The Business Elevation Show With Chris Cooper - Be More. Achieve More

So what does it take to be a corporate athlete? Just like an olympian it takes simple, consistent, everyday actions to improve performance, leading to habitual excellence. Simply doing the right things and doing them better every time! On this show I am delighted to welcome Sheena Walker. With a background as a swimmer and former Scottish National Team swimming coach. Sheena was was rewarded for her personal achievements in taking swimmers from grass roots to the podium by Stirling Council both as the Manager of Special Olympics and as a Scottish squad Coach Sheena Walker is a globally renowned International speech coach, public speaker and business development professional. A rare background as an athlete and a performance coach in sport. Sheena is the founder of “The Secret of a Corporate Athlete“ Performance Solution. Join us for what I am sure will be a fascinating show to help you improve your performance in business.

Crowd Funding has become an increasingly important way to obtain funding for projects and to raise equity. However, as my guest will explain the collection of finance from a variety of participants can be traced back to ancient times, yet has grown exponentially with the power of the internet. Steve Houghton-Burnett is a motivational speaker who runs a successful Change Management consultancy, a business angel and Non-Executive Director of several small fast-growth businesses. Responsible for helping to establish the Internet as a major force for UK business he started one of the first five Internet Service Provision (ISP) businesses in the UK. It grew rapidly and after 2 mergers and 2 additional rounds of funding was sold for £300 million 6 weeks before the .COM bubble burst, creating 14 'overnight' millionaires. Steve is passionate about crowd funding and will help us to understand how we can use it to raise finance or become a contributor via the power of the internet.

What can we learn from a dog about how effective we are as a leader? My guest on this show has both a love of dogs and a passion for leadership and believes there is a lot we can learn about our leadership behaviour from our dog. Lesley Hunter is 'The Pack Leader' - a specialist in turning managers into authentic leaders in the workplace. Lesley is an international speaker, author and acclaimed leadership coach who uses a simple metaphor to provoke behavioural change in her audiences and encourage people to become 'pack leaders' in their own organisations. She is the owner of a boisterous strong-willed German Shepherd who has been the inspiration for her work based around what human leaders can learn from working with dogs. Join us to find out what you can learn about your leadership style from your dog and perhaps also learn some great lessons on how to train our dogs to respect us as their pack leader. Barney (my labradoodle) - you better watch out!

Would you like to use your business to help others through charitable contribution? If so some of the questions you may ask yourself are does it make good business sense, why should I do it, what can I do, when, where, who will I help and how? Following last weeks inspirational interview with Stephen Sutton (who has raised enormous finds for the ‘Teenage Cancer Trust’ through his inspirational work and story) and also Mike Pagan, this seems great timing to help you answer some of these really important questions. My expert guest is David Hyner - researcher of top achievers, a speaker, author, broadcaster, adventurer, father and husband. He is passionate about living how you wished to be remembered long after you have gone. His work in Africa and for charity has raised significant much needed funds and proves that anyone can make a difference if they “really” want to. Join us to think through how your business can be a great vehicle to add more value and quality of life for others.

Do you procrastinate? If so, you are not alone! However, if you have a very compelling reason to get things done, it is incredible what you can achieve. Take my guest Stephen Sutton (19) who has been battling cancer since age 15. Stephen has inspired thousands with his positivity and passion for life. He has achieved more than most in a lifetime; winning countless awards and raising over £1m for 'The Teenage Cancer Trust'. Mike Pagan also joins us as a motivational MC and conference speaker who talks on business issues such as productivity. He is the author of the book 'Faff'. Join us to stop procrastinating and to get on with the important things you need to get done including living life well! Since pre-recording this show on the 15th of April, Stephen has sadly been taken very ill and his farewell message has spread widely across social and mainstream media. This interview is shared with love for Stephen, his family and those he has so inspired. His legacy will live on!

It is amazing how much more we can achieve when we become more efficient. A key characteristic of very successful people is that they have learned to do well some of the things that less successful people just don't like doing. Efficiency is one of those things. By improving our efficiency and giving it focus with the help of self discipline and proven techniques we can achieve so much more. As someone who is always working on turning personal chaos into order meeting the guest on this show Mike Pagan was a turning point. Mike is one of Europe's leading speakers and authors on efficiency and productivity. On this show we will discuss not only the negative costs of not improving our efficiency but more importantly HOW to improve your efficiency and achieve so much more. If you think you could be more efficient this is a Must listen to show.

