The Mindset of a Soldier and Business Leader with Floyd Woodrow

Former SAS leader Floyd Woodrow DCM MBE on mindset, Compass for Life and the power of a Super North Star—turning elite military lessons into practical leadership for business and life.

In this episode, Paul Corke sits down with Floyd Woodrow DCM MBE—one of the youngest soldiers ever selected for the SAS, now Chairman of Quantum Group, CEO of Super North Star and the Compass for Life Foundation, and founder of Chrysalis Worldwide, a values-based leadership organisation. Floyd is a renowned international speaker and performance coach with a track record designing elite leadership programmes across sport, business, government, police, non-profits and schools. He’s the author of Learning to Learn and The Warrior, The Strategist and You, where he introduces the Compass for Life model.

Floyd shares his story—from special forces to boardrooms—and unpacks the mindset behind clarity under pressure, disciplined execution and values-led decision-making. We explore how to define your Super North Star, use a compass to balance life’s domains, and build teams that perform when it matters.

You’ll hear:

• The Compass for Life framework: Super North Star, Ethos/Values, Strategist, Warrior, Scholar

• How elite military principles translate into business leadership and culture

• Clarity → action: turning intent into non-negotiable behaviours and standards

• Training decision-making under pressure: rehearsal, reflection and feedback loops

• How Floyd’s approach connects to Paul’s Mindset Equation (Aspiration, Belief, Drive/Motivation, EQ, Resilience, Learning Agility)

Try this (10-minute Compass reset):

1. Name your Super North Star (one sentence: outcome + why).

2. Plot your compass: Warrior (action), Strategist (plan), Scholar (learning), Ethos (values).

3. Write one behaviour per quadrant you’ll do this week.

4. Set a Friday review: evidence you lived each behaviour (yes/no).

A powerful conversation on leading yourself and others—with clarity, courage and balance.