In Episode 14 of Do Not Adjust Your Focus, the podcast from sustainability and communications consultancy Blurred, Stuart talks to award-winning author, Ray Nayler. Ray is the author of the critically acclaimed novel The Mountain in the Sea, which The Washington Post called "(a) poignant, mind-expanding debut." The Mountain in the Sea is a finalist for the Nebula Award and for the LA Times Book Awards' Ray Bradbury Award for Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Speculative Fiction. The novel drama...

In episode 13 of DNAYF, the podcast from ESGP advisory firm Blurred, founder Nik Govier talks to designer and creative consultant Greg Bunbury. Greg is a British-born, award-winning Graphic Designer, Creative Consultant, Diversity & Inclusion Consultant and public speaker of Caribbean heritage. He helps mission-led, purpose driven businesses and organisations, build brands, connect with their audience, and engage diverse communities. Greg also curates and designs the Black O...

After a Covid hiatus, DNAYF is back! In Episode 12 of Do Not Adjust Your Focus, the podcast from strategic and creative advisory firm Blurred, Blurred CEO Nik Govier talks to PR icon and spokeswoman on women's issues Lynne Franks OBE. Lynne founded a public relations consultancy in the early 1970s and is an advocate, communications strategist, writer and spokeswoman on women's issues, sustainability[2] and consumer lifestyles. Throughout Lynne’s long and successful career, she has inf...

In Episode 10 of Do Not Adjust Your Focus, the podcast from strategic and creative advisory firm Blurred, Stuart talks to BBC journalist Dhruti Shah. Dhruti is one of the tiny number of people to have been awarded both the prestigious Ochberg fellowship for journalists working to report on traumatic events, and the Rotary International Peace Fellowship for her work exploring peace and conflict resolution. Stuart and Dhruti discuss journalism as a profession today - from mental h...

CHRISTMAS SPECIAL BONUS EPISODE Leadership under fire: a decorated officer’s take on leading from the front, decision-making under pressure and the importance of autonomy and resourcefulness Justin Featherstone is a former Major in The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment who was awarded the Military Cross for his actions in Iraq. Today, Justin is a leadership consultant who is a Fellow at the University of Exeter Business school as well as a part-time member of the faculty. ...

HOW DO WE PRESERVE BRITAIN AS A TOLERANT PLACE? In Episode 9 of Do Not Adjust Your Focus, the podcast from strategic and creative advisory firm Blurred, Stuart talks to business woman and campaigner Gina Miller, who twice initiated legal challenges against the government standing up for Parliamentary democracy… And won. Her first victory came in September 2017, when the Supreme Court ruled in favour of giving MPs a say over triggering Article 50 - the legal mechanism taking the UK out of the ...

In Episode 8 of Do Not Adjust Your Focus, recorded under lockdown, Stuart talks to Dr Jen Denyer, ex England international squash player, now turned executive leadership coach on the MBA at Cranfield and Oxford business schools. They discuss the Covid-19 crisis, business leadership and resilience in challenging situations, and what lessons from sports are the right ones for executives to learn right now.

WHAT DOES BREXIT MEAN FOR BRITISH BUSINESS? In Episode 7 of Do Not Adjust Your Focus , the podcast from strategic and creative advisory firm Blurred, Stuart talks to Nick Baird, currently Group Corporate Affairs Director at Centrica and previously CEO of UK Trade & Investment. Nick's career began, however, in politics. He joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1983, and became UK Representation to the EU in Brussels in 1989. In 2002 he was appointed Head of the European Union Depa...

In Episode 6 of Do Not Adjust Your Focus, Stuart talks to Chris Godfrey, named by Time last year as one of the 25 Most Influential People on the Internet. Chris is the man behind the most liked Instagram post of all time. His ‘record-breaking egg’ was talked about around the world when during a Superbowl ad it ‘cracked’ under the pressure of all the attention, shining a spotlight on mental health. He has now founded a new creative agency called Happy Yolk, and he and Stuart...

THE STORY BEHIND PLAN A AND WHAT COMPANIES CAN LEARN FROM IT In Episode 5 of Do Not Adjust Your Focus, the podcast from strategic and creative advisory firm Blurred, Stuart talks to Mike Barry, previously Director of Sustainable Business at Marks & Spencer, where he developed, led and implemented Plan A, the company's famous eco and ethical programme. Mike believes a new business cycle is emerging one that has the potential to create a more balanced society and supporting economy....