Welcome to another episode of A Job Done Well, where Jimmy and James dissect the brutal reality of middle management—a role where you’re accountable for everything and in control of nothing. This week, they expose the absurdity of being the corporate shock absorber: squeezed between bosses who demand miracles and teams who resent you for failing to deliver them.

From the horror of “Project Hessian” (a type of sacking) to the farce of forced rankings, Jimmy and James share their war stories: translating mass culls into PowerPoint-friendly language, faking operational maturity scores, and watching as outsourcing contracts backfire spectacularly. They reveal why middle managers burn out faster than a fuse in a power surge—thanks to emotional whiplash, powerlessness, and the relentless pressure to keep everyone happy (hint: it’s impossible).

But it’s not all despair. The duo offers hard-won, practical advice: push back with facts, stop owning every problem, and—when all else fails—go for a bloody walk. And to senior managers listening: remember where you came from, or risk creating a “frozen middle” so disillusioned they’ll start gaming the system just to survive.

Five Key Points:

• Senior managers: your frozen middle remembers your hypocrisy. Set them up for success, or prepare for mutiny.
• Middle management is corporate purgatory: all accountability, no authority.
• Emotional labour is the real killer—translating “sackings” into “strategic realignment” will age you prematurely.
• Remember the “umbrella” analogy: you need to shield your team, but they need to know it is raining.
• Honesty is your best weapon. Admit when you’re powerless—your team (and your sanity) will thank you.

Got a question - get in touch. Click here.

Managing people is the corporate equivalent of being handed a live grenade with the pin already pulled. You’re promoted because you’re brilliant at your day job—only to discover that managing humans requires a completely different skill set, one nobody bothers to teach you. Welcome to the brutal, hilarious, and occasionally soul-crushing reality of middle management.

In this episode of A Job Done Well, Jimmy and James dissect the moment they realised they were woefully unprepared for leadership. From James’s early days of bollocking subordinates (and then apologising) to Jimmy’s face-off with a delusional cashier who insisted she was never late (spoiler: she was), they expose the absurdity of being thrust into a role that demands empathy, judgment, and the ability to fake confidence while secretly questioning every decision.

The hosts explore why organisations promote technical experts into managerial roles without a shred of training, and why the so-called “soft skills” are actually the hardest to master. They also reveal the uncomfortable truth: even after decades of experience, you’ll still encounter situations that leave you out of your depth. Whether it’s navigating office politics, handling emotional meltdowns, or simply learning not to micromanage, managing people is less about control and more about creating an environment where everyone—including you—can do their best work.

Got a question - get in touch. Click here.

This week, Jimmy and James are joined by Paul Howley—a former radio astronomer turned corporate transformation expert—to dismantle the myth that technology is the answer to all organisational change. Here’s the truth: it’s not. With 36 years of experience across airlines, utilities, and financial services, Paul explains why most tech-driven transformations fail (70% of them, according to McKinsey) and how middle managers can deliver real change without a single line of code.

The episode exposes the absurdity of chasing AI, new platforms, and digital tools as quick fixes. Instead, Paul shares a case study from financial services where a mortgage lending team went from a net promoter score of -11 to +80—not by buying software, but by fixing broken processes, ditching "ghost policies," and empowering frontline staff. The result? Happier customers, lower costs, and a 20% reduction in processing time.

Key points:

• Tech is not the answer—it’s often a distraction from the real problems.
• Focus on outcomes, not tools—most transformations fail because they lose sight of why they started.
• Middle managers can be heroes—by fixing small, broken processes, they can deliver big results without big budgets.
• Bravery beats buzzwords—it takes guts to challenge the status quo, but the rewards are worth it.
• Customer obsession is free—organise your team around what customers actually need, not what’s easiest for the organisation.

If you’re tired of watching IT projects fail and want to make a real difference, this episode is your playbook.

Got a question - get in touch. Click here.