Ladder Down

An update from Kate

In this episode Kate chats to Dr Paul Leinster. Paul was Chief Executive of the Environment Agency from 2008 to 2015 where he famously developed the concept of better environmental regulation, which has been recognised within government and internationally as leading edge. Prior to that Paul worked in the private sector for over 20 years. He was awarded a CBE in 2008 and is a chartered chemist and a chartered environmentalist. Since retiring in 2015 it appears he has been busier than ever, working as Professor of Environmental Assessment for Cranfield University as well as acting as a Non-Executive Director, Chair and Board member for numerous worthy causes all linked to protecting and enhancing the environment, which he is clearly passionate about. To connect with Paul, email him at: paul@pierconsultants.co.uk

In this episode Kate chats to an ex-colleague, Mark Funnell. Mark is Communications and Campaigns Director at the National Trust, looking after external communications, internal communications, policy and advocacy and content and publishing. He has specialised in environmental communications and campaigns for over 20 years. His previous roles include interim Director of Communications at Defra, Head of Communications at the Forestry Commission and Head of External Relations at the Environment Agency. He also led transformation to a new operating model for Defra group's 250 Communications staff, who came together from five different arm's length bodies. Mark started out in editorial and publishing roles, working for five years at a consumer magazine publishing company. His specialist areas include environmental campaigns, corporate communications, operational and crisis communications, change management, staff engagement, stakeholder relations and public affairs. You can connect with him on Linkedin

In this episode Kate chats to Lee Chambers, British psychologist, entrepreneur and radio host. Lee is known for analysing the psychological aspects of the workplaces to improve wellbeing and is the founder of PhenomGames and Essentialise Workplace Wellbeing. Lee is passionate about conscious leadership, equality, health opportunity and menopause awareness. He has an impressive client list including His clients include Indeed.com, RBS, Gazprom, PwC, Reebok and TalkTalk.  Lee has won several accolades for his work, including recognition in the Top 50 Black and Minority Ethnic Entrepreneurs under 50. As well as hosting his own show called the Self-Aware Entrepreneur Show, he is often called upon by the BBC and medical publications for his expert opinion and comment.  You can find out more and connect with Lee via his website https://leechambers.org/

In this episode Kate meets Jan Cavelle, a  UK entrepreneur who has a few decades of running micro and small businesses behind her. She is very familiar with all the challenges that go with that, having started one from the kitchen table as a single mother with two young children, and overcome the obstacles to go on to build that into a multi-million turnover business.  Like most entrepreneurs, she has known failure and success. She has always been passionate about encouraging and supporting people in business and has put her entrepreneurial experiences together with her passion for writing and created a book aimed at helping entrepreneurs to grow their businesses. The book is called Scale for Success and is focused on the big leap from 1m - 10m. It has been published by Bloomsbury and is receiving glowing reviews. Find out more and connect with Jan via her website https://jancavelle.co.uk/  

In this episode Kate chats to Matt Georges, an environmental economist with nearly twenty years' experience in environmental analysis, regulation and policy making in both the public and private sectors. He now has his own business – Orbital Applied Economics – but spent a large part of his career at the Environment Agency, where his last role was to recruit and lead a team whose aim was to use economics to improve decision-making.  He has worked on a wide range of projects including the mental health effects of flooding, how to improve reservoir safety, the profits made from criminal activities in the waste sector and the costs and benefits of reducing pollution in major industries, such as steel production and oil refining.  He was a key member of the group that produced the UK's first apprenticeship for economists and is passionate about helping young people from a wide variety of backgrounds get into the subject.  He has two children of his own and spends too long playing computer games with his 11-year-old son.  In his spare time he is Chair of the successful Ham Parade Market, a not-for-profit project designed to revitalise a small high street, support local charities and improve community cohesion. You can connect with Matt on Linked in 

In this episode Kate chats to entrepreneur Sarah Rugg. Following the birth of her first child, Sarah came up against a lack of flexibility in her corporate career and decided to start her first business Vi-va.co.uk – offering virtual assistant services to entrepreneurs, small businesses, and associations. vi-vaassist.co.uk came along soon after, providing companionship services to older people. After 10 years of running both businesses, Sarah wanted to help others to achieve the same flexibility she enjoys. She now helps people to set up VA businesses (myvabusiness.co.uk) and companionship businesses (myseniorassist.co.uk) with structured, step-by-step programmes to fast-track their success. Sarah is passionate about helping people to design the lives they want, with the freedom and flexibility that comes with being your own boss. She would love to hear from you - connect with Sarah at linkedin.com/in/sarahrugg/ or email her sarah@vi-va.co.uk.

