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The Next 100 Days Podcast

The Next 100 Days Podcast

By: Kevin Appleby & Graham Arrowsmith
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The Next 100 Days Podcast is a leading UK business show. Through this podcast, Kevin and Graham reveal strategies you can use to improve your business and take it to the next level. In addition to featuring their own advice, Kevin and Graham host amazing guests from across the business world. Often the guests are successful, but lesser-known business owners and entrepreneurs, enabling the show to bring fresh content and stand out from many of the US based business shows. Graham and Kevin believe that business change comes about when a business owner focusses on just one thing that will make a real difference to his business. That might be product development, a new product launch or a marketing campaign. Focussing for less than 100 days, or focussing on too many things generally won't deliver the results you need, Equally, its difficult to maintain effective focus for much longer than 100 days without re-assessing priorities. The Next 100 Days Podcast is your source to learn how to move your business forward, with practical advice and guidance that you can put into action and make a difference in your own organisation within the next 100 days.Copyright 2026 Kevin Appleby & Graham Arrowsmith Economics Leadership Management Management & Leadership Personal Finance
Episodes
  • #549 Daniel Roth – Coaching

    #549 Daniel Roth – Coaching
    30 Oct 2026
    Coaching: Closing the Gap Between Strategy and ExecutionDaniel Roth, founder and president of Pangea Effect and author of The E3 Effect, has spent 27 years running operations, from the Ritz Carlton to call centres for Taco Bell and Pizza Hut. He explains execution drift, the quiet gap that opens up between a company's strategy and what its operations actually do, and the framework he uses to close it.Summary of the PodcastDaniel has led teams of more than 2,500 people and managed a $70 million P&L across retail, hospitality and corporate environments. His moment of truth came when consultants he had hired presented his own eight-point plan back to him, almost word for word, on their letterhead. That prompted him to launch Pangea Effect.Today he and his wife live and travel full time in a Sprinter van. Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, he joined Graham and Kevin from Windsor, Ontario. The conversation covers his E3 framework, the six building blocks of a performance architecture, two case studies with striking results, and his "Performance as a Service" model, where his fees are tied to results.Key TakeawaysWatch for execution drift: Strategy and day-to-day operations slowly pull apart. Daniel focuses on lead measures so the drift is caught before the lag measures signal a crisis.E³ is Enable, Empower, Endeavor: clarity and capability to do the work, real ownership and decision rights, and continuous measurement, feedback and learning.Find the through-line: The central question is whether there is a clear line from the top-level strategy to every frontline role. One client had a dashboard of 53 metrics with no meaningful link to either.Structure creates speed: A good operating structure removes ambiguity, so the organisation can move faster without everything depending on one leader.Know what you can control: Daniel separates controllable from uncontrollable problems so teams don't waste energy on things outside their influence.The E3 EffectE3 is written as an exponent, E³, because the three elements multiply each other.Daniel chose "Endeavor" over "Execute" deliberately. Successful businesses keep evolving rather than reaching an end point.Behind the framework sits a performance architecture of six elements: metrics, processes and workflows, workforce capability, governance and risk management, operating rhythm, and technology systems.Why "Pangea"?Like the supercontinent Pangea, businesses start as one unified whole and then split into specialist functions, like tectonic plates drifting apart.The "effect" is knowing when to let functions specialise and when to bring them back together, and finding the right balance.Two Case StudiesA member service centre in 10 weeks: a client had to bring an outsourced operation in-house with no existing capability. With clear ownership, visible metrics and a tight daily review rhythm from day one, it reached a 99.2% answer rate and 91% first response time attainment.A healthcare service centre: the operation had drifted away from the company's mission. After a stakeholder roadshow, Daniel developed six North Star principles, including "Serve Warmly". Over four years, scheduled appointments rose 110% to 443,000 a year while operating costs fell 57%.Performance as a ServiceSome clients don't have the internal team to execute the plan, so Pangea Effect will stay on, be accountable for the results and tie its fees to performance.Every engagement includes a plan for a seamless handover to the client's own team. Partners and customers should never notice the change.Daniel brings in specialists as needed, covering project management, learning and development, Lean Six Sigma, hiring and fit assessments, and coaching.Who Daniel Works WithMid-sized to Fortune 500 organisations with clear operational gaps and the budget to fix them, and well-funded start-ups that want to build strong foundations from the outset.Most of his work comes through word of mouth and referrals. Kevin observed that having the right network in place before going independent made the difference: Daniel's Fortune 500 clients came through existing relationships.Working with DanielYou can find Daniel at pangeaeffect.com and on LinkedIn. His book, The E3 Effect, is available now.The Next 100 Days Podcast Co-HostsGraham ArrowsmithGraham founded Finely Fettled in 2014 to provide data from The UK High Net Worth Database to marketers targeting affluent and high-net-worth customers. He's the founder of MicroYES, a Partner for MeclabsAI, creating lead generation AI Agents & Workflows and introducing the MeclabsAI Platform. Graham is an inCruises Independent Partner, and is building up interest from people around the world in the World's Largest Travel Membership - inCruises. You can sign up and access 21,000+ cruises, hotels and tours by clicking HEREKevin ApplebyKevin specialises in finance transformation and implementing business change. He's the COO of GrowCFO, which provides both ...
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    36 min
  • #548 Misbah Gulzar – DEI

