The Little Questions

In this episode we dive head first into the pond that is ESG, better known as Environmental, Social and Governance.

So what exactly is ESG? The airwaves are full of it, Boardrooms are awash with it, but no-one really knows how to account for it, and we're all having to learn how to talk about it in terms that suit our organisations.

We liken ESG to an ECG, the scan that tracks our vital organ to check all is well, hopefully resulting in a clean bill of health. The analogy holds for organisations - if the scan detects anomalies, we require treatment or interventions. So too do companies if the scan picks something up.

But what interventions and treatments work best? Who prescribes them? And who says when you're well?

And does it look into the corporate soul? More on that later in this episode.

We'd love to hear what you think. Get in touch on social media or email [email protected]

This edition of The Little Questions podcast is presented by Julian Hanson-Smith, Andrew Brown and Jenny Scott.

Apella chair Julian Hanson-Smith co-founded and was the managing director of FTI Consulting where he advised PLCs for over 15 years. Co-founded Iceni Capital, an operationally active private equity firm specialising in business services companies. Julian Led Iceni Capital's investment in StockWell Communications in 2010. He is a Trustee of The Inspiration Trust.

Apella partner Andrew Brown is a former Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Ageas Insurance. He has more than ten years' experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors, developing considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.

Apella founder partner Jenny Scott joins us again on The Little Questions podcast. Jenny has worked as Executive Director of Communications at the Bank of England and co-lead for Bank wide strategy. She was also Advisor to the Governor, and sat on the Bank's executive committee and risk committee. Formerly Economics and Politics Correspondent for the BBC and Presenter of the Daily Politics, she is now Trustee of Pro Bono Economics.

Find out more about Apella Advisors at www.apellaadvisors.com and you can get in touch by emailing [email protected]

This podcast was produced by the www.thepodcastcoach.co.uk

This is a special edition of the Little Questions podcast as we chat with Joe Garner, CEO of Nationwide Building Society. Joe is one of the UK's most respected business leaders and gives us an insight into the world of the CEO. We discuss everything from the ability of a leader to stay grounded, the CEO as a communicator, and on to Joe's first, somewhat humbling, media training session. A fascinating listen for all those working in Communications and beyond... You can find The Little Questions Podcast on our website or on the usual podcast platforms.

We'd love to hear what you think. Get in touch on social media or email [email protected]

This edition of The Little Questions podcast is presented by Andrew Brown and Matt Young.

Apella partner Andrew Brown is a former Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Ageas Insurance. He has more than ten years' experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors, developing considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.

Matt Young is an Apella founder partner with 25 years of experience in corporate affairs. He was Corporate Affairs Director at Lloyds Banking Group, part of the senior team which rescued the bank and rebuilt its reputation following the financial crisis. Formerly communications director at Santander UK and board member of the BBA.

Find out more about Apella Advisors at www.apellaadvisors.com and you can get in touch by emailing [email protected]

This podcast was produced by the www.thepodcastcoach.co.uk

How hard is it to say sorry? This week, The Little Questions podcast looks into the world of the corporate apology.

If we've done something wrong, or more relevant to our specific discussion, if the firm we represent has messed up, why can't we just get them to say sorry and mean it; and then move on? This week, James Acheson-Gray joins Matt Young and Andrew Brown to tackle this tricky topic.

Are we all psychologically predisposed to find reasons to delay or avoid saying sorry? The embarrassment and shame of it. Or is it all the fault of the lawyers who hang the threat of litigation as a result of the apology becoming an admission of liability?

We'd love to hear what you think. Get in touch on social media or email [email protected]

This edition of The Little Questions podcast is presented by Andrew Brown, Matt Young and James Acheson-Gray.

Apella partner Andrew Brown is a former Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Ageas Insurance. He has more than ten years' experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors, developing considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.

