The Leadership Enigma

In this raw and powerful episode, Adam sits down with Josh White, the accidental CEO and co-founder of Cano Water – the eco-conscious drinks brand shaking up the industry. Josh opens up about his journey from addiction, ADHD, and mental health struggles to building a brand that’s now selling 15+ million cans a year and backed by global icons. From school dropout to DJ, from rock bottom to rehab, Josh's story is one of pain, purpose, and planet-positive disruption. 🌊 Hear how a trash-filled island holiday sparked a sustainability movement. 🥫 Learn why putting water in a can wasn’t crazy – just ahead of its time. 🔥 Be inspired by a young entrepreneur who turned adversity into impact. 🥫 How David Attenborough and Blue Planet unwittingly saved their business. This is a must-listen for anyone who’s ever felt like they didn’t fit in — and dared to create something that did. 🔗 Check out Cano Water: https://canowater.com #LeadershipEnigma #JoshWhite #CanoWater #MentalHealthMatters #Sustainability #YoungCEO #Entrepreneurship #Neurodiversity #Disruptor #Inspiration

The Dean of Dumbassery Returns to The Leadership Enigma In this energising episode, Garry Ridge, former Chairman & CEO of WD-40 (yep, that iconic blue and yellow can with a red top), returns to the Leadership Enigma – flying in from the West Coast to London just for this chat! 🔥 Garry shares powerful lessons from his new book “Any Dumb Ass Can Do It”, drawn from 25 years of scar tissue, leadership insights, and culture-first wisdom. As he says, “We sell memories, not just oil in a can.” 🧠 Key Takeaways: 💥 "Your product is not your purpose.” Garry unpacks how purpose, people and culture drive long-term success. 📈 “Will of the people x strategy = output.” It’s not just about what you do, but who’s behind it that matters most. 🎓 From VIP to PIP (previously important person): Garry’s new mission is to pay it forward as the self-proclaimed Dean of Dumbassery – teaching, sharing, and helping leaders step up. ❤️ “Happy people make happy families, happy communities, and a happy world.” Garry reminds us that leadership is personal. It’s about creating meaningful impact. 🧠 “If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.” At WD-40, leaders became coaches, not managers – and everyone was trusted to grow. 🪶 “Life is a gift, don’t send it back unwrapped.” A rallying cry for leaders to embrace learning, take risks, and disrupt themselves. 🛠 Culture = (Values + Behaviour) x Consistency WD-40’s secret? A strong values hierarchy – guiding decision-making, reducing churn, and building trust. 🚫 Bye-bye finger-pointing: Enter the Maniac Pledge – an accountability manifesto that fuels empowerment across teams. 🤖 Beware of “Alec – the Soul Sucking CEO” Garry’s pocket puppet helps expose the fear-based leadership we all need to leave behind. 📊 70% of employees feel disengaged. Garry says it’s time to flip the script – because leaders are responsible for creating cultures where people belong, matter, and have autonomy. 🧠 Learning moments are the game changers. Remember, WD-40 got its name after failing 39 times. 🌀 “Don’t make finite decisions in uncertain times – fly loose.” Post-pandemic leadership needs agility, empathy, and clarity of purpose. 💬 Garry’s challenge to all leaders: “My people are so excited to go to ______ today because we are going to ______ today.” Fill in the blanks. What kind of workplace are you creating? 📚 Any Dumb Ass Can Do It is more than a title – it’s a call for humility, courage, and curiosity in leadership. Garry’s wisdom hits deep, and this episode is packed with practical, heartfelt, and hilarious truths for any leader looking to level up. 👉 Hit play. Get inspired. And remember: Profit is simply the applause for delighting your customers. Get the book from Amazon www.thelearningmoment.net/ The Dumb Ass Quiz: www.thelearningmoment.net/quiz/

