The Data Shaman Podcast - Quant Mind, Shaman Soul

Neil Potts sat next to Daniele on the trading floor at HSBC. He was also getting up at 4am to buy fresh produce at wholesale markets, running vegan pop-ups in Shoreditch after work, and telling almost no one, because he was scared of getting in trouble for not being his full self at work.That side project became The Vurger Co.: four restaurants, products in supermarkets across the UK, UAE and US, and a real shot at something big. Then COVID arrived, and Neil and his partner Rachel made a decision most of the industry refused to make: they closed completely rather than send their staff across London on the tube to make burgers. What followed was the hardest chapter of their lives, an insurance policy that paid nothing, hundreds of thousands of pounds lost, and debt taken on in desperation.This conversation is about what happens after. Why the fear never fully left until the worst had already happened. Why paper valuations mean nothing. Why doing it for money is the wrong reason. And how a man who lost everything he built now says there is basically nothing left that scares him.Neil today runs Silverwood Rose, a consulting practice in Los Angeles helping food and drink founders navigate what he survived: silverwoodrose.comIf you want to know more about Daniele Forni, go to www.danieleforni.com

Belfast-born, Brian Henderson did everything the corporate deal asked of him. He trained as a lawyer, took an MBA, and spent decades running global law firms as Chief Operating Officer across London, Paris and Hong Kong. He also learned, early, that the job came with a price: be strong, be certain, tell people what to do, and keep the softer, more sensitive part of yourself well out of sight.Then the bill arrived. Social unrest in Hong Kong brought back the hypervigilance of growing up in the Troubles, the hours stopped adding up, and he found himself sleeping two and a half hours a night. A visit to his doctor turned into a diagnosis of depression and anxiety and, in his words, a strange sense of relief. So he quit.In this Season 2 conversation on The Data Shaman, Brian and Daniele talk about the bargain so many leaders quietly make, the grief of losing touch with the ten-year-old you used to be, why most of the C-suite privately want out, and the mind-body work he now does through The Movement to help men feel the emotions corporate life trained out of them.In this episode:Growing up in Belfast, and a nervous system built for threatThe corporate bargain, and its slow costBurnout, insomnia, and the diagnosis that brought reliefWhy men are allowed to be angry but not softMudita, and finding meaning in the happiness of othersWhat he would tell his younger self about quittingFind Brian: brianhenderson.hk, movemen.hk, and Brian Henderson on LinkedIn.If you want to know more about Daniele Forni, go to www.danieleforni.com

For fifteen years I hid my tattoos under a suit. Then one morning, measuring my own blood pressure in front of the mirror, I asked what the hell I was doing, and I quit.This is the opener of Season 2, Fuck It, I Quit. No guest, just me on why I left a Director role in global banking after fifteen years: the HSBC lions photo, the family script, the masking, my diagnosis of depression, ADHD and autism at forty-five, the panic attacks, and turning down a safe job in London. And what I found instead, an executive coaching practice, a meditation book, and becoming a Reiki master.If you left the safe thing and built something truer, come on the show. All episodes and transcripts: https://www.danieleforni.com/podcastIf you want to know more about Daniele Forni, go to www.danieleforni.com

After 30 years as a barrister in Hong Kong, Winnie Chan's second career began at her father's bedside. Caring for him through cancer taught her that even the closest families fall into conflict over treatment, money, accommodation and, hardest of all, where a parent will die. She became an elder mediator to help families have those conversations before a crisis forces them.She is joined by Lizzie Chan, the first Asian elder mediator qualified by EMIN and a trained end-of-life doula. Together we explore why families do not really know each other until a crisis, Hong Kong's fragmented households, the sandwich generation, why peers matter more than children in later life, and why a good death starts with living well today.All episodes and transcripts: https://www.danieleforni.com/podcastIf you want to know more about Daniele Forni, go to www.danieleforni.com

 | A conversation with Nalin Pathiranage on his work and perspective.  If you want to know more about Daniele Forni, go to www.danieleforni.comIf you want to know more about Daniele Forni, go to www.danieleforni.com

Neuroscientist Michael Coleman joins the show for a conversation on the brain and human behaviour, and what the science means for how we work and lead.If you want to know more about Daniele Forni, go to www.danieleforni.com

