The Authentic Advisor

‘The Authentic Advisor’ interviews are packed with practical ideas, insights, and frank observations on what works (and what does not) when delivering high performance business advisory. Mindshop’s Managing Director, James Mason interviews senior independent and professional service firm business advisors from across the world. Exploring important advisory topics from creating leverage and building capability to marketing advisory services and how to be the best problem solver in the room, this podcast series is a ‘must listen’ for those who want to set themselves apart in a cluttered market.

The Authentic Advisor is a business podcast hosted by Mindshop, with 73 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Mindshop hosts The Authentic Advisor, a business show with 73 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

• 

  The Authentic Advisor

  Is The Two-Day Strategic Planning Retreat Dead? If so, What Replaces it? With Russell Cummings, SHIFFT, Australia

  Sep 30, 202633 min

  If you run (or are thinking of running) strategy days, this episode's for you. Listen in to Mindshop Expert Russell Cummings, SHIFFT. He has 30 years’ experience running strategic planning retreats for clients. Russell explains why the two-day retreat isn't dead, but it has significantly evolved. Sharing how his pre-work system works, so he walks in with a ‘straw man' plan that's already 80-90% done, so the people in the room can focus on what actually matters. What else is covered in the episode? AI, done right. Russ is candid about where he thinks AI genuinely helps (diagnostics, competitor analysis, pulling interviews into a first draft) and where it backfires, eroding into 'AI slop' that erodes trust. Bespoke over cookie-cutter. How pre-interviews and surveys let him meet each client exactly where they're at, instead of forcing a one-size-fits-all process. Making it stick. Russell shares his cascading cadence model: a 3-year plan > annual > quarterly > 90-day cycles and the killer line 'Don't pay me for the plan, pay me for the implementation.' Don't miss this episode, it's a practical, field-tested playbook for sharper, more impactful strategy days.

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  The Authentic Advisor

  The Silent Ceilings Capping Advisory Success with Angela Grogan, Best Business Results, Australia

  Aug 31, 202632 min

  What if the biggest barriers to your growth as an advisor aren’t external at all? In this episode of The Authentic Advisor, James Mason is joined by Angela Grogan from Best Business Results to explore the internal barriers that can quietly cap advisory success. They unpack: Imposter syndrome: How self-doubt can stop advisors from pursuing opportunities and developing their capability. The personal brand trap: Why copying gurus and chasing visibility can undermine authenticity. Volume vs depth: Whether chasing more clients is really the right growth strategy, or whether deeper relationships with the right clients create greater value. Ego and blind spots: Why advisors need to be as willing to examine themselves as they are to challenge their clients. Trust through consistency: How reliability, responsiveness and being easy to work with can become genuine differentiators. The next shiny thing: Why constantly collecting frameworks, courses and tools can distract from mastering what already works. The human advantage: Why listening, connection and having difficult conversations remain central to effective advisory. The conversation ultimately comes back to self-awareness and continuous improvement. Identify your blind spots, seek honest feedback and focus on doing the work that creates meaningful outcomes for clients.

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  The Authentic Advisor

  Why Advisors Struggle to Sell High Value Advisory Work with Mike Boyle, Strategy Shift, Australia

