No Bullsh*t Leadership with Chris Hirst

In this straight-talking podcast brought to you by Intelligence Squared, Chris Hirst cuts through the bullshit and gets to the heart of modern leadership. In this episode, Chris speaks to the economist, writer and broadcaster, Dr Linda Yueh. Dr Yueh is a Fellow of Economics at St Edmund Hall, Oxford University,an Associate Fellow at Chatham House, and an advisor to the UK Board of Trade. She was previously Chief Business Correspondent for BBC News and EconomicsEditor at Bloomberg TV. She is also a widely published author, and her latest book is The Great Crashes: Lessons from Global Meltdowns and How to Prevent Them. Chris Hirst is the author of the award-winning book, No Bullsh*t Leadership: Why the World Needs More Everyday Leaders and Why That Leader Is You. Chris’ latest book, No Bullsh*t Change, is published on June 1 2023. His brand new online leadership training programme is available on his website (www.chris-hirst.com) Connect with Chris Hirst on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrishirst/), Twitter (@chrishirst) & Instagram (@chrishirst_leadership). Watch exclusive content and original videos from Chris Hirst on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNC4qT90ArKOuKV8B0LWTWA) This podcast was produced and edited by Isabella Soames. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this straight-talking podcast brought to you by Intelligence Squared, Chris Hirst cuts through the bullshit and gets to the heart of modern leadership. In this episode, Chris speaks to Lord Karan Bilimoria, one of this country’s leading entrepreneurs, a business leader, and politician. He was born in Hyderabad, India in 1961, but moved to London in the 1980s, where he qualified as a chartered accountant and subsequently studied law at Cambridge. In 1989, he co-founded Cobra Beer from a flat in Fulham, a brand that has become globally recognised. In 2006, he was appointed to the House of Lords, where he sits as a crossbench peer. He was awarded a CBE in 2004 for services to business and entrepreneurship, and is the Chancellor of the University of Birmingham. Chris Hirst is the author of the award-winning book, No Bullsh*t Leadership: Why the World Needs More Everyday Leaders and Why That Leader Is You. Chris’ latest book, No Bullsh*t Change, is out now. His brand new online leadership training programme is available on his website (www.chris-hirst.com) Connect with Chris Hirst on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrishirst/), Twitter (@chrishirst) & Instagram (@chrishirst_leadership). Watch exclusive content and original videos from Chris Hirst on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNC4qT90ArKOuKV8B0LWTWA) This podcast was produced and edited by Isabella Soames. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this straight-talking podcast brought to you by Intelligence Squared, Chris Hirst cuts through the bullshit and gets to the heart of modern leadership.  In this episode, Chris speaks to theatre director Sir Nicholas Hytner. Previously Artistic Director of the National Theatre, his major successes include Miss Saigon, The History Boys, and One Man, Two Guvnors. Under Hytner’s leadership, the National Theatre innovated with Sunday openings, live cinema broadcasts of plays around the world, and reduced price ticket seasons. In 2017, he founded the Bridge Theatre, where he is currently directing Guys and Dolls. Chris and Nicholas discuss his early life in Manchester, the unique challenges of leadership in a rehearsal room, and what is needed to revitalise the arts sector in Britain.  Chris Hirst is the author of the award-winning book, No Bullsh*t Leadership: Why the World Needs More Everyday Leaders and Why That Leader Is You. Chris’ latest book, No Bullsh*t Change, is published on June 1 2023. His brand new online leadership training programme is available on his website (www.chris-hirst.com)  Connect with Chris Hirst on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrishirst/), Twitter (@chrishirst) & Instagram (@chrishirst_leadership). Watch exclusive content and original videos from Chris Hirst on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNC4qT90ArKOuKV8B0LWTWA) This podcast was produced and edited by Isabella Soames. — We’d love to hear your feedback and what you think we should talk about next, who we should have on and what our future debates should be.  Send us an email or voice note with your thoughts to [email protected] or Tweet us @intelligence2.  And if you’d like to support our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations, as well as ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content, early access and much more, become a supporter of Intelligence Squared today. Just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this straight-talking podcast brought to you by Intelligence Squared, Chris Hirst cuts through the bullshit and gets to the heart of modern leadership.  