EDITION 1085
1 SEPTEMBER 2025

On this day in 1939, Hitler’s invasion of Poland sparked World War II - proof that dithering and delay can be as deadly as aggression. In 1985, Robert Ballard found the Titanic, 13,000 feet down - the “unsinkable” ship sunk because it ignored repeated ice warnings.

Different eras, same theme: complacency kills. Leaders who think they’re unsinkable, or who freeze when action is needed, soon find themselves under water. The Titanic ignored ice; Westminster ignores deadlines. Both end badly. And that makes this week’s leadership stories all the more relevant.

This edition of 10 THINGS looks at Labour’s plan to slim the House of Lords, the perils of clinging to power, and why even a morning coffee can be a leader’s best morale boost.

So, as another week passes into the annals of history, here are 10 things that caught my eye and may have escaped yours. Please feel free to share on social media or forward to colleagues and friends.

William Montgomery
Editor and CEO of TEN

1. How to make your presentation resonate. A great presentation isn’t about dazzling slides or perfect delivery, it’s about making a human connection. To do that, you need to understand your audience on a personal level: what drives them, what frustrates them, and what they secretly hope you’ll solve. If you can answer those questions before you speak, your words will cut through the noise and actually land. READ MORE

2. An autumn of leadership tests. As summer fades, Britain’s leaders face a stormy autumn. Rachel Reeves is staring at a £40bn fiscal gap; Kier Starmer’s Labour, barely a year in, is already feeling the strain. Inflation bites, strikes loom, and whispers of discontent echo 1978. Meanwhile, Nigel Farage’s Reform UK is filling the silence with sharper soundbites, proving that if you don’t own the narrative, someone else will. Add those growing warnings about national resilience - from cyber sabotage to creaking infrastructure - and leadership suddenly looks less about long speeches and more about swift, visible action. The lesson? Crises demand clarity. Resilience must be designed, not improvised. And progress only matters if people feel it. This autumn will test not just policies, but presence.

3. Free speech comes at a price. Lucy Connolly walked free from prison on 21 August, having served around 10 months of a 31-month sentence for an incendiary tweet she later deleted. The debate continued last week, with readers of The Telegraph divided. Some had sympathy for her predicament; others argued, bluntly, that she got what she deserved. Both views have merit. Her punishment looked harsh, but English law has always drawn the line at threatening language likely to provoke disorder. Freedom of speech is a right - but not carte blanche to say anything without consequence. The leadership lesson? Words matter. Say them in haste, regret them at leisure. Liberty comes with responsibility - and good leaders count the cost before they press “send.”

4. The last of the hereditaries. Labour’s latest reform of the House of Lords sounds more like a fitness regime than a constitutional shake-up. Peers will soon have to resign if they don’t meet a basic level of “participation” - which, given some attendance records, could be as demanding as turning up once a year and staying awake. A retirement age of 80 will also be introduced, trimming around 200 noble heads from the red benches. Add to that the abolition of the 92 hereditary peers, and suddenly the world’s largest second chamber may start to look less like a stately care home and more like a functioning legislature. Leadership lesson? If you want influence, you can’t just wear the robes - you have to show up and do the work.

5. Knowing when to quit. Leadership isn’t forever. We saw it with Joe Biden, and now the sequel stars Donald Trump, 79. Reports of cankles, stair struggles, and name-mangling suggest a leader visibly past his peak. The presidency, like any high-stress role, is a centrifuge that ages you in dog years. Yet here we are again, watching a man grip the handrail while clinging to power. One of the hardest calls in leadership is knowing when to stop. Too many stay until decline makes the decision for them. The best leaders leave on their own terms, before the fluorescent lights of mortality expose the cracks. Quitting well isn’t weakness - it’s wisdom. Should there be an age limit for leaders. Please share your views in our latest poll. VOTE HERE

6. When leaders become hostages. I watched Hostage on Netflix this past week. It’s a political thriller where Suranne Jones plays a new British Prime Minister facing collapsing cancer drug supplies, a tough French president, and a kidnapped husband. Subtle, it is not. Within two episodes, democracy, the NHS, refugee quotas and terrorism all pile in, as if Whitehall were run by Netflix interns. Critics call it “wonky”, with endless twists and too many issues. But there’s a leadership lesson. Being PM - or CEO - often means living in the “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” zone. Whatever you decide, half the crowd boos. The takeaway? Stay calm, hold your course, and - unlike in Hostage - don’t let your personal dramas run your Cabinet. Leadership is never binge-worthy, but it’s always real.

7. The coffee affect. Here’s a leadership lesson in a mug: coffee in the morning really does make you happier. A University of Warwick study, published in Nature Scientific Reports, tracked 236 young adults via smartphone surveys seven times a day for up to four weeks. On mornings when they’d had caffeine in the previous 90 minutes, participants felt significantly happier and more enthusiastic - but the effect faded after about 2½ hours. The researchers say it’s partly ritual, but also hard science: caffeine blocks adenosine receptors and boosts dopamine activity, the neurotransmitter linked with alertness and pleasure. Leadership takeaway? A well-timed cup of coffee isn’t just a pick-me-up - it’s a proven morale boost. Share that energy with your team before you fire up the day.

8. You’re hired [by a Bot]. If your next job interview is with an AI bot, don’t panic — you might just be in luck. New research from the University of Chicago and Erasmus University Rotterdam found that candidates interviewed by AI agents were 12% more likely to get the job. Even better, those hires were 17% more likely to stick around for at least a month. Why? The bots spoke less, listened more, and never got tired - unlike human recruiters, who after their sixth back-to-back interview may be more interested in their sandwich than your CV. The leadership takeaway? Sometimes less talking and more listening works wonders. And unlike AI, the rest of us still need lunch.

9. Fine Water, Sir? First came wine lists, then craft beer menus. Now, brace yourself: water sommeliers. La Popote, a Michelin-listed restaurant in Cheshire, has launched the UK’s first water menu, with bottles priced between £5 and £19. The “sommelier” behind it, told The Guardian he wants people “to experiment and enjoy it in a way they’ve never done before”. Globally, the trend is bubbling up with US restaurants now flog bottles for as much as $95. Apparently, water is the new champagne, as more diners turn away from alcohol. Leadership lesson? If people can sell plain old H₂O at luxury prices, then with the right positioning, anything is possible. Just don’t ask for tap - it’s probably off-menu.

10. The bottom line. More than half (54%) of UK businesses are feeling confident about the economy, in a rare boost for Rachel Reeves ahead of her autumn budget. Companies polled by Lloyds Bank in August were 2% more optimistic than they were in July, and nearly two-thirds (63%) feel their trading prospects are strong – the highest level since 2014.