Former investment banker and venture capital founder Michael Baptista joins Daniele for Coaching Journeys: Conversations from Cambridge. After the 1980s in banking, eight years in Hong Kong and Tokyo, and founding his own fintech-focused VC firm in London, Michael saw first-hand the financial and human cost of people problems — the "human capital crisis" that drew him to coaching. He's refreshingly sceptical that "leadership" is one universal thing, argues the defining challenge of our era is the management of the self and of attention rather than leadership per se, and makes the case that we're in the middle of a shift from a written to an oral culture more transformational than AI. He reads Aristotle and David Hume over the Stoics ("I have a daughter, and if someone tells me that if something happens to her I should not suffer because I should not be attached — I find that nonsense"), offers a three-part take on Jordan Peterson, and shares the coaching insight that changed him: some people find their balance in the middle, others by living at both extremes.If you want to know more about Daniele Forni, go to www.danieleforni.com

Cambridge-born recruiter Neil Telfer joins Daniele for the Coaching Journeys: Conversations from Cambridge series, tracing his path from two decades in recruitment to training as an executive coach. Neil talks about the "innate feeling" to help people that goes back to childhood, why 20 years in recruitment left him wanting to go deeper, and how AI and the rise of in-house talent teams are reshaping his industry — making it "probably as tough as I remember it" for winning new clients. He draws a sharp distinction between prescriptive sports coaching and the kind that facilitates someone's own talent, argues that prioritisation and future-thinking are the leadership skills that matter most right now, and explains why he'd tell his younger self to start coaching earlier. Plus his favourite opening question — "How has your day been so far?" — and why a person's state in that moment shapes everything that follows.If you want to know more about Daniele Forni, go to www.danieleforni.com

London-based executive coach Charlotte Jordan — a fellow graduate of Cambridge's Advanced Executive Coaching programme and founder of a strategic communications and advisory consultancy — joins Daniele to explore her move from behaviour-change communications into coaching, and the surprising overlap between the two. They dig into hard-won advice for entrepreneurs and solopreneurs (do the work that lights you up, find your niche, and serve without expecting anything in return), what coaching really is beyond the "workplace-improvement" cliché, and why the true ROI of coaching is "bespoke" — as broad as the person willing to invest in themselves. Along the way: a playful role reversal where Charlotte turns the questions on herself, and the "iceberg" beneath most presenting problems — why the issue is often a symptom of something deeper.If you want to know more about Daniele Forni, go to www.danieleforni.com

A wide-ranging conversation with Elliot Awin on his work, ideas, and lessons learned.If you want to know more about Daniele Forni, go to www.danieleforni.com

Serial CEO and executive coach Richard Bandell reflects on building and leading companies — and what he now teaches the leaders he coaches. Insights on decision-making, resilience, and the shift from operator to mentor.If you want to know more about Daniele Forni, go to www.danieleforni.com

Saskia Van Delft makes the case that authenticity isn't a soft nicety but a core leadership capability. We explore why leaders who show up as themselves build deeper trust, how to stay genuine under pressure, and practical ways to lead without a mask.If you want to know more about Daniele Forni, go to www.danieleforni.com

A conversation with career and leadership coach Jelena Radonjic on career growth and professional development.If you want to know more about Daniele Forni, go to www.danieleforni.com

Lawyer-turned-community-builder Lizzie Chan shares how she grew a network of 900 members and 120 events into one of Hong Kong's most connected professional communities. Lessons on networking, momentum, and building belonging.If you want to know more about Daniele Forni, go to www.danieleforni.com

Communication expert Peggy Klaus explains why self-promotion done right is a skill, not a sin — and why the so-called "soft skills" are often the hardest to master. A candid conversation on owning your accomplishments without arrogance.If you want to know more about Daniele Forni, go to www.danieleforni.com

David Lomax opens up about why so many men struggle in relationships and what it takes to change. A frank conversation on emotional patterns, vulnerability, and practical steps toward healthier connection.If you want to know more about Daniele Forni, go to www.danieleforni.com

 In a role-reversed episode, designer and creative strategist Sertaç, founder of the human-centric design practice Red Elephant and 20 years deep in visual communication, turns the tables and interviews host Daniele Forni. They trace Daniele's path from corporate finance at HSBC to leadership coaching and founding Squirrel Coach (previously Human Spikes Labs), and dig into why over-reliance on AI may be eroding our critical and creative thinking. The conversation explores "unlearning" as a prerequisite for growth (using Daniele's kung fu training as a metaphor), why great coaching blends scientific rigour with reading the energy of the room, identifying your cognitive "spikes" and neurodivergent high performance, human-centric design, and the practice of zooming out to see yourself and your values more clearly. If you want to know more about Daniele Forni, go to www.danieleforni.com