Oct. 25, 2025

🌴299. Champagne Moments feat. Neen James (Weekend Rewind)

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Show Notes

I’m absolutely delighted to welcome back my friend, leadership strategist and radiant human, Neen James—author of Folding Time, Attention Pays, and her new book Exceptional Experiences. If you’ve ever seen Neen in action, you know she’s pure energy and light. She advises C-suite leaders across luxury and legacy brands (think Viacom, Four Seasons, even the FBI) and was recently appointed to the Board of the World Luxury Chamber of Commerce.

In this conversation, we redefine luxury—not as “expensive things,” but as human connection. We explore how to create daily champagne moments (those tiny, thoughtful touches that make people feel seen, heard, and valued), how our energy sets the room, why facilitators should design with all five senses, and how luxury language subtly elevates brand perception and client loyalty.

What we cover

Why “your energy is a luxury item” (hat-tip, Taylor Swift) and how to protect it.
Luxury = experiences, not things—what that means for facilitators, leaders, and hosts.
Champagne moments: simple ways to turn the ordinary into extraordinary (no budget required).
Packaging yourself on purpose: presence, colour, and first impressions that “set the room.”
Designing with the five senses: sound, sight, scent, taste, touch—practical facilitation ideas.
Luxury language: swapping “got” for “received,” using words like bespoke, curated, timeless.
Personalisation vs customisation at scale: simple systems to remember people and details.
The mindset shift from “toxic positivity” to grounded optimism that solves real problems.

Try this (today)

Create one champagne moment for a client, colleague, or room you’re hosting.
Edit an email using luxury language: replace one “cheap” word with an “expensive” one.
Add one sense to your next meeting (e.g., curated entry music, a signature scent, textured handouts, glassware instead of paper cups).

Memorable lines

“The energy of the room rises to meet you.” – Neen
“Luxury is everyone feeling seen, heard, and valued.” – Neen
“Personalisation needs information. Customisation needs connection. Fascination needs anticipation.” – Neen

Resources & links

Neen’s world: ninjames.com
Luxury research + downloads (Luxury Language Dictionary, comms methods, self-assessment): luxuryisamindset.com
Books: Folding Time, Attention Pays, Exceptional Experiences (out now)