PODCAST · business
The Fink Tank
by Cam and Col Fink
A podcast for people dealing with the weirdness of running their own small business. Brothers Cam and Col Fink chat about work, life, and the confounding idiocy of themselves and others.They've been brothers for 45 years. You get to pick who's older.Col helps people run successful small practices, and is an expert public speaker and trainer.Cam is an event producer and freelance videographer, and loves helping people bring their best selves to video.
Episodes
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Possum piss
I was the victim of a targeted pissing attack from a vengeful possum. It was the only reasonable conclusion from the evidence. The possum, aggrieved and angry at Matthew Simpson for reasons I would discover later, had revenge in its heart and pissed on me from a great height. All because I…
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Please wank Tony and Cam
My mum was delighted to see me get wanked on national television. Host Ed Kavalee’s opening gaffe - mangling “thank” and “welcome” - set the tone perfectly for our segment on Cup Fever. Tony Wilson and I were there to share our experience as travelling fans of the 2026 football World Cup. It was…
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He doesn’t give a shit about the videos
I made some videos for a sports doctor, and what he said the next time I saw him floored me. “Sorry mate, I haven’t actually watched the videos!” I couldn’t BELIEVE it!! He’d paid me to make short explainer videos for his medical practice. They’re the first thing visitors to his website see....
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The early bird spoils the broth
- Many hands make light work. - Too many cooks spoil the broth. This week on The Fink Tank, we examine the profound wisdom contained in clichés. Unfortunately, for every piece of profound wisdom, there's another piece of profound wisdom telling you the exact opposite. Good luck out there.
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Your greatest hits
I once saw The Smashing Pumpkins, long after their heyday, and Billy Corgan DIDN'T play their best song, 1979. For the "encore" he played a wailing and indulgent 15 minute guitar solo, which the crowd hated. Ugh. Bands get tired of playing the same old hits, but it's what the fans want. When…
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The top five numbers ranked
We're easing back after a layoff with some light sibling dickheadery.
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Make more bad stuff
Who's a global genius? Not me, not Col, and (sorry for crushing your dreams) not you either. But we'll forgive Col opening with a Picasso comparison, because it points to a useful idea. Your vision is capable of imagining quality beyond what your talent can presently produce. So there's a painful...
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Human bacteria
Col thinks we're all basically bacteria. Put bacteria in a warm, nutrient-rich environment and it thrives. Put it in a cold, sterile Petri dish and it stagnates. Your conference in the beige hotel function room with polystyrene ceiling tiles sucks. You can’t put a bunch of humans into a Clifton's...
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Fifty years of stuff
Something I couldn't bring myself to throw out five years ago is plainly junk now. The line separating nostalgia and rubbish is thin. Every few years we wade through a sedimentary layer of crap in the Fink family home. We don't often make much headway, because the room is full of mementoes that...
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Hoarders delight
Col has hoarded so much stuff he literally owns a forklift to manage it. This week on The Fink Tank, we dig into the psychology of keeping shit you don't need. I LIVE for the moment when someone asks "do we have a cable for this?” and I can produce it from a cluttered box I fought to keep. That...
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Fink Tank Origins
The Fink Tank started in 2019. The first episode came out in 2023. If you've got an idea sitting on the launch pad, this one's for you. It wasn’t called The Fink Tank back then. I didn't even know what it was. I just knew I wanted to publish something fun with my brother Col. On the day this was...
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Break your own rules
When is it okay to break your own rules? Picture this: You’re the team manager of a social over 45s football team, where the mantra is every player gets a fair go. Your team hasn’t won in two years. Your goal differential is a dismal -99. Somehow, in the last game of another winless season…
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The Fink Tank Chair of Theseus
If you’ve replaced your knees, your opinions, your wardrobe, your habits, and most of your cells since 2009… Are you still you? Welcome to The Fink Tank Chair of Theseus, a deeply sensible conversation between two men in the second half of their lives. We move from ancient philosophy to identity,...
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Who ARE you?
Here at The Fink Tank we usually aim for practical observations. NOT TODAY. Today we get our woo-woo on. Col and I usually deal in useful ideas for solo pros, sibling dickheadery, and the occasional uncomfortable truth. Today we ask a far less manageable question: Who ARE you? It gets pretty…
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I see your Schwarz is as big as mine
Hands up (again) all our favourite “I think I might have ADHD” people 🙋♂️🙋♀️ For a lot of us, finding an explanation for things we’ve struggled with can be a huge relief. But a diagnosis doesn’t neatly absolve responsibility. In last years Fink Tank about ADHD, we talked about the subtle...
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Not here to be reasonable
“Mate, I’m not here to be f*cken reasonable!” - Some well-dressed guy at the football. Being a parochial sports fan is one thing. Objecting to basic facts is another. The guy next to us was so one-eyed I eventually said something. His response was perfect. Because in that moment he wasn’t trying…
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A Logical Phallusy
“Cam, you’re smart enough to always be ‘right’, and I can’t be bothered anymore.” Oof. In our twenties, Col stopped talking to me for a few years. Fair enough. Smart people aren’t less biased. They’re just better at explaining why they’re “right”. That was me, and I was insufferable. There’s a...
