Episodi

  • Charlie Curson: How Writing a Book Made Me More Strategic

    Charlie Curson: How Writing a Book Made Me More Strategic
    Nov 5 2026
    Most strategy books teach you what to know and how to plan.

    Charlie Curson wrote one about who you need to become.

    On this episode of Book the Business, Joe Gregory talks with Charlie Curson, founder of the UK strategic leadership consultancy Mandarin and trusted advisor to leadership teams at Audi, Unilever, McDonald's, Visa, and L'Oréal. Charlie is the author of the international bestseller Be More Strategic, shortlisted for the Business Book Awards 2026.

    Charlie shares how he went from ignoring years of "you should write a book" comments to pitching his idea in 90 seconds to a panel of publishers. He explains why a business school professor's blunt Christmas Eve phone call ("not another book on strategy") pushed him to focus on the human side of strategy, and how his four-level framework shows that being strategic is a learnable skill, not a fixed trait.

    He also walks through his writing discipline (5:00 a.m. sessions in a converted Victorian pigsty, Post-it notes, Lego, and zero AI), the nerve-wracking beta reader stage, cutting 98,000 words down to 35,000, and how the book has grown his business through PR, live radio, speaking invitations, executive team sales, and a new coached program.

    If you're an expert, founder, or CEO thinking about writing a book, Charlie closes with a simple 20-minute exercise to help you start today.

    🔗 Find Charlie and free resources: www.teammandarin.com
    📘 Get the book: Be More Strategic by Charlie Curson

    What You'll Learn
    • Why the best business books promise a change in identity, not just knowledge or results
    • How Charlie's four-level framework (self-awareness, open-mindedness, strategic capabilities, and scale) makes strategic thinking learnable
    • Whether you should "give it all away" in your book, and why Charlie chose to put in his very best work
    • A practical daily writing routine for getting into flow and editing without fear
    • How to use beta readers and testimonials to validate your ideas and reconnect with your network
    • The real business results of publishing: PR, podcasts, speaking gigs, corporate clients, and a signature program
    • A 20-minute Post-it note exercise to start writing your own book
    Timestamps
    00:00 – Introduction: Charlie Curson, founder of Mandarin
    01:15 – Where it began: ignoring "you should write a book"
    02:20 – Pitching to a publishing panel in 90 seconds
    03:45 – What makes this strategy book different
    04:40 – The Christmas Eve call that changed the book's direction
    05:40 – The four levels of promise: know, do, get, be
    06:50 – From book to the Be More Strategic program
    08:10 – Reaching founders, charities, and head teachers beyond big corporates
    11:20 – Should you give everything away in your book?
    12:55 – The four-level framework and 12 practices
    14:30 – "I'm not strategic": why strategic thinking is learnable
    17:20 – A real story of pausing and choosing strategically
    18:10 – The writing journey: discipline in a Victorian pigsty
    20:30 – Surviving the beta reader stage
    22:30 – How writing brought clarity to his IP
    24:30 – How the book has grown his business
    25:40 – Live radio leads to a speaking invitation
    26:40 – Giving away 1,000 books and landing an executive team client
    27:30 – Gathering 12 testimonials and finding a foreword writer
    29:00 – Why it has to be a genuinely good book
    29:50 – Cutting 98,000 words down to 35,000
    30:50 – The former chief strategy officer and "Dad, you're a terrible listener"
    33:20 – Making the book practical with free resources and QR codes
    34:30 – "Muddy boots": earning the right to write
    35:20 – Where to find Charlie and the Strategic Capability Accelerator
    36:40 – Advice for aspiring authors: the 20-minute Post-it exercise
    38:30 – Closing
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    39 min
  • Donna O'Toole: How to Win Business Awards (Without Getting Scammed)

    Donna O'Toole: How to Win Business Awards (Without Getting Scammed)
    Oct 29 2026
    Donna O'Toole is an award-winning entrepreneur, bestselling author of "Win," and founder of August Recognition, a global awards agency. In this episode, Donna joins Joe Gregory to break down how she turned her expertise into a book — and how that book became the foundation for a training program, an accelerator, and now an AI-powered platform called AwardsApp.

