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

Stop hiding behind your screens and engage with your prospects! This is the message of my guest John Blaskey. John is an expert at helping clients to generate millions of pounds through face to face marketing. Having hired John to help me with a strategy for a recent event I am excited about introducing you to a man with an enormous amount of experience and talent in the face to face marketing field. John is the go to expert for many global multinationals, national trade organisations, not-for-profit and countless SME's. Join us to find out how to make face to face marketing the cornerstone of your sales strategy.

So what has poetry, music and art got to do with leadership and engagement? In this very unique interview including a live musical performance, I will be talking to Libby Wagner who is a poet, teacher, writer and speaker. A trusted advisor for presidents, CEOs and executive directors, and whose work has shaped the cultures of numerous Fortune 500 clients. Owen Ó Súilleabháin a singer and composer from Ireland who has collaborated with Riverdance composer Bill Whelan, violinist Nigel Kennedy, actor Russell Crowe, director Steven Spielberg, and Irish music legends The Chieftains. Also Steven Morris an artist, writer and entrepreneur who has combined a thriving painting practice with leading his company Mth Degree, a very successful brand evolution consultancy. During this show we will explore the circle of artistry and why these three unique artists and business thought leaders are collaborating to bring deep and meaningful insight to today's business leaders.

Considering launching a big project? Feel slightly overwhelmed? In 2013, previous London Skolars Rugby director, Mark Croston, was one of the two founding members of World Dodgeball’s governing body, leading the incorporation process and development of the association as the Official World Governing Body, with recognition from the International Olympic Committee, Sport Accord/GAISF and each of the 68 member nations Government departments. So how did they go about achieving this, and what important lessons did Mark learn along the way? Listen in this week as Mark shares his story, as well as key lessons that you can implement to help you to create your own major success story!

Ask yourself how many potential star employees walk away from your business after just 3 months? How many of your employees are unmotivated when they come to work? How does that affect the service your customers receive? I will be talking to friend of the Business Elevation show David Long Founder/CEO of MyEmployees, a firm that operates in the Top 1% Worldwide in the Employee Engagement and Recognition industry about how he recommends you build engagement. For 30 years his company have helped managers build stronger, more engaging relationships with their team members, while linking rewards and recognition programmes to the desired goals of their company. Join us to here a different compelling perspective on my favourite subject these days ‘Engaging Your Employees’.

There never seem to be enough hours in the day to take care of daily business and work towards your goals, let alone your life goals! The busier you are, the more you need a compass to keep you on track. You lead and manage others, but now it′s time to lead yourself! Robert Craven is one of the UK’s leading speakers on the subject of growing businesses. He is Google Partner’s go-to speaker for growing digital agencies. Adam Harris works with CEOs and senior managers providing training, coaching and high-level peer group activities to con-vert opportunities into successes, drive profits and leverage the network. Both are co-author to ‘The Check-in Strategy Journal: Your Daily Tracker for Business and Personal Development’. Join us this week as Robert and Adam take us through how to translate your vision for life and business into workable strategy, and then how to put pen to paper and map out a plan for making it a reality!

Creating emotional connections with your brand is an essential part of many organizations marketing plans. Selecting brand ambassadors can be a powerful strategy but there are risks to getting it right. Jane Hansom is a marketeer with over 25 years experience of creating integrated global brand marketing campaigns across media channels from TV and print to digital and social media. She set up Sponge Marketing in 2005 to focus on delivering creative marketing, PR and brand entertainment experiences to the sport, travel and entertainment industry. Jane is also an athlete herself having medalled in World Championship events for Great Britain. Jane also sits on the board of the Triathlon Industry Association and advises government sporting bodies like London Sport on how to in-crease participation in sport. I will be discussing with Jane how to effectively recruit a successful brand ambassador as well as lessons from her considerable sporting and business achievements.

Do you lead or manage people? If so an essential part of your role will be to raise performance by releasing the full potential of your team. During this interview we are going to learn precisely how to do this. Peter Milligan is a professional speaker, business psychologist and highly experienced business coach with 25 years of international experience developing business leaders and teams. After moving from Australia to the UK in 2000, Peter became a director of Europe's largest executive coaching firm before establishing his own business working with leaders at all levels across a wide range of industries. On this week’s show we will discuss Peter’s 7 keys to releasing potential and raising performance. If you’re a business leader or manager, this is a must listen with pen and paper or computer at the ready!