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There's money in funny
I expressed my exasperation to Col’s 6-year-old son Deakin. His response was so funny it completely dissolved the tension. Being funny is a great quality. Even if you’re not exactly sure what’s funny or why. In this Fink Tank, Col and I laugh about the nature of humour and why it matters in life...
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The Great Esky Heist
When I was 15, I stole an esky full of drinks from a random campsite. Not exactly the heist of the century, but it felt huge in the context of my teenage attempts at rebellion. I was fingered as the perp the next morning. I feared the worst, but the poor bastard whose beers I nicked had other...
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Get better problems
I came home to human poo in the driveway. Our fridge broke the same day. Life will always have problems. Are they actually problems though? In this Fink Tank Col Fink and I laugh about the human audacity to complain about things that were luxuries unavailable to even kings or queens only a…
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Short changed
I rented an e-bike and shot myself in the foot. By making life “easier” I accidentally made it less rewarding.If you run a business, it’s quite likely you love some parts more than others. In this Friday Fink tank Col Fink and I talk about the bits we love in our work, and the bits we like...
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The Meh Effect
Did it hurt? When you read something so profound it left you reeling. A book that laid your soul bare. An article that prised open your brain. A quote distilling the human condition to its essence. An idea so poignant it simply MUST be shared with your bestie. You buy them the book. You email the...
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Seasons End
Col’s four year old daughter Darwin rode a pedal bike for the first time last week. If it weren’t for the Fink Tank, I would have missed it. In our final episode for this year, we reflect on the surprising longevity of the project, and the multiple ways it has brought joy to our lives. Since June...
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Dead Dad Club
If you’re a member of the Dead Parent Club, today’s Fink Tank is for you. Our dad Tony died 27 years ago. On his anniversary yesterday we honoured him in Col’s shed. I’m now about the same age as Dad was as I remember him. When I was younger all I could see were the differences. As I’ve aged…
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No news is good news
People warned us about going to the United States. With alarming news at saturation point, we had doubts ourselves. Here’s what happened: Everything was fine. In Florida, people warned us about going to New Orleans. New Orleans was amazing. We went to a Halloween street party in the suburbs, and…
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November rain
If you’re hurtling toward Christmas in a hectic hot mess, here’s the good news: That’s fine. It’s what November is for. If things are STILL chaotic in February, we might have issues. Our great mate and friend of the show Digby Scott writes an annual “Christmas won’t fix it” newsletter. In the...
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Driving me crazy
Cars are singularly amazing, and a collective pain in the arse. In this (mercifully short) Fink Tank rant, Col and I bemoan the loss of amenity in cities designed entirely around cars. It points to a frequently occurring tension in modern individualistic life: Things that make MY day easier often...
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Brilliant... and boring
Is it just us, or is everyone else already bored with AI generated stuff? The explosion of prompt-generated videos WITH OUR OWN FACES in fantastical scenarios is astonishing. And also dull. It’s eye-catching, but devoid of any substance. There’s zero emotional investment. Video calls with...
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Invisible problems
Without vision correction, I truly cannot see how many finger’s you’re holding up. I can barely see how many fingers I’M holding up. But I almost exclusively wear contact lenses, so even people who know me well are sometimes surprised to find out I'm short-sighted at all. Glasses are an indicator...
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A brush with Hollywood
My Airbnb roommate was a Hollywood movie star. I had no idea. I was at the Toronto Greek Film Festival for Ange & The Boss, and the organiser said, “You’ve got a roommate tonight. You’ll like him.” Five minutes later, he’s pointing at me going, “Wait… you’re the guy who made that Ange Postecoglou...
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Explanation or excuse?
Hands up all our favourite “I think I might have ADHD” people This week’s Fink Tank kicks off with Col “diagnosing” both of us, before comparing ADHD to being left-handed. Something that only showed up in the stats once it became socially acceptable to admit it. We dig into the blurry line…
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Flawed apples
Ever meet someone’s family and think, ah, that explains everything? Mum, Col, and his eldest son Deakin came to visit us in Wellington. Our collective Fink quirks, gathered in the McKay family home (portmanteau options include FcKay or McKink, pronounced with relish), were suddenly much more...
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Disc golf
Ever noticed that the less you care about something, the easier it is? Everyone wants to grow. Almost universally, we want to improve and upskill, we want to look back on our journey and see how far we’ve come. And yet, we’ll reliably prevent ourselves from improving by locking ourselves away,...
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Choice architecture
Do I want to eat more Twisties? If they’re within arms reach, apparently yes. But actually, no. We’re on the way to pick up a planishing hammer (bonus points if you have any idea what a planishing hammer is. I didn’t), and Col has a huge open packet of Twisties in the centre console. After a few...
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Be better
Have you tried just… being better? Col’s recent poll revealed what many of us already know. Most people admit they’re bad at marketing and sales. We avoid it. Instead, we lean on referrals and word-of-mouth. We hoping the quality of our work speaks loudly enough to bring in the next client. Col...
