Would you let your employer literally get under your skin, implanting a chip so that your employer could track your heart rate and typing speed, for example? How would you react to a microphone hidden within your ID badge tracking every conversation that you have in the workplace? This is the growing reality of workplace analytics - technology tracking every move you make within the workplace. One global company take its productivity trackers so seriously, the system fired 300 people in one...

There is a simple set of rules to follow that, in my experience, almost guarantee you business success. Of course, every single startup is completely different, but in my experience there are certain things that you can do to massively amplify your odds of success. In this episode of the podcast I answer a series of questions from business people about growing beyond the startup stage. It starts with what happens when you stop thinking of yourself as a startup. I can tell you one thing for...

There is a dangerous landscape out there at the moment where business owners are giving away swathes of their businesses in the very early days. This propensity for entrepreneurs to sell shares at the startup stage, this Dragons' Den-style focus on getting investment, giving away stakes in their business for practically peanuts. We're seeing stories like these in the headlines time and time again at the moment. So how do you avoid falling down like that? When you look at business financing...

No matter how the industry changes, how is it that some businesses stand the test of time? In this podcast I discuss the difference between a business and brand, exploring the world-leading companies that continue to defy gravity decade after decade. Scientific research from Stanford University highlights the power of a brand and how taking that step to elevate a business into a brand can be the difference between becoming a world-leading name and staying a stagnant startup never quite...

In February 2009, Royal Marine Andy Grant was blown up by a bomb during a routine patrol in Afghanistan. He suffered 27 separate injuries in the explosion, including catastrophic damage to his right leg. The quick actions of the team on the ground saved his life, but Andy’s life as he knew it would never be the same again. Despite efforts to save his leg, the severity of his injury left him virtually bed bound. As a result Andy plunged into a downward spiral of drinking, gambling and...

I'm a great believer in the power of intention and setting goals. A few years ago I set a goal to interview one of the world's best known leaders. I thought it was impossible at the time, but when you set a goal, it's extraordinary how often you hit it. So, today, I am excited to bring you the result of writing that goal set all that time ago: an interview with one of the world's most controversial characters. April Fool! Did I catch you out with our #FakeNews this morning? Let me know on...

At the age of 26 Rob Moore was a struggling artist in almost £50,000 of consumer debt. But a painful and deeply emotional event on 15th December 2015 changed the course of his life forever. By the time he was 31-years-old Rob had his own property investment company, managing more than 700 units and had become a self-made millionaire. Today, Progressive Property has expanded to include an education company for buy-to-let newcomers and Rob has embraced his creative side, with ten books under...

In 1992 Chris Boardman became the first British cyclist in 72 years to win an Olympic gold medal. So, how did an unemployed carpenter find himself standing on top of the podium at the world’s biggest sporting spectacle? It all comes down to marginal gains. He went on to head up British Cycling’s ‘Secret Squirrel Club’, where his obsession with small details and technical focus was behind the stratospheric success of Team GB in the velodrome.   In this episode Chris explains why all the big...

Today, UKFast is a £400 million enterprise, employing more than 400 people with plans for further expansion, but it started from humble beginnings. Almost 20 years ago when we founded the business, Gail and I were the only employees. We launched ourselves into the world of internet hosting, working long days in a back bedroom and surviving on cereal. In this episode we share what it’s like working as a husband-and-wife team, growing a business alongside managing a busy family life with our...

It’s impossible to comprehend or imagine the devastating impact of being told your child has a terminal illness, yet to receive the news that two of your children may suffer the same fate is utterly indescribable. However, that is the reality for Lucy and Mike Carroll, after their youngest son Ollie and daughter Amelia were diagnosed with the incredibly rare Batten Disease. The cruel illness robs children of their motor skills and sight, and most given the diagnosis do not make it to their...

Having the responsibility of protecting a delicate ecosystem and a culture built on the ‘Slow Life’ principle, while pioneering a new style of tourism, Sonu Shivdasani and his wife Eva Malmström are redefining what it means to go on holiday.   Transforming an abandoned island in the Maldives to the extraordinary resort that Soneva Fushi is today hasn’t all been plain sailing for Sonu. Last year, he was diagnosed with stage four lymphoma.   As our family holiday on Soneva Fushi came to a...

You can’t hop onto the top of Mount Everest or become a billionaire overnight, but once you set a focus on making the absolute most of your time, I promise you very little will stop you from achieving your goals. We are all getting busier and, in a super-connected world, the demands on our time have never been greater. In 30 years of business, I’ve learned how to maximise every single moment of my time, from managing meetings to family time. I was recently asked if I had a daily routine. My...

Does every business have the potential to grow? Of course it does. Just as talent can expand, creativity can be strengthened and leaders can develop. In short, every single person with a business has the potential to be extraordinary. So what’s the secret? A growth mindset. It’s essential for both you as an individual and the business as a whole. Why? To answer this I discuss the following two questions, asked by listeners of this podcast: Have you ever had a situation where someone you...

