The Business Excellence Podcast

Mindset: The Moment We Stopped Listening to No | Tom Caulfield & James Whittle The Tempest Two InterviewMost people wait until they feel ready. Tom Caulfield and James Whittle know that day never comes, so eighteen months after taking up climbing for the first time, they set off up El Capitan anyway.Known as The Tempest Two, Caulfield and Whittle rowed 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean unsupported in 54 days with no prior rowing experience, then spent 18 months learning to climb before summiting El Capitan in three days, sleeping on ledges the width of a pizza tray along the way.In this episode of the ActionCOACH Business Growth Podcast, they explain why they banned the word can't, what a bias to action actually looks like day to day, and how doing one uncomfortable thing a year built the mindset behind it all.What You'll Learn:- Removing Can't From Your Vocabulary: Why Tom and James banned the word can't entirely, and how Carol Dweck's growth mindset research shaped their thinking on limiting beliefs.- The Bias To Action Method: How announcing a goal publicly before you know how to achieve it builds accountability and forces you to figure out the how afterwards.- Training The AMCC, Your Willpower Muscle: The brain region proven to grow when you do things you don't want to do, and why it levels the playing field for everyone.- 18 Months To El Capitan: How two novice climbers went from the worst in their gym to summiting El Capitan in three days, waking up next to Alex Honnold and Tommy Caldwell.- The Crisis Playbook: Level-headed, share it, no ego. How Tom and James righted their boat after capsizing mid-Atlantic and narrowly avoiding a collision with a tanker.- The Misogi Challenge: The ancient Japanese ritual reframed as doing one incredibly hard thing every year, and why it builds a life full of stories.- Next Up, A 400K Swim: A preview of The Tempest Two's next world-first challenge, a relay swim across the North Sea from Scotland to Norway.

The Calculated Risk That Separates the Rich From Everyone Else | Danny McFarlane Wealth Adviser InterviewMost people think wealthy clients obsess over money. Danny McFarlane has spent 30 years advising the ultra-wealthy, and his observation is the opposite: the richest people he knows never chased money at all. In this episode of the Business Growth Podcast, powered by ActionCOACH UK, he explains what actually separates those who earn well from those who build deep wealth — and what most people get badly wrong about risk.Danny built his career without ever drawing a salary, growing one of the UK's most respected client books with near-100% retention — losing just 2 clients in 30 years he didn't choose to lose. He has since sold his firm and now coaches financial advisers and business owners on how to connect business, money, and life into one coherent plan.What You'll Learn:- Why the Wealthy Don't Chase Money: Danny's wealthiest clients focused on success, passion, or a cause — money arrived as a byproduct. Chase it directly, he says, and it runs away.- How to Set Goals That Actually Work: Real wealth starts with numbers-based goals, reverse-engineered into milestones. Realistic but stretching — too easy and it's demotivating, too ambitious and it's paralysing.- The Difference Between Earning and Deep Wealth: Making good money is not the same as building lasting wealth. The gap is knowing what to do with money, and — critically — when to take calculated risk.- The One Rule Danny Swears By on Risk: Never sell the roof over your head. Borrow against almost anything else, take on debt strategically — but not that.- Why "Boring" Is the Strategy: For clients who've made it, Danny manages their money in the most boring way possible. Lower risk, steady returns, no drama. The thrill-seeking is for earlier stages.- When to Get a Coach vs a Financial Planner: Start with a coach to build the business. Once money is coming in, bring in the financial planner — ideally connected with your coach, with no referral fees involved.- The Time Out Discipline: Danny's most powerful habit is going off-radar — at minimum a full day, ideally a week — two to three times a year. Phone off, email off, no exceptions. He credits it with more clarity than any seminar he ever attended.Danny McFarlane's Background:Danny McFarlane is a wealth adviser and business coach with 30 years of experience at the top of the financial planning industry. He built his career without ever drawing a salary, growing one of the UK's most respected client books with near-100% retention — losing just 2 clients in 30 years he didn't choose to lose. He has since sold his firm and now coaches financial advisers and business owners, including the team at Westminster Wealth, helping them connect strategy, money, and life into a plan that actually gets followed.If You're Already Building Wealth: Get a trusted financial planner alongside your coach — someone with at least five to seven years' experience, a client profile similar to yours, and a relationship style that suits you. And build a bucket list. Most people don't have one.For Everyone: Take time out. At minimum, a full day off-radar — no phone, no email, no people. Go somewhere different. Ask yourself what you were doing when things were going well that you've since stopped doing. Then go back to doing it.Whether you're just starting out, building momentum, or already wondering what comes next, this conversation will reframe how you think about money, risk, and the life wealth is supposed to buy. Subscribe for weekly conversations with people who've actually done it.Brought to you by Actioncoach UK | The World Number 1 in Business CoachingLearn more at: actioncoach.co.ukThis Episode is sponsored by YESS Foundation | Offering free 17-Week Business Education for Ages 12-22Discover YESS at: www.yessfoundation.org.uk

