Curious Leadership with Dominic Monkhouse

Hiring top talent –the right talent– is crucial to growing a business. Yet, so many companies get their recruitment process wrong. Clarity on what an A-Player looks like, and transparency with candidates in the process are just some of the missing elements that our guest this week noticed in many companies after falling into the world of recruitment. This week on The Melting Pot, we learned from Ross Lauder, founder and CEO at Single Focus Talent. Before becoming the talented headhunter he is today, Ross was a tech sales manager, working for big firms like Dell and Hubspot. Today, he recruits salespeople across Europe and North America. In this episode, we wanted to learn more from him about sales, and how the role of a salesperson has changed over time. Ross also shared his approach to recruitment and how he’s helping candidates in their careers. Also, what are people thinking about returning to the office, remote and hybrid work, and what's happening in the labour market. Is the tech world awash with talented people after the big tech layoffs? A great conversation. Make sure to download and listen today! On today’s podcast: How the sales process has changed over the yearsMoving from sales to recruitmentA transparent and honest approach to recruitmentWhat's going on in the current labour marketRemote or office? What candidates prefer Follow Ross Lauder: WebsiteSingle Focus Talent podcastGlobal Tech Leaders podcastLinkedInRoss on YouTube Book Recommendations: Brain Hacks by Keith BarryUnlimited Power by Anthony RobbinsAwaken The Giant Within by Anthony RobbinsThink And Grow Rich by Napoleon HillRich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki Enjoyed the show? Leave a Review

Building trust is at the heart of a high-performing team and a great culture. Sometimes, that trust comes from allowing vulnerability and honesty into the room and acknowledging our flaws, as well as our geniuses. Our guest this week is a huge advocate of using that vulnerability to strengthen the relationships in leadership teams.On this week's episode of The Melting Pot, we learned from Ronan Harrington, an expert in the neuroscience of resilience. After receiving a Master in Public Policy from Balliol College, Oxford University, Ronan then became one of the youngest executives in the City of London, as Director of Futures and Strategy at RPC. At the age of 24, he authored a report on the world of 2030 and how the British Government should respond.In this fascinating episode, Ronan shared his views on what it takes to develop a great business culture, how allowing vulnerability can help build trust in teams, and how power can impact cultural change in an organisation. He also talked about his experience working with Extinction Rebellion and how ethical power plays work in politics and business. Download and listen to learn more. On today’s podcast:Developing a conscious cultureHow competing commitments affect cultureBuilding trust through vulnerabilityWorking for Extinction RebellionDefining resilience and dealing with burnout Follow Ronan:WebsiteLinkedInTwitterYouTube Book recommendations15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership by Jim Dethmer and Diana ChapmanFortitude by Bruce DaisleySmalls things like these by Claire KeeganFoster by Claire Keegan Enjoyed the show? Leave a Review

The definition of value creation is giving something valuable to receive something else that’s more valuable to you. In today’s fast-paced economy, every business owner should strive to make his company as valuable as he can, and optimize wherever possible to provide value.Isn't it all about profit? It may be true for large company stockholders, but it is less true for small business owners. A major corporation's stockholder may be exclusively concerned with earnings. It's part of their investment portfolio, and its sole purpose is to increase their wealth. However, a small company would be more interested in communicating a mission and vision that attracts the world, creating a product or service that adds value to both customers and shareholders, and creating value through optimizing processes and finance. Some investors have advanced to impact investing because they seek more than just profits from their investments. As a result, B-corporations are becoming increasingly common. Impact investment and B-corporations seek to maximize financial returns while also providing a public benefit and creating long-term value.Today, on the Melting Pot, we are joined by Patrick E. Donohue, an expert in valuation, business angel, and financial advisor for entrepreneurs. He started his adventure at a very young age when he showed interest in stock shares and making money at only 10 years old. His passion lies in helping small businesses grow in a way that generates value and has a lasting impact on the community. He firmly believes that business owners shape the world by providing solutions to the complexities of human life. In his book “Breakout Valuation”, he breaks down complex financial concepts and shares them in plain easy English. His aim is for every leader to be able to understand financial intelligence and apply it in actionable plans to drive sustainable growth. In today’s episode:Business Valuation For BeginnersHow to Define a Sustainable Level of GrowthInsights from “Breakout Valuation”Business Design That Drives ValueEvery Business Has A Special Talent That Makes It More InvestableWhat Patrick E. Donohue WishesHe’d KnownEarlier Links: WebsiteLinkedInTwitterBook Book Recommendations: Aiden McCullen - UndisruptableMike Michalowicz -Profit FirstGreg Crabtree – Simple Numbers 2.0Patrick E. Donohue – Breakout ValuationRyan Holiday & Stephen Hanselman – The Dialy StoicAnthony De Mello – AwarenessJames Nestor - Breath