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The bald truth
Who cares most about my expanding bald patch? Me. Nobody else gives a shit. Except it’s kinda news to me. Some recent video footage really tells it like it is! When else do I see the back of my own head? Video shows us as we truly are, not as we imagine ourselves. One of my jobs is helping people...
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Exposure Therapy
Yes, that’s custom lycra at Burning Man 2012. PLOT TWIST at 90 seconds. And yes, there’s a genuinely useful business lesson hiding in there. In this week’s Fink Tank, we argue why you need to bang on about your core messages way more than feels comfortable. Because the thing you’ve repeated 100...
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Spirit Score
If my over-45s football league refereed themselves, every second match would end in a fist fight. But in Ultimate Frisbee, that’s literally the rule. Even at the elite level! Players call their own fouls. They debate it on the field. And at the end, the opposition gives you a Spirit Score. Like...
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A drubbing
Our mate Luke’s son Henry lost footy 62-1. It was also... a good close game. What?? Sometimes the scoreboard tells one story, but the game tells another. Watching from the sidelines, the contest was fairly even. Henry and his teammates were solid in the midfield, and defended well. But they...
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Insufficiency is Not Enough
This is not a story about grit or perseverance. It’s about how the tiniest, dumbest mistake can unravel our best-laid plans. Col trained for ten years to master Frisbee. Then forgot to bring water. You’re a seasoned speaker with a dazzling slide deck. But forgot your clicker. I’m mid-zoom with…
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Unicycle
Here’s how a $32 second-hand unicycle changed Col’s life. For 15 years, Col did what so many of us do: * Sat at the desk. * Felt guilty for not being productive. * Refused to leave the desk until “enough work” was done. * Got… nothing done. One day, he bought a $32 unicycle on eBay. The rule…
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Reunion
Do you go to high school reunions? My recent Eltham College reunion surprised me in the best way. I LOVED it. I wasn’t popular at school. I had a couple of decent friends, but never belonged to the "main" groups. When I got to Uni there was no looking back. My flimsy high school connections...
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Visible mess
How nervous would you feel if you had to spin the webcam around and show us the rest of your house? And your life? If you’re hiding the mess, the quirks, the chaos, this episode is for you. Most of us are hiding things we deem unprofessional. Col Fink’s Zoom background is neat and tidy, complete...
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Two fish in the sea
There might only be two fish in the sea. This is good news if you’re one of the fish. Leadership coach Belinda Thomas told me she felt like she was swimming in a huge ocean of competitors. Her confidence was down. I said “Sure, there’s a million videographers too. How many do you know?” And she...
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Olympics anonymous
KP’s been to SEVEN OLYMPIC GAMES as a performance psychologist. I had no idea until yesterday. That is RIDICULOUS. For the first couple of years I knew Dr Kirsten Peterson, she never mentioned she’d been to the Olympics SEVEN TIMES. She was an engaged participant in my Be Less Shit on Camera…
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Sample Size Matters
One 2003 ski trip. 50 mates. Plenty of dickheadery. And a warning about forming strong opinions from weak evidence. In this episode of The Fink Tank, Col and I talk about the beautiful human habit of overthinking the anecdote and underthinking the maths. About how we love to build worldviews from...
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Hobby horse
People are weird. Our lives of abundance have meant we often feel compelled to satisfy ourselves in illogical ways with our hobbies. Col is three sheds deep into a scientific enquiry into how humans often love buying stuff more than they like having it or using it. This episode is a sprawling ode...
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Frozen bananas
Some childhood beliefs leave quietly. Others wait until you’re an adult to slap you in the face. The moments of realisation tend to stick in the mind, too. I turned beetroot red during my turn for roll-call in grade 2. It’s pronounced Penelope, not Penny-lope. (Mispronouncing words you learned...
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Workshop suitcase
Your workshop isn’t a suitcase. Stop overpacking it. You’re trying to provide value. So you cram in every model, every framework, every brain nugget you’ve ever loved. The result? A learning day that’s chokkas. No space to breathe. No time to reflect. No energy left by 2pm. In this episode of The...
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Compound interest
It started with our shit original band and stupid holiday videos. Now it’s keynotes, coaching, and feature films. Compound interest isn’t just about money. In this mid-summit episode of the Fink Tank, Col and I chat about the cruel human condition of being overly critical of our progress or…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
A podcast for people dealing with the weirdness of running their own small business. Brothers Cam and Col Fink chat about work, life, and the confounding idiocy of themselves and others.They've been brothers for 45 years. You get to pick who's older.Col helps people run successful small practices, and is an expert public speaker and trainer.Cam is an event producer and freelance videographer, and loves helping people bring their best selves to video.
HOSTED BY
Cam and Col Fink
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Fink Tank have?
The Fink Tank currently has 133 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Fink Tank about?
A podcast for people dealing with the weirdness of running their own small business. Brothers Cam and Col Fink chat about work, life, and the confounding idiocy of themselves and others.They've been brothers for 45 years. You get to pick who's older.Col helps people run successful small practices,...
How often does The Fink Tank release new episodes?
The Fink Tank publishes regularly with 133 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to The Fink Tank?
You can listen to The Fink Tank on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Fink Tank?
The Fink Tank is created and hosted by Cam and Col Fink.
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