Leading with Positivity and Purpose with Lisa James

Lisa James, founder of the Wentworth Collective is known for her 30 years in hospitality, high-end event creation, and her candid insights on leadership, wellbeing, and cultural transformation. In this episode, Lisa shares her inspiring journey from a travel-obsessed airline baby to a leader who champions positivity, strong values, and authentic relationships in the events industry. Discover how her early experiences shaped her approach to leadership, client service, and supporting her team, alongside her honest insights on motherhood, menopause, and mental wellbeing. We discuss:

• How growing up as an airline child influenced Lisa's passion for hospitality and service excellence
• The pivotal shift from doing to leading when stepping into her CEO role
• Building a culture based on values like kindness, loyalty, and excellence
• The importance of authenticity, emotional intelligence, and vulnerability in leadership
• Lisa’s insights on mentoring, giving back, and the power of positive conversations
• Navigating motherhood, menopause, and health challenges in the workplace
• The role of trust, communication, and creating safe environments for teams and clients
• How her experience with travel, languages, and cultural exposure enriches her event creation
• Future ambitions, including consulting, public speaking, and mentoring

 Whether you’re scaling a business or seeking a fresh perspective on how positivity and relationships fuel success, Lisa’s powerful stories and expert advice are your blueprint for making an impact both personally and professionally. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Curtial Partners podcast, Event Matters. Conversations about the realities of running, growing and scaling event businesses today. This podcast is for established event business owners who want clarity, confidence, and a different perspective on the road ahead. Our aim is to keep these conversations open, informal, honest, practical, and even sometimes a little bit informative. So you can walk away with fresh insights and ideas you can put into action in your own business. I'm glad you're here, so let's get started. In this episode, I'm joined by Lisa James, founder of the Wentworth Collective, and trust me, Lisa brings serious perspective. From growing up as an airline baby travelling the world and learning high-end hospitality from the best seat on the plane, to 30 years in our industry and a decade building a values-led agency rooted in creativity, excellence, and experience. We talk about what it really means to lead with positivity and calm under pressure, why culture and standards matter in every detail, and how Lisa's early travel experiences shape the way she builds relationships and delivers for clients today. Lisa also shares what changed when she stepped into the CEO seat, that shift from doing the work to building the business, and why mentoring and bringing in the right support around you can be a genuine accelerator. We also go into some real life stuff business owners don't always talk about openly motherhood, leadership, boundaries, well-being, and Lisa's honest experience of the menopause, and why better awareness and better conversations matter for everyone in the workplace, not just women. It's a warm, open conversation, full of energy, insight, and the kind of lessons you'll be thinking about long after the episode ends. If you enjoy this conversation, make sure you subscribe to the podcast. You'll get new episodes before anyone else and keep up with the stories shaping our industry. This is Event Matters, and this is Lisa James. Hi Lisa, thank you very, very much indeed for being a guest on the Event Matters podcast. Um great to see you.

SPEAKER_01 2:01

Great to be here. Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_00 2:03

My pleasure. Um so as an airline baby, um, you've been in the events industry for 30 years now, give or take. What made you jump into the events world? Lots of people, you know, uh uh fall into it by by sort of uh by mistake, but what what made you want to target the events world as as something you wanted to do?

SPEAKER_01 2:24

Well, I think before we start on the events world, it's important to rewind back because as you mentioned, I am an airline baby. My dad used to work for Pan Am.

SPEAKER_00 2:35

Um such an amazing, famous airline.

SPEAKER_01 2:39

Exactly. So he worked there for 20 years, it was in the heyday, and you know, up until the age of 16, I didn't know that you could turn right on a plane. I was very, very fortunate. Um, I also didn't know that you didn't have to dress up smart on the plane. So we used to have to, we were always traveling standby. Um dad was, you know, by the time, you know, well, by the time I was born, dad was quite senior, which meant that if there was a spare seat on the plane, we would take them, and more often than not, it was in first class. So I was very, very fortunate that I would turn up, keep my mouth shut, and you know, be very, very polite, and then turn left on the plane, and we would travel first class all around the world.

SPEAKER_00 3:14

Did people look at a grubby 16-year-old and going, what's she doing sitting in first?

SPEAKER_01 3:19

Oh yes, oh yes, and actually it got worse as I got older. I went backpacking and I knew how to play the game, David, because you had to have smart shoes and smart clothes.

SPEAKER_00 3:30

And when I this is a lesson for every single traveller out there, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01 3:34

Absolutely. So when I even when I was backpacking around the world, I had on the way back I had standby seats with um a colleague of my dad's a former colleague from United, and I knew that I had to um have smart shoes, and I had one pair of smart shoes and one pair of smart trousers, and I literally would arrive at the side of the road from the beach, change into my clothing, and they would see me at the check-in desk, they would see that I'd have this high grade for um standby, look at me, look down, and I'd just have this cheeky smile and say, got the shoes on, and then that was it. I would be there sitting there in first class, travelling back from Chile or Peru or somewhere like that, much to the chagrin of other people. But I knew how to play the game.

SPEAKER_00 4:19

But the the the travel must have been amazing, wasn't it? I mean, you must have seen more countries than than the majority of people put together.

SPEAKER_01 4:26

Well, an interesting story is when my parents went to Parents' Evening when I was about five years old, they said Lisa tells these amazing stories that she's been to Australia and that she's met Mickey Mouse and that she's hula-danced in Hawaii. Well, she has, you know, and it was second nature to me. But I think, you know, and I was thinking about our conversation and about how it's shaped. I just understood hospitality. I understood, you know, on when you were travelling first class, you were served fillet steak, you were served caveat, you know, at the age of five five or ten, I was eating caveat. But I think the reason why I say that is I was exposed to a lot at a very young age. Because of the very nature of my dad's work, he was a sales manager, so he would sell, especially for agents, so he would sell the deals to the travel agents and links in like tour operator packages to Miami. I went to Turks and Caicos before even everyone knew what Turks and Caicos was. You know, we'd go to Club Med, and these were our holidays, which we would, you know, it was free, you know, we didn't pay for anything. It was just, it was a world that I was I understood, we understood it, and I knew that I was very lucky. But I think as well, we would the downside of it is it's very unpredictable as well, because you are standby. So there have been times when you would sit on the plane ready to take off, and you'd get a tap on the shoulder, they go, Oh, C3B, they've turned up, sorry, you're gonna have to go. And next thing you know, it's taken us four days to get home from New York.

SPEAKER_00 5:53

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 5:54

Yeah, yeah. So we would go New York. I think once my sister went to Shannon, the uh island to get with then it was like, Well, how are we gonna get over the pond? And it we'd split up. Sometimes we'd sleep at the airport overnight, smart clothes, because it would take us four days to get home.

SPEAKER_00 6:10

It's very interesting. I I I had a fascinating conversation on the podcast with uh with a lady called Cindy Um Eisenhooth, who I don't know whether you know runs company CLE.

SPEAKER_01 6:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:19

And her background was in high-end restaurants, firstly in Sydney and then in London. And it it what this conversation reminded me of is that she said, What I really understood from the word go before I got into this world was hospitality and what high-end service actually looks like. And clearly, yes, you were a sport little kid, but it ingrained ingrained in your head was that people, you know, you have to be polite, you have to get the the right service, you have to be polite and smile at people, and all that stuff is critical to being an event person.