Why Rory Sutherland Thinks You're Wrong (The Average Trap) Rory Sutherland Ogilvy InterviewMost businesses design for the "average" customer. Rory Sutherland, vice chairman of Ogilvy, explains why this leaves everyone dissatisfied. In this ActionCOACH podcast episode recorded at BizX 2026, host Neil Martin explores how to escape the average trap and think like your customers actually think.When the US Air Force designed fighter jet seats for the "average" pilot, virtually nobody fit. Few people are average across multiple dimensions at once. Rory built his reputation at Ogilvy challenging finance-driven thinking and revealing why psychological factors often matter more than practical features.What You'll Learn:Why Designing for Average Fails: The fighter jet seat story proves adjustability beats one-size-fits-all thinking across product design, customer service, and business strategy.Marketing as Probabilistic Discipline: Why finance executives struggle to value marketing. You're making probabilistic bets on future outcomes like a casino, not controlling internal operations like finance.The Data Paradox: Nearly all business data comes from the past. You're driving whilst looking in the rear-view mirror, missing opportunities that don't show up in historical data.The 70-20-10 Experimentation Framework: 70% proven tactics, 20% incremental improvement, 10% blue-sky experiments where failure should be your goal. Breakthrough ideas contain illogical elements that data would reject.Psychological Friction Blocks Sales: Emotional barriers prevent purchases more often than practical problems. Examples from caravan design to luxury watch brands show how removing psychological friction creates breakthroughs spreadsheets miss.Capitalism's Genius Is Variety: Why exploring 18 different solutions beats optimising one "perfect" average solution. Competition creates better outcomes by testing multiple approaches simultaneously.Marketing as Mindset, Not Function: Sell marketing as a way of thinking rather than defending what marketing departments do. This customer-perspective thinking prevents boards from making internally rational decisions that look foolish to actual buyers.Brought to you by Actioncoach UK | The World Number 1 in Business CoachingLearn more at: actioncoach.co.ukThis Episode is sponsored by Santander x Worldpay | Providing business and corporate clients with secure, in-store, and e-commerce payment solutions.

Sara Davies MBE on Why Authenticity Wins in Business and Leadership | Dragons' Den Star InterviewWhen the BBC asked Sara Davies to be "more dragon-like" before her Dragons' Den audition, she made a choice. She walked into that meeting as herself, legs crossed, warm demeanour, Northern accent intact, and told commissioners exactly what they'd get. That decision transformed her career.Sara Davies MBE is founder and CEO of Crafter's Companion, a £40 million craft business. She became the youngest woman ever on Dragon's Den, where she's been an investor for six years, and is one of the UK's most recognisable entrepreneurs.In this episode, Sara explains why being authentically yourself is your biggest business advantage. She spent her 20s shape-shifting to fit each room until her husband asked which version was the real her. That question changed everything.If You're Building Your Personal Brand: Know what you stand for, then show up as that person consistently.If You're Managing through Decline: Accept the situation, make the hard decisions fast, and stop using money as an excuse to delay.If You're Leading a Team: Read what isn't being said. Pair direct feedback with genuine care for growth.This conversation cuts through the noise with genuine insights on why authenticity works, how to make hard decisions fast, and why emotional intelligence matters as you scale.Brought to you by Actioncoach UK | The World Number 1 in Business CoachingLearn more at: actioncoach.co.ukThis Episode is Brought to you by Santander x Worldpay | Providing business and corporate clients with secure, in-store, and e-commerce payment solutions.This Episode is Sponsored by TrueTalent | Connecting Talent for events, campaigns and more. True Talent are passionate about bringing together the best suited Talent with brands.Learn more at: wearetruetalent.com

Sales: You're Already Selling (Here's Why That Matters) | Jeb Blount Fanatical Prospecting Author InterviewMost entrepreneurs think they're not in sales. Jeb Blount knows better. In this backstage episode of the Business Growth Podcast at BizX 2026, we reveal why every business owner must become their company's chief sales officer and how keeping your pipeline full changes everything about how you sell, close, negotiate, and choose customers. Jeb built a 1.2 million-person email list over 20 years, hosts the Sales Gravy podcast (top 10 in its category), and has written 18 bestselling books including Fanatical Prospecting.What You'll Learn:Why Pipeline Is Life: A full pipeline makes you better at every aspect of selling. When you have options, you close better, negotiate stronger, and select the right customers instead of taking anyone who says yes.Selling as Consulting: The value bridge concept reframes selling from pushing products to guiding people toward their goals. Start with integrity, ask better questions, and position yourself as an interpreter who helps buyers reach their desired future state.Multi-Touch Prospecting That Actually Works: Phone calls, voicemail, email, LinkedIn messages, in-person visits, newsletters, and podcasts combine to create powerful sequences. Single-channel approaches fail because no one channel works alone anymore.Why AI Is Breaking Email: Salespeople send 8 times more email than 4 years ago but get one-eighth the results. AI-generated messages have saturated inboxes, forcing email providers to filter aggressively.Bold Calling Is Back: In-person prospecting is experiencing a resurgence. Jeb shares how he scaled a chain-link fence past 'Beware of Dog' signs, met a business owner, and later closed a $1.2 million deal.Key Quotes:"Pipeline is life. When you have a full pipeline, you're better at selling, you're better at closing, you're better at negotiating, and you're better at choosing the right customers.""Selling is helping people get what they want. If you start with integrity and don't sell people things they don't need, you're just guiding them toward their goals.""The phone still works. Nobody answers a phone that doesn't ring. Pick it up."Jeb Blount's Background:Jeb Blount is a sales trainer, author of Fanatical Prospecting and 17 other bestselling books, and founder of the Sales Gravy podcast (top 10 in its category). He built a 1.2 million-person email list over 20 years and runs a 34-person consulting firm.