Release Your Roar

On the Pennine hills, one evening early June - 33 secs

Listen to my talk with Herb Kim on how a culture of personal and business self development can keep you fresh and ahead of the game. (36 mins) Background on Herb Kim . Herb is best known for his work in creating live, large, in-person thought leadership conferences with a focus on Northern England, U.K, Founder of the Thinking Digital Conference in Newcastle, TEDxNewcastle, TEDxDurham, TEDxLiverpo...

Bill Law, retired Construction Director, shares his story of how pen and ink drawing helped his Parkinson's (Photo courtesy of drawing by Bill Law showing the 3 bridges over the Tyne and surrounding buildings in the centre of Newcastle Upon Tyne) 1 min 25 secs long

Bill Law, retired construction director, talks to me about how he has managed to lead an active life over the last 12 years with Parkinson's. Bill developed Parkinson's in 2012 at 63 years of age, just before his retirement and shares his stories with me, on what has worked well for him in managing this condition. In 2018, he climbed the Blencathra mountain in the Lake District with 25 o...

Michael Mitten , former CEO of Houghton International and now an acquisitions and merger consultant, explored the Artic North pole in 2009 and Antarctica in 2019.  He shares with us his learnings of what Polar adventure taught him about Leadership and particularly Leadership in Business. In our natural conversation and stories around the theme of the extreme environment, there is the odd adult lan...

The dulcet tones of the Durham Business Group singing on board the wonderful Weardale railway, on our way back from Wolsingham to Stanhope on 26th November 2024.   Length 53 secs Singing inspires, lifts the spirits and creates togetherness. We all have a voice within us! I was brought up in the Weardale valley and with my Father, was introduced to old folk songs in the pubs of Weardale and Cumbria...

Listen to my discussion around leadership with Graham Purvis, MD of Robson Laidler, a business who in 2024 were awarded one of the Best Places To Work by the Sunday Times and they were the first organisation in the North East to be awarded B Corp accreditation. Graham was born in North Northumberland, studying Law at University of Leeds, moving to KPMG as tax manager for 8 years and joined Robson...

I am today joined by Ammar Mirza CBE, an award winning enterprise and innovation expert who has been involved in helping establish many businesses globally through design, development, delivery of accelerator and scale up programmes. Ammar has been considered the most influential Asian in the North East in terms of impact and helping businesses grow. He has held many Chair roles, notably recently...

In this episode we are talking with Frederik Imbo, trainer, speaker, actor and football referee on the subject of how best to communicate in a position of authority, managing conflict and how to not take things personally. Frederik has been involved in the world of communication for 24 years and has also been a football referee for 5 years, with over 280 football matches under his belt. Subjects w...

I am joined by Jon Chadwick who is Founder and MD of Durham Distillery and Durham Gin. Jon is going to share his story when he set up the business over 10 years ago. Durham Distillery distil and manufacture small batches of craft spirits, set in the historic city of Durham.  I discuss with Jon why he took the plunge and set up Durham Gin. The mindset challenges for making the career change, the tr...

Family businesses are an integral part of our economy and in this podcast I talk to; Michael Mitten, CEO of Houghton International, who shares his story around succession and the challenges he faced in growing the family business to being the best in the world in improving the performance of electro mechanical assets around the world.  Michael took on the CEO role in 2006 and the companies Head of...

Interview with Jane Netts Psychotherapist and counsellor, to discuss what are the key ingredients of a successful long-term marriage or partnership.  41 minutes long and contains adult content. Covering:- 1.       What is the most important key ingredient of a marriage or long-term partnership? And a close second?  2.       What risk may we take in a marriage or partnership? 3.       When there ar...

How to manage conflict and create harmony in the boardroom. Nancy Radford mediator and trainer who specialises in conflict management, joins me to discuss how we manage conflict to create harmony with relationships at a senior level in the board room.  Duration approx 39 mins.  Content. 1.  Intro  2.  What is the impact of tensions/differences in the boardroom -       (1 min 40 secs) 3.  What fact...

How to understand and navigate your way through the divorce process with Emily Finn and Chris Longbottom of Clarke Willmott. 1.  Are people giving up too early in a marriage and have we seen increases since Covid? When do people consider Divorce as an option? 2 mins 02 secs 2.  What are the new legal changes impacting Divorce on the 6th April and how will they help the process? 5 mins 45 secs 3. ...

What would Martin Green OBE and Neil Eastwood do about recruitment and retention if they were Ops Directors          Index                                                                                                  Stories of Resilience through Covid?  1:12 How as Directors you would tackle high turn over and sickness rates  - What would you do immediately and over the first year?  7:12 What...

Layth Abdullah shares his experiences following a life changing bicycle accident and how he has moved forward with positivity and purpose Please Note there is some Adult content contained within 36 mins  Qs summary Content  1 min 01 sec          What happened on that day 5 years ago?             4 mins 36 sec        What thoughts were going through your mind days after the accident?       11 mins...

What can Western businesses learn from the recent occupations of Iraq, Afghanistan and from within the British Army around culture and values.  Interview with Major General Jonathan Shaw CB CBE, former officer of the British Army. 36 mins 16 secs.    Topics covered:-   What can we learn about culture from your Afghan and Iraq experiences - Starts at 1 min When a business might be acquiring or merg...

Interview with Grant Leboff on marketing strategy :                            41 mins 24 secs . Intro 3 questions to ask your marketing team  - 1 min 06 sec 1 question to ask your core customer base - 4 mins 45 secs Invest or cut your marketing budget at this time - 7 mins 50 secs Where should marketing sit in the organisation - 11 mins 38 secs Resources; skill set of a marketing strategist - 17...

Tips on communicating by video from Duncan Lewis, communications trainer. Intro and background 1 min 30 secs         Benefits of video - Teams and 1:1 and limitations 4 min 25 secs         Eye Contact and Body language 8 min 15 secs         Maintaining energy levels, being creative and timings 12 min                    Projecting your voice 14 min 6 secs         Audio vs Video 16 min 15 secs     ...

Tips from 3 teachers sharing their personal views on ideas around home schooling Index:-  Intro 1.45     How to create a unique learning environment 7.02     How far do we go with structure 10.35   Sharing the load with 2 parents working 12.54   IT - How much screen time and mobile phone useage 17.30   IT - Best apps for connecting with school friends 20.50   IT - how to keep safe online 22.50   P...