Performance Intelligence

Most people don’t have a time problem. They have an energy problem.

You wake up tired, grab coffee, check your phone, push through meetings, and crash by the end of the day wondering where your focus went. Sound familiar?
Mental Skills and Leadership Coach Andrew May has spent decades working with elite athletes, CEOs and world-class teams. His biggest insight: the people who perform best aren’t the ones who push harder: they’re the ones who manage energy better.
From the simple morning reset that recalibrates your body clock, to the overlooked recovery rhythms that athletes use to stay sharp under pressure, Andrew explains how small daily decisions compound into long-term performance, health and longevity.
If you want more clarity, sustained energy, and the ability to perform at your best for decades - not just today - this will challenge the way you structure your day.
In this episode Andrew talks about:
1:15 His experience and background working with high performing teams and the life shakeup that put him on his current path.
6:00 Why your brain is defaulting to bad far outweighing good and why traditional education doesn’t always prepare you for life.
9:30 Rolling through the decades and staying healthy into your later years.
16:30 Blue zones around the world where lifespan is higher than average and why managing your energy is the key to high performance.
20:45 Starting your day with the circadian reset for a natural energy boost and getting cold and hot temperature exposure.
28:15 How Andrew is helping the Wallabies rugby team manage their energy.
35:15 Pulsing energy throughout the day and the physiology of stress.
44:00 The 3x3x3 downregulation format and ending on a quote from the great Dr. Seuss.

Use Code "PQPODCAST10" to get 10% off your Lumo Coffee order:https://lumocoffee.com/
Interested in sharing your story? Email Producer Shannon at [email protected] today with your story and contact details.
Learn more about Andrew and Performance Intelligence: https://performanceintelligence.com/
Find out more about Andrew's Keynotes : https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/
Follow Andrew May: https://www.instagram.com/andrewmay/
Watch the Performance Intelligence Podcast on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@performanceintelligencepodcast
If you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.

Most people assume high performance is complicated. More systems, more strategies, more information.
But what if it actually came down to just three things?
Performance psychologist Dan Abrahams believes the foundation of elite performance is built on three simple pillars: attention, intensity, and intent.
When those three elements align, focus sharpens, energy rises, and performance lifts — whether you’re on the field, in the boardroom, or navigating a demanding day.
The challenge is that most people drift through their work without consciously training any of them.
This Bite Size explores how these three pillars emerged from years of working with elite athletes and teams, and why they remain one of the simplest frameworks for lifting your performance every single day.
A short, powerful reminder that performing well often comes back to mastering the fundamentals.

Listen to Dan's podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-sport-psych-show/id1434313037
You can find Dan at his website: https://danabrahams.com/
Buy a copy of Dan's books: https://danabrahams.com/books/
Connect with Dan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-abrahams-b72a306/

Use Code "PQPODCAST10" to get 10% off your Lumo Coffee order:https://lumocoffee.com/
Interested in sharing your story? Email Producer Shannon at [email protected] today with your story and contact details.
Learn more about Andrew and Performance Intelligence: https://performanceintelligence.com/
Find out more about Andrew's Keynotes : https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/
Follow Andrew May: https://www.instagram.com/andrewmay/
Watch the Performance Intelligence Podcast on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@performanceintelligencepodcast
If you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.

You snack all day. A quick scroll between meetings. Emails between tasks. A podcast in the car. Life now happens in fragments - small moments squeezed between everything else. Yet when it comes to fitness, most people still believe it requires a full hour, a gym, and a perfectly clear schedule.
What if that idea is wrong?
After more than 50 years in the fitness industry, Dr Paul Batman began to question the model he had spent decades teaching. The result was a powerful shift in thinking: health doesn’t need more time...it needs better use of the moments we already have.
The concept is simple: fitness snacks. For busy professionals wanting to perform well now and age well later, this might completely change how you think about exercise.
1:55 Training for mountain treks by vacuuming and the moment Dr Paul questioned decades of fitness advice.
6:45 Why countries with more gyms often have more inactive people.
16:30 The new science of movement tracking and why staying active protects body and mind as you age.
25:30 Over 55 and inactive? The hidden health risk most people don’t realise.
32:00 Simple ways to move more each day and what METs actually mean for your health.
37:30 The surprising link between movement, dementia prevention, and everyday activities like shopping.
45:30 Why moving with others might be the secret to staying active for life.

You can find Dr Paul at his LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-paul-batman-9092a052/

Use Code "PQPODCAST10" to get 10% off your Lumo Coffee order:https://lumocoffee.com/
Interested in sharing your story? Email Producer Shannon at [email protected] today with your story and contact details.
Learn more about Andrew and Performance Intelligence: https://performanceintelligence.com/
Find out more about Andrew's Keynotes : https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/
Follow Andrew May: https://www.instagram.com/andrewmay/
Watch the Performance Intelligence Podcast on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@performanceintelligencepodcast
If you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.

Most leaders know how to ramp up for performance. Far fewer know how to switch off. Operating at full speed all day without deliberately down-regulating keeps the brain and body in a prolonged stress state - impairing decision-making, recovery and next-day performance.
Andrew May (Mental Skills Coach to the Wallabies) explains why the ability to shift gears is a critical leadership skill, particularly for those operating under constant cognitive load.
He also shares a simple breathing technique that can lower your heart rate and begin calming the nervous system in under 30 seconds.
Want to hear to the full episode? Head to #151 in our podcast library.

Use Code "PQPODCAST10" to get 10% off your Lumo Coffee order:https://lumocoffee.com/
Interested in sharing your story? Email Producer Shannon at [email protected] today with your story and contact details.
Learn more about Andrew and Performance Intelligence: https://performanceintelligence.com/
Find out more about Andrew's Keynotes : https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/
Follow Andrew May: https://www.instagram.com/andrewmay/
Watch the Performance Intelligence Podcast on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@performanceintelligencepodcast
If you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.

A leadership team with top-tier talent, strong strategy, and capital behind it still misses targets. Engagement scores drift. Execution stalls. On paper, nothing is wrong. In reality, the environment is misaligned.
That gap between capability and consistent performance is where culture either compounds results or quietly erodes them.
Aaron Walsh, Head of Culture, Leadership and Mental Performance at the Rajasthan Royals and former Mental Skills coach with the Chiefs, has spent his career working inside high performance systems where results are unforgiving and scrutiny is constant.

Why is culture still treated as a “soft” variable despite overwhelming evidence that it shapes behaviour, decision-making and performance under pressure?
1:45 – Defining culture and what happens when reality doesn’t match the wall.
 9:05 – Aaron’s work with the Chiefs and Mike Cron on building a successful culture.
 15:45 – Connecting teams to the community and the last 10% performance gains from culture.
 19:55 – Michael Gervais, the Seattle Seahawks, and bringing team culture to corporates like IAG.
 27:55 – Immediate actions to improve culture and fostering psychological safety for innovation.
 33:10 – Leadership, culture, and why your energy impacts corporate performance.
 36:50 – Andrew’s morning routine and the quality vs quantity time debate.
 41:05 – Measuring culture beyond annual check-ins and its impact.
 47:15 – Modelling desired behaviours and Aaron’s 5-year vision.
 54:35 – When systems fail, talent isn’t enough and why some teams may not need a mental skills coach.
 59:55 – Spotting cultural clues on day one and lessons from sports to corporate mental skills.
Listen to the previous episode with Aaron here: https://performanceintelligence.transistor.fm/episodes/143-aaron-walsh

Use Code "PQPODCAST10" to get 10% off your Lumo Coffee order:https://lumocoffee.com/
Interested in sharing your story? Email Producer Shannon at [email protected] today with your story and contact details.
Learn more about Andrew and Performance Intelligence: https://performanceintelligence.com/
Find out more about Andrew's Keynotes : https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/
Follow Andrew May: https://www.instagram.com/andrewmay/
Watch the Performance Intelligence Podcast on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@performanceintelligencepodcast
If you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.