In this captivating episode, we dive deep into the remarkable leadership journey of Tiger Tyagarajan, former CEO of Genpact, who led the company from a humble team of 20 to a global powerhouse of 130,000 employees with over $5 billion in revenue. Tiger's story is one of curiosity, humility, adaptability, and relentless growth. 🚀 Key Leadership Insights: 1. Curiosity as a Superpower:Tiger emphasizes the importance of maintaining a child-like curiosity, even as a leader. For him, "Exhibiting ignorance is at the heart of a leader's curiosity." Leaders should not shy away from admitting what they don’t know but instead use it as fuel to learn and grow. 2. Learning from the Young and the Wise:Early in his career, Tiger learned the power of listening and learning from those with more experience. Yet, as CEO, he also valued the perspectives of younger generations, believing their fresh views are crucial for staying relevant and innovative. 3. Creating a Learning Culture:To attract and retain top talent, Tiger built a culture where continuous learning and growth were embedded into the business model. Creating environments where people feel psychologically safe to share ideas and make mistakes is key to long-term success. 4. Adaptation Through Ecosystem Thinking:Having been part of GE, Tiger understood that learning from diverse ecosystems was essential. As CEO, he spent 50% of his time looking outward, translating noise into actionable insights, and embracing feedback from all sources. 5. Admitting Mistakes and Course-Correcting:Tiger’s humility allowed him to acknowledge when he was wrong and quickly pivot. Leaders must accept the need to course-correct in a constantly evolving environment. 6. Psychological Safety and Commitment:Encouraging dissenting voices is crucial, but once a decision is made, unity and support are expected from everyone. Leaders must walk the talk and demonstrate the behaviors they want to see. 7. Customer-Centric Digital Transformation:Before jumping into digital transformation, Tiger asks, “What does this mean to the customer?” Efficient listening systems are essential to evolve and adapt effectively. 8. The Role of AI and Technology:Tiger remains optimistic about AI’s potential for good, especially in health and education. Leaders must stay curious, experiment, and understand how technology can enhance the customer experience. 9. The CEO as a Conscience Keeper:A CEO’s true role is to be the conscience keeper of the organization’s culture—always asking, “Why?” to ensure alignment with the company’s purpose and values. 📣 Final Thoughts:Tiger Tyagarajan’s journey highlights the transformative power of curiosity, humility, and adaptability. His approach to leadership reminds us all to be learners first, to value dissenting voices, and to always be ready to pivot when necessary. #LeadershipEnigma #TigerTyagarajan #Genpact #LeadershipLessons #DigitalTransformation #CuriosityDrivenLeadership

Charl Bassil is the BBC’s first-ever Chief Brand Officer, tasked with developing a unified brand strategy to engage global audiences, strengthen loyalty, and drive digital growth. With a background in marketing and leadership, Charl, originally from South Africa, brings a fresh, external perspective to one of the world’s most iconic institutions. The BBC, founded in 1922, has been at the heart of historic moments—from the first high-definition broadcast in 1936 to the moon landing in 1969. It has shaped global culture with programming like Match of the Day, Peaky Blinders, and MasterChef. However, the organisation faces constant scrutiny—license fee debates, leadership controversies, and the challenge of maintaining trust in an era of misinformation. Charl acknowledges the weight of his role and the need for continuous innovation. He discusses how the BBC’s leadership is focused on transformation, ensuring the organisation remains relevant, resilient, and committed to its public service values. Balancing objectivity with the demand for instant news is a critical challenge, but Charl emphasises that the BBC prioritises accuracy and integrity over speed. During the interview, Charl reflects on his personal purpose aligning with the BBC’s mission. Asked if he wanted to join to help protect democracy and free speech, he found the challenge irresistible. His goal is to empower the team, simplify complexity, and sustain the BBC’s brand in a fragmented media landscape. With technology and audience engagement at the forefront, his vision is clear—build for the future while staying true to the BBC’s legacy.

Kelly Latimer is no ordinary pilot. A former NASA, Virgin Galactic, and Boeing test pilot—and a combat veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan—Kelly has spent her career navigating high-stakes environments, from military command to the outer edges of space. As Virgin Galactic’s first female test pilot, she stepped into the role after the tragic VSS Enterprise crash in 2014, helping push the boundaries of space travel and human potential. In this episode, Kelly takes us inside the world of test piloting—where every flight is an experiment, every decision carries immense weight, and leadership is as much about precision as it is about people. From flying massive military jets to hand-flying a spaceplane at 55 miles above Earth, Kelly shares what it takes to lead under extreme pressure. Key Leadership Lessons: 🚀 Leading vs. Being in Charge – A powerful lesson from candid feedback mid-mission reshaped Kelly’s approach to leadership. 💡 Human-Centered Leadership – How she balanced authority with empathy, leading a 700+ person squadron with a focus on deep understanding and communication. 🔥 Navigating High-Stakes Performance – In a world where failure is not an option, Kelly learned that addressing poor performance isn’t just about accountability—it’s about protecting the team. 🌍 Being a Role Model – As a trailblazing female pilot in a male-dominated field, Kelly embraced the responsibility of inspiring the next generation—while staying true to herself. Kelly’s story is one of courage, adaptability, and relentless pursuit of excellence. In her final reflections, she reveals the one leadership principle that shaped her extraordinary career: the power of care. This is leadership—tested at Mach speeds. Don’t miss it.

