Radio Show #655 – When the Numbers Stop Working: Keeping People Engaged Through Tough Decisions

Special Guest: Lara Morgan – Scentered and KitBrix When a business comes under financial pressure, what happens to engagement — and how do leaders communicate difficult news without pretending everything is fine? This conversation covers pay reductions, restructuring and uncertainty: how to be transparent without simply dumping anxiety onto employees, how to retain trust when you can’t give people everything they want, and what founders trying to “keep morale up” need to do more of. We’ll also touch on where AI creates room for people to focus on better, more interesting work. Join us as we discuss how to keep people engaged when you have to make unpopular decisions. Lara Morgan is a British serial entrepreneur, investor, bestselling author and internationally recognised keynote speaker. She founded Pacific Direct at just 23 and grew it from a bedroom start-up into a global leader in luxury hotel amenities, ultimately selling the business 17 years later for £20 million. Having built and exited a multi-site international company spanning brand licensing, global distribution and manufacturing, Lara brings practical, hard-earned insight into leadership, sales, resilience and scalable growth. Her entrepreneurial journey is captured in her bestselling book More Balls Than Most, an honest and often humorous account of building a business from nothing and learning to win commercially. Today, Lara leads a brand ownership and investment strategy, backing purpose- driven consumer and wellbeing brands that enhance everyday performance and save time, life’s most precious asset. Her portfolio includes Scentered, the mindful aromatherapy brand she helped conceptualise and scale; SOMO, a pioneering sleep fitness brand delivering science-backed recovery tools; KitBrix, a modular performance luggage system engineered for endurance athletes, actively minded individuals and highly organised professionals and amateur competitors alike; Gate8, which designs intelligent travel solutions for airline crew and frequent flyers; BetterSpace, a corporate wellbeing and rewards platform supporting employee performance; and Parcca, a premium warming coat brand designed for athletes, outdoor enthusiasts and spectators in colder climates. Lara speaks with authenticity, commercial sharpness and infectious energy. She shares real-world lessons on high-performance leadership, sales mastery, customer obsession, resilience and the critical link between wellbeing and sustained success. A co-founder of StartUp Britain, she is also a proud mother of three daughters and lives the performance mindset she teaches, balancing global work with endurance training and charitable cycling challenges. Host: Jo Moffatt