founder Story: Leading with Authenticity & Loyalty with Master Facilitator John Philp, MD & Founder of Croft Consultancy on Fun, Learning, and Lifelong Inspiration

Ever wondered how to lead with authenticity, fun, and continuous learning? Join us as John Philp, the dynamic founder of Croft Consultancy, Training and Development, shares his wealth of experience from over 25 years in leadership and management development. From commanding a room to training in the Iraqi desert, John's stories are not just insightful but also profoundly inspiring. He opens up about the importance of being genuine and maintaining a sense of humor while navigating the complexities of professional growth.

The episode navigates through the significant influences that shaped John's life, such as a fascinating family road trip in 1967 and his deep admiration for Bob Dylan. Listen as John recounts how early travel instilled a love for exploration and how Dylan's music shaped his views on justice and privilege. He also shares personal anecdotes about working in Sweden during the early days of the pandemic and his passion for attending Dylan's concerts, reflecting on how these experiences molded his perspective on life's challenges and opportunities.

Finally, we journey through memorable moments like a family camping trip in France, where the magic of non-verbal communication shone through, and John's humorous world record for tea drinking in 1983. Learn about his work with the global corporation Xplio, developing leadership programs that blend technical skills with people management. This episode is packed with wisdom, humor, and inspirational quotes that underscore the savability of humanity through shared wisdom and purposeful engagement. Grab a cup of tea and tune in for an episode that promises to entertain, educate, and inspire.

Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:07

Welcome to another episode of the Good Listening To Show your life and times with me, chris Grimes, the storytelling show that features the Clearing, where all good questions come to get asked and all good stories come to be told, and where all my guests have two things in common they're all creative individuals and all with an interesting story to tell. There are some lovely storytelling metaphors a clearing, a tree, a juicy storytelling exercise called 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, some alchemy, some gold, a cheeky bit of Shakespeare and a cake. So it's all to play for. So, yes, welcome to the Good Listening To Show your life and times with me. Chris Grimes, are you sitting comfortably? Then we shall begin Off, as they say in recording circles. So welcome, welcome to a very glitterarty and exciting day.

Speaker 1: 1:02

Auspicious day was what I was trying to say in the good listening to show clearing. This is a very special brand strand founder story episode where we're going to welcome well, we are welcoming mr john philp, who is facilitator glitterati. He is the founder and managing director of croft consultancy, training and development and you've been on the open road of being a driving force in leadership and management development for over 30 years to ages both and we've got history, john philp, in that we've known each other for many, many years too, so this is a regathering of the clan in the clearing, absolutely 25 plus years.

Speaker 2: 1:40

I think, yeah, definitely, yeah, awesome. I remember the first time I met you, chris, but maybe this is not the forum in which to discuss that well, if you care to um expound upon that, you're very, very welcome we were both. We were both uh gainfully employed with uh associate work with a wonderful um mutual organization named, namely the Oxford Group.

Speaker 2: 2:02

Yes indeed, and we did some fantastic work together and it was in those early days that I found this wonderful young man who was an actor, who brought many of the sort of key lessons and training aspects to life in a way that I'd never seen before as a role player. Role playing is one thing, but doing it properly and, chris, ever since then I've held you in very high esteem.

Speaker 1: 2:25

Thank you so much, john, and to blow some extra happy smoke back at you. In positioning you today and I'm delighted to be reconnected You've been given one of the finest accolades I've ever read, actually by a mutual friend well, a contact particularly of yours called Stan Slap. I love that name. By the way, my comic hero of all time is Stan Laurel, so Stan Slap made me think of slapstick, but it's just a great name. Plus, I've got a son called Stan. What can you do? Anyway, back to you, he describes you as being the finest facilitator he's ever witnessed, and that's high praise indeed, coming for the echelons in which he operates too. And the ingredients that make you, john Philp, so unusually effective are your rare command and presence in a room. Nothing gets by you, it's behind you and there's no place for anyone to hide. So high praise indeed. You're extremely welcome to the Good Listening 2 Show Clearing John Pleasure, thank you. So how's morale? What's your story of the day? I know it was your birthday yesterday, so happy birthday.

Speaker 2: 3:25

Wow, thank you so much. Yes, I don't know. I mean, it's remarkable the older I get, the less confident sometimes I feel about life. You know, one suggests that the older you get, the more comfortable you feel. I just see all of this technology and wonderful progress that's happening around me, and I remember a time in my life when I could influence my children and help them with their technology. And now I am the dad that says help, you know so, um, but no, it's life is good. Life is very, very good thank you.

Speaker 1: 3:55

I love that. That's incredibly relatable. The head of IT in every family is normally about four.

Speaker 2: 3:59

Yeah, yeah, if you need something else, find a 14 year old, you know and my, my children I've got 23 and 17.

Speaker 1: 4:07

They're always slapping their forehead saying old people and technology don't even go there. But we're doing very well because here we are doing a linkedin live in homage to all things croft, consultancy, training and development. So quick, deliberately clunky question for you first of all. Um, we've all been there at networking events. When people go oh, what do you do? We hate that question, but what's your favorite way of describing what you do? Either avoiding or answering that question, john fantastic.

