Podcast appearances and mentions of Martha Lane Fox

This week we look at Big Tech and its role in a crucial election year around the world. Baroness Martha Lane Fox, who sat on the board of X (formerly Twitter), assesses the platform's changing attitude towards political content. Also in the programme, as the general election campaign heats up in the UK, will TikTok help the candidates reach younger voters? Presenter: Katie Razzall Guests: Shona Ghosh, Senior Editor, Bloomberg; Martha Lane Fox, former board member, Twitter/X; Sean Topham, Co-Founder, Topham Guerin; Timandra Harkness, author of Technology is Not the Problem; Sam Jeffers, Executive Director, Who Targets Me

A week into the election, we explore party control of the media message and the gaffes that happen when things go wrong. We hear live from the Labour battle bus, talk to Boris Johnson's former social media strategist and look at the way the different campaigns are crafting their message on TikTok. Shona Ghosh, Senior Editor, Bloomberg; Martha Lane Fox, former Board Member, Twitter/X; Katy Balls, Political Editor, The Spectator; Sean Topham, Co-Founder, Topham Guerin; Jessica Elgot, Deputy Political Editor, The Guardian; Timandra Harkness, writer and author of Technology is Not the Problem; Sam Jeffers, Executive  Director, Who Targets Me

With Richard Walker, boss of Iceland. The Decisions That Made Me A Leader is a mini-series from The Bottom Line. It features one-on-one interviews with entrepreneurs and business leaders, including Duncan Bannatyne, Martha Lane Fox, and the boss of Depop, Simon Beckerman. All of these episodes are available on BBC Sounds and you can also watch them on BBC iPlayer. To find the series, just search: The Decisions That Made Me A Leader. Host: Evan Davis Producers: Paige Neal-Holder and Farhana Haider Assistant Editor: Matthew Willis Senior News Editor: Sam Bonham Commissioning Editor: Hugh Levinson

With Timo Armoo, the 29-year-old multi-millionaire entrepreneur. The Decisions That Made Me A Leader is a mini-series from The Bottom Line. It features one-on-one interviews with entrepreneurs and business leaders, including Duncan Bannatyne, Martha Lane Fox, and the boss of Depop, Simon Beckerman. All of these episodes are available on BBC Sounds and you can also watch them on BBC iPlayer. To find the series, just search: The Decisions That Made Me A Leader. Host: Evan Davis Producers: Paige Neal-Holder and Farhana Haider Assistant Editor: Matthew Willis Senior News Editor: Sam Bonham Commissioning Editor: Hugh Levinson

With Krisi Smith, co-founder of the tea company Bird and Blend. The Decisions That Made Me A Leader is a mini-series from The Bottom Line. It features one-on-one interviews with entrepreneurs and business leaders, including Duncan Bannatyne, Martha Lane Fox, and the boss of Depop, Simon Beckerman. All of these episodes are available on BBC Sounds and you can also watch them on BBC iPlayer. To find the series, just search: The Decisions That Made Me A Leader. Host: Evan Davis Producers: Paige Neal-Holder and Farhana Haider Assistant Editor: Matthew Willis Senior News Editor: Sam Bonham Commissioning Editor: Hugh Levinson

With the British businesswoman, philanthropist and public servant. The Decisions That Made Me A Leader is a mini-series from The Bottom Line. It features one-on-one interviews with entrepreneurs and business leaders, including Duncan Bannatyne, Martha Lane Fox, and the boss of Depop, Simon Beckerman. All of these episodes are available on BBC Sounds and you can also watch them on BBC iPlayer. To find the series, just search: The Decisions That Made Me A Leader. Host: Evan Davis Producers: Paige Neal-Holder and Farhana Haider Assistant Editor: Matthew Willis Senior News Editor: Sam Bonham Commissioning Editor: Hugh Levinson

With Simon Beckerman, the founder of Depop. The Decisions That Made Me A Leader is a mini-series from The Bottom Line. It features one-on-one interviews with entrepreneurs and business leaders, including Duncan Bannatyne, Martha Lane Fox, and the boss of Depop, Simon Beckerman. All of these episodes are available on BBC Sounds and you can also watch them on BBC iPlayer. To find the series, just search: The Decisions That Made Me A Leader. Host: Evan Davis Producers: Paige Neal-Holder and Farhana Haider Assistant Editor: Matthew Willis Senior News Editor: Sam Bonham Commissioning Editor: Hugh Levinson

With the entrepreneur, philanthropist and author. The Decisions That Made Me A Leader is a mini-series from The Bottom Line. It features one-on-one interviews with entrepreneurs and business leaders, including Duncan Bannatyne, Martha Lane Fox, and the boss of Depop, Simon Beckerman. All of these episodes are available on BBC Sounds and you can also watch them on BBC iPlayer. To find the series, just search: The Decisions That Made Me A Leader. Host: Evan Davis Producers: Paige Neal-Holder and Farhana Haider Assistant Editor: Matthew Willis Senior News Editor: Sam Bonham Commissioning Editor: Hugh Levinson

Martha Lane Fox was first catapulted into the public eye during the dot.com boom as co-founder of lastminute.com the online agency she set up with Brent Hoberman in the late 1990s.It was valued at three quarters of a billion pounds when it floated on the London stock exchange in 2000. She then experienced a life change road accident while on holiday in Morocco when she was thrown from the passenger seat of an open-top car. She says she very nearly died. ‘They rank you in trauma I was a 37, 39 is dead'Her career has ranged from launching karaoke chain Lucky Voice to serving as the government's digital champion and being on the board of twitter, during one its most complex times. She is currently the President of the British Chamber of Commerce Evan asks about the key personal and business-related decisions that got her to where she is today.A Long Form Audio Production for BBC Radio 4.

George Parker of the Financial Times is joined by a range of guests to analyse the latest developments at Westminster. To discuss the boost to defence spending pledged by Rishi Sunak, he speaks to Labour peer and former head of the navy, Admiral Lord West and former soldier and the chair of the defence select committee, Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood.Labour MP, Bell Ribeiro-Addy and Conservative MP, Sir Edward Leigh discuss Parliament's approval of the controversial Rwanda deportation bill and consider what happens next.Twenty years on from a near-fatal car crash, dotcom entrepreneur and crossbench peer, Martha Lane-Fox explains what her 'mountain mission' is and discusses technology and artificial intelligence. And, to reflect on the life of former Labour minister and crossbench peer Frank Field who died this week, he is joined by Labour MP Dame Angela Eagle whose constituency bordered his and former Work and Pensions Secretary, Conservative MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith

Fi's experienced something traumatic and she needs to get it off her chest. Once that's done, there's more Morris dancing chat, Deliveroo shaming and Jane's making lots of edit demands... Plus, they're joined by businesswoman and philanthropist Martha Lane-Fox about her 'Mountain Mission'. You can donate to Martha's mission here: https://www.givewheel.com/fundraising/2189/3-peaks-challenge/ You can book your tickets to see Jane and Fi live at the new Crossed Wires festival here: https://www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/book/instance/663601Our next book club pick has been announced - A Dutiful Boy by Mohsin Zaidi.If you want to contact the show to ask a question and get involved in the conversation then please email us: janeandfi@times.radioFollow us on Instagram! @janeandfiAssistant Producer: Eve SalusburyTimes Radio Producer: Rosie Cutler Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Baroness Martha Lane Fox reflects on a challenging year for tech businesses, explains why we should be more concerned about a “profound shift in information flows” than destruction by robots, and unpacks why we shouldn't be too pessimistic about startup funding. Elsewhere on the show, she looks ahead to a year of political uncertainty and explains why the first trillionaire in the world will “probably” come from the green transition. Lane Fox is a British businesswoman, philanthropist and public servant. She co-founded Last Minute during the dotcom boom in 1998 with Brent Hoberman, taking it to a public listing two years later. She entered the House of Lords as a crossbencher in 2013, becoming Baroness Martha Lane-Fox of Soho and the youngest female life peer. That same year, Lane Fox was appointed CBE for "services to the digital economy and charity". And in 2014 she was appointed chancellor of the Open University, a role that she continues to hold. Since October 2022 the entrepreneur has been president of the British Chambers of Commerce, a business network spanning companies of different sizes across all sectors.   

