Business Problems Solved Podcast

What are you doing? Or more specifically, what are you doing, about what you are doing?

In this week's show, Lee talks to the founder of Diary Detox, Paul Holbrook, about the ways in which we can become more aware about the activities you engage in, in order to improve.

 KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The quality of answers you get from someone entirely depends on the quality of the questions being asked. Valuable questions lead to invaluable answers.
• Many people spend their time doing things that aren't required of them - tasks they take on due to frustration at its not being performed well.
• We all have job and tasks in our role descriptions, but what many of us lack are truly focussed targets - things that we must achieve and deliver.
• Detoxing the diary is not a set of instructions designed to tell you how to live and how to perform. It is a carefully constructed map of everything we already do so as to aid us in making smarter, time-based decisions.

BEST MOMENTS

'In my world, the C word is "coach"'

''Stop looking out of the window and start looking in the mirror'

'This is about giving you a fundamental awareness'

'We know that not all plans go the way we expect them to'

 VALUABLE RESOURCES

Business Problems Solved Podcast      

Diary Detox - https://diarydetox.com

Paul Holbrook LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulmichaelholbrook/?originalSubdomain=uk

What Are You Doing by Paul Holbrook (Amazon)

ABOUT THE HOST

For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

CONTACT METHOD

You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194

Lee@leehoughton.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

After being inspired recently by watching the film, 'Making Shankly', Lee has recognised some of the valuable, transferrable lessons that we can take to other areas of our lives. In this week's show, Lee tells you all about them, and how best to apply them.

 KEY TAKEAWAYS

• As a working community, the village of Glenbuck believed in working hard. If people didn't then they didn't prosper. Community provides direction.
• Teamwork was incredibly important across the entire community of Glenbuck. People pulled together to achieve a common aim.
• Desire spurred many on to do better. Putting this alongside community and teamwork led to the foundation of a famously successful culture.

BEST MOMENTS

'We've got to light fires within people'

'We have to think about desire, teamwork and community'

'What you are trying to achieve is actually achievable'

 VALUABLE RESOURCES

Business Problems Solved Podcast     

ABOUT THE HOST

For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

CONTACT METHOD

You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194

Lee@leehoughton.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

It's a new year, and time to look ahead! With this in mind, Lee is here to talk about the four biggest challenges facing businesses in 2021, and how best to make sure you're prepared to face them.

 KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Hindsight is all very well, but it doesn't help in the present. Focus on the vision, the reason that drove us to begin in the first place, and make this the driving force behind your year ahead.
• Customers' needs change. Always be ready to pivot when required, and learn to evolve with your customer base. Look at what they need and supply it.
• Embrace the new working environment. The world has changed. Change with it. Embrace connection, conversation, collaboration and celebrate your wins.
• Work to reduce your cost and yet still delight your customers over the next year. This is the biggest challenge we face in 2021.

BEST MOMENTS

'For some the last twelve months has been about stability and survival. For others it's been about growth and demand'

'Have sight of that vision and direction and remember the reason why you do what you do!'

'Never has there been a greater need to really understand your customers'

'Where are you heading to, and is it being communicated effectively to your team?'

 VALUABLE RESOURCES

Business Problems Solved Podcast     

ABOUT THE HOST

For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

CONTACT METHOD

You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194

Lee@leehoughton.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

Nothing comes without hard work. Those who reach the pinnacle of success have put in the time in order to get there.

In this week's show, the first of the new year, Lee's here to talk about why putting in the hard work is worth it, and to reassure you that there's really no such thing as an overnight success.

 KEY TAKEAWAYS

• No one has a foolproof formula for instant success. Everyone has to work hard at something in order to find success. Never believe that people get there without effort.
• When entering the world of business, especially in a leadership role, instant success is almost expected, but this is unreasonable.
• Sports professionals are required to train and develop in order to become the best in their field. This is the way we should view those in business. It takes time to develop greatness.

BEST MOMENTS

'It's consistency. It's continuing to go and continuing to try!'