Speaker 2: 4:33

You know, it's a great thing. Well, can I just caveat that with a couple things. That question, what do you do, is always asked of us by people who don't really know us. The people who do really know us would never say what do you do. They'll say what did you do today? Yes, and if you cannot answer that question, what do you do, or what did you do today, with a level of authentic pride and emotion and happiness, then you're probably in the wrong job. So what do I do? I support major organizations to develop their people and I do that in a way that brings out the best of them. And I do I support major organisations to develop their people and I do that in a way that brings out the best of them. I do that in a way that brings out an authentic commitment and I do that in a way that has a lot of fun and we get results and we get asked back, and so, therefore, what do I do?

Speaker 2: 5:19

I actually have a lot of fun and I get paid for it.

Speaker 1: 5:22

Thank you. A lot of fun and I get paid for it, thank you. And you've been to all sorts of international sorties, including delivering training in a tent within the Iraqi desert. You've been very much a Middle Eastern advocate for so so long as well, and and and I know there's been I mean it's 77 countries I remember searching that you've actually facilitated in.

Speaker 2: 5:43

Right, I've actually. I think it all started in terms of the Middle East work. It all started back in 2001,. Literally two days after 9-11. And I got a call from this gentleman and I wouldn't say any names, you know, just to protect the innocent, but I remember getting this call and thinking I know who this is, this is. This is a good friend of mine. I believed his name was Kenny, uh, kenny Hogg, who was one of my best men, but that's another story, and all I could hear was this, this really, really ridiculous accent saying hello, are you Mr John? And I said yes, I am, mr John. I believe you're a good trainer.

Speaker 1: 6:22

I said I'm a very good trainer no, no, very, very good.

Speaker 2: 6:24

And this conversation went back and forth, back and forth for about a minute or so until I realized it wasn't my good friend but it was in actual fact a legitimate, bonafide Middle Eastern businessman who has training programs to run and he'd been let down badly by his American associate colleagues and cut a long story short, within 36 hours I was on a flight out to Dubai and the rest of the Middle Eastern story is almost history.

Speaker 1: 6:54

Wow, what a great sort of inception of that journey and that path, because it lasted many, many years, almost becoming a Middle Eastern specialist, and you just returned from that, because you became a, you were a CEO, weren't you? And you just stopped and come back to reinvigorate what's been going all along, which was croft consulting for sure, and I had to listen.

Speaker 2: 7:14

I had four very, very happy years working out back in in dubai between literally the beginning of covid and uh, and around about three, three months ago, um, but you know, I find myself spending a disproportionate amount of my time doing things that didn't actually bring me lots of happiness. You know, sitting on business development calls, for example, understanding, trying desperately to win new business from people that I've never seen before, and also talking about stuff that I don't really understand. Look, whilst the fundamentally it was a fantastic four years and I made some fantastic colleagues and we still have excellent relationships and, um, I've no doubt I'll be back out there, uh, you know, doing the things I do best for them as well, but ultimately, um, I've got control back of my own destiny, and that that's really, really good.

Speaker 1: 8:06

And that lovely adage control your destiny or others will control it for you. So you're now back in the saddle of what was yours to ride, in any case, to use the equestrian analogy there of Croft Consultancy, which is where you're back, reframing that with a new website that we'll talk about at the end as well. Thanks, geoff, no, and me, um, thanks to everyone. So I'm gonna. It's my great pleasure to curate you through the journey of the good listening to show. As I've already mentioned, this is a special brand strand founder story. We're going to get into the who, the what, the where, the why you do, what you do and then, crucially, we'll find out exactly where we can come and find you to continue to work with croft consultancy.

Speaker 1: 8:43

So, um, there's going to be a clearing a tree, a lovely juicy storytelling exercise called 5-4-3-2-1. There's going to be some alchemy, some gold, a couple of random squirrels, a cheeky bit of Shakespeare, a golden baton and a cake Hurrah. So it's all to play for and watch and learn as we get you in through all those storytelling gates within 45 minutes, my goodness. So what I love about this construct is the fact that everybody interprets it differently. So, first of all, the epicenter of the whole show is a clearing, which is your serious happy place. Where does John Phelps? World-class gold-plated glitterati facilitator? Where do you go to get clutter-free, inspirational and able to think?

Speaker 2: 9:28

That's a great question because you know, again, it's a bit like saying you know what is your favourite record of all time? Ask me tomorrow and I might give you a different answer. But seriously, there are two places. There's the virtual place and there's the real place. The real place is very accessible. It's my garden. I walk out my front door and I'm lucky that we've got a bit of land around us. We've got a couple of hills at the bottom of the garden, land around us, we've got a couple of hills at the bottom of the garden.

Speaker 2: 9:55

So being in nature can be as simple as that when you're stuck and you're looking for inspiration, when you're needing to get a different concept going. Sometimes it just takes a walk around and breathing fresh air and understanding that there's more important things than yourself, things in yourself. So that's the real place. That's very easy to go to In my creative, irrational, illogical mind if I want to get really interested about or starting to think differently and be creative. There's a little village, just about, I think it's about six, seven kilometers to the east of San Rafael, on the Cote d'Azur side of France, a little village called Nive-Romand, and it's a place where my brother, gavin, and I first visited back in 1979 on a camping holiday and I have subsequently gone back many, many times with friends and family and it's just a very special place and when I'm there I can smell the flowers and the environment and it's just a wonderful place for creative thinking and feeling happy. So I can go there in my mind anytime and go to the garden when I'm at home.