SPEAKER_01 6:52

Absolutely, but also what I learnt is, and it's interesting, I think in my career now, because I'm doing a lot of podcasts and I've done, you know, I've done a do lecture and I've done lots of talks, it's as Steve's jobs says, you join the dots backwards. And it's only now that I realise the influence. So, for example, when you want to, my dad would always always say to me, Look for the face, Lisa. Look for that friendly face who's going to help you when you can't get on the plane. Be polite. Like you it's not even playing the game, it's like understanding, Lisa, you haven't paid for this flight. You have no right to be on this plane. There is a paying customer. So we knew our place and we knew how we had to behave, we knew the people that we had to be friends, we knew who could help us. Um, but it's just now that I know that when I'd walk into a room, it's like, oh, I have to, and I'm probably gonna tell you a story later about a disaster that happened to me. But it's because what I learned at a young age of who I need to speak to, who can fix the problem, who's gonna get me home. But equally, who made me feel calm in those moments when I thought, oh my god, how am I gonna get home? You know, that I realized that assurance or making me feel welcome, or don't worry, it's gonna be okay. Or even I remember you'd see a flight, it was like 10 oversold, and I remember my dad's colleague saying to me, Lise, you've got to be in it to win it. So always showing up, and again, I'm gonna tell you a story about that later, but you know, showing up, even if the flight is oversold, you've got to be in it to win it. And you know what? It was right, I always got on the plane.

SPEAKER_00 8:18

Uh I what I'm interested by is is did you make a conscious decision? I mean, obviously you've you've you've been in the world for 30 years now. Did you make a conscious decision early doors to be that that that friendly face, the person who is always gonna smile? I mean, you've had lots of senior roles before you started the business. Was that your sort of was that your ethos or was that something that just came naturally, do you think?

SPEAKER_01 8:42

Well, I think dad being supplier side was that from a very an ingrained, you know, my dad came, you know, you know, was born in a time where his work is his life. It's still, I mean, he still works for me now, you know, it's his life. So, you know, we had lots of suppliers around to our house when we were growing up. So we had that we understood the strength in, you know, good, strong, deep-rooted relationships as well. So it's and also with my business now, it's deep rooted in positivity and being kind and you know, having a smiley face and being hospitable because that's what makes the world go around. We're far better when we're in a happier environment, even when the chips are down to have a smile on our face and you know enjoy these experiences together. So, and I think you know, dad and my mum to yeah as well, because she was she was part of it as well. It was during the days where they would have supplies around, and everyone knew my mum who didn't work as well as my dad, because though that's how sociable it was in you know back in the day, yeah, really. So um it was yeah, I think it's it's definitely been ingrained, it's definitely been ingrained in me.

SPEAKER_00 9:48

Um, and so the the the business, the Wentworth Collective, you know, you've been it for 10 years. As I said, you had lots of sort of very grown-up roles before you jumped into. Why did you suddenly think, hold on a second, I I want to set up my own business? Because, you know, if I'm being honest, you know, going back to to when both of us started in the business, there weren't many women founders out there, were there?

SPEAKER_01 10:12

No, there were there weren't. There weren't. And I think having grown up, you know, in an environment where you know travel was just my everyday, I wanted to continue that on. The faces that I saw were it was very male dominated. Spent a long time working for a company called Reader Mackay, who I think you know was I was their head of events. And um really enjoyed it. I worked for um a company called Linton Cooper and I really enjoyed it. You know, I liked um I mean we haven't gone through sort of my history of how I got from travel to events, but it was through my it was actually through my degree and learning languages and you know learning about putting packages together through that, which we may touch upon. But um I think after a while when you work for organizations, you know, for me it's all been about experience. From a young age, I travelled, I studied languages, I travelled because of my degree, I took years out in between, and I've always been about those authentic and cultural experiences. And as you get more senior in roles, that changes and your purpose is different. And I found that my days were spent writing policies, um, going in to see clients for meetings, you know, and my intention wasn't around, oh, what's the best experience for my clients? Like, gosh, we've got a target to reach, or I've got a team that needs an event. So actually, when you walk in that door, your purpose, and you know, we're very purpose-driven business at the Wentworth Collective, is it was a bit skewed. So part of it was lifestyle, like part of it because I I had two kids by the time I was more senior in the role, and part of it was actually creating a business that was deep-rooted in creativity and experience.

SPEAKER_00 11:57

Yeah. What was the biggest change do you think you felt?

SPEAKER_01 12:08

There's two actually. I think the the biggest change was walking through the doors and my sole focus being what is the most important outcome for my clients? You know, what what do they want? How can I help them? Wasn't being skewed by profit line or team, it was just focusing on the client and and the solution. With that as well, being open to other opportunities, not being put in a box. So sometimes saying yes to opportunity. The consultancy came out of that because you know, a client would ask me for some consultation. It's like, but that's not an event. Oh, one minute, it's my own business. I can do it. So it's actually having that freedom and expansiveness. And then the other part is actually looking under the hood about running a business, which you know I've been very fortunate with the companies that I've worked with who have given me a lot of free reign and lots of responsibility, even down to PLs and signing contracts and money, but learning a lot more about what it takes to run a business. So that's that being on the other seat. I now have I now understand why some of my bosses made the decisions that they made, and I you know, uh, which I didn't understand. And when you're young and you're 30 and all you want is a pay rise and a different title, I now understand why they maybe didn't give it to me, you know, or but it would have been nice to have understood that, you know. But now I understand that.

SPEAKER_00 13:32

Yeah, one of the things we talk about when we when we take on new clients is you know that the that as owners and founders, you need to have a vision, but it can't be just your vision, you have to you have to share that vision with your senior management team. And and you just touched on it there, and it, you know, I'm not talking about the whole management team, but if you're not honest with people about cash flows or PLs or budgets or X, Y, and Z, and you keep it wrapped, and we had a wonderful client, really, really, really good client a couple of years, three years ago, and she refused to share her PL with her ops director. Now, her ops director was the most important person in that business and yet had no clue how profitable the business was. So, to your point, when it came to the moment where he said that I'd like a pay rise, she went, Well, no. And he said, Well, I don't know how much money you're making. So, well, it it it could be very unfair. But I think that's and as a have you done that as a I mean, the all the experiences you've had, do you find yourself being looking back on the experiences you've had with different bosses and saying that's the way you should do things?

SPEAKER_01 14:36

Yeah, I mean, I think certainly when I was younger, I didn't find my you know, it's taken me a while to find my voice, and I would definitely, I think in talking to people and understanding more about business and going back with the problem, and I the more I've realized now as well is you think your bosses know all the answers, but actually they want help by people who they're there employing. So I, you know, when I was at Reader Mackay and I thought there had to be a change in the structure, I would take a lot of time and talk to other people. I've got, you know, I thought I have like a virtual board of directors, really, you know, like around the table that help me with different things, whether it's sales, whether it's team, and actually one in particular helped me with the structure, and I would say to them, look, this is this is the problem. But I think that's what senior leaders need to do. I think they need to help people who are younger to go back. That's why I love mentorship. I love mentoring people because I can teach what I know now to because actually bosses are quite open. If you they don't want problems, they want solutions. But if you're measured and understand the problem and what's keeping them up at night, and often, you know, your problem is a small part. I'm sure, you know, me tapping on my bosses, you know, all the time asking for a pay rise, or why haven't I paid this bonus? That's small in comparison to the big picture. But if you have empathy and you understand where they're coming from and you meet them where they are and quite business-like about it, you know, then you're gonna have better solutions.

SPEAKER_00 15:59

I think empathy is a kind of just yeah, you know, that that uh emotional intelligence is something that is so important, and particularly being a boss as you are now, I I think it's critical.

