Summary
The view from the top of business. Presented by Evan Davis, The Bottom Line cuts through confusion, statistics and spin to present a clearer view of the business world, through discussion with people running leading and emerging companies. The programme is broadcast first on BBC Radio 4 and later on BBC World Service Radio, BBC World News TV and BBC News Channel TV.
It's tough at the top, but when is it right to be tough at the top? Evan's executive panel debate the pros and cons of ruthlessness as a management style. They also talk about investing and selling in deprived areas - places capitalism often overlooks.
Joining Evan are Jasmine Montgomery, founder of Seven Brands; Michele Giddens, co-founder of Bridges Ventures; Dido Harding, chief executive of Talk Talk Group.
Producer: Ben Crighton Editor: Richard Vadon.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Thank you for downloading this podcast from the BBC. |
| 0:03.0 | In this edition of the bottom line, Evan Davis and guests discuss being ruthless in business. |
| 0:08.5 | Hello and welcome to the programme. It's tough at the top, they say. But when is it right to be |
| 0:14.6 | tough at the top? That's our question today as we look at the pros and cons of ruthlessness as a management style. And doing business |
| 0:23.7 | in places that capitalism normally overlooks, we'll talk about investing and selling in deprived |
| 0:29.0 | areas. But before any of that, let's just take a few minutes to meet my three guests. And first |
| 0:34.9 | up is Jasmine Montgomery, founder of a company called Seven Brands. |
| 0:39.9 | Jasmine, it is inventing, helping, consulting on brands. |
| 0:43.8 | Yes, we help clients to create, manage and build their brands and we're particularly focused on what we call high growth markets. |
| 0:52.0 | These are new frontier emerging markets, So we're talking about Africa, |
| 0:56.3 | Middle East and Asia, particularly. And they're trying essentially to, if you like, catch up |
| 1:00.8 | as well as on the manufacturing and industrial side is on the branding and the softer stuff. |
| 1:04.9 | Yeah, I mean, for years, great things have been made in China, but very few things are branded in China. |
| 1:09.4 | So we're trying to help connect the world-class brand consulting and brand thinking and advertising, creativity and |
| 1:15.1 | strategic thinking that you get in London with sort of local insights so that companies in those |
| 1:20.6 | markets can compete on an increasingly world stage. All right. Also with us is Michelle Giddens, |
| 1:26.9 | co-founder of Bridges Ventures, which is a social venture capital fund. I think you should explain, Michelle, just what it is. |
| 1:34.1 | What we believe in is harnessing capital to make a difference. So for 10 years now, we've been investing in entrepreneurs in a number of impact areas. We invest in entrepreneurs in the most deprived parts of this country. |
| 1:45.0 | We're interested in businesses |
| 1:46.3 | that can grow in the areas of health, |
| 1:48.7 | education and environment. |
| 1:50.7 | So we think it's possible, |
... |
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