Speaker 1: 11:01

Lovely, just name that wonderful place in France again.

Speaker 2: 11:05

L'Idrame, L-I-D-R-A-M-E-O-N-T, by about seven kilometres to the west, sorry, to the east, the right-hand side of San Rafael.

Speaker 1: 11:16

Wonderful. Left rudder, right rudder, east, west. We're there, how lovely. And also Croft Consulting sounds like it's a sort of an outdoorsy sort of agricultural name. Is that the derivation of Croft? Is it something to do with, you know, an agricultural Croft?

Speaker 2: 11:30

I gave up corporate life on the 31st of july 1992. Um I was then sort of notionally ahead of training for the edinburgh woolen mill business here in the uk, and um I I took that very important step into self-employment, and the name of the property that we lived in at the time was Croft Cottage. And so there we have it, no big secret Croft Consultancy, croft Cottage.

Speaker 1: 11:58

And have you changed location? I know the company's the same, but do you live in the same premises now, so you're outdoors?

Speaker 2: 12:04

Yeah, a couple of times we'll move from Hoik to Windegates and Fife and then from Windegates here to beautiful Strathmiglo, in the gorgeous setting of.

Speaker 1: 12:15

Fife, lovely. So we've got a choice now, because you've given us two, you've over delivered. So do you want to go to the campsite virtual space or do you want to go to the?

Speaker 1: 12:25

yes, yeah, let's do the Ramon and I've already mentioned, you've delivered training in a tent in the Iraqi desert, so this is a different tent. This is more of you and your brother camping type. I'm now going to arrive, rather comically In fact congratulations, you're the first person in the circa 200 episodes that I've done that's actually set a tent. So there's all sorts of carry on camping jokes to be had, but I'm going to try and comically now arrive with a tree in your tent. Oi, get out of my tent with your tree. But I'm going to shake your tree a bit, waiting for Godot-esque, a bit deliberately, existentially.

Speaker 1: 12:57

And now we're going to do a really juicy storytelling exercise called 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, which, I have to say, I got from a wonderful fellow Scott of yours called Dave Stewart, if you're listening or watching from Fresh Air Leadership. And 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 is five minutes minutes, john, that you've had, since you knew you're going to be doing this, to have thought about four things that have shaped you, three things that inspire you, two things that never fail to grab your attention and borrow from the film up. That's where the oh squirrels are going to come from. And then the one is a quirky or unusual fact about you? Um, john philp from croft consulting that we couldn't possibly know about you until you tell us. So it's not a memory test. It's over to you now to interpret the shaking of the canopy of your tree as you see fit.

Speaker 2: 13:43

Four things that have shaped me. It's fantastic. I shall try to, because you know, to quote my good friend Stan Slatt, I could spend a lifetime talking about the things that have shaped me. We don't have a lifetime. You've told us we've got about 45 minutes. Now we could make the next 45 minutes feel like a lifetime. Focus on what's really important. So let's focus on what's really important A love of travel.

Speaker 2: 14:14

Seriously, back in 1967, my dad retired from a career in the military and the police and he bought himself a brand new Austin 1800. And me and my three siblings four of us, six of us were thrown into this car and we did a massive road trip around Europe for six weeks, camping and just seeing different sites. And it was from that very early age that I got the. I guess I got the bug for travel and clearly that stayed with me. You know, as you quite rightly said in your introduction, you know, so far, with family and friends and I've traveled considerable, but with work, I've actually delivered a trading solution or a development solution in 77 countries around the world. So I think that love of travel is definitely an element or a pillar that has shaped me, undoubtedly so.

Speaker 1: 15:08

And how old were you, just to go back in your timeline when you were shoved in the back of that car for that Genesis trip?

Speaker 2: 15:13

Well, I'm the baby of the family. I was five, so that was 1967. And if you get, if you get the arithmetic right, you can work out yesterday I was 62. My heart is P birthday.

Speaker 1: 15:24

Quite lucky to you, wonderful. So I'm very happy we're talking to you the day after your birthday and here we are, survived to live another day, so that's a great first shapeage, uh, next shapeage, bob dylan, uh, bob dylan, uh.

Speaker 2: 15:37

From a relatively early age, probably around about 14, I have I've been kind of into dylan, as they say, the. The record that got me probably interested was another brother, my george mac. He had bought the single Hurricane and that was about the boxer Reuben Hurricane Carter, who was falsely tried and falsely convicted of a murder that he obviously didn't do. But it was a travesty against him simply because of the colour of his skin. And back in those days, you know, it was a dangerous place to be in America if you were, you know of colour and clearly he was a victim of that. And that as a young 14-year-old. That got me inspired to think about justice, injustice, privilege, understanding that you know the life, the world isn't fair necessarily.

Speaker 2: 16:35

And from then I sort of became really absorbed by Bob Dylan and his music and I think up until about the mid-1980s I managed to find a way of saying I've bought every legal album that Bob Dylan has ever produced and I think by that point that was true. He's carried on producing lots and lots of albums and quite frankly I've fallen out of love with him because he now sounds more like somebody singing Bob Dylan, trying to be Bob Dylan, but very drunk in a bar, he's. No, you know, and the purists will say I'm missing out, but hey-ho, I do like the early Dylan stuff and that's you know. Going back to, everybody knows, blowing in the Wind or, mr Tambourine, masters of War, these are all really fantastic. You know fantastic songs. It's inspirational, you know, absolutely inspirational.

