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Profit Insights
Profit Insights is the podcast for Private Equity professionals who want sharper thinking on the decisions that protect and grow enterprise value.
Hosted by Alex Franklin, founder of Ithaca Cyber Security and Penpole, a specialist healthcare digital transformation consultancy, each episode will give actionable takeaways from the worlds of Private Equity, Cyber Security, and Operational Excellence to deliver insight that adds value to your investment decisions and protects portfolio value.
From fractional CISO and DPO strategy to leadership frameworks, hiring decisions, and the business philosophy that separates elite organisations from the rest, Profit Insights covers the full spectrum of what it takes to maximise returns and manage risk in today's environment.
Episodes include in-depth interviews with industry leaders across Private Equity, Cyber Security, the NHS, and the NHS Supply Chain, alongside Penpole & Ithaca’s acclaimed written thought leadership, now brought to life in audio and video.
Whether you are a Operating Partner, Portfolio Company Executive, or investment professional navigating an increasingly complex risk landscape, Profit Insights gives you the frameworks, perspectives, and expert voices you need to make better decisions.
Subscribe now and visit ithacacybersecurity.com to find out how Alex and his teams can support you and your portfolio.
Profit Insights
Profit Insights #4 The Ancient Art of Setting Limits: A Stoic Approach to Achievement
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What if the secret to achieving more wasn't pushing harder, but setting better limits?
In this episode of Profit Insights, Alex Franklin draws on the letters of Seneca the Stoic to explore a principle that is almost 2,000 years old.
Natural desires have boundaries. Unnatural ones, driven by comparison and the opinions of others, do not. And it is the boundless pursuit of the latter that quietly drains our focus, our relationships, and our effectiveness.
Building on the Pareto and Parkinson framework from the previous episode, Alex examines what it means to set fixed destinations rather than self-limiting beliefs, why saying no is one of the highest-leverage skills available to any business leader, and how the mental clarity that comes from defined limits creates space for deeper presence, better decisions, and more meaningful achievement.
Read the full column:
penpole.co.uk/post/the-ancient-art-of-setting-limits-a-stoic-approach-to-modern-achievement
Work with Alex: penpole.co.uk | ithacacybersecurity.com
References and Further Reading
Seneca, L. A. (2016). Letters from a Stoic (R. M. Gummere, Trans.). Letter XVI: On Philosophy, the Guide of Life. Dover Publications. (Original work written ca. 65 CE)
Seneca, L. A. (2016). Letters from a Stoic (R. M. Gummere, Trans.). Letter XXXV: On the Friendship of Kindred Minds. Dover Publications. (Original work written ca. 65 CE)
Koch, R. (2022). The 80/20 Principle: Achieving More with Less. Nicholas Brealey Publishing.
Ferris, T. (2007). The 4-Hour Work Week. Penguin.
Read all Profit Insights: https://www.ithacacybersecurity.com/insights/
Work with Alex: alex@ithacacybersecurity.com
penpole.co.uk | ithacacybersecurity.com