Battling with Business

Episode 157 - Leadership and Management in an AI Powered World - Part 2

In this week’s episode we continue our exploration of what it really means to lead and manage in a world increasingly shaped by AI. Rather than asking whether AI is good or bad, we focus on a harder and more important question: how leadership, culture, trust and experience change when intelligent systems begin to make decisions alongside us, or instead of us. We reflect on how quickly AI is moving from a visible tool to an embedded part of everyday systems, much like navigation or automation in heavy industry, and what that means for managers who may find themselves acting less as decision makers and more as the accountable interface between machines and organisations. We dig into the uncomfortable reality that junior roles, often the foundation of experience and judgement, may be the first to disappear, and ask how organisations can still develop depth, mastery and resilience without simply hollowing out the future talent pipeline. The conversation then turns to values, culture and trust. If AI systems increasingly communicate with customers, recommend actions, or even shape strategy, how do leaders ensure those systems reflect the culture they claim to stand for. We explore why culture is not something you can just encode once and forget, why predictability matters, and why leading by algorithm demands very different skills from leading by example. We also challenge the idea that humans will always retain a unique edge, questioning assumptions about creativity and empathy, while still arguing that leadership choices, trade offs and restraint matter more than ever. This episode is not about answers. It is about asking better questions, understanding the risks of being confidently wrong, and recognising that how leaders respond now will shape whether AI strengthens organisations or quietly undermines them. If you lead people, build teams, or care about the future of work, this is a conversation you cannot afford to ignore.

Episode 156 - Leadership and Management in an AI Powered World - Part 1

In this week's episode we start a new mini series by asking a question that sits underneath all the noise about artificial intelligence and jobs. What does leadership and management actually mean when AI becomes a permanent participant in how organisations think, decide, and act? Rather than debating whether AI is good or bad, we focus on the practical reality that it is already here and already shaping behaviour, decisions, and power. We explore how leaders can lead when parts of the organisation are no longer human, how experience and judgment are built if entry level roles disappear, and what happens to values, culture, and trust when decision making becomes increasingly opaque. Drawing on examples from business, education, policing, medicine, and the military, we talk through why this is not just a philosophical discussion but a very real leadership challenge. The leaders who succeed will be the ones who understand how to work with AI as a judgment system rather than treating it as a simple tool or a replacement for thinking. This episode sets the context for the rest of the series and makes the case that leadership in an AI enabled world will demand more clarity, accountability, and intent than ever before. If you care about building teams, developing future leaders, and retaining trust in complex organisations, this is a conversation worth spending time with.

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.