Over a career in journalism spanning more than 50 years, Gordon Burns interviewed every Prime Minister from Edward Heath to David Cameron, a record unsurpassed by any other broadcaster. He endured threats to his life, was given a stern ticking off by Margaret Thatcher and even shed a tear when Gordon Brown left office - but perhaps not for the reason you may think. Gordon began his career as a newspaper reporter in Belfast, at the height of the troubles in Northern Ireland before making his...

18 years ago, I faced death head on. Buried beneath eight feet of snow I felt my life ebbing away. This was honesty looking me in the face, telling me that I had not done anything of note. I was lucky, I had a second chance. That day I made a promise to myself that I’d work tirelessly to give something back every single day. This is the first time I’ve shared my story in public, but with so much uncertainty in the world it now feels like the right time. Don’t live for the what ifs and...

Today’s been dubbed Blue Monday, the most 'depressing' day of the year. Supposedly the gloomy weather, empty bank account, broken diets and unfulfilled resolutions all stack up, leaving us all feeling a bit glum. In fact, the concept was thought up by a psychologist to back up a marketing promotion for a travel firm. That aside, it is a good way to get us talking. For a little Monday motivation I left the comfort of the recording studio and headed to one of my favourite places. So, if you...

Throughout our lives there are moments when we need to adapt. From leaving school and getting a job to taking a seat on the board of a company or dealing with redundancy and deciding to pursue a passion. What we learn from these periods of change shape us and can alter the path of our lives. I am a firm believer in fate, that everything happens for a reason, however difficult a situation may seem at the time. Fate changed the course of my life when I was 30 years old. In the space of a few...

Last summer, Stacey Copeland made history when she became the first British female boxer to win a Commonwealth title. Her victory was the culmination of a long-fought battle for women to be given the right to fight. When Stacey began boxing, at the age of six in her grandad’s gym, it was still illegal for women to fight in the ring. With no opportunities for female fighters, Stacey focussed on football, representing England U18s and playing for Doncaster Belles in both the Premier League and...

How do some people reach the heights of super success whilst others are nowhere near that level? Throughout 2018 I’ve interviewed some extraordinary characters for this podcast series and there are some clear commonalities. What does it take to get to the top of Everest with only a couple of year’s climbing experience, or to launch a new business from nothing to a multimillion-pound organisation? From Manchester United legend Gary Neville and billionaire bookmaker Fred Done, to Manchester...

Back in 2001, Dr Chris Smith launched a new show, The Naked Scientists, in the hope of making science accessible. It was one of the first radio programmes to be made into a podcast and is now one of the world’s most popular science shows. In the past five years, the programme has been downloaded more than 50 million times. Dr Chris has travelled the world in search of the latest science topics and trends, through which he has won numerous national and international accolades. He joins...

Forget prawn rings and party food, this Christmas the topic of conversation is palm oil thanks to Iceland’s viral advert, highlighting the destruction of the rainforest for palm oil production. To date, it’s had more than 70 million views online after being banned from television broadcasts. Richard Walker is the person driving the supermarket’s eco-friendly focus. The son of Iceland’s founder, Malcom Walker, Richard took up the role of Managing Director in August 2018, pledging to remove...

Fed up with a lack of healthy fast food options on offer after leaving the gym, Carley Jones came up with the concept of a restaurant to suit her clean-eating lifestyle. In 2016, Kettlebell Kitchen opened its doors in Manchester, offering a health conscious alternative to high-street takeaways. In its first year Kettlebell Kitchen turned over £1.7 million. There are now three restaurants in Manchester with plans to open more outlets in cities across the UK. The business has also diversified...

In 1961, just six years after gambling was legalised, Fred Done opened his first betting shop in Salford. Not one to pass up an opportunity, Fred began to expand his empire and by the 1990s Betfred was opening 80 new branches a year. Today, Betfred has more than 1,600 shops throughout the UK and employs 10,000 people. Fred attributes his success to hard work, common sense and backing the right people. And, after more than 50 years in business, Fred shows no signs of slowing down. The...

At 22 years old, Bonita Norris became the youngest British woman to reach the summit of Everest. Remarkably, she only started climbing two years earlier, having been inspired by a lecture on mountaineering at university. It was a journey from which she almost didn’t return, after slipping and falling in the notorious Death Zone. In this captivating interview, Bonita shares her adventure to the top of the world, revealing how she changed her mindset from thinking that ‘people like me don’t...

Freya Lewis was just three metres away from the bomb that exploded at Manchester Arena on 22nd May 2017, leaving her with catastrophic injuries. Freya’s best friend 14-year-old Nell Jones, who she’d been with at the Ariana Grande concert, was tragically killed in the attack. Freya spent five and a half weeks at Royal Manchester Children’s hospital, where she underwent 70 hours of surgery and began the process of learning to walk again. Despite the unimaginable heartbreak, the 16-year-old...