The Business Strategist With Adam Strong

Adam Strong
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The Business Strategist is the ultimate podcast for entrepreneurs, founders and business owners looking to scale, grow, and exit their businesses successfully. Hosted by Adam Strong, an award-winning strategist with over 30 years of industry experience and three times best selling author. Each episode delivers actionable business advice, practical tools, and insights to help you build a thriving enterprise. Whether you want to master leadership, craft a winning exit strategy, or implement proven scaling techniques, this podcast has you covered. With expert interviews, real-world case studies, and a focus on achieving business freedom, the business strategist is your go-to resource for taking your business to the next level. Tune in every week for new episodes designed to inspire, educate, and empower your entrepreneurial journey. Adam's Contact details LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamistrong YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/adamstrong Is your business ready to run without you? Take the 2-minute Exit Readiness Assessment — a fast, strategic scorecard for founders who want to scale, sell, or step back without becoming the bottleneck. Get instant insights across leadership, systems, marketing, and more. Click here to take the assessment: https://readytoexit.scoreapp.com

  1. More Connected, More Lonely: The Leadership Crisis No One's Talking About

    2D AGO

    More Connected, More Lonely: The Leadership Crisis No One's Talking About

    Why are we buried in Slack messages and back-to-back Zooms but feeling lonelier than ever? Dr. Michelle K. Johnston just co-wrote a book with Marshall Goldsmith that exposes the hidden crisis destroying teams—and it starts with you. Dr. Michelle K. Johnston's back with a warning: we're going down a dark path. She just co-wrote The Seismic Shift in You with legendary executive coach Marshall Goldsmith, and they reckon most leaders are sleepwalking into disaster. This isn't about work-life balance or time management. It's about why your best people are quietly quitting, why you're knackered despite smashing targets, and why technology is making us lonelier whilst pretending to connect us. 5 Reasons to Listen The disconnection epidemic - why scrolling hits dopamine but starves you of oxytocin (and why that's making you physically ill) The "what vs who" trap - how achievement addiction leads to premature death, heart disease, and leaders who feel empty at the top The 7 necessary shifts - including the one that makes successful executives defensive because it threatens their entire identity Real cost of disconnection - the executive whose doctor said he'd die young, and why his company's about to lose him to burnout Practical tools for tomorrow - connection walks, calendar audits, and why your Friday afternoon Zoom meetings are killing creativity Enjoy the show? Please subscribe/ follow the show and leave a 1 or 5 star review Chapters 00:00 The Paradox of Connection and Disconnection 02:52 The Seismic Shift in Leadership 05:41 Understanding Loneliness and Its Impact 08:39 Generational Perspectives on Work and Leadership 11:04 The Courage to Connect 13:58 Shifting Beliefs in Leadership 16:52 The Importance of Individual Responsibility 19:55 The Shift from Achievement to Relationships 22:36 Creating a Culture of Connection 25:31 Practical Steps for Connection 28:24 The Cost of Disconnection 31:06 Final Thoughts on Connection and Leadership ABOUT OUR SPONSOR Ready to exit, but worried you'll regret it? Talk to Xentum financial planning to get your exit number.  Visit: https://cash-out-with-confidence.scoreapp.com ABOUT THE HOST LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamistrong Website: ⁠https://adamstrong.net⁠ ABOUT THE GUEST Website: WWW.MICHELLEKJOHNSTON.COM Amazon: https://a.co/d/00XEIBBn LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-johnston-ph-d-0264b5b/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    43 min
  2. The Hero Trap: Why You Are The Problem

