Truth, Lies and Work

Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning workplace podcast where behavioural science meets workplace culture.

This week, we are adjusting our usual format for a specific reason. Co-host Al Elliott recently celebrated his birthday, so Leanne is taking over the reins to give him a brief respite from the standard news cycle. Instead, we are answering our most requested listener query: an analytical retrospective into the operational history, the high-stakes decisions, the failures, and the legal battles of Al’s career as a serial entrepreneur.

In this special episode, we dissect a highly unconventional career path. From being recognised as a "42 under 42" breakout entrepreneur to navigating a complex £103,000 personal bankruptcy, Al shares the raw realities of scaling businesses from the ground up—and how hitting rock bottom ultimately informed his blueprint for ethical, sustainable growth.

📈 Strategic Takeaways From This Episode

1. Operations & Turnaround: From Bottom Tier to Market Leader

Al details his early career in hospitality management, outlining the strategic operational changes required to take a underperforming Manchester student venue from the 27th worst in the region to the number-one position in total sales volume.

2. Regulatory Arbitrage: Exploiting Systemic Loopholes

Discover the origins of Al's first major tech start-up: an after-hours alcohol delivery service. He explains the technical loop-hole he engineered around credit card transaction processing windows to legally bypass strict UK licensing frameworks—and the bespoke 50-binder software system required to protect the operation.

3. Risk Management & Insolvency: Navigating a £103K Bankruptcy

When capital markets dried up post-dot-com bubble, Al faced a devastating cash crunch resulting in asset repossession and a £103,000 bankruptcy. He discusses the psychological toll of financial restructuring, the operational dangers of relying on short-term credit, and why shifting toward an American perspective on corporate failure can turn insolvency into a critical founders' credential.

4. Ethical Scalability: Building a 38-Property Portfolio Out of Crisis

How do you launch a real estate venture with maximum capital constraints? Leveraging high market empathy and strategic partnerships, Al built a 38-property portfolio during the dawn of the 2008 global financial crisis. Learn how his startup outmanoeuvred corporate institutional landlords by designing an innovative, ethical "99-year tenancy" model for families facing foreclosure.

5. Founder Fallacies: Why Ego Destroys Early-Stage Ventures

Al offers critical advice for modern founders and next-generation executives. His primary directive: eliminate overhead-heavy vanity metrics, suppress founder ego, and prioritise rapid market validation over theoretical perfection. He shares the costly mistake of investing £40,000 into premium office infrastructure before securing an initial proof-of-concept, and argues for a biased-toward-action framework.

📬 Connect with Al & Leanne

– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork

Mental health support

UK & ROI — Samaritans Call 116 123 or visit https://www.samaritans.org

Truth, Lies & Work is a proud part of the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals.

Welcome back to this special live edition of Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning workplace podcast where behavioural science meets workplace culture. This week, Al, Leanne and Associate Producer Georgia, are joined by three exceptional experts to explore a straightforward but powerful question: what does the military do differently when it comes to leadership, and what can businesses actually learn from it?

Most organisations say leadership matters, but many are just guessing. We promote based on length of service, confuse being "in charge" with being a leader, and create cultures where capable people are too afraid to speak up. The military, however, has spent decades perfecting the art of building instant trust and providing the clarity needed for independent action.

🔥 Key Themes Covered

1. What 'Mission Command' Actually Means

2. Trust as a Starting Point, Not a Prize

3. Leadership Emerges, It Isn't Assigned

4. The "Liminal State" of Transition

5. Calmness Under Pressure

🎙️ The Guests

Danny Wareham: Certified Business Psychologist and author of Constellation.

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/danny-wareham

Website: firgun.co.uk

Major General (Ret) Matt Smith: A 32-year US Army veteran and head of the Master in Business for Veterans programme at Emory University.

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/smithmattd

James Hardie: Former RAF helicopter pilot and organisational psychologist.

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/james-hardie72

Website: coursecorrection.co.uk

📬 Connect with the show

– Georgia Hodkinson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgia-hodkinson-gmbpss/

Mental health support

Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning workplace podcast where behavioural science meets workplace culture. This week, we are skipping Truth or Lie because we have a massive, jam-packed episode featuring the brilliant Cait Donovan! Cait is a culture and leadership keynote speaker, host of Fried: The Burnout Podcast, and author of an upcoming book out later this year.

Together, we tackle the existential anxiety of AI, the baffling world of employee retaliation, a hilariously disastrous federal crime, and a deep-dive workplace surgery to help you protect your energy and lead authentically.

