Latest / Built by People / What Creating the First Season of Built by People Has Taught Us
Transcript
- speaker-0: Hello and welcome to Built by People, a DFL podcast that delivers some topical industry insight with a hint of fun, chatting about all things highway infrastructure in the built environment. I'm your host, Richard Jackson. Let's get straight into it. Here we are, one final episode to wash up, I guess, on season one. And what better place to do it in our new meeting room/slash podcast studio? I would say podcast studio, but business comes first. And one of the things when we were Developing all of this, the guys wanted more collaboration space, didn't they? Yeah. So we built this meeting room that we can convert into a podcast studio. And we've got the other meeting room over behind us. So I guess anyone watching this, I would say, come and get involved, whether you want to be a guest or just have meetings with us or use our spaces for meetings yourselves. One of the key reasons we built this is for collaboration and not just a cheesy plug, but because Everything is built by people. We want to really foster that collaboration element of things, don't we? speaker-1: We really do. I think just to build on that and just to give a little bit of background, how many episodes have we filmed in the old space and all the way through it, we're like, my goodness, we can hear people coming in. We can hear people having a conversation at some of that's going to be on the podcast. And what I think is pretty amazing is through there, there are three people having a separate meeting and we can't hear a word they're saying. We've never been able to have done that. So I think this is a massive, massive improvement on space. And I'm really excited for season two because we've got so many options to flip this room around as well. And we've got some new lighting that's going to be coming in. That will be part of one of the new episodes of season two. So stay tuned for that. We can give you a tour on what that looks like and what the flexibility of that's going to do for us, which is going to be really, really great, especially now coming into end of the year where it's going to be getting a bit more dingy. Again, that kind of, to be techno based rich, but. You know what I'm like with all the theater stuff and camera bits and, it doesn't look right. And you're like, come on, just crack on. speaker-0: And I tell I tell you, just thinking back to the whole renovation and creating these spaces, one of the things that I'm most proud of, and I don't know whether this is a sensible thing to be proud of or not, but that second meeting room, I don't know whether you're aware of this, that second meeting room, when we're a business that's about sustainability, circular economy and stuff, is built out of the existing glass that we had in the old meeting room and we've repurposed the existing lighting that we had in the office. So that's a real small win. Not many people would be too interested in that, but for a business that prides themselves on that, I definitely think we'll do a little mini case study or a bit of something on that to show people what we did there. Cause I think it's so important that you can achieve so much, even just by reusing things instead of buying new all the time. So yeah, I think that's definitely a small win for that space. speaker-1: Yeah, and it's testament as well to the kind of ethos of not leading by example as such, but there's so many things out there where you hear people say, you know, it's a case of them sort of, I've chewed my words up and the actual phrase, but you know, when people say, I'll do as I say, not as I do. speaker-0: Yeah, I say that quite a lot. speaker-1: But the example there is no, we do as we do effectively on that. Particularly with all the works that we do with, if you think of the light impact assessment and stuff like that, that we do, where it's always about setting the right scene and making sure that we're doing all the right things and minimizing the impacts on environment. then, I'd not thought of that with that next door until you mentioned that. Yeah, we've been so kind of, or I've been so sort of. wrapped up in getting it all sorted. speaker-0: And I think linking that back, one of the things, another thing that we've obviously discussed. So we've been in the new office configuration now for two or three weeks. Yeah. I rightly or wrongly decided to do this and go on leave the day before it all finished. So had a pretty hectic time before we went on leave, but it all came good. Yeah. But again, linking it back to built by people and why we set up built by people. I'm terrible for this, and I'm sure you'll agree. I have an idea and we run with it. And you're like, but is it gonna work? And I'm like, I'm not too sure it's gonna work, but if you trust me, we go for it and we see what happens. Is that the office refurb, we knew we needed to do something, but we weren't a hundred percent sure. But testament to what we did