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Is the Pen Mightier than the Sponsored Walk?

3 words and an image

Can create a personalised poem for you

Can create a Moroccan dream for him

But absolutely no chance of making a  poet out of me!

For the curious and/or generous:

We all face different challenges. I’m really proud that Tadhg had the courage to go for it and sing on stage with Bruce Springsteen at Wembley (story). That was certainly out of his comfort zone but two years on he has a new challenge. He has recently been given a fantastic opportunity to go to Morocco with scouts, which will be a big challenge for him and hopefully a great adventure. But his immediate challenge is to raise £1800!

He watches and listens and has decided to challenge himself to write personalised poems (not inspired by my recent number plate Staple Story!) for anyone who’d like to support him.

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“What A Year” – Wow Thank You

Please click on any hyperlinks that take your fancy or just jump to the song at the end…

People, People, People

It was great to meet with Simon Biltcliffe but what really stands out is how fantastic his PA Lisa Bowen was with me – open, generous, encouraging, efficient and a real unexpected bonus to encounter when trying to arrange a meeting with a phenomenally busy guy. The Australian Paralympian Elizabeth Wright has been a joy to meet and an inspiration to work with. Thanks to Nadio for introducing me to David Broadhead who has really helped to crystalise  my thinking about Leadership.

I’ve also met a great bunch of diverse people at numerous events who have been engaging, thought provoking and also very generous. I love Suits and Vinyl – what a great way to meet other business people.

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Phoenix FM Radio Interview

A 40 minute interview with Tee Liburd broadcast live from Halifax, Yorkshire, UK on Wednesday 26 November 2014. We discussed my career, what I do now, why I do the things the way I do and what I love. He also played a few of my favourite songs that are very significant to me and how I work.

“Blues skies, green fields, I keep them all in here” – bonus intro track – Red Red Rose by Hope & Social

And you may ask yourself – well, how did I get here?

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Collaboration – Pitching Far Too High?

Sometimes you’re too close to something to appreciate how special it is. But with a bit of distance and time you realise what fantastic things a bunch of random people can achieve! Preceding Le Grand Depart in Yorkshire there was a parallel arts festival and one of the highlights was undoubtedly Hope and Social’s Tour of Infinite Possibility. This blog is not about how great it was or the band are (ok I have to agree they did steal the show at the team presentations opening ceremony!) but about how I witnessed and was a small part of a team working and co-operating together – now I think I understand what collaboration really means.

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University Personal Statements

The clue is in the title – this is your chance to introduce yourself to colleges and universities. And it is ok, everyone has the same space and with some thinking and effort you can write a compelling personal statement. There is plenty of great advice out there for free, the UCAS website itself has some excellent advice and I’ll share the link below.

What you first need to do is try and put yourself in the shoes of an admissions officer or lecturer who is tasked with reading dozens or even hundreds of application forms. In reality this is probably a thankless and incredibly boring task. So have them in mind when you start drafting your form.

My top tips:

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Seconds Out! – Year 2

I can’t believe how fast the last year has flown by, but it has been a very enjoyable and productive one. It has also been a year of some real learning. More learning, challenges, mistakes, anxiety, growing confidence, fun and meeting and working with some really interesting, open and great people.

I have been to some outstanding talks this last year: my highlights have included Simon Biltcliffe, Steve Edge, Dominic Wilcox and Dr George Madine.  I’ve tried to blog or share the best bits I’ve found as well as

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Lead a Ship or Jump Ship?!

There are huge challenges facing many firms and enormous pressure on leaders. I think our old models and ways of leading no longer adequately serve 21^st century firms. However, there is a jungle of advice out there, the good, the bad and the ugly.

I‘m really interested in learning about the latest thinking and ways in which we can unlock the talent and potential in firms. But I appreciate that this is a massive task and there are no magic solutions. However, there are a lot of great people out there doing amazing things. I wanted to share this latest thinking and learning with anyone who is frustrated with the old methods and wants to learn how situations can be transformed.

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Has the Judicial Appointments Commission Created a Level Playing Field for Solicitors?

Depending on the actual judicial post, competition is increasing with the applications to posts ratios ranging from 8:1 to 21:1. So for some competitions you have to be in the top 5% of candidates. No recruitment process is perfect and with the talent applying for both the salaried and fee paid positions the reality is that many very good candidates won’t even make it to the selection day. With HMCTS in the process of cutting 37.8% from their budget and various policies seeking to reduce the work that reaches the courts and tribunals, it seems realistic that the number of sitting opportunities will be reduced. Add this to concerns in both professions and we can expect to see more candidates seeking fewer jobs.

So you have a choice:

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