SPEAKER_01 16:12

Absolutely. And I think nowadays, and I know this as you know, I'm over 50, so I've got quite a few years under my belt, you know. So you realize that life happens, and often people have their lives going on. You often sometimes it's very easy. I think, especially when you're younger, because maybe your life isn't as complex. Well, I'm not gonna speak for everyone, but you know, as you get older, you have more responsibilities, what that might be. So life does get in the way. So often when you do have a boss who is stressed, it might have nothing to do with work, and often it's never about you. It's always people have problems in their life, health, or whatever it may outside of work. And sometimes they bring it to the workplace, and that's fair enough. But if you have empathy and you can understand that, often you can be quite as well and say, like, say business like, but have that emotional intelligence to understand, okay, let's see what the problem here is.

SPEAKER_00 17:02

Yeah, exactly. And and and and also listen, you know, that's just listen to people because they will they will open up to you if you if you are going back to that friendly face, the person in the room that they can trust, then that's that's the most important thing you you can be. And and as you say, life life is what happens when you're busy making plans. It's one of the greatest expressions there is.

SPEAKER_01 17:24

And I think we're living in an age now where people are very disconnected and we have lots of distractions. But a simple moment to look someone in the eye and make eye contact and ask a question of how are you, or language, or how are you feeling today means a lot, and you might get the answer that you're looking for to connect with that human being. And you know, I've certainly found in the events understanding the human condition, understanding people, what their needs are so important in running successful events because life happens, so if you can regulate them, make them feel safe, make them feel psychologically safe, you know, you're gonna get the best out of people.

SPEAKER_00 18:03

When you were when you were setting up the business, I'm just I'm intrigued by this because obviously, you know, all the experiences you've had have have led to this moment in your life and you're running a very successful business. When you were when you decided to take that step, you've obviously have a you know and I don't know whether this has happened as a consequence of of setting up the Wentworth Collective or not, but you must have decided upon a culture that you wanted to build with inside your business and the values that you put, I mean you you know, uh I obviously follow a lot of the stuff you do on LinkedIn, you have very strong values and very strong, you know, a lot of the things you, you know, when you do your run club stuff, you know, I always listen to them because you know, I I just think it's interesting the points you come up with and the freedom you obviously feel in that moment of running those 5K's or those, you know, when you stretch yourself and those eight K's and you come back and you give those talks. I always think to myself, this is a woman who's clearly she's thought an awful lot about stuff as she's gone through.

SPEAKER_01 19:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:04

And so how did you share, how did you what what are the things that really matter, and how did you get the the team to buy into that?

SPEAKER_01 19:12

It's a really interesting question. I think and it's quite layered actually, so just give me a moment while I sort of put it in a logical order. I think first of all, I write a lot. So I do write a lot on LinkedIn, and I think that was the start of the journey in documenting what was coming up and regular themes. So I would write about my experience and I would see the theme. So when I'd be running, I think, oh that's interesting, and I'd find some like common themes. I think there's some pillars in which we operate the business which are intrinsic, and you just see patterns and regularity. So, for example, you know, which we this is timely because we've just really cemented our values at the moment. So, you know, one of them is excellence in what we do. So when I say excellence, it means delivering what you're going to deliver with the utmost quality and passion and integrity in everything that we do. And we do that, and the people who we hire, you know, if we make a coffee, it's gonna be the best coffee that you're ever going to drink. So it comes, if we're gonna write an email, it's gonna be clear, and if we're gonna deliver an event, it's gonna be excellent. So, you know, it's having it's it's that golden thread the whole way through, and then it's about you know innovation and it's about pushing the boundaries. And I think in linking that to say the running, I see myself, how I push myself, you know. So I might get to that plateau, and I don't think I can get over that ledge, but I'm around other people, and that's the collective. So you see, well, what are the influences here? Okay, well, I don't think I can run anymore, but I've got Angela, my PT going, go on, Lise, I believe in you. So I've got people, so you see the themes, and it's giving yourself that space so to think, well, what are the links here? And because I write and I document it, it gives me clarity of thought of you know what are the patterns here, and that's where I've been seeing, you know, it's really I'm sure you've done a lot of work with your clients, it's really hard to like drill down on the values and what you you do. But when you it's it's very difficult, it's not a quick exercise and it takes a lot of time, and you've got to think, well, what do we stand for? And then you think about your people and you know, what you know, what's that stick of rock and how am I hiring? So some of it is because you see a pattern and you see what you're attracted to, and a lot of it is in behaviour as well. So, in like for example, you talked about the runnings, that's one example, but also when we do our events, we're very creative and we'll have vision of what we want to do, and we will always push the boundaries to try to we think we can make it a bit more creative and we have this self belief, and that's our that's our innovation. And so, what I'll do is I'll I'll document it and I'll say, Okay, what's the common theme? Oh, that's come up again. So it's giving you that, I think having that time of space. Space of having clarity of thoughts and those and what you do outside of work as well as as well as inside of work.

SPEAKER_00 22:07

Oh, 100%, Lisa. I mean 100%. I think I think the the values you have as a as a business owner is not about well, what about what about my people or XYZ? It's it's how do I feel? What matters to me? You know, I was I say that my my two uh uh buzzwords in life are kindness and loyalty. I think that's they're really, really important to me. My wife's would be kindness, loyalty, and integrity. And again, I think that's incredibly important. I was speaking to Shea McNeilis um uh from Integrity Security in Ireland yesterday, and he said it's all about what we called our we called our business integrity security because we have integrity and we're we're we're passionate. Exactly. So I think and and in terms of the hars you did and and working on those values, are you very conscious? You said just now you you know you you you look at your people, but you are you very conscious when you take on someone new or you or you have someone in the business that in the past hasn't fitted. How did you reconcile that, or did you just or did you not reconcile it and just say, listen, well, that person doesn't fit doesn't fit within my values anymore?

SPEAKER_01 23:08

Yeah, it's really hard. It's really hard, and you have to, you know, you have to be honest with yourself, and you have to have I think it's really important, and I'm learning more and more and more as a business owner, you have to give yourself time to think, and you have to give yourself space to have that thinking time. I think that's where the running helps me because it's a non-negotiable, but also say holidays where you have that space. But I've I found I went through a period of time where I was doing a lot of long haul flights to the west coast of America, and it was brilliant because I'd have 12 hours just to think. No email, no email, no email. So I was like, gosh, there's a pattern here, okay. I'm getting a lot of work done, and I've got this thinking time, and because of the time difference, you wouldn't be in the weeds of work, so you'd be reflecting on what's working and what's not, and I think you have to be honest with yourself when there are certain individuals that aren't working, and I think they feel it as well because there's a friction or why think why elements aren't landing, or they haven't got the values and the behaviours that you want in the organisation for it to work, and it's being say grown up business-like about it, and saying this isn't working because it doesn't align with the bit you want your business to flow. And I think as a business owner, you want it to flow as much as possible. Um and when you recognise that there's a it's not quite working, or also with the team as well. If you see the team's not working, we're all cogs in the wheel, then you have to have a conversation essentially. And more often than not, I find that when it's not working, that person feels the same way too. You know, you want them to be happy for want of a better word. And what I've learned as a business owner and through the years is uh recognise there's a problem and address it as quickly as possible. Otherwise, it's just going to take mental headspace. And I think as a business owner, you want to be, I want to be as clear the more I work, the more clear and open I want to be to be able to keep on growing. You know deep down if there's a problem that you need to fix.

SPEAKER_00 25:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:07

Best to nip, you know, best to sort of fast, quick, and move on.

SPEAKER_00 25:12

Yeah. And do you, in terms of outside resource and help, and you say you have your your virtual board of directors, have you have you used mentors in the past or have you have you just have you have you learned this literally on the hoof?

