Summary: this episode of On the Brink, Andi Simon speaks with Alastair Frost about what it truly means to be future ready in a fast-changing world. Together, they explore how curiosity—asking “why” and “what if” like a child—opens the door to new possibilities, and how reclaiming our natural creativity helps individuals and organizations move beyond comfort and complacency. Rather than trying to predict the future, Frost encourages leaders to focus on what is inevitable and to build the mindset and habits that keep them adaptable, relevant, and ready for whatever comes next.
On On the Brink with Andi Simon, we often explore one central question: how do you keep from
getting stuck or stalled in a world that refuses to stand still? Perhaps you need to trust your curiosity.
In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Alastair Frost, a former Microsoft executive turned global keynote speaker and author of Ready Already. Alastair brings a refreshing and deeply practical perspective on what it means to be “future ready” in a time when change feels constant, overwhelming, and unpredictable.
As an anthropologist, I often remind audiences that humans have always been innovators. When our ancestors harnessed fire, they transformed not only how they ate but how their brains evolved. We are, by nature, adaptive and creative. Yet today, many leaders and organizations behave as if stability is the goal and change is the threat.
Allister Frost challenges that thinking.
Change Is Not the Enemy—Complacency Is
One of the most powerful ideas in our conversation is this: we are not resistant to change because we dislike it. In fact, as a species, we thrive on it. The problem is not change itself—it’s comfort.
Allister contrasts two corporate mindsets from his career. In one company, the mantra was, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” At Microsoft, the philosophy was closer to: “If it works today, it’s already becoming obsolete.”
That shift—from preservation to proactive reinvention—is at the heart of a future-ready mindset.
But here’s the nuance: Allister doesn’t ask leaders to predict the future. Instead, he invites them to prepare for what is inevitable.
The Power of “Inevitable”
Rather than speculating about what the world might look like in 20 years, Alastair suggests focusing on what is almost certain to happen in the near term.
Budgets will shift. Technologies will evolve. Customers will change their expectations. Systems that feel new today will eventually become outdated. Leadership will turn over. Markets will fluctuate.
If these shifts are inevitable, then the question becomes: are you ready already?
This approach feels practical and empowering. It pulls futurism out of the abstract and places it squarely in your hands.
The Frost Framework: A Practical Process for Growth Through Curiosity
Allister has developed what many call the “Frost Framework,” a simple but powerful growth cycle that individuals and organizations can use to stay adaptable.
At its core, the process begins with identifying what is inevitable and choosing one area to explore. But the real magic happens in what he calls three human “superpowers”—abilities that artificial intelligence cannot replicate at the same depth:
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Open: Approach your work with childlike curiosity. Ask “Why?” as if you are five years old. Why do we hold this meeting? Why do we serve customers this way? Why does this process exist at all? Curiosity cracks open possibility.
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Surprise: Give yourself permission to imagine bold, even ridiculous ideas. Most innovations begin as ideas that seem impractical. Let your thinking go big before reality trims it down.
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Tell: Courageously share your ideas in a way that invites collaboration. Replace “No, that won’t work” with “Yes, and…” That simple shift can transform defensive conversations into generative ones.
What I particularly appreciate is that this process is personal. It’s not about waiting for the CEO to hand down the strategy. It’s about each individual reconnecting with their own purpose and creativity.
Humility: The Leader’s First Step
For senior leaders, Allister emphasizes humility. The higher you rise, the easier it is to believe you must have all the answers. In reality, the opposite is true. The future is too complex for any one person to control.
A future-ready leader shifts from being a “know-it-all” to being a “learn-it-all.” That humility not only relieves pressure—it unlocks collective intelligence across the organization.
As I often say, humans are copycats. If leaders model curiosity, openness, and experimentation, others will follow.
Reclaiming Your Creative Mind Through Curiosity
One of the most striking moments in our conversation was when Alastair described how people physically shrink when he mentions creativity.
“I’m not creative,” they say.
But if you can daydream, you are creative.
Creativity and curiosity are not confined to a whiteboard in a dark conference room. It happens on morning walks, in the quiet moments between sleep and waking, in conversations where someone asks “What if?”
In fact, one of my favorite stories from our discussion involved a sales leader who realized that every time a client asked “What if?” he had ignored it. Yet that’s where the opportunity lived. He returned home and built an entirely new “What If” sales process.
That’s the shift—from defending the status quo to exploring possibility.
Is Your Curiosity Ready For These Changes?
In a time when so many feel overwhelmed by uncertainty, this episode is a reminder that you do not need to predict the future. You need to prepare your mindset.
Be curious.
Focus on what is inevitable.
Use your uniquely human superpowers.
Lead with humility.
Ask “What if?”
