Curious Leadership with Dominic Monkhouse

Do you aspire for your company to become a Hidden Champion? Hidden champions are what businessman and bestselling author, Hermann Simon, describes as medium-sized, unknown companies with annual revenues under $5 billion that have quietly, under the radar, become world market leaders in their respective industries. Having previously written about hidden champions in his bestselling book, Hidden Champions, Hermann now explores China’s continued impact on the business world since its meteoric rise in the global business and economic sphere in recent years. While the main focus of Hermann’s research is on companies in German-speaking countries, because they comprise 56% of the world’s hidden champions, their success factors can be applied globally to any mid-sized companies as they strive to become global market leaders.“The takeaway is to go really deep, find something you can really be the best in the world, that will drive your profit margin. It will drive a strategic moat around your business. You can be world famous in your niche.”So, whether your company is a “Hidden Champion”, or aspires to be one, don’t miss Hermann on this week’s episode of The Melting Pot. On today’s podcast:Hidden ChampionsThe hidden champion cultureChinese hidden championsThe problem with startupsMental globalisationLinks:Book - Hidden Champions in the Chinese CenturyTwitter – @HermannSimonLinkedIn – Hermann SimonWebsite – Hermann Simon

If you’re thinking about targeting the US market with your startup or to scale up business, do you have a US expansion plan? Don’t miss Daniel Glazer, an American technology lawyer and strategic business adviser, and founding partner of Wilson Sonsini’s London office on this episode. If you’re confused as to why you would need legal support so early in the process, Daniel explains the difference between hiring a lawyer in the UK and hiring a lawyer in the US, in particular why having lawyers attached to companies is a much more strategic decision in the early life of a US business. But mostly what Daniel talks about in this latest episode of The Melting Pot is US expansion - M&A, moving your HQ to the US, raising money in the US, or wanting to do an IPO on one of the stock exchanges in North America. Honestly, nobody knows more about how to launch into the US as a European technology business than Daniel. So if the US is where you’re heading, download and listen to this episode. Book recommendations Venture Deals - Brad FeldOn today’s podcast:Difference between US and UK approach to legal adviceWhy businesses seek US expansionWhat you need to trade in the US8 primary considerations for companies considering setting up in the USWhen’s the right time to go?Links:Twitter – @DanielCGlazerLinkedIn – Daniel GlazerWebsite – Daniel Glazer | Wilson Sonsini

The fundamental unit of growth in any organisation is the individual. The more you understand about how to respond to your own deep longing to grow, the greater your capacity to grow your people, to grow your organisation, says Whitney Johnson, co-founder of tech-enabled talent development company, Disruption Advisors.Disruption Advisors supports people and organisations through coaching, training, and technology, empowering innovation through disruption. Whitney’s latest book, Smart Growth, explains if you grow your people, you grow your company. In this episode of The Melting Pot, Whitney talks about the S curve model and what it means to you as an individual, how to start one, how to envisage it, how to get up when you might get stuck. And by way of as an example, we use Whitney's personal journey along her own S curve of public speaking. So, if you’re looking to grow your organisation, your team, or individually, download and listen to Whitney today.Book recommendations:Bittersweet - Susan KaneRange - David EpsteinAnti Time Management - Richie NortonOn today’s podcast:The S curveWhat drives motivationThe S curve - the launch point, the sweet spot and masteryMoving beyond masteryGrow your people to grow your companyLinks:Books – Whitney JohnsonTwitter – @johnsonwhitneyLinkedIn – Whitney JohnsonWebsite – www.whitneyjohnson.com

What do you need to do your best work? That is the question David Lancefield strives to find the answer for with his clients in his role as CEO catalyst, strategist and coach. What does that mean? It means David works with CEOs, senior professionals and executives, helping them become more extraordinary, by focusing on strategy, innovation, leadership and culture. In this episode of The Melting Pot, David talks us through how a new leadership team comes together and gets to agree on the way forward, how and why M&A or creating new teams works and doesn't work, as well as sharing how leaders can set priorities, i.e. how do you bring a team together to agree on the few things that the team needs to do? This is a fascinating episode packed full of insights, so grab a pen and paper and listen. Book recommendations:How To Begin - Michael Bungay StanierCreative Construction - Gary PisanoOn today’s podcast:Being a catalyst for CEOsWhy he has an anti-office mentalityLaying the foundations for psychological safetyWhat it takes to do amazing workHow to have better meetingsLinks:Newsletter -  Newsletter | David LancefieldTwitter – @DlancefieldLinkedIn – David LancefieldWebsite – David LancefieldLancefield on the Line podcast

How can you change someone’s mind? Don’t miss David McRaney, a science journalist fascinated with brains, minds, and culture, explain all in this podcast. In this episode, David, author of three books, discusses his latest book ‘How Minds Change’. He lifts the lid on how people who believe in flat Earth come to believe in flat Earth; how people who are anti vaxxers come to have that as their belief system; as well as explain the Dunning Kruger effect. Why are these insights relevant to the modern workplace? Because the results of these studies have far reaching implications, including how you hold your management team meetings, your all hands meeting, how you hire, how you might want to hire to avoid bias, as well as overcome the heuristics that are in place that make you make snap decisions on people. This is a fantastic episode, we’re sure you’ll enjoy it as much as we did.On today’s podcast:How to change mindsThe people swap experimentDifference in gender confidenceThe Dunning Kruger effectThe Halo effect at workUnderstanding pluralistic ignoranceLinks:www.youarenotsosmart.comTwitter – @davidmcraneyLinkedIn – David McRaneyWebsite – David McRaney

