✨ Life On A Mission
So, what happens when you leave corporate and start entrepreneuring your way through a book tour, delivering impassioned work to eliminate burnout?
Well sometimes you find yourself being invited to film an episode of Suddenly Single as the relationship expert. Yes, really!
Et voilà — the Big Impact Without Burnout magic continues to ripple.
🎥 A Milestone Moment
This was a milestone moment in so many ways.
Invited to Hearst UK HQ in Leicester Square to meet the Best magazine team, and editor and show host, the warm and refreshing Siobhan Wykes.
To share the studio with none other than my childhood heartthrob Michael Brandon, legend of Dempsey and Makepeace fame.
To hug the very man himself and be privy to his tales of meeting King Charles, recent Singing in the Rain tour in China, and of course, the topically relevant recipe to his 35 year marriage to D&M co-star Glynis Barber.
💛 Relationships That Thrive
The show’s editorial premise is to lift the hood on finding yourself literally suddenly single in mid-life exploring all the emotional undulations that brings, dating in your 50s, a new partner for the first time in 30 years and so on.
This episode broke form to examine the opposite – how good relationships thrive and last.
Strategy No. 7 in Big Impact Without Burnout, my latest best seller, is Connection. Because I believe, know and witness time and time again in my burnout clinic that without
- psychologically-aware,
- emotionally-intelligent and
- ‘considered and considerate’ connection
it’s impossible to maintain impact, and symbiotically, influence.
What makes relationships thrive and last?
Intimacy matters. Networking and networks matter. Communication matters. Conflict resolution matters. As it is in our personal relationships so it is with our professional ones. Never forget the Harvard Business Review study proving the most important skill of a leader is their ability to infuse the workplace with Positive Relational Energy – see my blog on it here. https://biancabest.com/how-do-you-make-people-feel/
💡 The Magic Ratio
So, I critiqued and celebrated all dear Michael and Glynnis, Dempsey and Makepeace – partners on screen and off – have got right in terms of their magnificent relationship longevity.
I shared details of the Magic Ratio – the 5:1 ratio relationship rule identified by researcher and scientist John Gottman. The rule goes like this:-
For every one negative interaction in a relationship, you need five positive ones to maintain a healthy emotional baseline.
Try it — with your partner, your children, your team, even your boss. It works. It protects connection. It sustains energy. It strengthens trust.
🛑 Why Control Kills Connection
We also explored one of the biggest connection-killers: Command and control dynamics.
Whether at home or in the boardroom, domination never fosters vitality. Control constrains trust. It erodes safety. True connection flows from mutual respect and open-hearted communication.
🎤 And Then There Was the Full Circle Life Moment…
And at the frivolous end of the show I was quizzed on my celebrity crush and gleefully turned back the clock 35 years to my childhood bedroom which with no word of a lie actually included a tattered tear sheet from Just 17 magazine (old enough to remember that?!) picturing none other than Michael himself blue-tacked to my wardrobe door! My teenage heartthrob now my in-studio client! A true full circle moment!
📚 Want More Connection?
In Big Impact Without Burnout, I go deeper into the tools of meaningful connection — from the art of listening, to public speaking, networking, conflict resolution, and more.
👉 Get 50% off for a limited time with the code BIGIMPACT50 here.
🎧 Watch the Episode
Watch a snippet of my tips over here.
Catch the full episode of Suddenly Single here.
And let me know — how are you nurturing your most important relationships?
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