Nicki Paterson’s career began in professional football.

After playing for around 20 years across Scotland, the UK and North America, Nicki’s journey eventually led him into the recruitment industry, where he has spent the last eight to nine years helping companies hire leaders and specialist talent across more than 60 countries.

In this episode of Success or Excuses, James Fleming sits down with Nicki Paterson from Solutions Driven to explore how lessons from sport translate into leadership and business. Nicki shares his early football journey, from being picked up by Motherwell at a young age to playing first team football at Hamilton and eventually moving to the United States on a football scholarship.

Nicki talks about the mindset required to take opportunities, the discipline needed to succeed in professional sport and how those same traits now shape his career in recruitment. He also reflects on the impact of mentorship, hard work and learning from failure.

The conversation explores leadership in both sport and business, the challenge of hiring the right people, and why self-awareness, alignment and clear communication are essential for high-performing teams.

Key moments include:

✔️ Nicki’s journey from professional football into recruitment ✔️ Being picked up by Motherwell and playing at Hamilton ✔️ Moving to the United States on a football scholarship ✔️ Lessons from sport that translate into business leadership ✔️ The role of mentorship, discipline and hard work ✔️ Leadership, communication and building aligned teams ✔️ Why leaders can become the bottleneck in a business ✔️ Hiring great salespeople and recruitment challenges ✔️ Recruitment across global markets and international experience ✔️ Nicki’s three pieces of advice for business and life

Follow James Fleming:

LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesflemingtpwtd/ Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/successorexcusespodcast YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@SuccessorExcusesPodcast Website → https://thepowerwithintraining.com/

Follow Nicki Paterson:

LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickisolutionsdriven/

Company Website → https://solutionsdriven.com/

Timestamps

[00:00] Introduction to Nicki Paterson [00:00:50] Nicki’s background and football career [00:02:20] Being picked up by Motherwell and playing for Hamilton [00:04:40] Moving to the United States on a football scholarship [00:06:30] Opportunity mindset and taking risks [00:08:40] Discipline, mentorship and obsession with improvement [00:17:20] Leadership lessons from sport and business [00:18:10] What makes a great leader [00:24:10] Coaching teams and building accountability [00:26:40] Why leaders burn out and become bottlenecks [00:30:00] Recruitment challenges and hiring great salespeople [00:33:10] The value of international experience [00:35:00] Advice for business and leadership [00:40:20] Nicki on Solutions Driven and recruitment philosophy [00:44:40] Closing remarks

Calum Stevens didn’t set out to build a career in pharmaceuticals; he fell into it.

After studying marine biology, Calum began working in a clinical environment before joining BDD, a Glasgow-based pharmaceutical company that started as a small university spin-out. Today, the business employs around 35 people and works with both innovative biotech’s and some of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies.

In this episode of Success or Excuses, James Fleming sits down with Calum Stevens, Commercial Director at BDD, to explore growth, culture and taking action. Calum shares how he stepped away to launch a boat repair and servicing business on Loch Lomond, why he returned under the leadership of CEO Carol, and how he moved from clinical trial assistant into sales, marketing and commercial leadership.

Calum speaks openly about scaling a niche pharmaceutical company in Scotland, recruiting highly specialised scientists who can also sell, navigating long decision-making processes with global pharma, and the challenge of maintaining culture as a business grows. He also reflects on networking, fatherhood and why overplanning can stop great ideas from ever getting off the ground.

James brings his own experience into the discussion, sharing lessons on leadership, accountability, buy-in and building belief before driving change.

Key moments include: ✔️ Starting in a small university spin-out ✔️ Launching and exiting a boat repair business ✔️ Growing into Commercial Director at BDD ✔️ Recruiting niche scientific and business development talent ✔️ Managing culture as a company scales ✔️ Working with biotechs and global pharma ✔️ The danger of overplanning ✔️ The power of networking and meeting people in person ✔️ Leadership lessons from fatherhood ✔️ Calum’s three pieces of advice: leap, build your network, don’t take life too seriously

Follow James Fleming: LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesflemingtpwtd/

Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/successorexcusespodcast

YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@SuccessorExcusesPodcast

Website → https://thepowerwithintraining.com/

Follow Calum Stevens: LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/calumstevens/

Company LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/drug-delivery-international-ltd/

Company Website → https://www.bddpharma.com/

Timestamps [00:00] Introduction to Calum Stevens [00:00:52] Calum’s role and BDD’s origins as a university spin-out [00:02:00] Launching a boat repair business on Loch Lomond [00:03:00] Recruiting niche scientific and sales talent [00:04:30] The challenge of scaling culture [00:07:00] Biotech’s vs global pharma and long decision cycles [00:22:10] Returning to BDD under new leadership [00:25:00] Moving into sales, marketing and commercial leadership [00:37:10] Leadership lessons from parenting [00:45:10] Three pieces of advice for business and life [00:54:00] LinkedIn, networking and closing remarks

Val Duguid didn’t plan to start a care company… she was trying to care for her mum.

An exercise physiologist and chronic illness specialist for over 20 years, Val built her career in complex rehabilitation. But when her mum suffered a near-fatal accident, breaking her pelvis, hip and arm, Val stepped away from her previous business and became a full-time carer.

In this episode of Success or Excuses, James Fleming sits down with Val Duguid, founder of Bentley’s Home Care, to explore how a personal crisis became a business. Val shares the six weeks spent in hospital, the breakdown of relationships, the struggle to find appropriate care, and the moment she broke down trying to manage a wheelchair and four bags of shopping. That was the turning point. If the service she needed didn’t exist, she would build it

Val explains how Bentley’s began with a befriending service while waiting for a Care Inspectorate licence, how trust and local reputation helped it grow, and why she leads without rigid hierarchies, focusing instead on accountability, ownership and empowering experienced carers.

James brings his own experience of business ownership into the conversation, unpacking the loneliness of leadership, responsibility for staff, and the mindset required to lead without excuses

Key moments include: ✔️ Val’s 20+ years in complex rehabilitation ✔️ Her mum’s near-fatal accident and six weeks in hospital ✔️ Leaving her previous business to become a full-time carer ✔️ The struggle to find regulated, suitable care support ✔️ Interviewing individual carers and discovering gaps in regulation ✔️ The emotional breaking point with the shopping incident ✔️ Starting Bentley’s with a befriending service ✔️ Building through trust, referrals and reputation ✔️ Empowering carers to phone doctors and take ownership ✔️ Leadership as integrity, accountability and no excuses ✔️ A five- and ten-year vision to expand across Scotland and beyond

Follow James Fleming: LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesflemingtpwtd/ Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/successorexcusespodcast YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@SuccessorExcusesPodcast Website → https://thepowerwithintraining.com/

Follow Val Duguid: Website → https://www.bentleyshomecare.com/ Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/valerie.duguid.1 LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/valerie-duguid-69426838/

Timestamps [00:00] James introduces Val Duguid [00:01:00] Val’s background in rehabilitation [00:01:18] Her mum’s accident and life changing overnight [00:03:45] Starting Bentley’s and the befriending model [00:13:15] Hospital experience and personal impact [00:18:00] The wheelchair and shopping breaking point [00:22:15] Interviewing carers and regulatory challenges [00:29:15] Empowering staff and building culture [00:38:30] Vision for expansion across Scotland [00:42:30] Leadership, integrity and no excuses [00:45:45] Val’s top three pieces of advice [End] James closes the episode