Overconfident and Under-equipped

A Curious Life

Richard Potter advises business leaders around the world on a range of digital transformation challenges. However, it's the building of innovative enterprises that is his real passion.

In his day job, Richard works with Microsoft's customers giving them clarity and confidence about their digital journeys, helping them turn their aspirations into transformational business results.

He is a renowned keynote speaker and event facilitator with an energising and engaging style. He lives in the UK but travels extensively, shamelessly collecting and telling stories everywhere he goes.

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Transcript

Hadley: [00:00:00] So welcome to the show, Richard. Great to have you.

[00:00:04] Richard: [00:00:04] It's great to be here. Great to be here.

[00:00:07] Hadley: [00:00:07] Cool. So, so look as you know, We want to essentially get to understand the essence of our guests, right? Uh, we want to know what makes you tick. We want to know what brings you alive, and we want to know how the trait of curiosity has impacted you over your life and career, uh, from when you were young through to now.

[00:00:26] Uh, so, so what we'll do is we will have campfire, like discussions, uh, imagine yourself sitting around a campfire and we telling the story of our lives and tag. You it. So before we get into the, the essence of Richard, tell me what does curiosity mean to you?

[00:00:48] Richard: [00:00:48] Wow. I would say Hadley. I think curiosity ultimately is the measure of your success to navigate the world.

[00:00:56] It's just, it's so important to me, what it really is in my head at least, is that little sweet spot between humility and confidence. It's the humility to recognize that there's learning everywhere, but it's, it's coupled with that, that self-confidence to investigate and make sense of it. And it's that fine balance between those two bits and your ability to sit in that sweet spot I would contend is the greatest ability that you can have in your life.

[00:01:34] Hadley: [00:01:34] That makes sense. In fact, I think I take the confidence thing just one step further and saying it's also the confidence to ask questions because so many people don't have the confidence to ask questions. Then most of the times everybody else in the room would ask if only they had the self-confidence to know that the lack of understanding a specific question, or having the answer to a specific question, doesn't define your worth.

[00:02:01] Richard: [00:02:01] Yeah. Yeah. And I think that's so, that's so true, Hadley. It is that confidence of inquiry. Isn't it, rather than the confidence of conceit in thinking that there is no more to know. So it is. Yeah. I mean, it's in that, that location.

[00:02:18] Hadley: [00:02:18] Awesome. I love that. In fact, one of the things I always say is, and this it's not being cocky, but it's being confident in your ability to learn something.

[00:02:27] And I firmly believe that I can do anything that anyone else can do. As long as I've had the same exposure to get to that point because nobody just knows what they know or can do what they do well without what has come before.

[00:02:42] Richard: [00:02:42] So that's great. And you know, a nice thing. This is what the topic of your conversations are with, with your guest in this space.

[00:02:50] Is, is that, that, that exposure, how did everybody through exposure through their lives, equip themselves with the ability to be curious. That's where we are.

[00:03:03] Hadley: [00:03:03] Awesome. So speaking of life now, come on. Tell us, where were you born? Did you have siblings? You know, how many? What were your parents like? Give us, give us a little window into your world.

[00:03:12] Richard: [00:03:12] Well, I mean, I kind of feel now beholden that we've got this sort of curiosity, narrative and editorial all my life. So it's sort of, it kind of makes more sense that way I think. um, I was, I was born in Africa. Um, I was born in actually quite a remote part of Southern Zambia. Um, and that, the only thing is, is that I was, I was born to, um, a couple of, I suppose, I don't know, I mean, lower middle class, upper working class, um, you know, uh, folks that went out to Africa completely.

[00:03:48] Well, it was my, my father, my father was a very bright guy that managed to get a scholarship to this grammar school and then got into Cambridge and, and then became an agronomist. Hadley: So I know exactly what that is. Don't even bother explaining what is an agronomist. Richard: Let me indulge you, Hadley. I mean, he's an agricultural advisor. So he was an expert in plants, in crops and, um, in, in growing grass and Maize and things like that.