Matt Young is an Apella founder partner with 25 years of experience in corporate affairs. He was Corporate Affairs Director at Lloyds Banking Group, part of the senior team which rescued the bank and rebuilt its reputation following the financial crisis. Formerly communications director at Santander UK and board member of the BBA.

Returning to the podcast is Apella Founder Partner James Acheson-Gray, who has acted as a long-term advisor to senior decision makers on the value of harnessing reputation to enhance commercial objectives. James has over 20 years' experience running successful PR/PA firms and major client programmes in Europe and Asia. He was managing director of APCO Worldwide from 2012-2019 and is a former Board Director of the Queen's Club.

Find out more about Apella Advisors at www.apellaadvisors.com and you can get in touch by emailing [email protected]

This podcast was produced by the www.thepodcastcoach.co.uk

A panel of industry experts joined us for Little Questions Live in front of a studio audience at the RSA in London. On this special edition of the podcast we discuss the relationship between a CAD and the CEO. The panel were Victoria McKenzie Gould (CAD - M&S), Fiona Thorne (Former CAD - Flutter), Alex Cole (Former CAD - Bupa) and Ed Petter (CAD - BT). This fascinating conversation was chaired by Andrew Brown from Apella Advisors and Matthew Wall from Taylor Bennet.

During the event there were questions from the audience and our panel discussed a wide range of topics. Ed Petter tells us what he thinks a CEO wants from a corporate affairs director. Victoria McKenzie Gould - CAD at M&S - shares her thoughts on what really annoys a CEO. Alex Cole is the former CAD at Bupa and tells us why she doesn't use the phrase 'brutal honesty', but prefers something else instead (and it's brilliant!), and former CAD at Flutter, Fiona Thorne tells us what annoys a corporate affairs director more than anything else.

We'd love to hear what you think. Get in touch on social media or email [email protected]

This edition of The Little Questions podcast is presented by Andrew Brown.

Apella partner Andrew Brown is a former Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Ageas Insurance. He has more than ten years' experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors, developing considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.

Find out more about Apella Advisors at www.apellaadvisors.com and you can get in touch by emailing [email protected]

This podcast was produced by the www.thepodcastcoach.co.uk

Christmas is nearly upon us and in the best traditions of the holiday season broadcasters are gathering up all their best bits from the year and packaging it up into a highlights reel.

We didn't want to miss out on this more affordable form of entertainment, so we've produced our very own Little Questions Podcast highlights.

These are our best bits. Our thoughts on everything from the merits or otherwise of media training to what makes a good or bad pitch; from what a CEO wants in a Corporate Affairs team to why measuring what we do is still such a problem.

Regular listeners will know we're fond of a short film or TV clip at the end of an episode. At the end of this one, we've gathered all those clips together so you can test yourself on identifying where they come from. Send us your answers and if you're on Santa's good list we'll send you an Apella goody bag!

We hope you enjoy the podcasts as much as we do making them. If you have any suggestions as to issues you'd like us to muse upon in the future email us at [email protected]

So, from all of us at Apella, to all of you. A very merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous new year.

The Little Questions podcast is presented by Matt Young and Andrew Brown.

Matt Young is an Apella founder partner with 25 years of experience in corporate affairs. He was Corporate Affairs Director at Lloyds Banking Group, part of the senior team which rescued the bank and rebuilt its reputation following the financial crisis. Formerly communications director at Santander UK and board member of the BBA.

Apella partner Andrew Brown is a former Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Ageas Insurance. He has more than ten years' experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors, developing considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.

Find out more about Apella Advisors at www.apellaadvisors.com and you can get in touch by emailing [email protected]

This podcast was produced by the www.thepodcastcoach.co.uk

Corporate Affairs is a key driver of an organisation's success, when done well. And done badly, the consequences can be all too, painfully, visible. All team members play a critical role in making sure the function is set up for success, none more so than its leader, the Corporate Affairs Director.