    Donna shares the real strategy behind winning business awards: how to plan a 12-month award roadmap, spot scam and "link farming" award schemes, avoid disqualification from AI-generated entries, and use award wins as a tool for brand authority, recruitment, and growth.

    She also opens up about writing her book "Win," why she gave away thousands of copies instead of selling them, and how consolidating her knowledge into a book unlocked opportunities she never expected — including speaking gigs, partnerships, and building her own SaaS product.

    If you're an entrepreneur, marketer, or business leader curious about using awards, books, and personal brand as pillars of authority — this conversation is packed with practical insight.

    What You'll Learn
    • Why Donna wrote her book "Win" and how it became her "best business card"
    • The real strategic planning that goes into winning credible business awards
    • How to spot award scams, phishing schemes, and "link farming"
    • Why AI-written award entries get disqualified — and what judges actually look for
    • The "Plan, Win, Promote" framework for leveraging awards
    • How a book can turn into a training program, an accelerator, and eventually a tech product
    • The four pillars of authority: awards, books, publicity, and speaking
    • How AwardsApp aims to make finding and entering awards safer and smarter
    Timestamps

    00:00 – Introduction to Donna O'Toole & August Recognition
    00:57 – What drove Donna to write her book "Win"
    02:11 – The core problem her book and agency solve
    03:51 – Why proper awards take serious preparation
    04:37 – Building a strategic plan before entering awards
    06:09 – Imposter syndrome around entering awards
    07:00 – Where awards fit in a business's marketing mix
    08:44 – Designing the book "Win" and choosing the title
    10:00 – Why Donna gives the book away instead of selling it
    11:29 – How the book acts as an "undercover ambassador"
    13:12 – Pinch-me moments since publishing
    14:00 – How the book led to a training program and AwardsApp
    14:44 – How writing the book felt (cathartic, not guilty)
    17:00 – How writing consolidated her expertise and case studies
    18:21 – Recording the audiobook
    18:54 – How the book shaped internal team training
    21:07 – The four pillars of authority: awards, books, publicity, speaking
    24:42 – Warning signs of scam and fake awards
    26:21 – Explaining "link farming" and backlink scams
    27:34 – Cloned award websites and phishing entries
    29:00 – How far in advance to plan for awards (ideally 12 months)
    30:24 – The seasonal cycle of business awards
    31:39 – Gaps most businesses have in collecting evidence/case studies
    33:06 – Introducing AwardsApp and the "Find, Enter, Win" concept
    34:20 – Why AI-generated award entries get disqualified
    36:17 – How AwardsApp helps you enter the "right race"
    36:32 – August Recognition vs. AwardsApp — how the two connect
    38:17 – Where to get the book and join the AwardsApp waitlist
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    39 min
  • David B. Horne: Add Then Multiply, Funded Female Founders & the ROI of Writing a Book

    David B. Horne: Add Then Multiply, Funded Female Founders & the ROI of Writing a Book
    Oct 22 2026
    David B. Horne has raised over £120M, bought or sold 33 companies, and written two Amazon #1 bestsellers — "Add Then Multiply" and "Funded Female Founders".

    In this episode of Book the Business, David and host Joe Gregory unpack how writing a book turned tacit expertise into a repeatable methodology, opened doors to Warren Buffett and R.E.M., and became the credibility engine behind David's transition from hands-on operator to company chair. They also dig into the UK's gender funding gap data that inspired David's second book and TEDx talk, which has been viewed over 3 million times.

    What You'll Learn
    • How to turn scattered, tacit expertise into a teachable framework (David's "card system" behind the FACE methodology)
    • Why beta readers who critique instead of praise make a book dramatically better
    • How a single case study/story can make a dense finance chapter engaging
    • Why the real financial return on a business book comes from credibility, not royalties
    • How a book can open doors that cold outreach never could (including a reply from Warren Buffett's office)
    • The data behind the UK's gender funding gap — and why all-male teams get 89% of VC funding
    • How writing and publishing builds the authority needed to shift from founder/operator to chair
    • What it actually takes to hand off a business you've run solo for years (and hire the right CEO)
    Chapters

    0:00 Intro — who is David B. Horne
    1:12 What made David decide to write a book
    2:09 The "gift" of a failed client relationship and a fresh start in 2019
    2:25 Breaking down the title Add Then Multiply and the FACE methodology
    3:36 Was the methodology codified before writing, or "in his head"?
    4:05 The card system — turning tacit knowledge into a teachable framework
    4:43 Why beta readers were the most valuable part of the writing process
    5:26 Turning a dry finance chapter into a story (the ABC Ltd. case study)
    6:25 Long-tail outcomes: newsletters, repurposed content, 7 years later
    7:07 Building an AI-driven product based on the book (launching autumn)
    7:39 The biggest mindset shift: "this is what I do, therefore this is what I don't do"
    8:07 The Warren Buffett letter
    8:38 The R.E.M. story — getting the band's permission for a lyric dedication
    10:28 Using the book with clients, partners, and at speaking events
    12:09 Does the book make you more generous? "Author is the first part of authority"
    14:12 Where the real ROI comes from — it's not book royalties
    15:33 Books sold (500–600) vs. given away (1,000+)
    16:34 Introducing the second book: Funded Female Founders
    17:14 The origin story — a question at a conference launches 5 years of research
    18:24 The British Business Bank data: female founders get less than 1% of VC funding
    19:20 Partnering with the London Stock Exchange to launch the book/event series
    20:32 Why David — a man with no daughters in business — took on this cause
    21:12 His mother's influence growing up in the '60s/'70s
    22:38 Three root causes of the funding gap (bias, lack of women in VC, culture)
    23:41 The viral stat: more fund managers named "David" than women fund managers
    24:18 TEDx talk origin — filmed in 2020, went viral in 2022 (10K → 3M views)
    25:22 Who should read which book — ideal reader for each title
    26:49 Teaser: book #3, working title "F is for Fund"
    27:30 David's journey to hiring a female CEO and stepping into the chair role
    28:23 A rough year — father-in-law's passing, turning 64, new grandchildren
    29:40 Launching the CEO search publicly, the backlash, and 16 female applicants
    31:18 How the book made this leadership transition possible
    32:16 Building a sales engine under the new CEO
    33:26 Where to find David and his books
    34:21 Why he added the "B." — Googling "David Horne" gets some interesting results
    35:25 Wrap-up and 43rd wedding anniversary shoutout
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    36 min
  • Susan Payton on Selling Through Story

    Susan Payton on Selling Through Story
    Oct 15 2026
    Susan Payton, author of the international bestseller "The Business of Stories" and host of "The Business of Stories" podcast, joins Joe Gregory to break down how business owners can use storytelling to sell more — without feeling salesy.

    Susan shares the real reason she wrote her book (hint: it wasn't for clout), the framework she uses with clients (personal story → business story → customer story → why → people → value → sweet spot), and why the common marketing advice "don't make it about you" is dead wrong.

    You'll learn:
    - Why hiding yourself from your marketing actually hurts trust
    - The "hero and guide" framework for telling stories that convert
    - How to find the story behind the story (the real message)
    - What happened when Susan got flown business class to speak in Barcelona — all because of her book
    - Her simple 3-step starting point for anyone thinking about writing a business book

    Chapters
    0:00 Intro: Meet Susan Payton
    0:46 Why Susan wrote her book — the real story
    2:07 The exhaustion of one-to-one client work
    4:26 The moment Lucy pushed her to write a book
    6:21 Writing the book for "Marion" — designing for one reader
    8:45 The Venn diagram: personal, business, customer story
    9:44 How the book became a podcast, course, and group program
    10:10 Why "don't talk about yourself" is bad advice
    12:04 The dating analogy: why hiding yourself is "creepy"
    16:00 Story prompts in action — Joe's real results
    18:11 "This is magic" — a client's first LinkedIn story gets her a client in 2 days
    19:16 What makes a story actually useful (not just inspiring)
    20:27 The hero and the guide — the Star Wars framework
    26:26 Susan's full storytelling framework, step by step
    26:33 Step 1: Personal story
    27:14 Step 2: Business story
    27:52 Step 3: Customer story
    28:30 Step 4 & 5: Your two "whys" (personal why vs. bigger why)
    29:33 Step 6: Your people (niching down)
    31:12 Step 7: Your value
    31:49 Step 8: The sweet spot — where it all connects
    33:37 Pinch-me moments from the book
    35:00 From fear of public speaking to being flown to Barcelona
    38:00 Susan's advice for anyone thinking about writing a book
    40:03 Where to find Susan and get the free book
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    42 min
  • Andy Lopata: 6 Books, 25 Years, One Big Lesson About Building Authority

    Andy Lopata: 6 Books, 25 Years, One Big Lesson About Building Authority
    Oct 8 2026
    Should you write a business book? Most people in the author/speaker world will tell you yes, without hesitation — it's "the thing you have to do" to be seen as credible. Andy
    Lopata disagrees, and in this episode he explains why.Andy Lopata is an internationally recognized expert in professional relationships, with more than 25 years of experience helping organizations unlock the strategic value of connection.

    He's the author of six books, host of the Connected Leadership Podcast, a regular contributor to Psychology Today, and a writer for Harvard Business Review.

    He's worked with organizations including PayPal, Google, Harrods, the BBC, and Said Business School, and has spent his career helping leaders and teams build the relationships that
    drive collaboration, trust, and long-term results.In this conversation, Joe Gregory and Andy dig into the real, unfiltered story behind six books written over 20+ years — what worked, what didn't, and what he'd tell anyone thinking about writing their own:
    • Why a book can hurt your reputation as easily as help it
    • What actually built Andy's authority more than his books did
    • The book that took 3 years and 4 drafts — and still underperformed
    • The book that took 2 weeks and became an award finalist
    • The infamous Amazon #1 bestseller campaign that got beaten by Noel Edmonds
    • Andy's current work on "relational intelligence in the age of AI"
    Timestamps:
    00:00 Cold open
    01:05 Who is Andy Lopata
    01:37 What made Andy write his first book
    07:39 Should everybody write a book?
    11:38 Articles vs. books: which built more authority
    14:15 When is the right time to write a book?
    16:08 The 3-year book that underperformed
    18:06 The 2-week book that became an award finalist
    21:37 The Amazon bestseller stunt (and Noel Edmonds)
    24:48 Relational intelligence in the age of AI
    29:54 The Relationship Matrix framework
    32:25 Where to find Andy

    Connect with Andy: andylopata.com
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    34 min
  • Rosie Nice & The MAGIC Framework: A Coach's Guide to Better Questions

    Rosie Nice & The MAGIC Framework: A Coach's Guide to Better Questions
    Oct 1 2026
    Rosie Nice has spent 25+ years coaching and training coaches — and in this episode she breaks down why she finally turned her methodology into a book, Magic Happens In The Silence.

    We cover the MAGIC framework (Mirror, Aspirations, Goals, Ideas, Commitments), why silence is one of the hardest skills for a coach to master, how she rebranded her entire business around the book, the "pinch me" moments since publishing (including selling 45 copies in one conversation), and her honest advice for any expert who's hesitant to finally write their own book.

