229. This Isn’t Working: What Business Gets Wrong About People and Profit, with Meghan French Dunbar

Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning podcast where behavioural science meets workplace culture — brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network. Hosted by Chartered Occupational Psychologist Leanne Elliott and business owner Al Elliott, we’re here to simplify the science of work.

This week we’re joined by Meghan French Dunbar — author, speaker, business anthropologist, and former CEO who built a nationally distributed magazine before realising she was chasing all the wrong metrics. Meghan has interviewed over a thousand business leaders and in her new book This Isn’t Working she argues that everything we’ve been told about business success is upside down.

🔥 What We Cover

📌 Banana-hoarding billionaires
Why we celebrate exploitative leaders — and what it says about our values.

📌 The power of active listening
How one of Meghan’s best hires started with an unexpected, deeply human conversation.

📌 What’s really broken in business
Why shareholder supremacy and profit-at-all-cost thinking is destroying wellbeing, and the companies proving there’s a better way.

📌 Redefining success
The shift from extrinsic motivators like money and titles, to intrinsic motivators like purpose, growth, and autonomy.

📌 Practical inspiration
Case studies from Zingerman’s to Eileen Fisher showing how treating people well leads to long-term profitability and resilience.

🎧 Want more from Meghan French Dunbar?
– Website: https://www.meghanfrenchdunbar.com/book
– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meghanfrenchdunbar
– Substack: https://meghanfrenchdunbar.substack.com
– Email: meghan@frenchdunbar.com
– Book: This Isn’t Working (use code TLW for 20% off) → https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/meghan-french-dunbar/this-isnt-working/9781541704862/?lens=basic-venture

🧠 Support with Mental Health and Well-being
– Mind UK: https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/ – Samaritans (UK): Call 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org

📬 Connect with Al & Leanne
– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork
– Al Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott
– Leanne Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne
– Email: hello@truthliesandwork.com
– Book a call: https://savvycal.com/meetleanne/chat