Changing a manager’s behaviour isn’t just good leadership — it’s the fastest way to rescue a failing culture and unlock real profitability.

In this episode of The Independent Minds, host Michael Millward meets revenue strategist Debbie Longo, from Life in Bloom NY, to explore a deceptively simple idea: if you change the behaviour of managers, you can change the profitability of the entire organisation.

Debbie began her career in criminology before moving into commercial coaching, and she brings that sharp behavioural insight into the boardroom. She explains how negativity, ego, control, and manipulation quietly erode trust, damage team cohesion, and ultimately drive good employees away. As she puts it, even small moments of frustration can snowball into major organisational problems — “I drop a pen… the ink goes all over the floor…” — and unless leaders learn to interrupt these patterns, the business pays the price.

Michael and Debbie unpack why managers often cling to past successes, how ego distorts decision‑making, and why one person leaving can trigger a domino effect across a team. Debbie shares her practical method for breaking the cycle: a behavioural audit that helps leaders see their own actions clearly, often for the first time. She argues that sustained positivity isn’t naïve — it’s strategic — and that the most successful companies are those whose leaders continually examine and adjust their own behaviour.

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Use our discount code MIND25.

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Perhaps a better way to move from Thought to Thing?

In this episode of The Independent Minds, host Michael Millward sits down with entrepreneur and author David Carson to explore a counterintuitive idea: sometimes the smartest way to solve a problem is to think dumb.

Drawing on examples from history like Ignaz-Semmelweis, innovative businesses and his own career building design‑led media businesses — and from the mental models behind his book Dummify: How Ridiculous Thinking Can Solve Big Problems — David explains why unconventional, naïve, even “ridiculous” ideas often outperform the polished, over‑engineered ones. As he puts it: “The things that felt silly or counterintuitive tended to be the things that worked more often than not.”

Together, Michael and David unpack why workplaces suppress these ideas, how fear and conditioning make people hide their curiosity, and what leaders can do to build cultures where “dumb thinking” becomes a powerful creative tool. From Airbnb’s air mattress origins to the accidental invention of the chocolate chip cookie, the conversation shows how breakthroughs often come from mistakes, missteps, and moments most people would dismiss.

This episode is for anyone interested in innovation, organisational culture, or simply rethinking how ideas become reality. As Michael notes, “We won’t be telling you what to think, but we are hoping to make you think.”

Audience Offers – listings include links that may create a small commission for The Independent Minds

The Independent Minds is made on Zencastr, because as the all-in-one podcasting platform, Zencastr really does make creating content so easy.

Travel – With discounted membership of the Ultimate Travel Club, you can travel anywhere at trade prices.

Visit Three for information about business and personal telecom solutions from Three, and the special offers available when you quote my referral code WPFNUQHU.

Fit For Work – The Annual Health Test from York Test; assesses 39-health markers.

Use our discount code MIND25.

Being a Guest

We recommend the podcasting guest training programmes available from Work Place Learning Centre.

Matchmaker.fm is where great guests and great hosts are matched and great podcasts are hatched. Use our offer code MILW10 for a discount on membership.

We appreciate every like, download, and subscriber.

Thank you for listening.

Fix the root cause, not the symptoms: a smarter way to train.

Most workplace training doesn’t fail quietly — it fails expensively. In this explosive episode of the Abeceder podcast The Independent Minds, learning architect Dr. Carrie Graham and host Michael Millward identify why organisations keep pouring money into training that never changes behaviour, never fixes the real problem, and never delivers the results leaders expect.

Carrie brings the precision of a healthcare diagnostician and the insight of a seasoned professor to expose the hidden mistakes companies make: treating symptoms instead of causes, forcing everyone through “sheep‑dip” learning, ignoring how people actually learn, and preaching values they don’t live.

If your training feels like theatre, if your people aren’t improving, or if your organisation keeps repeating the same mistakes, this conversation will hit uncomfortably close to home — and offer a smarter, more strategic way forward.

Bold, honest, and packed with practical insight, this episode is a wake‑up call for employer that wants employee training that actually works.

Audience Offers – listings include links that may create a small commission for The Independent Minds

The Independent Minds is made on Zencastr, because as the all-in-one podcasting platform, Zencastr really does make creating content so easy.

Travel – With discounted membership of the Ultimate Travel Club, you can travel anywhere at trade prices.

Visit Three for information about business and personal telecom solutions from Three, and the special offers available when you quote my referral code WPFNUQHU.

Fit For Work – The Annual Health Test from York Test; assesses 39-health markers.

Use our discount code MIND25.

Being a Guest

We recommend the podcasting guest training programmes available from Work Place Learning Centre.

Matchmaker.fm is where great guests and great hosts are matched and great podcasts are hatched. Use our offer code MILW10 for a discount on membership.

We appreciate every like, download, and subscriber.

Thank you for listening.