Curious Leadership with Dominic Monkhouse

What’s your business aim? To achieve growth? To create a winning corporate culture? Deb Gabor, keynote speaker and bestselling author is on a mission to inspire 1 million brands to create irrational loyalty. Yes, that’s also the name of her latest book, Irrational Loyalty, but the premise behind it should strike a chord with anyone who owns a business - not least because the subtitle is - Building a Brand That Thrives In Turbulent Times. And times don’t get much more turbulent than the ones we are currently living through. The irrepressible Deb was born to brand and excels at her craft. With Dell as one of her core customers, Deb knows her stuff and is compelled to share her ‘grow or die’ mindset with other entrepreneurially spirited leaders. At the heart of this episode is the need for businesses to understand their core customer as a person, and (in Deb’s own words), understanding what your customer needs to do to get laid and if you can achieve that, you’ll get their irrational loyalty and growth for your business.“Irrational loyalty is that condition where people are so indelibly bonded to a brand that they feel like they were cheating on it if they were to choose a competitor or an alternative… I'm in the business of creating those conditions, which can sustain brands for the long term, make them grow profitably, rapidly, and in a highly focused way.”On today’s podcast:Irrational loyaltyThe four things the biggest brands in the world do Creating the ideal customer profileA niche is the sexiest thing about businessThe branding misconceptions holding businesses backCreate core values to benefit your business and your clientsLinks:Branding Is Sex: Get Your Customers Laid and Sell the Hell Out of AnythingIrrational Loyalty: Building a Brand That Thrives in Turbulent Times

The British Army is renowned for its outstanding leadership, and command and control. But what do they know about psychological safety? These are just a few of the many topics that come up in the conversation with Lieutenant Colonel Langley Sharp MBE, who heads up the Centre for Army Leadership. This is a unit that has, over the last five years, codified what leadership means in the British Army, and how to develop leaders within the Army. What are some of the principles of leadership in the Army? What is the difference between being a peacetime leader and a wartime leader? And what does training for adversity look like? From how you train people to make the right decisions to how the army has codified its leadership, this is a fantastic conversation with a first class leader. And if you think it’s not relevant to the world of business, you couldn’t be further from the truth. Langley has also written a fantastic book called The Habit Of Excellence, where he says: “Leadership, good leadership, effective leadership, that social relationship, that interpersonal relationship has to be nurtured every single day 24/7/365 to enable you to deliver effectively under pressure.”This is a really insightful conversation with Langley, we really enjoyed it. We’re sure you will too.On today’s podcast:The Habit of ExcellenceThe importance of leadership for military campaignsLeadership is contextualHow to make quick decisionsMission command and psychological safetyLinks:Twitter – @SO1LeadershipLinkedIn – Langley SharpBook – The Habit of Excellence: Why British Army Leadership WorksWebsite - Centre for Army Leadership

This episode of The Melting Pot is actually a recorded webinar we held called ‘There’s a hole in your Bucket’ with Watertight marketing methodology creator, Bryony Thomas. Bryony cut her teeth as Divisional Director of Marketing for Experian before leaving to found her own company in 2008. She took everything she’d learned from doing business development i.e. getting on the phone and doing sales, and joined it up to create the concept called Watertight. The idea behind Watertight is that there’s no point filling your bucket unless you plug the holes first, otherwise your money will simply run out of the bottom. In this fabulous episode, Bryony walks us through some elements of her programme and in particular she asks, how would you steal your neighbour’s cat? Intrigued? Download and listen to find out how you can apply the Watertight marketing methodology to your own business. On today’s podcast:What is world-class marketing performance?The four foundations of healthy, and sustainable, sales flowFirst Flow Foundation – The Right WorkSecond Flow Foundation – Balanced RoutineThird Flow Foundation – Baseline RhythmFourth Flow Foundation – Maintain MomentumYour Marketing Flow ScoreLinks:Book: Watertight MarketingTwitter: @bryonythomasLinkedIn: Bryony ThomasWebsite: www.watertightmarketing.com

