Greg Reed, is CEO of Places for People, the UK’s largest social enterprise - managing assets of nearly £5 billion, with a national team of 11,000 and serving more than a million people. A humble empath, introvert and storyteller, his stellar career has taught him a few things. His three stories are warm, funny and thought-provoking. Key takeaways : Do the right thing because it’s right. Not for the credit Culture starts at the top. Manifest the behaviours you want to see. Set the stage...

Pete Markey is CMO at Boots UK, and a lovely man and very much an imaginal leader He leads the full marketing kit and caboodle: brand, marketing communications, data, loyalty and omni media planning and comms. He fully understands that his job as a leader is to unleash the potential of his colleagues. To leave a legacy. He’s a bit of a marketing star - and in his episode of Humans Leading Humans he explains how he “bottles the magic” of diverse thoughts and opinions to drive loyalty and...

Simon Casson is the President of Operations EMEA for Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts; a luxury chain known for world-class, award winning Customer Experience. Excellent Customer Experience starts inside; with exemplary culture supported by world class leadership. Simon’s stories are warm, personal and packed with the wisdom and experience to embed CREATE CULTURES. He shares how to give your customers and colleagues the care they expect and deserve, to keep them coming back for...

Make and Hold Space with Kate Brindley Kate Brindley has, in an illustrious and change-making career, led some of the UK’s most iconic Cultural venues. Imagine the scenario. Banksy calls. He says he wants to set up an exhibition in your biggest and most prestigious gallery. You can’t tell your boss or any of your politicians … and you have to trust him to do exactly what he thinks best. What would you do? Find out what Kate did … and how her decision changed the culture of Bristol...

Mark Evans is the Managing Director of Marketing and Digital at Direct Line, he’s on the board of the Marketing Society and is very much an imaginal leader. His leadership stories are as warm and wonderful as he is. A keen rugby player, he’s worked in lots of companies in lots of sectors and has learned what good leadership really means: providing clarity, energy and being grateful. He talks about what it feels like to be the only man in the room when exclusively , and about the massive...

Laura Jordan Bambach is President and Chief Creative Officer at Grey, a force of nature, digital pioneer and long time friend. Her message is loud and clear. Without creativity there is no movement. There is no growth. There is no success. She shares how living with an arts community in a warehouse and how the unforgettable experience of working, living, creating collaboratively has influenced the way that she ( and I) approach business and leadership. Her colourful stories are jam packed...

Ellie Norman has worked in Agencies, Automotive and was until recently CMO of Formula One.She talks about the importance of knowing what colleagues are motivated by, what scares them and how marketers can harness their storytelling super power to paint a future others will bury into. She shares the story of the Formula One Streaming Service - the perils and pain of getting caught up in the heady excitement of bringing shiny products to market while letting the customer fade from view Key...

Rebecca Rennison is a Partner at EY, one of the largest professional services networks in the world. Before that, she was the only female Managing Director at an Investment Bank in the whole of North America. Can you imagine a more male work environment? So she’s learned a thing or two about being a leader in a tough work environment. In this energising, action-packed conversation, she shares her hand guide - a wonderful simple and memorable tool to help you make a mode shift from survive to...

How would you react if a member of your team phoned to say they can’t make it into work because they’ve got a hangover? Serious question. You might find Claire Fox’s answer a little unexpected. She is an inspiration, 100% Imaginal and has had an illustrious career so far; From Sportswoman, through sports scientist, to Unilever HR,. Chief People Officer at Save the Children and COO of UNICEF.. and in the midst of that somehow found the time to be a published author. She, like me, believes...

Sara Bennison is the Chief Product & Marketing Officer of Nationwide Building Society and is the manifestation of courageous leadership. Her stories will inspire and motivate you, and help you understand what leadership really looks like. She shares the impact that empathy, courage, vulnerable and good, honest communications has on her colleagues. Her top tips Do the right thing and your career will thrive Good business comes from real relationships Words have power. DON’T make...

Richard Bistrong was a majorly successful VP of Sales for a global defence manufacturer for 20 years. In 2012, after smashing his targets and then some, Richard was sentenced and served fourteen-and-a-half months at a U.S federal prison camp. His is a journey through the dark side of international sales, through bribery and corruption. It is a story of the extreme edges of bad governance - when leaders hold people to account for aggressive targets and choose not to ask the right questions....

Sacha Romanovitch, the first female CEO of Grant Thornton, now heads up Fair4AllFinance, a non profit organisation that is building an inclusive economy. She proved that a “profits with purpose” ethos, with diversity and inclusion at its core, builds real and measurable value across customer experience, employee engagement - and builds brands that people love. She, like me, is committed to developing a new operating system, a better normal that allows people, places, business and planet to...