In this episode, Chris speaks to Kate Mosse, the award winning novelist, playwright and non-fiction writer. She is the author of nine novels and short story collections, and her books have been translated into 38 languages and published in 40 different countries. She’s also the Founder Director of the Women’s Prize for Fiction, the largest annual celebration of womens’ writing in the world. She has been Executive Director of Chichester Festival Theatre and Deputy Chair of the National Theatre. Kate’s latest book, Warrior Queens & Quiet Revolutionaries: How Women (Also) Built the World is a celebration of unheard and under-heard women’s history, and she joins Chris to share some of the remarkable stories she uncovered along the way.  Chris Hirst is the author of the award-winning book, No Bullsh*t Leadership: Why the World Needs More Everyday Leaders and Why That Leader Is You. Chris’ latest book, No Bullsh*t Change, is published on June 1 2023. His brand new online leadership training programme is available on his website (www.chris-hirst.com)  Connect with Chris Hirst on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrishirst/), Twitter (@chrishirst) & Instagram (@chrishirst_leadership). Watch exclusive content and original videos from Chris Hirst on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNC4qT90ArKOuKV8B0LWTWA) This podcast was produced and edited by Isabella Soames. — We’d love to hear your feedback and what you think we should talk about next, who we should have on and what our future debates should be.  Send us an email or voice note with your thoughts to [email protected] or Tweet us @intelligence2.  And if you’d like to support our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations, as well as ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content, early access and much more, become a supporter of Intelligence Squared today. Just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this straight-talking podcast brought to you by Intelligence Squared, Chris Hirst cuts through the bullshit and gets to the heart of modern leadership.  In this episode, Chris speaks to Justine Roberts, the founder and CEO of Mumsnet to talk about the journey of building Mumsnet into the phenomenon it is today, along with the unique challenges of leading a community driven business.  Chris Hirst is the author of the award-winning book, No Bullsh*t Leadership: Why the World Needs More Everyday Leaders and Why That Leader Is You. Chris’ latest book, No Bullsh*t Change, is published on June 1 2023. His brand new online leadership training programme is available on his website (www.chris-hirst.com)  Connect with Chris Hirst on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrishirst/), Twitter (@chrishirst) & Instagram (@chrishirst_leadership). Watch exclusive content and original videos from Chris Hirst on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNC4qT90ArKOuKV8B0LWTWA) This podcast was produced and edited by Isabella Soames. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Season Four of No Bullsh*t Leadership.  In this straight-talking podcast brought to you by Intelligence Squared, Chris Hirst cuts through the bullshit and gets to the heart of modern leadership.  In this episode, Chris speaks to Bruce Daisley, a bestselling author and technology leader. Bruce is regarded as one of the most respected thought leaders on the subject of workplace culture and the future of work. His business career saw him spend 12 years running Twitter in Europe, leaving as the most senior leader at the company outside of the US.  Bruce is the author of two books: the Sunday Times bestseller Fortitude, and The Joy of Work, which was a Financial Times Book of the Month and was shortlisted for the CMI Management Book of the Year.  Chris Hirst is the author of the award-winning book, No Bullsh*t Leadership: Why the World Needs More Everyday Leaders and Why That Leader Is You. Chris’ latest book, No Bullsh*t Change, is published on June 1 2023. His brand new online leadership training programme is available on his website (www.chris-hirst.com)  Connect with Chris Hirst on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrishirst/), Twitter (@chrishirst) & Instagram (@chrishirst_leadership). Watch exclusive content and original videos from Chris Hirst on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNC4qT90ArKOuKV8B0LWTWA) This podcast was produced and edited by Isabella Soames. — We’d love to hear your feedback and what you think we should talk about next, who we should have on and what our future debates should be.  Send us an email or voice note with your thoughts to [email protected] or Tweet us @intelligence2.  Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content, early access and much more Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris Hirst, Global CEO of advertising group Havas Creative, cuts through the bullshit and gets to the heart of modern leadership in this straight-talking podcast brought to you by Intelligence Squared.  