Two Bottles of Wine and 20-Hour Days: Surviving the Executive Burnout Trap - Jimmy Burroughes

Working harder isn't the solution. It's the default. 🧠

Jimmy Burroughes learned that the hard way — as an ex-British Army officer who climbed into a GM role and watched his body give out. Three bosses in 18 months. Legislation that wiped $20M off his bottom line overnight. 20-hour days. A glass of wine that became two bottles, then coffee and Coke Zero to get going. 25 kilos heavier, hungover, staring at 75 unread emails — wondering if he'd end up hurting himself or someone else.

So he resigned to save himself. Since then, he's worked with 3,000+ managers — and he's found the pattern: teams aren't lazy. They're stuck. Rowing hard, in different directions, through treacle, with the anchor still tied to the dock.

In this episode:

🚣 Why effort isn't the problem — and what actually is

🧠 The real difference between managing and leading (and why most leaders were never trained)

⚔️ How the military's "intent-based leadership" changes everything

🔧 The 15-minute ROLES conversation that ends overwhelm and burnout

📉 Why restructuring usually backfires — and what to do first The proof: one managing director who hadn't taken a day off in 3 years took a 4-week holiday, switched his phone off for two of them, lost 20 pounds, and doubled his company's revenue.

Find Jimmy:

🌐 jblhighperformance.com

✅ Two free assessments at jblhighperformance.com/assessment — "Where's the friction in my business?" and "Am I the bottleneck?" If you're doing more and getting less — and your health is paying for it — this episode is your way out.

🎧 Listen now One ask:

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