The times are changing. But they always have.
The question is not whether change will come.
The question is: are you ready already?
For more information about Allister Frost:
Allister’s profile
Website
allisterspeaks.com (Personal)
Connect with me:
Watch for our new book, Rethink Retirement: It’s Not The End–It’s the Beginning of What’s Next. Out on Amazon on February 23, 2026.
Listen + Subscribe:
Available wherever you get your podcasts—Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, YouTube, and more. If you enjoyed this episode, leave a review and share with someone navigating their own leadership journey.
From Observation to Innovation,
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Here is the full text of our podcast:
Andi Simon 00:00:02 Welcome to On the Brink with Andy Simon. I’m Andy, and as you know, my job is to get you off the brink. What you don’t want to do is get stuck or stalled. And so many of my clients are stuck or stalled. And I am always fascinated by how people can listen to the stories others can tell them and realize that my gosh, I can do that as well. But now we’re in a very fast changing time and people are either resisting it like humans do because they don’t like change, or they’re embracing it and they’re not quite sure where it’s going. But it seems like it’s fun to be on a journey. Today I have Alastair Frost here with us. Alastair is from the UK, so thank you for joining me across the oceans. I appreciate it. and he’s going to talk about the work he does to help people be future minded at a time when it is a mindset. How do we begin to adapt for what we don’t know and how do we play? I like curiosity, and I bet he’s going to help you understand how you can take your curiosity and understand the future of work and of life in a time when we are uncertain what’s coming next.
Andi Simon 00:01:13 Remember, as an anthropologist, somewhere around 100,000 or 400,000 years ago, we invented fire. And that little technological transformation gave us food that we could eat and digest, and our brains were transformed. And look where we are now. We’re not quite sure, but we do know that there’s new stuff coming. Let me give you a very brief background of Alastair, and he’s going to tell you more about his story. He was with Microsoft in the UK and I’m about 15 years ago. So this is sort of a new old story. And he built a reputation for challenging conventional thinking. I understand because I as an anthropologist, I’m always asking, but what could we. And after leaving corporate, he developed a wonderful career as a speaker, advising and mentoring leaders. He’s known for breaking growth myths that keep organizations stuck or stalled. Now, I have one book called Smashing the Myths of Women in Business. Rethink. I have a new book coming out called Rethink Retirement Smashing the Myths. Mis is human and they’re also holders.
Andi Simon 00:02:15 They keep us back. Then there’s the mindset and the psychological safety. And then we have all kinds of things that are going to keep us from doing what we have to. So on that note, I want us to introduce you to Alastair Frost, whether you’re watching or listening. Alastair, thank you for joining me today. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. Who’s Alastair? What are you going to help us with?
Allister Frost 00:02:37 Thanks, Andy. That’s a magnificent introduction, wasn’t it? And you went right back there to when we invented fire. I had no idea you’d been around for quite so long. I’ve also been around the block a few times, and, but, And I’ve seen a lot.
Andi Simon 00:02:51 I don’t think about it. I mean, as humans, we are creators, and we’re curious and who knows how we took what was fire that happened and turned it into something we controlled. and I don’t need to talk about all the right tools, but, you know, fire is my fascination.
Andi Simon 00:03:07 You know, how did you do that? Right?
Allister Frost 00:03:08 Yeah, yeah. It’s something I often say to audiences and remind them. And you said they’re. You know, we don’t like, change in the intro. Actually, I challenge that because I think actually human beings in a world where there is no change would be extremely bored because we are the most adaptable, change, resilient species on Earth. That’s why we invented fire. That’s why we’re talking across the ocean using this incredible technology. And, you know, not, you know, foraging around in the forest for food to eat, like, the pigs or, you know, other animals. So, we are an extraordinary species, for change. But we have unleashed so much change upon ourselves. I think there are new skills that we have to learn just to keep up and thrive and stay relevant and useful in the workplace particularly well.
Andi Simon 00:03:54 You know, though, the brain, that oldest reptilian part, the amygdala, likes to delete me, likes to fight me, flee me, fear me, and protect whoever is listening to us.
Andi Simon 00:04:06 So for today, I’m going to ask the audience every time your brain says no, but say, that’s a good idea and listen to your brain change as it’s listening to the good ideas. So, Allison, Allison, before we get too far along, who are you? What is your story?
Allister Frost 00:04:23 Well, my story is I spent 20 years in the magical world of the corporate businesses, American businesses with Kimberly-Clark, that great manufacturer of soft paper products for intimate parts of the body. But also, I then, after ten years, went to join Microsoft. And that was in that was 15 years ago nearly that I left Microsoft. I was there for a decade and I lived through some extraordinary, transformative times. I’m an advertising guy, a marketing guy by background. And so I really led Microsoft through the transformation from analog, traditional forms of communication into a lot of the digital stuff that has taken over our world. And whilst I would not accept full responsibility for some of the horrors that that is unleashed upon our world, I do accept that, you know, it was a really transformative time.