'Trying, getting better and learning is the way that we want to move forward, culturally'

 VALUABLE RESOURCES

Business Problems Solved Podcast     

ABOUT THE HOST

For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

CONTACT METHOD

You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194

Lee@leehoughton.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

Lee talks to Ayesha Murray, host and creator of The Parent Equation Podcast, as well as a coach for working parents who joins the conversation to discuss the ways in which the world of work changes when children arrive in our lives, and the best way of striking that work/life balance.

 KEY TAKEAWAYS

• It is often difficult to view our own careers and achievements with the necessary perspective required, in order to properly steer us towards where we need to be.
• The main challenge facing working parents is to find the correct balance and headspace between work and home. We all want to do the best in both fields, and we can as long as we recognise that each has its place.
• Perfect balance for one might no necessarily work for someone else. Each person bring their own challenges. Sometimes the challenge is recognising that it isn't even time to ourselves that we require, but something far different.
• A coach in these circumstance is useful in creating a safe space, and who will identify limiting beliefs, and then break them down. The most important element is that it is action-driven. They must provide practical ways to move forward.

BEST MOMENTS

'It took someone else to highlight my potential'

'That is a hell of a lot for a mind to balance'

'Balance is completely different for every single person'

'It's about challenging myself to do something new'

 VALUABLE RESOURCES

Business Problems Solved Podcast     

The Parent Equation Podcast - https://www.ayeshamurray.com/podcast.html

Ayesha Murray - https://www.ayeshamurray.com/my-story.html

ABOUT THE HOST

For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

CONTACT METHOD

You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194

Lee@leehoughton.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

Many people are advocates of starting with "Why?", but in this episode of Business Problems Solved, Lee offers another layer to this fundamental question that might just change your thinking...

 KEY TAKEAWAYS

• In order to best motivate someone you must feel something. You cannot discount the power of emotion. it is the difference between good and great.
• Are you chasing a goal that is pleasurable? If not, then is there enough of a reason for us to chase that goal at all? It's important that our motivation is strong enough, and affects us on an emotional level.

BEST MOMENTS

'People give the answer that they believe is the right one to give'

'What is the pleasure you're trying to achieve, or the pain you're trying to overcome'

 VALUABLE RESOURCES

Business Problems Solved Podcast    

ABOUT THE HOST

For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

CONTACT METHOD

You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194

Lee@leehoughton.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

This week, Lee interviews Jordan "The Wanderer" Reynolds, a British pro-Boxer whose message really is that you can achieve anything if you have the mindset of a champion! It's an incredibly empowering conversation that'll make you believe that if you can change the way you think, you can achieve anything.

 KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Trauma in life, especially in our young years, may seem cataclysmic, but it also prepares us for the rough waters of life.
• Positivity can be achieved by visualising the future we want. Keep your eyes on the prize and work hard. Remember why you're doing it.
• If you believe in something enough, stick with it and keep going. Keep believing, and good things will happen. There isn't anything you can't achieve'
• We can't blame children for their lack of attention when we as parents do not do enough to curb their addictions to social media and technology. We need to take responsibility and reconnect.

BEST MOMENTS

'If you stick at something, you'll always overtake people'

'I've never shied away. I've always been me'

'I'm the type of guy...'

'The wanderer has still got plenty of time to wander'

 VALUABLE RESOURCES

Business Problems Solved Podcast    

Jordan Reynolds Twitter - https://twitter.com/reynoldsboxing

Jordan Reynolds Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jreynoldsboxing/?hl=en

ABOUT THE HOST

For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

CONTACT METHOD

You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194

Lee@leehoughton.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

In this week's show, Lee revisits the topic of confidence, and how you can grow and develop your own confidence levels by breaking it down into three areas, and working on each one in small, incremental ways. However, after a recent challenge, Lee returns to re-examine the subject with a new element in mind...

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Confidence can be broken down into three CUEs. By scoring each out of ten, we gain our confidence score, and can focus on incrementally raising each score up to gradually increase confidence.
• The CUE for Confidence is:
• Comfort
• Understanding
• Effort
• If you can demonstrate the thing you're good at, but not in order to promote ourselves, or to make ourselves the beneficiary of praise, and instead to help others, then arrogance can be avoided.

BEST MOMENTS

'There is a line between confidence and arrogance'

'Are you selfish or selfless in the act that you're completing?'