[00:04:22] And at that time, which I suppose was sort of the late sixties, many of the British empire territories were now independent, but, but the, the British Commonwealth was, was, was seeding these, these new countries with experts. Um, and my father was, was one of them and he was dispatched out to a small town in Southern Zambia, um, to help run a research station, to, to look at the impact on crops and production, and also to train up local experts so that they could, they could sort of pick up some of that expertise and, and harness it for their own country's development.

[00:05:04] So, I mean, the thing that always strikes me, whenever I talk to my parents about their journey there was, was their naivety, utter naivety about what, what on earth they were doing. Particularly my mother, who, who I think had, had, had maybe a single trip to the continent beforehand, but had never ventured out into the wilderness or there was something.

[00:05:30] There about that curiosity and the self-confidence to be, to be curious in that space.

[00:05:39] Hadley: [00:05:39] Don't you think that naivety is actually essential? Cause you know, cause sometimes we overthink things and, and, and you know, back to kids, kids just go out, ah well, I'm going to try this. Right. Exactly. And then the naivety is actually

[00:05:52] I think it's a strength because sometimes we overthink things and we stop ourselves from doing something even before we've tried it.

[00:05:58] Richard: [00:05:58] Absolutely true. Absolutely true. And I do, I reflect on quite, quite regularly. My, my father passed away in 2012. Um, and I had the privilege of standing up and saying, if you were at his funeral and I can remember there was one, one line that I very, very, very frivolously threw into what I was saying about him was, was that much of my childhood and my, my two siblings

[00:06:21] I have an older sister and a younger brother. Um, much of our experiences as children growing up in Africa, um, were defined by the fact that most situations we were in, we were overconfident and under equipped. And then, and then solve it and then. And then deal with it, uh,

[00:06:43] Hadley: [00:06:43] but does that mean that actually it wasn't being overconfident.

[00:06:46] If you actually solve the problem in the end, wasn't overconfidence, it just meant it was harder than you thought it would be

[00:06:51] Richard: [00:06:51] a little way in a, in a, in a homily to my father. But, you know, I think that that ability to, you know, to go out into some of the, you know, the, the biggest wildernesses that you can imagine, um, get.

[00:07:05] Yeah, absolutely lost. Um, but then have this belief that you can negotiate your way out of this. Um, my, my childhood is littered with those stories littered with them.

[00:07:21] Hadley: [00:07:21] So tell us more then. So you mentioned siblings, so your, your mom and your dad that sound amazing and a massive influence influence in your life?

[00:07:30] I would, I would, no doubt imagine.

[00:07:32] Richard: [00:07:32] Yeah, siblings. I've got a, an eldest sister. My sister, Sarah was born two years before me. Uh, and then my, my, my brother is five and a half years younger than me. Um, we were all born in Africa. I, me and my sister were born in Zambia, but by the time my brother came along, we'd actually, we'd actually relocated and moved to Kenya.

[00:07:51] Um, but we were still, we were still living, uh, uh, slightly an intrepid life of some description. Um, and, uh, and experiencing, experiencing, you know, drama and lessons and learning in, in every, every day that we, we survived. Um, and it was, it was terrific and, and, and very much defined by the attitude of my parents, the way that my, my parents dealt with.

[00:08:21] I mean, these weren't life-threatening situations in any way, but the way that the, the little dramas that, that we were exposed to as, you know, as kids growing up, um, I'm sure I carry that with me now. And it drives that curiosity that I have that we're, we're now talking about.

[00:08:41] Hadley: [00:08:41] Fantastic. And, and what about the local people?

[00:08:42] What was life like? I mean, how old were you when you left, but before you get there, You know, what was school like? Um, what, what was your interaction with other kids and people like in families around where you were?