Martha Lane-Fox, president of the of the British Chambers of Commerce, said she sees Brexit as the main issue facing UK businesses. “Brexit affected the skills base full-stop,” she said on this week's episode of In the City. Fox joined NFX General Partner Pete Flint for a panel discussion hosted by Bloomberg's Stephen Carroll at the GROW Summit in London. Flint said he's optimistic about the UK's chances of replicating a San Francisco-style hub of business success, describing the country as “a great environment for immigrants to come.” But there's still a way to go, he added. “I would absolutely not advise any company that I'm backing to go public in the UK.” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Suella Braverman's newspaper article criticizing the police has rounded off a week of controversy for the Home Secretary. But how should the Prime Minister respond? We get a view from Tony Blair's former political secretary John McTernan, now a senior adviser at BCW. He says it's better to sack Braverman now than be forced to do it later. Plus: How can the government help startups to grow the economy? Bloomberg's Stephen Carroll asks the president of the British Chambers of Commerce, Martha Lane Fox, and serial entrepreneur and investor Pete Flint. Hosted by Bloomberg's Caroline Hepker and Yuan Potts.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our guest on the show this week is Anna Rafferty who runs a global team of more than a thousand people at Lego, the company with play at the heart of its DNA. Based in London, Anna and her large team oversee Lego's consumer relationships including digital and social engagement, apps, websites, memberships, magazines, community management, digital safety, and events. Phew! Anna's had a remarkable career journey starting out of university with early dotcom ‘rocket ship' Last Minute.com, where she worked for one of our former guests, Martha Lane Fox.Her career has also seen her work with Penguin Books, the BBC and blockbuster author JK Rowling's company, Pottermore. To this day she retains her links to the publishing world as Chair of the Women's Prize for Fiction. Suffice to say, Anna is one busy woman! In this episode you'll hear how:She had a career epiphany at 23 years of ageWhat working for author JK Rowling was likeHow one question helped her deal with overwhelm; and The 3 behaviours that Lego values most in its leaders.Anna's worked with some truly amazing brands and organisations in her career to date so we think you'll love hearing more about her impressive journey. Enjoy this episode with the passionate and playful Anna Rafferty. Linkswww.Lego.comWomen's Prize for FictionAnna on LinkedInFor Anna's Book Recommendations - go to our episode webpage and scroll down ....there are some fantastic recommendations here and we hope you enjoy them! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Business leaders tell us the UK economy is going off course.Caroline Hepker brings us her conversations with Marks & Spencer chairman Archie Norman, British Chambers of Commerce chief Martha Lane Fox, and former CEO of the London Stock Exchange, Xavier Rolet. Meanwhile in Westminster, Rishi Sunak faces more internal Tory party turmoil after the resignation of Boris Johnson and two allies from parliament. Our political reporter Alex Wickham discusses the fallout. Hosted by Caroline Hepker, Lizzy Burden and Stephen Carroll. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some of the world's biggest companies are highlighting the deteriorating investment climate in the UK. An investigation by the Bloomberg has found business leaders believe the government has failed to meet the twin challenges of Brexit and the foreign subsidies arms race. Martha Lane Fox, President of the British Chambers of Commerce, tells Bloomberg Radio's Caroline Hepker the UK is in the midst of a "people's crisis". Wary of talking ourselves "into a dark spot", she says businesses are holding their breath, waiting for more certainty and clarity.Britain's Post-Brexit Policy Drift Alarms World's Executives: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-06-11/brexit-hurts-uk-investment-appeal-hasn-t-reduced-tax-or-regulation-execs-say?srnd=premium-ukSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Blow out the candles and sing a merry tune for Don't Stop Us Now! is 5 years old! A lot has happened in the past 5 years and we're so grateful to have had some incredible conversations with incredibly inspiring women. So in this special birthday episode, we take a step back and reflect on the key insights and lessons our guests have shared over more than 165 episodes. What we find is that there are common themes that keep cropping up again and again.Whether it's a female leader and innovator in London, Bangkok, Silicon Valley or Costa Rica or Sydney, it turns out there are universal challenges our amazing guests have faced. We've also faced them and we're pretty sure these are challenges that you've likely had, or may be facing too, they're that universal. It's not that our stellar guests are in a different league to the rest of us, it's simply that they've found a way to work through these challenges en route to their success. And you can too. In this episode you'll hear:The 5 key challenges that crop up again and again The lessons to navigate these challenges more successfullyThoughts, confessions and struggles from leaders including internationally renowned author and speaker, Rachel Botsman; former entrepreneur and current member of the House of Lords and board director of Chanel, Martha Lane Fox and Forbes Philanthropy Hero, Audette Exel; and… How we all have fear and if we're not feeling a bit of it right now, then we're playing too safe.In short, this episode is jam-packed with 5 years worth of wisdom. So grab a slice of (birthday) cake and enjoy our special 5th birthday episode. Episodes we feature:Rachel Botsman Audette Exel Courtney Hohne Lindley Edwards Caroline Issa Holly Ransom Martha Lane Fox Que Dallara Tina Sharkey Ann Sherry Julia Paige Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

By Patricia Devlin, EpochTimes

By Patricia Devlin, EpochTimes

Baroness Martha Lane Fox is a dotcom pioneer having started lastminute.com in 1997. She sits on the board of some of the country's most prominent brands, including Marks & Spencer and Channel 4, and has made significant contributions to the government's digital agenda. On the podcast, Martha talks about the early years of the dotcom bubble; the car crash which led to her spending two years in hospital; and some of the campaigning work she has done to promote more accessibility for women in tech. Produced by Natasha Feroze.

Baroness Martha Lane Fox is a dotcom pioneer having started lastminute.com in 1997. She sits on the board of some of the country's most prominent brands, including Marks & Spencer and Channel 4, and has made significant contributions to the government's digital agenda. On the podcast, Martha talks about the early years of the dotcom bubble; the car crash which led to her spending two years in hospital; and some of the campaigning work she has done to promote more accessibility for women in tech. Produced by Natasha Feroze.

Martha Lane Fox reflects on her thirty years in tech, including her front row seat in Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter, how she remains one of very few high profile women in the industry, and why we need to make sure the whole world shapes the debate on AI. Chenai Chair, from the Mozilla Foundation, joins us from Zimbabwe to explain the work they're doing to make sure minority languages are included in digital services. India business correspondent Nikhil Inamdar tells us about his experience seeing an app which is helping people in poor areas claim vital welfare payments. And Spencer Kelly, from our sister programme, Click, tells us what he found out about the future of food in his trip to the markets and laboratories of Singapore. Subscribe or follow Tech Life wherever you get your podcasts to receive future editions.

Martha Lane Fox reflects on her 30 years in tech, including her front row seat in Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter, how she remains one of very few high profile women in the industry, and why we need to make sure the whole world shapes the debate on AI. Chenai Chair, from the Mozilla Foundation, joins us from Zimbabwe to explain the work they are doing to make sure minority languages are included in digital services. India business correspondent Nikhil Inamdar tells us about his experience seeing an app which is helping people in poor areas claim vital welfare payments. And Spencer Kelly, from our sister programme, Click, tells us what he found out about the future of food in his trip to the markets and laboratories of Singapore. (Photo: Martha Lane Fox (L) and Shiona McCallum (R), in London)

⚡FLASHLIGHT Women in Science ⚡ Der 11. Februar ist der International Day of Women and Girls in Science! Der Tag feiert Frauen und Mädchen in der Wissenschaft und erinnert daran, dass wir weiter den Zugang und die Bildung von Frauen in diesem Bereich verbessern sowie ein Umfeld für alle Gender schaffen sollen. Wir stellen euch zu diesem Anlass zwei Wissenschaftlerinnen, die gestern Geburtstag feierten vor: Seid gespannt auf Martha Lane Fox

This year has seen Jimmy's Jobs talk to some of the most influential minds in the UK.From Rishi Sunak and Andrew Bailey right through to Martha Lane Fox, these are the thinkers and shapers of the British economy, the voices that generate headlines and shape the national debate. Today's guest is a worthy addition to this list- Matt Clifford is the founder of Entrepreneur First - a unique institution in the UK economy that backs entrepreneurs for who they are as much as their ideas. We had Matt's co-founder, Alice Bentinck, on the show late last year and since then the pair have written a book - “How to be a Founder” has since become one of my go-to recommendations and I thoroughly recommend it.Matt has recently taken up a new position as CEO and Chair of the new Advanced Research and Invention Agency- or ARIA for short - where he'll oversee the funding of transformational UK science and technology. It is based on the DARPA model from the United States which was so influential behind the founding of Silicon Valley. We talk a bit in this show about the UK recreating Silicon Valley, and it's a theme that I am picking up this week in my Times column. I will be republishing that through my email newsletter on substack this week, just check the link below to sign up. In this episode we discuss:How to be a Founder- why did he write the book?Finding your edge.Being elite but not elitist.Getting underprivileged people into entrepreneurship.The myths of what makes an entrepreneur.The competition for investors in the VC industry.Matt's thoughts on the wider technology ecosystem. How will the pandemic change the world of entrepreneurship?Building co-founding relationships remotely.What will be the effects of this year's political issues in building the UK economy. What is ARIA - the Advanced Research and Invention Agency.How the UK can become less silo'd between academia, policy and business. Building talent outside the ‘golden triangle'. What are the most exciting places of innovation in the UK? The pressure of being such a big name in the business industry.Why willpower is rechargeable and the danger of valourising founders.The collision of biology and softwareSubscribe so you don't miss any new episodes, releasing every Wednesday.You can up to Jimmy's substack here for weekly content on the future of work, technology, and politicsAlso make sure you subscribe to The Shift- you can find it here on Spotify or on Apple Podcasts. Once again thank you to our series partner Octopus Group, a collection of 8 entrepreneurially minded businesses that look to back the people, ideas, and industries that will change the world.

