Battling with Business

Episode 155 - Influencers #27 - Elizabeth Holmes - How Selling the Dream Became Selling Bullshit

In this week’s episode we look at one of the most uncomfortable leadership stories of the modern business era. Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos force us to confront how easily confidence, narrative, and status can be mistaken for competence and truth. We explore how a young, driven, and highly credible founder built a nine billion dollar company, attracted world class investors, and became a symbol of innovation, while quietly crossing the line from ambition into deception. We talk about the cult of leadership, the danger of survivor bias, and why we are so keen to believe in heroic founders. We examine the grey area between selling a vision and selling something that simply does not exist, and how leaders can gradually drift from optimism into outright dishonesty without a single dramatic moment of failure. The episode explores integrity, authority bias, and the responsibility of both leaders and followers. We discuss why intelligent, experienced people can still be fooled, what this story teaches us about accountability, and how leaders should balance hope, confidence, and truth when the stakes are high. This is not just a story about one flawed individual. It is a lesson for anyone who leads, invests, follows, or wants to believe in simple stories of success. If you care about leadership, ethics, and decision making under pressure, this episode will challenge some comfortable assumptions.

Episode 154 - A Semi Emergency Podcast on Venezuela, Leadership, Culture and the Future of NATO!

In this week’s semi-emergency episode we discuss the recent events in Venezuela attempting to look beyond the obvious political and moral dimensions, and instead look to see what we can learn from a leadership, management and culture perspective. Of course, knowing Gareth and Chris it also leads to a conversation about the future of NATO! If you've ever wondered what it takes to plan a military raid, well you've come to the right place.  Gareth shares his military knowledge and shares what it takes to plan and execute the kind of raid we saw the US deliver in Venezuela on the 3rd of January.  However, beyond the military approach to planning, we also discuss some of the more uncomfortable truths in leadership and management. Most organisations talk endlessly about leadership and culture while quietly tolerating behaviours that undermine it. What are the short and long term impacts of this raid on culture and strategy not just in Venezuela and the US, but around the world.  Was this raid a brilliant strategic success or is the answer more complicated? We explore where leadership narratives drift away from reality, why management systems often reward the wrong things, and how well intentioned leaders can slowly lose credibility without ever noticing. We discuss why clarity, accountability, and trust are harder to maintain in modern organisations than most leaders admit, and why confidence is often mistaken for competence. If you care about building teams that perform under pressure, leading people who trust your judgement, or understanding the potential long term impacts of your tactical actions, this conversation will resonate. It is a candid discussion designed to provoke reflection and, ideally, better leadership in the real world.

Episode 153 - Royal Marine, Yeoman Warder and Arctic Explorer : Baz Gray The Most Interesting Man In The World - Part 2

Leadership under extreme pressure is rarely about heroic speeches or rank. It is about judgement, trust, and knowing when to lead and when to follow. In the second part of our conversation with Baz Gray former Royal Marine, polar explorer, leadership coach and now Yeoman Warder of the Tower of London we explore what Shackleton’s Antarctic expeditions really teach us about leadership today. Baz draws on his own experience recreating Shackleton’s most dangerous journey, sailing and climbing with 100 year old equipment, to unpack how teams survive when everything goes wrong. We discuss why selecting the right people matters more than technical brilliance, how leaders earn authority by being good followers, and why humility and self awareness are non negotiable in high pressure environments. Baz also reflects on transitioning from extreme expedition leadership to a highly traditional public facing role at the Tower of London, and what modern organisations can learn from both worlds. This episode is for anyone leading teams through uncertainty, complexity, or sustained pressure. It challenges simple leadership models and replaces them with something more honest, demanding, and human.

Episode 152 - Royal Marine, Yeoman Warder and Arctic Explorer : Baz Gray The Most Interesting Man In The World - Part 1

In this episode of Battling with Business, Gareth Tennant and Chris Kitchener record from one of the most iconic leadership environments in the UK, the Tower of London, joined by Baz Gray, former Royal Marine, Arctic explorer, and Yeoman Warder. Drawing on a career that spans reconnaissance operations, mountain leadership, extreme expeditions, and senior military command, Baz explores what calm, credible leadership really looks like under pressure. The discussion challenges loud, performative models of leadership and instead makes the case for quiet competence, consistency, and trust. From leading soldiers in whiteout conditions to shaping behaviour in corporate boardrooms, Baz explains how leaders are revealed under stress, why patience and observation matter more than charisma, and how high performance teams are built deliberately over time. Listeners will gain practical insight into decision making under pressure, the importance of self control, and how leaders earn respect through behaviour rather than authority. This episode is essential listening for anyone interested in leadership that endures when conditions are hardest.

Episode 151 - Influencer #7 Re-Release - Charles De Gaulle Loyal Only to France - Part 2

Battling with Business returns with Part Two of its Influencers series on Charles de Gaulle, moving from wartime exile to political dominance and lasting national legacy. In this episode, Gareth Tennant and Chris Kitchener examine how leadership is forged not just through bravery or competence, but through narrative control, political instinct, and an unyielding sense of purpose. As de Gaulle outmanoeuvres rivals, frustrates allies, and repeatedly puts the idea of France above consensus or popularity, the discussion asks an uncomfortable management question: when does conviction become arrogance, and when does arrogance become effective leadership? We discuss the rivalry with Henri Giraud, the power of communication and symbolism, leading without formal authority, and how long term vision can outweigh short term cooperation. The episode also explores de Gaulle’s post war leadership, his role in reshaping the French state, and the enduring impact of values driven leadership. This is a nuanced discussion about legitimacy, influence, and the cost of single minded leadership. Ideal listening for anyone leading teams through ambiguity, politics, or competing centres of power.