Battling with Business

Episode 155 - Influencers #27 - Elizabeth Holmes - How Selling the Dream Became Selling Bullshit

In this week’s episode we look at one of the most uncomfortable leadership stories of the modern business era. Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos force us to confront how easily confidence, narrative, and status can be mistaken for competence and truth. We explore how a young, driven, and highly credible founder built a nine billion dollar company, attracted world class investors, and became a symbol of innovation, while quietly crossing the line from ambition into deception.We talk about the cult of leadership, the danger of survivor bias, and why we are so keen to believe in heroic founders. We examine the grey area between selling a vision and selling something that simply does not exist, and how leaders can gradually drift from optimism into outright dishonesty without a single dramatic moment of failure.The episode explores integrity, authority bias, and the responsibility of both leaders and followers. We discuss why intelligent, experienced people can still be fooled, what this story teaches us about accountability, and how leaders should balance hope, confidence, and truth when the stakes are high.This is not just a story about one flawed individual. It is a lesson for anyone who leads, invests, follows, or wants to believe in simple stories of success. If you care about leadership, ethics, and decision making under pressure, this episode will challenge some comfortable assumptions.

Episode 154 - A Semi Emergency Podcast on Venezuela, Leadership, Culture and the Future of NATO!

In this week’s semi-emergency episode we discuss the recent events in Venezuela attempting to look beyond the obvious political and moral dimensions, and instead look to see what we can learn from a leadership, management and culture perspective. Of course, knowing Gareth and Chris it also leads to a conversation about the future of NATO!
If you've ever wondered what it takes to plan a military raid, well you've come to the right place.  Gareth shares his military knowledge and shares what it takes to plan and execute the kind of raid we saw the US deliver in Venezuela on the 3rd of January. 
However, beyond the military approach to planning, we also discuss some of the more uncomfortable truths in leadership and management. Most organisations talk endlessly about leadership and culture while quietly tolerating behaviours that undermine it. What are the short and long term impacts of this raid on culture and strategy not just in Venezuela and the US, but around the world.  Was this raid a brilliant strategic success or is the answer more complicated?
We explore where leadership narratives drift away from reality, why management systems often reward the wrong things, and how well intentioned leaders can slowly lose credibility without ever noticing. We discuss why clarity, accountability, and trust are harder to maintain in modern organisations than most leaders admit, and why confidence is often mistaken for competence.
If you care about building teams that perform under pressure, leading people who trust your judgement, or understanding the potential long term impacts of your tactical actions, this conversation will resonate. It is a candid discussion designed to provoke reflection and, ideally, better leadership in the real world.

Episode 153 - Royal Marine, Yeoman Warder and Arctic Explorer : Baz Gray The Most Interesting Man In The World - Part 2

Leadership under extreme pressure is rarely about heroic speeches or rank. It is about judgement, trust, and knowing when to lead and when to follow.
In the second part of our conversation with Baz Gray former Royal Marine, polar explorer, leadership coach and now Yeoman Warder of the Tower of London we explore what Shackleton’s Antarctic expeditions really teach us about leadership today. Baz draws on his own experience recreating Shackleton’s most dangerous journey, sailing and climbing with 100 year old equipment, to unpack how teams survive when everything goes wrong.
We discuss why selecting the right people matters more than technical brilliance, how leaders earn authority by being good followers, and why humility and self awareness are non negotiable in high pressure environments. Baz also reflects on transitioning from extreme expedition leadership to a highly traditional public facing role at the Tower of London, and what modern organisations can learn from both worlds.
This episode is for anyone leading teams through uncertainty, complexity, or sustained pressure. It challenges simple leadership models and replaces them with something more honest, demanding, and human.

Episode 152 - Royal Marine, Yeoman Warder and Arctic Explorer : Baz Gray The Most Interesting Man In The World - Part 1

In this episode of Battling with Business, Gareth Tennant and Chris Kitchener record from one of the most iconic leadership environments in the UK, the Tower of London, joined by Baz Gray, former Royal Marine, Arctic explorer, and Yeoman Warder.
Drawing on a career that spans reconnaissance operations, mountain leadership, extreme expeditions, and senior military command, Baz explores what calm, credible leadership really looks like under pressure. The discussion challenges loud, performative models of leadership and instead makes the case for quiet competence, consistency, and trust.
From leading soldiers in whiteout conditions to shaping behaviour in corporate boardrooms, Baz explains how leaders are revealed under stress, why patience and observation matter more than charisma, and how high performance teams are built deliberately over time.
Listeners will gain practical insight into decision making under pressure, the importance of self control, and how leaders earn respect through behaviour rather than authority. This episode is essential listening for anyone interested in leadership that endures when conditions are hardest.

Episode 151 - Influencer #7 Re-Release - Charles De Gaulle Loyal Only to France - Part 2

Battling with Business returns with Part Two of its Influencers series on Charles de Gaulle, moving from wartime exile to political dominance and lasting national legacy.
In this episode, Gareth Tennant and Chris Kitchener examine how leadership is forged not just through bravery or competence, but through narrative control, political instinct, and an unyielding sense of purpose. As de Gaulle outmanoeuvres rivals, frustrates allies, and repeatedly puts the idea of France above consensus or popularity, the discussion asks an uncomfortable management question: when does conviction become arrogance, and when does arrogance become effective leadership?
We discuss the rivalry with Henri Giraud, the power of communication and symbolism, leading without formal authority, and how long term vision can outweigh short term cooperation. The episode also explores de Gaulle’s post war leadership, his role in reshaping the French state, and the enduring impact of values driven leadership.
This is a nuanced discussion about legitimacy, influence, and the cost of single minded leadership. Ideal listening for anyone leading teams through ambiguity, politics, or competing centres of power.

