Business Problems Solved Podcast

Lee interviews Becca Francis, who at the age of 34 was diagnosed with ADHD and she’s here to dispel the myths and stereotypes of ‘single parent mums’, ‘naughty boys’ and how she’s been able to turn it into her superpower!    KEY TAKEAWAYS The importance of looking after your customer facing frontline staff cannot be ignored. If you have higher workforce engagement, it can really deliver customer satisfaction. If there’s a gap between changing how business leadership works versus how markets move can leave the whole business outmoded and unattractive to customers and staff alike. Being honest and open about a condition and communicating the actual facts of it is the only way to break the negativities and stigmas.   BEST MOMENTS  ‘It’s a people game, not a process game.’ ‘It's about our attention being re-focused on things that are more appealing to us’ ‘Do I talk donkey language because no-one else sees things the way I do?’ ‘If I can talk about my experiences and that can help one person, that makes me feel like I’ve done a good job. And that’s all I aim to do’   VALUABLE RESOURCES Business Problems Solved Podcast            ABOUT THE HOST For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses. In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material. Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.   CONTACT METHOD You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194Lee@leehoughton.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/https://www.linkedin.com/in/becca-f1312/https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6823892562441502720/

Lee interviews James Lott, MD and founder of Working Knowledge, a business and education consultancy. Working Knowledge concentrates on improving employment opportunities, guiding people towards the right job for them. Creator of the Digital Market Apprenticeship designed to provide employees with the business skills to shine in their position. He also works with Further Education Colleges, helping them launch young peoples careers with practical guidance and by improving links between the college and potential employers.      KEY TAKEAWAYS James believes in providing young people with career opportunities in entrepreneur led, scale up businesses so they can get a great start to their working lives. He was inspired on this path from teaching sailing to young people and seeing their receptiveness and enthusiasm. Lots of people are reluctant to take on young people because they believe the media image of hoody wearing, knife wielding layabouts. When they meet young people they realise that actually they are innovative, creative and inquisitive. LinkedIn opens opportunities by offering to chance to present ourselves and our skills in a professional way. When you are young it’s a good idea to have had at least a basic work experience to jump off from.     BEST MOMENTS ‘It was all built on this passion of ‘what does talent look like, and how do you get that talent into entrepreneurial businesses in order for those businesses to scale and thrive?’’ ‘At the same time, in their questioning, because they’re unencumbered by years of experience narrowing our focus, they’re asking the questions we’ve forgotten to ask ourselves often in a business setting.’ ‘People talk about transferable skills and they absolutely are there. So go and do something. It could be volunteering as well, people forget about that.’  ‘Nothing comes to life for free. You cant wait around waiting for it to happen to you.’   VALUABLE RESOURCES Business Problems Solved Podcast            ABOUT THE HOST For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses. In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material. Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.   CONTACT METHOD You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194Lee@leehoughton.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

In todays podcast Lee chats to Gary Nightingale, founder of Gary Nightingale Creative, who make illustrations and animated instructional videos mostly for the business and leadership coaching and mentorship industry and increasingly therapy, crisis and counselling services.  Gary talks about his working history and how he ended up where he is helping others effectively visually express their message.    KEY TAKEAWAYS Illustration and animation often provides a communication need that cannot be easily or concisely articulated. Clients frequently are unsure of the nature of the message they require. Gary gets to know the client and their audience to find what they need. Gary has developed processes within his business to apply to individual clients to standardise and notate his skills based on repetition and refinement. It is a good idea to analyse how the end users interact with your content. In doing this Gary found he discovered the viewers paused and discussed the training as it progressed. When creating an expressive message carrying illustration, think about who you are talking to, what it is you want to say to them, why you want to say it and what you want them to do. Then just doodle your way to the required image.   BEST MOMENTS ‘I looked at their profile pictures. What do these people look like? How do they talk?  What are their job titles? That gave me a big insight into his audience.’ ‘I know a lot of people talk about separating personal and business. I just can’t. They’re so inextricably mixed.’ ‘A domestic abuse charity weren’t getting many referrals from the police, and there were others that were getting more, and they felt that their services they offered were more wide ranging than others around them. I made them a video that they used as part of their presentation to the police and they said that the police loved it and had no idea of what their charity offered. Now they are pushing more referrals their way.’   GUEST RESOURCES Www.Garynightingalecreative.com   VALUABLE RESOURCES Business Problems Solved Podcast            ABOUT THE HOST For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses. In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material. Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.   CONTACT METHOD You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194Lee@leehoughton.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

