Giant Talk: Where Strategy Meets Results

There Be Giants & Momentus
  • 3.4 (7)
  • Management
  • Updated Monthly

Giant Talk has been running since 2019 and was the World‘s First podcast dedicated to OKRs (Objectives and Key Results). As the use of OKRs has evolved, so too has our focus, guests and insights. We now spend time with founders, leaders and experts discussing strategy, alignment, OKRs and organisational performance. Join Roger & James as they dig deep into the challenges (and solutions) to improving organisational performance, growth and impact. Roger - There be Giants James - Momentus

  1. 5h ago

    How Atlas Grew From 35 Million to 400 Million Without Losing Its Culture with Chris Wisely

    “Values plus behaviours times consistency equals culture.” Roger and James speak with Chris Wisely about how Atlas grew from a small cleaning business into a £400 million, 15,000-person employee-owned business. The conversation focuses on what changed as the company scaled, why culture and performance must stay linked, and how Atlas is keeping decision-making fast while adding more structure. Chris also shares the acquisition journey that reshaped the business, including the Emprise deal, the COVID-era pivot into protection services, and the move into hard services and Total Facilities Management. Alongside the business story, he opens up about the personal experiences that shaped his leadership and resilience. Key topicsAtlas began in 1986 as a small cleaning business in Mayfair and grew through entrepreneurship and acquisitions.The Emprise acquisition brought larger contracts, new sectors, and a stronger platform for organic and acquisitive growth.During COVID, Atlas launched Atlas VPS and rapidly mobilised cleaners for HMCTS work.Multiple acquisitions in 2022 and 2024 created significant integration challenges across finance, HR, and back-office systems.Chris explains how his leadership role shifted from hands-on problem-solving to creating the conditions for success.Atlas treats culture as a commercial asset, with its purpose defined as “creating happiness for ourselves and others.”The company uses the formula “values plus behaviours times consistency equals culture.”The Atlas Way and a judo belt framework help people understand cultural maturity and personal responsibility.Atlas focuses on health, wellbeing, communication, clarity, performance, developing people, and making it easy.Role frameworks, performance frameworks, and regular work chats provide greater clarity than traditional annual appraisals.Employee ownership has strengthened accountability, belonging, and pride across the organisation.Chris discusses resilience, frontline learning, and the leaders, books, and podcasts that have influenced him.He shares advice for founders and CEOs: build culture and clarity before pursuing sustainable growth.Timestamps00:00 - Giant Talk’s new direction beyond OKRs 00:40 - Introducing Chris Wisely and Atlas 02:18 - Atlas begins as a small Mayfair cleaning business 04:06 - The Emprise acquisition changes the business 05:31 - COVID and the launch of Atlas VPS 06:25 - Mobilising 200 cleaners for HMCTS 07:48 - Protecting jobs and funding future acquisitions 08:18 - Expansion into hard services and TFM 10:06 - Atlas grows from £35 million to over £400 million 11:36 - How Chris’s leadership focus changed 13:58 - Building a stronger, not just bigger, business 16:19 - The relationship between culture and performance 18:37 - Making values a lived experience 20:57 - Acquiring people, not just contracts 22:22 - Atlas’s purpose: creating happiness 24:24 - The Atlas Way and shared cultural responsibility 25:14 - The judo belt model for cultural maturity 30:06 - Conditions for success and the importance of clarity 32:01 - Business, role, and performance frameworks 34:20 - Intent and context versus rigid instruction 37:40 - Avoiding bureaucracy as Atlas grows 39:57 - The impact of employee ownership 42:43 - Chris’s personal leadership journey 46:24 - Learning from frontline teams 48:14 - The monthly happiness survey 50:51 - Advice for founders and CEOs 53:06 - The return on investing in clarity 54:04 - Closing remarks and how to contact Chris

  2. Aug 12

    Aligning horizontally for growth with Emily Pears-Ryding

    The conversation with Emily from Redmore Environmental covers the evolution of the company, the challenges of growth, management and leadership, horizontal alignment and working groups, personal transition and lessons learned, and future growth and strategy. The key takeaways include the importance of strategy and structure, as well as the impact of leadership and management style on organizational development. Takeaways Strategy and structureLeadership and management style Chapters 00:00 Evolution of Redmore Environmental02:49 Challenges of Growth06:11 Management and Leadership09:07 Horizontal Alignment and Working Groups12:11 Personal Transition and Lessons Learned35:08 Future Growth and Strategy

