Season 3 – Episode 023: With Paul Howley This week, Jimmy and James are joined by Paul Howley—a former radio astronomer turned corporate transformation expert—to dismantle the myth that technology is the answer to all organisational change. Here’s the truth: it’s not. With 36 years of experience across airlines, utilities, and financial services, Paul explains why most tech-driven transformations fail (70% of them, according to McKinsey) and how middle managers can deliver real change without a single line of code. The episode exposes the absurdity of chasing AI, new platforms, and digital tools as quick fixes. Instead, Paul shares a case study from financial services where a mortgage … [Read more...]
The World’s Most Valuable Metrics
Season 2 – Episode 25: With Bernie Smith Bernie Smith, KPI guru, is back to help us find 'gold bars' - those vital measures that drive business success. Bernie shares a simple three-step method for unlocking those gold bars, using examples as diverse as predicting an international incident from pizza sales data, spotting a COVID outbreak using scented candle complaints, and calculating the number of piano tuners in Chicago. Despite being an analytical love fest, this is one of our most entertaining and informative episodes. (They only briefly discuss celery cell growth and paper moisture levels!) Further Information A single point of contact for Bernie and his … [Read more...]
The Cleaner Who Knew More Than the CEO: The Power of Continuous Improvement
Season 1 – Episode 4: Your People Hold the Answers This week on A Job Done Well, Jimmy Barber and James Lawther dismantle the myth that continuous improvement is just for process geeks. Using examples from British Cycling’s marginal gains to the chaos of NHS operating theatres, they reveal how small, strategic tweaks—backed by data, observation, and a willingness to challenge convention—can transform performance. No buzzwords, no grand transformation programmes, just practical, often counterintuitive ways to get better at what you already do. The hosts expose the pitfalls that derail improvement: the HiPPO (Highest Paid Person’s Opinion) syndrome, the fear of looking stupid, and the … [Read more...]