is in the second week of being in the space. Both meeting rooms were literally in use constantly for the two days, weren't they? And it's really great to see in a world where it's AI, automation, note taking, send an email, do this, do that, do the other. To see human interaction, both internally and externally. I think we had an external auditor in that was coming to do some of our ISO stuff and they enjoyed spending the day going through the business functions in here. And whilst all that was happening, next door, the teams were just breaking out and having project meetings with clients and stuff. So I think that's A testament to why we did the space and now it gives us the springboard to go into season two. And I think when we look back and talk about what the success look like from what we've done in season one, I was blown away. Did I share them figures with you that we've had over 700 streams of the episodes that we've put out? And when we put them episodes out, I was like, people aren't gonna watch us Ryan. People are gonna listen on Apple and Spotify and stuff like that. But some really interesting data is of over the seven hundred streams, five hundred have been on YouTube. So Ryan, it's official. You have a face for TV, not radio. How does that make you feel? speaker-1: Yeah, it's great to be honest. It's, I'm like you, I'm really surprised, pleasantly surprised by how it's, how it's taken off. and I'm excited for season two because I think now we've found, you know, found our feet with what we're doing and what the format and everything like that needs to be. It's going to be great to get some more guests on. I love to see a wider audience of guests. So. planners, developers, ecologists, architects, if you're out there, come and have a chat with us about all the things that make your life really difficult. I think having a sofa session with a few different kind of perspectives would be really good, just to get those thought pieces out there for people to interact with. I'm excited for that. speaker-0: Yeah, definitely. I'm my again, you know how my mind works, things pop in randomly all the time. Thinking back to why we did it and the metrics we're using using to measure success, we were blown away by them numbers and officially officially, sorry, originally we were a bit nervous because we weren't seeing like the likes and the comments and the follows and stuff like that. So I'm selfishly gonna plug now and say if you are watching this, please give it a like or a subscribe or a follow, just because that helps us understand. what you guys are enjoying, what guy what you want to listen to, and specifically comment to us. If you want to come on an episode or you think someone would be great in an episode, tag on the socials and stuff like that and we'll see if they're willing to come on. Because I think we have to take a moment to give a huge shout out to everyone that has been on the podcast so far, because they've taken a leap of faith with us. They didn't have to come on to them episodes, you know. I'm sure I'm gonna forget people, but the likes of Piers new into the industry, I was grateful for him. Paul Murphy, I'm sure you won't mind me saying, Paul, you were as scared as anything, but delivered a fantastic podcast. Again, Rebecca, I knew Rebecca Hatch from FM Conway would be great, and I'm grateful to her. You were our first guest, Ryan, as well. So thank you to you. But I think sometimes you just have to follow my crazy lead with things, don't you? So Yeah, completely. And talk a bit about your guest. Yeah, Rebecca. speaker-1: Rebecca Fletcher, fantastic interview. It was really exciting actually, it was the first interview for me as well. So it was a first for both of us. And I think we could have kept talking all afternoon really. that was hats off to Rebecca for making my life really easy during that interview, because the conversation just flowed and flowed. And I'm sure we'll see more of Rebecca in future episodes as well. speaker-0: I hope you're enjoying the show so far. Our goal with this is to build something for the whole industry to feel a part of. So please don't forget to like and subscribe and drop a comment with any thoughts or suggestions for future episodes. And I guess we should touch on that I could there's too many to name, but when we did the crazy thing of going to Lighting Live and saying, you know what, we'll just go into a live room full of noise and try and record something. Yeah. speaker-1: Poor Amelia. speaker-0: poor Amelia. I think we should give a shout out to Amelia. Obviously she was one of the people that came on and did a two parter from outside of industry and we're really grateful for that. But she is the brains behind all this technical stuff and the filming and the clipping of everything you see, turning it into a polished article. Yeah. I'm pretty sure Amelia could create a bonus episode of all the outtakes and the things that we get wrong, but she bears with us on that and I'm sure that could become a