    FEB 5

    The Hero Trap: Why You Are The Problem

    What if the thing making you feel most needed in your business is actually the thing stopping it from growing? I sit down with Bill Flynn, someone who's survived IPOs, acquisitions and proper business chaos, to unpack the hero trap. If you're the one who fixes everything, closes every deal and makes every decision, this one's for you.  It feels productive. It feels like leadership. But it quietly turns you into the bottleneck.  We talk about why leaders default back to control mode when pressure hits, why most leadership advice doesn't work in the real world, and what it looks like when your team stops waiting for permission and starts running things without you. Bill is the the Author of the best selling book 'Further, Faster' and is part of the Marshall Goldsmith's 100 coaches community. Five Reasons to Listen Learn how to spot when you've become the answer to everything and what that costs your team Improve decision making so people can move fast without needing you in every conversation Break the firefighting cycle and stop being the centre of every problem and approval Build simple structure that makes your business feel calmer, sharper and easier to scale Get your time back by cutting the work that drains you using a simple love and loathe filter Want to exit your business but unsure where to start? Take the ‘Exit readiness assessment’ and find out the gaps of what you need to do to plan your exit strategy confidently. Click on the link here: ⁠https://readytoexit.scoreapp.com⁠ Chapters 00:00 The Hero Trap: Understanding Leadership Challenges 09:36 The Shift from Controller to Builder 18:42 The Importance of Self-Awareness in Leadership 27:53 Breaking the Cycle of Hero Addiction 33:41 Transitioning into Marketing Leadership 35:04 Creating Structures for Effective Leadership 38:49 The Importance of Meeting Protocols 39:53 Influential Voices in Leadership 42:22 Defining True Leadership 43:03 Coaching Session: Shifting Mindsets 45:39 Crafting a Compelling Vision 49:36 The Art of Storytelling in Vision 55:17 Energy Management for Leaders 59:11 Preview of Upcoming Book ABOUT OUR SPONSORWorried if your exit number is enough to fund your lifestyle after exiting your business? Take the cash out with confidence assessment and identify the gaps in your wealth plan. Go to:  https://cash-out-with-confidence.scoreapp.com ABOUT THE HOST LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamistrong Website: ⁠https://adamstrong.net⁠ ABOUT THE GUEST LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billflynnpublic/ Full CBA assessment for facilitators and leaders - https://catalystgrowthadvisors.com/cba-assessment-download-enter-email-here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 7m
  3. The HR Lie Founders Keep Buying That Stalls Growth

    JAN 29

    The HR Lie Founders Keep Buying That Stalls Growth

    Most founders are wasting a fortune on tools promising to shift the needle but instead it is quietly killing their growth. This episode exposes why personality testing, competency models, and culture fit interviews often fail and what to replace them with if you want a team that actually delivers. In this episode, I sit down with Barry Wolfe, an HR veteran with 30 years in the trenches helping founders and CEOs solve the people problems that stall growth. We go beyond generic HR and get into why businesses keep hiring great people who still do not perform, why teams break at certain revenue ceilings, and how leaders accidentally become the bottleneck. Barry shares his value centric leadership approach, showing how to define roles by outcomes, improve hiring interviews, and align performance to the results that drive business growth. If you want to build a high performing team, improve employee retention, and scale without everything running through you, this conversation will challenge how you think about talent management. Five takeaways: why you should listen Why great CVs and strong interviews still fail and the real reason good people do not work out after 6 to 8 months The most expensive hiring mistake founders and CEOs make and why smart leaders keep repeating it The one thing to define before the interview starts: the 3 to 5 value added deliverables you need in the first 12 months How to shift from managing actions to rewarding outcomes so roles are defined by what people deliver and performance becomes measurable The first document to create if you are the bottleneck: define your key value drivers and business results so the whole team aligns and execution stops running through you. Let’s be real — if you’re drowning in day-to-day crap, you’ll never scale or exit. Learn how to stop being your own bottleneck and start leading like a boss. Download this playbook for free, no email required and no BS. Grab it now: https://adamstrong.notion.site/The-Exit-Playbook-Shift-from-Operator-to-Visionary-Leader-220f5f71e63b80bc91a0d7e0ca050c82?source=copy_link ABOUT OUR SPONSOR Ready to exit, but worried you'll regret it? Talk to our financial planners to get your exit number.  Visit: https://www.xentum.co.uk ABOUT THE HOST LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamistrong Website: ⁠https://adamstrong.net⁠ ABOUT THE GUEST https://www.linkedin.com/in/barryrwolfe/ www.argoshr.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    46 min
  4. How To Break Stagnation and Drive Fast Growth