Allister Frost 00:05:11 But now what I do is I saw what I was at Microsoft, that the difference between those two career things. So Kimberly-Clark, a very traditional manufacturing company and brilliant company, don’t get me wrong, but and I still meet clients are a bit like this. They kind of had this mindset, well, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. And it was this attitude of it’s okay. You know, we’re doing well. Let’s keep going. And yet, even all those 25 odd years ago when I joined Microsoft, Bill gates was already trying to get the world to wake up to the fact that if something works today, it is already obsolete. If something works, it’s obsolete. And it was the juxtaposition of those two mindsets that really fascinated me. How could we? How would the world transform itself from. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it to. It’s already broken. We have to fix it and keep going. And that’s really what I’ve spent the last 15 years doing, is working with organizations, leaders and teams to help them think about change differently, to recognize that it’s not a threat, it’s an opportunity.
Allister Frost 00:06:11 And there are so many things. Literally everything. If we accept that premise that everything is obsolete, so many things about the way we work, the way we live, that could be done differently. Now, that doesn’t mean we have to change them, but it does mean we have an opportunity to, if we choose.
Andi Simon 00:06:27 Help our audience understand the way you go about it. I’ll be brief on how I’ve learned. unless somebody sees it or does it, they don’t know what it is. And the resistance comes about out of the mystery, and the door opens and they don’t know whether they should go through or not. And so as you’re working with organizations, my hunch is that you get a joy out of helping them change as opposed to the way it works. It’s, you know, it’s already obsolete. share with us your own approach, because I’m anxious to understand it and maybe apply it myself.
Allister Frost 00:07:06 The greatest thrill that I get. Andy actually is not at the organizational level. It’s at the individual level is when I speak to people or I speak to groups, but people talk to me afterwards and say, oh, wow, I realize I maybe have been cruising, I am, I have taken my foot off the gas.
Allister Frost 00:07:22 I’m not as open to learning as I used to be. And they realize suddenly when they confront the realities of our world and the speed with which things can change today, how quickly they themselves could become obsolete. you know, and that’s a that’s a hard work to use, but that’s the truth of it. Organizations. The economy relies on people who are smart thinking. They’re efficient, they’re fast. They’re doing things. They’re pushing boundaries. And as we gain experience in life, we get used to doing things a certain way and we get used to our comfort zone, don’t we? And so that’s the greatest thrill I get, is when individuals realize, I have got a little bit comfortable, I am protective of the status quo. Not because I know it’s the right way or the best way to do it, but because it’s what I know and therefore it feels safe. And so that’s what I try to help people to do. And fundamentally, it’s the simplest things, actually, that give me the greatest thrill is when people recognize that, you know, by doing something in a suboptimal way or sort of, you know, using a shortcut or just or just sticking with the old way of working because, oh, to learn the new thing would be quite a lot of work, recognizing that, you know, if by carrying on with the old ways, you are effectively borrowing time from the future, you know you’re borrowing time from your future and to make today a little bit easier, because at some point you are going to have to learn that new thing.
Allister Frost 00:08:44 You are going to have to confront that change, whether you know through your own choice or because the organization or the world imposes it upon you. And there are so many things, of course, you know, in life where new things come along and we have an opportunity, a choice, whether we want to embrace those or say, no, it’s not for me. It’s increasingly hard to stay in the workplace and useful if you choose to say, no, it’s not for me.
Andi Simon 00:09:09 I think for CEOs or leaders, some of the biggest challenges they have. I had one great client and I finally said to him, I’m leaving. I can’t work with you because you aren’t changing anything, but you’re asking it of your staff and you’re all humans are copycats. And if you’re going to go about doing things the way you always have, they are safer not risking their own jobs by doing things the way they always have. So with humans being copycats and leaders Resisting the new. How do you get them to begin to see what’s possible and to lead others down a pathway that could be or not be the right one? I mean, the uncertainty is what really is unsettling some of your wisdom.
Allister Frost 00:09:58 I think a lot of my work with leaders begins with getting back in touch with your own humility. And I think it’s quite hard when we’re in the more senior you get. I certainly experienced this the more you sort of, you know, people turn to you for advice and they seem to sort of hang on your every word and they do what you say and it’s all rather nice. But the truth is, with the world getting faster and faster, it’s harder and harder for any of us to be futurist or to know what’s coming. Frankly, nobody knows what’s coming. And that’s why I talk about being future ready rather than future proofed. It’s a very small difference in language. But when we think, think about, oh, here’s a process or a system or we’ve future proofed it, it’s kind of in the past tense. It’s finite, isn’t it? We’ve done that. We can now think about something else. No, you can’t, because it’s. It will still be. It can be improved again and again and again.
