The Business Elevation Show With Chris Cooper - Be More. Achieve More

Are you a woman who is wanting to accomplish exceptional results in areas of life that have been typically male dominated? Or are you someone who simply cares about helping women to achieve their full potential? Annie Seel is a Swedish-born motorcyclist and enduro racer who set a world altitude record by cycling 5305 metres up Mount Everest. She has been a leading female competitor in the Paris-Dakar Rally and was awarded the Swedish Adventurer of The Year award in 2005. She also competed in the world’s first electric grand prix TTXGP 2010in the UK. Daniel Wood is a Swedish serial entrepreneur. He has co-founded 6 companies together with his wife Gisela. After successfully becoming financially free through their property investments they decided to start giving back and have since founded 6 companies that support investors and entrepreneurs on their journey to financial freedom. Join us as we discuss women's empowerment with two outstanding Swedish high achievers.

Do you want to live a remarkable life? During our 300th unique show I share some observations from interviewing many remarkable guests over the years whilst talking with someone who is leading a remarkable life: Rob Wainwright studied medicine at Magdalene College (Cambridge University) and gained Blues in both Boxing and Rugby. He went on to gain 37 caps for Scotland. He captained the national side 16 times and in 1997 toured with the British and Irish Lions to South Africa. Meanwhile Rob pursued his medical career with the Royal Army Medical Corps, reaching the rank of Major. On leaving the Army and retiring from rugby, Rob and his wife Romayne decided on a change of scene, moving to the Isle of Coll in the Hebrides with their 4 children where they now run an extensive mixed livestock farm. Join us to reflect on living a remarkable life with Rob’s story which included Rugby (and boxing) star to feeling fulfilled as a livestock farmer in a remote Scottish community.

We’re all faced with setbacks in our personal and professional lives. How do we overcome these and turn those lessons in to great successes? Jason Caldwell is a world-class athlete, a trainer in leadership and high-performance, and keynote speaker. In 2015 Jason went on to captain and represent the United States in a rowing race over 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean (Taliskerwhiskyatlanticchallenge.com). On January 19th 2017 Jason and his crew crossed the finish line once again, not only winning the race, but breaking the World Record as the fastest team to ever row across the Atlantic Ocean. During this show we are going to be discussing lessons from Jason’s latest adventure and second world record set this year while crossing the Namibian desert unassisted. Join us this Friday to hear Jason’s amazing story, and how learning from your failures can help you to come back stronger and even more resilient than before!

Are you fed up of just doing a job to earn money? Do you want to make your next career move a really positive one? During this interview our conversation will help you to land your dream job by focusing on your talents and passions. My guest, Sarah J Naylor, has over 30 years of experience working within recruitment and, since 2012, has also been combining running a successful recruitment practice as well as her own coaching practice. To offer more people support and guidance in getting their career on track, she wrote ‘Shining a Light on You – How to Manifest Your Dream Job’, a book that helps the reader to gain a deeper understanding of their authentic self and the elements that they are attracted to in a job so that they can live their life with more purpose and meaning. Join us if getting the right next career move is important or share and help anyone in your network who is on that journey right now!

Ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of major world record attempts and expeditions? My guest Mark Beaumont has led expeditions and TV documentaries for over 10 years. Mark started by cycling around the World and the length of the Americas, before heading into the oceans in the Arctic and the Atlantic, before presenting for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, then back onto the bike for some more World Records from Cairo to Cape Town and then most recently knocking over 40 days off the circumnavigation World Record. He has published four books and filmed a number of BBC documentaries. For Mark to succeed in his record breaking endeavors he has needed the vision and energy to get an enterprise started around each venture and a dedicated support team. Join us to hear all about Mark’s incredible lessons in leadership and teamwork as well as dealing with the exhaustion, stress and frustration of ultra-endurance.

When business leaders align and integrate culture and brand, they increase their competitive advantage, create measurable value for customers and employees, and future-proof their businesses. that isn’t possible by simply cultivating one or the other alone. Yet many business leaders don’t know how to build a healthy, effective, and valuable culture! Denise Lee Yohn is the go-to expert on brand leadership for national media outlets, an in-demand speaker and consultant, and an influential writer. In addition to her book FUSION, she is the author of the bestselling book What Great Brands Do: The Seven Brand-Building Principles that Separate the Best from the Rest (Jossey-Bass). Join us this week as Denise helps us to crack the code on culture-building!

Growth is, of course, the key to any successful business – but how do you grow your business in a fragmented market? Rorie Devine is CEO and founder of Interim.team and is the only person to have featured on the cover of CIO Magazine twice. He has been described as ‘one of the best business technologists in the UK’. With a hands-on approach, Rorie derives accomplishment from the achievement of significantly improved business results. Join us for a content rich show where we will discuss Rorie’s step-by-step approach to establishing the most efficient approach to growing your business. A must-listen show for anyone wishing to take their business to new levels!

How important is age and experience when it comes to entrepreneurial success? This week we’ll be talking to Ben Revell, a serial entrepreneur with a background in luxury goods and a founding member in three previous startups to try and understand the qualities needed to be a successful young entrepreneur. At the age of only 29, Ben is now leading the team at Winebuyers, executing his vision and focusing his entrepreneurial expertise on his two passions - wine and technology. Winebuyers has just completed a Series A funding round, securing over £1,000,000 of investment. Join us for a fascinating look into the world and mindset of a young, successful entrepreneur whilst finding out more about what it takes to set up a new business, such as Winebuyers, while attracting funds for growth.

One day my 12 year old son Matthew said ‘Dad you must watch this series on Netflix. It is about a man who is living off kindness of strangers - it is brilliant - they recommended it at school’. I binge watched the entire series of the ‘The Kindness Diaries’ and felt compelled to immediately contact the author and host Leon Logothetis. So what can we learn from one man’s many adventures including his epic journey across the world on his vintage motorbike? Leon Logothetis is a global adventurer, motivational speaker & philanthropist. It wasn’t always that way: He used to be a broker in the city of London when he gave it all up for a life on the road, travelling the globe and spreading kindness. Today his travels are broadcast and published globally. In this interview, we will discuss his world of adventure, renew our faith in the bonds that connect people, and be inspired to accept and generate kindness in our own lives.

I once asked a Global Director for a famous coffee brand and - ‘What is the number one skill your company look for when recruiting great candidates'? His answer 'Curiosity'. I have since shared the film of this in my own speeches and for some it is a really significant insight. After a recent interview with Steven Morris and his colleagues on the 'Artistry of Engagement' he sent me a presentation on ‘Curiosity’ that sparked my imagination. As a thriving artist, writer, entrepreneur, author and confer-ence speaker, Steven is an expert when it comes to creativity and purpose-driven entrepreneurship. He is also a great example of curiosity yielding success not just in work but with his thriving family and hobbies which include surfing the waves off San Diego and avoiding bears and cougars when out running. Join us to experience why we should all get ‘curious about curiosity’ and ensure it is a key skill we adopt while inspiring our people and kids to also embody it to achieve more.

Over many years I have heard the name of David Whyte and how his work has impacted the many incredible leaders he works with. To me his work is legendary. As a poet he has created a readership & listenership in three normally mutually exclusive areas: the literate world of readings that most poets inhabit, the psychological & theological worlds of philosophical enquiry & the world of vocation, work & organizational leadership. An Associate Fellow at Said Business School at the University of Oxford, he is one of the few poets to take his perspectives on creativity into the field of organizational development, where he works with many European, American & international companies. Do join us to hear David's unique perspectives and beautifully articulated commentary on Conversational Leadership. Insight and wisdom that could have an enormous impact on your ability to lead effectively in today’s complex organisational world.

Do you believe in stepping up and doing things differently? My guest David Fox-Pitt has been inspiring people to embrace adventure, become more resourceful, build resilience and encourage a healthy attitude to fear and failure for over 30 years. During this show we will discuss his book, “Positiverosity, 7 Golden Principles” derived from his international expeditions training in the special forces and his experience in business. David’s company WildFox Events Ltd has raised over £40 million for charities worldwide through adventure challenges. Over 55,000 participants have challenged themselves through physical endeavour whilst fundraising for others in need. Having visited David and his wonderful family in their remote and beautiful Scottish home, my family have experienced the impact he has on people first hand. I therefore cannot recommend listening to this interview more highly. You too can benefit from David's outlook of Positiverosity - just as we have!

What are the top tips to build your dream business and why should you put a shark in your tank? Kevin Harrington has been a successful entrepreneur over the last 40 years. He is an Original Shark on the ABC hit, Emmy winning TV show, “Shark Tank.” The Inventor of the Infomercial, Co- Founder of the Electronic Retailers Association (ERA) and Co- Founder of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO). Kevin has launched over 20 businesses that have grown to over $100 million in sales each, has been involved in more than a dozen public companies, and launched over 500 products generating more than $5 billion in sales worldwide with iconic brands and celebrities. The Entrepreneurs Organization has grown to 150 cities and 45 countries and thousands of members, generating over $500 Billion of member sales. Join us to hear the top tips and tricks from this remarkable man on how to build your dream business including why you should put a shark in your tank!

What could you achieve if you took every opportunity to go the extra mile? If you are a business owner or leader how could this philosophy if adopted within your business transform you results? My guest Shawn Anderson is a 6-time motivational author and inspiring keynote speaker. His “go the extra mile” philosophy and ability to produce winning results have been praised by leaders and media outlets around the world. He has built a million-dollar company, pedalled a bike 4,000 miles across the U.S. (twice) and created adventures in 45+ countries. Shawn is the creator of “Extra Mile Day” declared by 527 US cities …. a day recognizing the power we each have to create positive change in our lives when we “go the extra mile”. Join us to be truly inspired and motivated to consider how you can create incredible results by going the extra mile.

How do you build a rockstar of a business and how do you invest in growing businesses without risk? On this show my guest is Jonathan Pfahl who set up the Rockstar Group in 2007. Since then he has grown it into the largest resource bank of business services for growing companies in the UK. It is also an active investment firm with a portfolio of over 40 companies privately invested in. Join us to find out from this highly successful entrepreneur the approach to building a great start up business and the low risk way to invest in them.

Engagement is a great personal passion and helping leaders and managers to build engaging cultures and become more engaging is a prime focus for our business. Engagement impacts financial performance, staff retention, absenteeism, productivity and well being. I therefore love to talk to guests who can talk very practically about what they have done to build a really engaging culture. Shaun Bradley is the very engaging People Director at employee engagement company Perkbox and their approach to engagement was acknowledged in their listing in the Sunday Times as one of the Best Small Companies to work for in 2017. Join us to find out about the initiatives from Shaun’s extensive experience that have fostered a high-performance culture that encourages people to bring their most awesome self to work and make a meaningful contribution. The days when HR looked after engagement and jobs for life are over. It is now the responsibility of all leaders and managers. Ignore it at your peril!

How do you best lead people? One of my clients recently described people as an enigma. However, like the story of the enigma code, there is also a code that can help when it comes to people! This week’s interview sees host Chris Cooper discuss keys for leading and developing people. During the show he will be in deep discussion with employee engagement, leadership and team development expert John Jennings. Chris Cooper has over 25 years experience leading and developing UK and international leaders and teams. As the host of the Business Elevation show for almost 7 years he has interviewed and gained insights from many tremendous people leaders. John Jennings has spent 34 years developing companies and teams and has led teams globally, working for major brands in the UK and California. Join us for a content rich interview designed for anyone who wants to understand how to lead people more effectively.

Imagine you live on a beautiful 36 square mile island in the Caribbean. Your challenge as CEO of the Nevis Tourism Authortity is to ensure that your island has the facilities to attract the right holiday makers in the right volumes while balancing the needs of your golden asset the islands, their native populations as well as politicians and developers. My guest Greg Phillip is the man with that challenge for the stunning island of Nevis. A destination that attracts movie stars, wealthy business people and even royalty amongst its visitors. Join us to find out more about the important lessons learned when you have an important role on a small jewel of an island.

Have you considered whether you are self sabotaging your own business success? On this show, I will be talking to Emma-Jane Packe, Managing Director of the The Supper Club. The Supper Club is a membership club exclusively for fast-growth entrepreneurs and since 2003 has enabled thousands of founders and CEOs to realise their growth ambitions. Emma-Jane is an expert in entrepreneurship and developing successful teams. Her insight comes from working with and talking to hundreds of entrepreneurs and business leaders about their experiences as well as growing her own teams across Europe. Join us to discuss how your entrepreneurial style and approach to the important elements of business success can transform your performance and avoid self sabotage.

What does being an Ambassador for your city mean and what sort of roles are there in a City that can make a contribution? Jo Tallack started her retail career over 30 years ago & has previously worked for Debenhams, House of Fraser & Woolworths before joining Hammerson in 2000. Having held a number of varied roles within shopping centre operations, Jo relocated to Leicester as Deputy General Manager initially working with the development team in readiness for the launch of Highcross & became General Manager. Leading on the REVO (Retail Evolution) retail path Apprentice scheme & as a LLEP Enterprise Advisor demonstrates her continued support to young people in Leicester & education, stimulating young people to consider a career in retail. Join us for a fascinating show where Jo will share great ways you can put your leadership skills to good use within your local community!