Most people overcomplicate leadership. They're looking for the next framework, trying to do technical leadership that just doesn't work. Paul Adamson spent 25 years sailing yachts around the world—including two years circumnavigating with Eddie Jordan on an Oyster 885—and he learned that leadership isn't about theory. It's about making decisions without all the information, leading from the front, and remaining calm when the pressure is on. Then he walked into Oyster Yachts (the manufacturer of those luxury yachts) when it went into administration, won it out of admin by deliberately breaking the rules, and rebuilt it from zero to a £200M order book with 700 employees in four years.

In this episode, Paul reveals why great leaders are energy-rich (not uninspiring boring managers), why you can't KPI great leadership, and why the three levers of state management—focus, inner dialogue, and movement—underpin everything in business. He shares his Virgin Atlantic story about blagging a gold card, getting upgraded to upper class by a flight manager who knew when to break the rules, and how copying Richard Branson into an Instagram post led to a phone call that changed everything. He also opens up about being diagnosed with lymphoma two weeks after leaving Oyster, how he applied everything he'd taught for years to his own health challenge, and why that gift led him to help raise £3M for follicular lymphoma research that could unlock cures for pancreatic cancer, leukaemia, and other incurables.

What you'll learn:

⚡ Why great leaders are energy-rich and how to manage your state (focus, inner dialogue, movement)

🎯 The difference between managers (follow rules) and leaders (know when to break them)

🚢 How to lead without all the information (lessons from sailing in high-stakes environments)

💼 How to rebuild a business from administration to £200M order book (earn trust, two words)

🇬🇧 Why UK social conditioning makes it hard to be energy-rich vs American optimism

📊 Why you can't KPI great leadership—it's about being a lighthouse, not hitting metrics

💪 How to find the gift in every challenge (even lymphoma diagnosis)

🎤 Why copying Richard Branson into an Instagram post was the right move

Book recommendations:

Man's Search for Meaning - Viktor Frankl - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mans-Search-Meaning-Viktor-Frankl/dp/1846041244

Who Moved My Cheese? - Spencer Johnson - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Who-Moved-My-Cheese-Amazing/dp/0091816971

Shine: How to Navigate Life's Curveballs - Paul Adamson (forthcoming)

About the Guest:

Paul Adamson is a leadership and teamwork speaker who spent 25 years as a professional yacht skipper sailing luxury yachts around the world before transitioning into the business world about 15 years ago. His leadership development wasn't theoretical—it was forged at sea where you learn to lead from the front pretty quickly because in high-stakes environments, if you're not leading, you get into issues fast. Leadership at sea means making decisions without perfect information, remaining calm under pressure, and managing your emotional state when lives depend on it.

Connect with Paul Adamson - https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-adamson

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Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

01:03 Transition from yacht skipper to business leadership

07:45 Managing leadership styles through challenging transitions

15:05 Utilising energy richness and state management

19:00 Emphasising focus, inner dialogue and movement

23:00 The importance of rule-breaking for leadership success

27:00 Virgin Atlantic story – making customers raving fans

34:45 Rebuilding Oyster Yachts from administration to success

39:20 Strategic mindset: Earning trust to build a business

43:00 Achievements and challenges at Oyster Yachts

52:00 Transition from Oyster and personal health challenges

56:30 Navigating a lymphoma diagnosis with a leadership mindset

1:05:30 Paul’s book recommendations and personal insights on leadership

Council estate South London to 30 mergers and acquisitions. No capital, no plan, but always knew wealth was what he wanted. Lee Smith went from DJ to jewellers to law firms to web design and IT—then discovered mergers and acquisitions in 2014 and everything changed. Now he's building two sector groups to £10M in profit, buying businesses at 3-4x multiples and exiting at 7-10x, and he's got some contrarian views that'll make you rethink everything about UK business ownership.

In this episode, Lee reveals why buying 100% of a business is almost always the worst deal structure, why you don't need to understand what a business does to own it successfully, and why by the end of this decade the most valuable asset in Britain will be an SME producing profits. He shares his ethical partnership structure that keeps founders and directors aligned, explains how he bought an HVAC company he barely understands and grew it while only being there one day per week, and why he thinks the UK government is waging war on business owners—making it harder to employ people, easier for rogue employees to sue, and creating a clear choice by 2030: own a business with options and spare cash, or be an employee struggling more than ever.