Christmas special. But going like I say, going back to what we did at Light in Live, that was something different, a bit scary. I think it worked to an extent. I think there's definitely a lot we could improve on it. What are your thoughts from the Light in Live side of things? speaker-1: I was skeptical, I think, in terms of how that was going to work. But having seen that back, I think it actually worked quite nicely. the thing that I enjoyed the most about that was just forgetting that the mics and the camera was there and just having those conversations with, you know, trusted industry, friends, colleagues, and like-minded people. having those flowing chats on, on the stand. And I think my appreciation goes out to those people that joined us on the stand to have those conversations. Cause a lot of the time it was, hook you in, come and have a conversation. but everybody responded to it so well. I was genuinely pleased by how it came across. and, yeah, I mean, absolutely. And if there's any feedback on, on, on that from the wider sort of viewing audience or. any kind of suggestions for things that you might want to see done differently, let us know because we're all ears and completely open to ideas on it as well, aren't we? Because speaker-0: Yeah, yeah. speaker-1: it's built by people at the end of the day and that includes the audience who are watching. speaker-0: Yeah. And I I'm very keen for us to take that forward. So the HEA annual conference. Yeah. Yeah. In what guys that looks like at the minute, I'm not quite sure, but I'm really keen to be able to take that forward where we give the wider audience off the cuff two things really an opportunity to interact with us, but also an opportunity to build their personal brand and these skills. Yeah, I know I've said it before. Some people say, you love being in front of camera and stuff like that. Obviously I don't mind being in front of camera and I do get a buzz out of it. But I also struggled in them early interactions when I was doing faces, you know, pieces to camera and stuff like that. And I think it's really important that you build that informal platform as well to allow people to come on and try it and stuff like that. So speaker-1: Just one final thing for me on it is, to be honest, it's well done to you because this was your vision, Rich. It was your baby, so to speak. And I think you should be really proud of yourself for how successful season one has actually been. So well done. speaker-0: I'm I'll take that. Thank you very much. However, I will say I'm worried for us all because I have more ideas for season two. I think speaker-1: here speaker-0: Well, I think if we consider some of the conversations that we've had today and some of the conversations that we've had with our guests, I'm not gonna say you heard it here first because it might not come to fruition, but I'm happy to put it out there. I need help. Understanding what a podcast called Lighting After Dark might look like. A lot of conversation. And this comes back to when we recorded at the IET and we had three guests in on that day, and we had fun behind the scenes off camera, if you like, talking about. Imagine if we really spoke about lighting and everything that's going on. And I sat there and I thought, yeah, how dangerous could that be? But notwithstanding that, I'm not doing that from a perspective to create. Drama, if you like. But I do think that's what people do also want to see. And I can't quite work out the formula to talk about topical industry stuff. And not from the boring perspective of saying there's a new guidance out or this or that, the other, but how we can bring useful information and content to the wider community of lighting and the built environment where they understand why we do what we do in lighting. Yeah. But it has to have a bit of fun along the way because if we're not, if we're not enjoying it. Life is often a lot harder in terms of how you know how you move through and get things presented. So yeah. Dare I say you heard it here first. Lighting after dark might make an appearance in season two. I want to say yes, and I'm quite tenacious when I have an idea, but I really don't know how that looks at the minute. So I'll be keen to get people's thoughts on that. If you think it's something we should do, I know I keep saying it, but like, comment. Let us know. Shall we do lighting after dark? speaker-1: Do you think people might need a letter to their employer from us? Where they basically write a disclaimer that says if they come on light and after dark, they can't get sacked if they say anything controversial. speaker-0: The sensible answer is yes. The marketing answer is do now, beg for forgiveness later. speaker-1: Yeah. And there's always a desk here at DFL if anybody speaker-0: That's a good point. Yeah, we could yeah, maybe we could underwrite interviews that we in sh we promise to employ you should it all go wrong. I need to check as well, do you need a letter from me if you're coming on after dark or