Allister Frost 00:10:46 So with leaders, what I. One of the stories that I say is that in my experience, I didn’t get better at predicting the future or knowing what we needed to do next. As I became more senior. Arguably I got worse because I was more detached from reality. I didn’t I wasn’t even close to the details. I was not really understanding customers as much as I was caught up in my bubble of leadership. And so humility is a wonderful skill. In fact, I’d say it’s the very first thing that you need if you want to have a future ready mindset, as I call it, is to accept that you do not have all the answers. It is unreasonable to put that pressure upon yourself, and nor should anybody else expect you to know exactly what is required next. So it’s that shift from being from having knowledge is power, from being a know it all to being just a curious learning tool, wanting to know the next thing and having that humility in front of your team members to say, look, I don’t know the answers.
Allister Frost 00:11:44 I’m going to be with you. I’m going to every step of the way, but I need your wisdom. I need every person in the team to look at what they know about the world, that we do, the job we do, and how we service our customers. And bring your ideas, because that’s where the richness will be. Not in what I see from my position. Humility is a wonderful thing. it’s quite nice as well for a lot of leaders as well, because it does rather take it takes the monkey off your back. This sort of pressure that you’ve been feeling. I’ve. I’ve got to have the answers. Give yourself a break. Why would you know what to do next any more than anyone else? The future is notoriously difficult to predict and harder now than ever before, so work with others. Tap into the wisdom of the crowd. Don’t put it all on your own shoulders.
Andi Simon 00:12:27 It’s so interesting listening to you, because I often preach that you can’t predict the future, but you can prepare.
Andi Simon 00:12:34 And since the future is actually already here, you know, it’s just not widely distributed yet. so now becomes a time of testing and testing. You know, how do you go explore? I’m going to explore my archetype. Explorer and philosopher. Don’t know how they come together, but I’m curious, like you are, about what’s possible. And my first book, On the Brink, was about eight of our clients who had gotten stuck or stalled. And as an anthropologist, I took them exploring you intuitively. Does that do that? But we went to see what their customers were doing, often not using the stuff they made, the way they thought they would, or go out to people they wanted to have as customers to see what they were doing. I encouraged them to be, you know, curious, go be as spend a day in the life. They said, what does an anthropologist do? I said, I hang out, listen to what people are talking about, and let that build an idea bank for you of things that are already beginning to come, and then begin to sort through a process for, you know, what’s hot, what’s not.
Andi Simon 00:13:39 What are we going to park? So process is involved. But curiosity in exploring is essential. And as you’re working with them, some of the things that you do to help them see the future that’s coming, it may already be here, but thoughts when?
Allister Frost 00:13:55 Because futurism and knowing what’s going to happen is hard. One of the words that I find quite helpful for a lot of people is to think about the inevitability is there are many things that are inevitable about our work and our lives. You might only sort of ascribe 90% probability to them, but they’re inevitable. Just as you know, if you plant a tree, it will grow leaves in the springtime and the leaves will fall off in the in the in the fall.
Andi Simon 00:14:19 Great metaphor.
Allister Frost 00:14:20 Right? We know that’s going to happen. And so we know that there will be budget cycles. There will be new leadership, there will be changes. We might not know when, but they are inevitable. They will happen. The new IT system that you’ve spent three years embedding.
Allister Frost 00:14:33 It won’t be new forever. It will get out. They’ll be outdated and something else will come along. That is inevitable. Yeah. Now, when you focus on the things that are inevitable, you’re investing your time more wisely than having a complete punt in the dark. You could. And there are so many things. So I describe a future ready mindset. It’s very simple process for individuals and organizations to think and plan for, to ready themselves for the inevitable changes and challenges of the future. And so that really brings your time frame. Focus brings it much closer to home. So you’re not thinking 20 years out. You know, it’s nothing. It’s probably three months out. Six months out. Don’t try to go further. What is inevitable. And there will be so many things at your spot, that you’ll quickly realize, oh, there are lots of things I could improve. And then the challenge is to focus on what is most important. Not to try to do everything. But the other word that you brought up there is curiosity.
