What NewBiscuit is
At NewBiscuit, we help people redesign their lives in ways that are simple, human and energising.
We blend behavioural science, design thinking, great communication skills and a slightly odd sense of humour to create experiences that help you see your patterns, break old habits and build a life that feels honest, purposeful and unmistakably yours.
Everything we make, the Life Audit, the book, the workshops, the tools; are built around one core belief: Change works best when it’s grounded in evidence, shaped by real humans, and just a little bit surprising.
NewBiscuit isn’t a program or a 21st century cult, it’s a way of approaching the second half of life with a hungry curiosity, with courage and a willingness to try something new (knowing full well, sometimes it is going to be shit). We think we know a few things about how to help you with that, while fully acknowledging that you know more than we do, and we are just here to help you realise what you might have known all along.
Who I Am
I’m Dr Brad Hodge, a behavioural scientist and designer of high-engagement learning experiences (Every now and again I will use the title Dr to make myself sound fancier than I really am). My work lives at the intersection of behaviour change, communication, teamwork and innovation, mostly because I’ve never believed they can be separated, and I am a sucker for weird combinations.
People are complicated, contradictory, messy, brilliant creatures, and I’ve spent the last two decades or more helping them understand themselves in ways that move them forward.
I’m known for being a little unusual in the way I work. Not eccentric-in-a-basement kind of way, more the kind of different that makes people tilt their head and say, “Huh… that actually makes a lot of sense, but I am not entirely sure how your brain works” kind of way.
Humour sits at the centre of everything I do, because change is hard enough without taking ourselves too seriously. A well-placed laugh can open doors that logic alone can’t budge, plus I am easily bored without it.
Over the years, I’ve taught, facilitated and designed programs that help people understand themselves more clearly, communicate more honestly and work in ways that create energy instead of draining it.
I am all for being told that I am a brilliant speaker, or that the things I create are incredible, but what I really get excited about is when I am approached six months after a program by a previous attendee and they tell me how they changed what they did, and they continue to. Now that floats my proverbial boat. I care about what genuinely shifts someone’s behaviour not what simply sounds clever in a book. Real decisions. Real patterns. Real change. That’s the work I revel in.
My style is direct, grounded and human.
No clichés (ok, fine, every now and again a cliché may pass my lips, but it is largely unintentional). No motivational smoke machines (though I won’t completely rule out a real smoke machine if I think it will move you to action more effectively…)
Just tools, insights and structures that help you build momentum in the moments where most people get stuck, buy time share and a meat smoker, especially in the second half of life, where clarity sharpens and the opportunity to reinvent becomes too important to ignore.
Why NewBiscuit Exists
Most of us reach a point where the life we’ve built no longer drives us very well, it’s ok, but it doesn’t get excited about it, if pushed, we certainly wouldn’t give it a five star rating, but we don’t know how to redesign it. It is not bad enough to panic, but also it is not good enough to really keep us happy either.
That moment is not a crisis.
It’s an invitation.
I created NewBiscuit to give you the frameworks, clarity and support you need to take that invitation seriously and create a life that inspires you. We are not talking a ‘burn your whole life down’, level event. We are talking about intentional gradual experimentation and change that leads to lasting, deep, and often dramatic shifts in your life.
And to be totally honest, the creation of NewBiscuit is absolutely the expression of me doing the work I am going to support you to do. I have created NewBiscuit as a way of creating my own magnificent life, because I love helping you create yours.
How We Work
We take the best of behavioural science, innovation practice and communication theory and turn them into tools you can actually use, not concepts that sit on a shelf sustaining generations of silverfish.
But here’s something most people don’t expect: with the right context, the right facilitator and the right activities, you’ll often learn as much, if not more, from the people around you as you will from me, and that is key to the success of our workshops. We create experiences that enable you to learn about yourself, by engaging with others.
Humans are strange creatures. We mirror each other, challenge each other, trigger each other, and inspire each other. Put a group of curious people in a well-designed environment and something stunning happens:
the group itself becomes the teacher.
In almost every workshop or program, someone will say or do something that reveals a blind spot, a strength or a possibility you hadn’t recognised in yourself. That’s the magic. That’s why we design experiences that bring people together rather than placing me at the centre. Though I do love a bit of the spotlight
My job is to poke you in just the right places at the right time, in a way that you like, so that you create your own change, and I do love poking people.
Your job is to step into them.
And together, with the wonderfully weird humans around you, real change happens.
Why “NewBiscuit”?
I spent months trying to find the perfect name for this business — something meaningful, elegant, clever… you know, the kind of word that makes people nod slowly and say, “Oh wow, that’s deep, Dr Brad, you are amazing…” or something to that effect.
I had dozens of brilliant contenders. Truly brilliant, if I say so myself. Every one of them taken. Likely not even being used, just owned by some skinny IT guy from the 90s who probably hasn’t checked his Hotmail in a decade but still wants ten grand for the domain. It was frightening to think tha the best I might get is www.drbradhodgeisreallyasgoodashethinksheisandyoushouldprobablygivehimmoney.net.au. Eventually I realised the name didn’t need to sound like a TED Talk or a meditation app. It just needed to be memorable. Something that sticks. Something that makes you tilt your head and smile. Something that shows you something… before you even read a single word.
Enter: NewBiscuit.
A bit weird? Absolutely. But who doesn’t love a new biscuit? Trying a new one is one of life’s great tiny joys. And honestly, isn’t that what this whole midlife redesign thing is about?
The second half of your life can be exactly like finding a new biscuit surprising, delicious, slightly ridiculous and so much better when you’re not expecting it.
NewBiscuit is a reminder that reinvention doesn’t have to be heavy. It can be unexpected. It can be joyful. And it can taste a whole lot better than the Salada you found in the open packet at the bottom of the staff room pantry.