possibly speaker-1: don't Depends what I say about you, Rich. speaker-0: That is true. So yeah. So one question I did want to ask you, Ryan. How hard was it to decide on the guest and get the guest on for your episode? How did you go about that? speaker-1: There was a few thought processes for me. I wanted to focus on bringing somebody in from outside of the lighting industry. and I mentioned it to, to Rebecca Fletcher and she was super keen to come on. So I was delighted that she was, I was really pleased that she was delighted to come on because it enabled us to have a talk about all of the things outside of lighting that influenced development and show another side of. of a discipline that goes into the built environment. So with Rebecca's specialism in all things, of civil engineering and that side of it, the transport planning side of bits and pieces, for me, that was a highlight and I found it easy to involve Rebecca because she was keen. So my thanks goes out to Rebecca, but also there, that kind of, that angle that I was looking for. just to open up the episode a little bit and just give everybody a bit of an insight into some of the other challenges in the planning arena, site coordination, even at planning stage and what goes into trying to get dots on a plan for planning with all of the different disciplines of landscaping and drainage and the highway elements of it. But Rebecca's angle in trying to get that to a point where it could actually be feasibly constructed at the end of it. So yeah, it was really good to hear all of those kind of challenges and insights and bits and pieces that she mentioned in the episode. speaker-0: Yeah, I thought it was a really good episode. I really enjoyed listening to it. speaker-1: And for you, what's been your key highlight of the season? speaker-0: I'm not gonna do that really cliche thing. So it's all great. There was no highlights. I think the highlight, because I am definitely someone that thrives working under pressure, is when we did three podcasts in one day at the IET in London. It was a hot day. We had an event on in the afternoon. I presented at that event in the afternoon. Then we had a dinner in the evening. And it that was a highlight because it was a culmination of how we'd done the first few episodes and we were able to bring that together so quickly. And seamlessly with each guest coming in at their time, they'd been prepped. it was a really nice moment when we all sat down outside with two of the guests. we were all there and we just had a nice conversation of just about, you know, what to expect, put the guests' mind at ease and stuff like that. and obviously that is the moment that the light and after dark seed got planted. So I'm not gonna name names where it came from, but it's definitely something that we'll keep. thinking about because I don't know what that's gonna look like. And two other things that really stand out for me is that when I did the Amelia podcast, just because of the way that was set up and to get the meeting room space, that was a very quiet recording in terms of it was just me and Amelia. We set everything up and just sat there and spoke and it I think that's testament to why it was a like a two parter, 'cause we really got into the conversation. And I felt like we could really just talk as people, as friends, as industry, you know, colleagues, as how easy conversation can be in the right environment. And again, you know, can't lose sight of the fact that we then took it to a live audience, if you like, at the ILP. So I think if I had to summarize, overall the key The key highlight is how much we've done. We've gone into three different locations with it and we've interviewed some fantastic guests, so it is really, really enjoyable from that perspective. There we are, we've done it. So season one is wrapped up and I'm eternally grateful for all the guests and everyone that has contributed towards it. We now go into the planning for season two. Ryan, are you ready for season two? speaker-1: Absolutely, especially with this new space. speaker-0: I love your confidence, Ryan. I'm still mildly nervous at the direction we're going to take it, but I have no doubt with the industry feedback that we're getting, we will continue to deliver something that the industry value. Yeah. And finally, I'll sign off by saying if you're brave enough or even slightly unsure, reach out and let us know if it's something you want to get involved in, because we are always on the lookout for great guests. And if you don't think you are the type of person to do it, but there is someone that you really want to hear from. Tag them or share their name with us and we will do our best to get them onto the episodes. Once again, thank you very much, and that is season one done. speaker-1: Over and out. speaker-0: Thanks for listening. As we've mentioned, we're keen for this to become a podcast for the whole industry. So please, feedback is welcome. Also, don't forget to like and subscribe if you want to hear more.