The ActionCOACH Podcast

How to Perform at Your Peak: Lessons from the World's Best | Dean Leake High Performance Coach Interview Most businesses talk about "culture", then launch a change programme nobody can quite describe. Dean Leake thinks the word is a little bit rubbish. In this episode of the Business Growth Podcast, powered by ActionCOACH UK, he explains what high-performing teams do instead: set cle...

Are You Ready for the Future? The 5-Year Goal Setting Strategy | Dominic Baldwin Xantum Interview Most business owners start financial planning with the money. How much have I got, what should I invest in, how do I save tax? Dominic Baldwin starts somewhere else entirely: what matters to you, and why. In this episode of the Business Growth Podcast, powered by ActionCOACH UK, he shares the exercise...

The Truth About Building a Business People Actually Trust | Adam Willcox 55 Group Interview Energy suppliers are about as trusted as politicians. Most businesses in a low-trust industry accept that and compete on price. Adam Willcox built his business to do the opposite. Adam runs 55 Group, a family-run energy business with 12 staff that has grown to almost £10 million. In this episode of the Busi...

Leadership: The Truth About Leadership Insecurity (And How To Fix It) | Thriving in Toxic Culture with Natalie Abou-Alwan Most people think the loudest person in the room is the most confident. Natalie Abou-Alwan has spent her career learning the opposite. In this episode of the Business Growth Podcast, powered by ActionCOACH UK, she explains why "insecurity is loud", how to handle a tox...

Business Growth Isn't About Sales, It's About Empathy | Jason and Nicola Threadgold Funeral Directors Interview Most businesses say their service is what sets them apart. Very few get publicly recognised for it. Jason and Nicola Threadgold did, in an industry where trust is hard to earn and every family arrives at the worst moment of their lives. In this episode of the Business Growth Podc...

Business Vision - From Nursery Fire To Empire | Andy Nimmo Muddy Boots Nurseries Interview Most business owners get so buried in the day to day that they can't see where the business is actually heading. Andy Nimmo built Muddy Boots Nurseries by learning that lesson the hard way, more than once. Andy co-founded Muddy Boots Nurseries with his wife Anna 15 years ago, starting from a combined hou...

Lead Forensics - The Five Building Blocks Behind A $50 Million Business | Henry Braithwaite Most founders think a big business needs a big city, deep pockets or a genius idea. Henry Braithwaite proves otherwise. In this episode of the Business Growth Podcast, powered by ActionCOACH UK, he breaks down the five building blocks he used to scale a business from zero to $50 million, out of Portsmouth,...

Is Your Team Divided? Leading Across Generations In An AI-First World | Dr Paul Redmond Interview Five generations now share the same workplace, and most leaders are still managing them through one lens: their own. Meanwhile, some are quietly handing their leadership to AI, right down to the condolence letters. In this episode of the Business Growth Podcast, powered by ActionCOACH UK, James Vincen...

What They Don't Tell You About Leadership | Mandy Hickson RAF Top Gun Pilot Interview Most business leaders only get taught how to lead after they've been promoted. Mandy Hickson learned it the opposite way round, and it might explain why the military still builds better leaders than most companies do. Mandy broke through as one of the first women flying fast jets for the RAF, at a time when women...

The Only Way To Beat Fear Of Rejection | Amelia Sordell Klowt Founder Interview Most people avoid sharing their story because they're terrified of being rejected or judged. Amelia Sordell knows better. In this episode of the Business Growth Podcast, powered by ActionCOACH UK, she reveals why courage, not confidence, is the only real way through that fear. Amelia is the founder of Klowt, the person...

Scaling: Why Most Founders Get It Wrong | Jonathan Neill Turnkey Business Exit Interview Most founders think scaling means working harder. Jonathan Neill nearly wrecked his health proving that wrong before he learned a better way. In this episode of the Business Growth Podcast, powered by ActionCOACH UK, he explains how a business built from a garden shed sold for multi-millions. Jonathan started...

Business Valuation: What They Don't Tell You At Business School | Spencer Gallagher M&A Expert Interview Most business owners treat their company like a chore. Spencer Gallagher spent years doing exactly that until a chance meeting changed how he saw his own business, and eventually helped him sell it for millions. In this episode of the Business Growth Podcast, powered by ActionCOACH UK, Spen...