Having travelled to every country in the world, Scott Keller, Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company, New York Times best selling author of Beyond performance 2.0 and CEO Excellence, was looking for a new challenge. And he found it during lockdown. Along with his fellow authors, he sought to uncover what makes the best CEOs of this century the best. They combined extensive quantitative analysis with in-depth interviews with today’s top CEOs to understand what sets exceptional leaders apart.And they found the best CEOs have to master six core things to become great. Because, and Scott uses the analogy of Ashton Eaton, the greatest decathlete of all time here - no decathlete is the best 100 metre runner in the world or the best Javelin thrower, they have to not suck at anything, while being amazing at everything.In this episode of The Melting Pot, Scott shares the methodology they used to narrow down their list of CEOs from 7,800 to the 67 they interviewed, before discussing the six things they found were the core of every great CEO. On today’s podcast:Why we need to own our goalsHow hard it is being CEOGreat CEOs have humilityThe decathlete analogyThe six core elements of the CEO roleThe link between mindset and CEO excellenceLinks:Book - CEO ExcellenceTwitter – @Linked_nameLinkedIn – Scott KellerWebsite – McKinsey & Company

If your business is struggling to innovate, or is in fact resisting innovation all together, then don’t miss Anthony Rose, founder and CEO of SeedLegals on this week’s episode of The Melting Pot. Who better to learn from about how to incorporate, raise funds and grow your business, than the founder of the startup that one in six of all early-stage startups in the UK are using in their funding rounds. Widely known as “The man behind BBC iPlayer”, Anthony ran the iPlayer and other BBC services from 2007 to 2010, taking the iPlayer from pre-launch to a major success story. In this episode, Anthony talks about the jobs that only the CEO should do, including the CEO’s role in innovation, building company culture, getting to product market fit, and why, when you’ve got product market fit, the most important job of a CEO is to then manage culture. This is a truly insightful episode and a must listen for all leaders of startups looking to grow and build their companies. Book recommendations:The Mom Test - Rob FitzpatrickHistory of Western Philosophy - Bertrand RussellOn today’s podcast:Making lawyers redundantThe CEO’s role in innovationHow to innovateWhy CEOs are responsible for cultureLinks:Twitter – @anthonyroseLinkedIn – Anthony RoseWebsite – SeedLegals

Hard decisions are part of every aspect of our human life. In business, these are what shape the future of a company and what define its success if done right. We often praise the hiring process in a company, as it constitutes a decision based on precise forecasting and analysis. However, we often brush off the equally important decision of letting someone go, as we generally believe it should be done as easily as this: take a  subjective decision, have an end-of-contract meeting, and empty a desk. What we don’t realize is that letting go of an employee should be subject to the same amount of well-thought analysis, as it is as strategic for the company as hiring. Today, on the Melting Pot, we are joined by Annie Duke, an ex-professional poker player and author of two books called “Thinking in bets” and “Quit”. The first makes a parallel between poker and business and covers ways in which we could bring the critical decision-making process from gambling into our entrepreneurial adventure. The second book is a gem that helps us know when to call it quits. More specifically, it helps decision-makers discover the neuroscience behind firing people, and how to do it right. She proposes a precise methodology to know when an employee is not a good fit anymore, and how to let them understand that it is time for them to quit. After earning the title of “The Duchess of Poker”, she now focuses on cognitive-behavioural decision authorship and coaches businesses in making the right decisions in their environment. Listen and download this fascinating episode in which Annie shares the journey that got her into coaching decision-makers and interesting concepts such as loss aversion, and aspects of the human cognitive bias that can affect our forecasting.  In today’s episode: The way our mind works when it comes to quitting thingsThe loss aversion bias in decision makingSpecificity vs. Sensitivity in decision makingThe ‘Thinking in Bets’ book and playing pokerThe role of luck in success Links: Annie Duke's WebsiteQUIT - The Power Of Knowing When To Walk AwayAnnie's Other BooksYoutube ChannelLinkedinTwitter Book recommendations: Phillip E.Tetlock and Dan Gardner- Super ForecastingBrian Christian and Tom Griffiths- Algorithms to Live ByAlex Sangha- The Modern ThinkerMichael J. Mauboussin- The Success Equation: Untangling Skill and Luck in Business, Sports, and InvestingDaniel Kahneman- Thinking Fast and SlowRichard H. Thaler- NudgeKaty Milkman- How to...