Episode 150 - Influencer #7 Re-Release - Charles De Gaulle: Loyal Only to France - Part 1

In this Part 1 of 2, re-release of an earlier Influencers series of Battling with Business, Gareth Tennant and Chris Kitchener explore the leadership and influence of Charles de Gaulle, a figure often overlooked in British narratives of the Second World War. Through the lens of military history and modern management thinking, they examine how conviction, strategic foresight, and personal ego combine to shape leaders in moments of national crisis.
What does it take to declare yourself the voice of a nation when no one has elected you, few are listening, and defeat seems inevitable? Charles de Gaulle did exactly that, and in doing so reshaped France and Europe.
In this episode we'll learn that leadership is not always granted. Sometimes it is asserted. We'll also hear how sometimes strategic thinking often emerges from adversity, reflection, and exposure to different perspectives and that rigid doctrine can be comforting, but adaptability wins in complex and changing environments. We learn more about De Gaulle's personal conviction and how ego can both enable and endanger effective leadership. Influence often precedes authority, not the other way around.
Join us in this first episode and reflect on how de Gaulle’s journey from overlooked officer to self-declared leader mirrors modern challenges in business and organisational leadership. This episode challenges assumptions about legitimacy, strategy, and what it really means to lead when the stakes are highest.

Episode 149 - War in the Smartphone Age : Why Leaders Must Rethink Everything They Think They Know

This episode explores how leaders can navigate unprecedented change by understanding the hidden forces reshaping conflict, technology, and decision making. In this conversation with Dr Matthew Ford, we unpack how the smartphone has quietly transformed modern warfare and why leaders in every sector must rethink how they interpret information, manage uncertainty, and respond to rapid shifts.
We start to look at how the smartphone has blurred the line between civilian and combatant, reshaping risk and responsibility and how modern conflict is now inseparable from a participatory media environment where everyone contributes, knowingly or not. We discuss how organisations struggle when they assume they understand the environment and how leaders must cultivate curiosity, humility, and systems thinking.
It's clear that AI is not the beginning of radical change but the acceleration of trends already reshaping society and leaders must protect core expertise while adapting to technological change.

Episode 148 - Iterate or Lose : Innovation Lessons from NATO’s Front Line

This episode  of Battling with Business dives deep into modern leadership and management through the lens of defence innovation. Gareth Tennant and Chris Kitchener are joined by John Ridge, Chief Adoption Officer at the NATO Innovation Fund, to explore how technology, agility and organisational culture shape today’s capabilities.
Leaders often talk about innovation, speed and agility, but how do those ideas work when the stakes are measured in national security rather than quarterly targets? This episode reveals what real innovation looks like when it must be fast, iterative and mission‑critical.
You'll hear how and why NATO created a multinational deep‑tech venture fund and how modern defence challenges mirror classic product management problems. You'll learn why iteration, modularity and open architectures matter more than ever and how leaders can create cultures that embrace experimentation while managing risk. We also talk about the critical role of passion, mission alignment and end‑user closeness.
Listen to hear a powerful conversation that blends defence, technology and leadership lessons relevant for every leader, in or out of uniform.

Episode 147 - Inside The War Game : Red Teaming A Crisis

In this episode Battling with Business explores leadership and decision making under pressure through a deep dive into “The War Game,” a five‑part immersive geopolitical simulation from Sky.
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-wargame/id1547225334
Gareth and Chris unpack how realistic war gaming exposes blind spots, stress‑tests assumptions, and reveals how people truly behave when everything happens at once.
Leadership is easy when nothing is at stake. The real test is how you think, act, and adapt when the world tilts under your feet.
We hear why immersive simulations reveal more than theoretical discussions, how pressure changes decisions that seem obvious in hindsight, what war gaming teaches us about communication, clarity, roles, and information flow, how leaders can use structured stress‑testing in business just as effectively as governments use it in crisis planning and why confronting unlikely but high‑impact risks is essential for modern leaders.
Listen to hear how a fictional crisis uncovers real lessons for leaders in any environment.

Episode 146 - Influencer #26 - The Nelson Touch : Leadership, Myth, and Mastery

"Thank God I have done my duty."
This episode explores leadership through the life and legacy of Admiral Horatio Nelson. Gareth and Chris unpack the myth, the reality, and the enduring lessons behind one of Britain’s most iconic naval commanders.
What makes someone a great leader when history elevates them to near‑mythical status? And what happens when we discover the real person beneath the legend?
Nelson’s success came from clear communication, trust, preparation, and personal courage. His “Nelson touch” showed how leaders build unity and belief through simple, human behaviours. While mythmaking distorts history, core leadership principles endure across eras and great leadership is not about perfection but about consistent, purposeful action.
This episode encourages listeners to reflect on what truly builds trust and followership, and why understanding leaders of the past helps us lead better today.