SEASON 2: Recent Episodes
Doing the opposite | Business Disruptors
In this episode of Doing the Opposite: Business Disruptors, Jeff Dewing speaks to Rob Stephenson, founder of the InsideOut Leaderboard and champion for improved understanding of mental health issues. Rob is an international keynote speaker and mental health campaigner who is on a mission to help create happier, healthier and higher performing workplaces.
When he was 30 Rob was diagnosed as Bipolar. Rob tells the story of how mental ill health affected him earlier in his life and how a former boss encouraged him to seek help, ultimately leading to a diagnosis From a very dark time in his life, Rob reveals how the support of his friends and family helped him through it and how he now manages his wellbeing better through strategies such as exercise, ensuring good quality sleep and prioritising connections.
Rob and Jeff consider the importance of personal and social connections. With interaction with other people being such an important factor in maintaining good mental health, how can businesses and workplaces maintain those connections whilst embracing a more remote or hybrid way of working.
Rob is also the CEO of FormScore, a revolutionary technology start-up helping employees become more intentional about their wellbeing and helping employers with real-time wellbeing analytics. Rob reveals the story behind it, and how scoring your wellbeing out of 10 can be a simple, non-threatening way to share how you’re feeling and allow people around you to offer support when needed.
DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT
In this episode of Doing the Opposite: Business Disruptors, Jeff Dewing speaks to Mark Webb, a public speaker and campaigner for all things disability and diversity.
Mark is Shadow Board Member at Reflect, the UK’s only not-for-profit influencer talent management agency. Until very recently he was also Head of Comms at Shift.ms, the worldwide social network for people impacted by Multiple Sclerosis. He has just taken medical retirement. He’s a self-confessed social media floozy.
Mark looks back on how his diagnosis has affected his career as well as his life, and the incredible support he’s been shown by employers such as Dixons Carphone where he became Head of Group Social Media. He reflects on his time with Dixons, working in PR during the 2008 downturn and the merger to become Dixons Carphone.
Mark also explains why disability charities like shift.ms are so important and of such benefit to people living with a disability. He’s is also on a mission to raise awareness of disability; with disabled people being the largest minority but often overlooked when it comes to diversity representation.
DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT
In this episode of Doing the Opposite: Business Disruptors, Jeff Dewing speaks to Levent Yildizgoren, who is a serial entrepreneur, mentor, speaker, visiting lecturer at Essex University and the Managing Director of TTC wetranslate Limited. Levent works closely with his clients to overcome the language barriers and help them grow their business globally
In this episode, Levent recalls the time he took the plunge and quit his job to go full-time in the family business – how it felt having the fear of leaving a secure, relatively well-paid full-time position to start and develop a business. Levent reveals how that went, the challenges he and his wife faced and how it ultimately benefitted the family.
Levent looks back upon a terrible ski accident that left him injured and hospitalised for a year, and how that experience changed his outlook on life and made him more determined to help others to solve problems.
Levent also talks about his own podcast, Thrive in Global Markets, and the unintended benefit of it being the vast, wide spectrum of people it has enabled him to meet. Levent feels he has grown as a person and learnt so much as a result of launching this show.
Levent’s book Good Business in Any Language on Amazon. DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT
In this episode of Doing the Opposite: Business Disruptors, Jeff Dewing speaks to Emma Stroud. Emma is a podcaster, author, speaker and clown!!
Em co-founded a business that offered interactive stress management workshops, leadership programmes and coaching. In 2020, she branched out on her own to deliver workplace talks, events and coaching to address staff happiness and wellbeing. Drawing on her experience with clowning, she employs pioneering techniques that force leaders to ‘take fun seriously’ at a time when, she believes, ‘it’s never been more important to find joy.’
Emma coaches CEOs, business leaders and entrepreneurs on life at the intersection of clowning and business – she shows you how clowning can make you a better business person and leader.
Emma and Jeff discuss the masks that many of us wear as professionals; often pretending to be someone different at work to at home. By removing these masks and being more authentic and present we can often reduce anxiety, increase productivity and be happier at work!
Em shares how to bring your human side to work through storytelling. She also has some fantastic advice for anyone struggling with any sort of challenge – to free yourself by just sitting and cutting yourself off from the ‘noise’ around you. Allowing yourself time to breath and reflect can be so powerful when it comes to needing to find a way forward.
Emma Stroud’s book ‘Lessons of a Clown’ on Amazon DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT
In this episode of Doing the Opposite: Business Disruptors, Jeff Dewing speaks to Duncan Goose, founder of One Water. There are one billion people in the world without access to clean drinking water. Duncan knew he couldn’t change one billion lives at once, so instead he started improving access to water for one person at a time.