How To Conquer The Fear Of Public Speaking | Richard McCann Speaking Coach Interview Public speaking is one of the biggest fears on the planet. It even has an official name: glossophobia. Most people never get past it, and their careers pay the price every time they stand up in front of a room. Richard McCann knows the fear from the inside. He started out petrified, reading from his own book at hi...

Is AI Destroying Your Brand's Reputation? | Julie Holmes Tech Innovator Interview Most business owners are racing to automate everything: outbound sales, social media, even the first contact a customer ever has with them. Julie Holmes knows better. In this episode of the Business Growth Podcast, powered by ActionCOACH UK, she reveals why the businesses winning with AI are the ones keeping humans i...

Daniel Priestley: Your Biggest Marketing Mistake Is Talking To Too Many People | Oversubscribed Author Interview Most business owners are still chasing reach: the biggest audience, the most views, the widest net possible. Daniel Priestley says that instinct now works against you, because the platforms have quietly rewired themselves to reward relevance over reach. In this episode of the ActionCOAC...

Elite Performance: Why Top Performers Are Using This Rowing Team's Framework | Harriet Beveridge Performance Psychologist Interview Most business leaders run on autopilot, keeping the same meetings and habits simply because that's what's always been done. Harriet Beveridge has a test that cuts through all of it, borrowed from a British rowing crew that turned one gold medal in a generation into Ol...

Your Business Falls Apart When You Leave? You Don't Own It Yet | Peter Boolkah Business Coach Interview Most business owners are brilliant at the technical work that got them started and completely unprepared for what running a business requires. The result is a team trained to be dependent, decisions funnelling through one person, and a life that belongs to the business. Peter Boolkah has spent 2...

Mindset: The Moment We Stopped Listening to No | Tom Caulfield & James Whittle The Tempest Two Interview Most people wait until they feel ready. Tom Caulfield and James Whittle know that day never comes, so eighteen months after taking up climbing for the first time, they set off up El Capitan anyway. Known as The Tempest Two, Caulfield and Whittle rowed 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean u...

The Calculated Risk That Separates the Rich From Everyone Else | Danny McFarlane Wealth Adviser Interview Most people think wealthy clients obsess over money. Danny McFarlane has spent 30 years advising the ultra-wealthy, and his observation is the opposite: the richest people he knows never chased money at all. In this episode of the Business Growth Podcast, powered by ActionCOACH UK, he explains...

Why Rory Sutherland Thinks You're Wrong (The Average Trap) Rory Sutherland Ogilvy Interview Most businesses design for the "average" customer. Rory Sutherland, vice chairman of Ogilvy, explains why this leaves everyone dissatisfied. In this ActionCOACH podcast episode recorded at BizX 2026, host Neil Martin explores how to escape the average trap and think like your customers actually think. When...

Sara Davies MBE on Why Authenticity Wins in Business and Leadership | Dragons' Den Star Interview When the BBC asked Sara Davies to be "more dragon-like" before her Dragons' Den audition, she made a choice. She walked into that meeting as herself, legs crossed, warm demeanour, Northern accent intact, and told commissioners exactly what they'd get. That decision transformed her career. Sara Davies...

Sales: You're Already Selling (Here's Why That Matters) | Jeb Blount Fanatical Prospecting Author Interview Most entrepreneurs think they're not in sales. Jeb Blount knows better. In this backstage episode of the Business Growth Podcast at BizX 2026, we reveal why every business owner must become their company's chief sales officer and how keeping your pipeline full changes everything about how yo...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Richard McCann - Peter Sutcliffe Killed His Mother. He Chose to Help Others Richard McCann grew up in Scotthall, a deprived area of Leeds, with his mother's alcohol struggles, a violent boyfriend involved in drugs, and constant chaos. Just before his sixth birthday, his mother went out and never came home. At 5:30 the next morning, Richard and his sister Sonia searched for her at a bus stop. Polic...

Significance in a Disconnected World | Penny Power OBE Interview We're more digitally connected than ever. Yet we're emotionally disconnected, anxious, and treating relationships like transactions. Penny Power OBE calls it what it is: a massive Silicon Valley psychological experiment that's changed how humans interact. Penny founded a social network in 1998 with her husband, Thomas Power. She buil...