What is one of the most productive ways you can strengthen and grow your business? Personal referral. In this episode Alan and Matt discuss how to make optimum use of this simple and yet highly effective business strengthening strategy and establish a discerning referral system. Your Hosts: Matt Williams is the founder and owner of Cypher, the fast…

In this episode Alan and Matt discuss the importance of ensuring a steady cashflow, giving their top 5 methods for ensuring financial success. As usual the boys are drawing from their own experience, and that of supporting their clients in business to give you the foundations of this vital, and often over looked business skill. Your Hosts: Matt Wil…

As we celebrate the milestone of 70 episodes Alan and Matt offer their usual blend of practical, solution based insights to the world of business. In this episode the boys focus on taking a critical eye to your business via KPI's (Key Performance Indicators). In particular they focus on four main themes, Customer - People - Finance - Operations. Di…

Alan and Matt are back with another juicy podcast where they share insights, experiences and wisdom to business owners and entrepreneurs. This episode was recorded on their return from their summer break and initially draws on a news story that got the boys thinking about valuing the services we provide as businesses and being aware of the transfor…

Reinvention. A word we may associate more with the likes of Madonna or global business players such as Microsoft or Netflix. But does it deserve a place at the table within SME and Owner-Managed businesses? In this episode Alan and Matt get into the nitty gritty of Reinvention in a business setting. Some of the gems included in this episode include…

In this episode Alan and Matt share their insights on Breakthrough Conversations. They explore the merits and potential positive outcomes of breakthrough conversations, the barriers to getting started on these important conversations as well as some top tips for success. Matt and Alan draw on their own experiences and discuss the merits of creating…

Matt and Alan return with a full on plea for every leader and business owner to learn the art of prioritisation! Prioritisation has never been as valuable to personal effectiveness and business performance than it is right now and Matt and Alan get into the reasons why this is, how to actually develop prioritisation and the huge benefits of doing s…

Matt and Alan return after a prolonged absence (big apologies for their absence are made in this podcast!) and get into another conversation about all things business, self and leadership development. In this conversation they discuss "when things go wrong" and in particular discussing mindset, people performance and cashflow as example of "when th…

Matt and Alan get into a conversation about busyness - with more and more business owners saying they have never been busier, it seems like there is a pandemic of busyness right now. Taking a closer look at this busyness, Matt and Alan discover there are definite ways for senior leaders and business owners to decrease their busyness and increase th…

Alan and especially Matt impart some super valuable wisdom around the threat of insolvency, three test areas to be aware of and ultimately what a business owner should focus on to strengthen their business and power away from the threat of insolvency. An insight rich episode!By Matt Williams and Alan Clark

Matt and Alan reference a recently published McKinsey article that has studied performance and results in a wide range of businesses over a period of years across the globe. The great news is that there seems to be a clear path to consistently high business performance, the downside is that the path is relatively rarely taken. 30 minutes of insight…

Matt and Alan return to 2023 with a " focused" podcast on four areas of focus that could make a hugely positive difference to your business in 2023. Customers and People feature prominently in this episode!!By Matt Williams and Alan Clark

In an unashamedly World Cup themed episode, Matt and Alan get into a conversation about performance and the impact of your team on business performance. People development, people structures, organisation, leadership styles, confidence levels, wellbeing fitness levels are all discussed taking inspiration from different team and individual performan…

There is a lot of negative rhetoric, fear and worry in the world right now - many business leaders and owners are feeling heightened levels of pressure and stress and this pressure and stress can flow throughout an entire business and organisation. Matt and Alan get into a conversation that recognises this reality and discuss how entrepreneurs and …

In their latest podcast Matt and Alan explore and respond to a profound quote : " Your results in life and business are directly related to the systems that you have in place, if you want to change your results, change your system!" As always they bring to life their experiences from the world of business and most definitely support the quote!…

Matt and Alan return with a podcast packed with possibilities! Literally, episode 57 is all about the magic of creating possibilities from nothing, acting on these possibilities and seeing the powerful change that these possibilities and actions can have on your business. Be open to possibility!!By Matt Williams and Alan Clark

Is it possible to run your business entirely from a smart phone ? What about different roles, CEO or middle management ? What are the benefits ? What are the downsides ? Even if it was possible, should you even try ? Matt and Alan get into a conversation about the ever increasing power and possibility of a smart phone within business- A brave new w…