    What You'll Learn
    • Why Rosie finally turned 25+ years of coaching methodology into a book — and what pushed her to "finalize" a version instead of endlessly tweaking it
    • The MAGIC framework (Mirror, Aspirations, Goals, Ideas, Commitments) and how it structures a reflective coaching conversation
    • The four types of silence coaches encounter (reflective, comfortable, awkward, acrimonious) and why not interrupting silence is harder than not interrupting speech
    • How rebranding her business around the book (from "ESB Training" to "Magic Coaching") made her offer more consistent and aligned
    • Why giving the book away has driven more business than selling it — including a concrete case where one conversation led to 45 books sold on the spot and roughly £10,000 in follow-on training work
    • Joe's "GAPS" method (Give, Ask, Propose, See it through/Sell) for using a book as a relationship-building tool rather than a product
    • How becoming a published author changed the way clients and prospects perceived her credibility, and opened doors like hosting a podcast for the Association for Coaching
    • What it took, emotionally, to hit "send" on the manuscript — including the role her daughter played in getting her past perfectionism
    • Rosie's practical advice for any expert who's hesitant to write their own book: know who you're writing for, know why, and test your ideas before committing them to paper
    Chapters
    00:00 Intro — meet Rosie Nice
    01:00 What led Rosie to finally write the book
    04:22 The story behind the title: "Magic Happens In The Silence"
    06:13 The different types of silence in coaching
    08:34 Who Rosie works with — individuals, teams, organizations
    08:50 Renaming the business from "ESB" to "Magic Coaching"
    10:34 Using the book inside training programs (giving it away)
    12:15 "Pinch me" moments since publishing — 45 books sold on the spot
    13:33 Sending the early draft, and the client who became an advocate
    16:29 Does being an author create an edge over other coaches?
    18:09 Joe's "GAPS" method — give, ask, propose, sell/see it through
    19:05 Other ways Rosie has gifted and spread the book (audiobook, discounts)
    20:56 Doors the book opened — hosting a podcast for the Association for Coaching
    22:36 Business owner with a book vs. becoming an author
    23:33 Her daughter Emily's role in getting her to finally hit "send"
    27:19 Owning the "author" identity
    28:22 Rosie's bigger mission beyond the book
    31:00 Advice for experts hesitant to write their own book
    32:26 Where to find Rosie and her programs
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    35 min
  • James Woodfall: AI Can Write Your Book, But It Can't Live Your Life

    James Woodfall: AI Can Write Your Book, But It Can't Live Your Life
    Sep 24 2026
    James Woodfall built and sold a wealth management business, wrote two books with Rethink Press, and now runs Raise Your EI, helping professional services firms build emotional intelligence into their leadership and client relationships.

    In this episode, James and host Joe Gregory dig into:
    • Why writing a book forces you to "stress test" your own thinking
    • The health scare (aneurysms discovered via a full-body MRI) that led him to sell his business
    • How his master's dissertation on financial advisors and emotional intelligence became his second book, The Heart of Finance
    • Why he believes AI is a great thinking tool but a dangerous writing crutch
    • The identity shift from "entrepreneur with a book" to "author and authority"
    • Where professional services still beat AI — and where they don't
    Connect with James: raiseyourei.co.uk

    Chapters
    00:00 — Introduction to James Woodfall
    01:39 — Why he decided to write his first book
    03:07 — How writing forces "thinking time" and articulation
    04:58 — Realizing how much of his thinking was "borrowed"
    07:00 — The real subject of Financial Planning for Entrepreneurs
    11:11 — The health scare: aneurysms discovered during a preventative MRI
    12:37 — Deciding to sell the business, with his wife pregnant
    13:33 — The master's dissertation that became The Heart of Finance
    16:45 — Co-authoring with Dr. Cliff Lansley
    17:40 — How the book changed his speaking opportunities
    18:49 — The "author identity threshold" conversation
    21:35 — Why self-published books without an editor miss the mark
    23:23 — On using AI to write books: "You're only cheating yourself"
    25:16 — Why emotional intelligence matters more as AI commoditizes knowledge work
    29:36 — What his current business, Raise Your EI, actually does day to day
    33:22 — How the book functions as a business development tool
    34:26 — Expanding beyond financial planning into new sectors
    36:36 — The meaning behind The Heart of Finance title and cover
    37:51 — Where to find James and get the book
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    40 min
  • Robin Waite: Why Giving Away Books Beats Selling Them

    Robin Waite: Why Giving Away Books Beats Selling Them
    Sep 17 2026
    Robin Waite has published seven books, sold tens of thousands of copies, and built an entire coaching business — Fearless Business — off the back of his writing. In this episode of Book the Business, Joe Gregory sits down with Robin to unpack two decades of entrepreneurship, three very different books, and the counter-intuitive strategy that's driven his growth: giving books away instead of trying to sell them.