SPEAKER_01 25:26

Um no, I have got mentors, and I think I mean I know you do a lot of mentoring now, which is I do a lot of mentoring, and I think I think when I was younger, I was obsessed with, oh, I've got to have a mentor. Because I didn't back in the day there were there were no mentoring schemes. But actually, I look back and I'm very fortunate that I have lots of mentors from old bosses to you know my dad, my husband, you know, and I think rather than have one, I tap into people who can help me on specific, which I think I'm very lucky to do. So I've got one lady who there's a sales problem. Well, she's on the other end of the home phone, you know, and it's people that have been there before, and that's what I'm enjoying now. People that have been there before, there isn't a problem that they can't fix. For the first time, um, I've got a business, well, second time, but I've got a business coach now who's working with me, which is really, really um, really, really important. I, you know, I was I had a word with myself, so I thought in every other element of my life, whether it's running, whether it's personal training, if I reached a plateau, I would ask for help through a coach. I thought I've reached a plateau with my business, we've got to a certain size. Why do I think that I can fix this problem on my own? I need help with someone that's been there before me, which is why I'm now working with a business coach to help us on this next stage of growth.

SPEAKER_00 26:40

And is is the espresso collective part of that whole thing?

SPEAKER_01 26:46

Espresso Collective is a bit of a passion project with Mindy Elmsy, who I met through the do lectures. It's um it's a space for creative minds and people to share ideas, for us to share some of the great speakers who we've known throughout the years. And again, it's in that spirit of positivity. I think you know, I said to you before, all this new year, new you people don't people want to feel is again. I want people to feel good about themselves. I don't want people to feel less than. I think people are wonderful and they've all got great gifts and can definitely reach their full potential. So we're creating a space of amazing speakers, and we started with storytelling. And Alex Barker helped myself and Mindy so much on our do talks, and it's about owning your story, and it was so enlightening. It was wonderful to see the people in the room who um loved Alex's feedback and insights about mindset and owning your story. So starting the year in a positive way, I'm all about positivity. To the detriment sometimes with my my team will sometimes say to me, Lisa, you do have to sometimes deliver bad news, Lisa. I was like, I know, I know.

SPEAKER_00 27:56

Yes, but I think but what's interesting about it, and speaking to you uh, you know, a couple of weeks ago and and now is you are clearly a very, very positive person. And that, you know, if your glass is always half full, you've got such a better chance of making things happen. Because and it we we haven't really touched on it, but we we you know we did touch on it last night about trust. If you're positive, I'm far more likely to trust you than if you go, well, I'm not quite sure I can do that, David. Do you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 28:22

Yeah, and I think again it goes back, you know, like I've seen clients before who are so nervous about some of the crap, you know, we push the boundaries when we come when we do our events, you know, we've got vision, and I think, you know, again, going back to traveling, having our eyes open to the world and seeing what's possible in other worlds, in other cultures, means that we're inspired and we take that into our events. And um, talking about what we do outside of the world, every month we um have our inspiration station when we show what the team have been up to during the month and where we've been eating, what we've been listening to, and it's interesting because a lot of people enjoy seeing it because it inspires them, but we take that into our work. So if you've seen it done before, you know it's possible. Yeah, and it's like with the when we had virtual events, you know, if people do live TV, why can't we as event people put on a live programme? So I think with me is I know deep down it can be done. I will all if I haven't got the sick feel, I remind myself now that if I've got this sick feeling in my stomach, it's a good thing because that's my reminder of okay, Lisa, you've got to do it. But then I bring the people in, and again, it's going it's finding the right people. So I've got this crazy idea, I need to find that face. And I'll give you a quick story. A couple of years ago, we did an event at Birch. Um, I don't know if you know Birch, it was a Chesant.

SPEAKER_00 29:38

Yep, yep.

SPEAKER_01 29:39

And we did a reward and recognition event, and for this particular client, they always went to the theatre in London, it was part of the experience. This time, post-COVID, we were not gonna go into London, so we were gonna go to the suburbs, somewhere on the M25, and bring the theatre to the venue. So I saw this space, I was like, brilliant! We're gonna bring the the we're gonna have an immersive awards cinema um experience. There was a history, there was a lady back in the day called Lady Mo who used to ride her horse painted as a zebra through the town of Chesant. And I think she was a bit of a lady of the night, but this was in folk like so. I said, Lady Mo's gonna invite them in there in between courses, we're gonna have dinner. And the salesperson was so she's like, Yes, Lisa, this is brilliant. In rocks up the ops person, and I'm saying this freely because we laugh about it now. I still know her. She went, Lisa, you're trying to put a square peg into a round hole. There is no way we can do this. And the restaurant was quite protective over their tasting menu. And I said, Too late, we've sold in, we've got to do it now. Well, we don't have that, and I I I didn't have I I didn't know I didn't know what I was doing, I just knew what I had to put together. So I said, right, who are the experts that I need? I need a great entertainment you know, I need a great entertainment partner, but I also need someone who's done this before. And I worked with a lady called Lulu who worked on with kitchen theory and she had worked with immersive dinners. So I brought those experts in and we presented our case to the hotel and said, right, this is what we're gonna do so that you feel safe. What objections do you have? Well, what about service? Fine. So you bring everyone along for the ride, so you know, and I think that's how you push the boundaries, and so when you get that sick feeling, it makes that dissipate, and then that's the trust that you give the client, and they love it because they love the crazy ideas, but you hold their hand every step of the way and you communicate and you say what the challenges might be and how they're gonna do it, and you bring the ex, and that gives them you know, that gives them the confidence.

SPEAKER_00 31:44

I think communications if you take people on the journey, whether it's your employees or your clients, if you take them on the journey, you're you're okay, you know. That they they will get okay. I mean, she's not mad, she might be a bit mad, but she's not completely mad.

SPEAKER_01 32:00

And people love an expert, they love to have, you know, it's again it goes back to the airline days. When the when there's turbulence and it's the plane is shaky, I look at the air hostesses. If they're calm, I'm calm. If I ever see an air hostess panic, I will start to panic. Yeah, but if they're not panicking, I feel calm. And I see that I'm not I see that events. I see that with events. If I'm running around crazy, my clients are just gonna be stressed out. They don't want me to be stressed out, they want to say it's fine. Yeah, that's one of the best feedback that I've had from clients is they said, you look like you were having such a laugh and a good time. I said, We are, and you think you're being measured on a slick event, but actually doing it with ease and flow. Again, it's going back to that ease and flow, makes your client feel more comfortable and they feel at ease. Events are fun, that's why we're in this industry. We're not there to be running around like stressed-out event management, we're there to, and that's the whole point, you know. Our mission statement is connecting people through experiences and make them feel alive, not stressed out.

SPEAKER_00 33:03

If we don't, you know, if we didn't want to enjoy it, go and be an accountant for crying out loud.

SPEAKER_01 33:07

Well, that's it. It's and again, it goes back to my travel days. I was very fortunate to have these rich experiences, and I just want to carry that through to my clients. And when I see we did this great experience for one of our clients, where we brought a street market f with food from Korea, Singapore, Paris, we turned it on its head, and the hotel loved it. Another one of my crazy ideas. But to see the guests literally living their best lives, eating the most delicious food and chatting with their friends, it brought such joy.

SPEAKER_00 33:35

Yeah, I bet. Uh, just to change time, we we talked about this last time, but obviously uh I mean you you're not an outlier outlier now, but it's certainly in the way way back when you would have been. How do you think being a woman has changed in the industry over the years from what you've seen? I mean, you would have seen it right back 30 years ago. Um what were the early experiences like like and and what's what's what is it like now for you?