If you’re a leader and you don’t have a coach, then you’re missing a trick. Ian Windle is group chairman at Vistage, a global peer board organisation. He's also a TEDx speaker, executive coach, team builder, author, podcast host. In this latest episode of The Melting Pot, Ian talks about his obsession with leadership, developing leaders, and having a growth mindset. He discusses building high performing teams, what being in a peer organisation like Vistage or YPO, or EO is like, and the value you get from being a part of it. He also shares what you can learn from being a member, and what you can take back into your own organisation, and how to solve problems, either in a peer organisation or with coaching. He also talks about building trust, why leaders need to show vulnerability, and how to create and cultivate a growth mindset. Finally, Ian has some questions that you as a leader should be asking of your executive team as we end 2021, about to enter 2022, as well as some great book recommendations. To hear all this and more, download and listen to the episode now. This is a fantastic chat, we’re sure you'll enjoy it too.On today’s podcast:The personal growth businessLeaders lose more oftenHow do you spend your time?Why you need a coachWhy peer groups workLinks:Book - The Leadership Map: The gritty guide to strategy that works and people who carePodcast - The Gritty Leaders ClubTwitter – @ianlivechangeLinkedIn – Ian WindleWebsite - Ian Windle, vistage.co.uk/

If you worry about being irreplaceable in your business, then don’t miss Ari Meisel, the productivity coach entrepreneur, founder of Less Doing, and author of The Replaceable Founder, who’s helped thousands of clients achieve the art of less doing - less work, more results, more happiness. At 23, Ari thought he knew it all. He wasn’t open to criticism, he wasn’t open to feedback. Ari was working really hard, 18 hours a day, believing that was the path to fulfilment. He was working in construction, working in property development, was $3 million in debt, and then his world came to a shuddering halt. Diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, Ari found himself in the position where he could only work an hour a day. He couldn’t rely on his old work habits any more. He had to come up with a new system to keep him moving forward. And he did. To find out how he teaches coaches, entrepreneurs and CEOs around the world how to do less and live more, and to become replaceable in their organisations, don’t miss this latest episode. This is a fantastic conversation, we hope you enjoy it as much as we did. On today’s podcast:The Replaceable FounderThe unfortunate culture issueHow to find motivationWork life integrationThe secret of innovationLinks:Twitter – @arimeiselLinkedIn – Ari MeiselWebsite – Ari Meisel, https://lessdoing.com/Book - On Productivity - Ari MeiselBook - The Replaceable Founder  - Ari Meisel

If you want to improve the managers in your business, says Michael Bungay Stanier, do more coaching. You might think coaching equals being soft, but you couldn’t be further from the truth. “When I'm asked to talk about my philosophy of coaching I've got two words, and the words are Fierce Love.”Michael wrote the book on coaching, literally. The Coaching Habit is the biggest book on coaching this century. He is the go-to guy for anything coaching related - his 7 questions format has revolutionised coaching, and while we don’t necessarily talk about those today, they do feature. In this enlightening episode all about coaching, Michael, who’s also founder of Box of Crayons - a learning and development company helping organisations shift from advice-driven to curiosity-led, talks about his latest book - The Advice Trap. This conversation is full of fantastic insights from Michael on how to be a better coach, how to be a better leader, and how to encourage coaching inside your organisation. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did. On today’s podcast:The Coaching HabitThe need for social contracting when hiring a coachThe principles of coachingWhy ‘and what else?’ is the most powerful question to askThe power of staying curious a little bit longerThe advice trap

If you want to be better at leading a team. If you want to know how to lead a good decision making process. Or how to engage and inspire people to bring their full self to work. If you want to improve the culture in your business, then don’t miss Amy Edmondson on this week’s episode of The Melting Pot. Amy hasn’t just written the book on psychological safety in the workplace, Fearless Organization, she’s a global expert in organisational development. She’s taught the topic to countless Harvard MBA students for the last 25 years, in her role as Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School.But why did Amy write the book and how did that Google project lead to one of the most globally revered books about the importance of psychological safety in the workplace? And why does Amy consider Pixar to be the poster child for psychological safety?Download and listen to find out what it takes for an organisation to build great leaders and psychological safety. And learn how you can develop and roleplay psychological safety while developing as a leader. This is a really fantastic conversation, we hope you enjoy it as much as we did. On today’s podcast:Amy and Google’s Project AristotleWhat is psychological safety?The 3 elements required to build psychological safetyWhy responding positively is so hardThe industrial age issue that persists todayLinks:TED Talk - Amy C. Edmondson Book - The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth Book - Extreme Teaming: Lessons in Complex, Cross-Sector Leadership Twitter – @AmyCEdmondsonLinkedIn – Amy EdmondsonWebsite – Amy C. Edmondson - Faculty & Research

Do you understand cash flow? As in, do you really understand your cash flow, or are you just saying yes because you know you ought to?Alan Miltz, co-founder of Cash Flow Story and co-author of Scaling Up has made it his life mission to help business owners not just understand cash flow, but to use it to avoid growing broke. Alan’s idea, The Power of One, is that if you incrementally changed your business by 1% or 1 day changes, how long would it take you to achieve your desired financial results? The Power of One, says Alan, is the code of your company. Why 1? Because everything Alan has developed one common theme - to make the complex simple. He wants business leaders and their teams to learn to love the numbers. “Revenue is vanity, Profit is Sanity and Cash is king.”Why might you listen to Alan? Because he’s the chartered accountant who co-wrote Vern Harnish’s book - Scaling Up Rockefeller Habits 2.0. In today’s episode Alan explains why you need a cash flow ladder for your products or customers. You need to know what the working capital and cash implications are of each dollar of revenue to that customer cohort or for that product. He also discusses the levers that the leadership team should be able to pull to improve cash flow. To find out more, check out the links to www.cashflowstory.com where Alan’s software resides. On today’s podcast:Cash flow storyThe 7 leversCash flow ladderThe power of oneLinks:https://cashflowstory41746.ac-page.com/cfs-1-post-talkBook - Scaling UpTwitter – @AlanMiltzLinkedIn – Alan MiltzWebsite – Alan Miltz, cashflowstory.com

If you’re looking for some inspiration to help you find your Super North Star, let Floyd Woodrow DCM MBE be your guide. Floyd is Managing Director and founder of Chrysalis Worldwide, a world-leading values-based organisation and owner of Quantum group. But as you may have guessed from his post-nominal letters he hasn’t always been a businessman. Floyd spent his formative years first in the Parachute Regiment before joining the Special Air Service at the age of 22, where he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his work in Iraq and an MBE for his work in Afghanistan. While he was serving, Floyd realised the importance of continual learning and wanted to continue down this path of pursuing excellence when he left the military. And that’s precisely what he’s done. He’s also written several books including Learning to Learn, and more recently, The Warrior, The Strategist and You in which he outlines the “Compass for Life model for leadership and life”.In today’s episode Floyd discusses the idea of having a Super North Star and how a compass provides the framework you need to achieve balance and point toward your Super North Star. He also talks about the importance of mindset, and he succinctly sums up, in 30 seconds, what it takes to be an amazing salesperson. This is a fantastic conversation with Floyd, we hope you enjoy it as much as we did.  On today’s podcast:Finding Your Super North StarThe four cardinalsSumming up selling in 30 secondsLearning through hostage negotiationLinks:Podcast - Floyd's leadership journeyBook - The Warrior, The Strategist And You: How To Find Your Purpose And Realise Your PotentialBook - Elite!: The Secret To Exceptional Leadership And PerformanceTwitter – @floydwoodrowLinkedIn – Floyd WoodrowWebsite – Floyd Woodrow

If you’re wondering if there’s a silver bullet to help you grow your company and get you there with speed, ease and confidence, then don’t miss Shannon Byrne Susko discussing her latest book, Metronomics, in this episode. Shannon is a CEO and leadership team coach, bestselling business author, speaker, serial entrepreneur, and corporate director. She has distilled her extensive knowledge gained over 25 years at the helm of various companies, and coaching clients, into her new book Metronomics, a definitive How To guide to take your CEO and leadership team on a very prescriptive journey. Metronomics is the silver bullet your organisation has been looking for. Shannon’s book takes you on a journey, it guides you to where you want to go, asks what’s the goal, and shows you why the one thing people need to do - define purpose, core values and their culture - is the one thing they never want to do. In this episode, Shannon discusses her 3HAG system, why she wrote Metronomics, how Metronomics will help high performing teams win their business Olympics, why businesses need a playbook, the Coach Cascade System, and why key function flow map (KFFM) is essential to business growth.Enjoyed the show? Leave Us A Review. Follow Us and be the first to listen to a new episode each week on your favourite platform.On today’s podcast:The 3HAG systemWhy businesses need MetronomicsUsing Metronomics as a playbookThe hardest part of the systemKey function flow map (KFFM)Links:Twitter – @MetronomeEffectLinkedIn – Shannon Byrne SuskoWebsite – Metronome United, Books by Shannon