Allister Frost 00:15:31 And it’s so important. It’s that I have a process that I it’s called the Frost Framework by a lot of people because it spells my initials, but I call it the radial growth cycle. And curiosity is the first of three superpowers in there that I love to get people to reconnect with human curiosity. And because I want this to be practical and easy for people to do, I try to make it very parochial. And I say to individuals, I want you to look at your job, look at your work, look at what you do with naive curiosity, like a child. Yes. Remember when you were a kid and you would ask mum, dad, anybody, any adult? Why all the time? Why, why, why, why, why go into work tomorrow? And literally when you park your car, start asking why? Like imagine you’re five years old. Why is that? Why is the car park so far from the front door? Why is the sign broken? Why is there not nowhere to put my trash in the car park? Yeah, like really obvious.
Allister Frost 00:16:28 Just like childlike questions. And it’s really hard to start doing this because it feels silly. But the minute you then apply that to your work, you say, well, why do we why do we have this meeting? Why do we have so many products? And you suddenly realize it is okay to question the way things are, and the beauty of doing that with your own work environment is everything you discover is something that you may have the ability to improve in some way. So that getting back to childlike curiosity, I think is a is a really great entry point to starting to see that I call it open in my model. It’s the O in frost. Open your mind to the possibilities that are there. It won’t tell you how you should improve things, but it will show you. Gosh, that could be different. That could be different. That could be different. And suddenly you’re overwhelmed with possibilities. Oh my goodness, nothing has to stay the way it is if I choose to make it better.
Allister Frost 00:17:24 That’s quite an empowering thing for not just for leaders, but actually for everybody in an organization, whatever your job, look at things like a child and question them.
Andi Simon 00:17:35 Now if it’s frost, what is the R then?
Allister Frost 00:17:37 So the R is well the r is reacting. So I should probably start with f. So this makes sense very quickly. F is followed. Follow is making a list of all the inevitable changes and things that you need to be a little bit better at in the very near future. Just make a list. Write down all those things, the books that you promised yourself you’d read, the podcast you subscribe to. You never got around to listening to the things that you wanted to learn. At some point you thought, wow, I’ve got to do that. And then life got in the way. Make that list and then pick one thing, and then the R is the react. And this is about validating that that is the right thing for your future. So go away and learn all about it and learn properly.
Allister Frost 00:18:16 Don’t just lazily ask AI or Google for an answer. You know. Learn like we used to learn. Read a book, talk to an expert, go to a conference. You know, really immerse yourself in the subject because it’s important to you. And then choose your reaction. That’s why it’s called react. Should I go deeper into this thing or not? Or is this actually maybe I’ve chosen the wrong thing. That’s a little check step I put in the process, because when there are so many possibilities for things we could improve, it’s really easy to pick the wrong thing because it looks the shiniest, it looks the most exciting. You know, it’s like, oh, I want to do that. But actually when a little bit of learning is, you quite often realize actually it’s not, it’s not all that. It’s not really what I want to do. Maybe there’s something else. So if that’s how you feel after learning, you just go back to the follow step and pick the next thing on your list that catches your eye.
Allister Frost 00:19:06 and then and then the last. So that’s follow and react. And then the O, S and T are my three superpowers that, as I call them, there are things that AI technology cannot do as well as the brilliant biological human brain. But there are skills that kind of get beaten out of us over time as we become adults, as we get set in our ways, as experience tells us how to do things. and so it’s open, which is open your mind with naive curiosity, surprise, which is surprised yourself firstly with the enormity of your creativity. And your ideas actually have ridiculously bold ambitions, ridiculously grand ideas about what we could I we should buy that company or, you know, things that you know, in your heart of hearts. They’re never going to happen. But actually allowing yourself to go to that that possibility and entertain it in your mind for a period of time sometimes uncovers that it isn’t so crazy, it isn’t so ridiculous. And you know how it is with ideas.
Allister Frost 00:20:04 They always get a little bit smaller. They always get beaten down by the practicalities of life. So, you know, surprise is about allowing yourself to go big before life and reality gets in the way. Yep. And that’s again a thing that humans do really well in Tech Hunt. And the final one is told to tell, which is about you’ve got to courageously tell others about what you’ve been thinking, what your dreams, your hopes and ambitions are. But do it in a way where they don’t do what you describe, which is to say, no, that won’t work, but get them to do it in a way where they say yes. And if we could try that. Yes. And so they’re being additive and constructive and helping you to turn those things from a vague notion or a crazy idea into something that collectively we think, actually we could do that, you know.
Andi Simon 00:20:49 You know, it’s interesting listening to you. I like your frost as a, a way of organizing the process, because there’s a process here of discovery and it’s not a shotgun.
