Culture de-cooded Charlie Coode
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- Business
A collaboration between Coode Associates and Culture15, intended to highlight the best in thought leadership and effective implementation on the topic of organisational culture.
Culture de-cooded is a series of interviews where prominent leaders, culture practioners and thinkers from a range of fields are asked to reflect on their personal journeys and that of their organisations.
Whether you are starting a business, leading a team or organistation, or you are just interested in how organisations succeed or fail, there's something here for you - we hope you enjoy listening.
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Episode #4: Martin Glenn, Former CEO of The FA
In this episode, Martin reflects on his diverse career, spanning 15 years at PepsiCo, 9 years in private equity as CEO of Iglo (Birdseye in the UK) and United Biscuits followed by a jump to the FA as CEO in 2015.
Following this, Martin transitioned to a non-executive career, being appointed as chairman of the Football Foundation, the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) and Britain’s biggest wine producer, Chapel Down.
Martin discusses the importance of uniting employees with purpose and reflects on his leadership journey, sharing his key learnings that shaped his career. From his time at United Biscuits, Martin identifies that it takes courage to view culture as an opportunity, to not delegate it to HR teams, and to champion it as a leader.
Martin talks about moving to take on leadership of The FA as his “midlife crisis”, where he was responsible for appointing Gareth Southgate, championing culture change and highlighting what it means to wear the England shirt. He cites cultural transformation as one of the reasons that England is now seen as a contender in international tournaments and shares his insight on the growth of women’s football and the rise of development squads at St Georges Park.
Given the breadth of Martin's professional experience, this podcast episode is packed with insight, humour and solid lessons for anyone wanting to implement change.
Chapters
00:00:00-Welcome to Episode 4
00:01:32-Introduction to Martin’s career
00:04:59-Reflection on the culture at PepsiCo
00:10:53-Leadership & culture evolution from PepsiCo to private equity at Birdseye
00:18:46-‘It takes courage to prioritise culture and to see it as an opportunity’
00:22:00-Move to United Biscuits, restoring pride and unlocking the potential of culture
00:29:33-Joining the FA, re-affirming purpose & what it means to play for England
00:46:22-Prioritising development squads at St Georges park and the Lionesses
00:53:07-The growth of women’s football
00:57:17-Life as a chairperson on the board of the Football Foundation, PGMOL, Chapel Down and Froneri
01:05:08-Martin's career as a song -
Episode #3: David Tait, CEO at the World Gold Council
In this episode, David Tait candidly dissects his life experiences and discusses how they have impacted his leadership style and mindset during his role as CEO of the World Gold Council.
David describes the cultural transformation he has led at the World Gold Council since joining in 2018, and highlights his determination to fundamentally shift the culture within the gold industry, through his commitment to responsible sourcing, transparency, and digitalisation.
David also reflects on his time at Credit Suisse, and talks about how the seeds of its future demise as an organisation were already visible when he left in 2015. David highlights the genuine fulfilment he experiences from leading people and investing in culture. He also talks about his early life experiences which have shaped his mindset and driven him to raise millions of pounds for the NSPCC through his multiple ascents of Everest and other fundraising activities.
Chapters
00:00:00-Welcome to Episode 3
00:01:17-Introduction to David's career
00:03:03-Overview of the World Gold Council
00:08:05-Challenges of cultural transformation in the gold industry
00:32:17-Experiences whilst shifting the focus onto Culture
00:37:56-Reflections on the culture at Credit Suisse
00:45:15-Early life experiences, fundraising for the NSPCC and the only north-south traverse of Everest
00:52:16-The writing of David's life story and creation of his film Sulfur and White
00:57:39-David's mindset throughout leadership
01:06:08-David's leadership journey encapsulated in one song -
Episode #2: Chris Jones, CEO at BMJ
In this episode, Charlie speaks with Chris Jones, CEO at BMJ.
Chris talks about his experience of joining BMJ in lockdown, BMJ's role in the pandemic and the role Purpose plays in guiding decision-making and priorities. Chris also frankly shares his lessons from his own leadership journey.
https://www.bmj.com/company/
https://culture15.com/
https://coodeassociates.com/
Chapters
00:00:00-Welcome to Episode 2
00:01:39-Chris's role and background
00:03:16-Becoming CEO during covid
00:10:15-The evolution of BMJ
00:14:56-The impact of purpose & balancing commercial goals
00:18:11-Implementing an impact framework to evidence the work of BMJ
00:23:00-Cultural transformation at BMJ & the role of leadership
00:29:19-If BMJ was an animal, which would it be?
00:31:22-The role of a CEO in shaping culture
00:40:22-Chris's personal leadership journey in a song
DISCLAIMER - we apologise for the poor quality of this audio and assure you that all future episodes will be better! -
Episode #1: Sam Galsworthy, Co-Founder of Sipsmith Gin
In this first episode of The Culture de-cooded podcast, Charlie talks with Sam Galsworthy, founder of Sipsmith Gin.
Sam talks about his journey as an entrepreneur, the founding story of Sipsmith and the development of the business and its culture through the early stages, rapid growth and acquisition by Beam Suntory.
Throughout, Sam is candid and personal in his reflections on leadership, culture and growing a market-defining business.
https://sipsmith.com/
https://coodeassociates.com/
https://culture15.com/
Chapters
00:00:00-Welcome to Episode 1
00:01:28-Introduction to Sam's Career & the drinks industry
00:07:46-The idea of Sipsmith Gin
00:10:10-Taking the plunge, starting a business & changing the law
00:16:28-The roots of Culture
00:27:10-The evolution of Sipsmith, growth & tension
00:33:35-Successful chaos & the development of culture through language & behaviour
00:42:00-Acquisition by Beam Suntory, the reduction of chaos & culture shift
00:48:00-Reflection on the journey, experiences in lockdown & the ministry of fun
00:56:58-Becoming a B-Corp & looking to the future
01:09:10-Sam's leadership journey in a song