In Good Company with Impact

When even James Bond isn’t enough to save your business… what do you do next?In this podcast Dan talks to Chris Blade - the CEO of Cumbria Crystal, the UK’s last manufacturer of luxury English crystal - who made the extraordinary decision to step down to protect something more important than his role: the skills that keep the business alive.

This isn’t a podcast about crystal making, it’s about what happens when external factors conspire against every positive step you take. And one uncomfortable truth for all leaders: “without the skills of the staff, there is no company.”

Chris's conversation with Dan covers:

🥃 The realities that forced a CEO to step down

🥃 How leaders can protect critical skills in their organisations

🥃 The personal cost of leading when there are no good options

🥃 The surprising link between craftsmanship, creativity, and economic growth

Listen / watch now to find out more. 🔔 If you like this... why not subscribe so you never miss an episode of In Good Company? Whether this is the first time you’ve found us or you’re a long-time listener, there's always something new to discover about human-centred organisations, leadership and learning.

Join the conversation and let us know your thoughts in the comments. To learn more about Impact, please visit:

Our website: https://www.impactinternational.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/impact-international_2/

Dan Jones on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danjones87

Chris Blade on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherbladedesign/

What should come first in an AI rollout - people or tech?In this episode of In Good Company, we’re joined by Aleksandra Brzozowska, Head of Learning and Development at Ringier Axel Springer Polska.Ola has helped turn cautious curiosity into real capability at scale - resulting in lowering the level of fear of AI by more than 70% in just one year.In this conversation we explore:✅ Why AI change needs people at the heart of the strategy✅ What a “two‑speed company” looks like and why it can be a strength✅ Why managers are key to implementation (and how to support them properly)✅ What drives year‑on‑year growth in confidence and capability (hint: internal learning + ambassadors)✅ A practical checklist for successful AI transformationListen / watch now to find out more. 🔔 If you like this... why not subscribe to our YouTube and Spotify channels so you never miss an episode of In Good Company? Whether this is the first time you’ve found us or you’re a long-time listener, there's always something new to discover about human-centred organisations, leadership and learning. Join the conversation and let us know your thoughts in the comments. To learn more about Impact, please visit: Our website: https://www.impactinternational.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/impact-international_2/ In Good Company on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/52pryH8Tden6lJcJ2rPlPj Dan Jones on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danjones87/Aleksandra Brzozowska on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aleksandra-brzozowska-87454a73/#Leadership#HRLeadership#AI #GenAI #OrganisationalChange

One change, many realities - sound familiar? The challenge organisations face today isn’t just change - it’s that the same change creates very different realities. Depending on your role, your life stage, where you work and what you’re measured on, change can feel like opportunity, pressure, freedom or threat. In this episode of In Good Company, Steph Oerton from Network Rail, draws on 30-years experience of leadership development to explores these change differentials - and what leaders need to notice if they want engagement, trust and wellbeing to survive ongoing change. The podcast covers:🚇 Why the same change can feel energising to some and unsettling to others🚇 What reciprocal mentoring reveals about experience, confidence and technology🚇 How leaders carry their role differently🚇 When wellbeing depends on telling it like it is “People need to understand why the change is happening. Creating a compelling vision helps people understand why - and then how they can contribute to that. Often change comes in like stealth and if people don't get it, they don't understand.”Steph OrtonListen / watch now to find out more. 🔔 If you like this... why not subscribe to our YouTube and Spotify channels so you never miss an episode of In Good Company? Whether this is the first time you’ve found us or you’re a long-time listener, there's always something new to discover about human-centred organisations, leadership and learning. Join the conversation and let us know your thoughts in the comments. To learn more about Impact, please visit: Our website: https://www.impactinternational.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/impact-international_2/ In Good Company on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/52pryH8Tden6lJcJ2rPlPj Dan Jones on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danjones87/Steph Oerton on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephoerton/#Leadership#HRLeadership#LeadingChange#ChangeManagement

Listen / watch now to find out more. 🔔 If you like this... why not subscribe to our YouTube and Spotify channels so you never miss an episode of In Good Company? Whether this is the first time you’ve found us or you’re a long-time listener, there's always something new to discover about human-centred organisations, leadership and learning. Join the conversation and let us know your thoughts in the comments. To learn more about Impact, please visit: Our website: https://www.impactinternational.com Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/impact-international_2/ In Good Company on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/52pryH8Tden6lJcJ2rPlPj Dan Jones on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danjones87/

In this episode of Impact's In Good Company podcast, we ask: is sustainability going through a profound shift, and what will it look like on the other side? 