[00:08:55] Richard: [00:08:55] I remember it well, you know, everywhere that we live because of the nature of my father's work, we lived out of town.

[00:09:03] We lived out in, you know, out at, not in the back of beyond that, but certainly out in a rural environment in a sort of an agricultural environment, close to close to the local community. Um, I, I went to school in relatively privileged circumstances. I tended to go to school, uh, British schools that were equipping me for

[00:09:28] you know, the kind of education that my parents felt that I needed. Um, but much of my, my, my life outside school was, was in the community. Um, and I think that it was always very important for my parents to, to remember the privilege that I had and to, you know, to, to, to accept that, that those that were surrounding us were, were significantly less

[00:09:56] less privileged than we were. Um, so I, I mean, I'm very, I'm very conscious of that as well as, you know, as we, as we’d grown up and it's something and I'm sure we'll talk about it later on, but I th th the deep connection that I still retain with Africa, I think is very much influenced by, by those, those kinds of values that my parents were instilling in me at that, at that young age.

[00:10:20] Hadley: [00:10:20] Okay. And, and how did that contrast? So, so I'm assuming just quickly, how old were you when you then left? Uh, Africa essentially?

[00:10:28] Richard: [00:10:28] So I was, I, my entire childhood was in Africa and I think my parents left Africa when I was at university back in the UK.

[00:10:39] Hadley: [00:10:39] I see. So you live like all the way through even high school

[00:10:41] Richard: [00:10:41] Live lived all the way there. Um, when I was 13, I was dispatched back over to the UK for boarding school, but still journeying back out to Africa three times a year and spending my holidays out there.

[00:10:55] Hadley: [00:10:55] Okay, cool. Now. What was the contrast like? So essentially you spend you, you, your days and the social side of life within the community, and you'll spend your schooling within I guess what is, what was more of a British, um, environment, right?

[00:11:12] Yeah. What, what was that like? Um, and how did that impact you? Your way of thinking and. Um, you know, conversing with others.

[00:11:20] Richard: [00:11:20] Yeah. You know, it's different. I mean, this is, this is relatively distanct, so I'm sure I'm post rationalising a significant amounts of it. But, but I certainly felt that we, you know, we were very

[00:11:34] we were very exposed to the challenges, the, the, you know, the, the local communities were facing at that time. Um, you know, it was, it was an environment within which you, you weren't, you weren't experiencing starvation and famine, but you know, you, you were very aware of things like the impact of the rains and weather, you know, if the rains would come on crop harvests.

[00:12:00] And, um, my father being my father was, was always stepping forward, trying to help, um, you know, the challenges that, that local, local, you know, local farmers might have, you know, that that may be there. Their maize silo had burned down and he would be out fixing that, or he would be dealing with, you know, with, with, with mothers that had very poorly children.

[00:12:24] And, um, and I tagged along for much of that. I certainly remember some of my childhood being with my father and visiting, um, visiting communities a lot. Um, so yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, it was cool. It's a context. It was a backdrop to too much of, much of what I was, I was experiencing as I grew up.

[00:12:45] Hadley: [00:12:45] Okay, so that kind of takes us through your, your primary school career.

[00:12:48] So we know that at 13, uh, the, the dynamics change a little and you're off to boarding school, um, back in England, right? Where, where was that?

[00:12:57] Richard: [00:12:57] I actually went to boarding school up in North Wales. So my parents originally come from the Northwest of England. They're from, they're from Newearle.

[00:13:06] Hadley: Okay. So, um, on the border of Wales, essentially, right. Richard: In order to be close to my grandparents who were still living up in that part of the world, I went to, I went to boarding school up there and had a terrific time. I, you know, I, I loved the, um, The independence that I felt at boarding, uh, you know, I, I, I genuinely felt that, um, that I was, I've been given this opportunity to be responsible on my own.

[00:13:35] um, and built some great friendships and some of the friendships that I built there. And they're still still with me today.