  3. Aug 12 ·  Bonus

    PodBlog - People need to see themselves in the story

    In the first of our new 10min "PodBlogs" Jo & Rog talk about the recent blog Jo wrote on the importance of people seeing themselves in the story when it comes to successfully navigating change. They discuss challenges of change communication, understanding the operational mindset, the role of coaches in bridging the gap, excitement about collaboration, and connecting work to a bigger purpose. It concludes with advice on approaching change differently. Takeaways Change communication requires connecting individuals to the bigger picture.Coaches play a crucial role in bridging the gap between leadership and operational teams. You can find the blog here

  4. Jul 29

    How Connecting Strategy to Customer Experience Can Unlock Business Growth with Simon Norie

    Connecting Strategy to Results with Simon NorieJames and Roger explore how organisations can align their purpose, strategy, and customer experience to drive meaningful results. Simon Norie of Custerian shares insights on navigating organisational change, fostering alignment, and the role of leadership in achieving sustainable success. Key TopicsThe importance of understanding and articulating your organization's unique value propositionHow clear purpose and strategy enable effective alignment across teamsThe critical role of leadership in setting conditions for successful changeTechniques for engaging detractors and building organizational buy-inThe impact of technology, including AI, on strategic alignment and decision-makingPractical frameworks like journey mapping, force field analysis, and process mappingEarly signs of organizational transformation and metrics that indicate progressThe necessity of doing change with organizations, not to themCultivating curiosity and creating an enduring business for long-term sustainabilityTimestamps00:00 - Introduction to connecting strategy with results 00:31 - Simon Norrie's background and organizational interest 01:28 - Using data to understand and influence customer behavior 02:13 - Translating propositions into customer value and the role of purpose 03:34 - The importance of clarity in organizational strategy and customer experience 04:27 - Building alignment through purpose and leadership 05:20 - The chain of strategy to customer experience and the baton analogy 06:12 - The significance of understanding roles and value in the organizational chain 07:43 - Engaging detractors as a strategy for organizational health 08:52 - The role of strategic understanding in customer journey transitions 09:45 - How different strategies enable or hinder operational effectiveness 11:11 - Leadership's responsibility in setting organizational purpose 12:26 - Recognizing symptoms of misalignment and strategies for recovery 13:52 - Early indicators of organizational change and success metrics 16:31 - Common misconceptions about buy-in and leadership confidence 18:39 - The importance of engagement, ownership, and shared solutions 19:48 - Managing change resistance through genuine involvement 21:18 - Tools like force field analysis and process mapping for change management 22:58 - Human motivation drivers and understanding "why" in change initiatives 23:37 - The potential and limits of AI in strategy and alignment 25:09 - Risks of over-reliance on AI for strategic objectives 26:33 - The necessity of human judgment and leadership in AI-enhanced processes 29:17 - The first steps in organizational assessment and understanding 30:44 - Techniques for deconstructing problems and fostering ownership 32:28 - Ensuring sustainability and self-reliance post-engagement 34:21 - When organizations face problems worth diagnosing and fixing 36:50 - Scaling challenges in high-growth businesses 38:15 - The power of clarity in purpose and simple value propositions 40:01 - Reflecting on lessons learned and organizational curiosity 42:48 - Connecting with Simon and key takeaways Resources & LinksCusterian WebsiteSimon Norie - LinkedIn

  5. Jul 22

    Human-centred leadership with Ian Turner

    The conversation explores the shift in the Giant Talk podcast's focus, introduces Ian Turner and delves into his HR experience, transformation, and human-centered leadership. It discusses empathy, performance standards, and the impact of a CEO's disrespectful comments on culture. The conversation also covers OKRs, individual recognition, challenges in human-centered leadership, and the balance between ego and leadership approach. It concludes with a focus on authenticity in leadership. Takeaways Human-centered leadership emphasizes empathy and individual recognition.Authenticity in leadership is crucial for creating a positive and supportive work culture. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to New and Improved Giant Talk Podcast01:12 Introducing Ian Turner and His HR Experience03:03 Transformation and Human-Centered Leadership05:38 Navigating Change and Resistance07:04 Authentic Communication and Transparency08:12 Human-Centered Leadership and Individual Recognition10:57 Empathy and Performance Standards15:16 CEO's Disrespectful Comments and Impact on Culture18:52 Normalization of Destructive Leadership Behaviors21:15 OKRs and Human-Centered Practices25:18 Recognizing Individual Contributions and Talents26:33 Challenges and Barriers in Human-Centered Leadership31:57 Balancing Ego and Leadership Approach36:06 Authenticity and Human-Centered Leadership43:25 Authentic Leadership vs. Inauthentic Leadership

  6. Jul 13

    Giant Talk is back! With a new look and feel!

