How to build a culture of innovation without breaking what already works
Welcome to the latest edition of Business Leader Masterclass.?
In this issue:?
?? How to build a culture of innovation without breaking what already works?
?? Your country needs you – to join the workforce
?? LinkedIn boss: Don’t underestimate the power of in-person?
??The story behind Gousto ?
How to build a culture of innovation without breaking what already works
Is your company truly innovating – or just sticking to what’s comfortable? Roel de Graaf shares practical, low-risk strategies to drive growth, like The Martini Principle, which helps you spot opportunities for improvement, The Amazon Way’s “working backwards” approach to product development, and the Flip-over Model, which reduces risk by changing just one element at a time.??
These simple, powerful ideas can inspire fresh thinking, boost retention and keep your business ahead of the competition.?
Your country needs you – to join the workforce
Today’s young people are more entrepreneurial than ever – but an alarming trend threatens the future workforce. With nearly a million 16- to 24-year-olds in the UK not working, studying, or training, rising health issues and low skills are keeping many from launching their careers.??
This growing wave of economic inactivity not only limits individual potential but also poses long-term challenges for businesses and the broader economy. Our Business Leader Expert Szu Ping Chan says that if we don’t address this crisis early – starting in the classroom and fixing broken apprenticeship schemes – we risk losing a generation’s potential.?
Join us at the Business Leader Summit
With just two weeks to go until the biggest event of the year for mid-sized business owners, we're preparing for a day that will bring together ambitious CEOs and Founders for a day of insights and innovation!
From the UK business leaders who’ve scaled ￡billion businesses (Deliveroo, Castore and B&M Retail to name a few), to the experienced entrepreneurs who’ve founded and successfully scaled some of the UK’s most innovative organisations, we’ve curated a killer line-up of speakers to inspire breakthrough in your own businesses.
Thank you to everyone who'll be taking the stage at the Summit – we’re looking forward to having you with us.
You can find the full Speaker line-up here.
If you're a mid-sized business owner who's ready to truly scale up this year, we want you with us on March 26 at Central Hall Westminster.
Buy your tickets
LinkedIn UK boss: Don’t underestimate the power of in-person?
Janine Chamberlin leads LinkedIn in the UK. She has been at LinkedIn for more than 16 years and been country manager in the UK since 2021.?
LinkedIn is owned by 微软 and headquartered in the US, which is where the core product is engineered and coordinated from. However, Chamberlin and her team has latitude to implement some of their own ideas in the UK.?
She has just opened an experience centre at its office in Farringdon, central London, which is the first of its kind in LinkedIn’s global empire. And even though LinkedIn is all about virtual, online professional networking, Chamberlin believes in the power of in-person too.?
“Being in-person is really key to building trusted relationships,” says Chamberlin, “and it helps to improve collaboration and it leads to faster decision making as well. Just recently I was at a networking event where I met somebody who is an important relationship for me in the context of our business. At the end of our conversation, I got this person’s business card with their personal mobile phone number and the message, ‘if you ever need anything, give me a call’.?
“Now I think if we had been networking online or only connecting virtually, that would have never happened. And that really that for me is the power of in person networking.”?
The story behind Gousto
Timo Boldt is the founder and CEO of Gousto , the company that sends out recipes in a box for people to cook at home. The business started in 2012 and now has annual revenues of more than ￡300m. In this episode of the Business Leader podcast, Boldt offers Dougal Shaw a tour of the company’s kitchens in west London where chefs experiment with new recipes.?
Boldt explains how AI tech has been deeply embedded within Gousto since the outset. He also explains how coaching and mentorship have transformed him as a leader. He is a certified coach, which has helped him spot his own biases and “flex his style”, he admits. And to this day he still sends out up to 100 cold emails and letters a year asking people to mentor him.?
You can listen to the podcast here or wherever you get your podcasts.?
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