Brad Bennett is the co-founder & director of EPiC Agile, a full-stack agile transformation company, with 60+ coaches in 3 countries across south-east Asia.

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1) To kick things off, could you tell us a little about your career background and current role?

I am one of the founders of EPiC, we are disruptors in the management consulting space taking on the big boys like McKinsey, Bain & PwC and beating them at their own game.

We accelerate companies towards their strategies by specialising in best practices to reduce cost, build culture and amplify profit. We work in complex human ecosystems to break down silos, carve out business value and enable outcomes.

2) What does a day in the life look like for you? Can you take us through a recent workday?

6am: EXERCISE: My morning starts at the gym (6am) I love the HIT classes to get moving.

7am: MEDITATION: After the gym I drive to the beach and practice sound healing meditation with the waves crashing in.  My aim is to super-charge every cell in my body with vibrancy for the day ahead.  

8am: MORNING EXEC CALLS: I make any calls I need to my client executives before the day kicks in.  This is critical to build relationships and set up the day for success.

9am – 5pm: WORK DAY: My work day consists of mainly two types of conversations:

• developing strategic transformation roadmaps with leaders; or 
• getting transformation updates on planned in flight work.  

2pm: MINDFULNESS: I eat my lunch outside in the garden with a technology free policy, soaking up the sun on my face and listening to the birds. Even if it’s seven minutes, this mental break is like a bubble bath for the mind. The trick is, you CAN’T think about work otherwise your brain does not get a chance to rest.  I force myself to feel the breeze, to hear life outside and to breathe.

5pm: WALKING MEETING: I try to make my final few meetings of the day walking meetings.  This gets me out of the house and connects me back into nature. I have a few parks and golf courses nearby so walking up and through them when I am on calls is a great way to finish and depending on the meetings I will bring the dogs with me.

3) Does your current role allow for flexible or remote working? If so, how does that fit into your life and routine?

We are experts in hyper-collaboration and remote working, since the COVID-19 outbreak our business has experienced 100% growth.  We teach and enable remote collaboration so my time is spent jumping between zoom, microsoft teams and google video calls.

My days are  back to back meetings with executives across multiple industries.  I know better than anybody that to gain high performance humans need balance, time and space to process information and be creative. My challenge during these times is to find the balance between being in online meetings and getting work done, and prioritise my mental health.

4) What does work-life balance mean to you and how do you work to achieve that goal?

Flow. Finding flow is our challenge as human beings. Flow or being in the zone enables creativity, innovation, and allows the ability to solve complex problems.

To maximise flow humans need time & space, time to process the information and space to move, breathe and listen to get our thoughts aligned. I don’t always get it right, but I try and attempt to mix time & space into my day to maximise flow.

5) What do you think are some of the best habits or routines that you’ve developed over the years to help you achieve success in your life?

Exercise, meditation, mindfulness, genuine honest connection to other human beings.   

Listening to music everyday, I am not a great singer but I sing and I groove & dance because I always feel lighter and happier afterwards. Next time you’re alone, put on some music, sing and dance and tell me you don’t feel better. People who do this, already know one of the keys to happiness.

Laughter, find things to laugh about, and laugh. My wife is an amazing laugher, she can laugh at a frown or the noise of a sigh, surround yourself with people who laugh and laugh with them even when you don’t want to, especially when you don’t want to.

6) Are there any books that have helped you improve over the years?

• The Peaceful Warrior
• Papillon
• The Power of One
• The Power of Now

7) What is the number one thing you do to make sure you get the most out of your day?

Be kind. Life kicks like a mule, be kind to everyone you come in contact with, create a community of kindness.

8) If you could read an interview about work-life balance by anyone, who would that be?

I find politicians the most fascinating, they have so much going on, so many balls in the air that they need to stay abreast: Biden, Obama, Trump, Bush, Clinton, Johnson, Blair, Major, Thatcher, Putin, Yeltsin, Howard, Hawke.

9) Do you have any last thoughts on work, life or balance that you’d like to share with our readers?

Find your flow.

Find what makes you smile, and do more of it.  What works for others won’t always work for you so dont alway follow others, find your own path to maximise your vibrancy, and do more of that.  Cook, jump, draw, run, read, laugh, bend, knit, surf, smile.

If you want to be truly high performing in life for a long time you need to learn how to switch off and be you.

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