[00:13:43] Hadley: [00:13:43] And what was, what was high school like then from, uh, you know, are they. And, and so now you, you, you essentially, as you say, you know, you, you learning at a very young age where normally kids would have that level of independence going into high school by perhaps. My son is in fact going, Oh, I can't even imagine that time has gone by so quickly, but he is starting high school in September.

[00:14:06] And one of the things that he's looking forward to is this level of independence that he gets to go to school on his bike, mom and dad freaking out, you know, is he going to cross the road safely? My boy, my baby, but

[00:14:21] he is, um, he's relishing it, you know, but you kind of got that on steroids. Not just are you going to school and coming back home by yourself, you are awake on a different continent from your parents, and I can completely understand now.

[00:14:35] You know, yeah. I need to grow up. I need to learn and I need to do it.

[00:14:38] Richard: [00:14:38] I think back on some of the anecdotes. So I am incredibly aware of the immense privilege that I experienced and being able to go to boarding school and then to be able to travel, travel back to, you know, you know, a very beautiful and warm country, like Kenya.

[00:14:58] Um, but. But the independence in that was stark. And you know, the idea that as a 13 year old, You would get on a train from North Wales, make sure you've got your passport. And it was on one of those trips that I forgot my passport, really 14 traveled down to London.

[00:15:22] Cross London, you know, get out to an air, an airport. Yeah.

[00:15:31] Without my passport. Um, and you know, and there, there are many opportunities and, and, uh, that, that are there for problem solving. And in that instance, particularly digital experience where I got halfway to London on the train before I realized that I had forgotten my passport. You don't panic because.

[00:15:52] You're recalling that time when you've been stuck in the Bush, in Africa, uh, overconfident and under equipped and you say Okay. What, what, what can I do? I'm I've got to think this problem through and do you, you somehow get through it and make it happen

[00:16:10] Hadley: [00:16:10] when growing up without much, you essentially are growing up in an environment that forces you to be innovative, forces you to think outside the box.

[00:16:20] To achieve something without necessarily, you know, all of the right resources, whether that's money, whether that's time, whether that's equipment, whether that's access to education. I think you are 100%, right. It's not really about the independence. It's about cultivating that ability to look at a challenge and have the confidence to go look, there is a way through this and we'll find it.

[00:16:47] And it might not look the way that, you know, uh, we might kind of envision it at first, but there's going to be a way through this. There's going to be a way around this. We will be okay.

[00:16:59] Richard: [00:16:59] Listen, Hadley. I mean, there are people that face incredibly difficult challenges and, you know, these are relatively frivolous experiences that we're talking about, but the thing, the thing that

[00:17:10] strikes me about is how easily I made the association between the fact that when you're in a moment of difficulty, you don't panic. You, you become curious and problem solve, and I, and I'm, I'm sure I, um, I see a very close line between that and the way that I was brought up by my parents. It's very obvious.

[00:17:35] Hadley: [00:17:35] Cool. So, so the rest of high school then, and I think, I mean already, I think we've touched on a big part of you, a big part of the way that you go about things and also why that has come about and how that was installed in you. Is there anything else within your kind of high school career, per se, that was memorable to you or something that you feel, you know, this had a significant impact on me, or it was kind of a key moment that that showed up because of curiosity.

[00:18:04] Richard: [00:18:04] Yeah. I mean, I suppose the big thing that I would probably draw from that was, was that I had an incredibly well-rounded education. I never did anything brilliantly, but I did lots of things relatively well. Um, so I, I made kind of the, this sort of the second team sports teams. I, I was in the, the, the drama activities and I was in the school plays and I did relatively well academically.

[00:18:34] Um, I, I just, I had a real, really broad experience of, of life through there and made some really really good friendships and obviously some great education from, from the teachers that I had. So I think that sort of presented me to the world at the end of this journey. With a rounded education, I was, you know, relatively confident...