Curious Leadership with Dominic Monkhouse
Monkhouse & Company
Wide awake at 3am, wondering how your business turned from a 15-person rocket into an 80-person rollercoaster? Hit play. This show is for founder CEOs who want practical wins, not platitudes.
Every fortnight, Dominic Monkhouse - who scaled two UK tech firms to £30m+ in five years (twice) - grills people who’ve actually done it: operators, battle-scarred founders, and experts who cut through noise. You’ll learn techniques that stop fires, speed up decisions, and give you time back.
What you’ll get: field-tested methods that will all contribute to one of three vital goals – freeing up your time, building a leadership team that can lead without you, and installing systems that you can be sure will work. No recycled LinkedIn fluff. No crappy ‘inspiration’. Just clear actions you can run this week.
Why listen now? Because growth shouldn’t mean chaos. Twelve of Dom’s clients have exited. His 2-Day-a-Week CEO Blueprint shows leaders how to make sure they spend their time doing things that ONLY they can do - not covering tasks that could be done by others. He coaches scale-ups, writes books people actually read, and asks the questions you wish investors would.
If you’re stuck between “we’re onto something” and “this might kill me,” this is your edge: honest stories, hard numbers, and repeatable systems to build a business you’re proud of - without losing yourself along the way.
New episodes weekly. Grab a notebook. And hit follow so the next time you’re staring at the ceiling at stupid o’clock, you’ve got a plan - and a playbook - waiting in your ears.
Every fortnight, Dominic Monkhouse - who scaled two UK tech firms to £30m+ in five years (twice) - grills people who’ve actually done it: operators, battle-scarred founders, and experts who cut through noise. You’ll learn techniques that stop fires, speed up decisions, and give you time back.
What you’ll get: field-tested methods that will all contribute to one of three vital goals – freeing up your time, building a leadership team that can lead without you, and installing systems that you can be sure will work. No recycled LinkedIn fluff. No crappy ‘inspiration’. Just clear actions you can run this week.
Why listen now? Because growth shouldn’t mean chaos. Twelve of Dom’s clients have exited. His 2-Day-a-Week CEO Blueprint shows leaders how to make sure they spend their time doing things that ONLY they can do - not covering tasks that could be done by others. He coaches scale-ups, writes books people actually read, and asks the questions you wish investors would.
If you’re stuck between “we’re onto something” and “this might kill me,” this is your edge: honest stories, hard numbers, and repeatable systems to build a business you’re proud of - without losing yourself along the way.
New episodes weekly. Grab a notebook. And hit follow so the next time you’re staring at the ceiling at stupid o’clock, you’ve got a plan - and a playbook - waiting in your ears.
Episodes
Mentioned books
May 10, 2022 • 37min
E194 | The Evolution of the Professional Services Sector with Ray D’Cruz
If you’re in the legal, accounting or professional services sector and you’re looking to harness the intelligence and creativity of your partners and employees through performance management, don’t miss Ray D’Cruz, CEO of Performance Leader, a consulting and software for professional services firms, on The Melting Pot. In this episode, Ray shares why firms should consider moving away from the annual performance review for partners and employees, to a more 360 review, incorporating client feedback and behavioural and project based feedback.He discusses why prioritising leadership is vital in remote or hybrid organisations, why purpose is more important than ever before, and how nudge tools can benefit everyone. So, if you’re wondering how to leverage performance and feedback software in your professional services firm, download and listen today.On today’s podcast:The problem with a traditional performance review The benefit of continual performance managementUsing nudge tech for hybrid working The growing interest in purposeLinks:Pre-order book - Ray D’cruz - The Partner Remuneration HandbookPerformance Leaders podcastTwitter – @PerformanceLDRLinkedIn – Ray D'CruzWebsite – Performance Leader
May 3, 2022 • 51min
E193 | What it Takes to Build an Organisation’s Culture with James L Heskett