In this episode, Christ Hirst speaks to Sharmadean Reid, founder of The Stack World. After graduating from Central Saint Martins and working as a brand consultant for Nike and Asos, Sharmadean founded WAH Nails in 2009, which changed the landscape of the beauty industry with its innovative brand and salon spaces. In 2018, to launch her second business, BeautyStack, Sharmadean raised nearly £4 million in funding, making her one of only 10 Black female entrepreneurs to raise that level of venture capital. Most recently, in 2021, Sharmadean launched her newest venture, The Stack World - a networking community for like-minded and mission-driven women. All the while, she has been consistently documenting her journey and her experience as well as organising business events for young female entrepreneurs. She was awarded an MBE in 2015.  If you enjoyed this podcast please let us know what you think by rating and reviewing No Bullsh*t Leadership on Apple Podcasts. For updates on the series follow @intelligence2 and @chrishirst on Twitter.  Producer & Editor: Bella Soames;  Technical Support: Mark Roberts.  Chris Hirst is author of the award-winning book No Bulls*ht Leadership: Why the World Needs More Everyday Leaders and Why That Leader Is You.  Podnotes:  00:00 Intro  01:44 Growing up in Wolverhampton  05:55 Your biggest influence growing up  08:10 Choosing the degree you were going to study when you were 12  10:30 Being a fantasist, and being able to execute on ideas  12:41 Changing attitude to work: working to maintain, not working to constantly progress  14:24 Implications of this changing attitude to work  16:51 Are we in an age of entrepreneurship?  18:11 Are humans always naturally trying to improve their condition?  19:21 The conflict between being an entrepreneur and maintaining time for yourself  20:45 The satisfaction that comes from running your own business 23:14 How your leadership style has evolved  25:56 Why you do an annual list of things that have gone wrong for you, and why you choose to share it  31:01 Advice for those who have a business idea but don’t know how to make it a reality  32:20 The best piece of advice you’ve ever been given  33:23 What’s next?   Connect with Chris Hirst on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrishirst/, Twitter: https://twitter.com/chrishirst and on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrishirst_leadership/   Watch exclusive content and original videos from Chris Hirst on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNC4qT90ArKOuKV8B0LWTWA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris Hirst, Global CEO of advertising group Havas Creative, cuts through the bullshit and gets to the heart of modern leadership in this straight-talking podcast brought to you by Intelligence Squared.  In this episode, Christ Hirst speaks to Roula Khalaf, the Editor of the Financial Times. In January 2020, Khalaf became the first female editor in the Financial Times’ 134-year history. Her path to the top of the FT came through her work as a foreign correspondent. Born in Lebanon, she served as the FT’s Foreign Editor, reporting from Iraq, Iran and Syria, and leading the FT’s coverage of the Arab Spring. She joined the FT in 1995 as North Africa correspondent after a stint as a staff writer for Forbes magazine in New York, and she now manages 600 journalists across the globe as editor of one of the world’s most respected and recognisable publications.   If you enjoyed this podcast please let us know what you think by rating and reviewing No Bullsh*t Leadership on Apple Podcasts. For updates on the series follow @intelligence2 and @chrishirst on Twitter.  Producer & Editor: Bella Soames;  Technical Support: Mark Roberts.  Chris Hirst is author of the award-winning book No Bulls*ht Leadership: Why the World Needs More Everyday Leaders and Why That Leader Is You.  Podnotes:  00:00 Intro  01:17 Becoming editor during the pandemic  04:59 Increased trust in the media  07:21 Your childhood and growing up in Beirut  10:52 Your take on Carlos Ghosn  12:26 Your first job at Forbes and meeting Jordan Belfort  14:40 Early career as a foreign correspondent  16:24 Your leadership style  17:12 Learning about a new style of management during the pandemic  20:00 What you can and can’t achieve with hybrid working systems  21:28 Your experience as the first female editor of the Financial Times  22:16 Why a diversity of views makes for better journalism  23:52 The difference between leadership near the top of an organisation, and once you become the leader of an organisation  27:45 The FT’s role in highlighting the topics that should be relevant to their readers  30:52 What do you think of Elon Musk buying Twitter?  32:32 What role has failure played in your career?  34:13 A piece advice for somebody taking on a new, big leadership position  35:20 What next?  Connect with Chris Hirst on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrishirst/, Twitter: https://twitter.com/chrishirst and on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrishirst_leadership/ Watch exclusive content and original videos from Chris Hirst on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNC4qT90ArKOuKV8B0LWTWA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Leadership requires clarity of thought, speech and writing. But all too often business executives fall into the trap of using (and overusing) corporate buzzwords – ‘deep dive’, ‘move the needle’, ‘outside the box’ – and filling their emails and documents with obfuscating jargon. Former speechwriter to Tony Blair, Philip Collins argues that ‘business is a simple enterprise made complex by people who do it badly’. His new book, To Be Clear: A Style Guide for Business Writing, is a call to arms, urging businesses to stop using the language of nonsense and start communicating with clarity, simplicity and meaning.  