What to expect from the 2024 Spring Budget

Cuts to national insurance and income tax, removal of non-domiciled tax rules and changes to lifetime ISAs are all expected in the budget later today

29 February, 2024

James Cook

The top business pivots

“Adaptability is paramount in today’s dynamic business landscape,” says Chris Beer, professor of practice at Warwick Business School. “Organisations must be prepared to pivot their strategies swiftly, driven by factors such as market shifts, technological advances and changing customer expectations”.  According to PwC’s 27th UK CEO Survey, one in five chief executives says their organisation...

19 February, 2024

Alice Cumming, James Cook

Why failing also matters

In this extract from her award-winning book Right Kind of Wrong, Harvard professor Amy Edmondson explains why we should not miss out on the satisfying journey of learning to dance with failure. Every kind of failure brings opportunities for learning and improvement. To avoid squandering these opportunities, we need a mix of emotional, cognitive and...

15 February, 2024

Andrew Lynch

Sunak and Starmer will pull no punches on a rollercoaster ride to the general election

Buckle up. The next seven months are likely to be one of the most expensive, most bitterly contested and longest election campaigns in British history. The state of the polls, with Labour consistently enjoying a 20-point lead, means that the prime minister Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives have little to lose. Vituperative personal attacks from...

15 February, 2024

Steven Swinford

Elite sport shows us how to reach the top and stay there

Like any seismic event, the pandemic has left a lasting legacy. When it comes to leadership, this has been particularly profound. Covid-19, and the chaos and upset that came with it, wreaked havoc on the wellbeing, health and sustained performance of many leaders and entrepreneurs across sectors. And it hasn’t been limited to just that...

15 February, 2024

Catherine Baker

Mastering the recipe for success: Jason Atherton’s entrepreneurial insights

Jason Atherton has built an international fine dining empire with a dozen restaurants around the world, including his Michelin-starred Pollen Street Social in Mayfair. After working with Pierre Koffmann, Nico Ladenis and Marco Pierre White, Atherton joined Gordon Ramsay working in Dubai and London, where Ramsay opened Maze. After striking out on his own in...

15 February, 2024

Andrew Lynch

Process has its place but what adds real value is setting creativity free

Process has invaded all aspects of life, including decision-making, but it needs to be only one aspect of problem solving to be effective

15 February, 2024

Ed Smith

Backing women-led businesses is the best idea you can have

In the five years I spent raising money for my tech start-up Gapsquare, I pitched to investors roughly 100 times. Venture capitalists, institutional investors, angels — you name it, I tried it. Despite this, I raised zero capital. Not a penny. Yet, we succeeded in commercialising our product and were ultimately acquired by a FTSE...

15 February, 2024

Zara Nanu

To be or not to B Corp

With over 2,000 UK businesses now B Corps, its become an ethical status symbol known. However, some critics question its broader impact.

15 February, 2024

Andrew Lynch

Getting ahead in the battle to attract and retain top talent

As a firm believer in the power of putting people first, I’m excited to write this monthly column for Business Leader, offering you a candid peek into the challenges and opportunities of recruitment strategies and robust talent planning. I didn’t grow up dreaming of workforce solutions, or of being a chief executive. It was one...

15 February, 2024

Niki Turner-Harding

How political parties can win over business and triumph in the general election

As we embark on a general election year, I shall, as will many other entrepreneurs, be looking for the political party that has the most enterprise-friendly strategy. For the past 20 years, I have run Enterprise Nation as a growing business support resource for thousands of start-ups and early-stage businesses. It has given me a...

15 February, 2024

Emma Jones

Welcome to the new Business Leader

Welcome to the new Business Leader. We’re excited to reintroduce ourselves to the dynamic business community in the UK, starting with our relaunched website and invigorated mission.  At Business Leader we’ve identified a glaring need to support the trailblazers – the founders, CEOs, and entrepreneurs propelling mid-sized companies forward. Our commitment is clear: to inspire...