SPEAKER_01 34:01

Well, I think, and I realise I don't think I answered your question before about back in the day with male, like you wouldn't see any women in senior roles. So I think that's number one. You just didn't, and I remember when I did see a woman in a senior role, especially owning their own business, they were like unicorns.

SPEAKER_00 34:17

Yeah, literally.

SPEAKER_01 34:18

I I literally I remember, and I'll name her because I always do. A man's at Edgecombe at Powerwell. I remember on a I was on a fan trip trip trip trip trip trip.

SPEAKER_00 34:24

Old glance of eyes, wonderful, wonderful lady.

SPEAKER_01 34:26

Wonderful lady. I remember I was on a fan trip with her when I was about I wasn't married, I was just in, I wasn't even engaged. You know, I was with my husband, still with my husband, by the way. Um she was married, kids, and had her own business. And I was like, What? You can do that? And I remember Faye Sharp. I remember her being hugely pregnant and you know, showing me a venue, and I'd never seen that before. You know, I was very fortunate. Tracy Baumfield, she was like, she's one of my mentors, she was sales director, um, owner at Reader Mackay, and she taught me a lot, but very few women, lots of men. And it was, you know, we were event managers and we would you know keep our mouths shut and be polite. And often when I was passionate about what I wanted to talk about, I was made to be put back in my back in my box, basically, back in the day. It was like, you're too much, Lisa, you know. And part of the reason why someone advised I had my own business was because I could then speak my mind on my terms and not being squashed. And I was squashed. However, I think if I could go back, whether it was a male or female, I think I was young, and I think someone could say, Look, we believe in what you're saying, Lisa, but there's a way in which you can say and and learn those skills. So I think now, as a you know, a woman, it's wonderful to see so many women, you know, in the industry. And I think back in the day you were also, and look, I went to interviews, took my engagement ring off because I thought I'm gonna be judged. They're gonna, it's terrible. And I don't I think now that has changed. But I went to a job interview and I remember saying to my husband, Do you think I should take my engagement ring off? He said, Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:05

Because they said Wow, and he agreed with you.

SPEAKER_01 36:07

He agreed with me. And I did, I went for the role, took my engagement ring off because they're gonna think maybe they were, maybe well, but but I say that. I know people thought that.

SPEAKER_00 36:16

Of course they do. I mean, interviewing interviewing a 28-year-old girl with an engagement ring on, what do you think is gonna happen? I totally agree. And of course you're judged, of course you're judged.

SPEAKER_01 36:26

And I think that has changed.

SPEAKER_00 36:28

And it's being a mother, did a mother be change you again?

SPEAKER_01 36:33

That changed me again, so I think um I think now we're more open. Now, having been a mother, I know it's not a detriment being pregnant, pregnant, you're not ill. You know, you're so I it's I'm certainly a better I think I'm a better leader having had children. I'm more empathetic. I was a very driven salesperson. I wanted when I was at Reader Mackay, I wanted to get my numbers and wasn't let anyone stand in my way. When I came back and I was made head of department, I think they were all really scared. They're like, oh God, you know, because they they promoted me like when I came back. And um again, I went back in the day where we didn't have flexible working, I was back full-time. I would hand my son over on the platform to my dad at St. Paul's and then go, I don't know how I did it, David, and then you know, um it's amazing. It's amazing.

SPEAKER_00 37:22

And you know, obviously, all these experiences have have led you to to where you are now, and as I said, you're running a very successful business. One of the things that we've discussed, and I know you've talked openly about it, um, and I think it's really important to discuss because along with having a child, one of the biggest secrets, particularly for men to understand is is the menopause and about um mental well-being for women who are going through the menopause or have been through the menopause and how unbelievably difficult it is. I mean, I you know, my own experience is my wife is has has been through the menopause, and I had no clue, I mean, literally no clue what she was going through until she began to explain. And I think we are so naive, not I mean, not just as men, but certainly men uh are part of the problem about its understanding and and so on and so forth. And it and it's obviously really important to you, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01 38:13

Yeah. It's significant, it's such a we spend so much time preparing women. Sorry, I'm being quite open here. Pocket.

SPEAKER_00 38:22

No, that's good.

SPEAKER_01 38:23

It's good we spend so much time preparing women for when they start their periods, we spend so much time and explaining what that is and what a big change. This is equally and should have as equal weighting for women because I think what's good about my generation, our generation, is that we are being vocal because you have more working women. I think back in, you know, I said my mum didn't work. Not as many women did work, you know, many years ago. So their lives potentially, you know, they didn't have the the demands, and my mum says that as well, that you know, it wasn't something that they spoke about or they didn't realise what was going on. Whereas suddenly you're in a business meeting or you're not remembering something, or you know, for me, my symptom was severe joint pain, really severe joint pain, and physically yeah, so I couldn't get out of bed. For you know, you've seen what I'm like, I'm vibrant, I'm lively, and suddenly I can't, I've got a headache that's from the tip of my head to my toes, I can't concentrate, physically I'm exhausted. There are other symptoms that happen that you might be on site that suddenly it's like I've got to, you know, that it takes over your whole body.

SPEAKER_00 39:26

Well, the sweats is telling all through it.

SPEAKER_01 39:27

Yeah, and yeah, that's it, or you're not sleeping, or so you if you're working, it's like, well, I can't carry on like this, and it's only through open conversation. So it was actually a friend of mine who said, Well, you know, joint pain is a symptom of the menopause. I'm like, really? Because I had gone into the doctors with some other symptoms and they said, Do you still have your periods? I'm like, Yes. Do you have hot flashes? No, you're fine, get out of my surgery.

unknown 39:49

God.

SPEAKER_01 39:50

Then I go in with this joint pain because Davina had been very devocal, they're like, fine, we'll give you HRT. They gave me HRT and David overnight, my symptoms went, and I was back to my normal self.

SPEAKER_00 40:04

I think the most frightening thing, and only this is from personal experience of of watching someone go through it, is and particularly as a business owner, it must have been terrifying, uh, if indeed you have them, was that was brain fogs when suddenly you can't remember your own name, leave alone what what you know with a client's name or what the what what event you're supposed to be doing.

SPEAKER_01 40:22

Yeah, but also because my symptom was pain, I would be very short and snappy with people, so you know, which sometimes you are, but not all the time. So you're trying to navigate this pain that's overriding, but yet be this positive, upbeat leader, but you can't because the pain and the exhaustion is just too much. Yeah, and it's really hard, and I think it's really and then but then what's I'm vocal about it because I've been with peers in my industry who have said I feel anxious, anxiety is a real problem, and I think you know, recognising that it might be the menopause, you can there is help. And I think the other part of my journey is I was on HRT, and then I found out that I couldn't go on HRT, I had to stop it. So I had to find natural methods, which is why I run and why I do exercise and well-being, and that's why I'm so such an advocate and I speak so positively about it, because it's really important looking after yourself and your own mental health is and again in our business, we really make sure that that for me is foremost. And going back to why I started my business is because I needed more balance in my life. It was too much working for an organization that was growing. I was waking up with Asia, going to bed with America, you know, that I was never off. Whereas actually, in starting the Wentworth Collective, we have boundaries, you know, health and well-being comes first. Yeah, because actually, without that, you have nothing.

SPEAKER_00 41:46

Yeah, that's so true. You can't and stress or anxiety or all that stuff, is it just means you can't work and and you get to a point where you you don't want to work.

SPEAKER_01 41:56

That's that's no, no, and you're not regulated, you're not thinking clearly, you're stressed, you're reactive. So actually, you want to provide, create an environment where people are not there is always going to be an element of stress, and working events is stressful, but as much as you can minimize it and support them is really important. And I think the more open we have conversations for people to say, Oh, I'm experiencing this, or how can I support you, or and also educating the younger generation as well, I think is equally as important. Oh, yeah. I talk about it a lot, but I think it's good.