One Water is one of the biggest water brands in the world and a percentage of their profit goes to charitable initiatives in Africa such as repairing vital water pumps in small villages. One Water’s mission began in 2005, the goal was (and still is) to sell one bottle to help fund water projects across the world.
Duncan describes his experiences that inspired him to lead a life-long mission to get clean water to people who need it, from witnessing the devastation caused by Hurricane Mitch in Honduras in 1998, to visiting remote communities in a round-the-world motorbike trip.
Hear how his family are huge supporters and advocates for his work, and Duncan’s pride that his mission is a shared experience.
From launching his ethical bottled water brand, hear how Duncan took his mission to world leaders, governments, the EU and even beverage giants such as Coca Cola and PepsiCo to challenge them to support his crusade, as well as the political challenges he faced along the way.
DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT
In this episode of Doing the Opposite: Business Disruptors, Jeff Dewing speaks to Jamie Waller. Jamie is an East London boy done good who left school at 16 without any qualifications and suffering dyslexia. Jamie got into debt collecting and turned an industry on its head.
Jamie reveals how his motivations have shifted considerably throughout the course of his career – from simply making money, to improving his sector and helping those around him.
Jamie recalls how his career began as a self-employed bailiff and the poor practices that he witnessed in that industry. Appalled by the morals and ethics of some of those in the industry Jamie started his own debt collection business, with a mission to treat people with more respect. His mission to reshape the industry was met with hostility – even leading to Jamie being stabbed outside his home.
You will also hear the story of the business that Jamie started and sold within a year, netting him over a million pounds a month!
Jamie's Book 'Unsexy Business’ on Amazon DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT
In this episode of Doing the Opposite: Business Disruptors, Jeff Dewing speaks to Sam White, CEO of Freedom Services Group. Sam cares passionately about diversity, equality, innovation and above all, making business human. Motivated by a desire to change the insurance industry for the better, Sam is a vocal advocate for levelling the playing field for women and championing female leaders within the industry.
Sam started her first company in 1999, just a year after her mother who battled with alcohol addiction tragically died of an overdose.
Despite starting a number of businesses Sam describes herself as an entrepreneur, not a CEO, and she draws an interesting distinction as to why. You’ll also hear how a change in UK regulation led to Sam’s business losing 60% of their revenue in a four week period. Sam describes the difficulties that that presented, and how they set about overcoming those. She also discusses gender bias in society and how she designed an insurance product targeted at women.
Sam explains that one of her drivers is ‘Why not?’ It was that mentality that led her to live in Beverly Hills for a time – in a house that was later rented by One Direction!!!
DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT
In this episode of Doing the Opposite: Business Disruptors, Jeff Dewing speaks to Julian Hall who is founder and CEO of ULTRA Education, an organisation which teaches entrepreneurship in schools. Julian created a superhero persona to get kids interested in business and now teaches kids across the country. He set up his first business when he was 18 years old and believes entrepreneurs are made, not born.
Julian was always academic, but wasn’t drawn to the natural opportunities for work that followed education. It was a desire to carve his own way in the world that led Julian to entrepreneurship. After starting many businesses Julian decided he wanted to teach entrepreneurship in schools – something he felt was missing from his earlier education.
Julian’s passion for education and inspiring young people shines through in everything he does. Hear the challenges he faced along the way, including why the DfE were unconvinced by the idea of introducing entrepreneurship onto the curriculum.
Jeff and Julian discuss a challenge that many parents face; how to inspire and support their children in achieving their dreams whilst not being dismissive of over-ambition. We often discourage children from changing course and want them to stick at something, but actually experimenting and discovering what you love is essential to success! They also explore how stress is borne out of work you do not love, and how loving your work can lead to less stress and better overall wellbeing.
Julian is now working on an entire teachable curriculum around Entrepreneurship which he intends to offer to schools for free.
DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT
In this episode of Doing the Opposite: Business Disruptors, Jeff Dewing speaks to Karen Holden, founder of A City Law Firm. She established the firm to provide experienced and dynamic solicitors in the City of London, who could think outside the box, whilst delivering at competitive costs.
Karen was invited and given freedom of the City in 2019 for her work in Equality as such is part of the Guild of Freeman. She has also attended 10 Downing Street where she was awarded small business of the year.
From humble beginnings, Karen describes what motivated her to work multiple jobs alongside her A-Levels to achieve and ultimately provide a better life for her family.
Karen was disillusioned by many of the practices she experienced in the legal profession. She found many firms to be too focussed on money and billable hours, rather than the needs of clients and welfare of staff. Karen decided to launch her own firm, operating a very different model, with a view to changing the sector for the better.
Karen also reveals how her business adapted quickly to the pandemic, and the lessons they’ve taken from that to inform business decisions and operations moving forward.
DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT