The grind

The lawsuit

Lysa Holdstock started her business in 2008. By 2016, she had a team of 250 people. As the business successfully grew, a dream deal arrived - Lysa sold shares and retained a minority shareholding in the business - but this dream quickly turned into a nightmare as she discovered the horrendous culture and behaviour she'd found herself part of was at best, utterly destabilising. In this last episode of Series 1, Lysa shares her experience, before Phil is joined by Sandra Stein, a Trauma Counsellor Therapist, to unpack the deeper themes and issues from Lysa's story. https://www.sascounsellingtherapy.co.uk/ https://www.joincabal.com/about-1 Mentioned in this episode: Find out more about Energy Sessions Where we share the principles of organisational energy that drive high performance cultures, and help leadership teams plan and commit to action: https://www.philhq.com/energy-sessions/

The legacy

This month, Phil is joined by Nishant Sharma, whose incredible story takes us from India to Edinburgh. Starting out as a dishwasher, Nishant worked several jobs until the death of his grandmother had a profound impact on his life. He then decided to take matters into his own hands, and start his own business, as a way of honouring those who came before him. In the second half, Jane Bruce reflects with Phil on Nishant's journey, and together they discuss what it means a run a business well, while trying to look after ourselves. https://www.philhq.com/ https://rutlandsquare.com/pages/nishant-sharma-founder-of-rutland-square-spirits?srsltid=AfmBOoo0N7ypEs_2YwyaPE8dbESg8RxK107Gfiw_-7A1bygRBka9Yp1X https://www.brilliantleaders.org/janebruce Mentioned in this episode: Find out more about Energy Sessions Where we share the principles of organisational energy that drive high performance cultures, and help leadership teams plan and commit to action: https://www.philhq.com/energy-sessions/

The merger

What happens when the gulf between the things you need and the system you're working in expects of you starts to feel too wide? This month is a little bit different, in that the guest for both the first and second half of this episode is the same practitioner - Chief People Officer and HR Consultant Rupert Brown. https://amzn.eu/d/0hPKvX8f https://www.philhq.com/ Mentioned in this episode: Find out more about Energy Sessions Where we share the principles of organisational energy that drive high performance cultures, and help leadership teams plan and commit to action: https://www.philhq.com/energy-sessions/

The addiction

(Content Warning: Addiction / alcohol abuse) Anybody who leads a business will know that sometimes, pressures can feel overwhelming. But at those times - where do we turn to cope? In this month's episode, Phil is joined by a remarkable leader, Simon Farrell, who started to use alcohol as a coping strategy. This had severe impacts on his professional and personal life. This episode is for anybody who is thinking about how they handle and process pressure. In the second half, we are joined by coach Krish Surroy to examine the wider lessons from Simon's story. https://www.simonwfarrell.com/ https://www.krishsurroy.com/ If listening to this episode has left you feeling like you are concerned about yourself or someone else, please talk to someone. Contact your doctor, or in the UK, you can call Samaritans at any time on 116 123. Mentioned in this episode: Find out more about Energy Sessions Where we share the principles of organisational energy that drive high performance cultures, and help leadership teams plan and commit to action: https://www.philhq.com/energy-sessions/

The grind

Any small business owner will tell you that getting your idea off the ground can be a real grind - a rollercoaster with several ups and downs. But when the chips are really down, how far is too far before calling it a day? This week's guest, Donnie Maclean, founder and CEO of Eat Balanced, talks to Phil about the lengths he was prepared to go to in order to succeed - which he did. In the second half, Phil is joined by long-time colleague Claire Croft to discuss Donnie's story - and why the phrase 'giving up' is unhelpful. https://www.eatbalanced.com/ https://selltoretire.co.uk/ Mentioned in this episode: Find out more about Energy Sessions Where we share the principles of organisational energy that drive high performance cultures, and help leadership teams plan and commit to action: https://www.philhq.com/energy-sessions/