Leadership development is not about studying leadership, but about practising leadership in an intentional way, in a culture and environment that enables learning.For over 20 years, Cameron Herold has been the mastermind behind hundreds of companies’ exponential growth and his passion for coaching and mentoring others earned him the reputation of THE CEO Whisperer.His career in business coaching started with College Pro Painters, a house painting franchise he joined at the age of 21. This franchise turned out to be the perfect breeding ground for an entire generation of entrepreneurs and businesses.By the age of 35, Cameron built his first two 100 Million Dollar companies and in just six years of being the COO for 1-800-GOT-JUNK? he transformed it into one of the most successful new business ventures of the last decade, with a spectacular growth from $2 Million to $106 Million in revenue.In 2016 he founded the COO Alliancewith one simple goal in mind: to provide COOs with the same professional development and growth opportunities CEOs have enjoyed for many years.In this episode, Cameron shares how he discovered his passion for mentoring leaders, his beginnings in the College Pro Painters franchise, and the strategies that CEOs should use to achieve alignment in their organisations.We also dive in and talk about his 5 books, a truly powerful resource on leadership and growth solutions for companies. In today’s episode:Where it all started- The College Pro Painters franchiseNurturing tomorrow’s business leadersBuild real teams and achieve company alignment1-800-GOT-JUNK?What’s the difference between a CEO and a COOCameron’s fabulous booksLiving the nomad life  Links:Website - cameronherold.comInstagram- @cameron_herold_cooallianceLinkedin - Cameron HeroldFacebook - Cameron HeroldPodcast - Second in CommandYoutube - COO AllianceCameron Herold - Published booksCameron's solution to breeding high-performance leaders -  Invest In Your LeadersCameron and his wife’s travel channel -  @EverWanderTravel

According to important voices in the economics sphere, inflation is back and here to stay. For companies, this “new normal” means that the world in which they do business has fundamentally changed. Their main priority now is to discover and apply new strategies that can ensure their survival. Hermann Simon is a renowned speaker, founder and honorary chairman of the world’s number-one pricing consultancy, Simon-Kucher & Partners.His impressive background and expertise in strategy and marketing recommend him as one of the world's most influential management thinkers and an invaluable source of knowledge on topics such as globalization, profit orientation, corporate strategy, world market leadership and pricing.Hermann is also an acclaimed author with multiple bestsellers like Confessions of the Pricing Man and Hidden Champions of the Twenty-First Century, published and translated into over 25 languages. Hermann joins me again in this new episode of The Melting Pot and shares some insights into his new book, Beating Inflation. This guide comes as a solution to the current economic inflation, exacerbated by the worldwide pandemic and the war between Ukraine and Russia. We debate on increased costs and pricing, how often should companies increase their prices so they don’t put too much strain on their clients and how to prepare their sales teams to combat inflation. Download and listen! This is a conversation you don’t want to miss! In today’s episode: Hermann’s new book, Beating Inflation: An Agile, Concrete and Effective Corporate GuideWhat is inflation and how to deal with itHow often should companies raise pricesIncreasing prices as a consultancy businessReducing cost by offshoringHow should leaders prepare their sales teams to tackle inflationManaging the leaky bucket Links: Website - Hermann SimonLinkedin- Hermann SimonTwitter-@HermannSimonFacebook- Hermann SimonYoutube-Hermann SimonHermann Simon- Book catalogueLinks to a list of articles and interviews with HermannHermann’s latest book-Beating Inflation- An Agile, Concrete and Effective Corporate Guide Book recommendations: Hermann Simon- Hidden Champions in the Chinese Century: Ascent and TransformationHermann Simon- True Profit!: No Company Ever Went Broke Turning a ProfitHermann Simon- Beating Inflation- An Agile, Concrete and Effective Corporate GuideWalt Bogdanich- When McKinsey Comes to Town: The Hidden Influence of the World's Most Powerful Consulting FirmHermann Simon- Many Worlds, One Life: A Remarkable Journey from Farmhouse to the Global StagePhilip Baechtold- My Great Right Enjoyed the show?