Speaker 1: 17:24

Have you ever seen Bob Dylan live in your time? Seven?

Speaker 2: 17:27

times, seven times. So, yeah, so I saw him first in 1980 in Earlls Court and the last time I saw him was in Glasgow, and you know the last time I vouched never, never to go back again. You know, he was just awful, you know, awful, awful. However, I remember him in his good days.

Speaker 1: 17:46

So the Halcyon days, a path of all of our lives, is a very important sort of point to keep hold of, isn't it? So he's very much part of your halcyon days absolutely.

Speaker 2: 17:56

I've still got something like 78 bob dylan albums. Many of them are the bootlegs. You've never seen them on the shops and I have been told that you know I've actually got an original first press covering of the very first dylan album, simply called bob dylan, and I think I was offered several hundred, probably a couple of thousand. Now it's worth. So you know, one day, you know when everything falls apart around me, I've always got that to sell, Chris.

Speaker 1: 18:22

Lovely, that's a delicious shapeage, thank you. Shapeage number three, please the global pandemic.

Speaker 2: 18:28

Who would have believed, back in January 2020, what was about to happen? You know, I cannot believe when you look back how things have changed or how things changed so quickly. Interestingly enough, you know I was delivering. When we say January, it was really March wasn't it.

Speaker 2: 18:45

I was working with our good mutual friends, the Oxford group, back in January, february, delivering some great work for them in Sweden and you know I came back from that and then I went from there directly down to Rwanda and I was working with one of the big Nigerian oil companies but they had a delegation down in Rwanda and I remember vividly feeling miserable, you know, coughing and spluttering and thinking, oh, I've got a bad cold here, and, thank God. Looking back, we all thought it could be the bit of COVID but it wasn't. But I was brought into a secure unit at a local hospital and given all sorts of tests, but that was fine. But the reality of course, chris, was that the world closed down and in our business certainly face-to-face training closed down and they're really clever and really efficient organisations and I'll give credit to some of my colleagues.

Speaker 2: 19:48

There's a company called Cybel. Cybel are a wonderful organisation I've been associated called Cybel. Cybel are a wonderful organisation. I've been associated with Cybel for many years and Carl Stevenson runs our business and she was one of the first people I knew that really grasped this as an opportunity and she did it in a way that I didn't. I was about probably six months, two or three months behind her, but unless you were quick to respond to that change, it was a big challenge.

Speaker 2: 20:15

And it hurt us badly. It did hurt us badly. So the global pandemic has shaped me. It's made me more resilient and you know it's been tough but educational.

Speaker 1: 20:27

And mentioning that wonderful word, resilience there I know you've had your resilience tested. There is a darker side to one of your trips that you may or may not go into. I know that it was an incident that happened to you in Nigeria. We could just put that in there in a float in the water where people can actually get in touch to find out more. If you don't go there, Wonderful Fourth.

Speaker 2: 20:46

Shepich, knowing the influence that you have over others. And again you'm going to draw references to my good friend and colleague, stan Slatt. One of the programs or one of the solutions that he has created as a book by the title Under the Hood, exclusively at employee culture and how we can actually improve our employee cultures. But there's a part of the book and there's a part of that solution that talks about this, and it's about the personal impact that you have. Now, without you know, in the privacy of your own mind and anybody that's listening, you can get this.

Speaker 2: 21:28

Who was the one person in your life it's not a question for you, chris, so at ease, but if you think about this, who is the one person in your life that has had the most positive impact on you and what was it that made that person so positively impactful? Think, think, think process. We all know somebody. And secondly, conversely, who is the one person that had the most negative, damning impact on your life? We all know one person and and the lesson that comes out of that under the hood solution is simply this that as long as you have had the experience of dealing with somebody who's had a good impression and I'm somebody who's had a bad impression. That is the reality. And guess what? You could be either of those characters to the people that you lead and the people that you influence and I know who I want to be more like.

Speaker 1: 22:23

I want to be that impactful, positive person beautifully put, absolutely a lovely teaser question with with real seismic depth to it. Fantastic and and it's very relatable the under the hood versus what lies under the bonnet of all good interactions. Lovely, um, and now we've shaken uh sorry, we've not shaken the tree.

Speaker 2: 22:42

We've done the four things that have shaped you now, three things that inspire you, three now I've got something very personal and and you've mentioned the fact that you are a proud parent Well, you didn't actually say you were proud. I'm just assuming you're a proud parent. Which parents are not proud of their children? So I've got two kids and I say they're kids, rona she's 31. Calum's 28. And they are completely and utterly wonderful human beings and they were with us on the weekend and I can't get enough of them and they do make me realize this is a whole.

