British engineer
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Dr. Stuart Grant, founder of Archetype Medtech, shares his journey designing and delivering breakthrough orthopedic and surgical innovations across the UK, US, and China. Stuart recounts how an early internship led him into medtech, what kept him there, and how building the ASPAC Innovation Center in China helped accelerate a total knee instrument system that dramatically reduced time to market. He explains the leap from corporate leader to entrepreneur: planning for years, earning a PhD in Medtech Product Innovation, and building a consultancy that helps startups and scale-ups turn early clinical unmet needs into market-ready, regulator-approved devices through a network of experts and an “expertise for equity” model. Guest links: https://archetype-medtech.com/ Charity supported: Sleep in Heavenly Peace Interested in being a guest on the show or have feedback to share? Email us at theleadingdifference@velentium.com. PRODUCTION CREDITS Host & Editor: Lindsey Dinneen Producer: Velentium Medical EPISODE TRANSCRIPT Episode 074 - Stuart Grant [00:00:00] Lindsey Dinneen: Hi, I'm Lindsey and I'm talking with MedTech industry leaders on how they change lives for a better world. [00:00:09] Diane Bouis: The inventions and technologies are fascinating and so are the people who work with them. [00:00:15] Frank Jaskulke: There was a period of time where I realized, fundamentally, my job was to go hang out with really smart people that are saving lives and then do work that would help them save more lives. [00:00:28] Diane Bouis: I got into the business to save lives and it is incredibly motivating to work with people who are in that same business, saving or improving lives. [00:00:38] Duane Mancini: What better industry than where I get to wake up every day and just save people's lives. [00:00:42] Lindsey Dinneen: These are extraordinary people doing extraordinary work, and this is The Leading Difference. Hello, and welcome back to another episode of the Leading Difference podcast. I'm your host Lindsey, and today I'm delighted to welcome Dr. Stuart Grant. Dr. Grant is a chartered engineer and the founder of Archetype Medtech, a consultancy and innovation studio helping medical device startups and scale ups transform early clinical, unmet needs into market ready products. With nearly 25 years of experience, Stuart has led global teams across the UK, US, China, and emerging markets delivering breakthrough innovations in hip, knee, shoulder, and trauma surgery. A highlight of his career was establishing the ASPAC Innovation Center in China, where he built R&D capability from the ground up and launched a pioneering total knee instrument system that dramatically reduced time to market. Passionate about advancing medical technology and mentoring future engineers, he bridges creativity, engineering, and regulation to accelerate safer, smarter medtech innovation worldwide. All right. Welcome to the show. It's so great to have you here today. Thanks for joining me. [00:01:57] Stuart Grant: It's lovely to be here, Lindsey. [00:01:58] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Excellent. Well, I was wondering if you could start by sharing a little bit about yourself, your background, and what led you to medtech. [00:02:08] Stuart Grant: Yeah. So, I was actually, I'm obviously, as you can tell from my accent, I'm British, but I was born in Germany because my, my dad was in the military in the 1970s when I was born. So I was born actually in Berlin, which is quite interesting to be a place to be, grew up in. So I traveled around a lot here in the UK, in Germany with my dad getting posted everywhere. My mom's a nurse. So I was in medtech, not really knowing I was in medtech as a kid, but I, my family was, so yeah. And then obviously went to school, all the places I was at university. I went to university to do product design, and my goal was to be a product designer, a cool product designer, designing fancy products like Johnny Ive. And when I was looking for a job as a co-op, or an intern as you call them in the US, I was just really unsuccessful finding a job. I was doing a lot of interviews, getting turned down, sending my CV out a lot, and j happened just to advertise on the Board of University, and it said Johnson Orthopedics and no one really knew what that was in. And none of my fellow students at applied because they thought it would be designing baby bottles for putting talcum powder in and shampoo in and stuff like that. So they're like, "I'm not doing that job." So I desperately applied for it and luckily found out about all this medtech, and I've been here doing medtech for 25 years. So they gave me a job. I had to work hard to keep the job and get reemployed over and over again. But yeah, joining originally Johnson Orthopedics a long time ago is how I found out about medtech. I never knew when I was 18 that really it was a thing that existed. [00:03:47] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. So, okay. So you thought product design, and then when you got into medtech, what were some of the things that attracted you and that actually compelled you to stay and make a career out of it? [00:04:00] Stuart Grant: Ha. So I was a young guy with the student debts. What compelled me, I was getting paid to stay, but not to be too flippant about it, but, you know, when I was doing this engineering and design work in my early days in the CAD system, it was just so interesting. I was designing these products that were going into people or the instrumentation to make help the surgeon and going to these ORs and watching the surgeon do their job and trying to figure out how how I can make it better from their input was really interesting. I could apply it straight away, basically. In the early two thousands, there wasn't all these regulations and standards that slowed you down. So you could go and design an instrument, get it machined in the machine shop, get it clean, take it to the surgeon, he can use it, you know, probably be frowned upon 25 years later. But that's what we used to do and really adapt. And probably more interesting than going into product design and fast moving consumer goods where you're designing a, a kettle or a toaster or something, a plastic casing. It was actually much more interesting to do that. And I stayed because I spent four years here in Leeds, in the UK, was getting a bit bored and wanted to find something else to do, and then an opportunity came up in the US. So I moved over to Warsaw, Indiana, the orthopedics capital of the world, as you might know it. Worked there for, stayed there for seven years. Really enjoyed it.. People sort of bemoan Warsaw for being in the sticks in just a bunch of cornfields around it. But I enjoyed it. It's got, we had a good bunch of young friends there. I was in late twenties, early thirties at the time. There was Noah and Spikes. You'd go for a drink and some nice food. It was all right. I enjoyed my time and after that I was, after seven years, I was like, "Okay, what do I do next?" And I was looking around for jobs in medtech. Then another opportunity came up in and we were looking for people to go over and help set it up, train the staff on what MedTech product development was. And so I jumped to the chance and spent five years living in China, in Shanghai. After five years is your limit, so I had to come home. I couldn't stay. I wanted to stay, but they wouldn't allow me to. So, so I came back to the UK. And then started MDR for five years as leading the Joints MDR program, which was lots of fun, as you could probably tell, wasn't really R&D, was a lot of leadership and project management and dealing with a lot of people and a lot of problems on a day-to-day basis. And so, yeah, after that I I left J&J about three years ago and started my own product development agency. And we can talk about a little bit about that later. So that's where I am and where I got to. [00:06:50] Lindsey Dinneen: Excellent. Yeah, I definitely wanna talk about that as well. But going back a little bit-- and perhaps this is actually something that's occurred since you started your own company as well-- but are there any moments that really stand out to you along your journey of affirming that, "Hey, yeah, I actually am in the right place, in the right industry?" [00:07:12] Stuart Grant: That's a really hard one is sort of the, is the grass always greener somewhere else, type of question. Right? I guess compare, you shouldn't compare, but comparing to my friends at my university, my product design and what they've done and what I've done they've moved into the car industry a lot. Went to the car development and car industries always had its ups and downs and its problems. And you know, they've had some really cracking jobs working for McLaren and Ferrari and you know, but I think just the interesting things that medtech do that nobody really knows about is really what keeps me moving along and having conversations with people when they, you tell them like, "I used to design hips and knees and shoulders and things like that," and they're like, "Oh, my mother's got a hip and knee" and blah, blah, and you really talk about it. Actually, my mother does have a hip now and she's going in a couple months time to get the other hip done. I do know what brand she's got, so. [00:08:10] Lindsey Dinneen: See, that's really cool. Yeah. Okay. So, so, on your LinkedIn I noticed that you describe yourself as a fixer, a challenger, and a change maker, which I love. But I'd love to hear from you exactly what you mean by all those things as you have developed in your career, and now as you're doing, of course, your own consulting. [00:08:34] Stuart Grant: Yeah, so in Johnson and my colleagues are probably, I agree with this, I had a bit of a reputation of getting the more difficult projects. The, that's probably why I got MDR in the end 'cause I would always get the projects that had problems and I enjoyed that. I liked digging deep and solving the problem and wrangling everyone together and pushing everybody along to help. And that was actually one of the reasons why I moved to the US 'cause the original project I moved to was the project leader left and it was in a bit of a shambles. So I went over to sort of, sort of try and get it together and just ended up staying and working on multiple projects. So I like that. Really challenging, not just the engineering side. The engineering side is obviously really interesting, but the challenging project management and people management and process management in a big corporation, all of those things, people, product, process, all come together just to cause a big headache sometimes, you know, herding cats as say and going, trying to solve those problems as an engineer, always trying to solve these problems, right? So it's you're always trying to figure out how you can move forward. [00:09:52] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. So, okay, so that kind of brings us to the company. So what was it like going from employee to entrepreneur? Were you, did you feel ready and prepared for that leap? Or what has that transition and pathway been for you? [00:10:10] Stuart Grant: So I've, I was a long-term planner. I was planning for this for five years whilst I was working for Johnson. So I went and got, when I came back to the UK I started my PhD and I knew getting a PhD was a real way of building credibility immediately, right? Before you step in a room and have a conversation with you, if you've got a PhD in the subject you're about to talk about, people pay attention, hopefully. Right? So I did my, so I did my PhD in Medtech Product Innovation, what the process is. So I spent seven years part-time working for Johnson, getting my PhD, knowing that eventually in my mid forties, there'll be an inflection point, which usually isn't people in big corporations, right, that either stay to the end for until you're six, mid sixties. If you hit 50, usually stay for the next decade, right? Or you leave and do something else. And I was like, "Okay, 45, I'm gonna pull the bandaid, go in, get my PhD, set up my own company plan, get the plan to do it, get the savings," and so I was working on MDR and a new MDR was coming to an end, and then they'd have to find me a new project, which probably didn't exist. So I also knew that J&J would be like, "Ah, Stuart, you've been here for 23 years. There's not really anything of your level here." I'd be like, "Great, let's go." So this was all a, you always it's a big step, right? I have a family. I can't just sort of walk in, not come in the office anymore. So it was a big plan that my wife and I had for quite a number of years to execute. So it's still a struggle. I've been doing it for three years. It's still hard work, still building the company, finding clients, understanding what their pain points are and improving your picture and all those other things, still is still a challenge, but it's a new challenge. [00:12:06] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. [00:12:07] Stuart Grant: And as I say, as I said, when people worry about the risk, it's like I can easily just go and get a corporate job again as a move back and have all this new relevant experience. So it's a risk, but you have to balance that by the benefits. [00:12:21] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, calculated risk that you've planned for, so good for you. So, okay, so tell us a little bit about your company now and who you help and kind of where in the development or even ideation process that you can come in and really make a difference. [00:12:40] Stuart Grant: So, yeah, so Archetype MedTech is a product development, product innovation agency. And what we do, we usually work with startups or scale ups. Startup side, they'll have a proof of concept. They've already defined the unmet clinical need. They've sort of wrangled the technology and validated the actual technology does what it they're trying to make it do, but they just dunno how to make this a medical device product, right? They've they've got the technology, but they dunno how the product make a product that's sellable is releasable and it gets approved by FDA or here in the, i'll say here in the EU, I know I said in the UK, but MDR and I help them work out that product innovation strategy. So take them all through either they need to do the frontend innovation and understand their needs and the insights and the business case, and then the engineering requirements and specifications. The design and engineering part I help them with, and this is not just me. I have a network of experts, a sort of consortium of experts that come together and bring all these different specialties and then we help them with the testing, what testing they need to do, their risk management, usability, all that fun stuff. And then contact and help them work with the manufacturers. So contract manufacturers, then their regulatory approval. So really what we try to do is, 'cause we're bringing all this expertise as a group of people together, the entrepreneur, usually a salesman or surgeon at this point, who may be a university spin out, can spend a lot of time and money trying to find these experts, trying to find these resources, trying to understand the product development, the MedTech product development process, which is all written down in various books, but when you get down to the details, it gets really complicated. So what we do is help them go through that as fast and as efficiently as a possible, so they're not wasting capital fishing around for those experts. We already have that network of experts that we can bring in and take them through the process as quickly as possible. So that's what Archetype Medtech do for our clients. And has been successful. We have quite a number of clients, mostly in orthopedics and surgical 'cause that's my specialty in medtech. And what we also do, we just don't want to be a management consultancy firm. Well, we do if it's right, we share what we call expertise for equity. So we'll take some equity from the company, but we'll cut our day rates or maybe do it for free, do and help them go through the process as quickly as possible. That means we've got skin in the game, right? We're not just taking their money and going, "Great. This is great. Good luck on the commercialization. Not our problem." [00:15:29] Lindsey Dinneen: Right. [00:15:30] Stuart Grant: It is our problem. 'cause we want a return on our risk and our investment as well. So, yeah, that's what we try to do. And along with that we do a load of pro bono work with surgeons in the NHS who have had ideas. We help them just get their idea a bit further along so they can start looking for funding and investment, and I can share that with you later 'cause it's a really important program that the NHS run it. If there's any mentors out there that want to get involved I can point them in the right direction. [00:16:00] Lindsey Dinneen: Actually that's fantastic and I would love to hear a little bit more about the organization and yeah, how people can get involved and help and what do they all do. [00:16:10] Stuart Grant: Yeah. So the NHS have set up this called NHS Clinical Entrepreneurs Program. This is not my company. This is a completely separate organization. And what it is, clinicians, anybody who works in the NHS-- you know NHS is a 1.6 million people who are employed in the NHS. It's a massive company organization. They come up with clinical needs 'cause they're in the problem and they start working out how they solve it, even through medical device or health tech or an app or anything, right? And they can go into this, it is basically the equivalent of an accelerator program over about nine months. And we have mentors like myself who work with those clinicians to help them develop their idea. So I've got a couple of clinicians that I work with. One is developing a neurosurgical device for helping him cut out tumors in the brain. At the moment, they use two tools. They use a scalpel and a cordy, a bipolar cordy, and they're very basic tools. And what he has to do, he's under a microscope, and he has to swap these one by one, does this scalpel to cut the vascularization of the tumor. Then he has to seal it. And he has to pass the nurse has to pass in these tools and he can't see a, see the nurse passing him. So he is like, "Can I develop a tool that's in one a scalpel and a bipolar" so he doesn't have to keep changing the tool in his hand? And you can know by the cognitive load and changing that tool in the field that these surgeries take eight to 12 hours to cut out a tumor from the brain. So he's saying every, he swaps his tool about 200 times and it takes three seconds. So you can start doing the maths. [00:17:59] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. [00:18:01] Stuart Grant: Yeah. And then the other, so the other is a doctor, actually, the doc is a neonatal doctor and he's trying to develop a langoscope for neonatal babies. The langoscopes at the moment haven't really improved in the last 60 years. The Muller blades, they're called, and they're the stainless steel things that basically adult ones have been shrunk down to baby size and changed a little bit. They're not very good. And when you've got a newborn baby who's struggling to breathe, the mother's there obviously upset, so the father's probably there and you're trying to get langoscope down their throat, it's not a great, it is a very stressful situation, so he's kind of developed a, trying to develop a better one, right? Even the simple things. These things are made of stainless steel and you put a piece of metal on a baby's tongue. A newborn baby's obviously never experienced cold before, so they obviously start freaking out and squirming and you're trying to get this thing down her throat. It's crazy. So I'm helping him to see if he can come up with a better solution. He's got a, got an idea at the moment. He's developed some prototypes and we're gonna help him get it, see if we can get it a bit further along, and hopefully get to the market and solve this real small unmet clinical need, but really important one. [00:19:16] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. That's incredible to hear about both of those stories. That is really exciting. I love I-- this is partly why I love this industry so much is the innovation coming out of it is always amazing. People care so deeply about making a difference and improving patient outcomes, and then to hear about those kinds of innovations, ugh, that's awesome. [00:19:38] Stuart Grant: Yeah. Yeah. So if there's any experts out there listening who wanna get involved in the N-H-S-C-E-P program, I know Australia does one too. So yeah, get involved and share your knowledge freely to some clinicians who wanna, who have found an unmet clinical need and wanna solve it, but don't know how to. [00:19:56] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Love it. That's fantastic. So it, it seems like, you know, from your career trajectory and your continuing education all this time that you are not someone who sits still very well. And I think you mentioned this a little bit in your LinkedIn profile, you like to keep moving. So one of the things that I noticed that you do, and I'd love if you share about it, is you do lectures on the history of innovation. Could you share a little bit about that? [00:20:24] Stuart Grant: Yeah. So. I I really, so I sort of got into reading about innovate. I love reading innovation books, right, nonfiction, innovation books, which I got in about 10 years ago. I read probably one of the first one was "The Idea Factory," which is about Bell Labs. And that was how Bell Labs has invented the telephone system and invented the transistor, won a load of Nobel Prizes. Shockley and Bardine were there. They just had this crazy Medici effect going on in Bell Labs. The Medici effect when you collect everybody together in a small area and they just start bouncing ideas and coming up with some hugely creative solutions. And that comes from Florence when DaVinci and Michelangelo and Raphael were all kicking about Florence and they were all paid for by the Medici family, so this why it's called the Medici. There's a book about it actually called "The Medici Effect." So I started reading all this and started just going backwards in history and getting to the industrial revolution and how the industrial revolution happened. And going further back to these group of men called the Lunar Men who were in Birmingham here in the UK who basically, it was James Watt, who invented the steam engine, Wedgewood, who was the pottery guy. It is Rasmus Darwin, who was Charles Darwin's great-grandfather. Yeah. All these people, they were called the Lunar Man 'cause they met every month in the full moon and discussed ideas and I think probably got drunk. [00:22:00] Lindsey Dinneen: I mean... [00:22:03] Stuart Grant: So yeah, I just love reading it and you know, I love, I'm now a little bit of a brag. As of last month, I'm a fellow of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, and that is quite prestigious that was created by George Stevenson, and George Stevenson was the guy who created the steam train. [00:22:23] Lindsey Dinneen: Okay. [00:22:23] Stuart Grant: So we took Watts' idea of the steam engine, put it on wheels, figured out how to work. And I love, I just love steam trains and that's very dorky of me, I know. But I love, as a mechanical engineer, just seeing all the bits move and actually seeing them chug around all the noise and the steam. And here where I live in Yorkshire, in the UK, up the road in York is the National Railway Museum, which all the steam trains are at. Darlington is west. George Stevenson had his the original railway, the Darton Stock Railway. So George Stevenson created the Institute of Mechanical Engineers 'cause he was a mechanical engineer and his son created the rocket the first really fast once, Robert Stevenson. So learning all this and then figuring out how, then I went back-- I'm, so this is a long answer to your question-- then I went back went back and like understood why the industrial revolution happened and it was all about the banking system here, how people could get capital. And then the legal system grew up to protect that capital. And then agriculture improved in the UK so people weren't just stuck on farms, subsistence farming. There was enough food being produced to support the population so the population could go and work in factories and obviously James Watt creating the steam power created more power. So people in horses and everybody didn't have to work so hard. And then there was politics involved with the Hugonos, which were the Protestant, the French Protestants came over and they had all, they had the ability to make all these machine parts, 'cause that's our skill. Some of them came to the UK and the others went to Switzerland. And that's where the watch industry in Switzerland created. And then, you know, and then the scientific approach and the enlightenment came in the UK and it all just sort of bubbled up into the industrial revolution and then cascaded through the 19th century and the 20th century in. Here we are in the 21st century. So I just love knowing that whole pathway of somebody said "We need more legal," and then somebody said, "We need more banking" and as startups, right, investment is the king. So it all started 300 years ago with the UK banking system. [00:24:35] Lindsey Dinneen: Fascinating. Oh my goodness. That is so interesting. Yeah. Okay. One other interesting thing I caught from your LinkedIn profile is that you are a painter, but you are an exhibited painter, yes? [00:24:51] Stuart Grant: Yeah, I, well, I try. [00:24:54] Lindsey Dinneen: Okay. [00:24:54] Stuart Grant: So yeah. Obviously I did product design right? And I did product design because at school, I was good at art and I was good at maths and physics. So I was looking around going, "What discipline do those three things fit together?" And it looked like it was product design. I was like, "Okay, I'm half an engineer, half an artist, not good at either." So about 10 years ago I decided to pick up art again. It was, started to go to classes and doing landscapes and actually sadly the industrial decline of Britain's, so the old buildings of the industrial revolution and stuff like that. So I paint that stuff. [00:25:36] Lindsey Dinneen: Oh, that's so cool. [00:25:37] Stuart Grant: Put it into exhibitions and sometimes get rejected, sometimes get accepted, and try and sell a couple so I can at least call myself an artist. [00:25:45] Lindsey Dinneen: There you go. I love it. Yeah. Well, and that creativity and that artistry does, you know, impact your work in general, because I think sometimes having that outlet actually spurs some just creative solutions outside of the box that, you know, might have not come to you immediately if you were just like, you know, head down, really working hard on this project. And then if you could take a step back do you feel that it helps you in that way at all? [00:26:15] Stuart Grant: Yeah. Yeah, it definitely does. Not thinking about work is and just having it percolate in the background and not actually, 'cause it's a very slow deliberate process painting, right? So it does, you just lose hours and hours painting something, which is really nice. Obviously I've got a, I've got a 5-year-old at the moment running around, so I don't do that much painting. I usually just reserve it for when I go to my art class on Wednesday nights 'cause trying to focus is not a thing for a 5-year-old. [00:26:46] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, That's fair. Okay. Well, all right, so pivoting the conversation just for fun. Imagine that you were to be offered a million dollars to teach a master class on anything you want. It could be within your industry. It also could be your history of innovation, but what would you choose to teach? [00:27:08] Stuart Grant: So I thought about this when you gave that question because I was like, "Well, I've already talked about the history of innovation and that can pretty boring." So my other boring side, when you do a PhD, you always wish you did another subject. That's the thing is like, I wish I studied that instead. So my, as you go through the PhD, you learn other things and you're like, "Oh, that's really interesting." And you go down rabbit holes and you're like, "Oh, well stop. That's not my job. That's not what I'm trying to do here." One of the ones was how technology and society are interlinked. So technology drives society, and we've got lots of examples of that. Steam engines, trains, telephones, electricity, light bulb, broadband, and now AI. And so technology affects society. Then society drives technology. They're a virtuous circle. Some people say it not virtuous at all, but they, that's what happens. And understanding how those two things, society and culture and technology all interact is really interesting to me. And obviously not all technologies are adopted. Some are abandoned. Sometimes the better technology is abandoned for an inferior technology for lots and lots of reasons. There's examples. In the eighties, it was VHS and beta max, Blu-ray and HD DVDs. And what else? The keyboard, QWERTY keyboard is meant to be terrible. And that was designed 'cause of typewriters at the time. So the keys didn't smash together, but obviously that's not needed anymore. So those things interest me and I like to study that more, but I like to study it. Thinking about medtech and how our technology in medtech has affected society and using that lens 'cause we also always talk about clinical needs, right? What's your unmet clinical need? What are you trying to solve here? But there's also a social and cultural need that you are maybe not addressing directly, but you are addressing it. And how that drives medtech, and you know, it's we talk about like medtech equality and democratizing medtech and making it more accessible, but there's always the flip size of medtech inequalities. The big one probably at the moment is robotic surgery. Hugely expensive. Only available to very few. So how will that filter through society? How does that affect society? Will it just be for the rich developed countries to use robotic surgery? How will that affect it going forward the next 10, 20 years? Because it uses a capital equipment, right? They can't be diffused through society very easily. So that, that's one thing I would like to study and sort of talk about a little bit more, 'cause I think it's really interesting, especially now AI is being talked about and how digitizing healthcare is gonna happen over the next decade. Interesting if we're overclaiming that at the moment and a lot of startups are overclaiming, what they can really do and is it gonna, is there gonna be a backlash? Who knows? Let's see. In our, maybe in a decade, I'll present a course on it. [00:30:23] Lindsey Dinneen: There you go. Okay. And time will tell. Alright. I like it. Very cool. Okay. And how do you wish to be remembered after you leave this world? [00:30:34] Stuart Grant: Yeah. My PhD was like, I would probably like, I'd like to remember my PhD findings, but I'm like, no, who cares? [00:30:44] Lindsey Dinneen: Oh. [00:30:45] Stuart Grant: I, I've got, of course, my family, making an impact on my, what I've done here with my family, but, and I was really thinking about this question earlier. I was like, "Well, I hope this isn't the end. I hope I haven't peaked." [00:31:02] Lindsey Dinneen: Yes, that's fair, okay. [00:31:06] Stuart Grant: So maybe the next 20, 30 years, hopefully I'll be remembered for something, I hope. [00:31:12] Lindsey Dinneen: Okay. To be determined. I like that. I like that a lot all right. [00:31:18] Stuart Grant: It's a positive. [00:31:20] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. It's, and it's a forward way of thinking that, you know, you don't have to limit yourself to what you've already done or accomplished or seen. Who knows? The world is exciting. Yeah. I like it. Okay. [00:31:33] Stuart Grant: Well, yes, I'm yeah, definitely. [00:31:35] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, all. [00:31:36] Stuart Grant: One of the things we're doing-- I was looking at the Australian MedTech market and really just trying to figure out what's going on to see if there's anything I can do there. And talking to my wife, we decided, 'cause my daughter's not at school yet, we decided, "Let's go to Australia for an extended holiday." And it was gonna be like a month and we'll start working it all out, like we're just gonna go for three months, March, April and May this year, to sort of experience Australia, experience the MedTech market, go meet a lot of people, understand and just sort of grow and try to understand another way of people. I know Australia, they've got a similar culture to the UK and the US. But they do, they are far away. So they have a different take on things. And I wanna see what a difference is and see if I can get involved. So we're off to Australia on the MedTech market, so if anybody's listening, reach out to me on LinkedIn. It'll be we'll hopefully when I'm over there, we are in Brisbane. We can meet up. [00:32:32] Lindsey Dinneen: Excellent. Yeah, no, that's really exciting. And I actually have a few people I can connect you with as well, so, yeah. Okay. And then final question. What is one thing that makes you smile every time you see or think about it? [00:32:48] Stuart Grant: Oh. I think it's, it is back to my old answers, it's back to the steam trains. I just love watching the mechanism going around. My, me and my daughter who's exhibiting engineering characteristics, shall we say. Love, we love going to the railway museum and running around 'cause you can go and touch the trains, you can get on them, you can get your hands greasy if you want to, if you touch the wrong bit of it. She loves seeing them. And they're just, so when these engineers designed all these big bits of metal, they didn't have FEA or CAD or anything. They just sort of took a guess at the curves and how it should look. And some of these parts they designed are so beautiful when you start looking at them, it just makes me smile, like there was a person, a man, we'll have to say a man, right, 'cause it was 200 years ago... [00:33:44] Lindsey Dinneen: Right. [00:33:44] Stuart Grant: A engineer who decided he was gonna make it like that out of wood. And they were cast into iron and they just they were just sitting in their shop and just did what they thought was right. And most of the time it didn't break. [00:34:00] Lindsey Dinneen: Most of the time. There you go. Yeah. That's great. I love that. Well this has really been a fantastic conversation. I'm so grateful for you joining me today and sharing just some of your history and you know, what you're looking forward to next. I think it's, I think it's really incredible when you get to combine all the different things, like you said. You've got sort of that design and problem solving and you've got the engineering and you've got all these cool things that just make you an incredible help to the MedTech industry. And we're excited to be making a donation on your behalf, as a thank you for your time today, to Sleep in Heavenly Peace, which provides beds for children who don't have any in the United States. So thank you for choosing that charity to support. Thanks for joining and thanks for everything you're doing to change lives for a better world. [00:34:52] Stuart Grant: Yeah, thanks, Lindsey. It's been a real pleasure talking to you. [00:34:55] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. Thank you again. [00:35:00] Dan Purvis: The Leading Difference is brought to you by Velentium Medical. Velentium Medical is a full service CDMO, serving medtech clients worldwide to securely design, manufacture, and test class two and class three medical devices. Velentium Medical's four units include research and development-- pairing electronic and mechanical design, embedded firmware, mobile app development, and cloud systems with the human factor studies and systems engineering necessary to streamline medical device regulatory approval; contract manufacturing-- building medical products at the prototype, clinical, and commercial levels in the US, as well as in low cost regions in 1345 certified and FDA registered Class VII clean rooms; cybersecurity-- generating the 12 cybersecurity design artifacts required for FDA submission; and automated test systems, assuring that every device produced is exactly the same as the device that was approved. Visit VelentiumMedical.com to explore how we can work together to change lives for a better world.
The last time I spoke to today's guest, James Watt, he fired me. It's the first thing we talk about in the episode, but I have nothing but respect for the man who built Brewdog into the Unicorn it is today. Through their impressive marketing stunts, focus on product quality and immense speed of execution, Brewdog successfully took on the beer behemoths and solidified its place in the industry. In this episode we talk about why James made a mistake hiring an executive team (including me), how they convinced a bank to give them a loan in the global financial crisis and how he almost lost £50m to a Russian bank account. Now, James has launched a new venture, Social Tip, a new way brands can connect with consumers.Sign up to our live event, The Calling, on April 21st here:https://event.uncensoredcmo.com/events/uncensoredcmo/2044861Timestamps00:00 - Intro00:58 - Why did James fire Jon?01:56 - Being in the detail and close to the customer06:07 - Brewdog founding story: how they got funding08:54 - Why Brewdog is so passionate about making a great product13:07 - How Brewdog won their Tesco listing15:58 - How a Tesco listing transformed Brewdog17:37 - The secret to an overnight success20:22 - Why constraints led to great marketing for Brewdog22:09 - Examples of Brewdog's incredible marketing stunts27:43 - Why James changed his name to Elvis29:28 - Collaborating with copycats: launching ALD IPA31:14 - When marketing stunts go wrong33:28 - How James almost lost £50 million37:48 - James Watt's favourite business books41:17 - How James Watt felt when he left Brewdog43:01 - Leadership lessons from James Watt about scaling46:05 - Dealing with public scrutiny47:26 - Why James started his new business: Social Tip54:03 - How to pitch your business to James Watt
Send us a text2026 shaping up to be the year of convenience store beer. It's got Goldman Sachs feeling particularly bullish. They're throwing around "buy" recommendations on beer stocks. We're obviously long on beer. And by that I mean, Brian is driving the sales of Long Beers at Atlanta-area convenience stores.BrewDog is also all over news lately, and in keeping with tradition it's all bad. James Watt- is he coming back? Did he ever really leave? Does anyone care? Did anyone know they had a distillery? All these questions and more are asked in this episode. And then there's 44-year old bottle of bourbon that set an auction record, and study that raises doubts about neo-prohibitionist alcohol claims. Take that, activist teetotalers.Thanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Your hosts are Tim Dennis and Brian Hewitt with producer Nate "Mo' Mic Nate" Ellingson and occasional appearances from Becky Smalls.Subscribe to Beer Guys Radio on your favorite app: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | RSSFollow Beer Guys Radio: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube If you enjoy the show we'd appreciate your support on Patreon. Patrons get cool perks like early, commercial-free episodes, swag, access to our exclusive Discord server, and more!
George Stephenson started life in extremely humble circumstances, but his ingenuity and pursuit of education led him to an impressive legacy. He invented a miner’s lamp, but is most well known for his work on locomotives and railways. Research: “George Stephenson (1781-1848).” https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/stephenson_george.shtml#:~:text=In%201814%2C%20Stephenson%20constructed%20his%20first%20locomotive%2C,construction%20of%20the%20Stockton%20and%20Darlington%20railway. Bellis, Mary. “George Stephenson and the Invention of the Steam Locomotive Engine.” ThoughtCo. May 13, 2025. https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-the-railroad-1992457 Bellis, Mary. “Biography of James Watt, Inventor of the Modern Steam Engine.” ThoughtCo. April 27, 2020. https://www.thoughtco.com/james-watt-inventor-of-the-modern-steam-engine-1992685 Bellis, Mary. “Biography of Thomas Newcomen, Inventor of the Steam Engine.” July 15, 2019. https://www.thoughtco.com/thomas-newcomen-profile-1992201 Bibby, Miriam. “Rainhill Trials.” Historic UK. https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Rainhill-Trials/ Burton, Ken. “Local History: John Blenkinsop 1783-1831.” South Leeds Life. April 29, 2023. https://southleedslife.com/local-history-john-blenkinsop-1783-1831/ Cavendish, Richard. “George Stephenson's First Steam Locomotive.” History Today. July 7, 2014. https://www.historytoday.com/archive/george-stephensons-first-steam-locomotive Institution of Civil Engineers. “George Stephenson.” https://www.ice.org.uk/what-is-civil-engineering/meet-the-engineers/george-stephenson Network Rail. “George Stephenson (1781–1848).” https://www.networkrail.co.uk/who-we-are/our-history/eminent-engineers/george-stephenson-1781-1848/ Rolt, L.T.C. “George and Robert Stephenson.” Amberley Publishing. 2016. “Safety Lamps.” Smithsonian. https://www.si.edu/spotlight/mining-lights-and-hats/safety-lamps Smiles, Samuel. “Lives of Engineers. The Locomotive. GEORGE AND ROBERT STEPHENSON.” LONDON. JOHN MURRAY. 1879. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/27710/27710-h/27710-h.htm#footnote129 Stephenson Steam Railway Museum. https://www.northeastmuseums.org.uk/stephensonsteamrailway Stephenson, George. “A description of the safety lamp, invented by George Stephenson. To which is added, an account of the lamp constructed by sir H. Davy. [With] A collection of all the letters which have appeared in the Newcastle papers, with other documents, relating to the safety lamps.” London. Baldwin, Craddock and Joy. January 1817. Accessed online: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=SYkIAAAAQAAJ&rdid=book-SYkIAAAAQAAJ&rdot=1 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Discover how James Watt's brilliant marketing idea transformed the adoption of steam power and how it applies to speaking your customer's language today. In this … The post 278 – Selling Steam Trains – James Watt appeared first on Anecdote.
Season 3 starts with a guest I have been wanting to bring on for ages. Content creator Elliemajelly joins us to talk about what it's really like traveling the tennis tour alongside her boyfriend, doubles player James Watt, and why tennis content is having a major moment right now. We also kick off the year with a United Cup Q&A (yes, the points are confusing), our new weekly newsletter Ground Pass Weekly, and a quick look at what's next on the Aussie swing. Plus: the sponsor shakeups are wild, the player vlogs are multiplying, Arthur Fils shares a tough injury update, and Venus Williams is back.Links:Link to Sweatsuit preorder (closes january 19th) - https://www.groundpasspodcast.com/shop/gp-holiday-collectionLink send us a Question - https://www.groundpasspodcast.com/voice-memoSubscribe to Newsletter here - https://groundpass.substack.comGround Pass Patreon - https://patreon.com/GroundPassPodcast?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink Hard court article - https://open.substack.com/pub/hardcourt/p/wilson-alex-de-minaur-karen-khachanov-jiri-lehecka?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=post%20viewer Chapters:00:00 Introduction to Season 312:44 Elliemajelly: The Origin of a Unique Name16:58 Transitioning from Corporate to Tennis Content Creation24:55 Challenges of Recording at Tournaments27:39 Future Plans and Aspirations in Tennis Content30:11 Excitement for Upcoming Tournaments33:00 The United Cup and Current Tennis Events37:49 Innovations in Tennis: The United Cup Experience46:45 The Return of Tennis: Highlights from the United Cup52:47 Apparel Sponsorship Shifts: A New Era in Tennis Fashion59:52 The Rise of Player Vlogs01:12:00 Upcoming Tournaments and Player Highlights01:14:10 OutroWe have Merch!!! Ground Pass Shop - https://www.groundpasspodcast.com/ground-pass-shop
A metà '800, James Watt inventò una macchina a vapore che consumava meno carbone per unità di lavoro. Le macchine erano così convenienti che vennero installate ovunque, ma così si consumò molto più di prima. Dall'Inghilterra vittoriana in poi, ogni volta che è stato reso più sostenibile l'uso di una risorsa, ne è aumentato il consumo totale. L'efficienza non basta, senza regole, educazione e limiti continueremo a rimbalzare nello stesso loop: quello del paradosso di Jevons. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mechanical Engineering was the first branch of engineering to be understood by ancient civilizations. The wheel and the plough are testament to this fact. From the wheel to the steam locomotive, this episode traces the evolution of human societies and commerce, with the evolution of technology.
A BrewDog já foi sinônimo de rebeldia, inovação e atitude punk no mercado de cervejas artesanais. Mas como uma marca que conquistou o mundo com marketing provocativo e fãs apaixonados acabou mergulhando em polêmicas, denúncias e perda de credibilidade?Neste episódio, Ludmyla Almeida e Henrique Boaventura fazem um mergulho completo na ascensão e queda da BrewDog — da garagem na Escócia ao status de unicórnio, passando por campanhas ousadas, Equity for Punks, IPO frustrado, denúncias internas, documentário da BBC e a saída de James Watt. Uma história de inspiração e alerta para todo o mercado cervejeiro.
Less has been more with BrewDog's U.S. business over the last year and a half. On the latest episode of the Brewbound Podcast, BrewDog USA chief sales and marketing officer Eric Teodoro Franco explains how the business has “done fewer things better,” leading with a focus on its core brands, which helped the brand increase volume 26% last year, to 89,084 barrels of beer, according to data from the Brewers Association (BA). “We were very, very famous and very willing to be famous for throwing a lot against the wall and seeing what would stick for many, many years,” Franco shared. “We can do that in the U.K. where you have a 50-plus share and you can develop a lot of things and trial and try new things. “In this market, we did that and it didn't work. We've really taken our range plan, we've taken our focuses down to really doing fewer and better things.” That's led to improved wholesaler partnerships and led to a redeployment of BrewDog's teams to better support its core markets, Franco said. Additionally, BrewDog USA has been given the opportunity to run its operations with some autonomy from its homebase in Scotland as its U.S. leadership team has earned the trust of the global team. “We're running things the way we need to run them,” Franco said. “Same on the food side and on the retail side of our business. “For many years, we were very much driven by what the U.K. or international bars looked like, and we would apply that narrative, if you will, or business plan to the U.S. bars. That's gone away as well.” Franco also discusses how the exits of founders James Watt and Martin Dickie have affected the U.S. business, how the company is approaching innovation and how the company has rethought both its distribution footprint and its taproom strategy. Before the interview, Brewbound's Justin Kendall, Jessica Infante and Zoe Lica break down the impending closure of 21st Amendment Brewery, the removal of a study from the dietary guidelines process and the challenges of making an alcoholic version of better-for-you soda. They also dig into TikTok trends and the latest grousing about Generation Z's bar habits.
Die beiden Schotten James Watt und Martin Dickie führten den Kampf der kleinen Brauereien gegen die Grosskonzerne an. Warum verbannen viele Pubs deren Produkte nun von ihrer Karte? Heutiger Gast: David Signer, Korrespondent Grossbritannien Host: Simon Schaffer [David Signers Text über Brewdog](https://www.nzz.ch/wirtschaft/die-schottische-biermarke-brewdog-steht-fuer-punk-und-provokative-werbung-jetzt-wird-sie-immer-unbeliebter-ld.1898800) bei der NZZ. Das [NZZ Digitalabo](https://abo.nzz.ch/25076874_033226/?utm_source=google_ads&utm_medium=pmax&utm_campaign=sommer25-100fuer10&utm_term=display_banner&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=16986380079&gbraid=0AAAAAD5QrmllFWuOK1jUGv0QXaMtr5LC7&gclid=CjwKCAjwiNXFBhBKEiwAPSaPCcIvxwDXg_oGcuvJLc6H8T8MvsPtShU8Mnjp-FjY1pSmYd4AzNzilBoCSi4QAvD_BwE) gibts hier.
In this episode, I sit down with James Watt, co-founder of BrewDog, to talk about what it really takes to build a business from nothing. James opens up about the early days of BrewDog and the resilience it took to keep going when everyone said no. This is a raw, honest conversation about perseverance, belief, and the tough reality of entrepreneurship. If you're a business owner in the trenches right now, this one's for you.
In TWISH this week we look into the achievements of James Watt who made a whole lot of things, despite not inventing the steam engine. Then of course, there's the news:ITALY: Government reverses appointment of vaccine hesitant members to National Immunisation Technical Advisory GroupITALY: The Natural Trap: How Conspiracy Beliefs Shape Our Health ChoicesSWEDEN: Renewed warning – Insulin instead of Ozempic in online ordersSWEDEN: Swedish PM Ulf Kristersson under fire for using AI in roleEUROPE: Hot summer: Deaths, fires and evacuationsThe Center for Trial and Error gets this week's Really Right Award for encouraging the publishing of negative studies.Enjoy!https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-493.htmlSegments:0:00:27 Intro0:00:51 Greetings0:04:39 TWISH0:13:26 News0:41:18 Really Right0:45:11 Quote0:47:12 Outro0:48:35 Outtakes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Don't say it! Another podcast came out today, much to the chagrin of the haters and losers. It was nice to catch up with my friend Tony (or my friend Griff, depending on whose perspective you tend to read this from). We talked about some of our wonderful recent travels, our beautiful very sweet stouts we are cooking up and drinking, and how cool it is to get rained on sometimes. What else, what else, well we played a very, very difficult game with Tony that was frustrating for sure. And we checked in on Seth Weathers. Actually it was kind of a throwback, we saw Seth Weathers and James Watt in the same podcast, again!! What a treat, please enjoy. ★ Support this podcast ★
War Horse on tour . James Watt chats with Michael Morpurgo about how he found, and wrote this epic story. Currently touring the UK . James Watt in conversation Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Were you up at 4am, crushing laps on the Assault Bike, triple-dosing beef tallow coffee, journaling your goals, and grinding through a high-performance podcast? No? Then what's wrong with you? Welcome to the grindset—the cult-like mindset glorifying relentless work, self-optimisation, and so-called success. Fuelled by figures like Stephen Bartlett, Gary Vee, and James Watt, it dominates LinkedIn, podcasts, and bro-business culture. But beneath the hype lies burnout, spiritual emptiness, and a whole lot of cosplay capitalism. Business professor Fiona McQuarrie joins The Bunker to ask: Where did this macho myth come from—and does it really get anyone anywhere? • Listen to Bright Future In Sales by Fiona and Andrew's favourites, Fountains Of Wayne. • Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people with money to spend? (Yes, they do exist). Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every month – and they love our shows. Why not get YOUR brand in front of our influential listeners with podcast advertising? Contact ads@podmasters.co.uk to find out more • Support us on Patreon for early episodes and more. • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to indeed.com/bunker to get your £100 sponsored credit. Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The steam engine was among the first major innovations of the industrial era, and also one of the first monopolies in our nation's history. On this edition of our MoneyTalk Moment in Financial History, Nathan and Daniel take us through the history of the steam engine from the innovations of James Watt, to the monopoly that fed the early growth of the Industrial Revolution, they explore how steam power reshaped industries, transportation, and society itself. Also on MoneyTalk, budgeting best practices, and some unique takes on retirement living. Host: Nathan Beauvais, CFP®, CIMA®; Special Guest: Daniel Sowa; Air Date: 7/23/2025; Original Air Dates: 5/24/2023 & 10/24/2023. Have a question for the hosts? Visit sowafinancial.com/moneytalk to join the conversation!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
By Jamie Dobson, founder of Container Solutions and author of 'Visionaries, Rebels and Machines' Since James Watt's steam engine and its pivotal role in the Industrial Revolution, the appearance of various technologies - including the harnessing of electricity, Henry Ford's moving assembly line, the microprocessor, the Internet, DNA technology, and mobile phones - have kicked off their own revolutions. But the Industrial Revolution is still the biggie - the most bang-for-your-buck we've had in terms of shifting human civilisation. Until now. Government oversight for AI's data use? Artificial Intelligence is coming for James Watt's crown. And AI's revolution will be very different. Unlike previous technological revolutions that primarily transformed industries reliant on physical labour, AI's impact extends to intellectual and creative domains previously considered uniquely human. AI's appetite for data Modern AI systems learn by digesting vast quantities of human-created content. They are sophisticated pattern-recognition systems trained on billions of examples of human creativity and knowledge. Initially, tech companies trained these models on publicly available data, but as models grew more sophisticated, they required ever more data. Companies expanded their harvesting to include copyrighted content, paywalled articles, and private repositories. And that's a problem for creators relying on compensation for their efforts, skill and talent. Additionally, apart from not being properly paid for their existing work, that work is being used to train the very systems that could soon replace them. Currently, most jurisdictions have no specific regulations governing how companies can use publicly available data for AI training. This regulatory vacuum has allowed AI developers to operate under a take-first-ask-later approach, creating multi-billion-dollar technology platforms using content they didn't create or license. As governments worldwide grapple with these challenges, several regulatory approaches are emerging: Opt-in or Opt-out Models The simplest solution could be to create a system for opting content in or out of AI training models. In theory, this could be quick to implement with minimum complexity. Yet, given that some models are already being trained on copyrighted content (which should already be a legal "opt-out"), it might not be particularly effective. For businesses, an opt-out system offers fewer obstacles to AI development but creates long-term legal uncertainty. An opt-in system provides clearer legal boundaries but potentially slower access to training data. Data Rights and Compensation Models Similar to how music and literary rights work, content creators could receive compensation when their work is used for AI training. This could be done on an ad-hoc basis, like music streaming, or through government distribution via a digital tax. Collective licensing: Creators register with collecting societies that negotiate with AI companies and distribute payments based on usage. This model exists in music with performing rights organisations such as PRS in the UK, ASCAP and BMI in the USA, GEMA in Germany or SACEM in France. Data dividend: A tax or fee on AI companies based on their data usage, with proceeds distributed to creators. This resembles public lending rights systems in countries like the UK, Canada, and Australia, where authors receive payments when libraries lend their books. Direct licensing: Individual negotiations between major content producers and AI companies, with standardised terms for smaller creators. AI as a Public Resource Some experts advocate treating advanced AI systems like public utilities or natural monopolies. This would work similarly to electricity companies, for example, where the national grid is seen as a natural monopoly and the government implements certain standards and expectations for managing it as a public resource. Private companies would continue developing AI, but under ...
Ever thought about how one freezing-cold moment could change your entire career? That's exactly what happened to Laura Fullerton. In this bite-sized episode, we dive into how Laura went from avoiding cold water like the plague to launching Monk - a smart ice bath company that's gained backing from the likes of Anthony Joshua and James Watt.She didn't just build a product. She created a movement in cold water therapy. We talk about making the jump from concept to physical product, navigating hardware challenges, and why clarity of vision is essential when scaling a brand. There's plenty to take away whether you're still at the ideas stage or actively scaling your business.Key Takeaways:Why personal pain points are the best business ideasBuilding a hardware product with no prior experienceThe biohacking boom and how Monk integrates wearable dataHow networking and clarity of purpose accelerated her funding and partnerships
Good Sunday morning to you,I am just on a train home from Glasgow, where I have been gigging these past two nights. I've had a great time, as I always seem to do when I go north of the wall.But Glasgow on a Saturday night is something else. My hotel was right next to the station and so I was right in the thick of it. If I ever get to make a cacatopian, end-of-days, post-apocalyptic thriller, I'll just stroll through Glasgow city centre on a Friday or Saturday night with a camera to get all the B roll. It was like walking through a Hieronymus Bosch painting only with a Scottish accent. Little seems to have changed since I wrote that infamous chapter about Glasgow in Life After the State all those years ago. The only difference is that now it's more multi-ethnic. So many people are so off their heads. I lost count of the number of randoms wandering about just howling at the stars. The long days - it was still light at 10 o'clock - make the insanity all the more visible. Part of me finds it funny, but another part of me finds it so very sad that so many people let themselves get into this condition. It prompted me to revisit said chapter, and I offer it today as your Sunday thought piece.Just a couple of little notes, before we begin. This caught my eye on Friday. Our favourite uranium tech company, Lightbridge Fuels (NASDAQ:LTBR), has taken off again with Donald Trump's statement that he is going to quadruple US nuclear capacity. The stock was up 45% in a day. We first looked at it in October at $3. It hit $15 on Friday. It's one to sell on the spikes and buy on the dips, as this incredible chart shows.(In other news I have now listened twice to the Comstock Lode AGM, and I'll report back on that shortly too). ICYMI here is my mid-week commentary, which attracted a lot of attentionRight - Glasgow.(NB I haven't included references here. Needless to say, they are all there in the book. And sorry I don't have access to the audio of me reading this from my laptop, but, if you like, you can get the audiobook at Audible, Apple Books and all good audiobookshops. The book itself available at Amazon, Apple Books et al).How the Most Entrepreneurial City in Europe Became Its SickestThe cause of waves of unemployment is not capitalism, but governments …Friedrich Hayek, economist and philosopherIn the 18th and 19th centuries, the city of Glasgow in Scotland became enormously, stupendously rich. It happened quite organically, without planning. An entrepreneurial people reacted to their circumstances and, over time, turned Glasgow into an industrial and economic centre of such might that, by the turn of the 20th century, Glasgow was producing half the tonnage of Britain's ships and a quarter of all locomotives in the world. (Not unlike China's industrial dominance today). It was regarded as the best-governed city in Europe and popular histories compared it to the great imperial cities of Venice and Rome. It became known as the ‘Second City of the British Empire'.Barely 100 years later, it is the heroin capital of the UK, the murder capital of the UK and its East End, once home to Europe's largest steelworks, has been dubbed ‘the benefits capital of the UK'. Glasgow is Britain's fattest city: its men have Britain's lowest life expectancy – on a par with Palestine and Albania – and its unemployment rate is 50% higher than the rest of the UK.How did Glasgow manage all that?The growth in Glasgow's economic fortunes began in the latter part of the 17th century and the early 18th century. First, the city's location in the west of Scotland at the mouth of the river Clyde meant that it lay in the path of the trade winds and at least 100 nautical miles closer to America's east coast than other British ports – 200 miles closer than London. In the days before fossil fuels (which only found widespread use in shipping in the second half of the 19th century) the journey to Virginia was some two weeks shorter than the same journey from London or many of the other ports in Britain and Europe. Even modern sailors describe how easy the port of Glasgow is to navigate. Second, when England was at war with France – as it was repeatedly between 1688 and 1815 – ships travelling to Glasgow were less vulnerable than those travelling to ports further south. Glasgow's merchants took advantage and, by the early 18th century, the city had begun to assert itself as a trading hub. Manufactured goods were carried from Britain and Europe to North America and the Caribbean, where they were traded for increasingly popular commodities such as tobacco, cotton and sugar.Through the 18th century, the Glasgow merchants' business networks spread, and they took steps to further accelerate trade. New ships were introduced, bigger than those of rival ports, with fore and aft sails that enabled them to sail closer to the wind and reduce journey times. Trading posts were built to ensure that cargo was gathered and stored for collection, so that ships wouldn't swing idly at anchor. By the 1760s Glasgow had a 50% share of the tobacco trade – as much as the rest of Britain's ports combined. While the English merchants simply sold American tobacco in Europe at a profit, the Glaswegians actually extended credit to American farmers against future production (a bit like a crop future today, where a crop to be grown at a later date is sold now). The Virginia farmers could then use this credit to buy European goods, which the Glaswegians were only too happy to supply. This brought about the rise of financial institutions such as the Glasgow Ship Bank and the Glasgow Thistle Bank, which would later become part of the now-bailed-out, taxpayer-owned Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).Their practices paid rewards. Glasgow's merchants earned a great deal of money. They built glamorous homes and large churches and, it seems, took on aristocratic airs – hence they became known as the ‘Tobacco Lords'. Numbering among them were Buchanan, Dunlop, Ingram, Wilson, Oswald, Cochrane and Glassford, all of whom had streets in the Merchant City district of Glasgow named after them (other streets, such as Virginia Street and Jamaica Street, refer to their trade destinations). In 1771, over 47 million pounds of tobacco were imported.However, the credit the Glaswegians extended to American tobacco farmers would backfire. The debts incurred by the tobacco farmers – which included future presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson (who almost lost his farm as a result) – grew, and were among the grievances when the American War of Independence came in 1775. That war destroyed the tobacco trade for the Glaswegians. Much of the money that was owed to them was never repaid. Many of their plantations were lost. But the Glaswegians were entrepreneurial and they adapted. They moved on to other businesses, particularly cotton.By the 19th century, all sorts of local industry had emerged around the goods traded in the city. It was producing and exporting textiles, chemicals, engineered goods and steel. River engineering projects to dredge and deepen the Clyde (with a view to forming a deep- water port) had begun in 1768 and they would enable shipbuilding to become a major industry on the upper reaches of the river, pioneered by industrialists such as Robert Napier and John Elder. The final stretch of the Monkland Canal, linking the Forth and Clyde Canal at Port Dundas, was opened in 1795, facilitating access to the iron-ore and coal mines of Lanarkshire.The move to fossil-fuelled shipping in the latter 19th century destroyed the advantages that the trade winds had given Glasgow. But it didn't matter. Again, the people adapted. By the turn of the 20th century the Second City of the British Empire had become a world centre of industry and heavy engineering. It has been estimated that, between 1870 and 1914, it produced as much as one-fifth of the world's ships, and half of Britain's tonnage. Among the 25,000 ships it produced were some of the greatest ever built: the Cutty Sark, the Queen Mary, HMS Hood, the Lusitania, the Glenlee tall ship and even the iconic Mississippi paddle steamer, the Delta Queen. It had also become a centre for locomotive manufacture and, shortly after the turn of the 20th century, could boast the largest concentration of locomotive building works in Europe.It was not just Glasgow's industry and wealth that was so gargantuan. The city's contribution to mankind – made possible by the innovation and progress that comes with booming economies – would also have an international impact. Many great inventors either hailed from Glasgow or moved there to study or work. There's James Watt, for example, whose improvements to the steam engine were fundamental to the Industrial Revolution. One of Watt's employees, William Murdoch, has been dubbed ‘the Scot who lit the world' – he invented gas lighting, a new kind of steam cannon and waterproof paint. Charles MacIntosh gave us the raincoat. James Young, the chemist dubbed as ‘the father of the oil industry', gave us paraffin. William Thomson, known as Lord Kelvin, developed the science of thermodynamics, formulating the Kelvin scale of absolute temperature; he also managed the laying of the first transatlantic telegraph cable.The turning point in the economic fortunes of Glasgow – indeed, of industrial Britain – was WWI. Both have been in decline ever since. By the end of the war, the British were drained, both emotionally and in terms of capital and manpower; the workers, the entrepreneurs, the ideas men, too many of them were dead or incapacitated. There was insufficient money and no appetite to invest. The post-war recession, and later the Great Depression, did little to help. The trend of the city was now one of inexorable economic decline.If Glasgow was the home of shipping and industry in 19th-century Britain, it became the home of socialism in the 20th century. Known by some as the ‘Red Clydeside' movement, the socialist tide in Scotland actually pre-dated the First World War. In 1906 came the city's first Labour Member of Parliament (MP), George Barnes – prior to that its seven MPs were all Conservatives or Liberal Unionists. In the spring of 1911, 11,000 workers at the Singer sewing-machine factory (run by an American corporation in Clydebank) went on strike to support 12 women who were protesting about new work practices. Singer sacked 400 workers, but the movement was growing – as was labour unrest. In the four years between 1910 and 1914 Clydebank workers spent four times as many days on strike than in the whole of the previous decade. The Scottish Trades Union Congress and its affiliations saw membership rise from 129,000 in 1909 to 230,000 in 1914.20The rise in discontent had much to do with Glasgow's housing. Conditions were bad, there was overcrowding, bad sanitation, housing was close to dirty, noxious and deafening industry. Unions grew quite organically to protect the interests of their members.Then came WWI, and inflation, as Britain all but abandoned gold. In 1915 many landlords responded by attempting to increase rent, but with their young men on the Western front, those left behind didn't have the means to pay these higher costs. If they couldn't, eviction soon followed. In Govan, an area of Glasgow where shipbuilding was the main occupation, women – now in the majority with so many men gone – organized opposition to the rent increases. There are photographs showing women blocking the entrance to tenements; officers who did get inside to evict tenants are said to have had their trousers pulled down.The landlords were attacked for being unpatriotic. Placards read: ‘While our men are fighting on the front line,the landlord is attacking us at home.' The strikes spread to other cities throughout the UK, and on 27 November 1915 the government introduced legislation to restrict rents to the pre-war level. The strikers were placated. They had won. The government was happy; it had dealt with the problem. The landlords lost out.In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution of 1917, more frequent strikes crippled the city. In 1919 the ‘Bloody Friday' uprising prompted the prime minister, David Lloyd George, to deploy 10,000 troops and tanks onto the city's streets. By the 1930s Glasgow had become the main base of the Independent Labour Party, so when Labour finally came to power alone after WWII, its influence was strong. Glasgow has always remained a socialist stronghold. Labour dominates the city council, and the city has not had a Conservative MP for 30 years.By the late 1950s, Glasgow was losing out to the more competitive industries of Japan, Germany and elsewhere. There was a lack of investment. Union demands for workers, enforced by government legislation, made costs uneconomic and entrepreneurial activity arduous. With lack of investment came lack of innovation.Rapid de-industrialization followed, and by the 1960s and 70s most employment lay not in manufacturing, but in the service industries.Which brings us to today. On the plus side, Glasgow is still ranked as one of Europe's top 20 financial centres and is home to some leading Scottish businesses. But there is considerable downside.Recent studies have suggested that nearly 30% of Glasgow's working age population is unemployed. That's 50% higher than that of the rest of Scotland or the UK. Eighteen per cent of 16- to 19-year-olds are neither in school nor employed. More than one in five working-age Glaswegians have no sort of education that might qualify them for a job.In the city centre, the Merchant City, 50% of children are growing up in homes where nobody works. In the poorer neighbourhoods, such as Ruchill, Possilpark, or Dalmarnock, about 65% of children live in homes where nobody works – more than three times the national average. Figures from the Department of Work and Pensions show that 85% of working age adults from the district of Bridgeton claim some kind of welfare payment.Across the city, almost a third of the population regularly receives sickness or incapacity benefit, the highest rate of all UK cities. A 2008 World Health Organization report noted that in Glasgow's Calton, Bridgeton and Queenslie neighbourhoods, the average life expectancy for males is only 54. In contrast, residents of Glasgow's more affluent West End live to be 80 and virtually none of them are on the dole.Glasgow has the highest crime rate in Scotland. A recent report by the Centre for Social Justice noted that there are 170 teenage gangs in Glasgow. That's the same number as in London, which has over six times the population of Glasgow.It also has the dubious record of being Britain's murder capital. In fact, Glasgow had the highest homicide rate in Western Europe until it was overtaken in 2012 by Amsterdam, with more violent crime per head of population than even New York. What's more, its suicide rate is the highest in the UK.Then there are the drug and alcohol problems. The residents of the poorer neighbourhoods are an astounding six times more likely to die of a drugs overdose than the national average. Drug-related mortality has increased by 95% since 1997. There are 20,000 registered drug users – that's just registered – and the situation is not going to get any better: children who grow up in households where family members use drugs are seven times more likely to end up using drugs themselves than children who live in drug-free families.Glasgow has the highest incidence of liver diseases from alcohol abuse in all of Scotland. In the East End district of Dennistoun, these illnesses kill more people than heart attacks and lung cancer combined. Men and women are more likely to die of alcohol-related deaths in Glasgow than anywhere else in the UK. Time and time again Glasgow is proud winner of the title ‘Fattest City in Britain'. Around 40% of the population are obese – 5% morbidly so – and it also boasts the most smokers per capita.I have taken these statistics from an array of different sources. It might be in some cases that they're overstated. I know that I've accentuated both the 18th- and 19th-century positives, as well as the 20th- and 21st-century negatives to make my point. Of course, there are lots of healthy, happy people in Glasgow – I've done many gigs there and I loved it. Despite the stories you hear about intimidating Glasgow audiences, the ones I encountered were as good as any I've ever performed in front of. But none of this changes the broad-brush strokes: Glasgow was a once mighty city that now has grave social problems. It is a city that is not fulfilling its potential in the way that it once did. All in all, it's quite a transformation. How has it happened?Every few years a report comes out that highlights Glasgow's various problems. Comments are then sought from across the political spectrum. Usually, those asked to comment agree that the city has grave, ‘long-standing and deep-rooted social problems' (the words of Stephen Purcell, former leader of Glasgow City Council); they agree that something needs to be done, though they don't always agree on what that something is.There's the view from the right: Bill Aitken of the Scottish Conservatives, quoted in The Sunday Times in 2008, said, ‘We simply don't have the jobs for people who are not academically inclined. Another factor is that some people are simply disinclined to work. We have got to find something for these people to do, to give them a reason to get up in the morning and give them some self-respect.' There's the supposedly apolitical view of anti-poverty groups: Peter Kelly, director of the Glasgow-based Poverty Alliance, responded, ‘We need real, intensive support for people if we are going to tackle poverty. It's not about a lack of aspiration, often people who are unemployed or on low incomes are stymied by a lack of money and support from local and central government.' And there's the view from the left. In the same article, Patricia Ferguson, the Labour Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Maryhill, also declared a belief in government regeneration of the area. ‘It's about better housing, more jobs, better education and these things take years to make an impact. I believe that the huge regeneration in the area is fostering a lot more community involvement and cohesion. My real hope is that these figures will take a knock in the next five or ten years.' At the time of writing in 2013, five years later, the figures have worsened.All three points of view agree on one thing: the government must do something.In 2008 the £435 million Fairer Scotland Fund – established to tackle poverty – was unveiled, aiming to allocate cash to the country's most deprived communities. Its targets included increasing average income among lower wage-earners and narrowing the poverty gap between Scotland's best- and worst-performing regions by 2017. So far, it hasn't met those targets.In 2008 a report entitled ‘Power for The Public' examined the provision of health, education and justice in Scotland. It said the budgets for these three areas had grown by 55%, 87% and 44% respectively over the last decade, but added that this had produced ‘mixed results'. ‘Mixed results' means it didn't work. More money was spent and the figures got worse.After the Centre for Social Justice report on Glasgow in 2008, Iain Duncan Smith (who set up this think tank, and is now the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions) said, ‘Policy must deal with the pathways to breakdown – high levels of family breakdown, high levels of failed education, debt and unemployment.'So what are ‘pathways to breakdown'? If you were to look at a chart of Glasgow's prosperity relative to the rest of the world, its peak would have come somewhere around 1910. With the onset of WWI in 1914 its decline accelerated, and since then the falls have been relentless and inexorable. It's not just Glasgow that would have this chart pattern, but the whole of industrial Britain. What changed the trend? Yes, empires rise and fall, but was British decline all a consequence of WWI? Or was there something else?A seismic shift came with that war – a change which is very rarely spoken or written about. Actually, the change was gradual and it pre-dated 1914. It was a change that was sweeping through the West: that of government or state involvement in our lives. In the UK it began with the reforms of the Liberal government of 1906–14, championed by David Lloyd George and Winston Churchill, known as the ‘terrible twins' by contemporaries. The Pensions Act of 1908, the People's Budget of 1909–10 (to ‘wage implacable warfare against poverty', declared Lloyd George) and the National Insurance Act of 1911 saw the Liberal government moving away from its tradition of laissez-faire systems – from classical liberalism and Gladstonian principles of self-help and self-reliance – towards larger, more active government by which taxes were collected from the wealthy and the proceeds redistributed. Afraid of losing votes to the emerging Labour party and the increasingly popular ideology of socialism, modern liberals betrayed their classical principles. In his War Memoirs, Lloyd George said ‘the partisan warfare that raged around these topics was so fierce that by 1913, this country was brought to the verge of civil war'. But these were small steps. The Pensions Act, for example, meant that men aged 70 and above could claim between two and five shillings per week from the government. But average male life- expectancy then was 47. Today it's 77. Using the same ratio, and, yes, I'm manipulating statistics here, that's akin to only awarding pensions to people above the age 117 today. Back then it was workable.To go back to my analogy of the prologue, this period was when the ‘train' was set in motion across the West. In 1914 it went up a gear. Here are the opening paragraphs of historian A. J. P. Taylor's most celebrated book, English History 1914–1945, published in 1965.I quote this long passage in full, because it is so telling.Until August 1914 a sensible, law-abiding Englishman could pass through life and hardly notice the existence of the state, beyond the post office and the policeman. He could live where he liked and as he liked. He had no official number or identity card. He could travel abroad or leave his country forever without a passport or any sort of official permission. He could exchange his money for any other currency without restriction or limit. He could buy goods from any country in the world on the same terms as he bought goods at home. For that matter, a foreigner could spend his life in this country without permit and without informing the police. Unlike the countries of the European continent, the state did not require its citizens to perform military service. An Englishman could enlist, if he chose, in the regular army, the navy, or the territorials. He could also ignore, if he chose, the demands of national defence. Substantial householders were occasionally called on for jury service. Otherwise, only those helped the state, who wished to do so. The Englishman paid taxes on a modest scale: nearly £200 million in 1913–14, or rather less than 8% of the national income.The state intervened to prevent the citizen from eating adulterated food or contracting certain infectious diseases. It imposed safety rules in factories, and prevented women, and adult males in some industries,from working excessive hours.The state saw to it that children received education up to the age of 13. Since 1 January 1909, it provided a meagre pension for the needy over the age of 70. Since 1911, it helped to insure certain classes of workers against sickness and unemployment. This tendency towards more state action was increasing. Expenditure on the social services had roughly doubled since the Liberals took office in 1905. Still, broadly speaking, the state acted only to help those who could not help themselves. It left the adult citizen alone.All this was changed by the impact of the Great War. The mass of the people became, for the first time, active citizens. Their lives were shaped by orders from above; they were required to serve the state instead of pursuing exclusively their own affairs. Five million men entered the armed forces, many of them (though a minority) under compulsion. The Englishman's food was limited, and its quality changed, by government order. His freedom of movement was restricted; his conditions of work prescribed. Some industries were reduced or closed, others artificially fostered. The publication of news was fettered. Street lights were dimmed. The sacred freedom of drinking was tampered with: licensed hours were cut down, and the beer watered by order. The very time on the clocks was changed. From 1916 onwards, every Englishman got up an hour earlier in summer than he would otherwise have done, thanks to an act of parliament. The state established a hold over its citizens which, though relaxed in peacetime, was never to be removed and which the Second World war was again to increase. The history of the English state and of the English people merged for the first time.Since the beginning of WWI , the role that the state has played in our lives has not stopped growing. This has been especially so in the case of Glasgow. The state has spent more and more, provided more and more services, more subsidy, more education, more health care, more infrastructure, more accommodation, more benefits, more regulations, more laws, more protection. The more it has provided, the worse Glasgow has fared. Is this correlation a coincidence? I don't think so.The story of the rise and fall of Glasgow is a distilled version of the story of the rise and fall of industrial Britain – indeed the entire industrial West. In the next chapter I'm going to show you a simple mistake that goes on being made; a dynamic by which the state, whose very aim was to help Glasgow, has actually been its ‘pathway to breakdown' . . .Life After the State is available at Amazon, Apple Books and all good bookshops, with the audiobook at Audible, Apple Books and all good audiobookshops. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.theflyingfrisby.com/subscribe
Take the survey now: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1iHRZvOly_Q7aprlQBF7n38y0EjgvnHw2OdYII8yQElc/edit?ts=670d0111 Get Leads FAST with ScoreApp. To get your first lead magnet live in under 60 minutes AND an EXCLUSIVE 50% off your first month head to: scoreapp.com/rob Rob talks to James Watt, who founded beer empire BrewDog, now valued at £1.8 billion. He shares the journey of BrewDog and reveals the high stakes gambles, near bankruptcies and disruptive thinking that propelled its success. Beyond beer, Watt passionately discusses the UK's economic challenges, his new ventures, and the unconventional leadership approaches that helped him build a unicorn business. James Watt REVEALS: Why he gave 20% of his equity to BrewDog employees & created a pay cap BrewDog's growth strategy Being on the edge of financial ruin for over years, including not being able to pay himself Why after 17.5 years as CEO, he stepped away to pursue new ventures How he manages his productivity through extreme focus Why community building is essential for business success Why millionaires are leaving the UK BEST MOMENTS "For me, if we weren't teetering on the edge of financial oblivion, I wasn't working every single penny of cash that I had hard enough because I had to open new markets. I had to try and find a way to employ new salespeople. I had to find a way to open new locations." "Would or could another beer company sponsor a sports team? Yes. Okay. We're not gonna do that. Would or could another beer company spend 200,000 pounds taking out these adverts? Yes. We're not gonna do that." "At a certain point in time, your company is gonna do things that are so stupid you'd never thought you'd be associated with such incompetence. But to make matters worse, if you're CEO, it's all your fault." "These are the job traders, the wealth traders, the people who pay a disproportionate percentage of taxes; twice as many millionaires are leaving the UK than at any point in time. And it's not just a millionaire, it's like their future innovation." VALUABLE RESOURCES https://robmoore.com/ bit.ly/Robsupporter https://robmoore.com/podbooks rob.team Episode Sponsor - AG1 Claim your exclusive offer of AG1 at the link below drinkag1.com/disruptors ABOUT THE HOST Rob Moore is an author of 9 business books, 5 UK bestsellers, holds 3 world records for public speaking, entrepreneur, property investor, and property educator. Author of the global bestseller “Life Leverage” Host of UK’s No.1 business podcast “The Disruptive Entrepreneur” “If you don't risk anything, you risk everything” CONTACT METHOD Rob’s official website: https://robmoore.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robmooreprogressive/?ref=br_rs LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/robmoore1979 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.disruptive, disruptors, entreprenuer, business, social media, marketing, money, growth, scale, scale up, risk, property: http://www.robmoore.com
Nokia's Vice President and General Manager for the Optical Networks Division, James Watt, discusses key challenges for hyperscalers and data center operators, and how the combined optical networking expertise and capabilities of Nokia and Infinera will create differentiated value in the era of AI. #sponsored Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the renowned and versatile Irish writer Oliver Goldsmith (1728 - 1774). There is a memorial to him in Westminster Abbey's Poet's Corner written by Dr Johnson, celebrating Goldsmith's life as a poet, natural philosopher and historian. To this could be added ‘playwright' and ‘novelist' and ‘science writer' and ‘pamphleteer' and much besides, as Goldsmith explored so many different outlets for his talents. While he began on Grub Street in London, the centre for jobbing writers scrambling for paid work, he became a great populariser and compiler of new ideas and knowledge and achieved notable successes with poems such as The Deserted Village, his play She Stoops to Conquer and his short novel The Vicar of Wakefield. WithDavid O'Shaughnessy Professor of Eighteenth-Century Studies at the University of GalwayJudith Hawley Professor of Eighteenth-Century Literature at Royal Holloway, University of LondonAnd Michael Griffin Professor of English at the University of LimerickProducer: Simon TillotsonReading list:Norma Clarke, Brothers of the Quill: Oliver Goldsmith in Grub Street (Harvard University Press, 2016)Leo Damrosch, The Club: Johnson, Boswell, and the Friends Who Shaped an Age (Yale University Press, 2019)Oliver Goldsmith (ed. Aileen Douglas and Ian Campbell Ross), The Vicar of Wakefield: A Tale, Supposed to Be Written by Himself (first published 1766; Cambridge University Press, 2024)Oliver Goldsmith (ed. Arthur Friedman), The Vicar of Wakefield (first published 1766; Oxford University Press, 2008)Oliver Goldsmith (ed. Arthur Friedman), The Collected Works of Oliver Goldsmith, 5 vols (Clarendon Press, 1966) Oliver Goldsmith (ed. Robert L. Mack), Oliver Goldsmith: Everyman's Poetry, No. 30 (Phoenix, 1997)Oliver Goldsmith (ed. James Ogden), She Stoops to Conquer (first performed 1773; Methuen Drama, 2003)Oliver Goldsmith (ed. James Watt), The Citizen of the World (first published 1762; Cambridge University Press, 2024)Oliver Goldsmith (ed. Nigel Wood), She Stoops to Conquer and Other Comedies (first performed 1773; Oxford University Press, 2007)Michael Griffin and David O'Shaughnessy (eds.), Oliver Goldsmith in Context (Cambridge University Press, 2024)Michael Griffin and David O'Shaughnessy (eds.), The Letters of Oliver Goldsmith (Cambridge University Press, 2018)Roger Lonsdale (ed.), The Poems of Gray, Collins and Goldsmith (Longmans, 1969)In Our Time is a BBC Studios Audio production
This week, Glesga Da gets down to business slagging off his favourite TV show The Apprentice. Stu reveals he was very nearly on the show and how he was pipped to the post by a woman who sells baby clothes to Madonna. Also on the order of business; should we all have a stake in Dragons Den, the Motherwell Multi-Millionaire and what's the deal with Brew Dog ex-chief James Watt? Tune in or you're fired! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The new Trump administration has continued its assault on the norms of political activity by appeasing Putin and Russia over the war in Ukraine.Representatives of the USA and Russia are meeting in Saudi Arabia but there's no place for Zelensky. Meanwhile the USA has made a bid to "buy" Ukraine's rare earth minerals.What does this tell you about Trump's foreign policy? is there any more to it than an admiration for so called strong men and a desire to extend economic colonialism?Meanwhile Vice President JD Vance in a speech in Munich lambasted the European liberal democracies claiming that they were in retreat from their most fundamental values, and that this ,not China or Russia, was the true threat to Europe.This was echoed by Kemi Badenoch, hard on the heels of the mutually shameful exchange on Palestinian refugees at PMQs with Starmer, in a another speech given at the ARC -Alliance for Responsible Citizenship- conference in London. She clearly played the anti-immigration culture wars card. Not to be left out UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting was quick to concur with Richard Madeley on Good Morning Britain that immigration was a key factor in pressures on the NHS. Are we seeing the ground that the next UK General Election being fought on laid out in front of us as both Labour and the Tories seek to see off Reform?Streeting has mad no secret of his intention to expand private involvement in the English health system this while privatised Thames water staggers from crisis to financial crisis.Brewdog's James Watt has announced his intention to start up a "Shadow UK DOGE" mimicking Musk's cost cutting regime in the USA. How practical are Watt's ideas? Has he completely misread the reality behind the rhetoric in the States?We also discuss David Tennant's BAFTA kilted singing exploits plus the other usual other meanderings.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUr8QyTCph8The Brewdog forest and Parkswatch https://parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2024/02/14/brewdogs-lost-forest-at-kinrara-lost-trees-lost-carbon-and-lost-finances/ ★ Support this podcast ★
On the Weekend Sport with Jason Pine Full Show Podcast for 16th February 2025, Elliott Smith is in the hot seat and he talks to Jeff Wilson and James McOnie about the start of the 2025 Super Rugby season. Kiwi tennis stars James Watt and Monique Barry have opened up about being targeted by online abuse - with Monique Barry joining Elliott Smith to discuss the backlash. And Lee Radovanovich joined Elliott Smith to express his disappointment that Jannik Sinner's ban was shortened to three months. Get the Weekend Sport with Jason Pine Full Show Podcast every Saturday and Sunday afternoon on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sports-based betting continues to grow in popularity, but it comes with a share of problems for athletes and fans alike. Tennis stars like James Watt and Monique Barry have opened up about the abuse they receive online - abuse they believe comes from bettors who had gambled on their matches. Andree Froude from the Problem Gambling Foundation joined Elliott Smith to discuss. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Riding Solo on el poddy this weekFancy riding shotgun?Simply shove my waffle in your ears.This week, I've picked 11 lessons from the 4 years of podcasting with INSANE GUESTSI'm referring to these DAILY. So hope they help you too.4.5 years of value, stuffed into 45 mins.Get ya chops round it asapLemme know if you like these, can do more. May do a sales one tooON THE MENU:1. THE SINGLE Biggest lesson from Luke Boase and Emma Heal, Lucky Saint | B Corp™ 2. Giles Brook: 3 Game Changing Brand Building Laws - You don't have a brand unless you have these.3. David Hieatt, Hiut Denim Co: This episode for founders, is Calpol for the Soul. Why Scale Kills Magic. Banging Brand Strategy in 3 Questions3. Julian metcalfe, Pret A Manger and itsu: The single biggest mistake he made in scaling (just avoid these)4. James Watt, BrewDog Nassim Taleb. Barbell Strategy = AntiFragility5. Alex M H Smith, No Bull Sh*t Strategy: The Spirituality of Strategy in 2 Easy Questions6. Why The Smart Answer Lies in The Dumb Question7. Rory Sutherland, Seth Godin and David Ogilvy = Why all great marketeers aren't ACTUALLY marketeers8. James Bailey, Waitrose & Partners CEO: “Not checking Availability is scoring an own goal”9. Lucy Busk (Wright), Nice | B Corp™ Wine: 3 Easy Questions to Become a Sales Superstar in 42 minutes.10. Imme Ermgassen Botivo Drinks | B corp: 4 Questions to build a brand with LITERALLY NO COMPETITION
Happy Wednesday, or unhappy Wednesday, it's been a weird week. Here at the EIC newsroom, we will fill you in - welcome to Everything In Conversation.This week on the extra episode, we discuss BrewDog founder James Watt's approach to work/life balance... which is to not have one. He came under fire after he shared a video of him and his fiancé, Georgia Toffolo, where he says, ‘so I just think the whole concept of work life balance was invented by people who hate the work that they do', to which Georgia replies ‘it's so true'. After he received a huge amount of backlash, including unacceptable threats of violence, as well as lots of more balanced takes, Watt asked on LinkedIn, “What does it say about our society that a post extolling the virtues of hard work gets met with this kind of furious backlash?” calling it a “bizarre controversy”. He said: “As a nation, we love to joke about the French being lazy, but the reality is that our output per hour is 13 per cent lower than theirs." James Watt is worth an estimated 262 million pounds at present, and has also previously been accused of presiding over a “toxic” culture. Beth, Ruchira and Oenone rummage around in the mess, and with help from the listeners, try to answer the question, is The UK workforce, work-shy? https://www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/24851034.roz-foyer-james-watt-spouting-nonsense-work-life-balance/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/food-and-drink/features/has-brewdogs-toxic-culture-pierced-craft-beer-balloon/#:~:text=A%20staple%20on%20supermarket%20shelves,out%2C%20afraid%20and%20miserable%E2%80%9D.https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/01/14/uk-is-among-most-work-shy-nations-claims-brewdog-founder/https://inews.co.uk/news/house-prices-young-people-nothing-to-work-for-3457041#:~:text=NEWSLETTER%20(%C2%A3)%20Work%20no%20longer,a%20home%20of%20their%20own.&text=This%20is%20Home%20Front%20with,newsletter%20from%20The%20i%20Paper%20. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tonight we take a look at the latest embarrassment from Brewdog's James Watt. Mike Graham has billboarded his own bellendry again. Oh, and we go straight to the front line of political deep fakery - in Minnessota, U.S. Here are some links i really hope you click: Patreon
Hello Interactors,As the year ends, I reflect on 2024's top five essays and a shared theme emerges: the systems that define our lives. These systems intertwine nature and nurture, machines and morality, and markets and minds.From evolution's harmony to the moral balance of economic power, the co-opting of language to the divides between prosperity and precarity, our journey has revealed deep connections between people, place, and power.Let's rewind and reweave these connections into a broader narrative that sets us on our way to another trip around the sun.NATURE, NURTURE, AND NODAL NETWORKSIn “DEVO, Darwin, and the Evo-Devo Dance,” we explored how evolution reflects the eternal interplay between biology and environment, progress and adaptation. The evolution of synthesizers — as my daughter's playful experiments with sound reminded me — offers a metaphor for humanity's relationship with technology.This relationship echoes the broader theme of systems and evolution. Iterative changes and interactions between tools and users offer the potential to create new possibilities. As noted in the essay,"DEVO's fusion of human and machine echoes these evolutionary dynamics, where both biological and technological systems evolve through reconfiguration and integration, creating emergent complexity that Darwin could not have imagined."Just as synthesizers blend natural sound waves with human creativity, humanity's interaction with technology evolves in cycles of adaptation and transformation, shaping both the tools we use and the societies we build. We shape our tools, and they shape us in return.The blend of nature's design and our technological imprint creates an ecosystem of mutual influence, much like the Evo-Devo theories of biology, where small tweaks in developmental genes lead to dramatic evolutionary outcomes.This interplay of creation and transformation mirrors the cycles of human progress. Just as Hox genes orchestrate body plans, societal changes—spurred by technology or ideology—reshape our collective body. Whether it's the mechanistic choreography of DEVO's performances or the emergence of Evo-Devo in biology, the boundaries between human and machine blur.Are we programming nature, or is nature programming us? Perhaps the answer lies not in drawing distinctions but in understanding common patterns. These questions highlight the complexities of how we, and other organisms and systems, grow, adapt, and evolve in a world increasingly interwoven with introduced technology.From the mechanized rhythms of industrialization to the organic flow of natural systems, human -- and nonhuman -- there exists a tension and balance between stability and change. The teleonomic goal-directed behavior of living systems together with society's driving pulse of technology has fused into an unrecognizable but somehow familiar new existence. Even as we invent tools to navigate this existence, we become part of the systems we create—both shapers and shaped.The orchestration of evolution — like the many-layered songs of a many-player band — shows a world of many, connected, but not always planned.MARKETS, MACHINES, AND MORALITYThe Industrial Revolution brought unparalleled progress but also profound moral dilemmas. In “Markets, Machines, and Morality,” we reflected on Adam Smith's dual identity as both an economist and a moral philosopher. For Smith, markets were not just mechanisms of exchange but reflections of human nature. His “Theory of Moral Sentiments” reminds us that sympathy, justice, and prudence are vital governors of economic power — like James Watt's centrifugal governor, which balanced the speed of steam engines.But history shows us that unchecked systems, whether economic or mechanical, often prioritize efficiency over empathy. From Bentham's utilitarian calculus to the exploitative practices of modern capitalism, we've seen how the quest for profit can erode the moral underpinnings of society. Today's tech-driven economies, much like the Industrial Age's steam engines, require careful regulation to prevent runaway consequences. Smith's ideals of community benevolence and fair markets resonate more than ever.The unchecked growth of industrial power also highlights the tensions between human ingenuity and ethical responsibility. The centrifugal governor's simple elegance stands as a metaphor for our need to impose limits on excess, whether in economic policies, technological innovation, or social systems. Without these balancing mechanisms, we risk spiraling into inequity, instability, and dehumanization — a lesson as relevant today as it was in Smith's time.Moreover, the moral fabric underpinning economic actions — sympathy, justice, prudence — often fades in the shadow of profit-driven systems. Yet, these values remain the quiet governors ensuring that society's engines run not just efficiently but equitably.Smith's vision was never limited to wealth accumulation; it was about creating a society where individual pursuits align with collective well-being. Unlike today's economic practices, which often prioritize short-term profit over long-term societal health, Smith emphasized the importance of moral virtues such as sympathy and justice in guiding market dynamics.His insights are less about the "invisible hand" and more reminders to steer not only by the metrics of progress but also by the compass of morality. Like a finely tuned machine, morality should govern the obscene, in a more steady and fair routine.LANGUAGE, LANDSCAPE, AND LOSSLanguage has the power to shape identities and wield influence. These were the themes in “Woke and Wealth” and “Molding Minds Through the Markets of Material Worlds.” Words like “woke” and “decolonize”—once rooted in justice—have been distorted, co-opted by power to serve as tools of division. Similarly, capitalism's framing of “Homo Economicus”—the rational, self-interested individual—has reshaped not just our identities but the very landscapes we inhabit.These constructed identities reflect the power dynamics embedded in economic and geographic systems. The urban centers that thrive on globalized knowledge economies are mirrored by rural regions left to grapple with stagnation and decline, as explored in “Main Street to Metropolis.” As noted in that essay,“Rural areas have become Republican strongholds, drawn to promises of reversing globalization, reshaping economic policies, and making their communities great again.”These places — shaped by policies, demographics, and technology — become symbols of our collective divisions. Yet even amidst these fractures, alternative identities emerge. “Homo Ecologicus,” focused on environmental stewardship, and “Homo Absurdum,” embracing creativity and imagination, remind us of humanity's potential for resilience, community, and connection.The co-opting of language — turning tools of empowerment into instruments of division — illustrates the ongoing struggle for control over cultural and political narratives. When words like “woke” are weaponized, the original call for awareness and justice is lost in a haze of ideological conflict.Meanwhile, the landscapes shaped by economic systems mirror these distortions, transforming places of shared community into arenas of exclusion and competition. Consider, for example, the gentrification of urban neighborhoods. Once vibrant hubs of diverse community life, these areas often transform into exclusive enclaves where rising costs push out long-time residents, replacing shared culture with economic segregation.Yet, within these landscapes of loss lies the potential for renewal. Rural areas, often overshadowed by urban centers, remain spaces where alternative identities thrive. These identities, rooted in stewardship, creativity, and resilience, offer glimpses of a world where humanity's diversity can flourish.The challenge lies in amplifying these voices, reclaiming the power of language, and reshaping the spaces we inhabit to reflect our shared values. Language shapes, landscapes mold — our shifting sense of self is an ancient story retold.CLOSING THE LOOPLooking back at these essays, a recurring theme emerges: the interplay of systems that define our lives is not a one-way street. Nature and nurture, markets and morality, language and identity are all intertwined, multi- referencial, and dynamic webs with mirroring interdependencies. Progress is not linear; it's a cycle of creation, transformation, and sometimes regression where changes to one aspect ripple through the entire system.This echoes the recurring themes explored earlier — from the evolving interplay between nature and technology to the moral balance necessary in markets and machines. Together, these cycles reveal how change, though uneven, can guide us toward resilience and renewal when approached with awareness and intention. Herein lies hope. We all possess the potential, and these systems the possibility, to recalibrate the systems we control to balance human progress with equity, efficiency with empathy, and innovation with ethics.These systems remind us that resilience lies in adaptability. Fire, when controlled, can foster growth and create fertile soil. Uncontrolled fire destroys. Water can unite by sustaining life, connect ecosystems, and enable communication and trade through rivers and oceans. But it can also erode, rot, create barriers, or flood habitats and communities.As we humans innovate and advance, we can pause to reflect on the systems we create. We can ensure they serve not just the few but the many. Like water and fire, the narratives we construct, whether through language, policy, or technology, have the power to unite or divide.Our collective task is to craft stories that inspire connection and foster growth built on shared values. As we step into a new year, what questions should we ask about the systems we create? How can we ensure they unite rather than divide? What would it take to build systems rooted in equity, empathy, and sustainability? Perhaps, most importantly, how do these systems reflect who we are—and who we aspire to be? This is a public episode. 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In this episode, we dive into three incredible stories that blew our minds. Lionel Barber recounts his chilling experience interviewing Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin, giving us a rare insight into what it's like to sit face-to-face with one of the world's most powerful leaders. James Watt, co-founder of BrewDog, shares the shocking moment when he lost $50 million and Finally, Deborah Meaden takes us back to her early days, offering a fascinating glimpse into her entrepreneurial life before she became a household name on Dragons' Den. ______________________________________ Sign up to Wise Business banking: https://wise.com/gb/business/?utm_sou... Thanks to HP our sponsor for this episode. For 10% off the HP Omnibook UltraFlip with built-in AI, use code 'HPLOVEWORK'. Valid until 31st January 2025, UK only. T&Cs apply. https://bit.ly/HPOmnibook-SLQ424 Join Vanta and recieve $1000 off: http://vanta.com/secretleaders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode: 1302 Francois Marcet's steam globe: measuring vapor-pressure. Today, a piece of apparatus and a piece of history.
James Watt shares why price laddering is the ultimate growth hack most brands ignore. From £1.25 basics to £10 ultra-premium brews, discover how BrewDog uses this strategy to attract everyone—from first-time buyers to hardcore fans. We break down how offering different price points boosts accessibility, creates perceived value, and drives trade-ups to more profitable products.ON THE MENU:What Price Laddering Actually Means (Hint: It's Not Just About Money)How BrewDog Converts Lager Lovers with Accessible OptionsWhy Limited Editions Give Credibility to Your Core RangeThe Psychology of Pricing: How to Make £3 Look CheapThis episode is a masterclass in using pricing to build a brand universe that works for both customers and the bottom line. Don't miss it!===========================================♨️Still bloody HUNGRY? Course ya are. Each week I spend 15 hours writing my newsletter. It'll take you 5 mins to read. Full of wisdom from the biggest names in food and drink. Subscribe here - https://hungryfeast.beehiiv.com/
Episode: 1296 In which Andrew Carnegie contemplates James Watt. Today, Andrew Carnegie looks at James Watt.
As series 7 draws to a close, in this episode we sit down to chat about some of our favourite episodes, our personal highlights, some of our regrets and how Dan got rejected by Deborah Meaden. ____________ Sign up to Wise Business banking: https://wise.com/gb/business/?utm_sou... Thanks to HP our sponsor for this episode. For 10% off the HP Omnibook UltraFlip with built-in AI, use code 'HPLOVEWORK'. Valid until 31st January 2025, UK only. T&Cs apply. https://bit.ly/HPOmnibook-SLQ424 Join Vanta and recieve $1000 off: http://vanta.com/secretleaders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Can hierarchies exist in a world of networks?'The Square & The Tower' by Niall Ferguson examines a selection of networks across history. In particular it focuses upon hierarchies & how they operate compared to decentralised/distributed collections of people. You'll learn about nodes & hubs, geopolitics of WW1/2, secret societies of Freemasons & Illuminati, the connectedness of Kissinger & James Watt, the East India shipping companies & modern technological advances in communication.Would love to hear your feedback and appreciate any support you wish to give :)Timeline:(00:00:00) Intro(00:02:24) Themes/Questions(00:17:02) Author & Extras(00:22:02) Summary(00:24:47) Value 4 Value(00:26:08) Join Live! Value 4 Value Support:Boostagram: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/supportPaypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/meremortalspodcastConnect with Mere Mortals:Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/Discord: https://discord.gg/jjfq9eGReUTwitter/X: https://twitter.com/meremortalspodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@meremortalspodcast
In 2016, I read Business For Punks.One of the greatest business books of all time. And, a huge inspiration to start HUNGRY. Total honour to sit down with James Watt, BrewDog founderThis is a F*CKING BANGER!!!!!!Deffo watch on Youtube if you can, first time we've recorded in 4K cinematic a.k.a grown up cameras. ON THE MENU: 1. The Swimming with Sharks Gratitude Rule: “there's a 100 billion to 1 chance of you being here so GO FOR IT” 2. Why Good founders solve problems, but Great Founders use obstacles to find a different way of thinking3. Be thankful for obstacles “obstacles are the way you differentiate, find magic + show the world what you're really made of” 4. BrewDog “Challenge Everything” Dogma = Einstein “blind faith in authority is the greatest obstacle is truth”5. BrewDog “Speed” Dogma = “You set the speed of your company, you set the deadline” 6. BrewDog “Speed” Dogma = “We count time in dog years” “Brands don't understand the impact of speed” 7. . BrewDog “Dogs on Deck”” Dogma = “You simply HAVE TO BE where the action is “8. Nassim Taleb Speed Barbell: “Speed speed speed + accept 20% of the time you'll be going wrong + Use your customer to course correct”9. . Seneca Barbell: pure action + pure reflection = Pain + reflection = progress10. Why BrewDog Will Never Hire Blue Chip Losers ever again 11. Why Competition is a Gift From God - but NEVER focus on the competition 12. Barnacles On a Boat Rule: Don't just put systems in, a straight jacket of policy13. Why James Has Two Desks: Analogue vs. Digital “you can't create the future looking at an inbox”14. Question One: If I spend this £1 do I get a 10x return vs. competitors?15. Question Two: What could you do that would kill your business?16. Question Three: What is 5 craziest random things I can do right now to grow by business 17. Why Founders MUST accept: Your Team will NEVER think like a founder + Your head is different vs your team18. Fire Fast Rule: "If you were running a marathon you wouldn't wait till mile 22 to take the stone out"19. Why Brands Fail in Supermarkets: “You didn't fail because of the supermarket listing, you put something on shelf that wasn't good enough”20. How BrewDog Used Price Laddering Psychology to go Premium Mainstream 21 . Price Laddering: “You need hooks to bring people into brand” + “Value perception” + “Create margin enhancing opportunities”22. Why Staying successful is harder then getting successful "everyday re-earn your success"23. REMEMBER: You Don't Own Your Brand Your Consumer Does 23. Elon Musk Advice for Food & Drink Founders “Don't do sales” + “Cut the crap committee”==============================================
James Watt - or the BrewDog guy - is a guest I've wanted on the show for a while as, with these podcasts, I'm always curious to find out who the person is behind the name… So who is James Watt? For me, he's an impressive business head, for some he's a guy who sells great beer, others will know him from controversies surrounding the running of the business, but I think if I were to ask him, he's say he's still a North Sea fisherman at heart.In order to answer this question, I reached out to an old friend from my MIC days, who also happens to be James' fiancé, Georgia Toffolo (Toff to me) to kick off the interview. Although his story is shaped by a tough upbringing - dogged with a speech impediment, crippling shyness and a strained relationship with his mother - these early challenges became the foundation of his resilience and relentless drive, shaping who he is today.We chat through the immense risks he took to build BrewDog, taking it to the dizzying heights of success, at its peak valued at $1.8billion, and how the profound impact of losing his father has shifted his outlook on what is important, and how time is the most valuable asset we all have.This conversation reminded me of the importance to make space to understand each other and the different parts that make us who we areIf you enjoyed this episode, please click follow - we have so many great guests like this one, you won't want to miss out!You can also follow us on Instagram and Tiktok @greatcompanypodcast and if you'd like to get in touch, you can email us at greatcompany@jampotproducitions.co.uk--THE CREDITSExec Producer: Jemima RathboneAssistant Producer: Gurlina HeerVideo: Jake JiVideo: Lizzie McCarthySocial Media: Laura CoughlanGreat Company is an original podcast from JamPot Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode, we sit down with BrewDog founder James Watt to dive into the story behind one of the world's most disruptive beer brands. From bold marketing stunts to growing BrewDog into a global craft beer giant, James shares the entrepreneurial insights that helped him take the company to the next level. James also opens up about the constant media scrutiny he faces, why BrewDog often attracts bad press, and how he handles the challenges of being in the spotlight. Whether you're an entrepreneur looking for inspiration or curious about BrewDog's unconventional journey, this episode is packed with valuable lessons. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Welcome to another episode of Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning psychology podcast on the HubSpot Podcast Network. Join hosts Leanne Elliott, chartered psychologist, and Al Elliott, business owner, as they break down the latest news and insights in the workplace, sharing practical advice to help you lead and work more effectively. In this week's episode, we delve into the changing face of LinkedIn, the alarming trend of Gen-Z and Millennials planning to leave their jobs, and the psychology behind our facial expressions, followed by a Hot Take from email marketing expert Eman Ismail, who shares insights into the importance of personalised communication in today's digital landscape. And as always, we round things out with the Workplace Surgery, where Leanne tackles listener questions on managing difficult work dynamics, modern benefits packages, and navigating political conversations at work. Segment 1: News Roundup LinkedIn's Shift from Professionalism to Personalisation We explore how LinkedIn has evolved from a polished professional platform to a space filled with personal updates, and the implications of this shift. We discuss a recent example involving Brewdog co-founder James Watt, whose engagement announcement received mixed reactions, raising questions about appropriate content for the platform. Gen Z and Millennials Are Ready to Move On Recent research from Oak Engage reveals that nearly 60% of Gen Z and over 50% of Millennials are planning to leave their jobs within the year. We analyze the findings and discuss what leaders can do to bridge the generational divide and keep these younger workers engaged and motivated. The Psychology of Facial Expressions at Work We discuss a new study from the University of Essex that shows how our facial expressions can influence our mood, and what this means for workplace dynamics. We reflect on how awareness of our expressions can impact team morale and communication. Segment 2: Hot Take with Eman Ismail Eman Ismail joins us to share her thoughts on the shift from general email blasts to personalized, targeted communication strategies. She explains why understanding your audience is crucial for effective marketing and how businesses can leverage AI to enhance their email marketing efforts. Segment 3: Workplace Surgery Navigating Deception in the Workplace A listener asks for advice on whether to speak up about their manager's misrepresentation of a project's status to the CEO, which could have serious consequences for the business. Reevaluating Employee Benefits Packages Another listener seeks guidance on modernizing their benefits package to meet the expectations of younger employees without creating a divide among staff. Managing Political Discussions in a Diverse Workplace An HR manager expresses frustration over younger employees' preoccupation with U.S. politics and wonders how to handle political conversations in the workplace. Support with Mental Health and Well-being If any of the topics in this episode have affected you, or if you need mental health support, please reach out to one of the following resources: UK: Mind offers mental health support and information. For those in distress, call Samaritans at 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org. US: Contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. Rest of the World: Visit Befrienders Worldwide to find a helpline in your country. Connect with Truth, Lies & Work YouTube: Truth, Lies & Work YouTube Channel TikTok: Truth, Lies & Work TikTok Instagram: Truth, Lies & Work Instagram LinkedIn: Truth, Lies & Work LinkedIn Connect with Al Elliott: LinkedIn Connect with Leanne Elliott: LinkedIn Email: Reach out at hello@truthliesandwork.com Book a Meeting: Schedule a meeting with Al & Leanne here.
It's the UK's best selling craft beer, it's sold worldwide, it has a CULT-LIKE following, it's BrewDog. And today I sat down with it's Founder, James Watt. Grassroot strategies to build a loyal customer base, raw Marketing tactics, and the innovation behind their growth, we TALKED ABOUT IT ALL. I love taking a peek inside the hood of massive brands, and that's exactly what this episode is about. Let's get into it, shall we? As we near the end of 2024, it's time to push your Marketing efforts into high gear. With impact.com, you can drive more revenue through affiliate partnerships, scale your reach with influencer Marketing, and boost customer referrals. Whether you're making the final sales push or planning for next year, impact.com has the tools to help you finish the year strong. Visit impact.com/millenial and take your marketing to the next level! 02:26 Unconventional Marketing Tactics 08:25 Equity for Punks: A Revolutionary Idea 13:03 The Power of Community Engagement 19:19 Turning Customers into Influencers 20:42 Maximizing Marketing Budgets with Social Tech 25:23 Incentivizing Organic Content 38:40 Onboarding Partners Effectively Follow James: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-watt-21a5a912b/?originalSubdomain=uk Follow Daniel: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@themarketingmillennials/featured Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/Dmurr68 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-murray-marketing Sign up for The Marketing Millennials newsletter: www.workweek.com/brand/the-marketing-millennials Daniel is a Workweek friend, working to produce amazing podcasts. To find out more, visit: www.workweek.com
Episode: 2869 James Watt's introduction of horsepower as a measurement unit. Today, the power of horses.
Rob interviews James Watt, co-founder of BrewDog and a true disruptor in the beer industry. From fishing boats to brewing tanks, James shares his journey of building a global beer brand, tackling challenges head-on, and reinventing himself as an entrepreneur. Join Rob and James for a conversation filled with insights on leadership, marketing stunts, and the paradoxes of business success. James Watt Reveals: Why risking everything led him to disrupting the beer industry The importance of facing brutal facts BrewDog's unconventional marketing tactics The challenges of scaling a business while maintaining product quality and company culture James's new venture, Social Tip The significance of disruption in business and the need for entrepreneurs to reimagine industries. His perspective on work culture, including his stance against remote work and the importance of team connectivity. BEST MOMENTS "The best way to get people to hate you is to be successful doing something you love." "Would I want to be stood next to this person at two o'clock in a February cold, dark, windy night in a gale in a North Atlantic fishing boat when everything was going wrong?" "How long does it take to take the stone out of your shoe?" "If you're not happy in a job, if you're not happy in a company, amazing, you're an individual, you've got free will, leave." "Unless you're going to disrupt an industry, just stick with your idea. Like, don't do it. Like, the only success is if you're going to disrupt something." VALUABLE RESOURCES https://robmoore.com/ bit.ly/Robsupporter https://robmoore.com/podbooks rob.team Episode Sponsor - AG1 Claim your exclusive offer of AG1 at the link below drinkag1.com/disruptors ABOUT THE HOST Rob Moore is an author of 9 business books, 5 UK bestsellers, holds 3 world records for public speaking, entrepreneur, property investor, and property educator. Author of the global bestseller “Life Leverage” Host of UK's No.1 business podcast “The Disruptive Entrepreneur” “If you don't risk anything, you risk everything” CONTACT METHOD Rob's official website: https://robmoore.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robmooreprogressive/?ref=br_rs LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/robmoore1979 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. disruptive, disruptors, entreprenuer, business, social media, marketing, money, growth, scale, scale up, risk, property: http://www.robmoore.com
The Industrial Revolution played in the hands of the rich. A century after James Watt revealed his steam engine in 1776, the richest 1% owned a whopping 70% of British wealth. Then things changed. Across rich countries, inequality plummeted for decades. Join Branko Milanovic on this quest to understand the evolution of inequality during the building of modern prosperity. Our conversation ranges from Karl Marx to the "golden age” of American capitalism and from Yugoslavia's market socialism to China's rise. To explore this theme with the help of graphs and visuals, see my essay at OnHumans.Substack.com. SUPPORT THE SHOW On Humans is free and without ads. If you want to support my work, you can do so at Patreon.com/OnHumans. Thank you for all my existing supporters for their invaluable help in keeping the show running! ANNOUNCEMENT I'm writing a book! It is about the history of humans, for readers of all ages. Patreon members get access to early drafts. Chapters 1-3 are available now.
This will likely be the first of many episodes where the Malty Boyz™ feature a lineup of macro NA beers and put them through the Power Rankings treatment. This episode they're drinking offerings from Dos Equis, Blue Moon, Heineken, and... Penn's Best? Sure, whatever, it's fine. In the Beer News, Ale Apothecary founder Paul Arney announcement his plan to retire and puts the brewery up for sale, BrewDog founder James Watt steps down as CEO to focus on bug based protein, and Rogue files a trademark for "The Official Beer of Oregon" to start a new beer brand but mysteriously rescinds all press materials for it. To get involved with the "Life" International Barleywine Collab, click the link for info about the recipe, BSG discount, and links to help raise awareness of colon cancer. If you'd like to make a direct donation to help support Alex, head over to his GoFundMe. For more info about colon cancer and to help support the fight against it check out the Colon Cancer Foundation. Head to our Patreon for weekly exclusive content. Get the Malt Couture Officially Licensed T-shirt. Follow DontDrinkBeer on Instagram and Twitter.
Spring hasn't sprung for craft beer yet this year. It's more like a belly flop into a deflating pool filled with the ghosts of profitable years of yore and future hopes for a better summer. But rather than languish in low numbers, beverage alcohol companies big and small are dabbling in new products, new segments, and really anything they can to stay afloat. In this episode of The Gist, I'm joined as always by Sightlines reporter Kate Bernot to talk about first quarter numbers for 2024, innovation across segments, and what BrewDog may be up to after CEO James Watt stepped down as CEO. I'm Beth Demmon, and you're listening to The Gist. TG-014 The One with the Spring Slump
Dr. Sara Dant is a Brady Presidential Distinguished Professor of history at Weber State University, and she's the author of one of my most-often recommended books, "Losing Eden: An Environmental History of the American West." She is also one of the featured historians in Ken Burns' newest documentary, The American Buffalo, which you can watch for free on the PBS website. Sara's work focuses on environmental politics in the United States with a particular emphasis on the creation and development of consensus and bipartisanism, and she is especially skilled at presenting complex, sometimes controversial topics in an engaging and fun-to-learn manner. - In June of 2023, Sara updated and republished her book "Losing Eden"– she added some chapters, revised some of the content, and added lots of maps, photos, and additional resources. She somehow managed to make one of my favorite books even better. For anyone who is looking for a thorough yet fun-to-read overview of this complex region known as the American West, I can't recommend it enough. From the migration of humans across the Bering Strait to modern-day controversies around energy development, the book provides a solid foundation and acts as a launching point to dig into whatever specific time period you may find interesting. - Longtime listeners will remember my first conversation with Sara back in 2018, in which we discussed the early phases of North American environmental history, the tragedy of the commons, conservation vs preservation, and more. In this conversation, we focus on mostly recent environmental history, including the historic environmental legislation of the 1960s and 70s, legendary senator Frank Church, and the backlash to environmental regulation that led to movements such as the Sagebrush Rebellion. We also discuss Sara's perspective-shifting Alaska adventure, the value of wild places, her experience working with Ken Burns, book recommendations, and much, much more. - I always enjoy my visits with Sara, and I can't thank her enough for how generous she is with sharing her time, wisdom, and expertise. I'd encourage you to pick up a copy of the new "Losing Eden," but in the meantime, enjoy this conversation with Dr. Sara Dant. --- Losing Eden: An Environmental History of the American West by Sara Dant Sara's first M&P episode Ed's Bimonthly Book Recommendations --- TOPICS DISCUSSED: 3:30 - Why Sara decided to republish Losing Eden 7:00 - The guiding idea of "at what cost?" 10:00 - The myth of "right or wrong," "good or bad" 16:15 - Using history to understand our current political situation 19:30 - Optimistic examples of positive political environmental bipartisanship 23:30 - The legendary Idaho senator, Frank Church 28:00 - James Watt and the backlash to environmental regulation 34:00 - Divisiveness as a power-grabbing tool 43:00 - Sara's 2019 life-changing trip to Alaska 46:30 - What is the value of wild places? 54:15 - Participating in the new Ken Burns documentary 56:30 - Something new that Sara has recently learned 1:02:30 - Book recommendations and further reading 1:10:30 - Parting words of wisdom --- ABOUT MOUNTAIN & PRAIRIE: Mountain & Prairie - All Episodes Mountain & Prairie Shop Mountain & Prairie on Instagram Upcoming Events About Ed Roberson Support Mountain & Prairie Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts
Subscribe to Know Your Enemy on Patreon to listen to this bonus episode, and all of our bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/knowyourenemyLast week, televangelist, businessman, conspiracy theorist, and former Republican presidential candidate Pat Robertson died at the age of 93. Though mostly known today for his deranged comments about homosexuality, abortion, feminism, and other "sins" causing everything from natural disasters to 9-11, Robertson had a major influence on the evolution of the Republican Party and the religious right. Where did Robertson come from, and what was distinctive about Robertson's theological and political views? What were the innovations of the Christian Coalition, the group he founded in 1987, in organizing conservative believers for the GOP? How did he respond to the end of the Cold War and adapt his message for the 1990s and the supposed advent of a "New World Order"?In this episode, Matt and Sam take up these questions and more, plus offer a discussion of James G. Watt, Ronald Reagan's first Secretary of the Interior, who died in late May. An evangelical Christian known for railing against the Beach Boys, his offensive comments about Native Americans and others, and using the supposed imminent return of Christ to justify destroying the environment.Sources:Pat Robertson obituaries: NYT, Washington PostJames G. Watt obituaries: NYT, Washington PostDaniel Schlozman, When Movements Anchor Parties: Electoral Alignments in American History (2016)Jacob Heilbrunn, "His Anti-Semitic Sources," New York Review of Books, April 20, 1995Pat Robertson, The New World Order (1991)James Conaway, "James Watt, In the Right with the Lord," Washington Post, April 27, 1983John Taylor "Pat Robertson's God, Inc." Esquire, Nov 1994.