Over thirty years in corporate life, I sat in a lot of audiences. Sales conferences, leadership summits, regional kick-offs in hotel ballrooms that all smelled faintly of the same carpet. Every so often a speaker would take the stage and set the room alight. Music, a story about a mountain, a closing line that brought hundreds of us to our feet. I'd walk out buzzing. By the following Monday I'd be back in the same meetings, carrying the same tensions, making the same compromi

The Quietest Man on the Door What eleven years as a doorman taught me about urgency, control and the truth: A Saturday in Catford, gone midnight and the second queue surge is in full flow now the pubs have closed. A man at the front of the queue has decided tonight is the night. He's shouting, squaring up and the youngest lad on the door is matching him decibel for decibel. That younger lad was me... The face I thought was strength Then Ricky, the oldest doorman on the team w

I've stood on both sides of the bed. The one where I redrew someone's role and called it evolution, and watched them hear it along with everyone else. And years before, the one where my own role got redrawn two floors above me, in a meeting at a hotel I found out about from a calendar invite sent at 4.58pm for 9am the next morning. Both times, the bed was already built. The measuring came after. There's an old Greek story about a man called Procrustes who kept an inn on the r

Leadership Under Pressure: The Deeper Lesson A dramatic headline, perhaps, but it’s the title of the song written by Elton John with Bernie Taupin. This song isn’t just about a personal crisis; it’s about what happens when external expectations collide with internal truth. This moment is one every senior leader eventually faces. Click here for the song. 1. The Most Dangerous Moment Isn’t Failure: It’s False Success Elton wasn’t failing. He was: Engaged On a conventional path

An Austin Cambridge from the 1960s When I think back to my childhood in the 60s and 70s in the industrial valleys of South Wales in the UK, what strikes me most is how little we had, and yet how much it shaped me. We were poor. Clothes were almost always hand-me-downs - rarely new, often patched up, and passed along until they simply couldn’t be worn anymore. I had one pair of shoes for school and another for playing outside. You learned to make them last. Christmas was the o

The fulcrum of family life in Bali When most people think of Bali, they picture beaches, yoga, and surfboards. But look closer and you’ll see something else taking shape: a thriving hub for entrepreneurs, startups, and digital nomads of all ages. The 20-something laptop warriors may grab the headlines, but Bali is increasingly home to 30-40-year-old founders chasing scale, and even 50-something executives who have traded corporate boardrooms for co-working spaces under the pa

🎉 Motivus Coaching turns 3 today! 🎉 3 years ago today, I took a leap, to channel a lifetime of experience into something deeply personal and powerfully purposeful. Since then, Motivus Coaching has become more than a coaching business. It’s a global movement of leaders and changemakers determined to grow with intent. Over the last 36 months, I’ve had the privilege of coaching and guiding managers and leaders from: India, UK, US, Singapore, Australia, Poland, South Korea, Chi

A brief glimpse into my own life and career journey - offering some lessons on leadership, communication, turning negatives into positives and, most of all, not just letting things happen - it’s about taking control of your own destiny. https://youtu.be/S7MxiejDZ5c?si=SYqwFmCSCWAxRS9z

Today, I am back in India after a 5 year absence caused by a combination of my retirement from corporate life, 3 country moves, and covid. I am so happy to be back! In the tapestry of my life, there exists a thread woven with the vibrant hues of India's rich cultural heritage, the unwavering can-do attitude that permeates its society, and the profound sense of respect that binds its people. Over the years, my enduring connection with India has not only shaped my world view bu