Rich Corbridge is the Chief Information Officer at Boots; a massive health retailer and pharmacy chain. With over 2,500 stores across six countries, 55,000 employees and revenues of £6.5Bn, it’s a pretty big deal. Rich’s job is to harness the power of technology to support business change and transformation. He is not your traditional, stereotypical technology leader. Not at all.  His are stories of passion, of courage … of people. He shares how a story was so powerful, it inspired him to...

Mark Earls ( AKA The Herdmeister ) is a strategist, author, speaker and performer. He's done a lot of big thinking on brands, marketing and mass behaviour. When I met him he was the Global Strategy Chief at Ogilvy and Mather - and it was he who first piqued my passion for Behavioural Science. In this episode we talk a lot about a lot f thing- but mostly about the power of being the naysayer, the jester, the power of pointing at the elephant in the room even when it’s tough. Because if not you...

My guest this week, Chip Conley, is an extraordinary human. He was Founder and CEO of the highly successful boutique hotel company Joi de Vivre (now owned by Hyatt.) It took a near death experience to made him stand back, look at his life and sell the company. Then a smart young fellah called Brian, founder of a teeny, weeny startup called AirBnB, hired Chip as his strategic Lead and Mentor. Together, they grew AirBnB to be the most valuable hospitality company in the world. This is a story...

The guest in this episode is the wonderfully authentic, modest, imaginal Paul Greatrix, Registrar ( AKA COO) of Nottingham University; one of the UKs’ biggest universities with over 8,000 staff, 35,000 students and £750million turnover.. so no small outfit. His responsibility is to CREATE operating models and cultural frameworks where everyone at all levels are in learning mode. Leaders in all organisations are finally realising life long learning is no longer a nice to have. Continuous...

My guest his week, Dan Ariely needs no introduction. But just in case, he is one of the worlds most influential psychologists. His work - and he - have inspired and continue to feed my passion, mission, vision and work. In this gloves-off conversation, he explains how leaders build work cultures that kill motivation -dead. He explains what to do, and what not to do, to unleash productivity, efficiency, and innovation. Here’s just a few of his top tips: You get what you measure, so be sure...

Emily Chang is the CEO China at McCann WorldGroup and an absolute inspiration. Before McCann, she has worked with all sorts of massive brands across the US and ASIA Pacific - including the enviable, and no doubt sometimes challenging, role of introducing the apple brand to Asia. It’s easy to assume that different leadership styles are needed in the seeming very different cultures in other regions. She says this is absolutely not true. We are all human and as such there are far more...

Amy C Edmondson is an engineer, a researcher, teacher, bestselling writer, the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School, - and a key inspiration for my work. After an enviable start to her career, working with one of the 20th Century’s most original thinkers, Buckminster Fuller, Amy has dedicated her career to exploring how to create work environments where humans thrive, so business and society can thrive. In this wonderfully warm conversation, she...

Gary Coombe is the CEO of Gillette, P&G, a wonderfully warm human and an absolute inspiration. He has learned a lot, and made mistakes, in his 35 years with P&G. Lots of leaders pay lip service to the fact that people are their most important asset. Gary is committed to living it. His insights are important to all leaders at all levels everywhere - whether leading a team of 3 or 500. 1/ Diversity and Inclusion is not a nice to have, it’s a business imperative. The strongest teams,...

This weeks guest is Kim Polman, Co-Founder and Chair of Reboot the Future. She inspired Katz to build the Imaginal Leadership story into the core of the bible according to beep. In this thought provoking conversation, Kim presents her version of the Golden Rule. You know the one.. you learned it at school: “Treat others as you would wish to be treated.” She explains why this one simple, powerful statement has been pivotal to philosophies and religions throughout history - and why it is a...

Roxann Linton is the CEO at FHC, one of the biggest credit unions in Jamaica. Since taking the helm, she’s turned the company around from a financial deficit of 300 million Jamaican Dollars to a surplus of $273.44 million - by creating a work culture where humans thrive. Find out how she created her very own leadership elixir and why her colleagues called her the Chief Encouragement Officer. Key takeaways: Develop a leadership vision and stick with it - even when the going gets tough ...

Rory Sutherland is Vice Chairman, and heads up the Behavioural Science Practice, at Ogilvy UK. In this weeks episode he shares stories about the power of #autonomy In his three brilliant CREATE stories you will find out why we: should spend more time understanding the problem before designing the solution are more likely to do nothing than the sensible, innovative or imaginative thing Had better get clever about what we measure should scrap the senseless “9 to 5” BONUS EXTRAS: Find...

Bracken Darrell is the President and CEO of Logitech. Since Bracken took the helm, Logitech’s revenue has more than doubled to $5.25 Billion. He has proved that being an authentic, 100% human imaginal leader drives real and measurable business success. Here’s some key takeaways: FEEL and act like you own the company you work for Find good mentors (AKA friends) and allow them to find you Seek advice from people with totally difference experiences and perspectives Get your hands dirty...