    After a bit of a (long) break, Giant Talk is back, with a new look, feel and a new co-host! Still the same focus - decoding what works in translating strategy into results. James Perryman of Momentus joins Roger to bring a new perspective to the conversations on Giant Talk. While he and Roger share similar outlooks on business, strategy and performance, they come at it from different angles - with James focused strongly on the leadership and management challenges. Takeaways OKRs play a crucial role in improving business performance and aligning organizational goals.Senior management buy-in is essential for the success of training and development initiatives. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to OKRs and Performance Improvement02:29 Transition to Organizational Development and Leadership05:59 Management Training and Setting Expectations08:38 Client Engagement and Business Impact11:27 Organizational Integration and Leadership Role14:07 Training Relevance and Senior Management Buy-In17:19 Podcast Evolution and Organizational Growth22:57 Challenges in Implementing OKRs Stay tuned as they drill into this with a whole range of engaging and insightful guests over the coming season. Enjoy the episode! If you have 3 minutes and would like to see how your goal setting/OKRs could have more impact, then why not give our maturity assessment a try?  It’s free, you get your results right away and you can access it HERE If you’d like to chat OKRs, then why not have a chat with our Founder, Roger?  He’s a massive OKR geek and could talk about them for hours!  You can fix up a call with him HERE

  7. 06/30/2025

    What If We Stopped Calling Them OKRs?

    We're sure you've heard the acronym: OKRs - Objectives and Key Results. But somewhere along the way, the simplicity got lost in translation. In this episode, we ask: What if we stopped calling them OKRs altogether? Roger Longden, TBG Founder and Marc Applebaum PM2 OKR Consultant at PM2 discuss how goal-setting became over engineered, why rhythms matter more than rituals, and the power of intention over jargon. If you’re over hearing acronym over acronym but love what OKRs are all about, or if you've ever wondered why your team’s goals feel disconnected—this one’s for you.   Enjoy the episode! If you have 3 minutes and would like to see how your goal setting/OKRs could have more impact, then why not give our maturity assessment a try?  It’s free, you get your results right away and you can access it HERE If you’d like to chat OKRs, then why not have a chat with our Founder, Roger?  He’s a massive OKR geek and could talk about them for hours!  You can fix up a call with him HERE

  8. 05/19/2025

    From the ground up - cracking the code on frontline alignment

    In this insightful episode of Giant Talk, Roger sits down with Sonia, an experienced HR professional and coach, to explore the critical challenge of organisational alignment. They dive deep into why strategic goals often get lost or diluted as they cascade through different levels of an organisation. Drawing from decades of experience at the board level, Sonia shares sharp insights into the disconnect between strategic goals and frontline execution. From her own journey leading blue-collar teams through transformation, to her mission to democratise coaching in business, this conversation uncovers the human side of alignment—trust, communication, confidence, and the critical role of first-line managers. Enjoy the episode! If you have 3 minutes and would like to see how your goal setting/OKRs could have more impact, then why not give our maturity assessment a try?  It’s free, you get your results right away and you can access it HERE If you’d like to chat OKRs, then why not have a chat with our Founder, Roger?  He’s a massive OKR geek and could talk about them for hours!  You can fix up a call with him HERE

See All (151)

3.4
out of 5
7 Ratings

About

Giant Talk has been running since 2019 and was the World‘s First podcast dedicated to OKRs (Objectives and Key Results). As the use of OKRs has evolved, so too has our focus, guests and insights. We now spend time with founders, leaders and experts discussing strategy, alignment, OKRs and organisational performance. Join Roger & James as they dig deep into the challenges (and solutions) to improving organisational performance, growth and impact. Roger - There be Giants James - Momentus

Information