A company’s success is measured by the happiness of its employees, and that goes for any industry we can think of. This sounds like basic knowledge, but increasing happiness in the workplace is one of the most overlooked and at the same time essential changes a company can make in order to be more successful. Often times even simple acknowledgements like a handshake or a hello at the beginning of the day can really impact an employee’s level of engagement and create a positive workplace culture.Today, on The Melting Pot, we are joined by Tom Peters, a business management pioneer and co-author of “In Search Of Excellence”, the book that, to this day, is recognized as one of the most influential books about business practices. Through this work, Tom’s ultimate goal was to motivate business owners and entrepreneurs to focus more on their employees and the way their happiness directly affects productivity and to discover their products through the eyes of their customers.Twenty books and forty years later, Tom is still one of the leading management thinkers, preaching about the importance of human connection and creating business excellence through work culture.Listen and download this fascinating episode in which Tom shares the story behind his well-known bestseller, the legacy that leaders should really focus on leaving behind and his views on women as business leaders, remote leadership and building excellent culture in this “work from home” era. In today’s episode: 40 years of “In Search Of Excellence”- the book that changed the way the world does businessWhy businesses need more women leadersA leader's job is to grow peopleRemote leadership and building excellent culture and business in the “work from home” eraTom’s latest book, “The Compact Guide To Excellence” Links: Website - Tom Peters.comLinkedin- Tom PetersTwitter-@tom_petersYoutube- Tom PetersBlog- tompeters!Biography- Tom PetersPublications-Tom Peters- books and articlesTom’s latest book- Tom Peters' Compact Guide to Excellence  How Human Connection Can Lead A Business To Excellence With Tom Peters, Co-author Of “In Search Of Excellence” Tom Peters is a well-renowned business management pioneer and co-author of “In Search of Excellence”, the book that even 40 years after its publication is still considered to be the book that changed the way the world does business. But as he himself declares, this is just one of the numerous ventures in his life and career. Tom attended Cornell University where he received a bachelor's degree in civil engineering and a master's degree and later on, earned an MBA and a PhD in Organizational Behaviourfrom the Stanford Graduate School of business. During the war in Vietnam, he served in the U.S. Navy, making two deployments as a Navy Seabee and also participated in an exchange program between the U.S. Navy and the Royal Navy (UK) which led to him serving as a midshipman on the HMS Tiger (a battlecruiser built for the Royal Navy during the 1910s). While working forMcKinsey & Company, he was inspired to develop different practices for business management that support the idea that...

When it comes to leadership, we normally think of one person that is in charge of holding the reins and steering the direction of a company. While it might seem counterintuitive to our traditional view regarding authority, oftentimes equally sharing power and influence can have more benefits than we can imagine.Robert Chapman, co-founder of Firebrand joins today’s episode of The Melting Pot and shares how Firebrand became an incontestable leader of the Accelerated Learning market, with 21 years of continued growth and performance even while going through three major recessions and a world pandemic.We talk about the unconventional way he and his business partner Stefano Capaldo shared the responsibilities of leading the company as co-CEOs, the sales and marketing strategies they’ve improved and adapted for Firebrand and how they transformed Verne Harnish’s book, “Scaling up” into the perfect blueprint for scaling their company. This is a fascinating episode packed full of insights, so make sure to download and listen. In today’s episode: 21 years of successful business in an unconventional co-leadershipDelivering high-quality training at twice the speed of traditional methodsLeading a business through four recessionsThe Firebrand version of scaling up and the one thing that ensured its successSales and Marketing strategies they learned at Onyx and implemented in FirebrandSelling to BPP 21 years of successful business in an unconventional co-leadership, with Robert Chapman, co-founder of Firebrand Firebrand Training was co-founded by Stefano Capaldo and Robert Chapman and for the last 21 years has been a leader in the Accelerated Learning market. Even though conventional wisdom says two heads are better than one, co-partnership in the business world is often looked at as the odd one out. So how did Robert and Stefano build a successful company under such unconventional leadership?Like all relationships, being co-leaders requires trust, constant communication and a very clear understanding of the role each CEO has.“I was in charge of business development, sales, marketing, go-to-market strategy, he was in charge of delivering, hence the cook it, catch it tactic. If I got the fish, I threw it over the fence and I just trusted Stefano to go and make sure a great meal conjures up.”Delivering high-quality training at twice the speed of traditional methods Since its inception in 2001, Firebrand has grown at an incredible rate, from a start-up to a £ 20 million business. A testament to the value they offer through their unique Accelerated Learning methodology is their applicants' high rate of success in getting their IT and project management certification.“That puts a huge amount of pressure on us,” says Robert. “We gotta do a great job. We can't hide if the instructor's done a poor job of delivering that knowledge.”Leading a business through four recessions In regards to their leadership strategy, they’ve certainly made the right decisions, because successfully navigating a company through 4 major recessions including a global pandemic is not something everyone can do.“We took some really difficult decisions. We did make some people redundant, we asked staff to take pay cuts. But by the end of 2020, we'd navigated those waters pretty well and in a really strong position financially and paid back all the staff that had pay cuts.”“I do genuinely get really emotional because so many people went the extra mile during those periods and they genuinely didn't complain.” The Firebrand version of scaling up and the one thing that ensured its success When Brett Raynes, CEO of Cloud Direct and...