This episode is the start of our CEO Series, in which we will be deep diving into what it takes to be a CEO.Amanda Blanc is a Welsh businesswoman and the current CEO of Aviva, stepping into the role in July 2020. Amanda grew up in Rhondda valley in Wales, both her grandparents were miners. In this episode she shares how her childhood in Rhondda instilled in her the importance of community, freedom, happiness and fun. Amanda discusses what she has learnt from her role as CEO and how she approaches leading a million pound company. Communication is key for Amanda, she approaches every conversation with an open mind, wanting to learn how she can improve her work and in turn, the company. During Covid, Amanda would hold virtual town-halls in which she would invite colleagues to share their thoughts with her directly. A key learning for Amanda is, “be your own customer”. You need to use your own service, see how it functions as a user - the good and the bad parts. In this episode Jake, Damian and Amanda also discuss emotional intelligence, why she will always choose the hard option and how she dealt with being told she was not “the man for the job”.Thank you to PwC for sponsoring this special CEO Series. PwC’s purpose is to build trust and solve important problems, and their global strategy - The New Equation - is bringing this to life for their clients, people and society. By combining technology with human ingenuity, passion and experience, PwC works with organisations to deliver more intelligent, sustained outcomes.

Mo Gawdat is an Egyptian author and entrepreneur. Previously he held the position of Chief Business Officer for Google X, he is now host of the popular podcast Slow Mo. Mo is known for creating the happiness equation. Mo has co-founded more than 20 businesses, and continues to mentor ten start-ups at one time.In this episode Mo discusses how the death of his beloved son Ali, began his search for happiness and doing good. Although he has suffered tragedy within his life, Mo’s aim was to come through suffering and “make things better” for others. Mo discusses flow state, the importance of learning and how he achieves his highest performance whilst playing video games.Mo shares the importance of not trying to cheat your way to high performance and “miss blocks”, stating we should be focusing on “looking under our feet, not at the target”.- - - - - -Pre-order the new High Performance Daily Journal - 365 ways to become your best! smarturl.it/HPJournalWant even more from High Performance? We have launched our brand new premium podcast service 'High Performance Plus' for people who want to support the podcast, listen to ad-free episodes and have access to exclusive bonus content so we can get you even closer to a life of high performance. Sign up on Apple Podcasts apple.co/highperformance or Supercast https://highperformanceplus.supercast.com/Remember you can join the free HIGH PERFORMANCE CIRCLE! Just go to https://www.thehighperformancepodcast.com/thecircleYou will get:Weekly Monday Motivation Newsletter with Book Recommendations, Discount Codes, and more!Exclusive early video accessKeynote speeches that keep you learningAnd much more!

Our chat with the irrepressible, inspirational and incisive Jo Malone (ep45) was one of the most moving interviews which we have been lucky to do on High Performance. Jo is a household name and one of the world’s most successful businesswomen. There aren’t many people who haven’t had a product of hers in their home at some point. Her quiet wisdom, including such golden nuggets that tough times don't last forever, is one which we regularly revisit. Jo's interview contains some priceless lessons. You can listen to whole interview here: https://pod.fo/e/bbdc9 - - - - - -Pre-order the new High Performance Daily Journal - 365 ways to become your best! smarturl.it/HPJournal

Jost Capito is a German Motorsport manager and current CEO and Team Principal of Williams Racing Formula One Team. He joined Williams during Covid, in this episode he shares the difficulties that came with joining then and how he cultivates a family feel in a large company, where many employees work remotely. Jost has an open door policy and chooses not to use an office, he discusses with Jake and Damian how important it is for his employees to feel valued and listened to. In this episode they explore the cost of living a life that is relentlessly driven to find victory, what you have to lose to achieve great things.  The objective is always to win, for Jost and his team there is no consideration of the alternative. Jost discusses the importance of being a boss that has experienced a range of roles, “if you are a good leader, no job has to be too hard for you”.- - - - - -Thanks to WHOOP for sponsoring this episode - the new WHOOP 4.0 is a wearable Fitness and Health Coach that helps you to Sleep Better, Train Smarter and Recover Faster - ultimately helping you to be the best possible version of yourself - get your first month free on us - join.whoop.com/en-uk/HPPPre-order the new High Performance Daily Journal - 365 ways to become your best! smarturl.it/HPJournalWant even more from High Performance? We have launched our brand new premium podcast service 'High Performance Plus' for people who want to support the podcast, listen to ad-free episodes and have access to exclusive bonus content so we can get you even closer to a life of high performance. Sign up on Apple Podcasts apple.co/highperformance or Supercast https://highperformanceplus.supercast.com/

Ellie Simmonds OBE is a former Paralympian swimmer. She won two gold medals for Great Britain at the age of 13 at the 2008 Paralympics; has many world and European titles and was awarded an MBE at the age of 14. In this episode, Ellie discusses what it was like to deal with immense pressure at a young age and how crucial a good team is. She was born with Achondroplasia (a form of Dwarfism), and discusses with Jake and Damian why it is so important to talk about disabilities in an open and upfront way. And Ellie shares the simple way she stays happy and appreciates the small moments…- - - - - -Thanks to WHOOP for sponsoring this episode - the new WHOOP 4.0 is a wearable Fitness and Health Coach that helps you to Sleep Better, Train Smarter and Recover Faster - ultimately helping you to be the best possible version of yourself - get your first month free on us - join.whoop.com/en-uk/HPPPre-order the new High Performance Daily Journal - 365 ways to become your best! smarturl.it/HPJournalWant even more from High Performance? We have launched our brand new premium podcast service 'High Performance Plus' for people who want to support the podcast, listen to ad-free episodes and have access to exclusive bonus content so we can get you even closer to a life of high performance. Sign up on Apple Podcasts apple.co/highperformance or Supercast https://highperformanceplus.supercast.com/Remember you can join the free HIGH PERFORMANCE CIRCLE! Just go to https://www.thehighperformancepodcast.com/thecircleYou will get:* Weekly Monday Motivation Newsletter with Book Recommendations, Discount Codes, and more!* Exclusive early video access* Keynote speeches that keep you learning* And much more!

In this week’s Bitesize, we’re returning to episode 28 with Sir Clive Woodward. The head coach who led England’s rugby players to World Cup glory in Australia in 2003. Clive discusses the similarities between sport and business, how he approaches running a small business, why personal relationships are so crucial and much more. Jake takes us through an in depth look at Clive’s answers, offering some inspiring and thoughtful insight.- - - - - -Pre-order the new High Performance Daily Journal - 365 ways to become your best! smarturl.it/HPJournalWant even more from High Performance? We have launched our brand new premium podcast service 'High Performance Plus' for people who want to support the podcast, listen to ad-free episodes and have access to exclusive bonus content so we can get you even closer to a life of high performance. Sign up on Apple Podcasts apple.co/highperformance or Supercast https://highperformanceplus.supercast.com/Watch all our episodes on YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/c/HighPerformancePodcast/videos

This week on The High Performance Podcast, we speak to Sunil Patel, the Co-founder and CEO of Whisper, an award winning production company to Sunil created with High Performance host Jake Humphrey. In this episode Sunil openly shares with us the highs and lows of being obsessed with your work and how this can impact your private life. He also goes into depth on how teamwork is at the heart of every decision he makes, and the importance of treating people with respect no matter what level you are operating at.With almost 300 staff, Whisper has grown organically to a turnover of tens of millions having produced Formula One, International Cricket, The Paralympics and Women’s Euros 2022. They have been named as one of the fastest growing production companies in Europe and Sunil has been named as a top 20 Indie Influencer 2019 by Broadcast Magazine and is a BAFTA-winning producer.

