We Built This City: Greater Manchester

If that shiny new person in your life feels too good to be true, they are! In this bonus episode, Lisa Morton expands on what her guest Manc 42: Frank Mckenna had to say on setting the values for your business and why creating values for yourself and your business allows you to align your whole life so that you know when someone or something is causing your integrity to be compromised. Mentioned i...

"If you're really going to make a difference to people's lives, then you don't want to be asking for permission - you just want to be doing it." Frank Mckenna is the Chief Executive of Downtown in Business and co-founder of UnitedCity – a campaigning group seeking to rebuild the city’s economy - and this Liverpool-born change-maker is ready to tell us why Manchester opened its doors wide for a sco...

Or tracksuit in this case. Lisa Morton revisits the value; walk a mile in another's shoes as she reflects on the stories that Manc 41; Sid Willam told in their conversation. She delves into experiences that prove sympathy is very different to empathy. Mentioned in this episode: Thanks to our partners for this episode of We Built This City, Car Finance 247. You can visit CarFinance247.co.uk or foll...

“There's a difference between success and doing something significant.”   Founder of Embassy, Sid Williams, took a disused tour bus and turned it into Manchester’s first-ever mobile homeless shelter. Now, he’s getting ready to build 40 new homes to help our city’s most vulnerable.   In this episode, Lisa Morton discovers the significance of following your calling and how even the smalles...

Lisa Morton reflects on networking and the value of having purposeful relationships. She explores how your relationships are like bank accounts, it's fine to ask for a withdrawal, as long as you're putting in more than you're taking out. In Lisa's network, Yvonne Harrison and Liz Taylor are prime examples of this. Mentioned in this episode: Thanks to our partners for this episode of We Built This ...

“At its heart, sport reaches places that other things can't.” Founder of Stryve and Chair of the Class of ‘92’s charity Foundation 92, Yvonne Harrison has built a career on creating a more accessible sporting world, underpinned by her courageous commitment to asking the difficult questions. Find out alongside Lisa Morton the rewards you can reap from volunteering, the power of relationships in bui...

“There were no male housekeepers and there were no female chefs. So everyone was in their ‘rightful place’ until I upset things.”   Mary-Ellen McTague, owner of The Creameries and founder of the much-lauded Aumbrey in Prestwich, launched her career at the Michelin starred Sharrow Bay before working alongside Heston Blumenthal, and in the last year has fed 31,000 vulnerable people through her...

Lisa Morton looks at how we can check our ego to ensure we know we're no bigger than the team we are part of and that we make that team better. Reflecting on her conversation with Youth Climate Activist Emma Greenwood Lisa shares her takeaways.  In all aspects of life, it's important to see beyond yourself and look to the bigger union that your part of, to leave that partnership, company or in thi...

“I want you to be scared.” 17-year-old Emma Greenwood is a youth MP for Bury and eco-feminist who’s ready to change the world. Find out alongside Lisa Morton the importance of self-education, what it’s like to work alongside Greta Thunberg, and the power of finding your own voice. We Built This City is a series of conversations with some of the amazing Mancunians - born, bred or adopted – who put...

“I can and I will, watch me.” Manchester is built on trailblazing women, so to mark International Women’s Day 2021, we’re going to celebrate the incredible women that you’ve heard on our podcast over the last two series. Join Lisa Morton in discovering how you build a legacy in a world that doesn’t tilt in your favour, the importance of fighting for younger generations and how you can choose to ch...

Phil Mayall, Board Director of Muse, doesn’t just change places – he changes people’s aspirations. Phil has been behind some of the region’s biggest placemaking and regeneration projects, from Vimto Gardens to the £2.5bn Salford Crescent project.  Discover alongside Lisa Morton how Phil creates spaces for communities to live, breathe and grow in Greater Manchester, the value of relationships...

 “If you get stuff wrong, and you will get stuff wrong, you’re a human being”.  Lisa Morton explores the strength of making mistakes and learning from them. She looks at how Bryony Shanahan’s model of leading with kindness, actually provides  people with space, humility and courage to deal with any mistake they or the team make. The outcome is powerful.  Mentioned in this episode: Thanks to our pa...

