Collaborative Partner Consulting: How to Work with Clients for Success

Collaborative Partner Consulting: How to Work with Clients for Success

One very interesting aspect of the role of the consultant was demonstrated in a recent classroom setting where three pieces of paper were out across the floor by our facilitator to form three points on a giant imaginary triangle. In this order, they read: expert, pair of helping hands, and collaborative partner

As we pondered those phrases before discussing our interpretation of them, the exercise was to tease out how we can as consultants work best with clients to develop effective solutions that meet their unique needs.

Read More

The most compelling reason I found for commuting in to the office

The most compelling reason I found for commuting in to the office

To say Hi to someone you don’t know in an elevator, or in the queue for coffee takes bravery, and is something I have worked on over the years because those moments can be really magical in creating new relationships.

But one interaction in the office will stay with me for a very long time. Not because it stood out.. in fact, quite the opposite - I only stopped by someone’s desk to say Hi for a few minutes before heading home a few weeks ago. We had a chat, parted ways, and that was that. Or so I thought.

Read More

Our pale blue dot puts life into perspective

Our pale blue dot puts life into perspective

“Space, the final frontier” as the famous phrase goes. Although now that I think about it… I tend to disagree. For me.. our imagination is the final frontier. That’s the true infinite.

Carl Sagan described all of humanity as living on ‘“a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.” With this mindset, we can think of some setbacks in our lives as really not so big after all.

Read More

SLK300: Because you only live once!

SLK300: Because you only live once!

What a Summer of fun we had… I had always wanted to own a convertible and I got the opportunity to pick up a fabulous SLK just in time for the glorious summer sunshine. And boy it was worth it.

However, with this cold Winter weather approaching, I am selling my lovely SLK300 by Mercedes Benz. So naturally it deserved a video…

Read More

Fulfilment uncorked: why I choose sober

Fulfilment uncorked: why I choose sober

On New Year’s Day 2011, I drank one final pint before announcing that I was giving up “for a few days”. The plan was to go a few days, and then a few more. Partly to prove I could. And partly because I knew the party was over.

Days became months and in the eleven years since, I have not had a drink and somehow become ‘teetotal’ in the true sense of the word. It remains one of the best decisions I ever made.

Read More

Why our pursuit of happiness may be flawed

Why our pursuit of happiness may be flawed

Nat Rutherford writing in BBC Future:

...Epicurean happiness is a matter of being a good accountant and minimising pain in the most efficient way possible...

But the accountant’s view of happiness is too simple to reflect reality. Friedrich Nietzsche, in The Genealogy of Morals, saw that we do not merely endure pain as a means to greater pleasure because "man…does not repudiate suffering as such; he desires it, he even seeks it out, provided he is shown a meaning for it, a purpose of suffering". In Nietzsche’s view, pain is not alleviated through pleasure, but instead through meaning...

That is why mountaineers and marathon runners - like all of us at one time or another - can rationalise the pain barriers they go through to keep going.

Read More

After another hiatus.. an update

After another hiatus.. an update

Where did the last three years just go? Scary to think of how much water has flowed at torrential rates under that bridge.. 2 redundancies survived, 4 businesses set up and wound down, hundreds of miles run, one bout of COVID survived, 4 social networks deleted, and 983** days since my last blog post.

What a ride that has been. And I am sure it has been the same for you too. (But not ‘U2’ who seem to have forgotten what the inside of a studio looks like. Come on guys!)

So what’s next for me in terms of creative, personal and professional direction? as you might guess… I have thoughts.

Read More

Five Key Food Trends Highlighted at the 2017 London Fresh Produce Show

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the Foodservice Forum on day one of the 2017 London Produce Show at Grosvenor House, Park Lane.

In terms of subject scope around the topic of fresh produce, each presenter brought a unique perspective that was both fascinating and thought provoking. Here were my top five 'key trend' take aways from a fun and informative day.

Read More