Speaker 2: 23:16

I've watched the Lion King, I've seen the whole Great Circle of Life thing. This is why we're here, you know. But there's a story I want to share with you because it has some relevance to what you've been talking about recently on social media the great Albert Marhabian, yeah, and his concept about how we communicate face-to-face. And, spoiler alert, the statistics would tell us that 55% of the impact of the message comes through our body language, 38% through the tone of voice and a mere 7% through the words that we choose to use. Well, chris, the first time I heard this theory or concept, I was sceptical. And I was sceptical for a long time afterwards, until I had the experience, back in about 2000. And we're camping. You're getting a picture here. I enjoy camping and we're camping in the south of France and at that time my kids were about, about I don't know eight or nine and seven thereabouts, six, seven, there you go. And we arrived in this campsite and we pitched our tent and everything was beautiful. You know the weather, everything was just fantastic. And the kids saw, about 50 metres away, a play park and in the play park they said Dad, can we go, can we go? And I said, yes, go on, have fun, play. Now. My wife and I, being slightly responsible parents, we kind of kept an eye on them and they were in the park and within a very short period of time they started interacting with other children. They're happy, we're happy. The girls were swinging on swings and the boys were kicking a ball. Fantastic, it's now officially Pinot Grigio o'clock. We're relaxing.

Speaker 2: 25:02

About 25, 30 minutes later, the kids come running back and my son I think Carl was about six or seven at the time. He's like, yeah, get some food. And I said to Carl are you having fun? He said, oh, dad, it's great. This is the best holiday I've ever had. That's cool. And then I said yeah, I see you've made friends. He said oh, yes, they're my best friends now ever.

Speaker 2: 25:25

I said oh, what's their names? Which he said the boy's called and he's a little face Jean-Michel. It's a girl's name, but he is a boy. And he said he's got a sister, like me, and her name's Claudette. And I said, ah, jean-michel and Claudette, they're French. He said yes, dad, they're French, we're in France.

Speaker 2: 25:44

And I thought, oh God, the attitude. Anyway, quickly he said I said they must. I said they must speak their English, to which Callum said I'm coming back to Merhabian, wait, wait. Callum said no, dad, they don't speak any English, they're French. They don't understand a word we say. And I said well, that's interesting, because you can't speak any French. And to which he looked at me straight in the eye and said it's okay, we have not told them that we can't speak French. And it was that moment of realisation that they had 55% of body language with 38% of tone. They had no requirement for a formal language. And those kids formed a little gang and they played beautifully together and you know, I think they ended up with a bit of a franglais, a hybrid between the two languages, but it was a fantastic holiday and that's what reinforced the Marhabian rule to me.

Speaker 1: 26:37

And what a beautiful language, the language of play, which in my theatre background as well and comedy, improvisation, stuff that's very, very beautiful and relatable. And now a second thing that inspires you.

Speaker 2: 26:48

Gosh, there's so many. I mean, I think resilience, I mean this is a bit more generic, but resilience of individuals. I have travelled a lot. I've been in very difficult places in the world.

Speaker 2: 26:58

I was stuck in Kuwait at the second Gulf War for about four weeks. I went out for a four-day workshop and got caught up with Tony Blair and Mr Bush Jr bombing Iraq next door, and so I was one of only two civilians in the hotel and we're getting bombed by Iraq and yet everybody was fantastic. You know there was people, you know the cleaner still turned up to clean the rooms, people still turned up to serve us dinner. It was fantastic. And then you know that's quite extreme. But you know you've had the pleasure, I've had the privilege, we've had the privilege of going to places where they don't necessarily have the same level of comfort that we do, and yet we complain about silly things. You know we complain about, you know, it's just irrelevant stuff and they are. So you know I've worked with people that are just so, so much more resilient and I really appreciate that. The tenacity, the resilience of individuals in the face of adversity Fantastic.

Speaker 1: 28:04

These are lovely answers. By the way, you're giving me gold by the bucket load already and a third shape it. Sorry. I think that inspires you.

Speaker 2: 28:12

Well, yeah, it's actually, it's probably cultural diversity, and again, it sounds like an easy one to say because you know being around. But you know we talk about freedom and we talk about equality and and all of that good stuff, but you know, sometimes you've got to just live in another person's environment to really appreciate that. You know, I remember, for example, I remember, for example, being in Kuwait and somebody who was a local Kuwaiti saying to me you know, you guys in the West think you can export democracy like it's some sort of commodity. And you know, we have a different way here in Kuwait.

Speaker 2: 28:54

We don't have yeah, we have voting and we have some level of, you know, democracy, but in actual fact we have a different type of democracy and it's much different and I guess that kind of you know if you live in a country such as the UK or Western Europe or indeed North America. We tend to think of our way being the best way and it is for us, but it's not necessarily right for everybody else and I think we need to appreciate that. So cultural diversity is important and understanding that being inclusive is is a privilege that we actually have here in western society I'm really enjoying.

Speaker 1: 29:38

There's a deep reservoir of empathy in everything you're describing which is really really enjoyable to listen to. And now we're on to two things that never fail to grab your attention, and borrow from the film up well, squirrels, you know what never fails to grab your attention, irrespective of anything else that's going on for you fantastic listen.

Speaker 2: 29:55

Can I just say I've never seen the film up. Don't know what you're talking about, um, but, uh, but in terms of just a dog, that goes oh squirrels I still don't know what you're talking about your homework is go and watch the film up you.

Speaker 1: 30:11

You're also quite at the beginning. There's the most beautiful establishing montage in the film Up. It's a film of deep beauty.