  Jul 31, 202630 min

  Winning higher value advisory work isn't about sending more proposals or increasing activity. It's about demonstrating better judgment. In this episode of The Authentic Advisor, James Mason speaks with Mike Boyle from Strategy Shift about why so many advisors struggle to move beyond transactional work and secure larger, more strategic engagements. Their message is clear: too many advisors are pursuing high value clients with outdated sales tactics. Mike explains why today's buyers have become increasingly resistant to AI-generated outreach, generic proposals and capability-led selling. Instead, premium clients are looking for advisors who understand their challenges, ask better questions and bring fresh thinking to complex problems. The conversation explores why advisors need to stop leading with credentials and start leading with insight. Mike shares practical questions that uncover what clients have already tried, what success really looks like and what happens if key issues remain unresolved. These conversations build trust long before a proposal is needed. James and Mike also discuss: the importance of targeted referrals, creating scarcity around your expertise using smaller pilot engagements to build confidence before expanding into larger advisory relationships four practical actions advisors can implement immediately to sharpen their positioning, improve conversion rates and win more premium advisory work. If you're looking to attract better clients, command higher fees and move further up the advisory value chain, this episode is packed with practical strategies you can apply immediately. Takeaways Move from shotgun proposals to precise, strategic conversations. Build trust through early qualification and understanding messy problems. Use storytelling and social proof to demonstrate credibility. Focus on referrals and reputation to access high-value clients. Always be closing by testing early and controlling next steps. Mastering high-value advisory sales in a noisy market Chapters 00:00 High-Value Advisory Work 03:30 The Great Mix-Up of 2026 08:28 Finding Quality Opportunities in a Noisy Market 13:29 Building Trust and Demonstrating Capability 18:23 Closing High-Value Deals 25:14 Key Actions for Winning High-Value Work

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  The Authentic Advisor

  Humanising Advisory in the Age of AI with Ritz Steytler, Abacus Partners, UK

  Jun 30, 202628 min

  If AI has “read every book” and advisory is rapidly moving into what Ritz Steytler calls a “post-knowledge world” how are advisors going to deliver value for clients? In this episode of The Authentic Advisor, Ritz explains why the future of advisory will depend on judgment, presence, implementation and the quality of the questions advisors ask. Drawing on 30 years building technology businesses and advising leadership teams, Ritz shares how he is using AI tools daily to sharpen preparation, personalise communication and reclaim time for the work that moves clients forward. As he explains, “the AI handles the synthesis, and the advisor is then fully prepared and free to be genuinely present.” James Mason and Ritz also tackle the hidden downside of AI acceleration, including burnout, relentless context switching and the pressure to produce more, faster. The conversation explores why “slow consulting” and giving problems “time to breathe” will become critical differentiators for trusted advisors over the next five years. A grounded and practical discussion for accounting firms and business advisors navigating the shift from knowledge work to judgment, wisdom and human connection. Chapters 00:00 AI in Advisory 01:14 Ritz Steytler's Background 03:12 AI Advisory Myths 05:43 Human Judgment in AI 07:54 AI in Advisory Applications 14:26 Trust & Human Connection 15:53 Slow Consulting 21:32 Tips to Stay Informed

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  The Authentic Advisor

  Poor Team Performance is Rising: What's Changed & What to Do About it. With Cameron Geddes, Australia

  May 31, 202631 min

  Why Teams Aren't Performing (And How Advisors Can Actually Help Fix Them). Everyone's busy. But busy isn't the same as effective and right now, most teams are doing a lot of the former while quietly losing grip on the latter. Cameron Geddes has spent close to two decades working inside teams across health, government and corporate organisations. In this episode he gives a frank, no-fluff assessment of what's actually breaking team performance right now, what high-performing leaders are doing differently and how business advisors can support them. The real culprits aren't the ones most leaders focus on. Fatigue and overload are symptoms, not causes. Poor operating cadence, absent leadership and weak alignment are what's actually doing the damage. Cam also draws a sharp distinction between training and learning that every advisor working with leaders needs to hear. Without follow-through and real application, behaviour simply doesn't change, and the gap doesn't close itself. His parting challenge is to stop being the answer to everything. In a world where AI is eroding the value of information and accelerating the value of judgment, the shift from giving answers to asking great questions is the single most important move a leader can make right now. A tight, honest conversation with someone who's seen what works from the inside. Well worth the 30 minutes. Chapters 00:00 Why good teams are struggling 02:13 Busy but not effective 06:05 When leaders go missing 10:10 Why alignment breaks down 14:15 Training vs learning 18:04 The one word: discipline 22:09 Stop being the answer

  ListenShow Notes

Recent guests on The Authentic Advisor. Study who booked and why before you pitch.

Based on semantic analysis of episode topics and host coverage, this show is a strong guest fit for executives in:

Industry fit is computed by PitchCentric using vector embeddings of the show's episode catalog.