Opportunity gives us power to move forward, live with purpose, and reach our true potential.This is a belief that Baroness Martha Lane Fox and JP share passionately.In this episode, Martha – a pioneering tech entrepreneur, philanthropist, public servant, and Chancellor of the Open University – shares insight on why digital skilling is so important in today's world, as well as the pivotal moments that defined her life's purpose.Stream the full episode now - and don't forget to let JP know on social media if it resonated with you!

You can up to Jimmy's substack here for weekly content on the future of work, technology, and politics. If I were to read today's guest's entire CV, I would fill this entire episode description. Martha Lane Fox is a name that speaks for itself - she is one of the defining figures in 21st century British Entpreneurship, best known for founding lastminute.com.She has since dedicated her career to a life in the public realm, becoming the youngest female member of the House of Lords and recently becoming the Chancellor of the Open University. As you can hear Martha had a bit of a sore throat at time of recording but persevered to give us her unique insights on the future of the British Economy, the biggest changes in hiring in the past few decades and why she regrets Desert Island Discs.In a momentous week for British Politics, Rishi Sunak has become the newest British PM - you may remember we interviewed him back in January when he was Chancellor. It was one of the most revealing interviews he's ever given.We covered mental health, the challenge of being a new parent and much much more- you check it out on our website at www.jobsofthefuture.co.Subscribe so you don't miss any new episodes, releasing every Wednesday.Also make sure you subscribe to The Shift- you can find it here on Spotify or on Apple Podcasts. Once again thank you to our series partner Octopus Group, a c...

In this episode, Damian talks to responsible tech evangelist (and WeTransfer Board Chair) Martha Lane Fox. As a Crossbench Peer in the United Kingdom House of Lords, a board member of Twitter and Chanel, and an early startup success, Martha has a unique voice in some of the most influential rooms on the planet. In this conversation, she talks about bringing a European perspective to Twitter, how video conferencing has made it easier to speak up in the House of Lords, and how she uses her many positions for good.Influence is a production of WeTransfer, produced in association with Reasonable Volume. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Lucy Winkett talks about the choices we have to make. Harriet Gilbert, Val McDermid and Martha Lane Fox review a book on Shakespeare. Malcolm Guite meditates on Psalm 11. Sir John Timpson talks about his experiences as a Foster Carer.

This month, we hear from Martha Lane Fox, Baroness Lane Fox of Soho, about the work of the Lords COVID-19 Committee, which she chairs. She discusses the impact of the pandemic on the digital shift in our lives and what more the government needs to do to ensure nobody is left behind.‘We heard so many examples of very, very difficult situations for children to be learning and when they were forced online at the beginning of the first lockdown. Families sharing one smartphone between multiple children, I mean, I just can't imagine how stressful that must have been for people and we know it was.'Martha also talks about her journey to the Lords and what surprised her when she first joined, plus her own experience of the rapid shift to online living over the last 15 months.‘I have been amazed at the rapid process of acceleration through some of the trends of the last year.'Amy and Matt also discuss the upcoming State Opening of Parliament, its origins and how changes to the ceremony are not as unprecedented as you might think.Find out more about the Lords COVID-19 CommitteeFind out more about the State Opening of Parliament See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Theo Paphitis is a retail entrepreneur and a star of TV's Dragons' Den. In this interview, Theo talks us through his career and his rise to the top of the UK retail sector (he today runs an empire that includes Ryman and Robert Dyas). Theo also speaks to us about the challenges of dyslexia, his love of technology and the future of the high street after Covid-19. If you enjoy this episode, please consider leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts or, even better, share the podcast or this post with a friend. Previous interviewees include Gina Miller, Peter Hargreaves, Martha Lane-Fox, Spencer Matthews, Vince Cable, Charlie Mullins and Jayne-Anne Gadhia. The 'Can I ask you a personal question podcast?' is brought to you by Will Turvill, Dan Hully and Luke Garratt.

Merck Mercuriadis is a music industry veteran and the founder of Hipgnosis, a FTSE 250-listed company that invests in song rights. In this interview, Merck – who has worked closely with stars including Elton John, Beyoncé and Iron Maiden – talks about his rise to the top of the music industry. If you enjoy this episode, please consider leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts or, even better, share the podcast or this post with a friend. Previous interviewees include Gina Miller, Peter Hargreaves, Martha Lane-Fox, Spencer Matthews, Vince Cable, Charlie Mullins and Jayne-Anne Gadhia. The 'Can I ask you a personal question podcast?' is brought to you by Will Turvill, Dan Hully and Luke Garratt.

For our latest episode, Sima Sistani joins us for a conversation that brings to light the personal side and vulnerable truths of trying to run a company, be a present parent, and deal with life changes and societal expectations of how to do it all. We share different perspectives on how to try and raise kids with a strong internal sense of self and how we're each still discovering this for ourselves. During Covid in 2020, Sima put these life lessons of empathy and grace into action in how she led the team at Houseparty. We dig into her career trajectory, from international equities trading at Goldman Sachs to working in Hollywood and into co-founding a tech startup, and advice she got along the way. To wrap up, Chloe, April and Sima all discuss the choice to found companies in their 40s, the narrow stereotype that you have to be young to make that leap, and searching for the tingly feeling of when you know you've seen a glimpse of the future and when to chase it. Each week, we wrap up with a Shoutout to people who've inspired and helped us along the way. This episode, Sima highlights Martha Lane Fox, an internet entrepreneur and Board Director at Twitter, and Jess shines on Molly Graham, COO at Lambda School. Chloe gives a special shoutout to everyone serving on local school boards! The #ANGELS Pod brings you conversations about the latest tech trends with the people inventing and shaping them in Silicon Valley and beyond. Hosted by the co-founders of #ANGELS, an investment collective: Jessica Verrilli, April Underwood, Jana Messerschmidt, Chloe Sladden, Katie Stanton, and Vijaya Gadde. We cover personal stories about breaking into tech and scaling up, and inside looks at the most interesting startups, from the people building them. This podcast is just getting started and we'd love your feedback. You can reach us on Twitter @HashtagAngels and thanks in advance for listening! The #ANGELS Podcast is a production of Haitch Industries. Our theme music is by Tobey Forsman of Whipsong Music. The episode was produced and edited by Matt Herrero.

Jim Mellon is a billionaire investor who became a prominent Brexiteer around the 2016 EU referendum. Today, Jim – who built his fortune in fund management – is very much focused on business. Jim speaks to hosts Will and Dan about his interests in anti-ageing company Juvenescence and lab-grown meat investor Agronomics (he recently wrote a book called Moo's Law: An Investor's Guide to the New Agrarian Revolution). If you enjoy this episode, please consider leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts or, even better, share the podcast or this post with a friend. Previous interviewees include Gina Miller, Peter Hargreaves, Martha Lane-Fox, Spencer Matthews, Vince Cable, Charlie Mullins and Jayne-Anne Gadhia.

Sir Vince Cable is the former business secretary and Liberal Democrat party leader. In this episode, Will and Dan talk to Vince about leadership and his rise to the top of UK politics. In 2010, he moved from leading an office of six to heading up an entire government department. We speak to him about the challenges he faced, and also get some gossip on what David Cameron, George Osborne and Nick Clegg were like as colleagues. If you enjoy this episode, please consider leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts or, even better, share the podcast or this post with a friend. Previous interviewees include Gina Miller, Peter Hargreaves, Martha Lane-Fox, Spencer Matthews, Charlie Mullins and Jayne-Anne Gadhia.

Martha Lane Fox, Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho, joins Tanya to talk about her pioneering career in digital; from the earliest days of the dot.com boom when she co-founded Lastminute.com in 1998; through her work as government Digital Champion from 2009-2013, spearheading the digitisation of government and the launch of gov.uk; the establishment of her responsible tech charity doteveryone which ran from 2015-2020 and finally, to her current role as Chair of the House of Lords Covid-19 Committee, which is looking at the long-term implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economic and social wellbeing of the United Kingdom. The episode focuses on digital inequalities in the UK, the large section of the population still without internet access and digital skills, and how the UK must eliminate this digital divide.**Please subscribe, rate and review if you enjoy the podcast**Find Martha on Twitter https://www.twitter.com/marthalanefoxIt's Complicated is on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/itscomplicatedpodFor more about Tanya Goodin visit https://www.tanyagoodin.com and Time To Log Off https://www.itstimetologoff.com Get Tanya's books: 'Off: Your Digital Detox for a Better Life' and 'Stop Staring at Screens' Find out about the digital detox and digital wellbeing course from The Time To Log Off Academy: https://timetologoff.teachable.com/p/digital-detox-course It's Complicated is produced by Time To Log OffTwitter: https://www.twitter.com/timetologoff Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timetologoff and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timetologoffnow See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ollie Ollerton is not your typical entrepreneur. A former UK Special Forces soldier, he is best known for his starring role on Channel 4's SAS: Who Dares Wins. Ollie has led an incredible life, and fellow entrepreneurs can learn a lot from his drive and determination. In this episode, he talks us through being attacked by a chimpanzee as a child, hitting rock bottom in Australia, and getting his life back on track via an ayahuasca-fuelled trip to the spirit world. Ollie parted company with SAS: Who Dares Wins last year and is now focused on building up his business, Break-Point. 'Can I ask you a personal question?' is a podcast that brings you in-depth interviews with some of Britain's best-known entrepreneurs and leaders in under 30 minutes. Our previous interviewees include Charlie Mullins, Peter Hargreaves, Gina Miller, Spencer Matthews and Martha Lane-Fox. If you enjoy this episode, please consider leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts or – even better – share the podcast with friends. For information on future episodes, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here.