Are you fascinated by the secrets of people that achieve exceptional results while others seem to struggle? Also, why is it that our school systems don't necessarily accept and support people who are quirky and unconventional? They then leave and achieve exceptional results leaving their doubting teachers looking foolish. My guest left school dyslexic and a no hoper only to discover his natural talents led to him making his first million at the age of 22 and over the next 10 years becoming known in Denmark as 'the golden boy'. However unable to cope with his success he left everything behind to rediscover himself. This he did in a Bornean longhouse living with the Iban tribe for 8 years. Join us to hear an incredible story focused on the lessons about business and life that Simon Steenholm has discovered during his unique life experience. Believe me this is some story and I am really enjoying getting to know Simon and learning about his unique philosophy.

As the world moves towards increased collaboration aided by our increased connectivity via the internet it is easy to jump into collaborative relationships without fully planning for the risks. Those of us who have been in business a while will have experienced successful and also unsuccessful collaborations and be clear which can leave us feeling restless at night! On this show, I am delighted to welcome Simon Drury and Steve Bernard. Simon is a business psychologist, corporate mentor, coach, trainer and speaker. Steve is an organisational development Coach & founder of Connectwell – The Relationship Company. Two people who understand connection and collaboration. Join us for a practical show that follows perfectly from the mind expanding interview with Marshall Thurber on Global Conversion. Worth listening to both these interviews as they are highly connected topics that provide massive potential (and risks if we are not careful) for our business growth and personal wellbeing!

For the longest of times we have been diverging; creating groups of people such as tribes, because it was thought (and was true in fact) that there was not enough to go around. This scarcity remained a truth until 1927 when Buckminster Fuller was able to demonstrate that when we co-operate there is abundance, all we have to do is co-operate; scarcity no longer needs to be our operating context. Enter the Internet, a structural change that is fueling global convergence. My guest on this show Marshall Thurber is a successful attorney, real estate developer, editor, businessman, educator, scholar, inventor, negotiator, author, visionary and public speaker. His students have included Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen (Chicken Soup for the Soul) , founder and creator of Paul Mitchell hair products, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, Spencer Johnson (Who Moved My Cheese), Tony Robbins, T Harv Eker, and Robert Kiyosaki (Rich Dad Poor Dad). Join us for what will be a fascinating show.

Ever felt like giving up? Sometimes in business days can be tough, however, nothing can really compare with suddenly losing your health. However, through overcoming tragedy, strong mindsets can be built and lessons learned that we can take back into our work to increase our resilience and results. The Mark Colbourne story is incredible. Breaking his back in a near fatal paragliding accident in 2009, Mark was left with lower leg paralysis and drop foot in both feet. He fought for 12 months to walk again and then put himself through hell and back to win paralympic gold and two silver medals in cycling . His achievements were honoured with an MBE from HRH Prince Charles. Join the show for a tremendous story of triumph over adversity and some winning ideas to inspire you win in business and life even in those moments when you feel like giving up.

Building empathy between clients and colleagues of different nationalities and from different cultural backgrounds can be very challenging. I am therefore delighted to have one of the world's leading authorities on cultural diversity, intercultural communication and international business practices joining me to help us navigate through this mine field. Deborah Swallow is an International Keynote Speaker, seminar leader, consultant and author with an outstanding global client list. During the show we will be discussing how to get your triple rating to fly, the personal attributes and business attributes you need to acquire for international and cultural success. Join us for what will be a fascinating show for anyone who wants to deal with different nationalities more effectively.

What does it take to be a really engaging leader. Some leaders have it and some simply do not. On this show, I am delighted to be exploring this issue with client and friend Stuart Pickles who knows more than most the importance being an engaging leader. Stuart is an ex Chief Financial officer and coach,who spent 25 years in senior leadership positions in Finance, Sales and transformation, including Unilever, Kraft and Foster’s, where he was CFO for European operations. A qualified accountant he developed a passion for leadership and motivating people through necessity. A life changing coaching experience led him to lead the creation of a coaching performance culture and doubling bottom line profit. His story has been the subject of various articles on “Coaching at Work”. Having worked with Stuart who now runs Aim Higher Leadership Ltd, I know from experience that he has a tremendous story to share to help us all become engaging leaders.

Attracting, recruiting and developing talented people to perform at a high level is a real art form. During this show we are going to explore the different facets of talent development. This show will be hosted by David Bassett a senior lecturer from Leeds Metropolitan University. Chris is well known for being the host and founder of this show, however, in his day job is in high demand as a developer of talent. Chris helps businesses to develop their talent and elevate themselves to a higher level in their market places. He works with start ups through to major multi-nationals, is a President of the Professional Speaking Association in the UK and founder of this show which is accessed in over 50 countries. Join us for what will be an essential show for anyone wishing to grow their business through motivating their talent to realize their potential.