Speaker 2: 30:19

Lovely, lovely. I promise I will watch it and give you a report back. Look, I mean two things that never fail to grab my attention. I have this. I don't know if this is even a good answer, but I have this insatiable sense of adventure. You know, if somebody said to me John, there's a place for you on the International Space Station, you can go there. You're going to have to go for three months or six weeks or at least get involved in doing some experiments, I would be there in a heartbeat. I would be absolutely up for that, in a heartbeat, you know. And my logical head says no, that's never going to happen. I know that's never going to happen, but emotionally I sometimes think wouldn't that be wonderful If I just got that call? Would you like to be the first old guy with no training, a bit overweight, likes his Lafroig whiskey too much to go up there for a sip? I'd be there. I'd be there in a heartbeat.

Speaker 1: 31:20

I hope you get a direct message ping within your LinkedIn box from NASA going we've been looking for you all our lives. There you are.

Speaker 2: 31:26

Please do. And I guess the other thing that never feels to distract me in my ever hectic life is this sense of loyalty. And this is an interesting thing, it's a very serious thing. You know, I value loyalty more than most other things, in terms of loyalty to colleagues, loyalty to friends. I think this whole thing about loyalty, you know, you can be pursuing a dream, you can be pursuing a vision, you can be pursuing a shared goal, but it doesn't come easily.

Speaker 2: 31:59

And everything that we have achieved in our careers has come through not just our own endeavours, but through the support and commitment from the people who we care about and who care about us. And I think we should really be careful that we don't ever take that for granted. And you know, our friends are important and our colleagues, the people that we care about, are important. And when there's a blip, you know, when there's a hiccup, or when there's a miscommunication, and what was strong becomes weak, or what was in, you know, what was perceived to be great, becomes irrelevant. You know that's pretty sad. So you know, I, I value loyalty and I I think I am blowing my own trumpet. I'm probably the one, one of the most loyal friends you could have you really have.

Speaker 1: 32:53

I love that, have, I love that, and you really got to see the film up, because I think the dog is quite loyal too. So you're a loyal, lovely, lovely creature, mr John. And now and by the way, that was a lovely answer and now a quirky or unusual fact about you.

Speaker 2: 33:08

We couldn't possibly know about you, john Philp, until you tell us we couldn't possibly know about you, john Philp, until you tell us I don't know if David Thomas, my good friend, who happens to be a world Guinness record-building champion, his memory is elephantine. He's got the memory. I mean, honestly, he's been on the Oprah Winfrey show. He can remember a pack of cards and recite them back to you. He can recite Pi to about 55 billion. He's got a brilliant memory. But the point there was he's a Guinness World Record holder, david. I've never told you this, but so am I.

Speaker 2: 33:42

On the 9th of May 1983, I was well prior to that I was part of a pub there's always alcohol involved somewhere.

Speaker 2: 33:54

We were involved in trying to raise money at a charity Muscular Dystrophy and Gary Wallace, the bar manager at the time, was trying to get a team together to do something good like run a marathon. Well, you know I don't do marathons but I can drink tea and Simon Bates was at that point a Radio 1 DJ and he'd, just a couple of weeks prior to that, had this guy on doing a world tea drinking record and in nine and a half hours, this guy, in ten hours, I beg your pardon, this guy got 74, 10 ounce, 10 fluid ounce cups of tea down him and I just thought how difficult can that be? So yeah, I contacted Guinness Superlatives. It was all set up. I went over to the Radio 4 studios in Edinburgh on the 9th of May 1983 and in nine hours and 40 minutes I drank 78 10-ounce cups of tea, which put me ahead of the guy. It was entered into that year and it was taken out every subsequent year because it was deemed to be dangerous and they didn't want to encourage people to.

Speaker 1: 34:58

And what were the consequences of setting that record? Did you just if you don't mind me, if you'll pardon this expression did you not just wee for the next five weeks?

Speaker 2: 35:05

I had 23 recorded visits to the little boys room and I know there were 23 because I had to take a guy with me from the Guinness Appellatives to make sure I wasn't being sick. That would have null and voided it. And the bigger consequence was I was driven home completely intoxicated and a medical friend of mine said to me at the time you don't need alcohol to be intoxicated, you just need fluid intoxication. And I was off my head and the first thing my dear mother said to me when I got it she said sit down, I'll make you a nice wee cup of tea. And it was the last thing that was on my mind.

Speaker 1: 35:41

Believe me, chris and of course the comedian in me is going to tea etiquette. When you're accompanied to the lose by the guinness world record, you hold I'll pour.

Speaker 2: 35:51

Only kidding believe me, I'm normally quite shy. Under those circumstances, that shyness was throughout the window really.

Speaker 1: 35:58

Yeah and you, I know you can drink tea, but also I know that you can you do, enjoy a dram as well, shall we say, because in our, in our oxford group days, I'm thinking, oh, hello, um, you're able to, yes, have a drink, shall we say, which is good I don't think that's anything to be proud of.

Speaker 2: 36:15

This is after good water after good water.

Speaker 1: 36:19

I love that we have shaken your tree, john phil hurrah, and now we stay in the clearing, move away from the tree, and now we're going to talk about alchemy and gold, when you're at purpose and in flow and this is where you can go deep as you like, into croft consultancy as well, if you like but what are you most, what are you absolutely happiest doing in terms of your purpose and what you're here to reveal to the world?