Greg Orme is a global educator and author of Business Book of the Year, "The Human Edge." 'The Human Edge' focused on the fearful narrative that was and is growing around the use and development of AI. If we challenge AI on it's own ground we will certainly lose, Greg explains. Greg's book researched how leaders can differentiate themselves in this world of AI and digitisation. He constructed the 4C's Consciousness - which is finding meaning and vision and a sense of purpose in your work Curiosity - to ask better questions and change faster than the world is changing around you Creativity - the process of having good ideas that work in the world and Collaboration - how can you form collaborations with fellow human beings and AI too, to get your ideas into the world. The rate of change and development in this arena continues to increase. We only experienced the release of Chat GPT just over 800 days ago and now we have the announcement of 'Stargate' and the release of 'Deepseek'. Do leaders still think that AI is a fad and will dwindle over time? The strange answer is yes. The reality is very different and leaders have to grasp the importance of human centred leadership as a superpower. Greg explains we are at the bottom of the 'S' curve in the development of AI and what got us here is becoming exponential in growth especially with the introduction of quantum computing. Ai used properly can increase productivity by 40% giving us all more time. The question is what do we focus on in that time? This is where the human centric leadership skills play their part. Think of AI not as your auto-pilot but as your co-pilot. We must thrive in the knowledge that we can't stop AI. It will be more intelligent than humans possibly by 2027 and we will make mistakes along the way. No one can forecast where the destination is. Is super intelligence capable of consciousness? Will humans become the weakest link? Will AI consider the eradication of humans as the simplest answer to stop war, violence, global warming, exploitation and other human based issues? Connect on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregorme/ Greg’s website: https://gregorme.org/ To buy The Human Edge: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Greg-Orme/author/B00JH11WQ4?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true To read Greg’s latest thinking on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/gregorme/

Dan Hart left his 34-year career at Boeing to embark on a new adventure as CEO of Virgin Orbit. Working for Richard Branson’s startup was the opportunity of a lifetime during the heyday of new space, and the company enjoyed a string of successes before the company filed for bankruptcy in April 2023. The 1969 moon landing had a big impact on Dan in his early years and he simply cold called NASA to see if he could get a job! To his luck, they answered and he found his way to Kennedy Space Centre. The Challenger accident occurred in January 1986 and it impacted all the individuals in the industry and halted the programme for a number of years. Dan himself watched the events unfold with his team and they were all reminded of the dangers of the work they were involved in. It was in 2016 that Dan was asked to take on the CEO role of Virgin Orbit. Dan had been following the recent space race developments and Virgin Orbit working along side Richard Branson was an appealing challenge. Note: Virgin Orbit was set up to launch satellites whereas Virgin Galactic was focused on space tourism. Virgin Orbit was trying to be the first to launch a liquid rocket off the wing of an aeroplane. The X1 and X15 many years ago had been liquid propelled but none had been orbital. A liquid rocket is a complicated machine with multiple variables and unknowns. The legacy of the space industry was the compelling reason Dan said yes to Virgin Orbit with high risk and high reward on the agenda. Why is space so compelling for iconic billionaires such as Branson, Musk and Bezos? Dan considers it to be the potential for limitless learning, legacy and impactful world changing technologies and scientific breakthroughs. Dan remains excited as to the developments in space science such as expeditions to Jupiter and Mars to enhance our ability to understand the universe. Dan explains moving from Boeing to Virgin felt liberating as he took charge of a small, agile start up with a mandate to reinvent from the go. Great technical talent met creativity so anything was now possible. I ask Dan what it was like working shoulder to shoulder with Richard Branson? Dan talks about Richard's, awareness, inquisitive nature and visionary qualities allowing others to flourish and thrive. As CEO Dan needed to be the positive drive for others to push for achieving the never achieved before but also mindful of the lessons of the past, such as Challenger. Dan was involved in projects where they were 'punching above their weight' due to the attractiveness of the space industry. Virgin Orbit was invited to the G7 Summit in 2021 and worked with Prime Minister Boris Johnson for the first launch ever from the UK. There was no 'playbook' for this type of event and adventure. Dan tells the story when he feared his team could be arrested by the police from continuing the project as the explosive charges of the rocket were being considered as manufacturing ordnance. Whilst these things slowed the project down, the team found the resilience to overcome all obstacles. Virgin Orbit launched successfully 4 times in a row which was a huge achievement for a new start up in the sector. They also experienced significant failures along the way as failure was inevitable. Dan remembers after one failure, Richard Branson immediately said to him, 'when's the next ride going to be ready?' A leader's ability to bounce back allowed for the whole team to move on to thinking about tomorrow and not just the failure of today. As the CEO Dan remembers the times when he was there to push and motivate the team and yet he also remembers those times when the team pushed and motivated him. When Virgin Orbit filed for bankruptcy in 2023 Dan reflected on the group of people who achieved so much in the knowledge that they changed space technology for the better. "Everything pulls us forward, even when the lights go out behind you."

