Kieron Faller: Unlocking the Power of Work Culture

POWER to Live More with Jo Dodds

Kieron is now Human Resources Director at Maharishi Foundation International. This was recorded when he was CEO of Workio.

Kieron possesses an Executive MBA from the University of Cambridge, and is also an RSA fellow. He has had an interesting career path, starting out as a lawyer, finding his way into music industry technology, and ultimately realising his life’s passion: to make work better by unlocking the power of culture.

Kieron joins me today to discuss the importance of a strong and well-defined work culture, pulling from his personal experiences in various industries as well as those of his clients.

He shares invaluable insights on common employee-related business issues such as retaining employees, ensuring a healthy work-life balance, and unlocking the full potential of a company’s existing team instead of just looking for new people to fill old roles.

Additionally, Kieron sheds light on the benefits of co-working spaces, how he makes sure he successfully keeps his office and home lives separate, and why he doesn’t think of himself as someone with an entrepreneurial spirit.

“If employees were more closely involved in how the workplace works and in the cultural development of companies, possibly the push that people feel to start their own thing might diminish.”

Kieron Faller

This Week on The Power to Live More Podcast:

• Kieron’s interesting career history: from law to music industry technology to company culture.
• The main benefits he and his business partner get out of co-working spaces.
• Why it is absolutely critical to separate your office life from your home life.
• How his wife’s change of career led to Kieron’s re-examination of working culture in general.
• His insights on the issues surrounding recruitment, company management, and how to assemble a good team.
• Why he doesn’t really think of himself as entrepreneurial—and what actually pushed him to start Workio.
• How poor company culture management ultimately cultivates in employees the desire to leave and strike out on their own.
• How—and why— companies should master the art of maximising their employees’ potential, instead of focusing on seeking new candidates for existing roles.
• How Kieron works out his day-to-day schedule, including dealing with time pressure.
• His story of how he was running his business while finishing his MBA.
• His preference for paper books instead of digital copies, and how his love for reading has helped him in developing and applying strategies for his business.
• The similarities between democracy and company culture and how a more nurturing approach produces better results than forcing something to be positive.
• His insights on action-oriented leadership, and finding the right balance as an individual and as a group.
• The famous Facebook mantra of “moving fast and breaking things” — and why it may no longer be the best strategy to apply in today’s business scene.
• The value of thinking about the consequences before performing specific actions.
• Why Kieron finds it necessary to strike a balance between female authors and male authors in his reading pile.
• The need for realistic friends who can rein us in when dreams, ideas, and projects start to spiral out of control.
• The value of thinking within a system versus thinking that everything is about you as an individual.
• How Kieron handles bad days and good days.

Resources Mentioned:

• Slack
• HubSpot
• Receipt Bank
• Xero
• The Economist
• Courier Magazine
• WIRED Magazine
• The Blazing World by Siri Hustvedt
• Gardens of Democracyby Eric Liu and Nick Hanauer

Connect with Kieron Faller:

• Workio website
• Workio on Twitter
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• LinkedIn

Connect, Share, Inspire

Thank you for joining me for this week’s episode of the POWER to Live More Podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and would like to help support the show, please head over to iTunes or Stitcher, subscribe to the show and leave your honest review! You can also help me reach even more amazing business owners and leaders by sharing your favourite episodes on your social media channels.

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Show notes provided (brilliantly, my words not theirs!) by Lidwell Writing Services, LLC

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