A family business that started making TV stands in the 80s is now one of the UK's most adaptable manufacturers. This episode is about how: surviving a financial crash during a management buyout, turning a burglary into a product line, and betting a thousand hospital carts on an order that never came.

Adam Beardmore is Managing Director of Dalen, a family-run British manufacturer founded in 1957. In this episode, Alex Sardinha and Adam discuss why UK manufacturing still matters, how customer conversations become product lines, and what leadership looks like on a factory floor.

Key topics:

• Reinventing a product line every decade since 1957
• Why bespoke UK manufacturing can't be undercut by imports
• The Tim Cook argument: expertise leaves with manufacturing
• Customer service standards set by leadership behaviour
• The Covid Nightingale carts story: 1,000 built, no order
• What makes a good manager

Vince Hannant went from IT project director to board-level operator to running his own leadership consultancy. In this episode, he shares the hard-won lessons from 30+ years in operations—including taking a telecoms startup from zero to IPO, spending 9 years in leadership development, and now helping aspiring directors navigate the toughest transitions in their careers.

We discuss why your North Star isn't your product, how to assess second and third-order consequences before making big moves, why face-to-face networking outperforms cold outreach, and the one principle that creates compounding competitive advantage: delight your customer, don't just satisfy them.

If you're a founder struggling with operational rigor, a leader trying to communicate with board-level brevity, or anyone looking to build genuine partnerships instead of transactional relationships—this conversation is packed with actionable insights.

Celine breaks down the 3 core psychological truths that stop organizations from truly progressing. The key is shifting from Human VS. AI to Human AND AI.

Stop working against human nature to drive transformation.

➡️ Watch the full conversation now

AI in EdTech: Stop Blocking, Start Customizing! The most underutilized use of AI in education is creating customized content—adjusting reading levels, translating, and connecting to student interests. Let's stop blocking the tech and start training teachers to leverage this power for all learners, especially the neurodivergent. We're doing a disservice by not fully utilizing the tech that's already here.

Beatriz de la Cierva, Innovation Director at ISD Business School, challenges everything you think you know about innovation in this conversation.

We discuss:

• Why having an innovation center might signal your company isn't innovating
• The shift from information to questions in the AI age
• How to design emotional journeys instead of content-heavy training
• Why curiosity is the new competitive edge
• The "10 Types of Innovation" framework and how simple model shifts create massive value
• Building reflection spaces instead of consuming more content
• Why critical thinking is the new literacy

Beatriz shares real examples from working with corporate clients, including how they transformed recruiters into strategic advisors through gamification and identity design, not more PowerPoint slides.

If you're leading growth, sales, or marketing for a B2B company, this conversation will change how you think about innovation, training, and building teams for the AI age.

Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction 2:17 - AI and replacing yourself with systems 7:45 - Can AI deliver emotional messages? 16:33 - What makes an Innovation Director? 24:00 - Innovation frameworks and pricing models 27:21 - Does every company need to innovate? 32:15 - Gamification and engagement strategies 40:27 - Trends in sales and marketing 45:56 - Building reflection spaces vs consuming content 49:12 - Where to find Beatriz