    Robin opens up about the mental breakdown that led him to shut down his marketing agency, how a chance conversation turned into his bestselling parable "Take Your Shot," and the wild chain of events that connected him to Ali Abdaal — resulting in 3,000 free books, roughly 50 new coaching clients, and around £300K in revenue from a single podcast appearance. He also shares how he's rebuilt his latest book, "Fearless Pricing," as a fully interactive digital experience using AI tools like Lovable, inspired by a beta-reading system used by Steven Bartlett.Whether you're an author, a coach, or a service-based entrepreneur, this conversation is packed with practical, tested tactics for using a book as a client-generation engine — not just a vanity project.

    What You'll Learn
    • Why Robin closed his 100-client marketing agency after a personal breakdown — and how that decision led to writing his first book
    • The real difference between working with a hybrid publisher and self-publishing (and why Robin doesn't regret either)
    • Why Robin deliberately gives away far more books than he sells, and how that strategy fuels client acquisition
    • The economics of book size, print cost, and postage — and why his second book was intentionally shorter than his first
    • How a single mention from Ali Abdaal turned into 3,000 gifted books, ~50 new clients, and roughly £300K in revenue
    • Why Robin hand-signs and personally posts every book he gifts — and the philosophy behind "gifting energy"
    • How he turned his old book content into a YouTube series, and why he assumes most people who request a free book will never read it
    • How AI tools like Lovable let him rebuild "Fearless Pricing" as an interactive, trackable digital reading experience
    • Robin's current coaching focus: helping service-based business owners charge more by serving fewer, higher-value clients
    Chapters
    00:00 – Introduction to Robin Waite and Book the Business
    01:01 – Robin's first book, "The Online Business Startup" (2014/15)
    01:39 – Why Robin wrote a book in the first place (Daniel Priestley's influence)
    02:32 – Robin's business journey: agency life to coaching
    04:22 – The moment that turned one chapter idea into a full book
    05:25 – 2016: the breakdown that led Robin to close his agency
    06:34 – The book's slow-burn success: 2.5 years as a #1 bestseller
    07:56 – Officially becoming a coach and launching Fearless Business
    08:10 – Planning "Take Your Shot" as a business parable
    09:34 – Why Robin chose to tell it as a story, not a how-to
    10:00 – The real story of Russ, Robin's first paid coaching client
    12:16 – How many books Robin has actually published (six or seven)
    13:03 – Hybrid publishing vs. self-publishing: what each taught him
    14:00 – The book-gifting strategy: capturing leads instead of chasing sales
    14:30 – Why book length and print cost shaped his second book
    15:13 – Gifting books to over 120 countries
    15:53 – Why giving books away drives more sales than selling them
    17:22 – Audiobooks outselling Kindle and paperback combined
    18:30 – Repurposing book content into a YouTube series
    19:22 – Assuming readers won't actually read the book — and planning around it
    19:52 – Personally hand-signing and posting every gifted book
    20:37 – The "gifting energy" philosophy behind giving away his best work
    21:40 – Physical books vs. PDFs — and why he avoided digital for years
    22:23 – Building an interactive digital version of "Fearless Pricing"
    22:44 – Using Lovable (AI tool) to turn a static PDF into an experience
    23:00 – Inspired by Steven Bartlett's beta-reader system with eye tracking
    24:17 – The "experience" philosophy, from Zoom backgrounds to book formats
    25:02 – "Fearless Pricing" launch details and formats
    25:20 – Robin's "pinch me" moments as an author
    25:48 – The Unfair Advantage Mastermind and meeting Ali Abdaal
    27:36 – The Ali Abdaal podcast appearance: 3,000 books, ~50 clients, ~£300K
    28:50 – Books as both a door in and a key that opens doors
    30:01 – Who Robin works with today and his core coaching philosophy
    31:07 – Where to get "Take Your Shot" and "Fearless Pricing"
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    32 min