 |
Doing the Opposite: Business DisruptorsAuthor: Jeff Dewing
Welcome to Doing the Opposite: Business Disruptors. CEO of Cloudfm Group Jeff Dewing talks to entrepreneurs, business leaders and outliers about times they have "Done the opposite" by rejecting commonly held beliefs in their business or profession. They discuss the birth of the idea, the push back and revolutions that ensued. Language: en Genres: Business, Careers, Entrepreneurship Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it Trailer: |
Listen Now...
Legacy & Leadership: Why It’s Not About You
Episode 8
Tuesday, 28 April, 2026
In Season Six of Doing the Opposite: Business Disruptors we’re turning the spotlight onto host of the podcast Jeff Dewing. Jeff is Founder and CEO of Cloudfm Group, keynote speaker, bestselling author, and a leader who rebuilt his life and company by doing the one thing most people fear: the opposite.In this episode, Jeff and Sam explore what legacy really means to a leader; not as a monument to personal achievement, but as the living proof of the people you’ve empowered to thrive without you. Jeff opens with Turn the Ship Around, the story of a struggling US Navy submarine that became the fleet’s best performer once its new captain stopped granting permission and started demanding intent. The lesson, Jeff argues, translates directly to any organisation: specialists own their craft, and the leader’s job is to provide context and remove friction. Jeff traces how grief, reflection, and a Vistage CEO peer group helped him move from instinct to language, from knowing what good culture felt like to being able to articulate it, measure it, and embed it across the business. He shares how, after losing his father in 2017, he made a decision that changed everything: stop being a machine and start trusting the people around him. The result was going from 300 emails a day to three a week. His message to leaders who fear flexible working is blunt: if your people are killing time, the failure is yours, not theirs.From there, Jeff makes the case for leaving ego at the door. He used to ask his teams to physically remove their shoes before entering a meeting room as a daily reminder that responsibility doesn’t make anyone better than anyone else. He names curiosity as the single most powerful leadership trait: be the last person to speak, ask what others think, and assume everyone in the room knows something you don’t. It’s a habit that keeps him close to people who think completely differently to him, and it’s where most of his learning comes from.Jeff closes with Ikigai - the Japanese framework that helped him define success not as results, but as fulfilment. When his leadership team debates a hard call and someone asks, “What would Jeff do?” the answer is always the same: he’d ask what you would do. And when Sam gives him the pen and paper to write down the one message he’d send to any young entrepreneur, it takes just five words: It’s not about you. In 2026 Cloudfm Group celebrates its 15th anniversary. Find out more about Cloudfm here. Hosted by Sam WalkerWatch the podcast on YouTube Discover Cloudfm Group:Website | LinkedInFind the best-selling book Doing The Opposite by Jeff Dewing HERE