Negotiation is an essential business skill; but do you really know how to do it really well? International keynote conference speaker, facilitator, MC and trainer, bestselling author Derek Arden has worked in 27 countries, with 5 business schools and has been a visiting lecturer at the Henley Business School for 12 years. His latest book ‘Win Win - How to get a winning result from persuasive negotiating’ has sold over 5000 copies in 14 countries. In 2016 Derek was voted the Number 1 speaker in the UK by the Professional Speaking Association members, he also holds their prestigious Founders award for Inspirational Business Speaking. Join us for a show where Derek will share a simple, straightforward and empowering guide to effective business negotiations to help you get the result you want – first time, every time!

Connecting with others is an essential part of business and is an important element to success. Yet it can also be one of the hardest things to do! So what are the key connection mastery skills and how do we implement them? Judy Robinett is a business thought leader who has been profiled in The Street, Vogue, CBS, NBC, Forbes, The Washington Post & Bloomberg Businessweek, as well as author of “How to Be a Power Connector:The 5-50-150 Rule”. On this week’s show we will discuss how ‘How to Be a Power Connector’ brings together real-world examples from a variety of power connectors in multiple industries, helping you replicate and apply the critical connection skills that will get you results! Join us for a show that could literally transform your fortunes.

Ever feel more challenged dealing with your kids than you do by employees and clients at work? Being a parent can seem like a hard job when the world of work is also demanding. As parents we are constantly reminded about our behaviour and need for patience. Skills that are also valuable back into the work place! Also from our kids we are reminded of the value of creativity, energy, playfulness and enthusiasm. My guests this week com-bine fatherhood with busy work lives. Caspar Craven, is a highly successful entrepreneur who took two years to sail around the world with his wife and 3 young children. Dan Kuschell is a Business Growth Expert who has built 11 companies and has a young family. Join us this week as three fathers in business discuss their lessons from parenting including a word of warning. As a CEO once said to Chris Cooper ‘My biggest regret from building my company is I had no time for my children, now they are grown up and I have time, they have no time for me’.

It has often been said that you should follow your passion and then make a living out of it. However, there are also arguments that this isn't always wise! Having a regular job with a regular income may offer you and your family more security. The world is also littered with failed business stories. Do you stay or do you go for it? My guest Shirin Shabestari, grew up hiking Iran’s beautiful mountains with her dad as a young girl. She later moved abroad and did her studies and started a family but rekindled a passion for hiking and then mountaineering. In 2014 she founded Persian Pursuit, leading treks and ski expeditions to Iran. She is very passionate about sharing her passion and stories from the mountaineering world in Iran with the West and inspiring people to visit this most misunderstood country. During this show we will discuss the pros and cons of whether to follow your passion and gain insight into Shirin's experience and learn more about Iran and why it is so misunderstood.

Introverts aren't comfortable with traditional tactics like aggressively pushing a product or talking over a customer's objections. However, sales is a skill anyone can learn and master--and introverts are especially good at it once they learn how to leverage their natural strengths. Called “the real deal” by Forbes, Matthew Pollard, CSP, is an inter-nationally-recognized authority in differentiation, niche marketing, and sales systemization. His Rapid Growth strategies have resulted in five multi-million dollar success stories of his own, as well as profitable businesses for 3500 clients and counting. He is the founder and Executive Director of Small Business Festival, ranked as the #3 business conference in the nation by Inc., and the author of The Introvert’s Edge: How the Quiet and Shy Can Outsell Anyone. Join us as Matthew shares how to succeed in sales--without changing who you are.

Effectively navigating change is today an essential skill for all leaders, employees and consultants. Gone are the days when employees can resist change. Instead we must embrace it, strategise and implement well. So how do we most effectively navigate it and what are the key pitfalls to be mindful of? Whether you are an internal employee or an external consultant, leading and managing change requires great consultancy skills to achieve success. During this show Chris Cooper will share from over 25 years of experience of business change projects the practice and theory involved in effectively navigating change. Chris and team at Chris Cooper support the transition of businesses, leaders and teams to higher levels of performance. He has interviewed over 300 experts and thought leaders on high performance mindset and practices and teaches this subject at MBA level. Interviewing Chris will be employee engagement and culture change expert John Jennings.

Do you have the courage to change or help others to change? At 15, Karlyn Pipes was a Junior National swimming champion and destined for greatness. However, she slipped into a dark pattern of alcohol abuse. Despite having amazing athletic skills, she hit rock bottom at age 31. It was then that she turned her life around by returning to the one thing that had created both the pain and pleasure in her life...the water. Today, Karlyn is one of the most accomplished competitive swimmers in the world with over 214 FINA Masters World records, 332 U.S. Masters National records, and in 2012 was voted as one of the Top Ten masters swimmers of all-time. Karlyn had to find the COURAGE to change and as a result of her miraculous do-over, in 2015 she was inducted into the prestigious International Swimming Hall of Fame. Join us for insights into how you can build or help others to develop the courage, strength and resilience to change.