SPEAKER_00 42:29

You you've got to educate people because you know I was saying the the the the moment in my life when my wife and I brought our our eldest child back from the hospital for the first time, and we stood at our front door, and I said, Well, what the hell do we do now? Because no one tells you. I think it's the same, you know. Uh you know, there are so many stages, particularly of a woman's life, that that you go through. And it seems that you know people like you who are breaking that taboo, who who are breaking the stigma of not wanting to talk about it, is can only be a really positive thing. And and I think uh from the conversations we've had, I I just think you are a beacon of light for women within industry. So I no, I really mean that. I think you you're you're amazing, and and oh thank you. And I would say to everyone who doesn't doesn't follow you on LinkedIn to follow you because it you you write a lot of sense out there.

SPEAKER_01 43:23

Oh, thank you. But I think it's it's like I said before at the beginning of this talk, life happens, and I think if you can talk about it, and I'm very open, you know, I'll talk to my all my clients know about my manner pool's journey because I talk to them about it, but it's a we're human beings. Life, it's not so much it gets in the way, it happens. So, and again, through the years I've realized that those blurring of lines going back to the conversation when I was younger, being yourself, you realize as you're older, yes, you need to have boundaries between life and work, but as you as an individual, life is much easier if you can be yourself.

SPEAKER_00 43:55

Yeah, 100%. So, just looking ahead for you, you know, you started. We talked about the you're consulting a lot more on events rather than just being the Wentmouth Collective going in there as as the event manager. What does the next phase look like? Is it the consulting going to take over or what what do you what do you feel?

SPEAKER_01 44:15

I think it will work alongside it will work alongside because we're being asked a lot more to provide the consultancy around the event and the reason why the organizations are running the event. So we'll get in and have start the conversation a lot earlier. Um I found that actually whilst in setting again talking about the differences between business, having your own business and then working for another organization. When you have your own business, you're very aware about the money coming in and you're charging for your time. And what I found was back in the early days that I would only charge once everything had been confirmed. But actually, I was spending about two months of my time with all the creative input, all my ideas, all the little tweaks, all the concept together to get to that point, which I wasn't charging for, but that's where the value was. And I thought, one minute, something's got to change here. So that's where the consultancy came. And as we've gotten deeper into it, you know, recently we're working with a client, they've booked the venue, and they've got someone very capable of doing the logistics, but they're saying, Lisa, we need your help to bring our concept to life and the way in which we can bring it to life, and this is the problem that we're facing. And I love that because then you can really get under the skin. We've just delivered MySBook Expo, and again, they've been running MySBook Expo for years, but I think when people want to take it up a notch every year and change it and do it better than the year before, they're coming to us because we know what is possible and how far you can push, make them feel safe, create something awesome. So I think it was in terms of growth, we'll be working alongside the consultancy and the logistics because the team are amazing at taking that great vision and then putting it into a really cohesive and practice project management plan and then delivering it. Events are stressful, and I see the stress on my clients' faces. But when you've got a team like, don't worry, I've got your back, we've got a plan, everything's okay. And they still, you know, and sometimes I had it yesterday with one of my clients who, you know, is doing a very we're doing a very big event for them, you know, later this year. They're like, Lisa, I just need a dinner venue for 30 people for my for my boss. And we can do that as well.

unknown 46:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 46:24

So I think it's interesting. I think the consultancy thing is so interesting because you've got so much experience. I was speaking to um Lucy Nichols, who you may know at PS. And she she's she said the one of the strangest things, you know, obviously they do like like you guys, they do very big events, but what she was saying, you know, I I'm I'm just I'm I'm selling my experience, and and if you want to boot your own venue, you want to put your own caterer, your own even your own event agency, I don't care. It doesn't bother me at all, but I'm there to hold your hand. And it's exactly to your point. It's just like, look, here's the plan. You know, we can do this. I'm holding your hand all the way, it's gonna be fine.

SPEAKER_01 47:01

That's it. And I think as well, what we have is we know what's possible. It's like, you know, you know, you we've we've got so much experience of knowing that clients that they've got their job in whatever line they're going in, but we can walk into a venue or we can see a space and we've got vision and we can push the boundaries and say to them, Oh gosh, this is your problem. You want your guests to it. I gave the example of the street fair that was down to our clients who wanted a networking event to bring the global audience together, so from seven different territories ranging from Korea, Middle East, Greece. And we had had a very structured dinner the year before where everyone was on tables and they had conversation cards, and it was great, but it didn't work because everyone moved tables, they didn't like it. And you know, you have to hold your hands up and go, uh, great idea on paper, but didn't work. What should we do? And we saw what they liked. They love their food, they love to network. We went to Wokefield Park. I don't know. Have you been to No?

SPEAKER_00 47:55

Yeah, yeah, it was just down the road from me, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 47:57

Right, so they've got this great avenue, and again, Ma and I walked in and we're like, oh, street market. Wokefield Park had never done a street market. Well, they had, but it it wasn't. I mean, they'd admit it as well, it wasn't that great. And we worked with them and we pushed the boundaries, and they said to us, You saw something in this in this space that we hadn't seen. We they didn't have the vision, but Mara and I had the vision because we just knew what we had to do. We knew the chefs we had to bring in, we knew the designers that we had to bring in, you know, we had Joe and my team, you know, everyone we all worked together, we brought okay, what do we need to bring this to life? Where can it go wrong? And then we spoke to the chefs, and you bring everyone that's the whole collective thinking, and that's why this went worth collect the when the collector came is like let's bring in the experts, who's the master in their fields, this is our vision, where can it go wrong? Where can it go right? And how can we enhance it? And that's what you get when you work with experts because again, they see something and they get excited. That was what was so great. When I see, I don't know, one of the chefs saying, Oh, why don't we bring this source that we can bring in? Or when we had the peeking up, let's have a whole like section with the you know, for the theatre, you know, I get excited because my job is to bring them on to the ride. My job is to convert those people, think that's a crazy idea. I don't want to come like, right, let's go, and it's just brilliant.

SPEAKER_00 49:11

I love that. Love that. Um, and it's just as a as as on the theme of you know, you you're you're in your as you said, you're in your 50s now. I'm I'm not disclosing anything which which you haven't.

SPEAKER_01 49:22

I'm very open about my age.

SPEAKER_00 49:23

And you've got your kids. Yeah. What's what is the what does the end game look like for you? Is there a pot of gold for for for Lisa James?

SPEAKER_01 49:32

I do want to I am one of these fortunate people. I like I do believe I was put on this earth to do this job. I love what I do, you know, even if I you know I just love doing it every day. And for the moment, I want to continue doing that. I really feel that I want to say with like my running, reach the maximum, take it to the next day. That's what I feel about TWC.

SPEAKER_00 49:50

I want to I mean watching watching you pushing yourself in your running club videos, it always makes me love. I thought, God, how far she can bloody run this week.

SPEAKER_01 49:59

I mean, and I still hate running, it's just so do I. But see, but this is what I mean, like, okay, I'll give you a quick example just what we were saying before. So I've got a personal trainer because I wanted to be fabulous at 50, so I had to get a personal trainer to help me do that and be strong, and also that's to do with the menopause because women must do strength training. So, again, that's why I have a PC as well. And what's incredible is every week, and Angela, I swear at her, I shout at her every week, and I had to do these horrible weights the other day, yesterday, where I had to put them over my head of 8kg over my head for like four rounds, and I moan in the first round and I can't do it, and then she helps me with the second round. And by the time the first round came, David, I did it on my own, and it frustrates the hell out of me because it's like, God and you're right. You see something that I don't see in myself, and you see, and that's when my thinking goes and goes, Oh, how can I translate that into my events? Well, actually, you have to push people, then you have to hold them. So I see some synergies with that. So um, yeah, that's so that's going back to your point before.

