Episode 500 – The quincentenary celebration

Episode 500 - The quincentenary episode

‘Books are made by humans, for humans, in conversation with other humans, and they are still the best vehicle we have for sustained thought.’ It’s episode 500 of The Extraordinary Business Book Club. (I KNOW!!!) To mark the milestone, I handed the mic over to YOU, the listeners, to reflect…

Continue reading

Episode 495 – The streak effect

Episode 495 - The streak effect

‘Today is day one of whatever streak you choose to commit to.’ Something a little bit different this week, as I celebrate an unusual milestone: eight years of running every single day. But this isn’t really about running, it’s about streaking (no, not that kind of streaking, do grow up)…

Continue reading

Episode 492 – Writing is resistance

Episode 492 - Writing is resistance

‘Unlike the washing up, which I’m perfectly happy to delegate to a machine… I don’t WANT to delegate my writing, because that’s how I think.’ Technology is great at making life easier. But sometimes, easy isn’t what we really need.  It’s hard to resist the siren call of AI as…

Continue reading

Episode 491 – Future-Fit Innovation with Barbara Salopek

Episode 491 - Future-Fit Innovation with Barbara Salopek

‘ Being creative means having a deep knowledge about anything that you do, because this helps you then to connect those things into new things.’ Innovation. You can’t sit through a corporate meeting without hearing the word. Everyone thinks they know what they mean by it, and most people are confident…

Continue reading

Episode 487 – Measuring Inclusion with Paolo Gaudiano

Episode 487 - Measuring Inclusion with Paolo Gaudiano

‘Inclusion is what you do and diversity is what you get.’ Paolo Gaudiano’s expertise ranges from rocket science through computational neuroscience to the really tough work: diversity, equity and inclusion in organizations. It’s not got any easier over the last couple of years, but it’s not got any less important,…

Continue reading

Episode 486 – Going All In at the London Book Fair

Episode 486 - Going All In at the London Book Fair

‘If you’re into it, read into it.’ Fresh (sic) from the London Book Fair, this week’s episode brings together perspectives from across the industry on the National Year of Reading campaign. Does reading even still matter? [Spoiler alert: it matters more than ever!] And how can we – as an…

Continue reading

Episode 485 – People Glue with Helen Beedham

Episode 485 - People Glue with Helen Beedham

‘If you love somebody, set them free,’ advised Sting back in 1985. Little did he know he was setting out a core principle of leadership for the 21st century. It’s the big idea behind award-winning author Helen Beedham’s second book People Glue: Hold on to your best people by setting…

Continue reading

Episode 484 – Hope is a Strategy with Ian Pettigrew

Episode 484 - Hope is a Strategy with Ian Pettigrew

‘We don’t understand much about hope, and yet people are crying out for it from leaders.’ If you ever hear someone dismissively say ‘hope is not a strategy’, be sure to introduce them to Ian Pettigrew, author of Hope is a Strategy. He will disabuse them of the idea that…

Continue reading

Episode 482 – Giving writers a voice with Kevin Anderson

Episode 482 - Giving writers a voice with Kevin Anderson

‘The crux of our whole business is just really finding talented people to help others do what they can’t do themselves as well.’ Kevin Anderson never planned to become CEO of one of the biggest editorial agencies in the world, but that’s where his knack for seeing opportunities in a…

Continue reading

Episode 481 – Social anxiety at work with Becky Westwood

Episode 481 - Social anxiety at work with Becky Westwood

“Love feedback, hate feedback, feel sort of somewhere in the middle, it still creates this sense of anxiety for everyone around.” Organizational psychologist Becky Westwood is an expert in social anxiety at work. And that gives her a unique persepctive on the situation guaranteed to created anxiety in ALL of…

Continue reading