Do your employees love your business? asks James L Heskett, UPS Foundation Professor Emeritus at Harvard Business School and author of Win from Within. Because if your employees don’t love your company, your customers won’t love it either. In Win from Within, James argues about the importance of building organisational culture for competitive advantage. Having spent 30 years on this journey, his latest book is about busting myths and shattering beliefs around what it takes to build an organisation's culture. Why is your company culture so important? Because, argues James, if you need to attract customers, then you need to have great employees. And to attract great employees, you need to have a great environment that encourages them to come join you and to stay the course. In fact, the most amazingly successful businesses, says James, are those who have at their heart the trifecta of employee engagement, customer engagement, and sales, growth and profit levels for the investor. Does yours? To find out more, download and listen to this episode today. On today’s podcast:The obsession with cultureWin from WithinThe four steps to hire great employeesIt doesn’t take long to change cultureThe problem with the hybrid work modelLinks:Article - Does Remote Work Mix with Organisational Culture?Book - Win from Within: Build Organisational Culture for Competitive AdvantageWebsite – James L. Heskett
11 snips
Apr 26, 2022 • 53min
E192 | How to Try a New Way of Thinking with Roger Martin
If you’ve found that the way your organisation does things isn’t working for you any more, rather than flogging a dead horse, why not try a new way of thinking?In this episode of The Melting Pot, Roger L Martin, author, advisor, speaker, and one of the world’s top business thinkers, shares how he turned Canadian Tennis around, as well how he took the Rotman School of Management and transformed it into Canada’s #1 business school, on a limited budget. Now when company leaders come to him for help, his response is to first break the spell of their current way of thinking. But how can you transform your way of thinking? Download and listen to this insightful episode to find out more. On today’s podcast:Business writing in the academic worldElevating the Canadian Tennis FederationA New Way to ThinkWhy strategy and execution are the same thingWhy he doesn’t believe in OKRs Links:Book: A New Way to Think: Your Guide to Superior Management EffectivenessTwitter: @RogerLMartinLinkedIn: Roger L MartinWebsite: Roger Martin
Apr 19, 2022 • 51min
E191 | What it Takes to Become a Great CEO with Scott Keller
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
Apr 12, 2022 • 45min
E190 | The Five Principles to Bring Out Your Best Self with CEO & Leadership Coach, Amy Jen Su
Discover the five key leadership elements - Purpose, Process, People, Presence, and Peace with Amy Jen Su. Unleash your potential, define your purpose, and navigate personal and professional growth. Explore the challenges CEOs face as companies scale and the importance of evolving leadership styles. Embrace self-awareness, compassion, and continuous learning for personal development and decision-making.
Apr 5, 2022 • 51min
E189 | How to Innovate Inside Large Corporations with Jim A Euchner
To stay ahead of the curve, organisations need to innovate. But how do you structure innovation if you run a large corporation? Where do you put the money? Who’s in charge? How do you get sales to not be a blocker? These are the questions (among many) answered by Jim A Euchner in this week’s episode of The Melting Pot. Jim is an expert in how to innovate inside large corporations having been Vice President of Global Innovation at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, where he led the development of new businesses and helped launch five businesses on three continents.So if you’re wondering how your organisation can adopt a Lean Startup approach to innovation, don’t miss this hugely insightful episode with Jim. On today’s podcast:Overcoming resistance to innovationHow Goodyear innovatesThe need for multiple routes to marketTwo critical things people fail to doThe benefits of incubationLinks:Book - Lean Startup In Large Organisations: Overcoming Resistance To InnovationTwitter – @jaeuchnerLinkedIn – James EuchnerWebsite – Lean Startup in Organizations
Mar 29, 2022 • 40min
E188 | How to Set Up your Business to be Acquired with Robert Belgrave
If you’re thinking of selling your business, or you’re wanting to create value to make your business more attractive to potential acquirers, then don’t miss Robert Belgrave, CEO EMEA for Pax8 and co-founder of Ecologi, on this week’s The Melting Pot. Having founded Wirehive in 2012, with a vision to create the sort of business they themselves wanted to be a part of, Wirehive was subsequently acquired by Pax8 in 2021. So how can you replicate their success and set up your business for a future sale? To make it attractive to potential buyers? In this latest episode, Rob shares how they set Wirehive up to be acquired - the specific decisions they made to enable success, how they chose who they wanted to acquire them, how they triggered the process without a formal advisor to help them, and what (if anything) he might have done differently. If this all sounds like something you’re going through or are about to go through, download and listen today. On today’s podcast:Tackling the climate crisis with EcologiBuilding a business to sellSelling without a brokerChoosing a buyerThe hiring challengeLinks:Twitter – @RobertBelgraveLinkedIn – Robert BelgraveWebsite – https://ecologi.com, Pax8 UK