    JAN 22

    How To Break Stagnation and Drive Fast Growth

    Let’s be real for a second: Law school, the accounting bodies, the professional exams they never actually taught you how to run a business. They taught you how to be a technician. Now, you’re stuck in the trading time for money trap, thinking that being hardworking and professional gives you an edge over the competition. It doesn't. That’s just the baseline.  In 2026, relying on those standards is the quickest way to get left behind. I joined Dan Warburton to talk about the shift from being a late-stage service provider to an early-stage strategic partner. We’re moving past the ego and getting into why your clients really buy from you—and it’s probably not what you think. In this chat, we cover: The Holiday Test: Why your inability to let go is capping your revenue and killing your culture. Standards vs. USPs: Why telling people you're "punctual" is a waste of breath (and what to say instead). The Ferrari Specialist: How to stop being a "generalist garage" and become the only logical choice for your ideal client. Dinner, Drinks, and Real Data: My simple way to get your best clients to hand you your unfair advantage on a silver platter before the weekend hits. AI vs. The Clock: Why billing by the hour is a losing game when tech can do your 8-hour task in 20 minutes. If you’re tired of staying stuck, this is for you. Want to exit your business but unsure where to start? Take the ‘Exit readiness assessment’ and find out the gaps of what you need to do to plan your exit strategy confidently. Click on the link here: ⁠https://readytoexit.scoreapp.com⁠ ABOUT OUR SPONSOR Ready to exit, but worried you'll regret it? Talk to our financial planners to get your exit number.  Visit: https://www.xentum.co.uk ABOUT THE HOST LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamistrong Website: ⁠https://adamstrong.net⁠ ABOUT THE GUEST LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/investordanwarburton Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2430923 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    36 min

  5. JAN 15

    The Relationship Recession: Why “Fine” is Killing Your Company Valuation

    Fine is the most expensive word in your business. When your team tells you they’re fine, they aren’t being polite. They’re checking out.  We’re in a Relationship Recession, and it’s the silent tax stripping productivity, slowing decisions, and shaving value off your company from the inside. In this episode, I sit down with Morag Barrett, leadership expert, member of the Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coaches, and the person CEOs call when trust is breaking and performance is slipping.  Morag explains why transactional leadership fuels burnout, how digital noise has replaced real connection, and what to do about it if you want a high trust culture that scales. If your engagement is dipping or your business is being impacted by quiet quitting, this is the episode for you. We discuss: How to spot the “I’m fine” trap before turnover hits How to identify allies, rivals, and hidden adversaries inside the Relationship Ecosystem How to use a 60 second pulse check to measure trust fast How to schedule spontaneity so remote teams feel like a community How to shift from transactional to transformational leadership without more meetings Want to exit your business but unsure where to start? Take the ‘Exit readiness assessment’ and find out the gaps of what you need to do to plan your exit strategy confidently. Click on the link here: ⁠https://readytoexit.scoreapp.com⁠ ABOUT OUR SPONSOR Ready to exit, but worried you'll regret it? Visit: https://www.xentum.co.uk ABOUT THE GUEST LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/moragbarrett/ Website: https://skyeteam.com Book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cultivate-Winning-Relationships-Morag-Barrett-dp-1936487292/dp/1936487292/ref=dp_ob_title_bk ABOUT THE HOST LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamistrong Website: ⁠https://adamstrong.net⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    56 min