SPEAKER_00 50:59

But I think the part is is is would you would you step back from the front line to a point where the where you are consultant to your own business as as it were?

SPEAKER_01 51:08

I think eventually, I'm not there yet. I think I've got I'm in the growth period now. I want to see how that goes. I do think I love to, you know, I've started doing public speaking and doing workshops. I love doing that as well. I would like to share more of that eventually as well. Um, I'd like to have a bit more, dare I say, balance. I don't, you know, I think it's very hard when you run a business. Yeah. But I think the pot of gold is looking back and being satisfied with what I've created. I can't see a day yet where I won't be doing what I'm doing. Just because I love it.

SPEAKER_00 51:41

I can't either.

SPEAKER_01 51:42

No, because I love I love what I'm doing. I love I love experiences, I love creating experiences, I love people coming along for the experiences. So and if I get paid for it, that's a bonus as well.

SPEAKER_00 51:54

So it's just and also you're you know the team, you know, you're teaching your team so many valuable lessons. And and you know, and if you you know, we always say if we can explain I I think the older you get, Mike is always saying this, that that having worked in this industry for 30 odd years, 35 years, to be able to give back to the younger generation is it's it's a moral duty apart from anything else.

SPEAKER_01 52:18

I think so. I think so. And I think you know, like I mentored someone recently, um, and it was such a joy. She taught me so much. Because also, if you're teaching people to go out of their comfort zone, part of the reason why I did my do talk, you know, I was telling my mentor you've got to push yourself out of your comfort zone. And I knew deep down I'd always wanted to do a do talk, but I wasn't pushing myself out of my it helps you, it's a two-way street because you're pushing someone, but also to pass on some of the lessons, you know, we've all made mistakes, we've all got loads of lessons. That's part of growing up, but to be able to support someone and maybe give them the support that maybe you hadn't had when you were growing up or you would have liked to have had, I think is a gift to be able to do that. And I just absolutely love it to be able to have that legacy, and also you know, it's such a good feeling when you're running an event and you don't think you can do it. And you know, I remember my team, we always say we're in that moment, it's that hairy moment where oh, we're gonna pull this off, and it's so exciting because you know, deep down, because we've got that excellence and we've got that passion and we've got that quality, we will make sure that we cover all the details, and then at the end, when you see what you've done, yeah, amazing feeling great of achievement.

SPEAKER_00 53:22

Yeah, amazing feeling. Now, listen, we've talked about everything that's gone right with the business over the last 10 years. Come on, there must have been there must have been a moment, there must have been one event.

SPEAKER_01 53:31

I mean, there's so many.

SPEAKER_00 53:32

There's so many, sorry.

SPEAKER_01 53:34

No, I mean, night and so goes on, but there's always going to be things that have gone that when things don't go your way, there's a lot that happened in the run-up, you know. Like, for example, it is an event at the O2, and literally a week before the event was when the you know, when they had that bad weather and there's a massive hole in the O2.

SPEAKER_00 53:55

Oh yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 53:56

So literally all my friends are like, What are you gonna do about this one? You know, and you don't know if you're vent, you know, it's out of your hands. I mean, thankfully it was fixed and we managed to run it. So there's lots of you know things like that that happen in the run-up, or you hear that something's gonna go wrong, or something's been cancelled, and it's about fixing it. But I think you know, something that went wrong, and I alluded to it before, was many years ago I did a um medical convention to New Orleans and I had 15 doctors, and the flight had been numerous flights that had been cancelled, and I had doctors, these are cancer doctors, oncology doctor oncologists who had to get back for their patients, and they're like, you know, you just imagine, you know, got people that have been waiting ages for an appointment, and you need to get them home. And I was quite young, you know, being responsible for these doctors, and they were looking at you in the eye, we've got to get home. So we got to Houston. I said, Well, let's get to Houston. It was piecemeal. I said, Well, let's get to Houston. Phoned up the airline, they said it's oversold, and then like the experience just kicked in, and I said to them, I mean, I was kind of you did. I think when you're young, like you don't really think about it, and I just looked at them, I said, Look, I will say to you what I was always said, you've got to be in it to win it. So come with me to the to the airport. I don't know if we're gonna get you on the plane. I mean, these are senior consultants, but I'm gonna try my best. And I remember making them wait like for about 20 minutes, half an hour, whilst I found my friendly face, went behind the scenes, and we literally sat there grabbing flights on the manifest. I knew how to do it from my flight experience working for a travel agent, and then like pushing them from one place to the other on this plane, stealing from one place and maybe losing them. And in the end, I felt I came, I felt like I was on X Fact. I remember looking at the doctor saying, Doctor so and so, you're on the plane. They're like, Yes, and then they'd go and look up. But you just there are so many times that's squeaky bum, isn't it? I mean that's I mean it is, and also they were trusting me. I mean, what was I like 30 or something? And I'm like saying, and and if they didn't get on the plane, David, like what do you do? Do I leave them?

SPEAKER_00 56:03

You know In Houston.

SPEAKER_01 56:05

In Houston. But I basically said to them, You're gonna have to wake up and show up because I knew that would it and it and it did work because we were there at the airport, and then we were I f as I say, I I knew how to play the game because I knew what had to be done. And I think that's the difference as well, is that you can speak the language of the person behind the desk. They couldn't pull the wall over my eyes. Yeah. Because I knew.

SPEAKER_00 56:28

Well, also being an airline airline baby, you knew exactly you know which buttons to press.

SPEAKER_01 56:33

Yeah, and I told them and I told them all to dress up as well. I went, and you have to dress up smart.

SPEAKER_00 56:37

Yeah, smart trousers, smart shoes. Yeah, very nice.

SPEAKER_01 56:39

You all have to dress up smart.

SPEAKER_00 56:41

Please note everyone smart trousers, smart shoes. Never forget that. Good lesson. The Lisa James Lessons per life, which I think is a very powerful lesson. Now we always finish with our rapid far around.

SPEAKER_01 56:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 56:52

Um, so uh first up, the most influential person, but this doesn't have to be business, this could just be in your life.

SPEAKER_01 56:58

There's so many, there's so many people that have influenced me, and I've got a very, very long list. But and it sounds a bit cliches, it sounds a bit cheesy. And I I listened to another couple of ones, and other people said, I think it has to be my dad. Like, you know, he's I think you know, starting in travel that set me up for life, but also he's always been there in the background, and he doesn't, you know, it's like the tough school of love. Like, you know, I'd be there sometimes and I'd phone him if there was a problem. You know, I remember years ago I was complaining about something, and he's like, What are you moaning about? Like he always told me the truth, which I think was really helpful. But then equally, like when I was starting a business and I needed some help, and he always wanted to start his own business and didn't. He said, If ever you need some help, let me know. And then I got invited to a huge pitch. I was like, Dad, I need some help. And he's just always been there alongside just to support me with some.

SPEAKER_00 57:48

Yeah, and I love that because obviously he loves you and will always look out for you, but also you know, he's there to help. And I I think as a mentor goes, couldn't possibly be any better. Um, if you know if they can do do what they say they can do, then that's fine. Do you read business books? If you ever what's the best business book you've read?

SPEAKER_01 58:07

I do, I do read business books, and I've read quite a few, but in preparation for this, but I've just read a book actually that I want to share, which is absolutely brilliant, which I think aligns with my vision and hope and ethos of working and living in flow. I've just read this wonderful book by Oliver Bertman called Meditations for Mortals.

SPEAKER_00 58:26

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_01 58:26

And it's called Stop Trying to Sort Your Life Out, Start Living. And it basically is just trying to live alongside this crazy world that we live in, just about problems, problem solving. And you know, we touched on it briefly, but like when I did go through a you know a phase of burnout, just realising that life happens, so it's how do you work alongside life and run your business at the same time? And this is a very short book with some great chapters in it about living your best life, which is again the ethos of TWC is that how can you live and feel vibrant even when you think the boat is on fire?

SPEAKER_00 59:04

Yeah, quite literally. Um, your number one movie.

SPEAKER_01 59:08

Oh, my number one movie. I do there's quite a few, um, but I do love Lost in Translation.

SPEAKER_00 59:16

I just love classic.

SPEAKER_01 59:18

A classic. And actually, Alex, my husband, and I, we we stayed at the park hyatt simply because we love that movie for our honeymoon, and so we went there, we went there for Tokyo for four days and then we went to India. Who is the actor? Who is the actress in um Scarlett Johansson?

SPEAKER_00 59:34

Scarlet Johansson, of course, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 59:36

Scarlet Johansson, and I just I just again it's nothing much happens, it's just life, it's the love letters to Tokyo, and it's human beings, and it's it's a beautiful movie.

SPEAKER_00 59:47

I absolutely and it's because it's it's I guess it's because it's travel-related.

SPEAKER_01 59:51

And it's travel related as well. And also, I love the fact, which is what we do in our events, a hotel is the star of the show, like the park quiet becomes a you know, I've swum in that swimming pool, and I that's what we do in our events, like our hotels and the venue and the whole I love the fact that that's probably like the another character in the movie, and how Tokyo's a character in the movie as well. Just love that creativity.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:12

Yeah. Um, your favourite drink, if you have one.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:15

I do like a Negroni. Good Negroni.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:18

Do you know what? I just can't get on board with Negronies. I've tried and tried and tried. My eldest daughter drinks them. I just can't.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:25

I do like a good Negroni. Shoes do a great Negroni.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:28

Um, the small mountain you would die, think little little tiny things that send you up the wall.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:33

Well, I just think doing things well. You know, if you're gonna do a job, do it properly. And it even comes down to making a cup of tea, a sandwich, or whatever you're gonna do, do it with exit, have pride in your work. And I think I get frustrated when people don't, you know, it doesn't have to be five-star standard. You know, it doesn't have to, you don't have to go to the four seasons that you can go to it's it's that unreasonable hospitality, it's just doing jobs well. I hate it when people do things by halves.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:58

Yeah, just and they can't be bothered, and it's just oh well, that'll do. That'll do never do.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:03

It winds me up.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:04

Um, your passion outside the industry.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:07

I love cooking, I do enjoy it. Oh and I've got slightly obsessed with barbecue, David. I would love I've gone on several barbecue courses and I go deep. Like on barbecue.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:18

Yeah, you are a woman after my in my own heart. I'm obsessed, A, with food, b cooking. I mean, I I was used to be a chef a long time ago.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:25

Oh, did you?

SPEAKER_00 1:01:26

Yeah, and then I discovered I was a I was a very good cook, but a lousy chef.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:30

Right.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:30

And I like you, I'm outdoor cooking. I'm just I built my own huge wood farmed oven about 10 years ago, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:36

It's just yeah, so I invested in a smoker last year.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:40

We should have a we should have a we should have a sort of play date where you can't.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:43

Oh, I love it, and I love it because I got on these um Weber courses with equal geeks who just geek out on low heat, high heat, indirect smoking, what temperature, uh oh low and slow, overnight, yeah. The whole I I just love it where they buy their, you know, like either whether it's vegetables or you know, the flavour and the smoking. I just absolutely love it.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:07

I bought a thing called a drumbecue. You should check them out, they're very, very cool. Um, because I became so obsessed with it. They're a bit bigger than Weber, but very good for smoking. Very, very good for then.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:18

It's about making it's about that excellence, you know. And people laugh at me. It's like I don't want to go to someone's house and have a sausage and a burger. I want more. I want more from the experience. I need to, you know, I need to, you know, I you need to make more of this experience. Let's cook other, you know, of course they teach you how to make pizzas, brownies.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:39

Oh, I love that.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:40

Oh, it's just I'll send you the link. It's so fun.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:42

I love that. I love that. Um, so is the is cooking the hidden talent, or is there another hidden talent in there?

SPEAKER_01 1:02:48

Um cooking, yeah. It's a hidden talent. I mean, I speak three languages, so I did French and Italian at university, so I love speaking languages.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:55

Love to speak Italian. Oh, I'd love to speak Italian.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:57

And I must say that I did an event once in Lugano and we had a problem with the hotel, and I started to speak in Italian, and I remember my client just looking at me because I didn't say that I did, and we're just like shocked. And I think again, that's about culture. You know, my mum speaks five, my grandmother spoke seven, and that's all part of that cultural experience and connecting with people. If you can speak their language, even a few words, you're gonna get a lot farther.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:21

Have your kids have that linguistic bent?

SPEAKER_01 1:03:24

Do you know what they do? But not I haven't forced it upon them, and I haven't forced them to learn languages, but I think just naturally.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:31

Yeah, I think you either you either can't.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:33

I think they do, they both like languages. Our whole family speaks languages. I think you're immersed in that, so it's always it's always there. And I yeah, just enjoy it. It's just open your eyes to different experiences.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:44

Um, dogs or cats?

SPEAKER_01 1:03:45

I have neither, but if I did, it would be a dog.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:48

Fair enough. Um, the three people you would have to dinner and why.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:53

And why? Okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:54

This is I presume it'd be in the summer, so you give them the really good barbecue.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:58

Yeah, definitely, definitely. And a good Negroni as well. Um I think if on one side I would have my grandparents, I didn't meet my grandfather, but the grandparents that I met, which is my my Michael, my nonna, and my grandma and my granddad, they were all immigrants, and I think you know, my grandmother came over from Egypt and was born in Greece. My other grandparents are from Czechoslovakia, and you know, I would love to have them around the table and talk to them about their experiences and how they wouldn't be amazing and speak because when I was younger, I mean, my my nonna died when I was around, you know, you know, in my twenties, you know, my grandfather when I was in my twenties, my grandma collided, and they had such stories, yeah. And I wish I would have had the opportunity completely different world, too.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:47

Completely different world.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:48

And you talk about struggling, you know, and like my mum was born in Egypt, she left when she was nine, you know, and uprooted and leaving, and you think you have problems now. That's nothing to do with people who are displaced from where they were living and don't even speak the language, and just how they overcame that. Yeah, I would love to have asked them a few more questions. Yeah, but on the other side, sorry, I do have to say, I would love to have someone like Madonna George Rykel. I'm a Madonna.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:17

You've been Madonna, my wife is a massive 50, she's an over 50 Swifty. Oh, absolutely, she would have Taylor Swift to dinner in a heartbeat. Yeah, um, and if you weren't running the business, what would you be doing right now?

SPEAKER_01 1:05:30

Uh if I wasn't working, I was probably on a yoga retreat somewhere, uh stretching, meditating, and relaxing. But if it was a different career, I definitely think I would have liked to work in TV and movies.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:42

Yeah. Yeah, I think. I think you would have been pretty damn good at that.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:46

Yeah, I I really think I would have liked to have been, especially movies, that creativity, I would have loved that.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:52

Yeah. Lisa James, thank you so much for being a guest on Avent Method. It's been my complete pleasure.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:58

Oh no, I've loved it.