In this episode, Dr. Jacob Naish and Gary Peters sit down with Dean Curtis, an incredible leader whose story is as honest, human and impactful as they come.

Dean is Chief Executive Officer at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, a division of RELX, one of the UK’s top FTSE 10 companies. He's a seasoned business leader with a proven track record of building high-performing, inclusive teams and is committed to making the world a better place utilising data and technology.

Dean talks so openly about growing up in a tight community, building a career without a degree, and the simple philosophy that’s guided him throughout: “You become the people you touch.” His approach to leadership is rooted in energy, integrity and genuine connection, not titles.

He also shares the most difficult chapter of his life: losing his sister to cancer. Helping her write an ethical will for her children reshaped his values, his definition of success, and the way he now lives “two lives every day.”

Expect to hear insights on:

💠 The difference between performance and results and why most organisations get it wrong
🎯 How to stay authentic when the pressure is highest
🧭 Why purpose matters more than job titles
📘 How loss, resilience and reflection can transform the way you lead
🔍 Drains vs radiators — and why the people around you shape everything
🤝 What it means to “touch” people in the right way, every day

This is a grounded, deeply human conversation for anyone leading teams, raising a family, navigating tough moments or simply trying to do their best with what they’ve got.

It stays with you long after it ends. We hope you enjoy it.

In this episode, Dr. Jacob Naish and Gary Peters sit down with Paul Ford MBE, one of the most influential figures behind Team GB’s Olympic success over the past decade.

A high-performance leader, strategist and culture architect, Paul has spent 15+ years guiding medal-winning performance across four Olympic Games, leading delegations of 850+ athletes and staff and shaping the environments where Britain’s best perform under extreme pressure.

Originally trained in exercise physiology, Paul has built a career designing high-performance systems across sport, public and private sectors — from launching elite training centres across continents to managing multi-million-pound campaigns and advising leaders on what it really takes to win the right way.

Expect to hear insights on:

🏅 How Team GB builds performance environments that thrive under pressure
🧭 Why leadership is lonely and why that’s perfectly normal
🔥 What high-pressure environments teach us about self-care and sustainability
🎯 Why preparation beats last-minute genius every single time
🤝 The real meaning of ‘common purpose’ inside the Olympic system
🧱 Why culture-first leadership outperforms talent-first leadership in elite sport

This is a truly grounded, honest and incredibly useful conversation for anyone working in sport, media, technology or business. Paul’s lessons on pressure, planning and people translate directly into the boardroom and into everyday life.

“You can’t manage others unless you can manage yourself.”

In this episode, Dr. Jacob Naish and Gary Peters sit down with Nick Shackleton-Jones — learning innovator, philosopher, and trouble-maker-in-chief — whose career has been dedicated to challenging how we think about work, learning, and culture.

From the collapse of corporate conformity to the rise of AI as an “emergent species,” Nick takes us on a thought-provoking journey through philosophy, psychology, and the absurdities of modern business. Drawing on his experience at the BBC, BP, and Deloitte, he unpacks why so many workplace systems are broken — and what it really takes to build something more human.

Expect insights on:

💭 Why “return to office” culture is more about identity than productivity
⚙️ How corporate norms quietly engineer tragedy into our lives
📚 Why education is overdue for collapse — and what could replace it
🧠 The psychology of belonging and difference in high-performing teams
🤖 How technology may not be our tool — but we may be its

This is a wide-ranging, funny, and deeply human conversation that challenges how we see learning, leadership, and our place in an accelerating world.

Connect with Nick Shackleton-Jones:

🌐 Website: https://shackleton-consulting.com/
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shackletonjones/
🐦 X / Twitter: https://x.com/shackletonjones
🎵 TikTok: shackletonjones
— 75k followers, nearly 3M likes

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