In this episode of the No Bullsh*t Leadership podcast, hosted by CEO of Havas Creative Chris Hirst, we explored how business writing has changed over time, how business executives can practically cut through the bullsh*t that has become orthodox, and how we can all wield language to become better leaders.  If you enjoyed this podcast please let us know what you think by rating and reviewing No Bullsh*t Leadership on Apple Podcasts. For updates on the series follow @intelligence2 and @chrishirst on Twitter.  Producer & Editor: Bella Soames; Technical Support: Mark Roberts.  Chris Hirst is author of the award-winning book No Bulls*ht Leadership: Why the World Needs More Everyday Leaders and Why That Leader Is You.  Podnotes:  00:00 Intro  01:30 Best communicator you have seen in-person  01:40 The best piece of advice you’ve been given  01:59 One piece of advice to write more clearly  05:08 Influence of the King James Bible on your love of writing   07:07 What has united all the different jobs you have done?  08:59 The process of writing for somebody else  12:01 Why did you write the book now?   15:36 The dangers of using jargon  16:42 The link between clarity of thought and clarity of communication 18:17 Being unclear on purpose can be useful  19:45 Why the term ‘frontline workers’ is unhelpful  20:44 Similarities between poor communication in business and in politics  22:22 Why every business has an interest in speaking clearly to the public  23:24 Do the same principles of effective communication apply today?  25:54 Why people are frightened to be clear  26:37 Who are the most effective communicators today?  28:59 Why Donald Trump and Boris Johnson are good political communicators  31:10 Your next job  Connect with Chris Hirst on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrishirst/, Twitter: https://twitter.com/chrishirst and on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrishirst_leadership/   Watch exclusive content and original videos from Chris Hirst on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNC4qT90ArKOuKV8B0LWTWA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris Hirst, Global CEO of advertising group Havas Creative, cuts through the bullshit and gets to the heart of modern leadership in this straight-talking podcast brought to you by Intelligence Squared. In this episode, Christ Hirst speaks to Anthony Scaramucci, the former White House Director of Communications – a post he held for an infamous 11 days under President Donald Trump in 2017. The majority of Scaramucci’s career has actually been spent outside politics. He is the founder of global investment firm SkyBridge Capital. In 2011, Scaramucci received the EY Entrepreneur of the Year award and in 2016 was listed in Worth magazine's "100 Most Powerful People in Global Finance". He spoke to Chris Hirst about leading as an entrepreneur, having the tenacity to fail upwards, working for Donald Trump – and what he would do if Trump ran for President again. If you enjoyed this podcast please let us know what you think by rating and reviewing No Bullsh*t Leadership on Apple Podcasts. For updates on the series follow @intelligence2 and @chrishirst on Twitter. Producer & Editor: Bella Soames; Technical Support: Mark Roberts. Chris Hirst is author of the award-winning book No Bulls*ht Leadership: Why the World Needs More Everyday Leaders and Why That Leader Is You.  Podnotes:  00:00 Intro  04:20 Your leadership style  06:02 The word you would delete from the bullsh*t business jargon dictionary  06:30 The leader you most admire  7:13 The best advice you’ve ever been given  10:14 Were you naive when you took the job at the White House?  13:09 Being fired and rehired by Goldman Sachs  17:35 Learnings from your first job  20:23 Differences in leadership as entrepreneur vs. an established corporate environment 23:30 Why you were always going to become an entrepreneur  26:32 How you ended up working for Donald Trump  30:48 Getting it wrong on Donald Trump  32:39 The influence of social media on modern leadership styles  34:27 The societal problems that made Donald Trump electable  35:53 Will Donald Trump run for president again? 38:40 Suffering from self-doubt   40:40 Getting it wrong on the impact of the pandemic in early 2020 41:55 What next?   Connect with Chris Hirst on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrishirst/, Twitter: https://twitter.com/chrishirst and on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrishirst_leadership/   Watch exclusive content and original videos from Chris Hirst on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNC4qT90ArKOuKV8B0LWTWA   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices