Episodes
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'The TLDR, the too-long-didn't-read of the whole thing, is that everybody's skimming. So we need to write in a way that makes it easy for skimmers if we want to achieve our goals as writers.'
Todd Rogers has been using behavioural science for good for many years, from strengthening democracy to increasing student attendance, so his kids were somewhat underwhelmed when he turned his research to writing.
But think for a moment what the world would be like if everyone wrote clearly and effectively in a world where readers have little time and patience. Imagine the time not wasted, the offence not taken, the goodwill not squandered, the ideas not lost in translation.
Todd argues, and I agree with him, that better communication can lead to a kinder, more efficient world, and it starts with us. Whether it’s an email, a business report, or a book, here are practical ideas for writing that's simply easier to read.
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'Ruthlessness exists on a continuum, caring exists on a continuum, and it's about being in the sweet spots of both of those, not overplaying either one, or underplaying either one.'
Amy Walters Cohen is the author of Ruthlessly Caring: And Other Paradoxical Mindsets Leaders Need to Be Future Fit, which was named overall Business Book of the Year in 2024. It's based on years of research, which revealed that the key skill for effective leadership in a complex world is the ability to hold in tension five seemingly paradoxical mindsets.
As well as talking me through these, Amy told me about the challenges and rewards of translating her research into a book, including the amount of fidgeting, procrastination and coffee-fetching involved in the early stages.
She also introduced me to the 'pub test', which I am shamelessly stealing for all future writing...
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Missing episodes?
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'Mom, why don't you just write it like you talk to me?'
When Laura Hamill set out to write a book about the subject she knew best - the subject she'd spent years researching in theory and practice - she naturally drew on all the studies, statistics and evidence she'd gathered together to support her argument.
Turns out, that's not what the reader needed. (And it wasn't just her editor who told her that, it was her son, too.)
Those in organizations with a problematic culture don't need research studies, they need help. Laura had to learn how to step out from behind the screen of academic writing, how to own her experience and her opinion, and to sit with the discomfort of uncertainty and self-doubt that involves throughout the writing process.
The result is a book that allows leaders and indeed anyone at any level to look beyond the words stencilled on the lobby walls to see how the real culture - what's expressed in how people speak and behave - is aligned with strategy, and what to do about it if it's not.
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'As we lean into artificial intelligence across every sector of business and life, how do we ensure that we're delegating the right things and keeping responsibility for the right things? And specifically, how do books and writing play into that?'
In this best bits episode, I'm exploring the role of writing in human intelligence in a world where it's suddenly possible to delegate writing to an AI tool. How does generating a written output quickly and easily fit alongside the hard yards of writing for ourselves, and is there still a place for that at work? [Spoiler alert: Yes. Yes, there is.]
Hear from:
Patrick Dixon on why physical books have become even more meaningful in an increasingly virtual world; Anna Faherty on why AI takes us backwards when it comes to story-telling; Dan Kieran on why we need the alchemy of writing to make sense of our lives; Thomas Bergen on the renaissance of the book and capturing its soul; Kathryn Jacob and Sue Unerman on why creativity matters so much in a world run by algorithms; Tiffany Gaskell on how being more human benefits the organization as well as the individual; Graham Allcott on why he doesn't let his AI avatar write his newsletter; Colin Ellis on the importance of the discography; Alina Addison on giving readers the courage to embrace both the too-muchness and the not-enoughness.Get ready to be challenged and cheered by these outstanding humans.
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'They think the goal is to have the book, but no, the goal is to become the person it takes to write your book.'
Dan Kieran is a publishing legend: as a co-founder of Unbound he revolutionizing the industry by empowering authors and readers. He learned a lot about himself and about setting up a business along the way, and he brought all that together in Do Start, winner of the Startup Book of the Year at the Business Book Awards.
But he also firmly believes that writing isn't just, or even primarily, about the final product; it's the process itself, the way you understand and articulate your journey, both professionally and personally. Which is why turning to AI to generate your writing outputs for you is such a dangerous, self-defeating habit for anyone who cares about ideas.
Or as Dan put it: 'Why would anyone want to read something that you couldn't be bothered to write?'
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'I think we are living in a renaissance of the book... AI is changing how we are looking at trusted knowledge.'
getAbstract is one of the leading corporate learning platforms, and it's based on books. The founders met with a lot of resistance from publishers in the early days, but their vision of making the knowledge in books discoverable and actionable quickly became reality. One reason was the brilliance of the team of abstracters creating summaries of the books, and in this episode we talk about how AI is changing the landscape and what that might mean for this most human of industries.
I talk to getAbstract cofounder Thomas Bergan, VP and global Head of Rights Arnhild Walz-Rasilier, and Practical Inspiration author Julie Smith, who took home the Readers' Choice gong. But it quickly becomes clear I'm never going to make it as a roving reporter....
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"As she was coached during a 15-minutes conversation, she put down each of those worries and at the end of it she was standing there in her full potential and I was like, wow, that's amazing. I want to learn how to do that."
If there's a foundational text of executive coaching it's Coaching for Performance by Sir John Whitmore, first published in 1992. Sadly John died in 2017 and so Tiffany Gaskell, who co-founded Performance Consultants with John and worked with him on the 5th edition in 2017, became the driving force behind the new, post-pandemic 6th edition.
She talks to me about the power of coaching, its evolution since 1992, and how it has become so foundational for organizational and personal growth. We also explore the link between coaching and writing, and how embracing coaching principles can help you fulfil your full potential as a writer. And we're all here for that, right?
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'Nice is about telling people what they want to hear. Kind is about telling people what they need to hear.'
Graham Allcott's back on the podcast and all is well with the world once again. This time he's talking about the transformative power of kindness in the workplace. Many assume that leaders need to belong to Team Screw-Them-All-And-Be-Evil to come out on top, but Graham demonstrates that being kind (which is NOT the same as being 'nice') is is a smart move if you want to be successful too.
There's a deeply personal story behind this which particularly resonated with me: Graham's own experience of the way his son's additional needs create a 'vessel for kindness' all around him. We talk about salted caramel, 'badass' kindness, how leading a course leads to writing a book, why two authors means twice the work, and how this is definitely the last book he'll write.*
We also talk about what writing does for us - we write what we need to read - and why delegating it to AI is a poor strategy. Writers write.
This is a conversation that will make you think, and which I hope will inspire you to be a little kinder, in life and work.
*I for one do not believe this.
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'The majority of people think their life would be better if they were more creative, but they don't know how.'
There are lots of books on creativity out there, but surprisingly few at its intersection with everyday business, what Sue Unerman and Kathryn Jacob call 'pragmatic creativity'. So they developed a series of practical techniques and structured approaches for fostering creativity in every business situation, organized metaphorically by the seasons of the year.
This is the third book they've written together, so I ask them about the secret of a happy, productive 'writing marriage', and also the role of their agent, Clare, as encourager, giver of advice and accountabliity partner. It's a fascinating insight into the role of collaboration in creativity, and the interplay between structure and adaptability.
If you're committed to fostering innovation and inclusivity in your own professional and creative life, this one's for you.
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'We're on the edge of really very exciting things, but also tremendous risks at the same time.'
Whether you're an AI enthusiast or it fills you with existential terror, this conversation will challenge your perspectives and elevate your understanding of our increasingly super-smart world.
Futurist Patrick Dixon has been predicting AI for 25 years, and now he works with the world's largest corporations and governments, helping them explore the profound implications of artificial intelligence across all sectors from medicine to marketing to global security.
This is not comfortable listening. We peer into the chasm (did you know that in a recent study, half of AI researchers perceive a 5% risk of AI leading to human extinction?). But Patrick remains an optimist, albeit a worried one, and hopefully you'll feel the same way at the end.
One great cause for hope is his insistence on the importance of authenticity in writing, the irreplaceable human connection that readers seek; AI-generated content cannot replicate human passion.
A thought-provoking conversation that merges foresight with practical wisdom.
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'We have this image of a reader being someone who's giving time and attention to our words... but online that doesn't happen.'
Anna Faherty found out the hard way that there were no books to help her teach a course on 'digital storytelling' - so she had to write her own. And if you're trying to write a business book then much of what she tackles in it - writing for busy readers, structuring ideas, adding in details and taking out fluff - is relevant for you too.
Even if you're not writing a book, you'll learn a huge amount from this conversation about capturing and keeping attention online, and why AI stories are not the way forward for anyone who cares about social justice.
There's also a super-practical post-it tip and an extended discussion about Gregory Peck and leopards. You're welcome.
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'I'm going to tell you how you should be doing it, but it's up to you to do it. But I'm going to dress it up in a way where the message might land 15 minutes later when you're on the bus going to town. And you're like, Oh, that's what he meant.'
It takes courage, tact and humour to point out to a leader not only that there might be an issue with their organization's culture, but that the issue might be them. And that's as true when you're writing a book as when you're in the room with the person. Luckily, Colin D. Ellis has all three, and in this frankly hilarious conversation he takes us under the hood to show us how he tells difficult truths in an easy-to-read way,
We also talk about crediting the music you listen to as well as the books you read as you write, the joy of the Venn diagram, and why being Liverpudlian is a superpower.
Pin your ears back.
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'It's that little extra something that makes the ordinary into extraordinary and the impossible into the why not?'
When her son was diagnosed with autism at the age of 10, it was what former head of trading and executive coach Alina Addison calls her 'butterfly moment'. While she accepted the diagnosis, she says, she didn't accept the prognosis, which was bleak. Instead she dedicated herself to discovering how to harness these extraordinary aspects of neurodiversity into something powerfully positive.
The result was a deep understanding of the superpower that is audacity: caring plus courage plus non-conformity. And that's as relevant to leaders as it is to parents of neurodiverse children.
In this deeply personal conversation Alina shares with me how she interwove her personal story with her professional expertise, and developed a style of writing based on talking. We also touch on how audacity plus wine can equal a hotel in Transylvania...
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In a world that celebrates speed and working smart, adopting AI solutions and smashing simple success metrics, it can feel not just challenging but unhelpful to diverge from received wisdom.
But if we're going to create anything of real value - in business, in writing, even in sport - we need to be ready to take the less-traveled path. Because that makes all the difference.
In this Best Bits episode, hear from:
Henry Mintzberg on cherishing anomolies; Maureen Dunne on why neurodivergence is so essential for organizations; Sol Rashidi on resisting easy answers when it comes to implementing AI projects; Cath Bishop on thinking more thoughtfully about success, in sport and life; Rob Hatch on find what works for YOU and doubling down on it; Hasan Kubba on the lean approach to writing a business book; Dougal Shaw on responding to feedback and changing paths; David B. Horne on rising to the challenge to 'think bigger'; Michelle Glogovac on the imporatance of asking the questions noone else is asking.My hope is that when you spot a chance to take a more interesting path this week, you'll find the courage to see where it takes you...
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David B. Horne, creative accountant and author of the award-winning Add Then Multiply: How small businesses can think like big businesses and achieve exponential growth, has a multidimensional perspective on the Business Book Awards as entrant, finalist, winner and now judge. He also knows a thing or two about the power of books for business growth.
In this week’s episode, we discuss how books serve as a permanent record of knowledge, helping businesses learn, grow, and establish credibility. As well as attracting the right clients, they can also help you ‘consciously uncouple’ from clients that no longer align with your goals.
And did you realise that writing a book - a journey of personal and professional development - can also count towards your CPD hours?A classic EBBC blend of practical tips and inspiration. Get the kettle on.
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Our definition of success has led us to a place that's actually constrained us from exploring what we're capable of. We're not getting the innovation or the collaboration that we want. We need to think about things differently.'