'I'm a big proponent of "thinking drives behaviour"'

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Business Problems Solved Podcast 

ABOUT THE HOST

For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

CONTACT METHOD

You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194

Lee@leehoughton.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

Please be upstanding, as Business Problems Solved welcomes a real-life member of the nobility to the show. Lord Simon Jacobs joins Lee to discuss his journey through business, which led to the founding of Professional Weirdos, a creativity training company designed to encourage the unique gifts in everyone, and which help to create an effective business culture.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Many people find themselves hired for their creativity and unique abilities, only to have these singular qualities lost and diluted as time goes by. Professional Weirdos is designed with keeping this singular spirit alive in people.
• An important part of being creative is the ability to also accept feedback. If you put anything out into the world, you have to be open to all types of feedback, positive and negative. 
• Creativity comes in all shapes and sizes. We must never assume that we do not have a creative side. Even the act of problem solving involves a level of creativity within ourselves.
• We must seek to redefine what professional means,. For many it is the stereotypical image of an executive, when it actual fact, a professional does not need a suit a tie. It is reflected in the qualities we present in business and in life.

BEST MOMENTS

‘For the individual there’s motivation and new ideas. For the company, there’s innovation, there’s motivation, and there’s efficiency’

’There are weirdos who do things professionally, and there are professionals who are weird’

‘Fundamentally, being human means that you are creative’

‘Professional means being timely, being honest, it means being polite'

 VALUABLE RESOURCES

Business Problems Solved Podcast   

Lord Simon Jacobs LInkedIn - https://uk.linkedin.com/in/simonjjacobs

Lord Simon Jacobs Twitter - https://twitter.com/lordsimonjacobs?lang=en

Professional Weirdos - https://www.professionalweirdos.co.uk/founder/

ABOUT THE HOST

For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

CONTACT METHOD

You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194

Lee@leehoughton.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

In this week’s show, Lee talks to Katie Anderson, a leadership coach, independent consultant, author of ‘Learning To Lead: Leading To Learn’, and a passionate advocate of helping to develop individuals’ confidence and capabilities in improving themselves and their organisations.

Katie discusses the incredible journey that led to the insights she now uses to empower others, the value of recognising your purpose from moment to moment, and why balance might be the ingredient you’re missing when it comes to developing and leading teams.

 KEY TAKEAWAYS

• We should always remain open to opportunities, and to the "golden seed” moments that can bring about an awakening, and a whole new perspective.
• Perspective, experience and wisdom allow us the vocabulary we need in order to both recognise and communicate our purpose.
• We must always try to develop people with the right intentions. It is not a box ticking exercise. We must help others to rise so that they can contribute their unique gifts and insights to the wellbeing of the business.
• We cannot convince people to change, but we can offer experiences that change their thinking, and their perceptions in such a way that they seek change of their own volition.

BEST MOMENTS

‘It’s enriched my own perspective about leadership’

‘If there’s a big disconnect between your purpose and the moment, there’s a different problem you need to address’

’The process and the people are two sides of a balance that needs to be working in sync’

‘Identify the process they need in order to help support the people'

 VALUABLE RESOURCES

Business Problems Solved Podcast   

Katie Anderson - https://kbjanderson.com/about/

ABOUT THE HOST

For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

CONTACT METHOD

You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194

Lee@leehoughton.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

Tom Morley was the original drummer and a founder member of Scritti Politti, the 80s band who were pioneers of DIY music before appearing successfully on the dance scene. Unlike other bands Scritti Politti used to make half their songs up on stage, so from an early age Tom got used to taking risks in public.

Through a scientific method, Tom has developed an entirely unique form of team building known as INSTANT team work, which he has been pioneering with great success in order to bring teams closer together.