Speaker 2: 36:41

I guess you know, come as no surprise that, um, I'm happiest, you know, metaphorically and physically being on stage when I'm running a masterclass, when I'm running a programme, a course, when I'm involved in facilitating good conversation, when people are starting to learn through experience and learn through sharing their wisdom and their experiences. It gives me a huge amount of pride and it gives me a huge amount of hope that humanity is savable. So I'm happy, definitely when I'm back in the room, I'm happy doing great work. So, for example, last week I was down in Portugal with Stan Stan Swatt. Stan was doing a 40 minute keynote for the HR Congress World Summit. So we had some of the greatest HR minds on planet Earth gathered in this room and just to be walking around and talking and networking about human resource development, providing the opportunity for people to be the best versions of themselves that they can be, was just such a pleasure. And it was such a pleasure because people were there, not because they were told they had to be there, but because they wanted to be there. And I guess you know that keynote went down a storm and then it became a point of discussion. So I guess that really helps me be in a very happy place and I think currently and I think this is really interesting, but currently, right now it's quite amazing. I don't know if I've tried to disallow this, but, like most people now, we've got multiple streams in our room and I keep seeing myself over here.

Speaker 2: 38:24

Maybe I should be looking, I don't know, but I'm currently working with a very, very lovely client, xplio. The Xplio group are a global multi-billion dollar technical corporation and it's actually a company in former guises I've been involved with for about 14 years, but you know they're heavily involved in engineering technology management consultancy. They're heavily involved in engineering technology management consultancy stuff that is really seriously beyond my understanding when it comes to understanding the technical aspects of what they deliver in terms of solutions, but on a global level and they are operating in 34 countries around the world. I'm setting up with them, helping to set up a leadership and management development arm service to their already well-established academy. The XQ Academy provides the technical training. The stuff that you know software program engineers, etc.

Speaker 2: 39:28

As I say, the stuff that you know I have to get my. You know I don't understand. I'm not going to pretend that I do that. The stuff that you know I have to get my. You know I don't understand I'm not going to pretend that I do but what they have identified is that for every technical organisation that has technically really really sort of left-brained people left-brained logical thinkers they tend to be also people who manage people. So what we're doing is we're giving them the tools and we've now created a faculty where there's over 60 solutions already under four different pillars five different pillars. So we're getting that underway and it's going to be a big PR announcement in the next couple of weeks and it's going really, really well. So that's my happy place right now very, very happy.

Speaker 1: 40:09

It's a very enigmatic rustling under a tarpaulin that you're doing, with a big reveal about to happen. So that comes full circle back to your tent where rustling a tarpaulin about to do the big reveal yeah.

Speaker 2: 40:19

I love that. I love that, yeah, but rustling under a tarpaulin, just be careful, people can start talking.

Speaker 1: 40:24

Exactly Wonderful, and now I'm going to award you with a cake, Mr John Philp. So now this is the last storytelling suffused metaphor where you're going to get to put a cherry on the cake with stuff like first of all, what's a favourite inspirational quote, John, that's always given you sucker and pulled you towards your future.

Speaker 2: 40:41

I've got two and they come from one song and, chris, you probably know this. I say it's a song, it's kind of more of a monologue. You must have heard, and if you haven't, just say so the Baz Luhrmann, the sunscreen song. No, I haven't. Oh right, well, you'll have to just Google that when we get off this Back in. I think it was 1999, this came out I was driving up the M6 and the DJ said if you're doing anything just now, turn the radio up and listen to this, Anyway. So I'm going to give you two quotes from this. Baz Luhrmann's Everybody's Free to Wear Sunscreen.

Speaker 2: 41:18

Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Now, that's a beautiful quote, because both my mum and dad, I had lost them. They died before I was 25. So you know, and I've got friends today I've got really my very, very, very closest best friend, james, has still got his parents and they're in their 90s and and he appreciates them and that's beautiful. But so many people I know just take their mum and dad for granted. And you know, I would love to be given two minutes just to go back and see, tell me about what did you? How did this? What you know? There's a thousand questions I would love. So get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Quote number one and um. Quote number two same same song.

Speaker 2: 42:03

Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly. In this day and age of social media, where everybody's wanting to be a famous for 15 minutes or even longer and they're getting the you know the cosmetic whatever's going on there, um, you know there is real beauty and it saddens me when I see some some really beautiful young people of both of both genders, um, doing things themselves. That. But you know what? I'm? Just a grumpy old man maybe, but there is. Don't try to live up to other people's expectations of you. Be yourself and be completely comfortable in your own skin, and certainly do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.

Speaker 1: 42:51

Lovely quotes. And now, with the gift of hindsight, what notes, help or advice might you proffer to a younger version of you, john Philp?

Speaker 2: 43:00

Again, keep a diary, keep a journal, which I had, make an entry every day, even if that entry is just nothing happened today, because, quite frankly, there's never a day goes by where nothing happens.

Speaker 1: 43:12

There's never a dull day.

Speaker 2: 43:16

So, even if it's a couple of lines, keep a diary, don't stress about your life, don't worry about the future, because you know that will happen. You know, yeah, take good decisions when you can, but don't worry about the future. A lot of people are saying, well, I don't know what I want to do. I don't know, you know which university, what's your degree Nonsense. You know I'm 62. And seriously, chris, not just for a cheap laugh. Seriously, I sometimes think to myself I haven't yet figured out what I'm going to do when I grow up, really. And finally, I would tell my younger self, I would tell my younger self invest in Apple Lovely.

