Any small business owner will tell you that getting your idea off the ground can be a real grind - a rollercoaster with several ups and downs. But when the chips are really down, how far is too far before calling it a day?

This week's guest, Donnie Maclean, founder and CEO of Eat Balanced, talks to Phil about the lengths he was prepared to go to in order to succeed - which he did.

In the second half, Phil is joined by long-time colleague Claire Croft to discuss Donnie's story - and why the phrase 'giving up' is unhelpful.

https://www.eatbalanced.com/

https://selltoretire.co.uk/

Nobody likes being the bearer of bad news.

When the bad news you have to deliver is about the closure of an entire school AND it's a decision you don't agree with ... that's a whole new level.

In this episode, Phil is joined by Liz Robinson, CEO of schools multi-academy trust Big Education. Liz talks through this impossibly difficult time in her career; how she dealt with it, how she led her team through it, and the personal toll it took on her.

After this, Phil and Hasan Khair, CEO of tyllr and Mavericks Unlimited explore what we can learn from Liz's story - particularly the toll that leadership can often extract, and how we set boundaries.

https://www.philhq.com/

https://bigeducation.org/

https://tyllr.co/about-us

When Tom Cheesewright wasn't getting results in his start-up business, he doubled down. He thought working harder and longer would fix his problems – but ended up burnt out and largely estranged from his young family.

He now says it was a painful period, but one that taught him lessons that have led to his success today as an Applied Futurist.

In the second part of the episode, Phil and fellow coach and consultant Kayleigh Basford consider the wider leadership lessons that can be learned from Tom's story.

https://www.philhq.com/

https://tomcheesewright.com/

Mark Watson was brought in, as a relative outsider, to change the fortunes of a loss-making part of global marketing business tms. He talks with Phil about the challenges he faced, the tools he used to get the job done, and how the experience has shaped his mindset as a leader.

In the second part of the episode, Phil and fellow consultant Steve Hearsum consider the wider leadership lessons that can be learned from Mark's story.

LINKS:

Article about hero leadership: https://www.philhq.com/hungry-for-heroes/

More information about tms: https://www.tmsw.com

More information about Steve Hearsum: https://www.edgeandstretch.com

Welcome to The Phil Lewis Podcast.

Sometimes, to keep moving forward, you need a fresh perspective - or a new way of doing things.

This is where coach and consultant Phil Lewis comes in - helping leaders all over the world figure out how to make progress in the face of problems, shortfalls - even crisis.

Each episode is an object lesson - starting with someone's worst time in business. We'll hear how that person got out of the difficult spot, what came after, and examine what lessons can be taken from their experience for us all.