In this episode Matt and Alan declare a war on habitual, underproductive meetings and make a heartfelt plea to listeners - Do you actually need this meeting ? From this point the conversation goes into to poor meeting practice, best meeting practice and insightful and helpful meeting stories - all in 35 minutes!! Reclaim your time !…

Political chaos, rising cost of living, inflation and interest rate uncertainty, rising Covid infections, record temperatures, war - there is definitely a feeling of unhelpful anxiety and uncertainty this summer amongst entrepreneurs and their businesses. Matt and Alan prescribe three "antidotes" that if administered fully will make a huge positive…

In a recent poll a group of global CEO's listed decision making and the ability to make optimal decisions, at pace and to stick with them as the number one desirable skillset for a CEO right now in 2022. Matt and Alan get into a conversation about decision making, how to access our decision making and the different techniques to arrive at pacey, we…

Matt and Alan get into a conversation with the intent of helping leaders and entrepreneurs to get under the skin of what is really holding themselves and/or their business back, It is not always what you think it is ! A lively, energetic conversation that is determined to help people remove the blockage and move forward optimally again....…

Matt and Alan get into a conversation about two common but opposing mindsets, abundance and scarcity, and the cause and effect impact that they each have on business and outcomes. Diamonds vs Rocks, Yes vs No, marbles and angels are all discussed in this insight packed episode!By Matt Williams and Alan Clark

In their extended 50th episode podcast, Matt and Alan are joined by a very special guest! Marcus Taylor, CEO of Venture Harbour and True North discusses a proactive philosophy to marketing forecasting, the genius of automation and a personal value of getting beyond your comfort zone. As always there are insights a plenty to discover and take away !…

The concluding part to the mini series dedicated to growth. In this episode Matt and Alan discuss the "what next" after a period of levelling up and dealing with the associated pressures of growth. And the great news ? Rewards and dreams await you !!By Matt Williams and Alan Clark

Part 2 of the Growth Trilogy .... In this episode Matt and Alan discuss some of the most debilitating pressures and resulting consequences to impact on businesses and people during a phase of intense growth. Good news, there is always a solution!By Matt Williams and Alan Clark

The first of a three part "mini series" dedicated to all things GROWTH !! Matt and Alan get into a conversation about "levelling up" - their usual fast paced conversation rich with analogies and real life examples - all in 31 minutes!By Matt Williams and Alan Clark

What's your purpose ? What is the purpose of your business ? How many times have you heard these questions ? Can you answer it ? Is it worth having a purpose ? Matt and Alan get into a conversation about purpose, what it is and why it can really help a business to strengthen and grow. Real life examples are definitely discussed !…

Matt and Alan get into a conversation about "Task Creep", "Scope Creep" and other members of the Creep family that are slowing entrepreneurs and their businesses down, getting in the way and causing quite a lot of stress and overwhelm. This episode even incudes Alan being coached by Matt ! The great news is there are always ways of showing the Cree…

Matt and Alan get into a soul searching conversation about the challenges of managing people. Somewhere in the conversation three principles appear that can lead to a more effective management style, engaged people and more optimal results...….By Matt Williams and Alan Clark

A deep episode ! Matt and Alan discuss an ancient human question - Is it really possible to change ? This episode discusses personal change and in particular the value of personal change to the entrepreneur. Theory, experience and story telling is brought in abundance to this conversation and we arrive at a clear conclusion!…

So many people lead there business without giving themselves the space and time to really connect and live the CEO role. It's really easy for business owners to look on social media and see everyone else living the CEO role (working on their business, not in their business) and end up with a feeling of failure that they are not there yet. The reali…

Matt and Alan discuss human energy and energy management as an absolute equal to time and to time management. As always this episode is full of real life examples and ideas on how to maximise your energy levels, create momentum and have a fabulous 2022!By Matt Williams and Alan Clark

Leaving paid employment to set up a business is one of the bravest things a human being can do. Giving up the security of PAYE employment is a massive step and often, the amount of courage it takes is overlooked (particularly by those that have never experienced it). This week, Matt and Alan discuss courage and business and how important it is to b…