Sian Modine has been shaping how organisations embed sustainability and human rights into the way they work for three decades. She brings her strategic change experience, learning design knowledge and work as facilitator to bare on questions of where we have been on our societal journey with sustainability, and where it is headed next: 

✅ The quiet confidence behind current sustainability efforts 

✅ The transition from greenwashing to green hushing 

✅ How silos fragment the sustainability function 

✅ How to develop a human rights culture throughout a supply chain 

✅ The continuing importance of the three Ps Listen / watch now to find out more.   

🔔 If you like this... why not subscribe to our YouTube and Spotify channels so you never miss an episode of In Good Company? Whether this is the first time you’ve found us or you’re a long-time listener, there's always something new to discover about human-centred organisations, leadership and learning. Join the conversation and let us know your thoughts in the comments.   

To learn more about Impact, please visit: Our website:  https://www.impactinternational.com   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/impact-international_2/ Dan Jones on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danjones87/ Sian Modine on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sianmodine/ #SustainabilityLeadership, #SustainableBusiness, #HumanRights, #ESG, #GreenHushing, #FutureOfWork, #ImpactPodcast, #InGoodCompany, #BusinessPodcast

Jay Muthu is no stranger to the way challenge can strengthen us. He contracted polio at 18 months old, and his experiences as a disabled child growing up in India have shaped his thinking on ambition, resilience and the importance of role modelling ever since. Jay is currently the Country HR Leader for BT Group in India and has spent his career working for global organisations across the world, with a focus on people development, culture and unlocking the potential in people.

In this episode of In Good Company, he joins Dan to discuss:

💬 Why resilience is about flexible strength, not mindless resistance

💬 How our childhoods shape the type of leaders we become

💬 The advantages, and limits, of strength based leadership

💬 Surfacing your purpose and aligning it to organisational purpose

"I’ve always believed: if you can’t walk, roll… and here I am today. I strongly believe minorities need positive role models, because you cannot become what you don’t see." - Jay Muthu

#leadership #resilience #leadershipskills #leadershiplessons #purpose

Listen / watch now to find out more. 🔔 If you like this... why not subscribe so you never miss an episode of In Good Company? Whether this is the first time you’ve found us or you’re a long-time listener, there's always something new to discover about human-centred organisations, leadership and learning. Join the conversation and let us know your thoughts in the comments. To learn more about Impact, please visit: Our website: https://www.impactinternational.com Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/impact-international_2/ In Good Company on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/52pryH8Tden6lJcJ2rPlPj Dan Jones on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danjones87/ Jay Muthu on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayakanthanm/

Impact’s Global Lead of Transformation and Leadership, Duncan Lydon explains why change processes fail 70% of the time and how getting to grips with the emotional core of change can make it lasting and successful. This In Good Company podcast covers: 💬 Why change is fundamentally personal and emotionally driven 💬 How negative past experiences shape resistance to organisational change 💬 Why technical change mapping works - but cultural change doesn’t fit neatly on a plan 💬 How experiential learning creates real behaviour shifts 💬 Why fear, uncertainty and loss derail change processes 💬 The skills leaders need to tune into emotion, create clarity and connect people to the bigger picture If you're navigating transformation, supporting teams through uncertainty, or redesigning culture, this conversation offers a context rich and deeply human perspective on what truly makes change stick. “People ask: how is this going to affect me? Emotions drive behaviour - but organisations rarely give that enough attention.” Listen / watch now to find out more. 🔔 If you like this... why not subscribe to our YouTube and Spotify channels so you never miss an episode of In Good Company? Whether this is the first time you’ve found us or you’re a long-time listener, there's always something new to discover about human-centred organisations, leadership and learning. Join the conversation and let us know your thoughts in the comments. To learn more about Impact, please visit: Our website: https://www.impactinternational.com Linkedin:   / impact-international_2   In Good Company on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/52pryH8... Dan Jones on LinkedIn:   / danjones87   Duncan Lydon on LinkedIn:   / duncanlydon  

