Truth, Lies and Work

What does it actually feel like when the company you built starts falling apart?

In 2021, Aedan Fida’s company, Blade Air, was on top of the world. They had a $20 million school board contract, 25,000 square feet of manufacturing space, and revenue hitting $30 million. Then, the pandemic ended, and revenue dropped off a cliff—falling to just $2 million by 2024.

In this episode, Aedan (a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and EY Entrepreneur of the Year) gives one of the most candid accounts of founder life we’ve ever hosted. From sleeping in cars to build prototypes to the brutal reality of a 93% revenue drop, Aedan shares the "deep learning" that comes when you stop chasing goalposts and start leading with purpose.

🔥 What we cover in this episode:


The Pivot that Paid Off (and then didn't): How Aedan went from building carbon filters for cannabis growers in a Toronto basement to massive government contracts.


The "Deep Learning" Period: The truth about managing a $30M company with a management structure that wasn't ready for it.


Slow Down to Speed Up: Why the instinct to "go harder" during a collapse is often wrong, and how coaching, therapy, and systems actually turned the tide.


The "Right" Team: The remarkable story of Aedan’s brother, Kieran, who recognized he was becoming a bottleneck and went out to find his own replacement.


Purpose Balance over Work-Life Balance: The heart-wrenching lesson Aedan learned after losing his father about being present for the life you’re already living.

👤 About Aedan Fida
Aedan is the CEO of Blade Air, a Canadian clean air technology company. He is focused on the "triple bottom line" of people, planet, and profit, driving energy efficiency in HVAC systems through disruptive technology.

Connect with Aedan:
– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aedanfidastriplebottomline/
– Website: https://www.bladeair.com/

📬 Connect with Al & Leanne
– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork
– Al Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott
– Leanne Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne
– Email: [email protected]
– Book a call: https://savvycal.com/meetleanne/chat

Mental health support
UK & ROI — Samaritans Call 116 123 or visit https://www.samaritans.org
UK — Mind Call 0300 123 3393 or visit https://www.mind.org.uk
US — Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Call or text 988 or visit https://988lifeline.org
Australia — Lifeline Call 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au
Global helplines
https://findahelpline.com

Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning workplace podcast where behavioural science meets workplace culture. This week, we’re unpacking the "human" skills needed for an AI-driven future, a bizarre experiment in digital leadership at Meta, and whether the "loudest" person in the room is actually the best person to lead it.

🔥 Stories Covered

1. 5 Skills LinkedIn Says Will AI-Proof Your Career
LinkedIn’s CEO Ryan Roslansky argues that while AI will reshape work, it won’t replace it—if you lean into the "5 Cs". Leanne breaks down why curiosity, courage, creativity, compassion, and communication are the traits hardest to automate. We also compare these to the evidence-based "Great Eight" model to see if these skills are truly new or just "repackaged" for the AI era.
https://www.inc.com/amaya-nichole/5-skills-linkedin-says-will-ai-proof-your-career-in-2026/91325413

2. The Digital Mark Zuckerberg: Efficiency or Madness?
Meta is reportedly training an AI clone of its CEO on his mannerisms and tone so employees can query him directly—essentially a digital boss on demand. While Zuckerberg uses a "CEO agent" to flatten the organisation, Meta is simultaneously navigating massive legal penalties. Is this a genius move for scale or a jarring corporate misstep?
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/apr/13/meta-ai-mark-zuckerberg-staff-talk-to-the-boss

3. Why the DoorDash CEO Reads 2,000-Word Complaint Emails
Tony Xu reveals why he hunts for "gold" in long, detailed messages from customers and Dashers. While many leaders shy away from negative feedback, Xu personally "debugs" system failures by tracking orders in the backend to understand where the app fails the real world.
https://www.businessinsider.com/doordash-ceo-tony-xu-2000-word-emails-customers-dashers-2026-3

🧠 Truth or Lie: Extroverts Make More Effective Leaders

We often celebrate magnetic, commanding figures as the gold standard for leadership. But Leanne dives into the research to distinguish between leader emergence (who looks the part) and leader effectiveness (who actually delivers results).

The Verdict: It’s a Lie—or at least a dangerous half-truth. While extroversion accounts for about 10% of who gets promoted, it doesn't guarantee results. In fact, research shows that quieter leaders often outperform extroverts when managing proactive, high-performing teams.

💬 Workplace Surgery

This week, we answer three listener dilemmas:


Should I Bother with Engagement Surveys? Are you just measuring problems or actually fixing them?


Managing Generational Friction: Is the tension between Gen Z’s boundaries and "earned authority" something a manager should fix? Leanne explains why this is a clash of unspoken norms, not age.


New Job Red Flags: What are the signs in your first few weeks that you’ve joined a genuinely healthy workplace versus an intentional disaster?