In 2020, Apella's Andrew Brown and Wayne Reynolds from executive search firm Birchwood Knight set out to understand how some of the most accomplished corporate affairs leaders approached their role, starting. How did they prepare for their first day? How did they go about getting to know the firm? How did they assess the capabilities of their team? Did they have any regrets? Wayne joins us today to help answer all these questions and more, for another episode of the Little Questions podcast.

We'd love to hear what you think. Get in touch on social media or email [email protected]

The Little Questions podcast is presented by Matt Young and Andrew Brown.

Matt Young is an Apella founder partner with 25 years of experience in corporate affairs. He was Corporate Affairs Director at Lloyds Banking Group, part of the senior team which rescued the bank and rebuilt its reputation following the financial crisis. Formerly communications director at Santander UK and board member of the BBA.

Apella partner Andrew Brown is a former Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Ageas Insurance. He has more than ten years' experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors, developing considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.

Find out more about Apella Advisors at www.apellaadvisors.com and you can get in touch by emailing [email protected]

This podcast was produced by the www.thepodcastcoach.co.uk

Today we consider the extent to which we live in a post-truth age. We are quite literally going to talk bullshit, described by Jon Lovett, a former advisor to Clinton and Obama, as "one of the greatest threats we face".

So, the logic goes, we are constantly assailed by partisan rhetoric, industry sponsored research, facile brand messages and spokespeople with their lines that are just true enough not to be a lie - infecting every facet of public life, corrupting our discourse and wrecking trust in major institutions. Mr Lovett, rightly or wrongly was firmly pointing his finger at you and I dear listener, we the professional communicators paid to spin and obfuscate and draft those clumsy corporate press releases.

Why is there so much bullshit around today? And to what extent are we, the professional communicators, to blame? Haven't mendacity and nonsense been around forever? And if it has gone too far, what should we do to fix the problem? Or do we simply have to hold on to the hope that eventually the truth will out, that like any natural system, balance will eventually return?

We'd love to hear what you think. Get in touch on social media or email [email protected]

The Little Questions podcast is presented by Matt Young, Jenny Scott and Andrew Brown.

Matt Young is an Apella founder partner with 25 years of experience in corporate affairs. He was Corporate Affairs Director at Lloyds Banking Group, part of the senior team which rescued the bank and rebuilt its reputation following the financial crisis. Formerly communications director at Santander UK and board member of the BBA.

Apella founder partner Jenny Scott joins us again on The Little Questions podcast. Jenny has worked as Executive Director of Communications at the Bank of England and co-lead for Bank wide strategy. She was also Advisor to the Governor, and sat on the Bank's executive committee and risk committee. Formerly Economics and Politics Correspondent for the BBC and Presenter of the Daily Politics, she is now Trustee of Pro Bono Economics.

Apella partner Andrew Brown is a former Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Ageas Insurance. He has more than ten years' experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors, developing considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.

Find out more about Apella Advisors at www.apellaadvisors.com and you can get in touch by emailing [email protected]

This podcast was produced by the www.thepodcastcoach.co.uk

It's time for some honesty amongst friends. Compared to other corporate functions, comms has never really been particularly good when it comes to measuring and reporting on the value of what we do. For too long we relied on our beautifully designed press cutting books and detailed engagement reports, hoping our Advertising Value Equivalent scores would impress our marketing colleagues.

But the times they are a-changin'. There are firms, large and small, becoming far more adept in how they measure the outcomes of their communication activity.

Yet given the wide array of providers, tools and systems (as well as all that free data) out there in the world wide web, why are more organisations still not measuring much beyond the basic outputs?

Is it the cost that puts companies off? Is it because boards and management teams don't really care that much? Is it because what we do is a bit fuzzy and hard to define? Or is it because, as 'words' people are we inherently suspicious of anything that has numbers in it? We'd love to hear what you think. Get in touch on social media or email [email protected]

The Little Questions podcast is presented by Andrew Brown and Matt Young.

