My promise to myself this year is to do new things - put myself in places i would not normally be - meet people i would not normally meet - at least once or twice make myself uncomfortable or even a little embarrassed.

As ever - I can get busy doing what i do - diary filling up - no space for exploring - convincing myself that i am busy and doing a good job.

That is so comfy, that is so easy - easy and comfy.

Difficult and uncomfy is new things, new people. new jobs, new roles, new directions, new strategies, challenging the status quo. Being brave. Being a..View Complete Post

Go - on I dare you - make a wheeny movie about your day - a customers day - something uplifting that will inspire others - something that shows something good happening. Use your phone, a camera - frankly it does not have to be fancy - send it to Samantha Royle at A4e and she will showcase it on our mega new website. We will pick the best - have an oscars ceremony and scabble around for some prizes.

I am going to do one - just to prove to my kids that i can. I am going to find out how to film something - beg and borrow if my phone is not posh enough - ask my kids..View Complete Post

Just had a great couple of days - met loads of people - asked lots of bizarre questions and got some bizarre answers that helped me to think new things.

Let me explain...

Over twenty two years i have been building a company (A4e) that has a sole purpose to Improve people's lives. It is very unique and a strange beast - peopled with extraordinary people. As it gets bigger and bigger (probably 4000 people by the end of this year)  - i have this dreaded fear that the imagination and creativity that created the company will get absorbed by the need for systems, consult..View Complete Post

Phew phew phew - at last - i seem to have found a way forward in the virtual world. My regular blog readers will know that I have been searching for someone, anyone who can help me fulfill my vision of creating an on-line virtual community of people dedicated to improving people's lives - their own life and those of others.

My vision for this has many and multiple layers - many many functions and applications - but it all hinges around the power of the community to support its self. The power of the people who want to do good things  for others finding eachother, sharing, supp..View Complete Post

Eventually i have to take off my snowballing gloves - put my wellies away - pack my bag and head off to some meetings. That time is now.

I am off to London to speak at the annual conference of the Citizens Advice Service.  

They asked me to say a few words and sit on the panel which is the opening session of the day. I said yes - little knowing that over the last few days that they would send me more and more questions and suggestions on things i might like to talk about - and things that i might be asked about. Oooppss. Feels like homework. View Complete Post

I have been visiting lots of work places recently. Stopped by many desks for a chat. Shared the biscuits - looked at the desk bits and bobs - family photos, gadgets, soft toys, drawings and so much more. Started to occur to me that people make little nests at work - setting up mini homes - and i reallly like it.

It seems very natural that people would want to personalise their space and then quite naturally feel possesive and protective towards it.  

I like the fact that most of the bits and bobs are things from home - and they all look well used - and re-cycl..View Complete Post

Thank goodness for the internet. Thick snow outside - roads looking decidedly dodgy - not in the mood to don wellies or a thick coat and pack a journey survival kit - my car has been abandoned in favour of my frost free keyboard.

I am in touch with the world. Having a lovely day. 

My meeting for the morning was conducted over the phone - with us both looking at the same documents and plans. Of course - a dawning realistion that when i need to spend time with someone i already know well - i.e. we trust eachother - we know what faces we pull - we have ..View Complete Post

Just spent the last couple of hours with a guy i consider to be my mentor. Of course i am going to blow my cover by admitting in this blog that i tremble at the thought of meeting with him! (Fear)

I know that he is going to ask me the questions that matter - he is going to pursue my thinking - that my wriggling and waffling and any lack of clarity will be sweetly and calmly pointed out. Never ever does he raise his voice - not even his eyebrow. Never ever does he make me feel foolish. BUT - at the end of two hours i have a list as long as my arm of things that 'i might lik..View Complete Post

Well, I could sit around listening to the news re. the economy and be convinced that everything we have all known is at an end - or i could get out and about and meet some people who are living in the real world and finding ways to cope and support others.

The economic climate means that it is not such a Happy New Year for many people  - and then some people - like my brother - whose mortage payments have almost halved  - think things are as good as they have ever been. He is planning how to make the most of the 'bonus' money he now has. He was qui..View Complete Post

Some days just escalate in to madness.

Picture this - I spring from my bed (hardly!) - overcook my porridge (blows up in the microwave) - spend ten minutes looking for the lost school shoes of my eight year old daughter and then open the door to a film crew.

The film crew from Studio Lambert are making a documnetary for Channel Four about the Benefit System in the UK and the people who run it, the people who are supported by it and the people that support them.

They had been told that I was going to pay one of my surprise visits to an A4e office in the UK. They ..View Complete Post

I just wanted to share with you the utter pleasure of putting on my scruffy comfy jeans - three jumpers and chunky sheepskin slippers and mooching up to the local pub for some banter with the locals.

I live in a rural area - the locals are a mixture of farmers, builders, land owners, carers, small business owners, big business owners, retired people, retail assistants, cooks, mums and dads and kids. Everyone and anyone gathers together in the local - fires blazing - huddled up in a few small rooms - telling stories - poking fun at eachother - putting the world to rights - finis..View Complete Post