Does your 2022 New Year's Resolution involve getting more things done? In our first podcast of the new year, we discuss two Italian time management techniques that can make a massive difference to productivity.By Matt Williams and Alan Clark

This week the boys are back talking about strategy. We explore 3 distinct, proven strategies: Operational Excellence Product Leadership Customer Intimacy For each strategy they discuss which household names are using it, what the key information is and how that could be implemented into a smaller business.…

This week, we dive into the 14 leadership lessons advocated by Steve Jobs. Alan has a really interesting article, written by Walter Isaacson in 2012 (just after Steve died) and we pick a random selection of the lessons and discuss them and their impact on entrepreneurs. We cover everything from why face-to-face meetings are still important to why y…

On this week's podcast, Matt and Alan have a conversation about leadership styles. Is it important to understand your own natural style and the character traits that make up your personality? Do you know where you stand on a DISC profile? Is it essential to be able to adapt your natural style when dealing with colleagues that have the opposite styl…

How often do you consider the language you use in your business? Probably a lot when you're writing to someone and a little bit less when you're talking on the phone? On this week's podcast Alan and Matt spend 30 minutes discussing an array of different business situations where changing our language can have massive impacts on outcomes.…

This week, in our Halloween special, we talk about Vampire Customers! Accepted business wisdom tells us that you make 80% of your profit from 20% of your customers. Matt thinks it's also true that you get 80% of stress from 20% of your customers. So what do you do if you have a Vampire on your customer list? How to you fix them? Do you have to mana…

On this week's podcast Matt and Alan have a great conversation about whether to continually push for business growth or to take some time to strengthen what you already have. Is there any point to growing revenue if it's not adding to your bottom line (net profit)? Should we be measuring growth in another way, rather than focussing on increasing tu…

This week we are talking all about innovation in business. The modern business world is full of obvious innovation - cloud computing, automated software, machine learning etc, but there is also a lot of off-line innovation happening that is driving some amazing results for more 'old-fashioned' businesses (we use Marks and Spencer as an example).…

This week we discuss all things Strategy. Do you have one for your business, do you need one? Recently a hitherto unseen memo from Steve Jobs to his board was released into the public domain. In it, Steve Jobs distills the overall strategy of the biggest company in the world into 5 topics and about 8 lines of text). We discuss that, plus a host of …

This week Alan and Matt discuss how the pace of change in technology has fundamentally changed how businesses operate. Covering everything from Estate Agents to Marketing companies, via Victorian Meat Markets, the boys talk about how business has moved forward over the last decade and speculate on where it will be in 2031.…

The boys are back for Season 2! This week Matt and Alan breakdown the destructive power of apathy within a business. Whether that's a business owner's anxiety manifesting as apathy, or self-sabotage or a team member that's having 'one of those days' we discuss all things Apathy and provide some tips on how to deal with it.…

This week the boys discuss how relevant a proper business plan is in the modern world. We talk about the important elements that all plans should include, what is just 'fluff' and why it's important to revisit your plan regularly.By Matt Williams and Alan Clarke

This week Matt and Alan discuss the differences between Entrepreneur and Employee Mindsets, and how pivoting between the two is a massively important skill for new business owners in particular. There's also an improptu TV Review of Clarkson's Farm (which is actually relevant to the topic!)By Matt Williams and Alan Clarke

This week Alan and Matt are talking all things toxic culture. Following the open letter from Brewdog's staff to it's CEO (which you can read here: https://www.punkswithpurpose.org/dearbrewdog/ ) the boys discuss the damage a toxic culture can do to a business. Covering everything from different theories of management to one rogue member of the mana…

This week, following Cristiano Ronaldo single-handedly knocking $4b from Coca-Cola's stock market value by moving two bottles half a metre, Alan and Matt talk about branding, and how powerful (but tenuous) a good brand is.By Matt Williams and Alan Clarke

On this week's pod, Matt and Alan discuss the nagging voice of self-doubt (the inner critic) and how business owners can sift the positive points out of all the negative thoughts they throw at you.By Matt Williams and Alan Clarke

This week we talk all about the fundamental changes in the employee / employer relationships driven by the pandemic. Hybrid working, a fast-moving, candidate-led, market and challenges with building a culture remotely have all had major impacts on how business owners retain and recruit the best people.…