The Extraordinary Business Book Club

When she started her first job reporting on farming, trying to work out how to move into interior design, Sally Percy had no idea she'd forge such an extraordinarily successful careeer as a business …

People who write business books - at least, business books worth reading - tend to think a little differently. This ‘Best Bits’ episode features a formidable line-up of disruptors, each of whom bring…

'I see confidence as something that's rooted in how we feel before any words, something which touches on sensations.'

What do you think of when you think of sports coaching? Elite lean performance ma…

 "How do you want your book to make people feel? Start with the feeling and then work your way backwards."

When you're all about creativity, social justice and empowering individuals to transform pai…

What does a good working life look like in the 21st century?

Dr Hilary Cottam, OBE has spent the last five years exploring this question through collaborative workshops she calls 'imagininings', invo…

 'Every time I interviewed somebody, I said, is there anyone you think I should talk to? And so it had a network effect for me. My network grew with these generous, amazing, thoughtful people.'

Writi…

' I think reading a book is sometimes like... you've slowed things down. You're in this present moment, working on this very particular thing. And I think we want more of that in our lives.'

What mak…

'Creativity needs oxygen just as much as fire does.'

What does it take to turn a spark of inspiration into a sustained creative fire?

This week’s episode is a reflection on the art of making fire, fr…

'The foundations of how authors build visibility, build a readership... while the tools change, the principles don't.'

Jane Friedman has been commentating on the business of books for many years, and…

Leslie Grandy always wanted to be 'creative', but after discovering that she 'sucked' as a child at piano, painting, drama, dancing and so on she decided (to the relief of her teachers) that it simpl…

 'If you just want a machine to write all of this stuff and put your name on it and say it's yours, I don't know what the motivation is. I don't know what results you think it could bring.'

What does…

‘It’s not a presentation or a business card. It’s a conversation.’

This Best Bits episode is a love letter to intentional conversations – the ones that unlock insight, build cohesion, shape identity …

'I didn't just want to do a sort of 'me-too' series just for the sake of it. I wanted to have a series concept that I could really get excited about and which would stand out in quite a crowded marke…

' We've invented a new genre, at least that's very modestly what we would like to believe. We're calling it Professional Advice Narrative Tales, and we'll leave you to figure out that acronym.'

For t…

'[Olympia's] gorgeous vaulted glass roof feels kind of like a metaphor for the fair itself. Rooted in history, but always looking upwards and outwards.'

Something a bit different today: join me for a…

 'This is all a web that's woven together, and how it all works is really important. You can't just do one piece of it. And a great partner is someone who understands that this is a marathon, not a s…

 'When I first started, people were like, "Don't say the word paradox... don't say it because they won't get it." And now people are like, "Oh my goodness, I need this."' 

When it's a case of scarce …

' I really like to read other people's ideas and then add my own ideas... you start with the brainstorming together and say, so what could be in here?'

Petra Molthan-Hill is a professor of Sustainabl…

'I have learned to have a different relationship with resistance... when we're actually really on track with things, resistance comes up.'

Sarah Rozenthuler is no stranger to the art of conversation …

'How do you make a strategy a story? The best leaders and the best communicators do that. They turn something that's functional and rational into something that's a story.'

John Dore, head of London …