What does the future of your office look like? Are all of your employees back to work yet? Or do you have a hybrid approach to working? That’s the question today’s guest, Peter Cappelli, Professor of Management at Wharton School, and director of Wharton's Centre for Human Resources, has been researching. Why do we go to offices and what don’t we like about them? In the wake of the pandemic, our thoughts around offices have changed dramatically, with more employees than ever before keen to adopt a hybrid approach to work. But having zero offices and fully remote staff simply doesn’t benefit employers (or employees), yet according to the Financial Times, the UK is one of the last countries where offices have returned to ‘normal’, so what gives?In this latest episode of The Melting Pot, Peter shares his thoughts on AI, the decline in employee training, and why it’s so hard to hire in the current market. On today’s podcast:Will college pay off?The hiring conundrumTraining in the workplaceThe remote working conundrumThe future of the officeLinks:Book - The Future of the OfficeTwitter – @Linked_nameLinkedIn – Peter CappelliWebsite – Peter CappelliFT article - UK ahead of European peers on shift to working from home | Financial Times

Are you struggling to create a simple strategy for your business? Then don’t miss Felix Oberholzer-Gee, faculty member at Harvard Business School in the Strategy Unit, and author of the recent book on strategy: Better, Simpler Strategy, on this week’s episode of The Melting Pot. In Felix’s new book, he shows readers how to create value based strategy with their service or product. Not in the sense of making customers or employees happy, but in so much as - creating a product or service that delivers so much value, people are willing to pay more for it.The simple truth of the matter, says Felix, is that business and financial success boils down to imagination. Finding new ways to serve your customers or employees better will always yield better business results. But it’s amazing how many businesses have forgotten this simple strategy in their quest to be successful. So, if you’re overthinking your business strategy, or you think you have no place to think strategically, think again. To find out more, download and listen to this latest episode. Book recommendationsYoungme Moon - Different Madeleine Thien - Do Not Say We Have NothingOn today’s podcast:Strategy is all about value creationApplying strategy to staff retentionYou can be high quality and low costThe discovery of complementsLinks:Book - Better, Simpler Strategy: A Value-Based Guide to Exceptional PerformanceTwitter – @fogathbsLinkedIn – Felix Oberholzer-GeeWebsite – Felix Oberholzer-Gee

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

Are you a mid to late ‘nail it’ stage business, trying to scale your company? Then you don’t want to miss Lex Sisney, business coach and author of Organizational Physics, on this week’s episode of The Melting Pot. Organizational Physics might be an odd title for a book, but it’s memorable, and it explains the repeatable systems that all organisations have difficulties with. But more importantly, it teaches readers how to overcome their issues by redesigning their organisation’s structure. Rather than thinking in terms of hierarchy, or thinking about your business’ org chart, Lex advises clients to think about things that need to be done in the short term and things that need to be done in the long term. Because there are things that have to be effective, and things that have to be efficient to scale a business. So, if you’re looking for guidance about how to scale your business, or you need a new way to look at your organisational design, then this is a conversation you’ll want to listen to. Book recommendationsMarty Cagan - Inspired Marty Cagan - EmpoweredThe Arbinger Institute - The Outward MindsetShirzad Chamine - Positive IntelligenceOn today’s podcast:Why businesses need organisational physicsUnderstanding corporate life cyclesThe importance of structure in a business How to use org structures Links:Book: Organizational Physics - Lex SisneyWebsite: https://www.OrganizationalPhysics.comLinkedIn: Lex SisneyTwitter: lexsisney

If you’re looking for advice on how to grow and scale your startup or business, then don’t miss Jeff Hoffman, founder of booking.com, award-winning global entrepreneur, proven CEO, worldwide motivational speaker, bestselling author, and Hollywood film producer on this week’s episode of The Melting Pot. Jeff has been an entrepreneurial CEO from the second day he joined university. He got kicked out of Yale University because he couldn’t pay the tuition fees and started a business on his second day of school to pay for his college education. You might have heard of his little venture… booking.com (priceline.com in the US). Jeff has recently put pen to paper and written down the seven principles for growing a business in his book, SCALE: Seven Proven Principles to Grow Your Business and Get Your Life Back. In this episode of The Melting Pot, Jeff talks about the importance of mindset, why CEOs need to get out of the way, and what the role of a CEO really is. So grab a pen and paper now, this is a truly insightful podcast, you’ll want to take notes. On today’s podcast:The importance of mindsetWhy CEOs need to get out of the wayHow to recruit great peopleThe CEO’s jobLearn why your customers buy from youLinks:Book: Jeff Hoffman - SCALE: Seven Proven Principles to Grow Your Business and Get Your Life BackTwitter – SpeakerJeffLinkedIn: Jeff HoffmanWebsite: Jeff Hoffman, Global Entrepreneurship Network, TV show - Click-to-Invest series | Going Public®Book recommendations:Paulo Coelho - The AlchemistMitch Albom - Five People You Meet In Heaven