In this episode Kate chats to Jane Entwistle who is an experienced business owner working in the digital marketing industry. Jane has run her business, Entyce Creative, an innovative and professional design agency based in Cheshire for the past 14 years. Her passion is working with clients to create thoughtful designs and ideas, and consistently deliver superb results using across Digital Strategy, Web Design, Branding, User Experience, SEO and PPC. In 2021 Jane was listed in the Insider Media '42 Under 42' in recognition for her work in business. Tune in to hear Kate and Jane chat all things business, keeping fit and juggling family life. Find out more and connect with Jane on Linked in.  

In this episode Kate chats to Joana Swash, Group CEO of Moneypenny, one of the world's leading answering service companies. Recruited as Moneypenny's first sales person in 2005,  Joanna has been instrumental in growing the business which now employs more than 1000 people. Joanna played a key role overseeing the company's entry into the US market, as well as subsequent private equity investment by ECI Partners in 2018 to accelerate Moneypenny's UK and US plans for expansion and acquisition. At the heart of Moneypenny lies a unique culture which has seen the business enjoy recognition as a Sunday Times Best Company to Work For for over a decade. Find out more at: https://www.moneypenny.com  

In this episode Kate chats to Mark Armitage, a seasoned House Music DJ and Artists and Repertoire (A & R) Manager for Toolbox House records label. Mark has supported artists such as Judge Jules, Rozalla and many more. Over the last 18 months Mark has enjoyed some great success releasing his own music productions which have topped the Beatport charts.  In addition to this Mark has received great recognition with his work by receiving support from A-list DJ's including Mark Knight, Chris Lake, Hardwell, Kryder, Black Legend, Freejak and many more. Find out more and connect with Mark on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/mark_armitage_music/ 

In this episode Kate meets Karena Calhoun, a Certified Mindset and Life Coach who leads with a servant's heart. After spending over two decades in Corporate America, she left to become a coach who now empowers and encourages people to be their best. She guides female entrepreneurs through levelling up in their business by unveiling their authentic selves, discovering their purpose, increasing their self confidence and destroying self defeating obstacles. This in turns helps women to not only reach but crush their goals and pull their vision towards them in a massive way. Find out more and connect with Karena at: https://linktr.ee/coachkarena

In this episode Kate meets Rae Brook, Chief Executive of the Community Foundation for Merseyside, an independent charity that promotes local giving to address local disadvantage. Rae has over 30 years' senior management experience gained in both the private and public sector after studying Business and Finance at De Montfort University and attending a Harvard Business School Programme for Senior Management Executives. Her role as CEO is to nurture relationships with existing and potential donors, community groups, third sector members and regional stakeholders in the public and private sector. Her passion for the charitable sector is deep rooted as her father was a Barnardo's orphan which she says has greatly influenced her decision to enter the charitable sector. You can find out more and connect with Rae at: https://cfmerseyside.org.uk/team/rae-brooke   

In this episode Kate chats to Briony Wilson, CEO at Taste Cheshire and Event Organiser of the Chester Food and Drink Festival. Taste Cheshire is the definitive guide to independent Food and Drink across Cheshire, connecting those who offer the real “Taste of Cheshire”. Cheshire is a county that is really spoiled for choice when it comes to restaurants, pubs, farm shops offering real food, made by real people. Briony started with the company eight years ago whilst on placement from the University of Huddersfield where she studied Events management. She has since worked in every area of the business from events to sales, making her the ideal person to be CEO!  You can find out more about Briony and Taste Cheshire at: https://www.tastecheshire.com/ 

