What can the man who helped orchestrate the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan teach you about improving your business? The answer is quite a lot.

The guest on this episode is Chris Paton, who has had roles in the French Ministry of Defence, UK Ministry of Defence, and the Royal Marines before founding a consultancy that supports businesses to become more effective and improve their culture and performance.

Here's what we discussed:

• Can you tell me a bit about your path to founding and now working as the MD of Quirk Solutions? (00:53)
• Is there a parallel between the types of people that go into the army and then the types of people that go into business? (04:09)
• What are the characteristics of a great leader? (06:48)
• How did you end up in the military and what was your experience like? (09:59)
• How can a business leader enable their team to work in an effective way without micromanaging? (13:00)
• You helped businesses adjust back to a post-pandemic world. So many companies and organisations would talk about how this was an opportunity to reset and reshape the way they operate for the better – have you witnessed this? (17:00)
• From your work, do you think there is a common mistake most or many businesses make? (20:07)
• Now businesses face a potential economic crisis and supply chain crisis caused by the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and lockdowns in China. What advice would you give to a business on how to navigate this? (28:46)
• Do you think gaming is something that businesses should do regardless of big 'norm-changing' events like the pandemic? (36:09)
• Answer the Internet: Am I a bad employee or I’m at the wrong place? (41:19)
• What makes a great business leader? (44:04)

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