🔥 Stories covered

Word of the Week: Circling Forward

When Candour Hurts the Business (and Someone Poisons the Chocolate)

Two Brothers, One Firing, and the Ultimate Teams Call Blunder

💬 Workplace Surgery with Cait Donovan

Question 1: How do I stop being the person everything falls on?

Question 2: Hiding the wires as a senior leader.

Question 3: Trapped in a culture of meeting overload.

Connect with Cait Donovan

📬 Connect with Al & Leanne

Mental health support

🎧 Truth, Lies & Work is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals. Find more incredible business shows at https://b2b.hubspot.com/podcast-network

Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning podcast where behavioral science meets workplace culture.

Have you ever wondered why some of the most brilliant people struggle to get a business off the ground? This week, we are joined by Dr. Rosenna Bakari, a psychologist, empowerment expert, and author of Seven Exits.

Rosenna’s story is a wake-up call for high achievers. After heading to Cornell at 17, earning her PhD, and building a lauded career in academia, she hit a brick wall when she tried to become an entrepreneur. She discovered that the very skills that make you "right" in a classroom—intellect, working alone, and academic rigor—can actually be the primary barriers to success in the real world.

🔥 What We Discuss in This Episode

In this episode, we dive into the psychology of "leaving where you are" and the seven exits you must take to truly grow.

The Hyper Ego: Why smart people often lean into defensiveness instead of awareness when things go wrong.

The "Right vs. Solved" Dilemma: The one question from a mentor that changed Rosenna’s life: "Do you want to be right, or do you want to solve the problem?"

The Trap of Passion and Purpose: Why treating passion like intellect can blind you to what the market actually needs.

Transitioning from Books to People: Why shifting from a high regard for knowledge to a focus on relationships is the essential "knob" to turn for business growth.

The 200-Call Challenge: Rosenna’s journey of moving from a "safe" academic facade to vulnerable, human outreach.

🧠 Key Lessons for Founders and Leaders

Your Intelligence is a Tool, Not a Passport: It can get you in the door, but it won't keep the door open. At some point, you have to change how you show up.

Check Your Ego Before You Blame the Market: When a project fails, the first question shouldn't be about the economy; it should be: "How am I getting in my own way?"

The "Respect vs. Like" Reality: If you believe it doesn't matter if people like you as long as they respect you, entrepreneurship might not be for you. Business moves at the speed of relationships.

🔗 Connect with Dr. Rosenna Bakari

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosenna-bakari-ph-d-b3120194/

📬 Connect with Al & Leanne

– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork

Mental health support

UK & ROI — Samaritans Call 116 123 or visit https://www.samaritans.org

Truth, Lies & Work is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals.

Episode 300 is here! 🥂 To celebrate this massive milestone, Al and Leanne are joined by a very special guest, Dr. Jake Tuber. In this jam-packed anniversary edition, we’re tackling the "FOBO" phenomenon, the radical 10% pay rise experiment, and the truth behind high-performing diverse teams.

🔥 Stories Covered

1. The Rise of "FOBO": Why Gen Z is Resisting AI

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/mar/24/fobo-fear-of-becoming-obsolete-ai-gen-z-workplace

2. The 10% Automatic Pay Rise: A Cure for Toxic Culture?

Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/stockholm-startup-lovable-automatic-10-percent-pay-rise-anniversary-2024-3

3. Workplace Scandals & Economic Indicators

🧠 Truth or Lie: Do Diverse Teams Perform Better?

It’s the claim that has dominated business strategy since the 90s, but what does the research actually say? Dr. Jake reveals that while cognitive diversity (varied skills and perspectives) consistently boosts innovation, demographic diversity alone can sometimes increase conflict and slow down coordination if not managed correctly.

💬 Workplace Surgery: The Management Edition

In honor of Jake’s upcoming book, The Deliberate Manager, we tackle three burning questions:

The Drained Team Lead: Is the first year of management always this exhausting?

The Group Chat Trap: What do you do when you accidentally see what your team really thinks of you?

Executive Presence: How do you bridge the gap between being a "great executor" and looking like a VP?

🤝 Connect with Dr. Jake Tuber

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaketuber/

Website: http://www.ticonadvisory.com

Podcast (Forces at Work): https://www.ticonadvisory.com/podcast

Special Offer: Dr. Jake is offering our listeners six months of free access to his Substack, Workwise. Use this link to claim: https://workwise.substack.com/subscribe?coupon=1e481d0b

📬 Connect with Al & Leanne

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork

Al Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott

Leanne Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne

Email: [email protected]

Book a call: https://savvycal.com/meetleanne/chat

Mental health support

UK & ROI — Samaritans: Call 116 123 or visit https://www.samaritans.org

UK — Mind: Call 0300 123 3393 or visit https://www.mind.org.uk

US — Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988 or visit https://988lifeline.org

Australia — Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au

Global helplines: https://findahelpline.com

Welcome to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning workplace podcast where behavioural science meets workplace culture, brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network.