Andi Simon 00:21:01 It’s got a bit of a focused and a rifle to it, which is much healthier for people as opposed to, bringing a lot of ideas. And we’ll figure out which ones, you know, are testable in some way and which ones are urgent, important, necessarily. Nice. I mean, you can there are lots of ways of organizing it, but this is the focus and the superpowers that humans have to discover, like an anthropologist might, Singh said, could enhance or change what’s going on. talk to me about how you help them hear what they are, or see actually what they’re seeing, because one of the problems people have been that I’ll have them listen to stories that people are saying, and they’re trying to fit it within their current box. And I keep saying no, don’t. It’s not what the box is. It’s what are they really saying. What do you hear. And it’s bigger than a box. And what you’re discovering is that your superpower isn’t sticking it in the box. It’s observing or thinking about what’s possible by creating a new sandbox.
Andi Simon 00:22:06 Perhaps people say out of the box, maybe you’re creating a whole new box. And it isn’t just simply being incremental, it’s being transformational. So how do we make them listen? How do we help people listen with, an open mind and without being limited by what they already know. Any thoughts?
Allister Frost 00:22:25 Well, the process that I prescribe. I do a lot of this through keynote speaking. That’s, you know, I travel around the world giving speaking of conferences and things like that. I’ve also got a book already. Already that goes through the nuts and bolts of the detail of it. But for me, the reason it works and it cuts through is because it’s really for each individual to do something that they truly feel personally motivated by. So, so that is in the center of my model. So you’ve got the frost which is the five steps. There is another piece in the middle of the model that I call Personal Mission. And that’s the heartfelt reason why you earn your success in the service of others.
Allister Frost 00:23:04 It’s about purpose. It’s about the recognizing the miracle of your work and how it benefits others in some way. Because we know that humans are social creatures and we are motivated by, you know, we might think it’s about money. We might think it’s about possessions, but the greatest source of happiness is knowing that you can help other people in some way, in a meaningful way. So what I try to do is I make this very focused on the individual as a process. Each person can have a different personal mission. They can be, depending on their life stage and their outlook and what, what floats their boat. And then they can pursue things that matter to them. So. So you know, this idea of, you know, or is it the box or am I reinventing the box and all that? In a way, your kind of driven to want to do that anyway, because this is something that truly matters to you. Yeah. And in an organization of a thousand people, in theory, we could have a thousand different things being followed.
Allister Frost 00:24:00 You know, in the first step, we could have a thousand different topics of interest across that organization. And that’s when you tap into the brilliant diversity of the human spirit, because we’ve got lots of people motivated by stuff, they really believe in but is also relevant to the work that they do and trying to be useful. And that’s so much more powerful than everybody sitting in a room and listening, a thousand people listening to one leader who thinks they’ve got the answer. They don’t. A thousand people with lots of different perspectives. Wow. We’re going to uncover some incredible changes.
Andi Simon 00:24:32 Sure. It’s so interesting. my husband and I both went to Brussels a number of years ago to become trained as innovation, games facilitators. and I love innovation games for exactly the reasons that you’re talking about. Because while I like to take people out to see things, sometimes the creative process requires us to play the game, and the games become a way of taking us out of every day into a zone where it’s safe to think big or different or be happy.
Andi Simon 00:25:05 And so, you know, some of the games, whether it’s a spiderweb or it’s reverse everything or it’s remembered the future. all of a sudden, they the mind opens up to Possibilities. And so the tools that we use are all there to. Open our minds to what’s possible. Now. Sometimes talking about the future becomes off putting. And so I just talk about what’s possible now. You know, you have what you know and the habits take over. But what’s possible let’s play, you know, let’s see how the creative process could open up bigger ideas that could add incrementally or transformational. So better ways to do things. And they’re open because it’s a game. And I share that with you. Sometimes it’s theater. I say let’s write a new script. This if it’s a new play and you can perform on stage as if you were, you know, Robert Redford or Vanessa Redgrave, and you can take on a new role. Oh, I can, yeah you can. And so all of these are tools to move people from my habits.
Andi Simon 00:26:06 I know what I’m doing to, oh, I can do something really new. This is such fun. Now, you do have a book. you want to tell us a little bit about it?
Allister Frost 00:26:14 Well, yes. The book’s called Ready Already? Which is. Which is what I want people to be. I want you to be ready already for whatever life throws at you next. Now you’re going to figure that out for yourself. it’s a very simple process because it’s about in the book really is a guidebook. It’s a companion to my talks, but it also operates as a standalone level. if you want to get stuck into this stuff. It’s got exercises in there, simple things, just to help you get out of your rut. Help. And there’s a there’s a fair amount in there about change and about breaking down our resistance to change and helping us to think differently about our relationship with it. and also to recognize that, you know, it’s in our best interest to have a go. Just try something.