In this episode Kate meets Irene Afful, an award-winning businesswoman and specialist in the field of diversity, equality & inclusion. She is the Founder & Director of Ametrine Coaching & Consultancy where she pursues her passion for diversity and inclusion, supporting businesses and individuals to be more effective by offering a variety of tools, bespoke workshops, personal and group coaching and consultancy services. Prior to setting up her own business, Irene was a Detective Inspector and served 25 years in Merseyside Police, where she became the first black, female Inspector in the history of the force. Her career incorporated critical incident management, professional standards, safeguarding (children and vulnerable adults), community engagement and serious crime investigations. In addition to her core role, she was instrumental in re-establishing, relaunching and chairing the Black Police Association, a support network for BME staff and served as Female Vice President of the National Black Police Association, advancing equality on the national stage.  Her passion and mission is to support organisations in achieving their vision and values for diversity, increase profitability and effectiveness and enhance their reputation as an employer of choice.

Lorna Helps is the founder of Vibrant Thinking, a business which helps dispersed teams to establish successful ways of working. Prior to setting up her business in 2018 she worked at Procter and Gamble for nearly 20 years.  She was based in Newcastle but worked with teams in London and Geneva so understands the challenges and benefits of hybrid team working. With hybrid working now the new normal for many previously office based teams, her work is more important than ever. Lorna is passionate about using creativity to overcome communication challenges and uses pottery painting as a tool in her workshops. She says you don't need to see pottery painting as art or requiring artistic ability: it's a vehicle for facilitating creative thinking to overcome challenges, with the added benefit of being a rewarding and absorbing activity for everyone.  Combining her corporate experience with pottery painting means Vibrant Thinking offers a unique way to empower teams and transform the workplace. 

In this episode Kate talks all things money with Olivia Stefanino. Olivia is the creator of the 'Money Types' emotional profiling system and she's been working in the world of business and finance for nearly three decades - initially as a journalist and subsequently as an executive coach and leadership trainer. An engaging speaker and author of "Be Your Own Guru - personal and business enlightenment in just 3 days'", Olivia's belief is that money is a powerful medium for life and that when we understand our emotional relationship with money, everything else falls into place. Discover your 'Money Type' and find out what your relationship with money reveals about your unique talents, gifts and strengths - by taking the 30 question quiz at www.oliviastefanino.com 

In this episode Kate meets Ben Hughes, a recording artist known as Tall Children. Ben is a music industry professional, course tutor at Liverpool Media Academy, radio presenter, producer and Ted X speaker. Ben's music career is decorated with numerous awards and accolades. Tall Children's fanbase reaches across three different continents, including the USA. In 2020, Ben also created and launched ‘Tall Children' Films and TV which produces indie films, documentaries, educational TV series, and music videos.  Find out more about Ben at: https://www.tcmusichq.com/ 

In this episode Kate meets Dr Sue Smith and Dr Helen Kini, experienced GPs within the NHS who have developed a passion for lifestyle medicine and its positive effect on health.  Together they have founded 'Flourish for Life', a Doctor-led service providing a tailored holistic approach to give you the confidence and support to achieve your lifestyle goals. They help people to making long lasting changes which have a significant impact on people's health and wellbeing. That can be a reset or rebalance of lifestyle habits to generally feel better or it can be linked to specific life changes – for example they help a growing number of women with symptoms linked to the menopause – a subject that is super topical and that both are very passionate about. They say that the key is recognising that no two women are the same and simple small changes can make all the difference.  Sue and Helen are great believers in the power of changing lifestyle as medicine and want to share this with as many people as they can. Find out more at: https://www.flourishforlife.uk/ 

In this episode Kate chats to Hope Timberlake who is passionate about amplifying the voices and ideas of under-represented minorities in the workplace. In her book 'Speak Up, Dammit!' she helps people at all levels to learn the skills and mindset to overcome obstacles in sharing their voice at work. Her area of expertise includes Persuasive Communications, Leadership Development and High Performing Teams. Hope has worked with leaders in the financial services, technology, healthcare and advertising sectors, helping enhance their performance and workplace influence. She helps individuals and groups become more effective as leaders, presenters and team players. Hope prides herself on her energetic, creative and results-driven approach. Find out more and connect with her at: https://www.hopetimberlake.com/ 