  6. JAN 8

    Your Hustle Is Killing Your Metabolic Health

    I spent years chasing the myth that the harder you work the bigger the rewards. I was obsessed with growing my company to find freedom but it was a failed experiment. My business was scaling while my body was screaming a question I could not answer: how long can you actually sustain this for? I was winning on paper but my biology was being liquidated behind the scenes. Can you relate? I used to treat my health like a cost centre I could manage after the next milestone.  In this episode I sit down with triple board certified physician Dr Amy Loden Tiffany to look at the metabolic crisis I was heading toward. We discuss the biological data points I was ignoring and why my desk was more dangerous than a smoking habit. This is a raw look at the hidden tax on success and why your current lifestyle is secretly draining your cognitive edge. If you have ever woken at 3am with your brain on overload this is an episode you cannot afford to skip. Five reasons to listen The Sitting Death Trap Discover why prolonged sitting is more lethal than smoking and the specific protocol to reverse the damage in weeks. Hidden Mortality Markers The laboratory metrics most doctors ignore that predict early mortality and how insurance companies use them against CEOs. The IQ Connection How metabolic health directly dictates decision making ability and why a compromised state leads to million pound mistakes. Peak Energy ROI The three high impact micro habits that deliver maximum energy for founders working 12 hour days with zero gym time. Biological Burnout Why burnout and metabolic disease share the exact same root causes and how fixing one automatically solves the other. Want to exit your business but unsure where to start? Take the ‘Exit readiness assessment’ and find out the gaps of what you need to do to plan your exit strategy confidently. Click on the link here: ⁠https://readytoexit.scoreapp.com⁠ ABOUT OUR SPONSOR Ready to exit, but worried you'll regret it? Visit: https://www.xentum.co.uk ABOUT THE GUEST Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-loden/ YouTube: @dramytiffany Instagram: @dramytiffany TikTok: @dramytiffany Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vitalitymwc ABOUT THE HOST LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamistrong Website: ⁠https://adamstrong.net⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    40 min
  7. 2026 Business Trends: My Strategy for Winning the Next 12 Months (A Must Listen)

    JAN 1

    2026 Business Trends: My Strategy for Winning the Next 12 Months (A Must Listen)

    Stop planning for 2026. If you are still preparing for the future, you have already been overtaken by those of us who are already living in it. Most people are waiting for a signal to move, but I am already executing the plays that will define the next twelve months. I am not here to give you a forecast; I am here to give you the exact moves I am using to dominate while everyone else is still waking up. The gap between the leaders and the crowd is widening, and the old rules of growth are officially dead. While the majority are distracted by vanity metrics and outdated hacks, I am betting everything on five specific shifts that are currently transforming my business. In this episode, I reveal the internal roadmap I am using to scale intimacy through AI, why I am ignoring 90% of social media to build deeper trust, and the acquisition strategy I am using to bypass years of slow growth. This is a raw look at my private playbook for 2026. Whether you are hearing this today or three weeks from now, the window to act is closing. This is how you win. 5 reasons to listen I reveal how I use AI agents to scale genuine outreach and support without losing my human edge. I explain my strategy for building a focussed personal brand that generates deep trust on a single platform. I show you how I multiply my authority by turning depth content into a machine that attracts high value buyers. I break down the specific community signals I track to ensure real growth instead of chasing empty impressions. I share my blueprint for buying boring businesses to leapfrog traditional growth and create a massive exit. Let’s be real — if you’re drowning in day-to-day crap, you’ll never scale or exit. The Exit Playbook is your ticket out of the chaos. Learn how to stop being your own bottleneck and start leading like a boss. It’s free, no email required and no BS. Grab it now: https://adamstrong.notion.site/The-Exit-Playbook-Shift-from-Operator-to-Visionary-Leader-220f5f71e63b80bc91a0d7e0ca050c82?source=copy_link Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Entrepreneurial Success in 2026 06:41 Leveraging AI for Business Efficiency 12:06 The Power of Personal Branding 15:14 Shifts in Content Consumption 18:18 Community Over Vanity Metrics 21:07 Exploring Business Acquisitions for Growth ABOUT OUR SPONSOR Ready to exit, but worried you'll regret it? Visit: https://www.xentum.co.uk ABOUT THE HOST LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamistrong Website: ⁠https://adamstrong.net⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    22 min
  8. The M&A Playbook: Navigating the Identity Crisis After Selling Your Business