Allister Frost 00:26:56 and then there’s a chapter on each of the, each of the steps in the process to guide people through it. And but yes, curiosity is one of my favorites. You know, you’re talking about the it’s wonderful when you get the sort of some sort of transformative experience like that, when you’ve got guided creative experience where your you people suddenly realize, oh, I’m allowed to have ideas. Oh, I can be creative. And I’m so tired of hearing it from people. As soon as I say the word. Right. This next bit is about creativity. You can actually physically see some people shrink in their chairs.
Multiple Speakers 00:27:26 Oh, this is this is the body language. Oh, what do you think? Open you.
Allister Frost 00:27:31 Eyes. Oh, I’m not creative. I’m not creative. And yet we’re all creative. If you can daydream, you’re creative. It’s as simple as that. And. And that’s one of the things I do talk about in the book, because it is the Frost framework or the ready or any growth cycle.
Allister Frost 00:27:44 It is quite and it’s quite an individualistic thing because I do want people to do it for themselves. Yes. And some people might discover that actually working at company X is not really where their future should be. It’s not, you know, it’s not about making people move jobs, but I want them to follow. You get one life. Live your life to the full. Be you. And so creativity is something that I do. Right in there. You’ve got to sanctify that we’re all differently creative. and some people. I’m most creative. I wrote this in the book because I’ve noticed this when I’m just waking up. There’s a moment for me where I’m just sort of waking up. I’m not quite awake up, but I’m not quite asleep. But my brain starts processing the day, and I love that moment when I realize I’m in it because I have some amazing ideas. The hardest thing is remembering them, of course, but I just I can just let my mind play. I’m thinking about the day.
Allister Frost 00:28:35 I’m thinking about what I was doing. Whatever it is, just let that happen. And I’m really creative in that moment as well as when I’m running or walking. You know, we’re all different. Very few people. I’ve asked the question thousands of times. No one has ever said to me that they’re most creative with a with a flip chart and a pen in the dark meeting room at the end of the corridor. You know that one.
Multiple Speakers 00:28:55 But you’re talking about we try to sort out.
Andi Simon 00:28:58 All of this information at night. Your brain is reorganizing the prior day, and it’s preparing. And one of the things that I often, you know, coach people to do is the night before put together what you need to do the next day. The next morning it’s your brain already organizing around it. I too, like you, find my mornings or my most rich plan. You know, I don’t know what happened the night before, but boy, you know, those ideas come together. And also things that I shouldn’t do and I often am fascinated by.
Andi Simon 00:29:28 I wake up and I say, you know, that’s not a good idea. I’m not going to do that. And I get out a little note to whoever we were discussing. I said, I woke up and it’s not a good idea if my wake up is not a good idea. the other thing I encourage people do is a quiet mind. It works so much better than a cluttered one. So go take a long walk. Quiet your mind. Don’t listen to any music or anything else. Just listen to the birds and quietly walk. Except here, it’s snowing. But it is. It is a way to let the mind do what it’s supposed to do, which is create solutions. And my last little wisdom ties in to yours is I’m stopped saying we don’t do that. Oh, my favorite words. When I walk into a new client, the first thing they tell me is, well, we don’t do that. And I said, well, that’s why you hired me because.
Multiple Speakers 00:30:16 You don’t do it.
Multiple Speakers 00:30:17 Oh, you could, maybe we could, Well, we don’t.
Andi Simon 00:30:20 Know how to do that. Of course you know how to do that. and your mind is perfectly happy in the old habits and doesn’t want to learn new, but you can and, and we can learn together.
Multiple Speakers 00:30:31 Now.
Andi Simon 00:30:32 This has been wonderful. Alastair. It’s terrific. Tell the listeners if they want to know more about you. Where can they do that?
Allister Frost 00:30:39 Oh, it’s really easy if you can spell my name. Alastair, that’s probably the hardest bit here. A double l I s t e r. It’s very unusual spelling. Alastair Frost, you will find me online. You can go to me. And that will help you to start getting ready already. You’ll find lots of information there about the book, about what I do. And I love it when people reach out. So please let me know your thoughts. It’s always good to hear from people.
Andi Simon 00:31:04 Also, tell us a little bit about what do you do? I heard keynotes and I hear clients, but, you know, it was sort of scoop it out a little better so people can appreciate the kind of wisdom you can bring to them.
Allister Frost 00:31:15 Very often I work with C-level leadership teams, so I work with them to help them to just confront what is the change agenda. Why is it working? Why is it not working? What could we do differently? And I helped those leaders to start to see things differently. And then often I’ll go down through the organization, different departments and teams, training, workshops, masterclasses, virtual training, all sorts of things. And also, of course, as you mentioned, those keynote talks. So I’ll, I’ll, I’ll put on a show. I’ll, I’ll, I’ll jump on the stage and I’ll get everybody energized and excited. And one of the things I love to do is to get a few superheroes up on stage two.