In this week’s show, Lee talks to Tom about the science behind the method, and how teams are at the heart of any endeavour.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• No matter which walk of life we belong to, we all spend time in the womb, subjected not to all five senses, but something more primal. This primal connection continues through life, and manifests itself in connections with others.
• Science has recently proved that drummers experience the world differently. Their acute sense of rhythm means they see patterns everywhere, including patterns of behaviour. Being able to read ‘the energy’ of a room fast Tom creates INSTANT teams, delivering INSTANT team work.
• Society is designed around happiness through consumerism. By reconnecting to one’s spirit, we gain this rush of happiness through natural, primal means.
• The simple act of synchronising our movements with another’s leads to an instant sense of participation and team spirit. In this sense, rhythm may be the missing component in any business’s team-building endeavours.

BEST MOMENTS

‘We all respond to a beat!’

‘Business people are goal-orientated, focused, and interested in new things if they are packaged in short bursts’

‘Most people live lives of quiet desperation and go to their graves with their song unsung’

‘I am the permission. I am the Rock Star Activator!'

 VALUABLE RESOURCES

Business Problems Solved Podcast   

Tom Morley - https://tommorley.com/about/

Tom Morley LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommorleyrockstar/?originalSubdomain=uk

ABOUT THE HOST

For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

CONTACT METHOD

You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194

Lee@leehoughton.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

How often do you celebrate success?

In this week’s show, Lee talks to Neil Skehel, the CEO and founder of Awards International, dedicated to helping success in others to be celebrated!

Neil discusses the importance of honouring positivity and achievement, and how the act of recognising success can be truly life-changing and empowering.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Recognition reinforces self-belief. Rewarding achievement should be commonplace, allowing our people to prosper, and leading to transformation.
• Society tends to be afraid of boasting and bragging. Some think that if they tell someone they’re doing a good job, it somehow disempowers them. If we recognise people in the right way, however, they will do more.
• A marvellous way of emboldening our team members is to tell them privately. Removing the suspicion that praise is being given so as to glorify the praiser, can certify and endorse that praise for the recipient.
• People need to learn and develop whenever possible. By endowing people with skills, we give them the accolades to do better.

BEST MOMENTS

‘People who receive good, clear, strong recognition can become transformed’

‘Positive recognition does change your life’

‘Celebrating success is also about feeling okay as a person’

‘When people enter awards they create a case study in change'

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Business Problems Solved Podcast   

Awards International - https://awardsinternational.com/author/neil-skehel/

Neil Skehel LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilskehel/?originalSubdomain=uk

Neil Skehel Twitter - https://twitter.com/neilskehel?lang=en

 ABOUT THE HOST

For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

CONTACT METHOD

You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194

Lee@leehoughton.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

We are so intent of teaching our children about the world that we sometimes miss the things that they can teach us. In this week’s episode, Lee tells you about the five most valuable lessons he’s learned from his own children and his own childhood.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• It takes around 3000 attempts for a child to learn how to walk. They fail often, but we encourage them to try again. We are instilling a positive learning ethic, and yet this ethic is lost as education develops.
• We must create an environment in which it is okay to fail sometimes in which experimentation and risk-taking are encouraged.
• Kids are always pushing against boundaries. As we grow up we find ourselves adhered to laws, beliefs and rules. What can we do to break the rules and push the boundaries in adult life?

BEST MOMENTS

’You don’t know if something works or not until you try it'

‘We don’t get as many opportunities to fail as we do as a child’

‘Learn like a child. Test the boundaries. Push the boundaries'

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Business Problems Solved Podcast   

Anish Hindocha Twitter - https://twitter.com/hindocha_anish?lang=en

Jigsaw Consulting - https://www.jigsawconsulting.co.uk

Anish Hindocha LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anishhindocha/?originalSubdomain=uk

ABOUT THE HOST

For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

CONTACT METHOD

You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194

Lee@leehoughton.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

This week, Lee talks to “Mr Habits”, Anish Hindocha, the founder of Jigsaw Consulting, and a lean consultancy expert devoted to driving improvement through teams. 

Anish discusses the importance of reflection in every business journey, how we can shape the habits that will lead us to success, and how we can gain back focus and see through distractions when we need to. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Every step we take is a learning experience. Especially in the beginning of a business journey, when we are left to ourselves in many cases, we should focus on each step we take, and examine the things that we learn along the way. 
• Time gives us perspective. We cannot always recognise the value in feedback when it is given. We gain clarity over time, and recognise the value in feedback. 
• Habits are all a matter of triggers (the circumstance that activates the need for something), and the reward (the thing we do for ourselves in reaction to the trigger). 
• Modifying our environment is essential in diverting distraction. Tailor each day and space to the task at hand. Get the toughest tasks out of the way first, turn notifications off, spend at least 25 minutes on focussed work, then take a break and repeat! 