Apella partner Andrew Brown has more than ten years' experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors, developing considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management. Formerly Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Ageas Insurance, Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.

Matt Young is an Apella founder partner with 25 years of experience in corporate affairs. He was Corporate Affairs Director at Lloyds Banking Group, part of the senior team which rescued the bank and rebuilt its reputation following the financial crisis. Formerly communications director at Santander UK and board member of the BBA.

Find out more about Apella Advisors at www.apellaadvisors.com and you can get in touch by emailing [email protected]

This podcast was produced by the www.thepodcastcoach.co.uk

This time we're discussing pitches. Not the dark, viscous residue from tar, or the frantic movements of a ship in high seas but the arduous process that companies use to choose their advisors.

They are a (terrible?) feature of our lives, require huge amounts of work from both in-house and agency teams and take up a lot of everyone's time. Agencies are often suspicious that pitches are fixed before they even get in the room. Clients often worry that they are only meeting the pitch team or that the procurement team is forcing them to look at other firms when they are quite happy with their current advisor.

So how can we make pitches work for everyone? How can clients get the best out of every agency they meet? How can advisors make sure that they are putting their best feet forward? What can go wrong with a pitch? How can the pitching process be made less arduous? What can agencies and in-house teams do to set the foundations for a great pitch?

We'd love to hear your pitching stories - the good, the bad and the funny. Get in touch on social media or email [email protected]

This edition of the Little Questions podcast is presented by Anthony Silverman.

Anthony is an Apella Founder Partner who specialises in advising global boards and executive teams with complex reputational needs. Recent clients include RBS, UBS, Atlas Merchant Capital, Nomura, Pension Insurance Corporation, FirstRand and Nando's. He is also a former Senior Managing Director at Teneo in London.

Returning to the podcast is Apella Founder Partner James Acheson-Gray, who has acted as a long-term advisor to senior decision makers on the value of harnessing reputation to enhance commercial objectives. James has over 20 years' experience running successful PR/PA firms and major client programmes in Europe and Asia. He was managing director of APCO Worldwide from 2012-2019 and is a former Board Director of the Queen's Club.

Making his debut on this edition of The Little Questions is Apella Director, Sam Bevans. As an experienced communications director, specialising in campaign strategy and planning Sam has 18 years of experience working across media, technology, healthcare, energy, FMCG, financial services, professional services, and the public sector. Previous clients include AstraZeneca, Capita, The Co-operative Bank, Drax, UBS and Volkswagen.

Find out more about Apella Advisors at www.apellaadvisors.com and you can get in touch by emailing [email protected]

This podcast was produced by the www.thepodcastcoach.co.uk

It's an unusual relationship, the one between the corporate affairs director and the CEO. Aside from perhaps the CFO, you get a lot more time with him or her than any other member of the leadership team. As Aviva CEO Amanda Blanc put it in our last episode, what she values above all else is total, brutal honesty. This can result in a difficult relationship if not managed well, so how do you balance the fact you're there to support both the CEO and the business itself.

How do you balance the needs of the CEO and the senior leadership team? How do you manage the CEO that wants to be the centre of attention or conversely is a bit of a shrinking violet? How do you advise with brutal honesty yet still maintain a positive, productive relationship? We'd love to hear what you think. Get in touch on social media or email [email protected]

The Little Questions podcast is presented by Matt Young and Andrew Brown.

Matt Young is an Apella founder partner with 25 years of experience in corporate affairs. He was Corporate Affairs Director at Lloyds Banking Group, part of the senior team which rescued the bank and rebuilt its reputation following the financial crisis. Formerly communications director at Santander UK and board member of the BBA.

Apella partner Andrew Brown is a former Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Ageas Insurance. He has more than ten years' experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors, developing considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.

Find out more about Apella Advisors at www.apellaadvisors.com and you can get in touch by emailing [email protected] This podcast was produced by the www.thepodcastcoach.co.uk