On the 8th May 2009 Mick Dawson and Chris Martin set off from Choshi in Japan to row 7,000 miles across the North Pacific to San Francisco. Crossing the North Pacific in an open rowing boat was one of the world’s great firsts and, after two failed attempts he was determined to make it. Storms, fatigue, equipment failure, intense hunger and lack of water were just some of the challenges. Facing near certain death they eventually reached the iconic span of San Francisco’s Golden Gate bridge after a back breaking voyage of over six months. Mick Dawson is a former Royal Marine Commando, a professional sailor, motivational speaker and film maker. Having been gripped by Mick’s book 'Battling the Oceans in a rowboat' I had to interview him and find out what we can learn about leadership, strategy and courage from one of the most incredible adventures of modern times.

The one question on the lips of so many business leaders and owners today is - How do I attract and retain productive talent? I am delighted to introduce you to the man who can help. Stefan Wissenbach is very passionate about the impact of engagement on businesses. He is founder of Engagementmultiplier.com - a business transformation program that delivers insight and data enabling business owners to make smart decisions and efficiently transform their companies. Stefan has enabled business owners and CEOs to simplify the complexities of employee engagement and improve attraction,retention, morale, productivity and profitability. His latest book, The Engaged Organisation, explains how business owners can build the company they dream about. To find out why I so endorse the work of Stefan and his team visit www.engagementmultiplier.com/en-gb/pp/elevation/.

Would you like to make a real difference in the world? My guest Anita DeFranz was named by Newsweek as ‘One of the 150 Women Who Shake the World’ by French Magazine Le’Equipe as one of ’10 Women Who Changed Sport’ and The Sporting News as ‘One of The 100 Most Powerful People In Sport’. In 1976, Anita DeFrantz captained the U.S. women’s rowing team and won a bronze medal at the Montreal Olympic Games. Coming from a long tradition of fighting for equality and justice her story is an extremely fascinating and inspiring one. Anita, for example, amongst many other roles, is the first African-American and American woman to be a member of the International Olympic Committee and the IOC Executive Board. Having had the privilege to meet Anita,her amazing story and the lessons she shares will, I can assure you, benefit anyone wishing to make a positive impact on the world. Join me for this very special interview with Anita DeFrantz.

Now that 75 percent of screen time is spent on connected devices, digital strategies have moved front and centre of most marketing plans. But what if that’s not enough? What if most people ignore company messages? Geoffrey Colon is a compelling voice at the intersection of marketing, tech, and popular culture. DJ, data punk, podcaster and author, Geoffrey is a Communications Designer at Microsoft in Redmond, WA. Colon has spent 20 years in various marketing ca-pacities working for and with several of the most influential brands including Red Bull, Spotify, Netflix, American Express, The Economist, Coca-Cola, IBM, WWE and Food Network. Join us for this week’s show as Geoff propels you out of your comfort zone and into the disruptive mindset you need for future success!

We often talk about sales on this show. However, if you want to increase profit you also need to consider your costs. My guest Jeremy Bowley has a passion for procurement and has been responsible for delivering procurement process improvement into many successful companies. An experienced Chief Procurement Officer with a strong track record in property, food & drinks, facilities management & indirect spend, Jeremy has worked with over 50 companies over the past 14 years, delivering significant value by improving process, supplier selection and terms. I know this all be true as many years ago (before his rise to being a major influence on the world of procurement) he was a young and upper coming star in my own procurement team. During this week’s show I will discuss with Jeremy his latest eBook about disruptive procurement and some of the insider secret procurement tactics that have saved literally millions for his clients!

Winston Churchill once said “Of all the talents bestowed upon men, none is so precious as the gift of oratory. He who enjoys it wields the power more durable than that of a great king...“. As an executive, are you making the most of your speaking skills? Steve Trister has been a public speaking & communication skills coach since 2007. Using his skills as a former professional comedy actor he is able to transfer the tools and techniques of stage and screen, into a tangible method for business professionals to become more memorable, influential and engaging every time they speak. Since 2007 he has worked with many senior leaders. His clients include Cisco Systems, BT Wholesale, Vodaphone, Deltatre & many others. Join us to hear us discuss the essential keys that help senior executives to quickly accelerate the quality of their speaking and communication skills!