What you'll learn:

🏢 Why you don't need to understand a business to own it (just need right people in right seats)

💰 How to structure deals that keep founders and key directors aligned (20% founder retention + director equity)

📊 What to look for when buying: £2M+ revenue, second-tier management in place, profitability doesn't matter

🎯 The buy-build-sell playbook: buy at 3-4x EBITDA, build to £10M+ profit, exit at 7-10x

⚠️ Why the UK government is anti-business (more taxes, more regulation, easier to sue companies)

Book recommendations:

Who? - Geoff Smart & Randy Street - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Who-Method-Hiring-Geoff-Smart/dp/0345504194

Think and Grow Rich - Napoleon Hill - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Think-Grow-Rich-Napoleon-Hill/dp/9388423526

Die with Zero - Bill Perkins - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Die-Zero-Getting-Your-Money/dp/0358099765

The Fourth Turning - William Strauss & Neil Howe - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fourth-Turning-American-Prophecy-Rendezvous/dp/0767900464

About the Guest:

Lee Smith grew up on a council estate in South London with no capital behind him and no plan to wealth—but he always knew wealth was something he wanted to achieve. His career path was unconventional: DJ, jewellers, law firms, then starting his own web design and IT company. In 2014, he discovered mergers and acquisitions, which "completely flipped the switch" in his life. He's now completed 30 M&A transactions and is building two separate sector groups (HVAC/construction and renewable energy) to £10M in profit.

His key message to business owners: the UK government is waging war on individuals through cost-of-living, energy costs, and employment regulations. By 2030, there will be a clear choice—either own a business and have options and spare cash, or be an employee struggling even more than now. His ideal scenario: buy more businesses, make all employees shareholders through EMI schemes, so when they exit, everyone gets a payday that gets them onto the wealth ladder.

Connect with Lee Smith - https://www.linkedin.com/in/leeantonysmith/

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Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

02:03 Views on UK government's impact on business

06:58 Why Lee chose to buy into HVAC sector

08:44 Structuring deals with existing management in mind

12:28 Challenges small businesses face in scaling and compliance

14:36 Critique of UK government’s business policies

20:02 Advice for first-time business buyers

25:11 Offering employee share schemes to improve engagement

31:27 Reflection on challenges like contracting with tier one customers

35:27 Recommended books that influenced Lee’s outlook

37:46 The Fourth Turning's impact on Lee's family planning

Work-life balance is a complete myth for founders and CEOs. The experience myth keeps people pigeonholed. Goals should force your identity change, not the other way around. Eric Partaker—McKinsey consultant turned Skype early team member turned restaurant chain founder turned CEO coach with 1.2M LinkedIn followers—breaks down why everything you've been told about building a successful career and company is backwards.

In this episode, Eric shares why he went from world's worst procrastinator (bought books in 2000, didn't read them until 2010) to super producer, why he lost everything when his restaurant chain went up in smoke during COVID, and why that experience made him a better coach. He also unpacks the cultural differences between US optimism, UK scepticism, and Norwegian Janteloven (the law that says "you shall not think you are anything"), and why the Vikings' entrepreneurial spirit somehow disappeared from modern Norway.

What you'll learn:

⚖️ Why work-life balance is a myth—it's really about work-life satisfaction

🎯 Why going for 10X goals forces identity change (not choosing identity first)

🌍 How cultural attitudes toward ambition differ: US vs UK vs Norway

📈 Why 10X is easier than 10%—and how it fundamentally changes thinking

🏅 Why we don't question Olympic athletes chasing gold medals but judge business people

💼 Why star performers deliver 800% more output than average in complex roles

Book recommendations:

The Now Habit - Neil Fiore - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Now-Habit-Overcoming-Procrastination-Guilt-Free/dp/1585425524

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team - Patrick Lencioni - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Five-Dysfunctions-Team-Leadership-Lencioni/dp/0787960756

Built to Last - Jim Collins & Jerry Porras - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Built-Last-Successful-Visionary-Essentials/dp/0060516402

About the Guest:

Eric Partaker is a CEO coach, mentor, and peak performance expert who built a 1.2M+ following on LinkedIn over the last couple of years despite being 50 years old and "not a social media person" three years ago. His career has been a chain of massive pivots: started as a consultant at McKinsey, joined the early team at Skype (back when people actually used Skype before Riverside), helped with the blitz-scaling that led to a $2-3 billion exit to eBay about 21 years ago, then did a complete pivot to build a Mexican restaurant chain called Chilango.

He went from being the world's worst procrastinator (so bad he bought books on overcoming procrastination in 2000 and didn't read them until 2010) to a super producer after reading The Now Habit by Neil Fiore. He credits Five Dysfunctions of a Team for helping him optimise leadership teams (particularly around avoidance of conflict and artificial harmony) and Built to Last for optimising company performance. His current mission: helping founders and CEOs stop pursuing the myth of balance, go for 10X goals that force identity change, and just have the courage to do whatever that critical thing is they're avoiding right now.

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Sign up to receive our weekly Scale To Win newsletter:

https://subscribe.monkhouseandcompany.com

Follow Dominic on LinkedIn:

https://linkedin.com/in/dominicmonkhouse

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

01:00 Eric's diverse career journey and background

06:02 10x goals and their impact on mindset

09:45 Cultural influences on ambition and success

12:35 Work-life balance vs. work-life satisfaction

18:01 Fascination with achievement and peak performance

22:38 Transition from McKinsey to creating a restaurant chain

28:03 Reflecting on debt and expansion mistakes

33:30 Building leadership teams and hiring strategies

38:43 Importance of reallocating resources and hiring stars

40:42 Understanding and addressing business constraints

42:28 Books that transformed Eric's personal and professional growth