Doctor Thom Mayer has been a leader in times of crisis for over 25 years, navigating some of the most significant challenges imaginable. He is the Medical Director for the NFL Players Association, as well as an emergency physician-sports medicine leader of international renown. He served as the Command Physician at the Pentagon Rescue/Recovery Operation on 9/11, Incident Commander for the inhalational anthrax outbreak in Washington, DC that same year, and led a Team Rubicon Mobile Emergency Team in Ukraine following the outbreak of war. He is among the most widely respected leaders in times of crisis and is a highly sought after speaker and consultant across many businesses and industries. He was recently nominated to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio and is a member of the Indiana Football Hall of Fame and the Hanover College Athletic Hall of Fame. USA Today named him one of the “100 Most Important People in the NFL.” Thom has built his career by building relationships as opposed to merely his resume. He was a football player in his youth and loved the game. He studied theology for two years but was convinced by his professor to try medicine instead. Once a qualified physician, Thom was always drawn to treating the sickest and most needy and crisis medicine was an environment that Thom thrived in. An extreme example was when Thom was the Command Physician for the Pentagon emergency response during 9/11 and actually attended the scene. Thom tells the story of the iconic red phone that is only connected to the Secret Service that rang for the first time in his memory informing him that Dulles Tower had a plane missing and it was imminently going to crash, which it did, into The Pentagon. This event tested Thom's training to breaking point as chaos reigned and the incident became one of the world's deadliest terrorist attacks. The power of a leader to pause can't be overstated. Thom's mantra is to 'Pause - Reflect - Reconsider'. Thom's standout lesson from 9/11 was 'stop sucking up, start sucking down'. Thom's focus as a leader in a crisis environment is to always take time and listen to those closest to the issue and not necessarily the most senior in attendance. 'Don't worry about the C-Suite, worry about the We-Suite.' Thom also describes the anthrax outbreak at Washington which was the first bio-terrorism attack on US soil and how his team saved the lives of a number of postal workers who were contaminated. Many incidents have required Thom to lead a new team, thrown together in response to an emerging crisis. His success is based on his unrelenting focus on building relationships quickly with humility and gratitude. As the leader, Thom wants everyone in his team to understand how important they are. Thom became the NFL Players Association Medical Director in 2001 after the inconceivable death of a football player from heat stroke that year. Thom went on to create the original concussion guidelines for the NFL, creating mandated response plans which to this very day are still being used to minimise injuries and long term results on players and their families. To this day, every concussion injury is studied by specialists to increase understanding and iterate the science and protocols. Thom has taken all of his experiences to write the book 'Leadership is worthless, but leading is priceless.' Thom is an advocate for action over words and contends that everyone is a leader regardless of rank, role, tenure and expertise. 'It's not the words on the wall, it's the happenings in the hall.' Thom's last advice to me was for all of us to discover our individual deep joy with the deep needs of our environment. Connect with Thom: thommayermd@gmail.com www.thommayermd.com Get his book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Leadership-Worthless-But-Leading-Priceless/dp/1523006153

211: Angela Cretu is the former Global CEO of Avon. She is now an active Board Member, Beauty Industry Advisor, and Angel Investor. Angela took over as CEO just before the pandemic but had worked for Avon for 25 years starting her career in Romania. Growing up in a communist country meant that life was quite predictable, equality was standardised and the right to self expression was non existent. This set of experiences helped shape the leader that Angela was to become. Avon as a company was founded in 1886 and the business model from the very beginning was for women to share the products within their own micro communities (direct selling) which in turn would share wealth creation amongst many. The products and the model for selling were both breakthrough at the time and all focused on empowering women. It grew it's relevance over the years especially with it's in-house R&D capabilities however in the 2000's it started to lag behind its competitors by not keeping the pace with the market to follow and understand the behaviours and purchasing insights of women around the world. Avon's strong legacy was actually a burden, hampering its ability to be agile in a fast changing world. At one point Avon had approximately 6.5 million representatives with over 20,000 employees and revenues in the multiple billions. It was the ultimate social selling machine. This all changed during the pandemic and cost cutting was at the heart of the race to survive. Avon changed three CEO's over 12 years as the strategic dilemma was to decide if Avon was a brand or a channel and a number of mistakes were made as different executives tried to find the answer. Angela was always of the view that their millions of women sellers were brand equity creators and they needed to be empowered and leveraged across the world. When Angela took over, Avon was tipping on the edge of its own demise, until Natura decided to acquire Avon. Angela did not even apply for the role of CEO in 2019 and she was surprised to be summoned to Sao Paulo, the HQ of Natura and invited to apply, to which she initially said no. Natura knew that they needed someone with significant insight and experience of the business to drive the transformation that was necessary in order to survive and thrive. Once Angela knew she would have a real mandate for change from the board, she agreed to take the role. What was required was an end to end change, modernisation and overhaul of Avon. The essence of Avon was still the high touch and personal service that came from the millions of Avon sellers across the world and the strong purpose and movement that had been built since 1886. Aspirational beauty at irresistible value was the answer. During Angela's tenure as CEO, one of the main focus areas was her ability to change the history of Avon by tackling the biggest taboo, which was the direct selling methodology. She changed the question from what are we to why are we? She truly believed the world is a better place with Avon in it. As the debate raged as to whether Avon was a brand or a channel she decided that Avon was both, especially in the age of an omnichannel world. Avon today is located in 2,000 stores and has leveraged a number of strategic partnerships and digital nomad sellers utilising the power of social media. Angela stripped out the complexity of the business and dismantled the hard wiring beliefs before she instilled new values. Looking back Angela is able to reflect on the hard work that was necessary to transform Avon but during the events themselves she agrees that crisis was her daily dish on the leadership menu. Angela has 5 key reflections as a CEO: 1. A new type of leadership is required in todays world to become a force for good. 2. Moving from peer to leader - managing the weight of expectation 3. Being a multiplier not a pleaser - creating connections to allow others to act with purpose and autonomy. She also talks about the importance of being able to tell others who she is as a leader. 4. Unity amongst division - the devil of choosing a direction and managing the paradox without ignoring the nuances of both sides. 5. Redefining imposter syndrome - Angela feels the word imposter is a negative word and this more about leveraging your self doubt to learn. www.linkedin.com/in/angela-cretu/

Bob Skinstad represented South Africa Rugby at all levels. Having captained the under 21 Springbok side in 1996 and 1997, he ascended to the adult team as a replacement on 29 November 1997 against England. He would go on to play 42 tests for the Springboks, scoring 11 tries – and captained the national side to its second Rugby Union World Cup in 2007, before retiring. Bob is now a Partner at the challenger consultancy firm Elixirr. Very recently Bob and Andrew Mehrtens (former All Black) completed the takeover of French second division club Beziers, heading up a consortium which also features ex-Formula 1 boss Eddie Jordan.Bob and I have a very candid chat about what is was like growing up in Zimbabwe as a white privileged child in an affluent family. During his teenage years Bob started to become fully aware of the challenges within South Africa during Apartheid. In fact Bob went on to meet Nelson Mandela in his role as national captain of The Sprinboks. Bob shares some great memories of chatting to Nelson Mandela and his incredible leadership and approach to inclusivity even after decades of incarceration. Bob reflects on his early life in South Africa and even with his obvious sporting talent he accepts that he took things for granted and didn't have a mentality for all out winning. Today, as a leader in business, Bob describes himself and learner as opposed to leader. The older he gets the more he realises what he doesn't know. When Bob started to play rugby it wasn't a profession for a full time role, it was all amateur. That changed for South Africa during the 1995 World Cup as Rugby started to mean more to the nation. Bob lived the transformational change within South Africa and became the first professionally contracted rugby player in the country. He made his men's debut in 1997 against England. Bob recalls having two district careers in rugby, one was the young devil may care maverick player that catapulted him into the national team and one was the captain and leader of a nation where he had to learn the history and scarred memories of many of his players who did not have the upbringing that he experienced.Belonging is a principle need for humanity and Bob explains how this is a powerful contributor to a high performing team, especially within a sporting context. Leading and managing chaos is inevitable on the international rugby field and Bob explains the importance of strategy, planning, speed of decision making and practice to help mitigate the chaos. One of Bob's standout lessons is that there are different types of people 'givers need to learn when to stop because takers never do' and so Bob realised how important it was to find his tribe with belonging purpose and passion.www.elixirr.com/en-gb/person/bobskinstad Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.