Serendipity Soup

Welcome to Serendipity Soup! The antidote to celebrity success podcasts.

Is it too risky to be playful at work? This month I’m talking to Zaid Ansari. I had the pleasure of interviewing Zaid face to face at my house and early on in the recording he says that he’s at the point in his career where he only wants to do stuff that’s fun. But actually that sense of fun and playfulness feels built in to his life so far.

Zaid started off his career as an accountant at an advertising agency in London in the 1990s where he worked hard and played harder. So, a bit of a change of pace then to leave that and work for Crufts, the world-famous dog show.  Zaid then left to work in Pakistan as a go-between for the Asian Development Bank and the Pakistani government before returning to the UK and taking on numerous other roles, including starting his own construction company before winding up in his current position as a lecturer in subjects as varied as accounting, employability skills and becoming a nutritional professional.

So, the usual mix of apparently unrelated eclectic career choices for a Serendipity Soup guest, but as always there’s a golden thread. In Zaid’s case I would suggest it’s his playfulness and his love of interacting with people. When Zaid left after our recording, I watched him walk down the street and felt like my life was much fuller, richer and more joyful for having met him. And that wasn’t just because he’d brought a bottle of wine for me and my wife and some chocolates for our kids. I hope you’ll feel the same way once you’ve heard him tell his story.

Only a couple of links for this episode. Here they are:

• ‘Achieve Your Potential with Positive Psychology’ by Tim Lebon - https://www.waterstones.com/book/9781444190922
• Crufts - https://www.crufts.org.uk/