BEST MOMENTS

’There’s lots to gain from taking a step back and looking at what you’ve learned’ 

‘When you start to understand yourself more, you start to understand the feedback from the past’ 

‘If you want to change a habit, you need to know what the trigger is, and what the reward is’ 

‘For years we have trained ourselves to be distracted' 

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Business Problems Solved Podcast   

Anish Hindocha Twitter - https://twitter.com/hindocha_anish?lang=en 

Jigsaw Consulting - https://www.jigsawconsulting.co.uk 

Anish Hindocha LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anishhindocha/?originalSubdomain=uk 

ABOUT THE HOST

For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

CONTACT METHOD

You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194

Lee@leehoughton.com 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

Lee talks to Julian Roberts, an expert leadership and business consultant (and now fellow podcaster), about how he helps organisations to thrive, and how through listening and employing a technique known as “inner wisdom", he has helped senior and emerging leaders to build resilience, facilitating them to their next level, creating deep self-awareness along the way, and enabling them in times of company growth.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Coaching and consulting is the art of listening, and using the “inner wisdom” to discern the key words that indicate the needs of clients.
• The most important component in true listening is to develop a mind-set that steers us towards understanding our conversation partner, instead of simply waiting for your turn to speak.
• Resilience can be developed by becoming more accepting of change. By resisting, we enter survival-mode, which instantly raises defences. Instead, look for the opportunities that change can bring.
• Clean language can help to kick-start conversations. It’s a technique that helps to remove pretence and allows the client to step outside of the experience in order to open up more fully.

BEST MOMENTS

‘You’ve got to shoot for the moon and stars’

’The biggest thing for me is listening’

’Seek first to understand before being understood’

‘It’s like kicking a boat without rudder into the water, to see where it goes'

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Business Problems Solved Podcast   

Julian Roberts Consulting - https://www.julianrobertsconsulting.com

Julian Roberts LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julesroberts/?originalSubdomain=uk  

ABOUT THE HOST

For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

CONTACT METHOD

You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194

Lee@leehoughton.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

Lee talks to Mark Rice, the Group Chief Information Officer for The Big Word, a market leader in translation, interpretation, localisation and language technology solutions.

Mark discusses his business philosophies, the “Larry” rule and how it can help your business ideas, and how The Big Word are adapting to a new business landscape.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Most ideas that enhance or upgrade a business are essentially re-runs of older ideas. It is the interpretation of these ideas, and the adaptation into a new landscape that set them apart.
• Ideas always transmit better when they are crystallised. If you can’t distil an idea into a thirty second pitch, then you need to go away and think about it again.
• Workers who are free to express themselves creatively, and with less pressure, will always deliver better results in the end.
• Remote working should never be all-or-nothing, but tailored to each worker’s circumstances. It is unfair to expect our workers to live and work constantly in the same place. We should be giving options.

BEST MOMENTS

’The first thing is have we got data? Have we got numbers? The second thing is have we got logic?’

‘My start point is that if I understand it, then other people will understand it’

‘I have a desire to make things easier and simpler for people’

‘I like less bureaucracy and more chaos'

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Business Problems Solved Podcast   

The Big Word - https://en-gb.thebigword.com/about-us/

Mark Rice LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-rice-03791623/?originalSubdomain=uk

ABOUT THE HOST

For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

CONTACT METHOD

You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194

Lee@leehoughton.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

To celebrate the extraordinary achievement of reaching the 100 episode milestone, Lee has turned the reins of the show over to you, the listeners, and some very special guests, for a truly interactive episode where Lee answers as many of your questions as possible!

Join Lee in the hot-seat then, for this peek behind the curtain of your host and guide. Welcome to the epic, 100th episode of Business Problems Solved!