Mar 22, 2022 • 44min
E187 | How a Germ-Zapping Robot Company Became a 10 Year Overnight Success with Morris Miller
Are you worried your business hasn’t hit the big time yet? Don’t be, says Morris Miller, former managing director at Rackspace, now the managing partner of Tectonic Ventures. Most of the businesses he’s involved in have become overnight successes, only after being in business for 10 years. Morris is also the CEO of Xenex Disinfection Services, a business he was drawn to because the original founders were mission driven to not just change lives, but save thousands of lives by stopping the spread of pathogens within healthcare facilities. How? Because Xenex makes UV germ-zapping robots that are 22X better at destroying superbugs than the standard hospital cleaning routine of cleaning, mopping, and bleaching alone. So, if you’re concerned that your business isn’t a success yet, don’t miss Morris share the two pillars that contribute to overnight success: listening to customers and the talent density you amass.On today’s podcast:Germ-zapping robots - LightStrike 6Xenon vs manual housekeepingMission driven businesses10 years to become an overnight successHiring the right peopleLinks:Twitter – @Linked_nameLinkedIn – Morris MillerWebsite – Xenex Disinfection Services
Mar 15, 2022 • 47min
E186 | How to Maximise Sales Growth in a Post-Pandemic World with Aaron Ross
How can you maximise sales growth while minimising the workload and stress on both you and your executive teams? This is what Aaron Ross, dad of 10 kids, co-author of From Impossible To Inevitable and author of Predictable Revenue, is currently advising revenue executives about. In this latest episode of The Melting Pot, Aaron shares what’s changed in the world of work since he wrote Predictable Revenue back in 2011. Because the world has moved on a lot since then - what implications are there now for both sales and executives as a result of the pandemic? If you’re finding that your outbound sales are broadening out, and you’re wondering how to create predictable, scalable revenue, then don’t miss the world's foremost expert on outbound sales development chat about what works for him. Because juggling 10 kids, being on numerous SaaS boards and being an author is a serious skill to master. On today’s podcast:Predictable Revenue & From Impossible to InevitableWhy sales need specialist rolesThe increase in outbound noiseRebalancing the workplacePost-pandemic sales recruitmentThe importance of self-careLinks:Book - From Impossible to InevitableTwitter – @motoceoLinkedIn – Aaron RossWebsite – Predictable Revenue
Mar 10, 2022 • 52min
E185 | How purpose can help you understand and overcome your struggle with Bobby Herrera
Is your business founded on a clear purpose? Bobby Herrara, author of The Gift of Struggle, founded Populus Group in 2002, a company set up to help organisations manage their non-permanent employees. But what does purpose have to do with HR?Bobby is passionate about helping people understand and overcome their struggle. He’s a firm believer that by aligning yourself and your company around your purpose can have a profound impact on you, the people around you, and the people your organisation touches. What’s interesting about Bobby is that he’s so driven by his purpose, that even though he didn’t share his origin story with his employees for over 10 years, he was so inspirational the business still reached $100 million turnover in those first 10 years. However, after sharing his origin story, they added another $500 million in the next 10 years. That’s the power of purpose right there. So what is Bobby’s origin story? You’ll have to listen to find out. Don’t miss Bobby on this week’s episode also shares the three pillars he’s built his business on, and why his organisation will go out of their way to back the underdog and solve problems for people. On today’s podcast:Discovering his purpose Populus GroupThe bus encounter How to recruit great staffWorking GeniusLinks:Book - The Gift of Struggle: Life-Changing Lessons About Leading HardcoverTwitter – @BobbyHerreraPGLinkedIn – Bobby HerreraWebsite – Bobby Herrera, populusgroup.com/
