Lara Acosta joins James Smith for a no-holds-barred conversation about LinkedIn, the corporate world, and what it really takes to build a personal brand that actually moves the needle. A LinkedIn growth expert and founder who's helped thousands of professionals turn themselves into trusted authorities, Lara breaks down why most people are doing LinkedIn wrong — and why the platform isn't the problem, corporate is.
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Lara Acosta joins James Smith for a no-holds-barred conversation about LinkedIn, the corporate world, and what it really takes to build a personal brand that actually moves the needle. A LinkedIn growth expert and founder who's helped thousands of professionals turn themselves into trusted authorities, Lara breaks down why most people are doing LinkedIn wrong — and why the platform isn't the problem, corporate is.
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🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith
📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business
🏋🏼♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com
Lara Acosta's YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/@Laraacosta
Lara Acosta On Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/laraacostar/
She explains:
◼️ Why LinkedIn isn't cringe — corporate is
◼️ What's actually changed in the algorithm and how to ride it
◼️ Why AI slop is killing engagement (and why Lara doesn't care)
◼️ How to micro-dose failure instead of betting the house
◼️ Why following your skill beats following your passion every time
Chapters:
00:00 The Real Problem With LinkedIn
01:16 Why LinkedIn Feels So Cringe
03:19 James's Years in the Corporate Trenches
05:46 Hacks to Leave Work Early Without Being Noticed
08:06 Sales, Recruitment, and the Posh Hotel Voice
11:11 What's Actually Wrong With the Algorithm
12:48 Carousels and Picture-First Posting
14:21 The Great LinkedIn Articles Debate
21:06 The Three-Hour Workday Conspiracy
24:05 Social Loafing and Bloated Departments
26:06 Cocaine, Cider Hands, and Surviving Corporate
28:18 Three Weeks at Activision Doing Nothing
30:35 Failing First Year of University
33:00 The Birmingham Housemates Story
35:00 Failing Spanish as a Native Speaker
38:31 The AI Slop Problem on LinkedIn
40:29 Why Engagement Prompts Actually Work
43:53 Entrepreneur vs Business Owner in Britain
45:45 The Texas Barbecue New Tonic Story
50:15 The Zero Sum Mentality Trap
52:57 Lara's NPower Door-to-Door Scam Job
56:00 James in a Prom Suit Selling Energy
58:32 One in a Hundred and the Power of Rejection
01:01:35 Enjoying Every Stage of Business
01:02:55 The Problem With Remote Working
01:09:03 Giving Your Team Rope to Climb or Hang
01:10:44 The Problem With Leadership on LinkedIn
01:15:32 The Goalposts That Never Stop Moving
01:16:00 James's Complacency in Lockdown
01:19:13 Closing Takeaways: Follow Skill Not Passion
This conversation is part LinkedIn masterclass, part corporate exorcism. Lara's clear-eyed take on the platform — what the algorithm rewards, what AI is doing to the feed, and why most leadership content is fake — meets James's lived experience of faking pisses to scroll Twitter, calling Cornwall County Council 100 times a day, and getting binned from a job he never figured out. The result is a candid look at why so many people stay stuck in jobs they hate, and a practical case for micro-dosing failure until you build the life you actually want.
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