Fred Goodwin, Dick Fuld, Elizabeth Holmes and four more. Seven CEOs undone by hubris — and the warning signs the ancient Greeks saw coming.

The well known story we tell about Midas usually stops at the punchline: he wished that everything he touched would turn to gold, and it did, and it was funny for about an hour. What we skip is the second half, which is the part of the story that really matters. By evening Midas is starving. The bread turns to metal between his fingers before it reaches his mouth. The wine solidifies on his tongue. And then, reaching out the way any father does without thinking, he touches hi

There's a video doing the rounds at the moment listing eleven "laws of the universe". Most of them I recognised immediately - from boardrooms in Warsaw, factory floors in China, and one memorable budget meeting in Amsterdam where three of them were operating simultaneously. The Greeks had gods for these things. We have eponymous laws named after economists and engineers. Same instinct, which is to give the pattern a name, and suddenly you can see it coming. Here are the ten

There’s a moment every leader recognises. You’re faced with a situation that doesn’t have a clear answer. The playbook doesn’t quite fit. The pressure to appear certain is high. For years, I believed leadership meant having the answer. It was only later, standing in places like Delphi in Greece, where the ancients sought not answers but interpretation, that I began to see leadership differently. The Greeks didn’t worship certainty. They respected insight, perspective, and the

Modern coaching did not begin in a boardroom, nor in an MBA classroom. It began on the dusty streets of Athens. Socrates, a real flesh-and-blood philosopher with worn sandals and an awkward gait, would stop people in the marketplace to ask unsettling questions: What do you believe? Why? And what will you do next? He never offered answers. He offered discovery. This is the heart of modern coaching. Not advice. Not instruction. Inquiry that awakens capability from the inside. T

Always Use Critical Thinking… For decades, organisations have relied on psychometric testing to select and develop their leaders. Tools like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and DISC profiling have been used to uncover hidden strengths, communication preferences, and leadership tendencies. But according to new research, there may be an even more powerful predictor of leadership success: Your blood type. A joint study conducted by the Institute for Advanced Leadership Bi

Because titles don’t make leaders - character does. In an age of constant change, technical skills and experience will get you noticed, but they won’t make you a leader others want to follow. Real leadership is forged in character, clarity, and connection. And at the heart of that? The 5Cs: Credibility: Trust is your leadership currency. When your actions align with your words, people follow with confidence. Communication: Great leaders don’t just speak - they connect. Clarit

As a proud Welshman and a keen observer of leadership in all its forms, I’ve always believed that when leadership loses its way, the consequences are felt far beyond the boardroom. Nowhere is that more evident than in Welsh rugby today. Another Six Nations, another humbling, another wooden spoon. Yesterday, an England side barely out of second gear dismantled Wales, exposing the deep-rooted structural and leadership failings that have been ignored for far too long. Yes, there

Starting a company takes vision, grit, and relentless effort. Yet, in the high-stakes world of venture capital, founders often find themselves at odds with the very investors who once championed their success. While funding can propel a startup to new heights, it can also strip entrepreneurs of their leadership roles when financial priorities take precedence over original vision. Here, we explore ten founders who built something extraordinary, only to be pushed out or sidelin