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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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

Market research used to take four weeks and cost $20,000. Steve Phillips built Zappi to turn that into four hours and $2,000—and he started 12 years ago, long before generative AI made this vision sound obvious. Now, with nearly 300 people and $80 million in revenue, he's challenging his organisation to double revenues in five years without adding headcount by pairing every employee with an AI agent to handle the annoying, time-consuming work.

In this episode, Steve breaks down why entrepreneurs can actually be lazy (in the right way), why you should never hire yourself, why innovation is a mindset rather than an age, and how going from 40 to 140 people in six months was utterly disastrous but created an amazing culture that propelled the business for years. He also shares why he stepped aside as CEO, how he maintains his role as Chief Innovation Officer, and why the future is already here—we're just not utilising AI to do amazing things in business yet.

What you'll learn:

💡 Why entrepreneurs can be lazy—and why doing "work" might be the wrong thing

🚫 Why you should hire for your weaknesses, not people who are just like you

🧠 Why innovation is a mindset at 56, not just for 23-year-olds in garages

🤖 How to pair every employee with an AI agent to automate administrative tasks

📈 Why going from 40 to 140 people in six months crashed productivity for a year

⚙️ How to challenge your organisation to double revenue without increasing headcount

Podcast recommendations:

A16Z (Andreessen Horowitz) - https://a16z.com/podcasts/

Hard Fork - New York Times / Platformer - https://www.nytimes.com/column/hard-fork

All In Podcast - https://www.allinpodcast.co/

About the Guest:

Steve Phillips is the founder and Chief Innovation Officer (and Chair) at Zappi, a consumer insights platform he started 12 years ago with the founding ambition of turning market research projects that took four weeks and cost $20,000 into four hours and $2,000. Zappi was AI-first from the beginning—using old-fashioned "if that, then this" automation to speed up and democratize consumer insights long before generative AI became mainstream. After merging with a South African technology company early on, Steve scaled Zappi to nearly 300 people and approximately $80 million in revenue, still growing at around 15% annually with growth rates now increasing as they focus more on AI deliverables.

The company has raised multiple rounds, brought in a PE firm about three years ago to mostly replace VCs, and subsequently added new senior leaders with different skill sets (like an MIT MBA CEO who thinks very differently than Steve). Zappi had one genuine pivot—moving from automating work for other research companies to building their own IP and data asset. Now they're using AI agents internally for everything from writing quarterly business reviews to creating client proposals, and externally helping clients use their data to generate new product ideas and advertising campaigns. Steve's challenge to the organisation: double revenues in five years without increasing headcount by pairing every employee with an AI agent to eliminate time-consuming administrative tasks.

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Companies claim they're too busy for AI, and leadership teams are bloated and ineffective. The UK's productivity crisis won't be solved by working harder. These aren't controversial opinions, they're the reality Gerry Tombs is seeing as he helps businesses navigate the AI transformation after scaling ClearVision from a garage startup to £7 million in revenue and 100 people before a successful exit three years ago.

In this episode, Gerry breaks down why AI will expose leaders who aren't pulling their weight, why managers will soon oversee hybrid teams of humans and AI agents, and how the millennial generation (29-44) is perfectly positioned to lead in the AI era. He also shares the brutal lessons from scaling ClearVision over 25 years—from staying in hiring too long, to ring-fencing innovation teams, to building enough trust that his leadership team could hold each other accountable rather than relying on him to fire underperformers. And yes, he hit number one in the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For—but missed the ceremony due to a migraine.