Most businesses struggle with recruiting. They post jobs on Indeed, sponsor LinkedIn ads, and cross their fingers. Rachel Harris, co-founder of StriveX Accountants, does the exact opposite. She has built a multimillion-pound firm from her dining room table with a waiting list of over 200 people eager to join her team.

In this episode, Rachel reveals how she treats recruitment like a 24/7 marketing function and why her employees are her most powerful recruitment tool—even when they’re calling her a "micromanager" on social media.

🔥 What we cover in this episode:

The "Always-On" Strategy: Why Rachel never posts "we're hiring" ads and why waiting until you have a vacancy means you're already too late.

Franchising the Inside: How Rachel systemized recruitment and onboarding so the process runs itself, allowing her to focus on the human connection.

Employee Generated Content (EGC): The "no-rules" scheme where Rachel’s team earns bonuses for sharing raw, unscripted stories about their work life.

The "Micromanager" Post: How a post highlighting Rachel’s intense systems became one of their best-performing pieces of recruitment content.

Culture as Credibility: Why a lack of employee advocacy isn't a social media problem—it's a culture problem.

💡 3 Key Lessons for Leaders

Recruit Like a Marketer: Stop selling the job; start showing the life. Use day-in-the-life stories and team moments to sell the culture before a candidate ever applies.

Turn Your Team into Trusted Voices: Authenticity beats polish. Giving your team the freedom to share their real experiences without an approval process builds massive credibility with future hires.

Fix the Culture First: Rachel’s EGC scheme only works because the workplace actually delivers on its promises. If your employees won't vouch for you publicly, focus on the culture before the content.

🔗 Connect with Rachel Harris

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rachel-harris-a3192372

StriveX Accountants: https://strivex.co.uk

Instagram/TikTok: @accountant_she

📬 Connect with Al & Leanne

– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork

Mental health support

UK & ROI — Samaritans Call 116 123 or visit https://www.samaritans.org

Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning workplace podcast where behavioural science meets workplace culture. This week, we explore the shifting vocabulary of the modern office, the rise of "Gen Z entrepreneurs," and a sobering look at the prevalence of toxic leadership.

Plus, for Mental Health Awareness Month, we dig into the research behind "Bring Your Dog to Work Day" and answer three tough listener questions in a bumper Workplace Surgery.

🔥 Stories Covered

1. Six Words Defining the New World of Work

Meaning-maxxing: Optimising life around purpose rather than status.

Rage applying: Rapidly submitting job applications as a cathartic response to frustration.

False retention: When staff stay for security but aren't actually engaged.

Vibe working and the Anti-office: How AI and office design are prioritising "progress over productivity."

2. The Gen Z Career Ladder is Being Rebuilt

3. Is Toxic Leadership the New Norm?

🧠 Truth or Lie: Bring Your Dog to Work Day

Does having a "fluffy colleague" actually support mental health?

The Truth: Some studies suggest dogs act as a stress buffer and increase workplace engagement.

The Lie: The evidence is surprisingly weak. Most studies rely on self-reporting, and for the 15-30% of people with allergies or phobias, a dog-friendly office can be a major source of stress.

💬 Workplace Surgery

Question 1: Are we doing more harm by asking and not acting?

Question 2: Why isn’t anyone using our wellbeing benefits?

Question 3: If people keep leaving, is it really a hiring problem?

📬 Connect with Al & Leanne

Mental health support

Truth, Lies & Work is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals.

Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning workplace podcast where behavioural science meets workplace culture. We are part of the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals.

In this special LinkedIn Live edition, hosts Al Elliott and Leanne Elliott are joined by three world-class experts to tackle one of the most pressing questions of the modern era: If machines are increasingly doing the thinking for us, what happens to our own ability to think?

🔥 Discussion Highlights

1. The Irony of Automation

2. Writing as a Thinking Tool

3. The Case for Human Authenticity

4. Leadership & Curiosity

📬 Connect with Al & Leanne

– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork

🎙️ Connect with our Guests

Charli Nordone

Website: www.thebetterwritingstore.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlinordone/

Instagram: www.instagram.com/betterwritingstore

Gabrielle Dolan

Website: gabrielledolan.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabrielledolan/

Instagram: @gabrielledolan.1

Paul Spiers

Website: paulspiers.com | principlesandleadership.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulspiers/

🆘 Mental Health Support

UK & ROI — Samaritans Call 116 123 or visit samaritans.org

UK — Mind Call 0300 123 3393 or visit mind.org.uk

US — Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Call or text 988 or visit 988lifeline.org

Australia — Lifeline Call 13 11 14 or visit lifeline.org.au

Global helplines: findahelpline.com

Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning workplace podcast where behavioral science meets workplace culture. Part of the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals.

If you’re a founder who has built something brilliant but finds the idea of 'selling' it a little bit icky, this episode is for you. Today, we’re joined by Thomas Waites, a fractional Chief Revenue Officer and startup advisor who has scaled multiple companies from seed stage to successful acquisition.

Thomas takes a refreshingly contrarian view of sales. He argues that the very traits many founders think disqualify them from sales—honesty, empathy, and a hatred for pushiness—are actually their greatest competitive advantages.

🔥 What we cover in this episode:

The "Rainmaker" Reimagined: Why a Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) is about more than just closing deals—it’s about owning the entire customer revenue journey.

The Tattoo Bet: The incredible story of how a team culture of "tattoo bets" led Thomas to ink a bull on his shoulder after closing a massive deal with 40,000 Warner Brothers employees.

Sales for STEM Founders: How highly analytical, introverted founders can become world-class at sales by treating it like an engineering problem.

The 75/25 Rule: Why the best salespeople speak only 25% of the time and how "negative reverse selling" can turn a 'no' into a 'yes' by simply respecting the prospect's boundaries.

Building Your Sales Team: Why your first hire should NOT be a VP of Sales or a CRO, and the specific progression founders should follow to scale their revenue.

🧠 Key Takeaways

Honesty is a Competitive Advantage: Most prospects expect to be lied to. When you are transparent about what your product can’t do, you build instant, unshakeable trust.

Sell to Emotions, Not Just Logic: While logic supports a purchase, emotions drive it. Avoid "information overload" and focus on the pain you are solving.

Hire Junior First: Start with a Business Development Representative (BDR) to fill the pipeline while you, the founder, continue to close. Only bring in a senior sales leader once the process is proven.

🔗 Connect with Thomas Waites

📬 Connect with Al & Leanne

Mental health support

Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning podcast where behavioral science meets workplace culture. Part of the HubSpot Podcast Network.

This week, we explore Microsoft’s new retirement strategy, NVIDIA’s radical management secrets, and the one wellbeing investment most businesses are overlooking. Plus, we debunk a legendary psychological model and answer your burning questions about toxic top performers and small business culture.

🔥 Stories Covered

1. Is Microsoft Quietly

Microsoft has launched a first-of-its-kind voluntary retirement program for U.S. employees whose age plus years of service equals 70 or more.

The Targeted Group: Open to staff at senior director level and below.

The Strategic Shift: While framed as giving employees choice, it comes as Microsoft pivots heavily toward AI infrastructure, potentially reshaping its traditional software workforce.

Reward Changes: The company is also decoupling stock awards from cash bonuses to give managers more flexibility in rewarding high performers.

2. The $5 Trillion CEO: Jensen Huang’s Radical Rules

NVIDIA recently crossed the $5 trillion mark, and CEO Jensen Huang did it by breaking every rule in the management handbook.

Flat Structure: Huang has 55 direct reports—nearly 10x the corporate average.

Equal Pay: He pays all 55 top executives the exact same cash bonus, removing internal "status games."

No 1:1s: Information is shared with everyone at once to eliminate power asymmetry and speed up decision-making.

3. The Wellbeing Investment You’re Overlooking

While most companies spend on gym memberships and apps, the data suggests that employee development is the real driver of wellbeing.

The Progress Problem: Research suggests low engagement is often a "progress problem," not a "perks problem."

Retention Secret: 73% of employees would stay longer if their company invested more in learning and development.

Science-Backed: Competence is a core human need in Self-Determination Theory, directly linked to lower burnout.

🧠 Truth or Lie: The Kübler-Ross Change Curve

We’ve all seen the "Stages of Grief" applied to corporate change. Business Psychologist Matt Furness joins us to reveal whether research actually supports using a model designed for terminally ill patients as a roadmap for office restructuring.

Connect with Matt:

💬 Workplace Surgery

This week, we tackle three tough listener dilemmas:

The "Checked Out" Employee: Is "quiet quitting" the inevitable result of mandated return-to-office policies?

The Toxic High Performer: Can you ever justify keeping a salesperson who hits their targets but destroys your culture?

Culture vs. Cash: At what point does a "small business family" culture lose out to a £15k pay rise elsewhere?

📬 Connect with Al & Leanne

Mental health support