Lee continues the conversation about communication with a thought-provoking episode that asks the crucial question: what is the difference between team work, and a team that works? And how can we play a greater role in maximising productivity as a leader? KEY TAKEAWAYS A team's work is measured through metrics, but these can only be truly achieved through effective teamwork. We must seek to create environments that encourage teams to pull together to work collaboratively towards achieving the vision. It is incumbent upon leaders to not just encourage their teams, but to ensure that their achievements are celebrated. BEST MOMENTS 'It's encouraging the team to collaborate on achieving the vision' 'It's easier to say what it isn't, rather than what it is' 'Expectation, direction, clarity, conversation, communication, should be created top down' VALUABLE RESOURCES Business Problems Solved Podcast          ABOUT THE HOST For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses. In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material. Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker. CONTACT METHOD You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194 Lee@leehoughton.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

With the advent of the new year, Lee reflects upon the learnings and the insights from 2021, with a specific focus upon the improvements we can make for 2022, and how better communication can provide the bedrock for positive change. KEY TAKEAWAYS Making improvements and becoming more effective in what we do, all comes down to teamwork, and unless we are communicating well with our teams, we can't hope to see those improvements being made. Conflict is not always a bad thing. Conflict can be seen as meeting of differing ideas, the resolution of which all lead to a better solution. Building in a reflective practice is beneficial as it promotes motivation, and causes us to constantly evaluate what has come before and set new goals. BEST MOMENTS 'Conflict is a positive thing' 'You don't want everyone to agree. You want people to challenge the situation' 'The more you talk about something, the deeper you'll understand it' VALUABLE RESOURCES Business Problems Solved Podcast          ABOUT THE HOST For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses. In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material. Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker. CONTACT METHOD You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194 Lee@leehoughton.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

Kevin Robinson is man who knows all about teamwork, having served for almost three decades in operations within Toyota Motor manufacturing UK ltd. Kevin joins Lee this week to talk about his business journey, how development strengthens teams, and the importance of true leadership. KEY TAKEAWAYS Development is the key to not just strengthening people, but teams. If individuals become stronger, then they strengthen the teams of which they are a part. Planning for the future is not just about striking when opportunities arise, but also looking for ways to mitigate challenge should it arise. Always plan for contingencies. If we see problems setting in, then it could be down to poor leadership. It is incumbent upon as leaders to look at ourselves and how we have provided leadership, and mark any issues that could create negative impact. BEST MOMENTS 'The ethos is all about developing people' 'It all comes back to good leadership' 'My journey so far has been very rewarding' VALUABLE RESOURCES Business Problems Solved Podcast          ABOUT THE HOST For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses. In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material. Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker. CONTACT METHOD You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194 Lee@leehoughton.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