    12/25/2025

    The M&A Playbook: Navigating the Identity Crisis After Selling Your Business

    The deal closes. The champagne goes flat. And suddenly you're staring in the mirror wondering who the hell you are anymore. Your company's gone. Your title means nothing. The identity you wore for a decade has been stripped away. Did you just make the biggest mistake of your life? I sat down with Jennifer Fondrevay, the M&A Whisperer who's lived through three multi-billion-pound acquisitions and consulted with over 60 CEOs on the hidden psychology of business exits.  As a best-selling author and TEDx speaker featured across global media, Jennifer has become the go-to expert on what nobody talks about in M&A: the identity crisis that follows the deal.  We explored the brutal truth about losing your business identity, why even the most successful founders feel like they're going crazy during transitions, and the battle-tested framework she developed from the trenches of corporate acquisitions.  This conversation revealed the exact emotional stages you’ll face post-exit and gave you the strategic playbook to rebuild your identity before a crisis hits. If your planning an exit in the next 2-5 years, this is a must listen. Five reasons to listen How to master the five stages of business grief - Jennifer reveals the proven framework she's used with Fortune 500 executives to transform anger and denial into acceptance and opportunity The legacy question that changes everything - Discover the single most powerful question that forces clarity on who you are beyond your business title and protects what you've built How the top 1% prepare for their final chapter - Learn the 6-month countdown strategy Jennifer developed after witnessing countless botched exits and seven-figure transitions gone right Why your biggest advocates are hiding in plain sight - Uncover Jennifer's counterintuitive method for identifying team champions who'll accelerate change and shield you from emotional burnout The breakthrough exercise CEOs didn't see coming - How Jennifer's unconventional music-based technique unlocks vulnerability in the boardroom and builds the trust required for seamless transitions Let’s be real — if you’re drowning in day-to-day crap, you’ll never scale or exit. The Exit Playbook is your ticket out of the chaos. Learn how to stop being your own bottleneck and start leading like a boss. It’s free, no email required and no BS. Grab it now: https://adamstrong.notion.site/The-Exit-Playbook-Shift-from-Operator-to-Visionary-Leader-220f5f71e63b80bc91a0d7e0ca050c82?source=copy_link Chapters 00:00 The Identity Crisis Post-Exit 02:37 Navigating Mergers and Acquisitions 05:44 The Emotional Landscape of Exiting 08:05 Understanding Grief in Business Transitions 11:08 Building Trust During Change 13:56 The Role of Leadership in M&A 16:42 Acceptance and Moving Forward 19:29 Legacy and Impact After Exit 22:10 Preparing for the Future 25:10 Creating a New Narrative Post-Exit 31:41 Transitioning from Founder to CEO 35:30 Preparing for the Emotional Exit 37:21 Rebuilding Identity Post-Exit 41:52 Understanding Integration Debt 46:08 Navigating Grief in Leadership 59:31 Future Research Directions ABOUT OUR SPONSOR Ready to exit, but worried you'll regret it? Visit: https://www.xentum.co.uk ABOUT THE GUEST LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-fondrevay Instagram: @jenniferj.fondrevay Freebie: https://jenniferjfondrevay.com/resources ABOUT THE HOST LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamistrong Website: ⁠https://adamstrong.net⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 5m
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4.9
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About

The Business Strategist is the ultimate podcast for entrepreneurs, founders and business owners looking to scale, grow, and exit their businesses successfully. Hosted by Adam Strong, an award-winning strategist with over 30 years of industry experience and three times best selling author. Each episode delivers actionable business advice, practical tools, and insights to help you build a thriving enterprise. Whether you want to master leadership, craft a winning exit strategy, or implement proven scaling techniques, this podcast has you covered. With expert interviews, real-world case studies, and a focus on achieving business freedom, the business strategist is your go-to resource for taking your business to the next level. Tune in every week for new episodes designed to inspire, educate, and empower your entrepreneurial journey. Adam's Contact details LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamistrong YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/adamstrong Is your business ready to run without you? Take the 2-minute Exit Readiness Assessment — a fast, strategic scorecard for founders who want to scale, sell, or step back without becoming the bottleneck. Get instant insights across leadership, systems, marketing, and more. Click here to take the assessment: https://readytoexit.scoreapp.com

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