In a world where change is constant and accelerating, Chief People Officer Julia Paulding joins Dan to explore what it really takes for organisations and leaders to navigate continuous transformation. With over 30 years of experience in people, culture and professional services, Julia shares why the future belongs to organisations that master the human side of change — not just the systems and processes.In this episode of In Good Company podcast, we dive into:💬 Why change fatigue is rising and how leaders can protect their people💬 The “brilliant basics” that keep teams grounded during uncertainty💬 The shift from soft skills to power skills💬 How culture, communication, trust and empathy shape successful change💬 The impact of AI on people, leadership and workplace expectations💬 Why supportive, human‑centred leadership matters more now than everIf you're leading teams, managing transformation, or trying to build a culture that thrives through constant change, this conversation is packed with insight, honesty, and practical takeaways.“My biggest challenge is making sure my fantastic team is supported to lead change when they’re dealing with so much themselves.” Julia Paulding

Listen / watch now to find out more. 🔔 If you like this... why not follow us? Whether this is the first time you’ve found us or you’re a long-time listener, there's always something new to discover about human-centred organisations, leadership and learning. Join the conversation and let us know your thoughts in the comments. To learn more about Impact, please visit: Our website: https://www.impactinternational.com Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/impact-international_2/ Dan Jones on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danjones87/

Should you use AI - or should you pause?

In this episode of In Good Company, AI transformation leader Paulina Bartoszek from Lingaro Group challenges the “move fast” mindset and shows leaders how to experiment responsibly without eroding human capabilities.

What’s inside:

✅ Can vs. should: why reframing the core AI question changes decisions and risk.

✅ SUP model (Speed • Utilisation • Proficiency)—why it helped early on, and why it’s not enough now.

✅ Experimentation beats restriction: making testing your guiding principle for adoption at scale.

✅ No finish line: defining success on an AI journey that keeps evolving.

✅ Protecting the human edge: avoiding cognitive skill erosion as generative tools proliferate.

✅ Data you can trust: why quality, structure, and governance are non‑negotiable for good AI.Listen / watch now to find out more.

🔔 If you like this... why not subscribe to our YouTube and Spotify channels so you never miss an episode of In Good Company?

Whether this is the first time you’ve found us or you’re a long-time listener, there's always something new to discover about human-centred organisations, leadership and learning. Join the conversation and let us know your thoughts in the comments.

To learn more about Impact, please visit: https://www.impactinternational.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/impact-international_2

In Good Company on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/52pryH8Tden6lJcJ2rPlPj

Dan Jones on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danjones87/

Paulina Bartoszek on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulinabartoszek/

Lingaro Group on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lingaro

Lingaro's article on AI adoption: LINK

Leadership isn’t about titles - it’s about action.

In this episode of In Good Company, Mike Kennedy - a learning and leadership development executive with 30 years experience at IPG Media Brands, the NBA, and Tiffany & Co. - reframes leadership as behaviour, not identity. Mike shares practical insights, tackles common myths and uses the simple but powerful framework of stop, start, continue to do this. Dan and Mike's conversation includes how leaders can:

✅ Stop outdated myths and practices that hold people back.

✅ Start behaviours that spark motivation and collaboration.

✅ Continue timeless habits that anchor effective learning, and great leadership.

💬 “Leadership isn’t about who you are, it’s about what you do.” Mike Kennedy

Listen / watch now to find out more.

🔔 If you like this... why not subscribe so you never miss an episode of In Good Company? Whether this is the first time you’ve found us or you’re a long-time listener, there's always something new to discover about human-centred organisations, leadership and learning. Join the conversation and let us know your thoughts in the comments.

To learn more about Impact, please visit https://www.impactinternational.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/impact-international_2

Dan Jones on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danjones87/

Mike Kennedy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennedy4m4s/