We had the immense good fortune to spend an afternoon in the company of Kevin Sinfield for episode 42, a leader who provided so many golden nuggets of information. In the hard sport of rugby, we chatted about the importance of soft stuff: the ability to show our emotions, let people know we care and the power of friendship. In this key takeaway, Kevin talks about the moment as a young boy, he realised in order to succeed he needed to get the best out of the people around it and the value it carried for the rest of his life.  For the full episode with Kevin - listen or watch: https://www.thehighperformancepodcast.com/podcast/kevin-sinfield- - - - - -Pre-order the new High Performance Daily Journal - 365 ways to become your best! smarturl.it/HPJournalWant even more from High Performance? We have launched our brand new premium podcast service 'High Performance Plus' for people who want to support the podcast, listen to ad-free episodes and have access to exclusive bonus content so we can get you even closer to a life of high performance. Sign up on Apple Podcasts apple.co/highperformance or Supercast https://highperformanceplus.supercast.com/Watch all our episodes on YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/c/HighPerformancePodcast/videos

A special bonus episode for you this week with former racing driver and now Chief Executive Officer of McLaren Racing, Zak Brown. He shares his story from wannabe racer to McLaren boss, and highlights the importance of the attention to detail, surrounding yourself with mentors, and making tough decisions! With McLaren hitting the news this week with team changes, he also reflects on whether he could have done anything different.We chat about Zak’s role as a leader, his motivations, and self-awareness. This conversation offers great takeaways to people looking to find their own way in business.- - - - - -Pre-order the new High Performance Daily Journal - 365 ways to become your best! smarturl.it/HPJournalWant even more from High Performance? We have launched our brand new premium podcast service 'High Performance Plus' for people who want to support the podcast, listen to ad-free episodes and have access to exclusive bonus content so we can get you even closer to a life of high performance. Sign up on Apple Podcasts apple.co/highperformance or Supercast https://highperformanceplus.supercast.com/Remember you can join the free HIGH PERFORMANCE CIRCLE! Just go to https://www.thehighperformancepodcast.com/thecircleYou will get:Weekly Monday Motivation Newsletter with Book Recommendations, Discount Codes, and more!Exclusive early video accessKeynote speeches that keep you learningAnd much more!

James Patterson is one of the world’s most successful authors, having sold over four hundred million books. In this episode James takes us through the challenges of his career and the ‘Eureka moment’ that made him quit marketing and become a full time writer. Having co-authored books with Bill Clinton and Dolly Parton, James explores how to best build relationships, earn trust and the importance of laughter. Having grown-up working class, and gradually made his way to the wealthy upper class, James explains how authenticity is key within his work, and personal, life. Finding the thing at the core of everything he does is key to Jame’s work, if he can find the core of every book the story can truly begin. Jake, Damian and James discuss how he keeps an inventory of his strengths and weaknesses, the importance of exploration and the value of education.Warning, there is swearing in this episode.- - - - - -Thanks to WHOOP for sponsoring this episode - the new WHOOP 4.0 is a wearable Fitness and Health Coach that helps you to Sleep Better, Train Smarter and Recover Faster - ultimately helping you to be the best possible version of yourself - get your first month free on us - join.whoop.com/en-uk/HPP Pre-order the new High Performance Daily Journal - 365 ways to become your best! smarturl.it/HPJournalWant even more from High Performance? We have launched our brand new premium podcast service 'High Performance Plus' for people who want to support the podcast, listen to ad-free episodes and have access to exclusive bonus content so we can get you even closer to a life of high performance. Sign up on Apple Podcasts apple.co/highperformance or Supercast https://highperformanceplus.supercast.com/Remember you can join the free HIGH PERFORMANCE CIRCLE! Just go to https://www.thehighperformancepodcast.com/thecircleYou will get:Weekly Monday Motivation Newsletter with Book Recommendations, Discount Codes, and more!Exclusive early video accessKeynote speeches that keep you learningAnd much more!