Resources Mentioned


Who is Al Elliott? Hear our co-host’s story from bankruptcy to award-winning business owner: https://truthliesandwork.com/episodes/16-who-is-al-elliott-award-winning-business-owner-to-bankruptcy-and-back-our-co-host-s-story

📬 Connect with Al & Leanne

– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork
– Al Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott
– Leanne Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne
– Email: [email protected]
– Book a call: https://savvycal.com/meetleanne/chat

Mental Health Support

UK & ROI — Samaritans Call 116 123 or visit https://www.samaritans.org
UK — Mind Call 0300 123 3393 or visit https://www.mind.org.uk
US — Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Call or text 988 or visit https://988lifeline.org
Australia — Lifeline Call 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au
Global helplines: https://findahelpline.com

🎧 Truth, Lies & Work is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals.

Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning podcast where behavioral science meets workplace culture, brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network.

This week, Al and Leanne are joined by Danni Mohammed, founder of the creative and innovation practice Gentle Forces. Danni has spent her career at some of the world’s most iconic agencies—including Saatchi & Saatchi and WPP—but she’s now doing something genuinely radical: running a global innovation firm with just two job titles.

Danni explores why traditional hierarchies might be holding your team back, how to balance the "chaos" of creativity with the "order" of delivery, and why her team describes their workplace as "calm" despite tackling some of the biggest brand challenges on the planet.

🔥 Inside the Episode

1. The "Two Title" Experiment
Danni explains her hatred for traditional job titles, arguing they limit potential and feed egos rather than focusing on the work. At Gentle Forces, you are either a Practice Lead or a Practitioner. We dive into how this structure provides clarity without the restrictive walls of a traditional corporate ladder.

2. Balancing Chaos and Order
In the creative world, comfort is the enemy of freshness. Danni discusses her philosophy of "getting comfortable with the uncomfortable" and how she uses a "diverge and converge" process to ensure that big, chaotic ideas eventually turn into tangible, high-scale deliverables for clients.

3. "Night Vision" and Innovation
Described by peers as having "night vision"—the ability to see possibilities where others see darkness—Danni shares her experience founding WPP Black Ops. She reveals how this "speedboat" model allowed her to drive massive innovation for brands like SK-II and the Tokyo Olympics by ignoring traditional setups.

4. A Culture of Calm
Perhaps the most surprising takeaway is that despite a process built on friction and interrogation, her team consistently describes the culture as "calm." Danni explains how removing unnecessary politics and "ego-feeding" titles creates a safe, open environment where people are proud to build something different.

🧠 Key Lessons for Leaders


Structure for Output: Don't inherit your industry's habits. Ask if your current titles are defining roles or just defining limits.


Embrace Interdisciplinary Thinking: Move beyond simple collaboration to a space where different disciplines work together to create something entirely new.


Practice Over Agency: Why viewing your work as a "practice" encourages continuous learning and keeps the "ceiling" off your team's growth.

📬 Connect with Al & Leanne

– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork
– Al Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott
– Leanne Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne
– Email: [email protected]
– Book a call: https://savvycal.com/meetleanne/chat

Connect with Danni Mohammed:
– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dannimohammed
– Website: https://gentleforces.com

Mental health support

UK & ROI — Samaritans Call 116 123 or visit https://www.samaritans.org
UK — Mind Call 0300 123 3393 or visit https://www.mind.org.uk
US — Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Call or text 988 or visit https://988lifeline.org
Australia — Lifeline Call 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au
Global helplines
https://findahelpline.com

Truth, Lies & Work is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals.

Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning podcast where behavioural science meets workplace culture. This week is a very special "cross-over" episode as we are joined by Alexis Zahner and Sally Clarke, hosts of the Live+Work More Human podcast. Together, we tackle the "bums on seats" myth, the stress of AI limits, and why being a "vulnerable" leader is more nuanced than you think.

🔥 Stories Covered

1. The "Sh*tcut": When Speed Kills Quality
Leanne introduces a new term from James Hardie: the sh*tcut. While a shortcut is a disciplined way to save time while protecting quality, a shtcut* is moving faster by skipping the essential thinking and checks. We discuss why businesses fall into this trap and how to use the C Method (Clarity, Checks, and Consequences) plus Courage to avoid it.

Read more here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/really-shortcut-shtcut-james-hardie-rouye/?trackingId=aTyABh%2F%2BTgCbctmdoTx97w%3D%3D

2. The 4:30 PM Empty Office
Sally shares a viral story of an Indian tech professional in Sweden who was stunned to find her office completely vacant by 4:30 PM. In Sweden, the emphasis is on quality of work over "warming a chair." We dive into why the "always-on" badge of honor is a recipe for burnout and why recovery must be treated as a professional norm.