Andrew Bloch is the co-founder of PR firm Frank, which he led as managing partner until last year. Andrew's clients include billionaire entrepreneur Lord Sugar, and Frank has represented Weetabix, Compare The Market, Deliveroo, and several other well-known brands. In this interview, Andrew gives Will and Dan some top PR tips (including why you should always compliment an interviewer on their questions) and talks them through his rise to the top of the industry. A storyteller by trade, Andrew also shares details of some of the raucous PR parties he has attended, talks about being "bollocked" by Lord Sugar, and tells us his best anecdote (featuring Helena Christensen and Kelly Brook). 'Can I ask you a personal question?' is a podcast that brings you in-depth interviews with some of Britain's best-known entrepreneurs and leaders in under 30 minutes. Our previous interviewees include Charlie Mullins, Peter Hargreaves, Gina Miller, Spencer Matthews and Martha Lane-Fox. If you enjoy this podcast, please consider leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts or, even better, share the podcast with friends. For information on future episodes, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here.

This week I'm summarising the conversation I had last week with Martha Lane Fox, who is a remarkable human being and a fascinating example of true leadership. The word that summarised this episode for me was serendipity and I think that's what we're really missing right now, those moments of spontaneity. So how can we create those moments? Martha introduced this concept describing the very early stages of her career, when her first job was really to become a cheerleader for the internet. She credits the success of her first company to a few things, and highlighted building trust and credibility about the internet with investors, users and employees. She had to build up this relationship which had never existed before. When we discussed how she survived the original DotCom Bust, Martha walked me through the following: 1- timing was everything and got lucky. Had enough cash enough to ride out the original bust. 2- Co-founding relationship was right. Had 2 people making the company grow fast. Able to do more breadth and depth by dividing and conquering. 3- Learned that success is all about the people. Empowered her young team Helped them feel real ownership and accountability. That is the secret. Martha describe herself as being a generalist and gets her focus comes being centred around her passions. Her earliest life passion was social justice, which is where she anticipated she would be addressing complex problems in prison systems but instead her roles in the internet and government are really united in this central theme of social justice, and being an advocate. I've also been thinking a lot about her TED Talk: “The Digital World is having a midlife Crisis!” and the 3 big questions she asked: 1- Will we look back in 10 years and be proud of the solutions we've created? 2- Have we got the right voices in the room? 3- Are we using the tools of the modern age in the best way we can? What would your answer be to these questions? What do you think? Finally, here's a few ways on how you can create opportunities for yourself: Be willing to ask questions Shift from knowing nothing about a subject and one week later being a world's expert. Shift from “know it alls to learn it alls”. There is an importance of Hinterland (meaning the depth and breadth of knowledge). “Success” rarely feels like “success” in the moment. It feels messy and anxious or subpar. No one feels it as a permanent state. What did you think of this week's episode? I'd love to hear from you! Email me at hello@annhiatt.co :) Don't forget to like, subscribe and rate the podcast Take care, Ann --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/ann-hiatt/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/ann-hiatt/support

Martha Lane Fox, or Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho to give her proper title, is renowned as one of Britain's biggest early internet entrepreneurs, having co-founded Lastminute.com at the age of 25. In 2004, when she was about to start a new role as the boss of Selfridges after having left her business, Martha was involved in a devastating car crash while on holiday in Morocco. Remarkably, as well as recovering from this near-fatal crash, Martha continued her rise to the top of the business world. Today, she is on the board of Twitter, she is the co-founder and chairman of karaoke firm Lucky Voice, and she also chairs tech startup WeTransfer. Away from business, Martha became the youngest female member of the House of Lords in 2013, and she is also today the chancellor of the Open University. We hope you enjoy the episode. If you do, please let us know by leaving us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts.

Martha Lane Fox is a British entrepreneur, philanthropist, internet activist and public servant. In this episode we cover topics like Serendipity and The Triple Bottom Line, as well as how the Digital World, like many of us, is having a midlife crisis and what we can do to increase our chances of coming out the other side better off for it. Martha knows because she has experienced this rollercoaster a few times over in her career. In 1998 Martha co-founded Europe's largest travel and leisure website, lastminute.com with Brent Hoberman. They took it public in 2000 and sold it in 2005 in a historically successful exit. Martha became a crossbench peer in the UK House of Lords in March 2013 as it's youngest female member and she was awarded a CBE (which is the highest ranking Order of the British Empire award given to recognise a positive impact made in her work.) In March 2014 she was appointed Chancellor of the Open University and in 2017 she was appointed a member of the Joint Committee on National Security Strategy. Martha is a member of Twitter's Board of Directors and Non Executive Director for Chanel. She is also a non executive director of Queens Commonwealth Trust. She founded Doteveryone in 2015 which is a charity fighting for a fairer internet and building a movement for responsible technology. In short, Martha is a remarkable human being and a fascinating example of true leadership. You'll want to stay tuned all the way to the end when Martha offers a surprising tip about how we can find solace, empathy and inspiration through Hinterland - which is expanding our depth and breadth of knowledge. You're going to want to grab a paper and pen! There's a lot of good stuff in here! Minute-by-minute summary: 03:30: What led you towards the digital space in the beginning? 05:20: What took you from the consulting firm to lastminute.com? 06:50: What was the beginning of your journey like? 09:16: What was the process of your exit like? 12:30: Martha walks us through where she chose to place her journey after lastminute.com 15:40: Will we look back in 10 years and be proud of the solutions we've created? 18:40: The triple bottom line, focusing on planet. 22:00: How have you seen your voice uniquely influence some top of mind decisions? 25:00: Are we using the gifts of modern technology to empower the changes that we need? 27:30: How can we become advocates for digital inclusion? 32:00: What do you see in the future of education? 36:40: The importance of education 43:00: Finding the joy in doing hard things 46:40: What gives you hope for the future? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/ann-hiatt/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/ann-hiatt/support

E31 – Leading Organisational Change: Interview with Jackie Lanham Jackie Lanham is Hilton Food Group’s Chief People Officer, with a career history that tells a story of leading change in all its forms to help businesses to achieve their goals. It comprises of 3 key phases: HR Generalist and Business Partner covering all aspects of HR. Large leadership roles establishing and running HR centralised and shared services. Developing and implementing strategies to ensure business success now and for the future through culture, capability and organisation design. What really makes her tick? Change. Creativity. Performance. Fun. Results. You Can Read the Full Transcript of Our Interview With Jackie Lanham Below: Darren A. Smith: Welcome to the MBM block. We are absolutely delighted to welcome Jackie Lanham. Jackie, welcome. Jackie Lanham: Thank you, Darren. Darren A. Smith: This is our blog where we talk to experts and people who practice in the field right now, and we’re talking to them about soft skills. Jackie and I know each other and we have selected the topic, well, Jackie did, of leading organisational change. Is that right? Jackie Lanham: Yeah, absolutely spot on. Darren A. Smith: Good. I thought if we’ve chosen another topic, I’ve really stuffed up the first part of this, but that’s okay. Jackie Lanham: We can do buying handbags if you like. Darren A. Smith: I’ll tell you about a friend afterwards who did a vlog on all her handbooks. No, maybe one for another time. We have the pleasure of Jackie’s company for about half an hour. We have a bunch of Google questions. So these are the questions that people typically ask around this topic. We’re going to put them to Jackie. But before I waffle on anymore Jackie, would you tell us a little bit about you please? Jackie Lanham: Course. And thank you so much, Darren, for inviting me here to have this conversation with you. I’m really looking forward to it. As Darren said, my name is Jackie Lanham. I am the chief people and culture officer for Hilton Food Group. And Hilton Food Group is a premier food packaging organisation. Absolutely focused on the protein category. Well known in meats, also getting well-known in fish, and also in vegan and vegetarian products as well, on an international basis. Jackie Lanham: I love my job. I get the opportunity to talk to people across Europe, into Australia, and also have the wonderful opportunity of building things into new countries, most recently, Belgium. In my role, I’m really responsible for facilitating our thinking around our people strategy, and really ensuring that our people love working for us, are fully engaged in what we do, because we know people who love their work, love working for the business, produce the best. Darren A. Smith: Very true. Very true. Yeah, very true. Okay. And you haven’t just worked at Hilton… I say just. Jackie Lanham: Oh, no, no, no. This white hair is earned, unfortunately. I got into human resources pretty quickly, and I have to say, I love it. Absolutely, felt very lucky to find my forte really early on in my career. I’ve worked across retail for the Co-operative and Tesco within the U.K. And also, I’ve worked on an international basis within the financial services’ sector. A period of 11 years with JPMorgan Chase, and a period of seven years with, also, Aviva, in the insurance sector. Jackie Lanham: I think what I absolutely adore about the profession I’m in, is the fact that it’s pretty transferable across different sectors. And I think I’m at my best when I’m working in businesses that are absolutely focused on delivering to the customer. Yeah, that what I enjoy doing, and really working with businesses who have that at their heart. Darren A. Smith: Brilliant. I’m going to go off at a slight tangent, and hopefully, you’ll be okay with it- Jackie Lanham: You did. Darren A. Smith: I’m looking through my… Not now, but I was looking through my LinkedIn feed, and there are people who are changing jobs and thinking HR might be for them. So I just want to take you back a few years to, when did you know you wanted to get into HR and why did you think it was right for you? And what’s your advice for those people that are thinking, “Do you know? I might have a good go at that”? Jackie Lanham: Yeah, it’s a tough one. I’ll tell the true story. So the true story was, I graduated in English literature and history- Darren A. Smith: Wow. Jackie Lanham: … and at the time I graduated, people are going, “What? You say you’re going to be a teacher? You’re going to be a journalist?” And I had a bit of a flirtation with being a journalist and worked out that I wasn’t really tough enough for doorstepping and all of that kind of stuff. And went back to the university careers centre, filled in one of these online things you fill in. Actually, it wasn’t online. It was paper and pen at the time, but there we go. And the results came out, “Oh, you could probably do marketing or personnel.” And I looked at marketing, thought, “Oh, that looks quite interesting.” And I looked at personnel and quite liked the fact that I could get another year’s education with a qualification. Jackie Lanham: So I decided to go back in and do my post-grad, kind of focusing on what was then personnel. And I think what grabbed me, in terms of loving it, was just the sheer variety. The fact that one moment, you’re recruiting, the next moment, you’re helping somebody perform better. You’re doing that at an individual level and also at an organisational level. And also, you get to work at very senior levels within the organisation, relatively young in your career, which is fantastic as well. So you get a real insight into the strategic direction and the commercial direction of organisations. Jackie Lanham: I think human resources gives you the flexibility to not only work within different sectors, but you can also work in different components of human resources now it’s really, I think, developed as a function. So if you love numbers and you love rewards, you can kind of have that analytical reward route. If you love more, the training and development side, then again, you’ve got the opportunity to look at how you bring an organisation along, or individuals along from that perspective. Jackie Lanham: I can name, we have diversity and inclusion now. All those types of things gives you the opportunity to specialise if you wish, work as a generalist if you wish, and then work across different sectors. And what I’ve loved is the opportunity as well, to look at how I can manage my career to different stages in my life, as well. Darren A. Smith: Oh, okay. Yeah, yeah. Jackie Lanham: So yeah, as I had my son, I could start to think, “Well, actually, I think this is the time for me to specialise a bit more because I can manage my time. My time is more my own.” Whereas when you, in a more business partnering role, I can tell you, it’s not so much your own. So again, fits another stage of your life in your career. Jackie Lanham: So I just had that flexibility, and obviously, people can take it into their own businesses, running fantastic consultancies as you do, or indeed, looking at how you might be an independent consultant as well. So yeah, I just think it’s opportunity-rich and I’ve just absolutely adored it. Darren A. Smith: Brilliant. And just coming back to, if I’m an HR… I’m not, but if I was a person wanting to be an HR manager, what’s the one thing that regrets too much. What’s the one piece of advice you’d say to someone, “You should go and do that. You should try this. You should…” What is it? What’s the thing? Jackie Lanham: I think it’s, dip your toe into everything. And I think probably, yeah, I think a regret is a really good question. And very, a couple of times early on in my career, I was given the opportunities to work internationally. Now, I’ve been lucky that I’ve done international roles, and I’ve been able to travel into countries and spend periods of time. But at least on two occasions, I was offered the opportunity to work in New York, offered the opportunity to work in Holland, or the Netherlands, sorry, and never took it up. Jackie Lanham: And I think if I look back, I can go, “Yeah, you should have just pushed yourself a bit further on those things.” But I think trying to really widen your experience as much as possible, is really important. And we live in a very small world now, so the more experience you’ve got of working with different culture on an international basis, I think the better, in terms of your career. Darren A. Smith: That’s good advice. All right. Well, I’m thinking that we could do 40 minutes about you because I am fascinated. Darren A. Smith: Do that more than one. Let me just come back to our topic for a moment because I’ve got about a thousand other questions and the people are thinking, “Hold on. You were going to talk about this, now you’re talking about that.” So leaving organisational change, let me ask the stupid questions. What the hell does that mean? It sounds like something out of a book. What does it mean? Jackie Lanham: It does, doesn’t it? Yeah. There’s also this piece around… I don’t want to sound passe, but change is constant. It absolutely is. And I think for me, around leading organisational change, it’s around, you always need to be on point because there’s always going to be changed in play. And yes, there’ll be big change, there’ll be small change. If you, as a professional, are not always looking at how you can do things better, how you stay relevant, then at some point you’ll be extinct, the business will be extinct. We’ve seen lots of examples of that in history. Jackie Lanham: If we look at how… It’s the easy one, isn’t it? How technology has lifted us off to a different place. The impact that’s had on retail, for example. Those retailers who have not quite grasped that, are in quite a difficult position. And they were in a difficult position pre COVID. So I think for me, around leading organisational change, it has to be in your kitbag on a 24/7 basis. And the minute you get complacent is the minute you start to become not successful. And it might be not successful in the next few months, or it might be not successful in years to come. Jackie Lanham: So for me, that it has to be part of your toolkit, whatever role you have within a business, with that constant focus on, “How can I always do it better? How can I make sure I’m absolutely relevant as an organisation or as an individual?” Darren A. Smith: When you were talking, the one that came to mind was a tech example, but I was thinking of BlackBerry. I had about 15 BlackBerry’s, I think during maybe the ’90s or early the early ’00s. I can’t remember. And then they just went… And you think, “Wow.” Jackie Lanham: That’s it. Darren A. Smith: “How did the company that owned 80% of the market just go off the cliff?” Jackie Lanham: I know. Darren A. Smith: Wow, wow, wow. Yeah. Jackie Lanham: It’s absolutely scary. And that’s why I think it’s essential to always be looking at your internal health as a business, as I talked about earlier. Now, “How are people feeling around here? How are we meeting the needs of our customer?” But it’s also incredibly important to look at the external environment as well. It’s a bit like your own body, isn’t it? Are you breathing the air well, and is the air that you’re breathing in, good, fresh air? Darren A. Smith: Very true. Very true. Jackie Lanham: So for me, it’s, I don’t want to make you feel as though you have to be constantly restless, but I think the more curious you are, the more interested you are, the more relevant you’re going to continue to be. And yeah, as you’ve rightly said with BlackBerry, and there’s lots of other examples that we could probably come up with between the pair of us, where for whatever reason, the eye has gone off the ball. Jackie Lanham: But there are also some great reinvention stories. I mean, you look at IBM, look at how they’ve reinvented themselves. Darren A. Smith: That’s true. Jackie Lanham: They are absolutely amazing. So there are good examples there, where people have kind of sat back and said, “Hey, hang on. Where’s our relevance? What do we need to do going forward?” And that’s something Hilton Food Group has done, in terms of starting off within the red meat business. And then we look at how we’ve now developed into looking at other proteins and ciliary services around data and that kind of thing as well. Darren A. Smith: The other example that came to mind was when I was young, I had a cold. Mum sat me on the sofa and gave me Lucozade with the foil top. Do you remember this? Jackie Lanham: Oh, God. I love Lucozade. Darren A. Smith: And you only had Lucozade when you were ill. Jackie Lanham: You did, yeah. Darren A. Smith: And then, must have been some bright spark at Lucozade said, “Hold on”- Jackie Lanham: Energy. Darren A. Smith: “How come people only drink this when they’re ill? Let’s boom.” Wow. Jackie Lanham: Yeah, yeah. Darren A. Smith: And then… Jackie Lanham: Yeah, exactly. You’re absolutely right. Yeah. Yeah, reinvention. Darren A. Smith: Yeah. And I think it was Martha Lane Fox, who was the founder of lastminute.com, who said, “Working at lastminute.com is like being a headless chicken on amphetamines”- Jackie Lanham: That’s it. Darren A. Smith: Maybe that comes back to your restless part. Jackie Lanham: Yeah. I think there is. And it’s like, you don’t want to be restless to the fact where it’s really impacting you at your mental health and your wellbeing. But like I said, just having that, I guess, that healthy curiosity. Darren A. Smith: Okay. Jackie Lanham: “What can I learn from this conversation? What’s that telling me? What do you think?” Incredibly important because nobody’s got the biggest brain in the world. The best ideas always come together through collaboration. And I think when you’re looking at up-leading change, collaboration is absolutely essential. Especially as you come more senior in an organisation because that’s the point around the customer. Jackie Lanham: Unfortunately, you can become more and more detached the more senior you are within the business, in terms of what’s really happening at the frontline with respect to that customer. So having those conversations and that collaboration, is incredibly important to staying alive to what’s going on in your system. Darren A. Smith: And I guess that must be particularly challenging. You’ve got a business, Hilton, which must be, I don’t know, 30 sites around the world. I don’t know how many I’m afraid, Jackie Lanham: I think about something, yeah. Yeah. Darren A. Smith: So you’ve probably got 20 different cultures there, 15 different languages. Wow. That’s tough. Jackie Lanham: I know. It’s wonderful. I love it. Yeah. It’s because, again, you’ll get… And I was having a conversation with one of our managing directors in the U.K. and we were looking at how he wanted to focus on some improvements and immediately said, “Oh, I can see from our engagement survey, that our operating company in Denmark’s doing some great stuff. How can I learn from Denmark?” Yeah. Jackie Lanham: So as well as the importance of making sure you’re having those conversations, managing through data, I think is very important as well. So the more we know through asking our people what’s on their mind and collating those results through… Quick pulse engagement surveys can be very useful because then you can create some better sharing of best practice internally when you see spotlights that really great practice. Jackie Lanham: Plus also, in a business of our scale, you can start to see, “Well, I think I could really help this particular operating company, because obviously, they’ve got some challenges in these particular areas, and how can I take the great ideas that I see across the business and help them with that within this particular setting?” Jackie Lanham: So yeah, managing through data when you’re looking at change, can be really important. It’s back to the whole extinct businesses. How were they talking to their customer around what their views were, what they wanted? Darren A. Smith: That makes sense. Yeah, yeah. Being informed. Yeah. Sorry, it slightly froze there. And it’s just coming back. I think. Jackie Lanham: Think we’re in. Darren A. Smith: Okay. It’s back. It’s back. Jackie Lanham: All the children have gone online and they’re playing games at the moment. Darren A. Smith: Little tinkers. All right. So let’s ask you, what would be an example of leading organisational change, either this business or a previous business, so people can go, “Okay. I can see me doing that. I can see me trying that”? Jackie Lanham: I think that was… I mean, I’ll go back a little bit. In my last organisation, I worked for a manufacturing organisation called Wrexham, who were taken over by a big American conglomerate called Ball. A wonderful company actually, they were really great to work with. But quite frightening, because with the FTSE 100 business, plants all over the world, we needed to go through many difficult legal challenges and issues around ensuring that we didn’t have any issues around noncompeting, all of that kind of stuff. Jackie Lanham: So what we had to do was, take the employee base through a change that was going to be difficult for them. They might not be in a job. It might be a change that was not going to happen if it failed in any of the legal jurisdictions. So we were kind of, set ourselves a real clear vision when we went through this change, which is, “We are going to be a fantastic business, whether we are acquired or whether we’re not.” Jackie Lanham: So we set a very clear vision. And I think when you’re going through change, that clear vision is incredibly important. Then what we did was, we looked at it through the lens of, “How am I, as an employee, going to feel going through this change, and how can we best equip our employees to face this change as well?” We talk to them about it. We talk to them about what might they need. And this was what I might need as an employee in going about my job, but also, as a line manager as well, in terms of how I could support my people through the change. Jackie Lanham: And that was fantastic to see it come through because we started to put in place conversations, engagement surveys, we kept going with our high potential leadership development program. Some organisations I’ve seen in play, where they might be taken over, have just cut every single piece of this kind of activity and investment out. We divided that we needed our people to be incredibly motivated during this period, and based on what they were telling us, we kept everything in place but we upped it. Jackie Lanham: So we gave them more tools around how they might manage change personally, not just on the basis of getting your job done, but how you might handle it from a wellbeing perspective. We also looked at giving them tools to help them find their next job, which was taking quite a risk. Darren A. Smith: Yeah, yeah, yeah. It’s important, isn’t it? Jackie Lanham: Because my kind of vision was to… Yeah, we wanted to hand over a business that was in good fettle to the new owner, and actually, all the people that the business wanted to stay state. And those people who moved on felt that they got fantastic support, in terms of managing their career going forward. And communication sat throughout all of this. So I think that was… Well, I know it was successful because we were clear about the vision, we collaborated with people as we went on the journey. Jackie Lanham: And that collaboration meant collaborating with our colleagues in North America, South America, across Europe, and across the Middle East and Africa. And it did mean a few back-to-back flights to Dubai and sleeping on the plane, doing change workshops. Darren A. Smith: Wow. Jackie Lanham: But it was so appreciated, Darren. So appreciated, which was fantastic. And so to me, the business was acquired and it’s gone on to do brilliantly, and I have people that worked in my team who are still there, absolutely loving it. Darren A. Smith: That was a great story. Great. Jackie Lanham: Yeah, so- Darren A. Smith: Because there are so many stories where it all goes wrong, and that’s lovely to hear one that went really right. And some ballsy moves in there as well, courageous move. Jackie Lanham: Yeah. Yeah, I think so, I think the… And obviously, we had really great support from the top team there. So for me, that was something that did go well, it had a good outcome and it was in difficult circumstances. If you think about, you know Kotter’s change model, where they talk about having that reason to change, that kind of call to action. Jackie Lanham: Sometimes it can feel as though it’s a non-positive, it’s not about the opportunity, it’s more about a threat to be overcome. And sometimes that can feel, “Don’t scare me into change,” a bit like Brexit. It was like the campaign of fear, so everyone goes… Well, not everyone, but a few people go, “Hang on. I’m not going towards that.” Jackie Lanham: And so what we did was, created the opportunity around this as well. So yes, it is a fear that people could lose their jobs. It is a fear that the transaction might not work and we could be forever in that place of being looked like a business to buy. So it was really time also to presenting the opportunity that gave to people. And I think as well because we had a good year to work it through, people can go through that whole change curve. They’ve got the time to go through the change curve and work out what this means to them. And I suppose, that’s an example I’d probably use. Darren A. Smith: And it sounds like… So you talked about, you hear people go from fear to opportunity, and sometimes it’s just semantics. We’ll change a word and we’ll sort of manipulating them, but actually, what you guys sound like you did there was, it was genuine, “We can turn this into an opportunity. It is a real opportunity. It’s not just semantics. It’s right through the business.” Okay. I’m just picking that up. Jackie Lanham: Yeah. And being really proud I think. There’s an incredible pride in giving, and wanting to make sure that that legacy is there really, no matter what it means for the future. I remember talking to my boss at the time. I said, “I don’t think I’ve been busier than on coaching than ever before.” And it was marvellous because we just said, “Oh, God. Wouldn’t it be nice if it was like this all the time, with people constantly coming to us?” They’re saying, “Please can you help me? Please can you give me some help and support around this particular area?” But anyway, we made the most of it in those particular circumstances. Darren A. Smith: I know you’re a big fan of coaching- Jackie Lanham: Yeah, definitely. Darren A. Smith: You’re a fan, aren’t you? Jackie Lanham: Yes. Yeah, definitely. I think it’s always interesting with coaching though. And I love the purist coaching where you really are… It’s back to curious questions, posing those curious questions to the person that you’re working with, to really help them get to that answer. That’s the coaching I love. Darren A. Smith: Yeah. And I think our story around that is… I tell some of these things become an urban myth. There was a story around Adrian Moorhouse, the gold medal. Jackie Lanham: Oh, yes. Yeah. Darren A. Smith: And the story goes something like, the journalist came into the pool, into the area. The coach was on the side. Adrian had doubled cramp and was sort of half drowning. You can imagine, the story gets embellished. And the journalist says to the coach, “Aren’t you going to jump in and help him?” And he says, “No. I can’t swim.” And you just love those type of stories to put forward, coaching doesn’t mean they’ll have to understand what you do. Jackie Lanham: Yeah, exactly. It can just be those insightful questions or putting that person in a different perspective. I often, sometimes if somebody talks to me about a really terrible experience, just saying, “Well, how did you feel at that time?” And to the silly things like, “If you’re an animal, what animal would you have been at that time? And what animal would you prefer to be?” It sounds daft, but it takes people to a more creative place. Darren A. Smith: Yes, yes. Absolutely does. Right. Jackie Lanham: And allowing them to move on. So yeah, no, I can talk for ages about coaching, really enjoy it. Darren A. Smith: Well, we might come back to that. Let me ask you our other question. Jackie Lanham: Okay. Darren A. Smith: The first step in leading organisational change. Have you got an example, and is it always the same step? Jackie Lanham: I think, probably if I look at the Hilton Food Group, Hilton Food Group, fabulously successful business, but really grown quickly. And there was a point where we’d got to say, “Actually, we’ve got a very small leadership team. That leadership team cannot, on a constant basis in part, what the vision and direction are to the business, keeping it alive for everybody. We have to start to empower more through the organisation to do that. And in doing that, we really need to be clear about what we’re about.” Jackie Lanham: And that was an interesting one, because usually when you’re going through a change, there’s kind of a bit of a clear call to arms, isn’t there? There’s kind of, “There this opportunity. We’re going to go and do some business over here, and we’re all going to go for it.” Or it’s going to be, “Oh, no, there’s a threat coming round the corner. We’ve got COVID. We know that people are going to be hit in their pockets. And we’ve got to think about providing more value.” Jackie Lanham: So this one, it was kind of, “Well, why do we really need to be doing this?” It was very important I think, for us to be clear, going back to the Wrexham case, “What’s the vision for this, what’s the reason for doing it?” I think, every change initiative, it should start with being very clear about, what’s the why. Because if we’re not clear around that, how can you take people with you? And I know there’s always ambiguity. There’s always ambiguity, but being very clear around, “What’s the purpose of what we’re doing here?” Jackie Lanham: So for us, I mean, this is the sort of poster thing behind me, was something we developed to be very clear around, “This is our purpose as a business. This is why we do business. This is our ambition. And these are the values we hold dear and the principles we hold dear.” And there was, in the beginning, a bit of a, “Why are we bothering?” Jackie Lanham: Well, why we’re bothering is because we are growing at such pace. We need to make sure everybody that joins this business, knows what’s important and what we need to keep doing, knows how we should make sure we’re aligned in a similar direction to achieve what we need to for the customer as well. But always doing so where there’s… I don’t really like the phrase but I’ll use it. A kind of freedom with their framework. So, “This is the framework of how we operate, and obviously, want to empower people to be able to do things in a way that’s right for them, but within this particular framework.” Jackie Lanham: So that was very interesting to get into and be able to really be clear around, “This is what it’s about, is to ensure that we all know what’s important in this business as we start to grow and develop. And in going through that change, making sure that everything we do can be rooted back to it.” So if I just sort of concentrate on the human resources side of it, it’s when we’re recruiting, we’re recruiting people who kind of like our values. Darren A. Smith: Yeah. Yeah, makes sense. Jackie Lanham: Because if you recruit people who don’t really like your values, then they aren’t going to last very long because it’s not the right business for them. We have a value about being entrepreneurial. And if you prefer an environment that’s perhaps a little bit slower paced, where you have more time perhaps, to think through some solutions, out advance, we’re not right for you because we’re constantly being curious around, “What’s the next idea? How are we going to move forward on that? Well, let’s try out. Oh, we might not get that completely right. That’s okay. We’ve learned from it.” If that’s not the environment for you, then we’re not the business for you. Jackie Lanham: And so I think being really clear about those kinds of things is important, but at the same time, obviously, we don’t want to recruit a lot of people who look exactly the same- Darren A. Smith: Yes. Jackie Lanham: … but at least we’re being clear about kind of, “This is what’s important to us.” So yeah, I think around starting the change, it’s always about why being very clear about why. And then immediately after, checking in on why. “Does this make sense for you? How would you go about doing this? Would you like to get involved with me on this journey?” Jackie Lanham: And it’s the usual stuff around making sure that when you’re forming these teams to work on this type of thing, you don’t just have your people who are cheering in the stands or cheering by your side, you also have those people that’ll be, “Oh, yeah. I’ve tried this before, Jack. I don’t know if it’s going to work.” Yeah. Or, “I’m not really sure about this.” You need those people engaged as well because they’re going to help you come up with the best solutions and the best way forward. Darren A. Smith: Yeah. Some of those people who have a problem who has a… What is it? A problem for every solution. Jackie Lanham: Oh, yeah. They’re wonderful, aren’t they? Darren A. Smith: Loads of people just, “No.” Jackie Lanham: “So what would you do then, in my place?” Darren A. Smith: Yeah. And they normally answer, “Well, I don’t know, but whatever you’re doing is wrong.” Jackie Lanham: Yeah. Yeah, they are. I know, the wonderful naysayer, but you’ve got to listen to them. Darren A. Smith: Yes. Jackie Lanham: There’ll be nuggets there. Darren A. Smith: Yes, I know. I know. Well, if you can win them over, you win everyone else over. All right- Jackie Lanham: Yeah. And sometimes you can’t. Sometimes you can’t win them over, but if you listen to what they’re saying, there’ll be things there that’ll help you build a better solution, that’ll help you win more of the larger population over so I tend to listen. I think again, it’s an old saying, isn’t it? But you’ve got two of these and one of those. Darren A. Smith: True. So start with why. So it sounds a bit like the Simon Sinek. Jackie Lanham: Yeah. Darren A. Smith: And the way you described that was sort of a sense check. We can keep coming back to it. Should we go in this direction? Well, this is why we said we will, you keep coming back. Jackie Lanham: Absolutely. And that sense checking, I think is really important because you get more data along the way. And I think again when you’re working through change… I mentioned ambiguity earlier. As much as you can create why there will be ambiguity, and we need to keep questioning, “Why is there ambiguity?” In order to help set more direction as you move forward. So I think sometimes, people find it tough, which is “Okay, there’s the goal. I’ll kick the ball and it’ll go straight in the goal.” I don’t know why I’m using a football analogy because I know nothing about football. Jackie Lanham: I’ve learned a bit more about football. But there’s a bit around, “Well, who do you need to pass the ball to?” Darren A. Smith: Right, yeah. Jackie Lanham: And if you don’t pass the ball over to that person and you try and kick the ball in, are you going to cause yourself a problem with somebody that they’re marking, they weren’t marking, suddenly appearing from nowhere. This analogy’s not working well, but- Darren A. Smith: I like it. I know nothing about football and it works for me. Jackie Lanham: Yeah. Yeah, but it really is. It’s kind of this piece around, you’ll start off on a track but you’ll get more data as you go down that track, then you may just need to make adjustments. So I think people, when they think in black and white all the time, “Show me the path, show me the direction.” Well, actually, when you’re going down that path, there may be some other little routes you want to follow when you do that. Jackie Lanham: So I think for people to be willing for those changes along the way, which means that collaboration, communication both ways are very important as you’re going through change. And as you’re going through that change, making sure you celebrate the successes along the way. So I’ve worked on some change programs that have taken quite a time, and I’ll have occasionally have come across people who’ll go, “Well, what are you up to? I haven’t seen anything different.” Jackie Lanham: So for me, it’s around. “Yeah, I know you haven’t seen anything different, but I know we’ve achieved this, we’ve achieved that and we’ve achieved the other.” And I had somebody who did that to me in Hilton Food Group. And then about 18 months later, they came and said, “That’s really good, that work we did on blah.” And I’m not saying everything goes well. But I also knew they had been a naysayer on the way, “When are we going to see it? When are we going to see anything?” Darren A. Smith: And it can take time. Jackie Lanham: So you have to give yourself your little successes along the way, you have to give your credit to the team along the way and your thank you’s as you’re going on this journey as well. Yeah. And there’s a little bit of hold your nerve. Darren A. Smith: So it’s a bit about celebrating success, hold your nerve, and the other bit that resonated with me was, someone once said to me that an airline pilot, they are 80% always off course, because of the wind. Jackie Lanham: Oh, I didn’t know that. Oh, okay. Darren A. Smith: But they’re always going that way, but they’re slightly off course all the time, but yet they’re still going the right direction. It’s like, “Oh, yeah, that” Okay. Jackie Lanham: Yeah. Yeah, I like that. I’m going to steal that one. No, that’s very good. Yeah, and I think that’s a really good one. And as you go through this, there is, you have to be really real with people and authentic, and if something’s not going well, it’s not going well, how can we make it well? Be very honest. And obviously, sometimes that can be a bit scary but we’re dealing with adults here. I think we, as all adults, would rather know, “What’s the real story around here, and how can we then work together to resolve this issue?” Jackie Lanham: If the change is presented on the basis of a threat, let’s be open about what that threat is and how can we marshal together in terms of meeting it and overcoming it. And that collaboration, I don’t think is just about collaboration. It’s also, how can you devolve as many decisions down as possible? People love being empowered. Okay, so what is it that they can do, they can contribute as well when are you going on this journey? Jackie Lanham: It shouldn’t be all about what I would call kind of archaic, “I’m the leader, follow me.” It’s kind of, “How are we work together on this? What’s my contribution going to be?” And in that way, we learn and grow, and we make the mistakes along the way as well. Darren A. Smith: That’s good. That’s good. I’m going to ask you about our last question because I’m aware of your time. Jackie Lanham: Okay. Darren A. Smith: My last question to come out is, which leadership style is best for change management? Let me make sure I got that right. Which leadership style is best for change management? That’s the last question that everyone seems to be asking. Jackie Lanham: I don’t think there’s one thing, I think there’s a number of things. I’ve said collaboration a lot. The big thing for me is curiosity, and always wanting to do things better, and allowing those mistakes, allowing that testing. Jackie Lanham: And I think for me, at Hilton Food Group, I remember early on a colleague had not managed something as well as they’d want to manage it. I was only new in the business, and I thought, “Oh, crikey. I think I’m going to have a very difficult conversation with the colleagues and boss around their future career.” The boss said, “Ah, they’re really going to learn from this.” And that, to me, I went, “Do you know? This is the company for me.” Darren A. Smith: Good. Jackie Lanham: That real entrepreneurial willingness to let people have a go was just marvellous. And I think again, as a leader, you have to promote that and support at the same time when things don’t go as right as they could have done. Yeah, so those are some that’s a mixture for me really, Darren, that would be what would be in my head as some of the really useful things. Darren A. Smith: So there’s not one style, there are probably six or seven attributes that you’ve listed there, which you think are important to lead the change? Jackie Lanham: I think so. And it depends. It can depend on the situation too. If you’re one dimensional as a leader, then you’re not going to be successful. You have to flex to what your circumstances are, and also, who you’re leading. So if you’re working with somebody who perhaps has a lot more experience, you’re going to work with them in a different way from somebody who doesn’t have as much experience. So you’ve kind of got to flex, and listen, and collaborate and facts of being authentic, all of those types of things. Darren A. Smith: Brilliant. Brilliant. Thank you. Leading organisational change. If we had another 30 seconds with you, that would be great. What would be one last nugget you’d like to leave these people with that are interested in leading organisational change? Here, I’ve got an expert, someone with lots of experience, made a few mistakes, lots of success. What would you want to leave them with? Jackie Lanham: Always be curious. Darren A. Smith: Cool. Jackie Lanham: Internally, externally. If you lose your curiosity, then you’re extinct I think. Darren A. Smith: Brilliant. Jackie Lanham: Yeah. Which sounds a bit frightening. But the minute you stop asking questions, I think that’s the moment to think, “Is this really interesting to me? Am I doing the right thing?” Darren A. Smith: And you can almost imagine, back to our story before of BlackBerry, someone just didn’t ask the question they probably ought to, which is, “Is this really going to be relevant in five years?” Jackie Lanham: Well, exactly. It’s tough with strategy now because there’s a lot of, sort of reading the idea that says, “Oh, having these fixed strategic plans for the next five years is not the right thing to do.” And I don’t think it’s around having a fixed strategic plan. It’s around scanning the horizon all the time. And it’s a bit like that healthy body thing, isn’t it? You’ve got to have healthy lungs and the air that you’re breathing in’s got to be healthy as well. So I think you should look at that from an organisational business perspective too. Darren A. Smith: All right. Jackie, actually, I’m going to ask you one last thing because I’ve just remembered. I think you have been nominated for an award, but I can’t remember, is it the Women’s Award? Jackie Lanham: Oh. What it was, was, no, we’re now sponsoring Meat Business Women. Darren A. Smith: Ah. Jackie Lanham: So yeah, it would be through that. Yeah. So they very, very kindly asked me to present at their last conference, which had to be virtual because that’s the world we’re in at the moment. And which was lovely of them to do, and a fantastic organisation. And what we’ll be doing is sponsoring with them over the next two years or so, and hopefully longer, to really look at how we can promote women’s careers within the meat industry because we have a dove. We’ve got lots of great men out there, we’ve got some great women, but we’d like some more great women. Darren A. Smith: Brilliant. And if we plug them, is there a website these guys have got, or a Facebook or a… Jackie Lanham: Yeah. Meat Business Women, you can find them by LinkedIn and they’ll be doing some more work on websites and all of that kind of thing. And we, along with a number of other organisations, will be helping them with that on sponsorship, like I say, starting next year. Darren A. Smith: Cool. All right. Well, we’ll have the link beneath in the YouTube comments, so you can get to that easily. Jackie Lanham: Yeah. Yeah, that’s great. Darren A. Smith: All right. I’ve taken up much of the time as I said. So, Jackie Lanham, that has been fabulous. You’ve answered all our questions people have asked, which is brilliant. Jackie Lanham: Phew. Darren A. Smith: I’ve put you on the spot and you’ve done fabulously, so thank you very much. Jackie Lanham: Oh, thanks, Darren. It’s always great talking to you. Take care. Darren A. Smith: All right. You have a good Christmas. Bye. For further tips and information, you can take a look at our Ultimate Guide to Leadership Skills and our Leadership Skills YouTube Channel. Also, check out our award-winning blog to see more Leadership Skills Tips and articles.

