Monthnotes - October 2024

As I look back, October’s definitely been a busy one at work and at home.

The month began with a fascinating quick agency project, working with Lisa Mandell at Jolt. Looking back at the work we did, I’m really proud of the quality of thinking we delivered for the client.

I also finished off two smaller operations consultancy projects that began last month, including a really interesting operational discovery project for a PR, social media and events agency.

As part of my portfolio approach to all things work, this month we announced that I’ve taken on a board role at Extra Brain – a consultancy collective that I’ve been increasingly involved with since January 2023.

One of the things I really missed when I went independent was the close collaboration that comes with working in a business.

Working flexibly within my portfolio of work with the Extra Brain team gives me the opportunity to work closely with a seriously talented bunch of people on interesting projects. Looking forward to see where Jess, Dan, Damian and the wider Extra Brain collective can take the business next.

I’m also now ramping up for new client work from January onwards. I’ve relaunched my email newsletter – Build – and am putting the finishing touches to some more proactive marketing too.

I’m likely to have availability for a fractional COO role from January 2025, alongside a small number of slots for operational leadership coaching.

For many years I’ve been a trustee at The Caldecott Foundation. I’m stepping up to chair the Audit & Risk Committee and am leading on our search for a new Chair of Trustees to take on leadership of the board in mid/late 2025. Spending a couple of days on charity business this month was good as I missed some of the July meetings due to other commitments.

Away from work I enjoyed running a seriously fast half marathon in Victoria Park, east London early in the month. It was a flat, lapped course which meant I took around six minutes off my previous PB, running the course in just over 1hr 39m.

A wet weekend also meant an opportunity to put together a new DJ mix, with a full-on 90s focus. A bit of planning and preparation feels like it paid off on this one and I’m enjoying listening to it back on longer runs.

Last week, we also went to an interesting presentation about a new vineyard in east Kent focussing on premium English sparkling wine. I’ve cycled past the vines a lot of the years, so it was good to learn more about the new winery that’s been built and the history of the business.

As it’s half term this week, I’ve taken a few days off work. We’re off to the Cotswolds for a family get together tomorrow and late last night we got home from a short break with friends in Valencia.

We enjoyed our time in the city, although the tragic consequences of the extreme weather at the end of our stay are still becoming clear.

We were due to fly home at 9.20pm as the worst of the storms hit, so we spent the night in the airport mostly oblivious to what was unfolding in Valencia city and the wider region. Eventually our flight took off some 20 hours later than scheduled and within a couple of hours we were back in the UK.

Music this month…

A lot of time spent at my desk meant I had Tidal on auto-discovery, cycling through everything from 70s prog rock, 80s hip hop through to modern disco.

Podcasts this month…

Learnt a lot from this Guy Raz interview with Jim Collins on Wisdom from the Top. This one’s a consistent favourite business podcast of mine so definitely worth subscribing to.

Reading this month…

I was fascinated to read Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou. This is the story of Elizabeth Holmes and the Theranos scandal. Given the work I do, it was really interesting to observe how toxic leadership behaviours shaped the story of that business and the experience of the many talented people who chose to work there.

Cycling this month…

92.9 miles. Back on Zwift and Fulgaz now as the days get shorter and weather wetter.

Running this month…

38.2 miles.