    #548 Misbah Gulzar – DEI
    23 Oct 2026
    Misbah Gulzar of Equitas Consultancy Services explains what diversity, equity and inclusion really mean, why so much corporate DEI is performative, and why she would never want to be hired to tick a box. Graham pushes back hard, Kevin brings a London 2012 case study, and the result is one of our most candid conversations yet.Summary of the PodcastMisbah Gulzar is a DEI consultant and the founder of Equitas Consultancy Services. Before going independent she spent around 20 years in the prison service, including time as an equality manager. Graham met her at The Legacy Bench in Manchester and, as someone who is "generally against interference, however it's framed", invited her on to test his own views.Misbah sets out what each letter of DEI stands for, uses a simple wall analogy to explain the difference between equality and equity, and argues that diversity of thought is good for business. Graham challenges whether equity and diversity can or should be imposed. The conversation covers merit, unconscious bias in recruitment, the Equality Act, and how the prison service handles the placement of transgender prisoners.Key TakeawaysDEI brings differences together: Misbah describes DEI as being about uniting differences rather than separating them. There is no hierarchy of characteristics.Performative DEI: Many large organisations look diverse on the surface, but their C-suite and senior leadership remain predominantly white, male and middle class. Because leadership sets the tone, that limits real change.Equity is not "more": Using the wall analogy, equity means giving each person the support they need to reach the same starting point, such as reasonable adjustments for someone with dyslexia, not giving them an advantage.Merit first: Misbah would never want to be hired as "the token female or the token Asian person". The aim of DEI is to remove the barriers, such as non-inclusive panels and bias against unfamiliar names, so that merit can be judged fairly.Diversity of thought: Graham and Kevin both accept the business case for diversity of thought. Where they part company with Misbah is on legislating for it.Why DEI Divides OpinionThe DEI space has become harder in recent months, with Donald Trump calling for it to be removed altogether.Misbah believes DEI is often poorly explained. People who don't see themselves in it switch off and assume it has nothing to do with them.Of the three letters, inclusion is the one everyone agrees on, Graham included. With inclusion comes belonging.Equality vs Equity: The Wall AnalogyThree people of different heights are watching a match over a wall. Equality gives each of them the same box to stand on. Equity gives each of them what they need to see over the wall.Some needs are invisible. A student with dyslexia who receives a reasonable adjustment is "not getting more than them", just reaching the same level as everyone else.Graham's counter-argument: life isn't fair, people make good and bad decisions, and give everyone £10,000 and a wealth hierarchy will soon reappear.Misbah's response: we are all a product of our environment, and our starting points are different.A Practical Example: London 2012Kevin ran the performance management system for London 2012, which tracked promises made in the bid and by the then Mayor of London, including local jobs.One borough had a large ethnic community with no history of working in construction, which made the job targets hard to reach.The answer was the National Training Centre for Construction Skills on the edge of the Olympic Park. It needed a change of mindset as well as training, and Kevin admits it achieved only limited success.Diversity, Merit and the Equality ActMisbah argues that diverse teams bring different experiences and ways of tackling problems, which benefits output, business acumen and profit.Kevin recalls a former Disney executive, an earlier guest, who brought someone from customer support into product development to shake things up.The UK has no US-style positive action. The Equality Act protects characteristics such as age, disability, religion and belief, sexual orientation, gender identity and maternity, including the duty to make reasonable adjustments.Complex Cases: Transgender PrisonersGraham raises his discomfort with gender identity and pronouns in the workplace, and Kevin raises concerns about shared facilities. Misbah acknowledges it is a complicated and contested area, and says she is not an expert on it.In the prison service, transgender prisoners are protected by legislation and a prison service order. Placement decisions go through multidisciplinary case boards involving psychologists, healthcare and sentence planning.Misbah agreed that colleagues should be given time to adjust to new pronouns: "just be mindful of it".Working with MisbahMisbah will moderate a panel at Black Business Week. You can find her at equitasconsultancy.com and on LinkedIn.The Next 100 Days Podcast Co-HostsGraham ...
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    50 min
  • #547 - David Hori - Scaling Businesses