How do you run a family business effectively? Recently, Stephen Gould, Managing Director of Everards Brewery Ltd gave us his perspective of leading a sizeable family owned business on behalf of its family owners. I wanted to follow this subject up with a different perspective from someone running their own successful small family business. I could think of no one better to ask than Peter Roper. Peter is a highly successful business development consultant specialising in Family Businesses who is often referred to as ‘The Family Business Man’. A best selling author and multi award winning speaker, Peter has been sharing his messages for eighteen years and has spoken to over 500,000 people across several countries. Peter knows the highs and lows of winning business and losing everything and specializes in practical business development. This show is for anyone wishing to grow or set up a successful family business.

Are you interested in becoming truly world class at what you do? If so what are the things that really make a difference? In this show, we are going to talk about how intense focus, discipline and keeping things simple led someone who showed no signs of success as a teenager to go on to become a world class swimmer. Chris Cook represented Great Britain for almost 10 years, reaching Olympic, Commonwealth and European finals and becoming Double Commonwealth Champion. In addition we also have Simon Hartley, who during this period was Chris’ sports psychologist and has become an authority on world class performance. Join us to learn how some simple shifts in mindset can lead to you creating exceptional results in your business and other aspects of your life.

Do your customers tell their friends about their tremendous experience of your service? In an era when experiences can be shared at the click of a button to huge audiences, customer experience can quite literally lead to rapid growth or even brand desertion. So how do you give people an experience that they (and their connections) want to return to again and again? I was recently discussing customer experience with Joseph O'Hara the Managing Director of Ristretto, Alchemy Coffee and Alchemy Cafes over a drink in his coffee shop and realized that at the core of the success of his business was customer experience. Joe literally changed his career direction to purse his passion for coffee and been creating a truly exceptional experience for his customers since 2003. If customer experience is important to your business model then do join us to learn from someone who out their making it happen. Oh yes and did I tell people about his coffee shop? You bet!

How do you become one of the very best in the world, in your chosen field? An aspiration that might seem like a pipe-dream for some, has become a reality for others. So how do people become world class? What differentiates the very best in the world and sets them apart from their peers? How do world class performers think, make their decisions and take on challenges? How we can begin to adopt these characteristics to boost our own performance? These are questions that Simon Hartley has been answering. Simon has been an exceptional guest on this show on two occasions, with former Olympic Swimmer Chris Cook and then World Ultra Marathon record holder Andy McMenemy. Both have been stand out shows with the second winning a Business Gold Magazine award. During the show Simon will share his experiences of working with and studying a host of World Champions, World Record holders, Chefs with multiple Michelin Stars and world class athletes. This is one not to miss!

Are you leading a life that is truly aligned to your purpose? Do you need more clarity about where you or your business should be in the short, medium and long term? If so, this show is for you. When I first met Craig Goldblatt, I can only describe the experience as being 'Goldblasted' as I connected with this shining force of energy and enthusiasm as he networked around a conference event. Was he for real? I needed to find out more! Since that first meeting, I discovered that he speaks globally, trains, coaches and takes groups on transformational journeys to remote communities around the world. He had founded a children's charity called ‘Giving Africa’. He had put his career on hold to establish a new school in Burkina Farso (one of the poorest countries in the world). Quite simply, Craig has a heart of gold and much to share to help us put our lives and businesses into perspective. Join us to hear an amazing journey that may be life changing.

So what is the value of happiness, how can we really achieve it more consistently and improve the performance of our business along the way? When so many people seem to be disengaged with their work bringing more happiness into the workplace is a tremendous growth opportunity. Two years ago I witnessed a conference speaker demonstrate what is possible when it comes to professional speaking. I not only took tremendous personal value from the session, I was also bowled over by his stage performance. Steve Head's words about personal and workplace happiness stuck with me. I had to get him on the show! However he was so busy that it has taken me 2 years! Steve not only speaks to many 1000's of people every year, he also puts his words into practice through coaching young sports stars including the England Wheelchair Rugby League World Champions and many organizations. This is a show not to be missed and could considerably improve your happiness, health and your wealth!

How do you expand your business into the Middle East or Asia? Or deal more effectively with existing clients and supply chains in these markets? Cultural differences often create significant barriers when it comes to business. Go into it blind and you can easily get stung. My guest Amer Qureshi, was born in Pakistan and moved to Australia, returning after an absence of over 30 years. He has worked in Australia, Pakistan, Dubai, Qatar and done business in Malaysia, Indonesia and Kenya. Specializing in Strategic and Financial Planning, Strategic Management, and Leadership he is also a sought after speaker and presenter as well as an accomplished Business TV host and a successful published author. During this show, Amer will explain the differences in cultures and how companies from more developed nations can approach these markets more effectively. Join us for some great insights into doing business in the Middle East