Multiple Speakers 00:31:52 To.
Allister Frost 00:31:53 Show how easy it is to have those superpowers, and to actually use them to good effect, and to remind we it’s okay to ask why. It’s okay to say what if to dream big. And when you communicate that to the right people, incredible things can happen.
Allister Frost 00:32:10 So that’s how it all works.
Andi Simon 00:32:12 I give you a what if story and then we can wrap us up. I was doing a workshop in Chicago, and somebody from Ohio sent his sales manager in and he said, oh my gosh, I was out with our sales team listening to the client, and they were going to buy the product. We were making our commission. But the client kept saying, what if? Could you do you know, who, how do we. And I ignored everything he said, but that’s where all the opportunity was.
Multiple Speakers 00:32:40 Yep.
Andi Simon 00:32:40 He went back to Ohio and created the what if sales process. And I throw that out to you because what if, what if, what if is really where all the opportunities are. So rather than destroy the opportunities, you can sell your product. But the client needs more than just your product. They need your wisdom. And so all of this opens up your mind to listen and hear what people are saying with an open mind. And, you know, people say, well, that takes us in other directions.
Andi Simon 00:33:09 I said, that may be exactly where you need to go today in another direction. You don’t know what you don’t know.
Allister Frost 00:33:15 This is I love that story. I love that story. I mean, what if. Yeah, if you’re selling what if is a very clear buying signal. Most of the time, because it is, it shows someone is putting in the cognitive effort to process the possibilities, and they’re starting to see other scenarios that they might also like to buy. But of course, it’s also really powerful. If you’re not selling, you’re not trying to buy. You’re literally just trying to figure out what your future could be. Well, what if Dream Big smashed together two things that have never been together and there’s a new possibility. but do that in a way that works for you. We’re all creative differently. And when we recognize that and understand that and sanctify those moments, celebrate them. Go for a walk. I will just before we go, I’ll add something because my friend told me this.
Allister Frost 00:33:59 I love this tip. he went for a walk with his dog, and he normally listens to some music or something on his on his headphones, and by accident he pressed the wrong button on his on his headphones. And they had different modes. A lot of noise cancelling headphones have this, and this was one that amplifies ambient sounds. So it’s actually the listening mode. And he realized that he could now hear his footsteps in the in the grass and the mud. He could hear the dog walking along making more noise. And he said this was the most extraordinary soundscape to walk with because it amplified. It really made everything more, more intense. And that for him was a way of partly just disconnecting, but also allowing your brain to just go to a different place. So I’ll give that tip to you. It’s not mine. It comes from Nikki Forster’s brilliant idea. maybe try that next time you’re on a walk. Don’t listen. Well, obviously listen to this podcast because it’s brilliant. But don’t listen to music.
Allister Frost 00:34:52 Just if you’ve got some of those headphones, try the different modes and just really try to not just listen to the birds, have them really amplified and make it even more intense.
Andi Simon 00:35:01 Now your point, though it’s interesting because he didn’t have to do anything with it. He just had to be experientially open to growing, right? You don’t have to do it all. You just need to see possibilities because you don’t really know where that’s going to come into play with something else that comes to you. And I often say, listen to what people say, because life is full of serendipity. They will say something and you’ll say, you know, I was listening to someone yesterday, or I heard my feet in the grass and all of a sudden things emerge. And that’s the way our lives have been designed, right? To grow. Isn’t this fun? Well, I’m going to say goodbye because I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. Thank you so much for our listeners and our viewers. Remember, you have made us number 18 among the top 100 podcasts on the topic of change.
Andi Simon 00:35:50 And I couldn’t be happier that today we have a great gentleman and Alastair Frost has a wonderful process to help you change even though your brain is going to delete him, or fear him, or flee him or run away, he’s going to help you get past that. And don’t undermine your curiosity. Let it go. It’s okay. The times they are changing. But this is good. All of my books are on Amazon. On the brink is about eight of our clients who got stuck or stalled and could have used a little Alastair stuff. A little frost would have helped rethink smashing the myths of women in business or women who said, of course I can. It’s sort of interesting to watch the juxtaposition. And my third book, Women Mean Business, is 102 women who left their wisdom for us to share. So there’s 500 more pieces of wisdom, and one that I love is as I rise, I lift others. And that’s what this podcast is all about. To get you off the brink and rise so long as have a wonderful, wonderful day.
Andi Simon 00:36:44 Enjoy. Stay well. Remember, my tagline is taking your observations and turn them into innovations. I’m sure Alistair will tell you that’s where the opportunities are, aren’t they? Yes, Alister. Thanks again. Bye.
Multiple Speakers 00:36:56 Now. Thank you. My pleasure.