What you'll learn:

🤖 Why companies claiming they're "too busy for AI" are actually just terrified

⚡ How AI agents will work alongside humans in hybrid teams within two years

🎯 Why 50% of senior people could do more with AI—and why the rest will be exposed

📊 The delegate-to-elevate framework: giving AI the work you hate so you can do what matters

👥 Why leadership teams of 6-7 (including the CEO) are optimal for decision-making

🏆 How Tour of Duty hiring creates adult conversations and eliminates surprise resignations

Book recommendations:

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

Raving Fans - Ken Blanchard & Sheldon Bowles - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Raving-Fans-Revolutionary-Approach-Customer/dp/0006530958

Coaching for Performance - John Whitmore - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Coaching-Performance-Principles-Leadership-UPDATED/dp/1473658128

Breath - James Nestor - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Breath-New-Science-Lost-Art/dp/0241289130

Drive - Daniel H. Pink - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Drive-Surprising-Truth-About-Motivates/dp/184767769X

Rocket Fuel - Gino Wickman & Mark C. Winters - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rocket-Fuel-Visionary-Integrator-Relationship/dp/1941631622

Flourish - Martin Seligman - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Flourish-Visionary-Understanding-Happiness-Well-being/dp/1857885511

The Alliance - Reid Hoffman, Ben Casnocha, Chris Yeh - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Alliance-Managing-Talent-Networked-Age/dp/1625275773

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From global finance to eco-cleaning, regenerative farming, and rethinking entire systems — Mark Jankovich doesn’t do incremental change.

He believes we’re living through a full-scale reset — and entrepreneurs have a responsibility to lead it.

In this episode, Mark shares why climate change isn’t a mass participation problem, why consumers shouldn’t be asked to make hard choices at all, and why some products — from bleach to diesel engines — should simply disappear.

You’ll hear how Delphis Eco was born from a moment of clarity on a family holiday, what he’s learned from two decades of being ahead of the curve, and why broken systems like farming, education, and climate must be fixed together — not in isolation.

This is a provocative, systems-level conversation about leadership, responsibility, and designing a future where doing the right thing is the default.

What you’ll learn:

🌍 Why climate change messaging fails — and why it’s not a problem for the masses to solve

⚙️ How removing bad choices entirely is more effective than asking people to “do better”

🧴 Why bleach, virgin plastic, and outdated products should stop being sold

🚗 The myths around EVs, infrastructure, and resistance to change

🏢 How to build a sustainable business by letting systems and machines do the work

🌱 Why soil health, education, and climate are deeply interconnected

📈 What it’s really like to build a business 20 years ahead of the trend

Who should listen:

• Founders and CEOs building businesses with sustainability at their core

• Leaders frustrated by slow progress on climate and systemic change

• Entrepreneurs interested in policy, regulation, and government advisory

• Anyone curious about regenerative agriculture, food systems, and land use

• Builders who believe the next wave of innovation will be structural, not cosmetic

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

02:00 Mark’s worldview on cataclysmic change and entrepreneurial optimism

05:02 Systems change starts with cutting off harmful choices

10:03 Lessons from Dubai and the supermarket’s slow death

15:20 The origin story of Delphis Eco and quitting finance

17:37 Surviving 20 brutal years to finally see traction

19:07 Shifting from B2B to retail and staying lean

23:42 Letting tech run the business and outsourcing smartly

25:46 Hiring for attitude and losing good people as you grow

30:42 Rewilding unprofitable farmland for soil and social good

34:07 How farming, education and nature can solve each other

39:12 Book and podcast recs that shaped Mark’s thinking

40:52 The power of paradigm shifts and the coming wave

Book & media recommendations:

• Harmony — HRH The Prince of Wales: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0007413639

• Green Swans — John Elkington: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1785786431

• The Ministry for the Future — Kim Stanley Robinson: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0356508841

• Future Noughts (podcast) — John Richardson: https://www.comedy.co.uk/podcasts/future_noughts/

About the Guest:

Mark Jankovich is the founder and CEO of Delphis Eco, one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of eco-friendly cleaning products.

A former City finance executive, Mark now builds systems that challenge the hidden environmental damage of everyday industries.

He also works with the UK Treasury and leads projects in regenerative agriculture — connecting corporates, small farms, education reform and nature recovery.

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