If you're enthralled by the drama of the Paris Olympics, here's a thoughtful take on what you might be missing if you're focused primarily on the medals table. World Champion rower Cath Bishop has competed at three Olympic games. When she won silver in 2004, the pain of missing out on gold led to a decades-long reexamination of the idea of success, across sport, education, politics and business.
As an international conflict negotiator and a leadership coach, as well as an advisor to several sporting bodies, she now makes the case for a richer, more human, more sustainable vision of what it means to win well - what she describes as the Long Win.
This conversation will change how you watch the Olympics, how you think about your business, and perhaps even what you value in life.
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'It's an unfair advantage to have a platform, it massively helps, don't get me wrong. But it's totally possible to do it without one.'
When Hasan Kubba and Ash Ali got together to write 'The Unfair Advantage: How you already have what it takes to succeed', they assumed they'd self-publish. They even put up a 'lean' version of the book on KDP. But as it turned out they had publishers fighting over it (sensibly, as it went on to be named Business Book of the Year), and Hasan has gone on to help other authors achieve the same feat.
While having a big following certainly helps in the battle for publishers' attention, Hasan argues that it's possible to get a book deal with a major traditional publisher without it. It's not unlike securing funding for a start-up, which is the other area in which he is an expert.
Discover the vital elements you need in place and the process to follow to get yourself and your book concept in front of agents and publishers with the best chance of success, with lessons for ALL kinds of content creation.
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'Embrace AI, but also make sure that you evolve as an individual and you understand the art of the possible while still staying grounded in the art of the practical.'
Implementing AI in your business isn't easy, but NOT implementing it could be disastrous. Sol Rashidi is a former C-suite executive turned AI consultant who knows more than most about the real-world challenges and opportunities in AI deployment. She's been in the field since 2011, developing enterprise-grade applications that integrate AI into business processes effectively, and now she's written a book to help leaders avoid the pitfalls and reap the benefits.
But how do you write a book on such a fast-moving technology? You write it FAST, and you keep it focused on principles, not specific tech tools. Sol reveals how she managed to write her book in two and a half months (or 26 years, depending on which way you look at it...), and how she learned to love the challenge of marketing.
AI can be an augmenter and accelerator in your business, and this episode can do the same for your writing.
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Henry Mintzberg is quite simply a legend, and my personal business thinking hero. When I was studying his writings for my MBA I could only have dreamed that one day I'd be chatting about writing to him on my podcast - and sometimes when dreams come true, the reality is even better than you dared imagine.
Along with the nuances of management theory and social change, he revealed insights into his own remarkable writing process. And these elements aren't as different as you might think: his insistence on the non-linear nature of writing and the importance of 'cherishing anomalies' reflects his disciplined yet emergent and above all human approach to strategy.
Despite the fact that he has so many successful books to his name, Henry Mintzberg is suprisingly wide and creative in his use of other forms of content, such as video, in his mission to make complex ideas accessible. I particularly love the 'Irene question': what can YOU do to drive social change - within your personal life, community, business, government, even on a global scale? It’s a profound inquiry that challenges us to consider our own role in shaping a better world.
This conversation felt like an uplifting, enlightening, mind-expanding gift: I hope you feel that way too.
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Journalism is changing, which means journalists have to change too. And a great example of this is the way that BBC reporter Dougal Shaw has reinvented his own role from pure video journalism, transforming what started as corridor conversations with business leaders who happened to be visiting the BBC into a high-profile series that runs on rolling news channels, on social media, in radio and podcast formats, and now as a book.
It's a story of intrapreneurship, which is fitting for a series that draws out lessons in both entrepreneurship and corporate leadership from visionary leaders who are often willing to be more vulnerable away from the finance and figures that are the focus of their more traditional BBC interviews. From the power of storytelling to the psychology of interviewing, there's lots of great stuff here for business book writers, and there's pure gold from Dougal's own experience of breaking down the book into writable parts and discovering the interconnections and patterns in the material.
Not only CEO secrets, but journalistic and writing secrets too. You're welcome.
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