Crisis What Crisis?

Johnnie Boden, founder of Boden, reveals how he survives crisis as a business leader.
In this Crisis Compass bonus episode of Crisis What Crisis?, Johnnie shares the person, piece of advice, the daily habit and comfort that he uses to navigate life under pressure.
This is the second part of a longer conversation with Johnnie – if you enjoyed this be sure to check out the full episode on our podcast homepage.
Whether you’re an entrepreneur, CEO or leader, this episode offers a snapshot personal insight into the mindset of one of Britain's most successful fashion founders.
FOLLOW BODEN:
Instagram – www.instagram.com/boden/?hl=en
TikTok – www.tiktok.com/@boden_clothing
FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS?
Instagram – www.instagram.com/crisiswhatcrisispodcast/?hl=en
TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@crisispod

For three decades, Johnnie Boden has turned cheerful prints, quality fabrics, and unmistakable English charm into one of Britain's most distinctive retail brands – worn by royals, loved internationally, with nearly 2 million active customers and the second-biggest British clothing business in America. But as Johnnie so candidly reveals, his success has been far from linear…
In this business special of Crisis What Crisis? we delve deep into the challenges of starting and running a multinational fashion label offering lessons that apply to almost every founder, entrepreneur and leader.
LESSONS YOU'LL LEARN:
Hire people who complement you, not clone you.
Match paranoia about people with confidence about your core idea.
Ask the stupid questions.
Listen intensely.
Admit failure fast.

FOLLOW BODEN:
Instagram – www.instagram.com/boden/?hl=en
TikTok – www.tiktok.com/@boden_clothing

For over a decade at BBC Newsnight, Sam McAlister secured the interviews others couldn't – Bill Clinton, Elon Musk, Stormy Daniels. But it was six months of negotiation that led to the conversation that changed everything: Prince Andrew discussing his ties to Jeffrey Epstein in 2019.
Today, Sam teaches negotiation at LSE and is one of Britain's most compelling voices on persuasion, power, and resilience.
This is Sam McAlister's Crisis Compass

For over a decade at BBC Newsnight, Sam McAlister secured the interviews others couldn't – Bill Clinton, Elon Musk, Stormy Daniels. But it was 13 months of negotiation that led to the conversation that changed everything: Prince Andrew discussing his ties to Jeffrey Epstein in 2019. The interview became a global news event, resulted in Andrew stepping back from royal duties, and is still making headlines six years later.
In July 2021, Sam threw the dice, she gave up her BBC pension and security as a single mother in the middle of a pandemic to write a book. That gamble paid off. Her memoir Scoops became a bestseller and a Netflix film starring Gillian Anderson and Billie Piper. Today, Sam teaches negotiation at LSE and is one of Britain's most compelling voices on persuasion, power, and resilience.
LESSONS YOU'LL LEARN:
Don't get bitter, take control - When Sam wasn't getting credit for the Prince Andrew interview, she didn't whine or play victim. She took voluntary redundancy, wrote a book, and ended up with a Netflix deal and 30 million viewers watching Billie Piper play her.
Imposter syndrome is mostly a crock - When you've worked hard and earned your place, confidence isn't arrogance – it's honesty.
Build trust through respect, not manipulation - Sam's superpower wasn't sucking up to powerful people. It was treating them with respect while demanding it of herself.
Know your financial bottom line before taking risks - Sam had three outcomes mapped before leaving the BBC. That clarity gave her the courage to leap.
No one is dead – If you can't control it, suck it up. If you can, do something about it.

This is a relaunch of a previous episode, but the lessons contained within it are as important today as they were when we sat down to speak over two years ago.
Rory Stewart has spent his life running toward gunfire. At thirty, he was governing millions of Iraqis under siege, rockets landing in his compound while insurgents climbed the walls. Years earlier, he'd walked six thousand miles across Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and India – surviving on strangers' floors, dodging bullets, and at one point sitting down in the snow ready to freeze to death until his dog Babur barked him back to life. Then he tried to fix British politics from the inside – becoming Prisons Minister, running for Prime Minister, and standing as an Independent for London Mayor before Covid cancelled the election seven weeks out and ended his political career. Today he's the force behind the podcasting phenomenon The Rest Is Politics – currently touring the country giving erudite political commentary.
While his most recent book, Middleland, launched last month (October 2025), draws on pieces originally written for a local newspaper when he was serving as an MP in Cumbria, it is an urgent and inspiring portrait of rural Britain today.
LESSONS YOU'LL LEARN:
Permission to fail breeds confidence - Rory's father set impossibly high expectations while making him feel it was okay to fail. That paradox became the foundation for handling extreme crisis without paralysis.
Beware thinking in clichés during crisis - Under siege in Iraq, Rory evacuated civilians into an ambush because he fell into a "women and children first" narrative. When you're living the movie version instead of the real version, you make dangerous decisions.
Animals are crisis teachers - Babur the dog saved Rory's life by refusing to let him give up in the snow. Animals approach the world with courage, presence, and forgiveness.
Bitterness is backwards motion - After being defeated by Boris Johnson, Rory struggled with anger. Whenever you have bitter days, you always go backwards. It's not just bad for you – it's terrible for everyone around you.
Test yourself before crisis finds you - By voluntarily embracing discomfort and risk when you don't have to, you build the capacity to handle it when you must.