    #547 - David Hori - Scaling Businesses
    16 Oct 2026

    David's story includes scaling businesses for 4 different founders (3 have exited in the past 5 years). These days, he's in the business of buying businesses and coaches a select group of business owners.

    Summary of the PodcastKey Takeaways
    • Podcast Guest: David Hori (Top Line Operators) discussed acquiring established businesses (e-commerce, water industry) and preparing companies for sale.
    • Four Pillars of Sellability: To reduce risk and increase value, businesses must minimise owner dependency and customer concentration, document all processes, and ensure predictable financials.

    Podcast: David Hori on Business Acquisition
    • Guest Profile: David Hori, founder of Top Line Operators, acquires small and medium-sized businesses.
    • Background: Grew three VC-funded startups from ~10 to ~60 people, leading to exits to Qualtrics, Opendoor, and Toyota.
    • Current Strategy: Buy and hold established, profitable businesses (10+ years old) with a focus on two sectors:
    • Physical E-commerce: Must be a product he can understand; avoids supplements, medical devices, and cannabis.
    • Water Industry: Well drilling, pumps, filtration. A recession-resistant, foundational service.

    The "Four Pillars of Sellability":

    Key risk factors that buyers evaluate.

    1. Owner Dependency: The business relies too heavily on the founder.
    2. Concentration: Over-reliance on a single customer or employee.
    3. Documentation: Processes are not documented and are trapped in individuals' heads.
    4. Financial Predictability: Irregular or unpredictable cash flow.

    Process Documentation ("Camcorder Method"):

    • Record all recurring tasks (e.g., payroll) using Loom.
    • Link videos in a central document to create a living, practical handbook.
    • This ensures continuity and reduces risk, making the business easier to run and more attractive to buyers.

    The Next 100 Days Podcast Co-Hosts

    Graham Arrowsmith

    Graham founded Finely Fettled in 2014 to provide data from The UK High Net Worth Database to marketers targeting affluent and high-net-worth customers. He's the founder of MicroYES, a Partner for MeclabsAI, creating lead generation AI Agents & Workflows and introducing the MeclabsAI Platform. Graham is an inCruises Independent Partner, and is building up interest from people around the world in the World's Largest Travel Membership - inCruises. You can sign up and access 21,000+ cruises, hotels and tours by clicking HERE

    Kevin Appleby

    Kevin specialises in finance transformation and implementing business change. He's the COO of GrowCFO, which provides both community and CPD-accredited training designed to grow the next generation of finance leaders. You can find Kevin on LinkedIn and at kevinappleby.com
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    46 min
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