Pete Flint was the founding member of LastMinute.com with Brent Hoberman and Martha Lane Fox. Following the billion dollar acquisition, Pete went to study for an MBA at Stanford Graduate School of Business. He noticed how it was hard to get accomodation, and so this led to him founding Trulia, which turned into another unicorn being acquired by Zillow for £3.5 billion. He has recently written a brilliant essay on the NFX website on how to 10X your career, you can check out that piece which we talk a lot about in the show - https://www.nfx.com/post/10x-career-decisions/I have been thinking of how to transition my career for a year since leaving Downing Street and it is the best piece I have read on the subject.Thank you to this episodes sponsor, Juggle.Jobs Three key themes of this podcast have been talent, diversity, and flexibility. Young ambitious companies always face a challenge between hiring a full time employee, but also getting the right level of experience for what they need and within their budgets.That is where Juggle Jobs comes in, think of them as an AirBnB for high end employment ...as Hayden Wood said in the first episode, hire talent, but rent experience.You can post a free job advertisement on Juggle in just a few minutes, and then you are presented with intelligently matched candidates.You can check their process at juggle.jobsA reminder that you can follow us on Twitter and Instagram @JimmysJobs If you want further summaries and sneak peeks of upcoming guests - sign up to the Jimmy's Jobs of the Future email at https://www.getrevue.co/profile/jimmym Thanks very much for listening. If you'd like to see more information about the job roles being offered please look at my Twitter @jimmym