15 February, 2024

Andrew McLaughlan

Welcome to the brave new world of bio-preneurs

It’s 5 AM and I’m aimlessly scrolling through Instagram as I battle my two-hour jet lag for the sixth night in a row since a trip to South Africa. My circadian rhythm is pathetic, and I don’t have enough self-control to charge my phone in another room. I’ve also broken my New Year’s resolution which...

14 February, 2024

Caspar Lee

Five laws that spell success and can put you on top in a crowded marketplace

There are hundreds of thousands of podcasts around the world. Many of them focus on the areas that we talk about – mindset, business, high achievement and finding your sense of purpose. A question I get asked all the time is, why has my High Performance podcast been so successful? I think the answer to...

13 February, 2024

Jake Humphrey

The art of business wargaming

Welcome to the world of business wargaming — a powerful tool used by companies to test strategies, foster innovative thinking, and reveal hidden threats

9 February, 2024

Josh Dornbrack

Inside the rise of Larry Ellison’s tech empire

Sukhendu Pal spent a decade at the heart of the database giant in its early days. Here he looks back at how a brilliant leader made Oracle an unstoppable force.

9 February, 2024

Josh Dornbrack

Understudy wisdom: Leadership lessons from renowned business duos

For every big name in business, there are understudies that act as sounding boards, confidants, and trusted ears. The world was reminded of the influence that a number two can have in life and business when Charlie Munger passed away just shy of his 100th birthday. We break down a few notable number twos and...

8 January, 2024

Josh Dornbrack

Advertising avenues to consider for business growth in 2024

Brand visibility is critical and in a digital age, there are hundreds of ways to choose from to get your message in front of a potential consumer. As we welcome a brand-spanking new year, we highlight some advertising avenues to think about in 2024. Podcast advertising With over 4 million podcast shows available and 53,000...

2 January, 2024

Josh Dornbrack

What does politics have in store for business in 2024?

Simon Danczuk, businessman, author, and former MP, looks ahead at the 2024 international chessboard, covering global events and their impact on UK business. November saw the Conservative government deliver their King’s Speech and Autumn Statement for the year ahead. The former is where King Charles is tasked with reading to Parliament a list of what...

19 December, 2023

Josh Dornbrack

How the history of ice cream highlights the importance of IP protection

The year is 1920, in a small sweetshop in Iowa, a young boy stares at a shelf with a frustrated look. He asks the store’s owner for an ice cream, then changes his mind and asks for a chocolate bar instead. The owner asked the boy why he didn’t buy both. The boy exclaims, “I...

1 December, 2023

Josh Dornbrack

Disrupting the disruptors: Lessons from 5 businesses that failed to adapt to change

“Learning and innovation go hand in hand. The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow.” – William Pollard It’s not easy being a business leader. No matter the size of your business, disruption is the goal but it’s around every corner. What separates Blockbuster from Netflix,...

24 November, 2023

Josh Dornbrack

Meet Ovuvu: The latest e-commerce store tackling high prices

In the minefield of being bombarded with ads and things to buy on Instagram and TikTok, one start-up has set out to change the perception of e-commerce and transparency in online shopping. Ovuvu, a start-up that launched last year and runs out of its warehouse in North London, offers a range of exciting products for...

17 November, 2023

Redefining high performance in life and business

High performance. The buzz term du jour on LinkedIn and in the business community. The man who literally has a podcast on the topic has his doubts about whether people actually know its true meaning. Jake Humphrey is a former BBC and BT Sport presenter and the Founder of the Whisper Group, a multi-award-winning company...

8 November, 2023

Josh Dornbrack

Concerns grow about apprenticeship levy 

The number of apprentices starting in small businesses has plummeted 49% since the introduction of the apprenticeship levy in 2017. That stark figure from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development was included in a new report that also revealed a fall in employer investment in training and apprenticeships, despite labour shortages in many UK...

3 November, 2023

Josh Dornbrack