What Matters – Details, episodes & analysis

We talk to communication expert, international keynote speaker and transformational coach, Ravi Rajani, about his new book, “Relationship currency: five communication habits for limitless influence and business success”.

In Relationship Currency, Ravi uncovers the five communication habits you can embody to influence, inspire, and ignite change in your prospects, partners, customers, and team through building meaningful business relationships that matter.

We explore:

• How to ask conscious questions and why they are important.
• Why Ravi believes that we all have the innate superpower of charisma.
• True authenticity vs faking it.
• How to create story-worthy questions.
• Why imperfection equals connection.
• Why the suits Ravi wears have a far deeper significance!
• Key take-aways from the book that listeners can implement right away.

Relationship Currency is available from all major book sellers and from: www.theravirajani.com/book

In this episode of What Matters, we dive into the new book from Deloitte’s Geoff Tuff (Global and U.S. Sustainability Leader for Energy, Resources, and Industrials) and Steven Goldbach (Principal, Sustainability leader, Deloitte US), Hone: How Purposeful Leaders Defy Drift.

Hone builds upon the authors’ two previous books Detonate (2018), which challenged readers to blow up outdated playbooks; and Provoke (2021), which focused on creating future advantage by spotting risk early. This third book addresses the daily work of staying on track once you've positioned yourself for advantage.

• What exactly is ‘drift’ and why is it all too easy for organisations to lose their edge in times of massive transformation?
• How can the way in which a kitchen knife is sharpened deepen strategic insight?
• What is the connection between how our nervous systems work and management systems?
• What do four artisans - a chef, a documentary filmmaker, a nautical photographer and a Canadian rock band all have in common?
• What can sailing teach us about navigating change?

In our conversation, Tuff and Goldbach make a compelling case for the power of purposeful, continuous, human-centred improvement – something that’s so much more appealing than the often-brutal top-down corporate transformation!

An interview with Nathan Shearman, a qualified psychotherapist and counsellor at Red Umbrella, on what can be done to help improve the mental well-being of men in the workplace. Red Umbrella work in partnership with large employers to deliver bespoke mental health training and support solutions.

A beehive is the ultimate business case study of a complex organisation. This lens of perspective also helps to bring a fresh perspective to some of the most pressing challenges facing leaders today.

In this episode, we talk to Philip Atkinson, author of Bee Wise: 12 Leadership Lessons from a Busy Beehive. An organisational coach as well as a beekeeper, Philip lifts the lid on what happens inside a hard-working beehive as we discuss this refreshing metaphor of working life.

To learn more and get a copy of the book go to beewisebook.com or you can find it at all the usual online retailers.

Paul Hargreaves is an author, speaker and CEO of Cotswold Fayre, one of the UK’s leading speciality and fine food wholesalers. In this podcast we discuss the concept of extravagant generosity and explore key themes in his two books. We also dive into why Paul believes that people and planet must come before profit and why this approach is at the root of Cotswold Fayre and Flourish’ success.

Imagine a workplace Christmas party with no alcohol. For today’s guest, Alex Clapp, it has become a mission to show the world that we don't need alcohol to have a good time.

In this podcast, Alex, a recovering alcoholic shares his journey and explains why the business he set up to organise non-drinking events, Claritee, is attracting so much attention.

In this interview Alex:

• shares his personal transformational journey with alcohol
• explains how and why Claritee events are so much fun, despite being alcohol free
• highlights that he doesn’t support a prescriptive approach - it’s the principle of offering people a choice that matters
• gives his predictions on the speed at which attitudes towards drinking will continue to change

Claritee was founded to fill a gap in the market for non alcoholic corporate events and training that focus on well-being whilst being fun, entertaining and challenging. It’s the first company of its kind to focus on hosting events that prove you don't need alcohol to have a good time.

In the second half of 2023, leading global executive search firm, Kingsley Gate, conducted in-depth conversations with over 35 senior executives and board members across 11 Latin American markets with FT Longitude of the Financial Times Group.

The findings highlight that most senior executive participants not only believe that decision making is both a critical component of any leader’s mandate, but also that decision making does tend to look slightly different in a Latin American context.

In this conversation with Aaron Mitchell Finegold, the Chief Marketing Officer of Kingsley Gate, we’re going to discuss key findings from this survey which builds upon their original global research also launched last year with the FT.

Julia Milner is a Professor of Leadership at EDHEC Business School and along with some colleagues, has conducted research that explores the underlying problems of micro-management and how employees can avoid it. We explore the various symptoms of micro-management with her and identify some strategies for dealing with it.

In this episode, we explore the Enneagram with Karl Hebenstreit, author of "The How & Why: Taking Care of Business with the Enneagram".

The Enneagram is a personality model that describes people in terms of nine personality types, each with its own core motivations, fears and internal dynamics. The name derives from Greek (ennéa, meaning "nine" and grámma, meaning something "written" or "drawn"). The nine types are represented diagrammatically by the points of a geometric figure called an enneagram.

In a business context, the Enneagram is used to gain insights into workplace interpersonal dynamics. The ability to take on another person’s point of view is a vital part of getting anything done successfully, and the enneagram offers an effective route to open people up to other ways of thinking.

Karl Hebenstreit is a certified executive coach, leadership and organisational development (OD) consultant, author, and international speaker. He has more than 25 years of HR and OD experience across arrange of industries. As well as "Taking Care of Business with the Enneagram" (now in its third edition), Nina and the Really, Really Tough Decision.

If you are a woman over 40 and feel that ageism is stopping you landing a job despite your experience and qualifications, this interview with Nori Jabba, author of Keeping Your Seat at the Table, a Memoir and Guide on Regaining Confidence in Middle-age, is for you.