As businesses struggle, tech companies like Amazon, Facebook and Netflix are stronger than ever. Has COVID-19 accelerated digital disruption? What is the right way to regulate tech? Damian Collins MP is joined by Baroness Martha Lane Fox, board member of Twitter and founder of technology think tank Dot Everyone. John Quinlan discusses a shift in submissions to Infotagion from fake cures towards misinformation about civil liberties, and Dr Charles Kriel unpacks COVID-19 case charts.

A tech pioneer who sits on the board of Twitter and set up the Government's websites - Martha Lane Fox opens up about how Twitter and tech still don't do enough for women, how the British tech sector will need 'the most forward facing, skilled workforce' post Brexit and the brutal car accident where she almost lost her life. Despite an innovative vision and dogged determination, the path to success for Martha Lane Fox was far from easy

The poster children of the UK's internet boom talk to Kamal and Rohan about the rise of lastminute.com, but how in business as in life, we have to be careful what we wish for.

During the Internet's nascent years, e-commerce startups faced one of the digital era's most daunting challenges: convincing consumers to not only use the Internet, but purchase online goods with their credit cards. Martha Lane Fox did that—and more—as co-founder of Lastminute.com, one of the first and largest websites to let people book travel. She joins our host David-Michel Davies to discuss Last Minute, as well as her non-profit Doteveryone and its work to combat gender and algorithmic bias, while pushing for sensible tech policy in the UK, and beyond.To learn more on Doteveryone's fight for a fairer digital society, visit their website. Follow Martha on social media at @Marthalanefox.Follow us on social @TheWebbyAwardsKeep up with David-Michel @dmdlikesOur Producer is Sebastian AdeOur Editorial Director is Nicole FerraroResearch and writing by Jordana JarrettMusic is Podington Bear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If the U.K. is to continue its economic march onward and upward, technology needs to play an increasing role, say Martha Lane Fox (that's Baroness of Soho Lane-Fox in more public settings) and Russell Davies in this segment of the pod ... another one of our on-the-road a16z podcasts from London. But it can't just be the same apps and software solutions that are coming out of Silicon Valley, say these two European tech veterans (Lane Fox is a web entrepreneur and on the boards of multiple tech companies and open data initiatives, while Davies is a writer and digital strategist). The U.K. needs to do things differently to create and maintain an edge against all the tech powers around the globe. Lane Fox and Davies describe what a bright tech future could look like -- a lot more women in the industry, for starters -- and how it might differ from, and compete with, the best around the world.