“If I can even create a little bit of the atmosphere that happens in a football arena, in the theatre, then I will.” Bryony Shanahan was named Joint Artistic Director of the Royal Exchange in February 2020. Just one month later, the lights went down suddenly as Covid struck the UK. Discover alongside Lisa Morton the effect Covid has had on live performance and theatre, the responsibility of preser...

"We don't judge others, we empathise, and we learn" Lisa Morton looks at how listening to others is an important antidote to assuming the loudest story is the only story, and how Karen Gabay's love for leaning in to the less popular stories can inspire you understand the people you work and spend time with.  In any business, understanding where people are coming from helps relationships to grow an...

Uncover a part of Manchester’s history you’ve never heard before. Host of The People on BBC Radio Manchester, Karen Gabay has built a career on giving a platform to ordinary people and their stories, but she still has time to rub shoulders with Mary J Blige and Idris Elba. Discover alongside Lisa Morton the power of working for love, not money, and how hiding in the toilets at the Apollo and getti...

Showing Gratitude with your work and your actions.  Lisa Morton reflects on how Justin Eagleton has used his artwork to show gratitude toward Manchester and it’s people as well as the importance of taking the time to look back and honour the people that have supported you. Mentioned in this episode: Thanks to our partners for this episode of We Built This City, Car Finance 247. You can visit CarFi...

“That's my artwork on that screen. That's going to be in living rooms and houses all over the world.” Justin Eagleton has designed some of the biggest PlayStation games of the early noughties, has had his props blown up on Coronation Street and painted world-famous celebrities including Noel Gallagher and Rio Ferdinand.  Discover, alongside our host Lisa Morton, art’s incredible ability to ch...

"Is this your best piece of work?"  How you show up at work or in life matters. Lisa Morton looks at how Cas Paton's business On Buy has clear ethical values and how, with them, they not only mean business, but to behave like they mean business.  Mentioned in this episode: Thanks to our partners for this episode of We Built This City, Car Finance 247. You can visit CarFinance247.co.uk or follow Ca...

Meet Amazon’s biggest ethical competitor. Cas Paton launched his first business with just £80 in his pocket. He’s now the founder of OnBuy, the venture capitalist-backed, fastest-growing retail marketplace in the world. Lisa Morton chats to Cas about his upcoming global expansion plans, his dedication to ethical trading and his purpose-first business model. With £14.3m worth of sales, he’s definit...

Can you be a leader when you are not in a leadership role? Inspired by Tom Bloxham's episode of We Built This City, Lisa Morton shares some of the secrets to leading a team, and how you become a great team member by using the same skill.  Mentioned in this episode: Thanks to our partners for this episode of We Built This City, Car Finance 247. You can visit CarFinance247.co.uk or follow Car Financ...

“Some people are Mancunian by pure accident of birth. I chose to become one.”   Urban Splash founder Tom Bloxham MBE, was told his ambitious regeneration projects - from Britannia Mills to Timber Wharf - ‘would never work’.  Lisa Morton discovers how he went from selling posters and fire extinguishers, to championing Manchester’s creative industry, becoming one of the largest modular hou...

“The band forget you’re there, and without that trust... those images would never happen” For photographer Sharon Latham forming great relationships is vital to getting a great photograph. More than that - her work on relationships have lead her to every one of her great gigs. Lisa Morton discusses why "Loyalty Aways" is essential for how you can grow your business.  Lisa Morton, started PR compan...

“My legacy is my photographs, definitely.”   Music and football are two of Manchester’s greatest exports and Sharon Latham is the woman who has captured some of their defining moments through her lens.    Lisa Morton finds out how Sharon became the first female club photographer in the Premier League for Manchester City, what it was like to tour across America with Noel Gallagher, a...

"We know a bullshitter when we see one in this city"  Lisa Morton takes this revelation from Didsbury Gin's Liam Manton and unpicks what it means to "Keep It Real". Whether it's the courage to start again after every success (and failure), or the ability to straight talk with your team, this episode of Know Your Value shines a light on the power of being true to yourself, and keeping your feet fir...

From Collyhurst to the pages of Vogue. Liam Manton, co-founder of Didsbury Gin, turned a drunken light bulb moment into a multimillion pound business with his co-founder and mate, Mark Smallwood. He’s slayed Dragon’s Den, supported millions of people during COVID, and even lobbied against Donald Trump. Discover alongside Lisa Morton the power of the Manchester hustle. We Built This City is a serie...