Lee meets Lee Chambers, a psychologist and founder of Essentialise, which aims to fuse the scientific performance aspects from sports coaching, the bounty of benefits from the world of neuroscience, with the wisdom of ancient philosophers, in order to unlock the potential that is inside everyone. Lee talks about the ways in which his work has helped others, how you can essentialise your own life, and the beauty and value in being unique. KEY TAKEAWAYS By helping others to realise their potential, we incrementally build a better world. Making it our mission to help others improves life for all. There's so much noise and so many opinions in the world today. The key to improvement is to slow down and focus on a few simple things and look for incremental wins. Never strive to be one of the crowd. You are an endlessly unique creation, and you bring something rare and special to the world. BEST MOMENTS 'I'm making a difference, and that makes me feel great' 'Essentialising your life and your business is about stripping back a lot of the complexity' 'The beauty is that every business and every human being is individual' VALUABLE RESOURCES Business Problems Solved Podcast          Essentialise - https://www.essentialise.co.uk/lee-chambers/ ABOUT THE HOST For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses. In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material. Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker. CONTACT METHOD You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194 Lee@leehoughton.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

Lee talks to Nigel Peters, the Ingredients Opertions Director for Ornua, an agri-food commercial co-operative which markets and sells dairy products on behalf of its members, Ireland’s dairy processors and in turn the Irish dairy farmer. Nigel talks about his life in food manufacturing, how a food hamper change the course of his life, and why balancing work and life is more important than we may believe. KEY TAKEAWAYS Sometimes life takes you on journeys you're not quite expecting. Opportunities come our way and it is up to to embrace them, and follow the routes it takes us upon. Success is relative, and not always necessarily something we can measure through our working careers. Success is about growing, developing, taking opportunities and seeing how they can shape us. Balancing life and work is incredibly important. We must remember that the reason we want to do well at work is so that we can provide our families with better lives. However, better lives also mean time well spent in their company. BEST MOMENTS 'As one door closes, another one opens' 'I love everything I do about my job, and they've all been part of a journey to get me where I am today' 'Being happy in what you do is something that gives you energy' VALUABLE RESOURCES Business Problems Solved Podcast          Nigel Peters LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nigel-peters-b8b51321/?originalSubdomain=uk ABOUT THE HOST For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses. In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material. Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker. CONTACT METHOD You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194 Lee@leehoughton.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

Mark Cameron has always been curious, and this has led to his constant questioning about not just the world around him, but also internally about himself. Mark joins Lee today to talk about why being inquisitive about the world is important, as well as the role of health in his journey, and how to strike a better balance in life. KEY TAKEAWAYS It's important to ask questions about the world around us. This is how we learn and grow and taken on new perspectives. But it's also crucial to ask questions about ourselves, because this is how we grow as a person. When our beginnings are surrounded by adversity, it instils a sense of resilience and hard work. Often, those with tough beginnings end up being the most successful. Health is very important, both physically and mentally. It is far better to be happy than it is to present a perfect version of ourselves to society. BEST MOMENTS 'You've got to be the best example of what you're questioning other people about' 'I just question why a lot' 'I want to work hard. I want to value the things that I have' VALUABLE RESOURCES Business Problems Solved Podcast         ABOUT THE HOST For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses. In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material. Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker. CONTACT METHOD You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194 Lee@leehoughton.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

Matt Edmundson is a master of all things eCommerce, and dedicated to helping business owners to find the straight-forward strategy to build their online business, and discover the tools to be successful. Matt talks about his journey in business so far, the power of teams, and his own definition of what success really means. KEY TAKEAWAYS Many of the bigger opportunities in life come quite by accident. We have to recognise them when they arrive and take full advantage. Teams are the building blocks of any good business. By leveraging talent and working towards a shared purpose, we are able to achieve far more. Success takes many different forms. Many see it as the accumulation of wealth, whereas those who have achieved it know that success comes from elevating your life and finding yourself in a place that means life is more enjoyable. Finding the right people for your organisation is not just about qualifications, but more importantly there must be an alignment of values. BEST MOMENTS 'There's an opportunity in front of you and you have to take advantage' 'I like creating something together that's just extraordinary' 'I would say I'm successful but not because of the business or the money' VALUABLE RESOURCES Business Problems Solved Podcast         Matt Edmundson - https://mattedmundson.com ABOUT THE HOST For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses. In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material. Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker. CONTACT METHOD You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194 Lee@leehoughton.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/