Speaker 2: 44:02

What's the best piece of advice you've ever been given? Advice is a form of nostalgia, and be careful whose advice you buy, because it's just somebody else's recycled truth. And find your own way forward in life.

Speaker 1: 44:21

And now we're ramping up to, in a short moment, shakespeare to talk about legacy, just before we get there. This is the pass, the golden baton moment, please, and I'd like to invite you to keep the golden thread of the storytelling alive by passing on the golden baton to somebody else in your network who you think would appreciate being given a damn good listening to in this way.

Speaker 2: 44:40

Look, he might not thank me for this, but I'm going to say this in any case, a guy who is, in my humble opinion, one of the greatest storytellers that we have on the circuit of international speakers, and that is the one and only Stan Slap. So I'm going to offer Stan the opportunity to accept your role in baton.

Speaker 1: 45:04

A privilege and a joy. Thank you so much. And now, inspired by Shakespeare and all the world's esteemed and all the bitter-witted merely players, we're now going to dig into the Seven Ages of man construct, to talk about legacy and how, when all is said and done, john Philp, you would most like to be remembered.

Speaker 2: 45:21

Well, I'm going to live forever, but I suppose that's not true how we're like, you know. It kind of brings me back to Alfred Nobel. You know, and you possibly know this, chris, but what is Alfred Nobel really famous for? Prize giving? Exactly, there's five or six categories science and literature, and peace, and all of that. But that's not what he was really famous for.

Speaker 2: 45:46

Now, back in 1889, there was Alfred Nobel having his cornflakes reading the Times or whatever it was, over his breakfast and he had the fortune to read his own obituary obituary. And the obituary and Alfred Nobel's obituary. The headline was Alfred Nobel, merchant of Death, is Dead. Now it then went on to confirm that Alfred Nobel was the inventor of TNT dynamite, and the article talked about the amount of death and the amount of destruction and the amount of heartache. That was used during wars and such like.

Speaker 2: 46:23

And that was the wake-up call that Nobel actually needed to sort of say God, I don't want to be remembered just for being the guy who invented dynamite. And that is when he invested in his will, within his will the following year sorry, in 1895, when he rewrote his will and it was published in 1896 when he eventually did die, that he then set up the, the Nobel Foundation for for prize giving, um. So with that in mind, um, I think it's important to understand that we do have a legacy and and I didn't write a lot down, but I did write this one down because I think I think it's important just to quote it rather than just, you know, paraphrase it so, personally, I hope to be remembered as the guy that knew how to throw a great party, who brought great people together and had a load of fun.

Speaker 1: 47:15

Lovely. Thank you so much. And where can we find out all about John Philp? On the old interweb, where?

Speaker 2: 47:24

can we find out all about John Philp on the old interweb, okay, croftconsultancycom, c-r-o-f-t consultancy, croftconsultancycom, and also that's all one word, by the way and also the xplioacademycom. You'll find us there. We're going to be launching some very interesting solutions there in the next couple of weeks. But, yeah, definitely, and also just link in, you know, link in with me. I would very, very much welcome that, and I think also the last you know. Well, no, I might be given the opportunity to have one final question. But seriously, lincoln Croft Consultancy, xplio Academy.

Speaker 1: 48:09

As this has been your moment in the sunshine, in the Good, Listening To show Stories of Distinction and Genius. Brand Strand found a story. Is there anything else you'd like to say, John?

Speaker 2: 48:18

Phelps. Thank you, chris, very much for this opportunity. You've made it painless and easy. You're such a gentleman and you're an easy guy to talk to, so thank you for that. If you're and here's my last point if you're an accomplished leadership trainer, facilitator, coach and you're wanting and interested to develop new opportunities and you don't mind working in, you know great places like Ireland and the UK and perhaps the Middle East, contact me through LinkedIn, drop me an email and let's talk.

Speaker 1: 48:53

What a wonderful invitation. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much. You've been listening to the well, the facilitating glitterati legend that is Mr John Philp. Thank you so much for greasing us with your presence. Check out the website at thegoodlisteningtoshowcom and, yes, we get into the who, the, what, the where, the, why, the, how, the and where we can find out to come and work with you. So, ladies and gents, I've been Chris Grimes, that's been John Philp. Good night, you've been listening to the Good Listening To Show. Thank you, care of my level up your impact program. That's chris at second curve dot uk on twitter and instagram, it's at that, chris grimes. So until next time for me, chris grimes, from uk health rodeo and from stan to your good health and goodbye. So, john philp, you've just been given a damn good listening to. Can I get your immediate feedback on what that was like being curated through this structure?

Speaker 2: 50:06

Fantastic, Chris. Seriously, you come into this situation with a little bit of intrepidation, wondering how it's going to go. It was very easy. Your skillful questioning and your pleasant demeanor made it very easy. So, yeah, I just hope I didn't embarrass you too much not in the slightest kind.

Speaker 1: 50:26

So thank you so much for the wonderful um. Stan slap baton pass as well. He's actually been exchanging um. We've exchanged today and I think he's already up for it, which is really wonderful. I'll just stop recording there.