Watch the video: https://www.google.com/search?q=viral+video+of+swedish+office&oq=viral+video+of+swedish+office&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRigATIHCAIQIRigATIHCAMQIRigATIHCAQQIRiPAtIBCDQzNDlqMGo5qAIAsAIB&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:d0449930,vid:iMc8VrcsfQs,st:0

Read the story: https://www.ndtv.com/feature/empty-office-at-4-30-pm-indian-techie-highlights-swedens-work-culture-11275625

3. Token Anxiety: The New AI Stress
Al reveals a bizarre new workplace stress: Token Anxiety. Whether it's watching your daily AI allowance creep up or feeling guilty that your AI isn't "working" while you sleep, it's a very modern FOMO. Interestingly, research shows that even AI models start to produce "sloppy code" and cut corners when they near their context limits—just like an overworked human on a Friday afternoon.

🧠 Truth or Lie: Does Vulnerability Make You a Better Leader?

Alexis puts the "vulnerability" gospel to the test. While popular, the research shows it’s a double-edged sword.


The Truth: Sharing critical feedback about your own performance builds psychological safety.


The Lie: "Willy-nilly" oversharing without strategy signals incompetence.


The Verdict: Leadership vulnerability only works when paired with discernment, humble self-assessment, and a clear plan for growth.

💬 Workplace Surgery

Our panel of four experts answers your burning questions:


Leading through your own burnout: How do you support a team when you’re running on empty? Sally suggests seeking outside help pronto and putting on your own oxygen mask first.


Leading culture "uphill": What to do when the organization rewards speed but you want to protect your team? Lex discusses creating a "micro-culture" and using the language of business to defend boundaries.


The "Hiring Like Me" Trap: Why hiring for "culture fit" often leads to groupthink and how to move toward "culture add."

📬 Connect with Al & Leanne

– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork
– Al Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott
– Leanne Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne
– Email: [email protected]
– Book a call: https://savvycal.com/meetleanne/chat

Connect with our Guests
– Alexis Zahner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexiszahner/
– Sally Clarke: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sallyclarkeevolve/
– Website: https://liveandworkmorehuman.com/

Mental health support

UK & ROI — Samaritans Call 116 123 or visit https://www.samaritans.org
UK — Mind Call 0300 123 3393 or visit https://www.mind.org.uk
US — Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Call or text 988 or visit https://988lifeline.org
Australia — Lifeline Call 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au
Global helplines: https://findahelpline.com

Truth, Lies & Work is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals.

Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning workplace podcast where behavioural science meets workplace culture.

Ken Blanchard was told in college he couldn't write. His graduate professors said he lacked academic ability. When he finished The One Minute Manager, his colleagues warned him it would embarrass him professionally. It went on to sell 15 million copies and become one of the most influential business books ever written.

In this episode, we sit down with Martha Lawrence — editor, novelist, and the woman who spent 22 years working directly alongside Ken Blanchard. Martha recently wrote his biography, Catch People Doing Things Right, and she's here to share what she learned about the man, the philosophy, and why his ideas matter more than ever in today's leadership landscape.

📖 What We Discuss with Martha Lawrence

1. The Book That Broke the Rules
In 1982, business books were dense, academic, and hundreds of pages long. Ken Blanchard wrote a 100-page parable — and invented an entirely new category. Martha explains how a chance meeting at a cocktail party led to one of the most counterintuitive publishing decisions in history, and why Ken's colleagues thought it would ruin his reputation.

2. Leading With Love — What It Actually Means
"Leading with love" sounds soft. It isn't. Martha unpacks what Ken really meant: getting yourself out of the way so other people can be magnificent. She explains why this philosophy is harder to execute than command-and-control leadership — and why it produces better results.

3. EGO = Edging Good Out
In a world of loud, aggressive, title-obsessed leaders, Ken had a different definition of ego. Martha shares how his father's advice on the day he became seventh grade class president shaped his entire leadership philosophy — and why people follow leaders they trust, not leaders with impressive job titles.

4. What He Did With a Tape Recorder
Two stories from Martha's biography that stop you in your tracks: what Ken did when an employee's widow visited the office, and what he did the night his own father was dying. Both reveal the difference between someone who talks about values and someone who actually lives them.

5. The 9/11 Test
After 9/11, the Blanchard organisation was losing millions. The leadership team discussed layoffs for the first time in company history. What Ken did next is one of the most striking examples of transparent, human leadership you'll hear — and it ended with the whole company in Maui.

🔗 Connect with Martha Lawrence

Website: https://www.marthalawrence.com

Ken Blanchard's books: https://www.kenblanchardbooks.com

Blanchard organisation: https://www.blanchard.com

📬 Connect with Al & Leanne

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork

Al Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott

Leanne Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne

Email: [email protected]

Book a call: https://savvycal.com/meetleanne/chat

Truth, Lies & Work is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals.