'Inclusion is what you do and diversity is what you get.'
Paolo Gaudiano's expertise ranges from rocket science through computational neuroscience to the really tough work: diversity, equity and inclusion in organizations.
It's not got any easier over the last couple of years, but it's not got any less important, either. Paolo simply points to the evidence: focusing on improving workplace experiences for all employees leads not only to happier people but also to better business outcomes. His book - Measuring Inclusion: Higher profits and happier people, without guesswork or backlash - was named International Business Book of the Year at the Business Book Awards in 2025.
We also talk about the power and perils of language, the concept of 'gateway words', and the importance of recognizing that the words that work for you might not work for others...
'If you're into it, read into it.'
Fresh (sic) from the London Book Fair, this week's episode brings together perspectives from across the industry on the National Year of Reading campaign.
Does reading even still matter? [Spoiler alert: it matters more than ever!] And how can we - as an industry and as individuals - encourage people to do more of it, given all the competing demands on their attention?
As well as finding out what's happening in the industry, learn how you can join the movement to make reading a more intentional, joyful part of your everyday life, and I'm not just talking about business books. Your attention is under siege like never before - reading is a radical act of resistance, as well as a practice of self-development, a powerful way of supporting your wellbeing and the best route to becoming a better writer.
‘If you love somebody, set them free,’ advised Sting back in 1985. Little did he know he was setting out a core principle of leadership for the 21st century.
It’s the big idea behind award-winning author Helen Beedham’s second book People Glue: Hold on to your best people by setting them free, which leans into that paradox with rather more by way of helpful detail than the Police front man ever provided. Through rigorous research and conversations with top CEOs she has identified four key freedoms that top talent most values, and also the anti-freedom forces that most frequently prompt them to walk out of the organizational door.
We also talk about what it means to write a second book – why WOULD you put yourself through that again? And what might you do differently second time around?
‘We don’t understand much about hope, and yet people are crying out for it from leaders.’
If you ever hear someone dismissively say ‘hope is not a strategy’, be sure to introduce them to Ian Pettigrew, author of Hope is a Strategy. He will disabuse them of the idea that hope is simply wishful thinking and introduce them to a more muscular, active concept: hope that can be – MUST be – wielded with rigour and realism.
In Ian’s book (quite literally), hope isn’t rainbows and unicorns; if it is, you don’t get away with that twice. Neither is it about ignoring reality until something good happens. Strategic hope is gritty and demanding, but it’s also the most powerful force in the world for both personal and organizational transformation.
We also talk about the practicalities of applying this theory of hope to the business of writing a book, both the inner game and the getting of the words onto the page. So if you’re feeling a bit hopeless about your own project, this is for you.