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Always do your best for your organisation, but always remember that we need to be happy. We must put ourselves first, and consider what it is that we want.
• Finding your place in the world isn’t just about achieving the right salary, or being in the right job. It’s about enjoying the work you do. Enjoyment in your career will energise you, and spur you on to do better.
• Sometimes, leaving a position, or recognising that you are in the wrong place in your career, can be the moment that helps you to define your true place. There are no such things as failure - only lessons.
• Success is all about starting small, having a clear vision of where you want to end up, and being comfortable with the journey.
• Our heads decide exactly how our eyes work, how our mouths open and close, what we say, and whether or not our eyebrows raise...

BEST MOMENTS

’The world is a massive place, and you can influence it all'

‘You can’t walk through the same stream twice’

‘It’s about thinking creatively, and overcoming the challenge’

‘You are where you are because of the steps that you’ve put it'

‘You two have no issues with opening your mouth, do you?’

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Business Problems Solved Podcast 

ABOUT THE HOST

For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

CONTACT METHOD

You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194

Lee@leehoughton.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

As we approach the special 100th episode, Lee reflects upon the journey so far, and more specifically, tries to figure out which of the 99 that precede it, is his favourite so far. The answer may surprise you...

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Each episode represents a challenge or question that Lee has asked, or been faced with. And each episode has represented the solution to that problem.
• Sometimes we only remember the larger outcomes to which we are emotionally attached in some way. We may often miss the incremental steps or learnings that brought us there.
• Business Problems Solved has acted as a form of recording the building blocks that have formed the structure of Lee’s business journey. Do you have a way of looking back at your learnings?

BEST MOMENTS

’They’ve all been a reflection of where I’ve been at that point in time’

’The 99 podcasts have all been an individual step to where I’ve got to today’

‘You can only join the dots looking backwards if you can see the bloomin’ dots!'

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Business Problems Solved Podcast   

ABOUT THE HOST

For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

CONTACT METHOD

You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194

Lee@leehoughton.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

We meet people every day, online and in life. But how meaningful are these connections? And how much more powerful could they be if we took the time to get to know people better?

In this week’s show, Lee talks to a relatively new connection, but one that has made a marked impact upon his life - Victoria Hamilton, who joins the show to discuss the benefits of spending more time getting to know people.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• In the new landscape of the business world, it’s the companies who focus on people, and trying to reach their customers in more creative, empowering ways, will be the ones who thrive.
• Happy people lead to happy customers. We can create happy people by installing a culture of comfort, support and collaboration in our organisations.
• The art of empathy allows us the insight to recognise when people are coming from a different place. The slightest trip along the way can affect a person’s outlook. We must understand where people are coming from.
• Having a sensation or feeling removed from our reach, such as the ability to physically connect, makes it all the more desirable. Lockdown has demonstrated that we crave human contact above all things.

BEST MOMENTS

‘It’s such a time of unparalleled change’

’The culture, behaviours and values of an organisation are what will shape and determine the impact and success of your focus on the customer’

’Try and walk a mile in the other person’s shoes’

‘We have a chance to relearn, reset and recalibrate!’

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Business Problems Solved Podcast   

Victoria Hamilton LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/customertransformation/

ABOUT THE HOST

For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

CONTACT METHOD

You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194

Lee@leehoughton.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

Lee has recently embarked upon a course in stand-up comedy in order to not just hone his sense of humour, but also his skills in communication. 

Stand-up comics are masters of delivering messages through an entirely different form of story-telling, and in this week’s show, Lee tells you all about it. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The three most important elements of stand-up comedy are Connection, Performance, and then Material, meaning that jokes are actually the third most important part of being a comic. 
• In business improvement, we are often trained rigorously in a particular material, meaning that it is the material itself that takes priority. But this is the wrong way to look at it. 
• In a joke there is always a setup and then a punchline. When you deliver learning, we must seek to differentiate the key learning points from the rest of the information. 

BEST MOMENTS

’There are actually transferable lessons between stand-up comedy and business improvement’ 

‘Connection is first - second is performance’ 

‘Everybody that’s in front of you is different' 

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Business Problems Solved Podcast   

ABOUT THE HOST

For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

CONTACT METHOD

You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194

Lee@leehoughton.com 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/