In this episode Kate chats to Christina Colmer-McHugh, Founder of Moodbeam which is wearable technology that tracks how you feel. Christina's background is in journalism, PR and as a ghost-writer for high profile politicians and celebrities. With Moodbeam she has the ambition of transforming the way the world sees mood and make it easier to understand and talk about how we feel. Their aim is to put the power of self-reflection and emotional awareness in everyone's hands to make mood visible, conversations easier and the world a happier place!  Find out more at: https://moodbeam.co.uk/   

In this episode Kate meets Elzie Flenard, a business leader, entrepreneur and creative. He is passionate about storytelling but he says that it is listening that inspires him the most. Listening – almost a forgotten skill in an era of endless chatter and content! He says dialogue and conversation are great teachers. He runs his own business and is a hugely successful podcaster – hosting different shows all about business and leadership. He is even known as the Mayor of Podcast Town! Connect with him at: https://www.elzieflenard.com/ 

In this episode Kate chats to Rachel Lamsley, Solicitor & Co-Founder of Evans Lamsley who are challenging the way businesses access employment law & HR services. Evans Lamsley specialise in working with scaling businesses who want to manage their people and HR challenges effectively and have been dubbed a disrupter in the legal services market.   Rachel is also a Proud trustee of Share Chester supporting the homeless and refugee crisis. Tune in to hear Rachel and Kate chat all things career development and business. Connect with Rachel at: https://evanslamsley.com/

In this episode Kate chats to the super interesting Stephen Wundke. Stephen was born and educated in Adelaide, Australia before becoming a professional Cricketer working in both Australia and England. After leaving cricket, his career took a few different turns and his passion for food and drink led him to starting a number of restaurant businesses in the North West of England.  He went on to create the Chester Food and Drink Festival, the North West Food Lovers Festival and ran the Restaurant Association of Cheshire, before founding Taste Cheshire. He is also a keen horse-racing pundit and is racecourse announcer, TV presenter and interviewer at both Chester and Bangor on Dee racecourses.  Connect with Stephen on Linkedin or get in touch via the Taste Cheshire website: https://tastecheshire.com/ 

In this episode Kate meets Grace Nelson, a business coach, specialising in supporting women to start an online business. Grace believes that it is simply not okay to be stuck in a job where you are not living up to your full potential and you know deep down that you're capable of so much more.   She has over a decade's worth of business experience and understands what it's like to have an idea you're passionate about but not knowing how to make it a profitable reality, so you can have a reliable income other than your job. She has helped hundreds of women globally clarify their business idea and get their first few paid clients online.  Her success portfolio also extends to working with micro enterprises, SMEs, Universities and large corporate organizations worldwide like “The Google Campus” to deliver bespoke business start-up workshops.  She's the co-founder of Think. Create. Initiate ™ method, a proven pathway of online business success for those that wish to start up their online business from scratch alongside a 9-5, having no prior business experience.  Get Grace's FREE GUIDE to getting more clients here: https://bit.ly/23WaysToGetMoreClients

In this episode Kate chats to an ex-colleague, business coach Fay Blakey, who has been working with businesses of all shapes and sizes since 1998. After redundancy and becoming a mum, Fay founded her own coaching practice helping business owners maximise their potential and and take action so that they can meet their goals and thrive with a healthy and sustainable business.  Fay's passion is working closely with business owners, helping them develop, unlock their potential, sharing the a-ha moments and their journey of growth. Find out more and connect with Fay at: https://www.fayblakey.com

In this episode Kate hears from three lovely listeners who sent their own ladder lessons to her for sharing on the show. If you are inspired to do the same, do so via Kate's SpeakPipe page: https://www.speakpipe.com/LadderDown

In this episode Kate chats to Gary Gumbleton, Founder and Creative Director at Capital Content, a business who's people use their passion for content to help organisations grow and transform their ideas into creative outcomes through video, photo, design, social and web. Gary founded Capital Content in 2017 with a vision of helping organisations grow through social-first storytelling. Gary is a creative storyteller with a background in sales and marketing. He has been called one of the greatest video storytellers on the planet! He is also a podcast host himself. Tune in to hear his thoughts on how to cultivate your personal brand. Reach out and connect with him on Linked in.

In this episode Kate meets Dave Kirby, a senior police officer in the Derbyshire Constabulary, where he is currently work as part of the Chief Officer Team with responsibility for Crime and Criminal Justice. In 25 years of service Dave has performed many, varied roles in policing, including Major Crime Senior Investigating Officer (homicide), firearms commander, front line uniform officer and CID Detective. Dave has advanced his career relatively quickly which he says is thanks to his open attitude towards opportunities, forming strong and genuine relationships and looking after people. Not all of it has been plain sailing, and Dave is always happy to share his negative experiences where they can help others to navigate away from difficulty. Connect with him on Linkedin.  

Danielle King is a commercial litigation solicitor, who works in-house for Redrow PLC, an industry leading, multi-million turnover construction company, representing and advising the business across its regional divisions throughout England & Wales. She studied Law & German at Universities in both Sheffield and Trier (Germany) before she began her legal career in Manchester. Danielle then moved into a private practice on the Wirral where she qualified as a Solicitor in 2015. Danielle quickly progressed to become an Associate Solicitor & has presented on property legislation at the North West Property Owners' Association as well as at Liverpool City Council's Landlord Forum. Danielle developed her own Landlord Seminar Series and believes in the strength of building a local network that works for you.   You can connect with Danielle via Linked in https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-king-0ab6bb38/ 

In this Ladder Lesson episode Kate shares some very personal insights and her thoughts on overcoming adversity. Why her career has been her anchor in life, how your past doesn't determine your future and what if we thought about things happening for us and not to us? Kate's keen to share more of her so called ladder lessons with listeners and would love to know what you're most interested in hearing. If you haven't already, connect with Kate across her social media channels (she's @Kate Cousens) or get in touch via her website www.katecousens.com 

Chris Matheson is a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of the City of Chester since winning the seat in the 2015 general election. Growing up in rural Cheshire, he attended Manchester Grammar School then went on to gain a degree in Economics and Politics from the London School of Economics. He became an MP in 2013. He has two children and is an avid football fan for Chester and Everton FC. You can connect with Chris at: https://www.chrismatheson.co.uk/

Sue Moore is an experienced business leader and growth consultant with a passion for sharing what she knows and encouraging others to reach their potential, which she calls ‘paying it forward'. Sue has a wealth of commercial experience at Board Level and has successfully transferred her skills and experience across several sectors, each time delivering the required results. She has appeared on radio, TV, podcasts and has frequently been a guest speaker at franchising and start up events. Sue's experience extends to franchising including start ups, high growth and exit planning. Industries include: franchising, FMCG, retail, health and fitness, recruitment, home services and children's services. As well as working in her day-job where she lends her skills and expertise to a range of different sectors providing interim leadership support, she is also a Mentor for the Northern Power Women Network, supporting founder Simone Roache MBE. You can connect with Sue on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/suemoorecheshire/   

In this mini ladder lesson episode, Kate shares her top tips on maintaining a positive mindset including getting ahead of it, filling your cup, how to keep doing the work, avoiding the dreaded comparisonitis culture.

In this episode Kate speaks to the hugely inspirational Mr Simon Cohen. Simon hit the headlines when he gave away his communications agency Global Tolerance for the riches of family life! Simon initially followed a conventional path to wisdom. In his search for answers, he studied Theology at university, but was instead faced by a cul-de-sac of questions. He started a traditional career in advertising, but in choosing status and salary over personal values, he failed to find happiness. At the age of 24, he decided to defy society's ideas about what it means to be wise, wealthy, and happy today. He set up Global Tolerance, a communications agency to spread messages of hope. In the following decade, Simon travelled the world, representing the Dalai Lama, Gandhi's grandson, and many of the world's wisest women, men and children. Simon was a regular Pause for Thought contributor on the Chris Evans Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2. In 2013, he became the first person in the UK to place his whole company on sabbatical. A sought after keynote speaker, his talk Challenging Conventional Wisdom was the most popular talk on Trendhunter, the world's leading trend site, for six months running. At the end of the sabbatical, spent writing and considering what would be best for Global Tolerance and his family, Simon came to a momentous and (some say) crazy decision. It was time to give away the company he founded. Simon launched the first ever Open Leadership Exercise (OLE), handing over 95% ownership of Global Tolerance, £10,000 in the bank, a state-of-the-art website, a decade of business contacts, and all the company assets! He hopes that business leaders around the world will consider their own version of an OLE as a new, values-driven type of exit strategy. Simon is currently writing a book, blogging for the Harvard Business Review, Entrepreneur Magazine, Huffington Post, and gives keynote talks around the world - as long as he can take his family with him!

This is an epic episode because Kate and Helen had A LOT of business ground to cover! Helen Pritchard is an award winning entrepreneur, the absolute Queen of online business and a huge force for good! Helen started her business out of her home as a single mum, recently divorced while suffering the aftermath of the 2008 recession. After building up a successful agency, in 2017 she waved goodbye to it and started training entrepreneurs, coaches and businesses in LinkedIn lead generation.  She has since gone on to impact the lives of thousands of people around the world with her famous Linkedin Challenges and lead generation strategies, such as the ‘bring your £99 thing to the world'. She now has an ever-expanding team of people working alongside her helping business owners of all shapes and sizes to attract clients. You can connect with Helen via her website: https://helenpritchardonline.com/ 

The saying goes that all publicity is good publicity but Gerald Ratner would tell you differently!  When Gerald inherited his family jewellery company in 1984, he expanded it from about 150 shops to over 2,000 in just six years, capturing over 50% of the UK's jewellery market. He became known as ‘The King of Bling' and was heralded as a business prodigy. That was up until an eventful speech that Gerald made at an Institute of Directors dinner on 23rd April 1991, where he famously, or infamously, called one of his products ‘total crap' in front of 6,000 business leaders and journalists, saying that one of the sets of earrings he sold was "cheaper than a prawn sandwich from Marks and Spencers but probably wouldn't last as long”. The British media went to town on Gerald and even though he subsequently explained it was meant in good humour, the country's sense of humour wasn't great due to a very deep and dark recession…the public voted with their feet and the company's shares dropped £500 million in a matter of days. This very nearly resulted in the firm's collapse and Gerald Ratner was fired, lost his home, had to take his children out of school and was left severely depressed. It was only when his wife threatened to kick him out that he decided to change. He started a health club from nothing which he sold a few years later for almost £4million and is now involved in an online jewellery business called ‘Gerald Online'.  In this episode Kate chats to the legend himself to find out if he would have done anything differently 30 years on!

In this episode Kate chats to Donna Hamilton who has a passion for helping organisations to get the most out of their people. She is Director of Customer Success for a company called 'Peachy Mondays', an employee listening platform which helps businesses improve their employee engagement. Their trademark is 'Happy people work better'! Donna has held senior People roles in FTSE 100 companies and worked all around the world so has a wealth of experience of operating within different cultures and organisational structures. Tune in to hear Kate and Donna chat about how to make the employee experience a brilliant one in your business! 

In this episode Kate meets Nigel Taberner who spent 30 years in the UK Police working in a wide variety of front line, protective security, asset coordination and investigative roles. Perhaps his most interesting role was as a Hostage Negotiator. He successfully negotiated over 130 high-risk armed sieges, domestic and international kidnaps, suicide interventions and was deployed during high profile counter-terrorism operations. He says that as well as saving lives, the skills that he learned made him a more effective leader and a better colleague, husband and father. Since retiring from the Police force in 2019 he has started up his own business called Level2Communications where now helps people transform their businesses using the skills that he honed in his words ‘the murky world of hostage negotiation'  as a power for good. He says that these skills can enhance your workplace, develop your teams, increase your productivity and give you a competitive edge.

In this episode Kate catches up with an ex-colleague, Bieneosa Ebite, a seasoned Public Relations professional who thrives on managing reputation, engaging diverse audiences and providing strategic counsel. Kate and B met when they were both leading communications for one of the world's largest brands, McDonald's Restaurants during one of the most challenging periods of its history! She went on to establish her own PR consultancy managing campaigns for more big names including Costa Coffee, Starbucks, the Home Office, the Office for National Statistics and Oxfam. All the while promoting her passion for diversity in all its forms, co-founding Ignite, a not-for-profit organisation that operated for five years, promoting the benefits of cultural diversity in PR.   She is now Head of Corporate Communications for Centrica, where she is also co-chair of the Women's Network. She too has her own podcast ‘News Bants' providing an unfiltered and light-hearted take on current affairs and politics. You can find out more about B's career and business journey by connecting with her on Linked in.

In this episode Kate meets Scott Anthony who is an expert on business innovation. Senior Partner at Innosight, Scott helps leaders design new growth strategies, build innovation capabilities, navigate disruptive innovation, and manage strategic transformation. Scott has written eight books, including most recently Eat, Sleep, Innovate (2020) and Dual Transformation (2017), which describe how forward-thinking organizations can navigate disruptive change and own the future. Scott is a prolific contributor to Harvard Business Publishing. He is the most published digital author on HBR.org and is Harvard Business Corporate Learning's most in-demand subject matter expert. He has been based in Singapore since 2010, where he served as a member of the Committee on the Future Economy and a Board member of MediaCorp from 2013-2019. In 2019 he was named one of the world's 10 most influential management thinkers by Thinkers50, and in 2017 he won the T50 Innovation Award. Scott is a featured speaker on topics of innovation and growth. He has delivered keynote addresses on six continents, and has appeared on Good Morning America, Channel News Asia, CNBC, and FOX Business. Scott served on the Board of Directors of Media General (NYSE: MEG) from 2009-2013 and of Mediacorp from 2013-2019, helping guide both companies through strategic transformations. From 2009 to 2015 Scott chaired the investment committee for IDEAS Ventures, a SGD 10 million fund Innosight ran in conjunction with the Singapore government that invested in 10 Singapore-based companies and generated a 16% internal rate of return. Prior to joining Innosight, Scott was a senior researcher with Clayton Christensen, managing a group that worked to further Christensen's research on innovation. Scott received a BA in economics summa cum laude from Dartmouth College and an MBA with high distinction from Harvard Business School, where he was a Baker Scholar. 

In this episode Kate chats to Anna Jackson, known as ‘Always a Fashion Parade' on Instagram, which is her personal style blog. Growing up Anna's Mum told her to hurry up when she was getting ready and that it's not a fashion parade. She says it's ALWAYS a fashion parade! Kate is a huge fan of Anna's style which she says is very Carrie Bradshaw-esque! Kate and Anna chat all things personal styling as well as finding out about her route from advertising into styling. Connect with Anna on Instagram.

In this episode Kate meets Adrian Lomas who is Global Communications and Culture Director for OSF Digital – a global e-commerce sales business. They work with brands such as L'Oreal, Coca Cola, Gatwick Airport and the Victoria and Albert Museum as well as hundreds more…using the platform Salesforce to support the rapidly changing online retail environment.  Adrian's true passion is people, not tech and Kate chats with him about how he engages employees across the 31 different countries that they operate in. Connect with Adrian on Linked in. 

Felicity Wingrove is one of the UK's leading experts in the applied psychology of language, which means that she helps people leverage the art and science of persuasion and influence to achieve truly exceptional results. They benefit from compelling communications which align and resound with the people who matter the most to them, and that results in impressive media coverage, more share of voice, increased sales, and enviable stakeholder relationships. She has studied psycholinguistics, neuro-linguistic programming, Influence and behavioural psychology. At the start of her career she worked with some of the nation's leading brands, organisations and associations before launching her own consultancy in 2007 - Zen Communications. She now helps clients to take positive control of how they're perceived, truly own their space, and powerfully and ethically influence the people who matter the most to them. Connect with Felicity on Linked in or via her website: https://www.zen-communications.co.uk/ 

This episode is a twist on the Ladder Down concept as Kate chats to Imogen Maguire who is currently in Year 13 studying A levels in Maths, Business and Physical Education.  She has played football since the age of 6 and now plays football for Birmingham City Under 21's! She says her ambition is to enjoy football first and foremost and is hoping to play in the Women's Premier Division next year. Her main mission is to change the world and she aspires to be an entrepreneur which she is well on the way to being already since she set up her venture - Corner Bookmarks - when she was 12. The area of business she is most passionate about is the environment and rightly, she believes we all have a part to play.   She is the Founder of Power Now, an app which allows Electric vehicle home charging point owners to rent out their home charging points in an easier and more efficient way than other apps in the market which saw her become a finalist in the Unloc and Verizon Young Entrepreneur competition. She had the idea after experiencing ‘range anxiety' when her Mum got an electric car and sought a solution. Tune in to hear Imogen talk about her ambitions and the future world of business. 

In this mini ladder lesson episode, Kate shares her strategies on keeping fears and worries at bay.

In this episode Kate chats to Steve Bennett, the Founder and Director of Transition Plus, a business which supports People & Business Development through senior level recruitment. They help individuals manage and transition their careers, as well as providing Chair, Non-Executive Directors, business mentoring, coaching and commercial development support to business. Steve is also Regional Chair of the Institute of Directors (IOD) for the North West UK. The IOD is the UK's longest-running organisation for directors and future directors from all sectors, shapes and size of organisation, who exist to help their members become the best directors they can be. Five years ago, Steve founded an annual ‘Business of Science' conference. He has a passion for ‘paying it forward' and helping people succeed in their career and business. In this episode he shares many nuggets of advice to help listeners on their climb. Connect with Steve on Linkedin or at http://transitionplus.co.uk/

In this episode Kate chats to Barry Leahey, MBE. Barry is CEO of Playdale Playgrounds Ltd who are the UK's leading manufacturer and exporter of children's playground equipment around the world. Playdale has won several national Manufacturing and export awards for their work installing over 23,000 playgrounds in over 50 countries in the past 40 years! Barry personally received an MBE for services to International Trade on the Queen's Birthday Honours list in 2017.   In 2018 Barry was named Institute of Directors ‘Global Director of the Year' and ‘Cumbria Business Person of the Year', featuring in the ‘Telegraph's Top 50 Most Ambitious Business Leaders' and ‘The Manufacturer Top 100 people in Manufacturing'. He is past Chair of the Institute of Directors in Cumbria and a Honorary Professor at Lancaster University Management School. You can connect with Barry on Linked in or via the Playdale website.

In this episode Kate chats to Rebecca Bonnington, founder and owner of Tricres Business Coaching and Consulting, which she runs with her brother. Rebecca is passionate about business and people fulfilling their potential. Tricres offers bespoke business coaching and consulting, and they are currently developing an App which will further revolutionise their offer. Rebecca is an award-winning director with a wealth of experience in sales, executive coaching, business consulting and coaching, and corporate training. She's been personally endorsed by Dr Richard Bandler, the co-creator of Neuro Linguistic Programming, and is the author of the acclaimed guide to getting ahead in your career, ‘How to Outshine the Rest'. Connect with Rebecca on Linked in or at www.tricres.com

In this episode Kate chats to career coach Natalie Fisher. Natalie helps people in a variety of different professions to help them get the self-confidence to create their own opportunities, even when it seems like there are none. She helps them get over the fear of job interviews and support them to get paid better and increase their earning potential over the course of their lives. She also hosts her own podcast called ‘Get a 6 figure job you love!'. She says too many people are living our lives based on fear - fear of failure, fear of being visible, fear of letting people down. She helps her clients overcome their fears and fulfil their potential. Connect with her on Linked in or http://nataliefisher.ca/   

In this episode Kate chats to David Wafer, founder of a recruitment business called McIver Scott based in Liverpool. They pride themselves on being different because they use psychometric assessments to revolutionise the recruitment process. The difference is that they assess the clients to get to understand leadership styles, traits, preferences and culture of the business they are recruiting to. David believes this helps them to find the right people who will blossom in a company that is the ideal fit. They then headhunt the right people who can make a real difference to the efficiency, productivity and profitability of a business. David is also Chair of the Liverpool institute of Directors. He's recently joined the advisory board of the LFC Foundation and is also on the advisory board of the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce – hence why Kate calls him Mr Liverpool! You can connect with David on Linked in. 

In this episode Kate chats to Lavinia Brown who is a Psychodynamic coach for Mums and an expert in healing our 'inner child'. She believes that mothers should stop striving to emulate an impossible feminine archetype and instead feel confident and courageous enough to reveal their imperfectly perfect selves to the world with pride. Lavinia recognises that juggling children, career, relationships, can often feel like there just isn't enough space for you. In addition becoming a parent yourself can stir up past wounds from your own childhood and if you don't recognise it you can repeat dysfunctional patterns. Lavinia says that you deserve a life that is calm, happy and fulfilled. Connect with Lavinia on Instagram or via her website https://www.laviniabrown.com/