Finding your North Star

Kim Jones from hgkc speaks to Helen Isherwood is the Innovation Director at Adey , Queen’s Award-winning company recognised for their pioneering work in maintaining and protecting central heating systems in the UK and around the world.  Helen leads an ambitious team focused on product development and commercialisation of new products and services.  It’s an exciting time at Adey’s and Helen shares...

Courage to lead with compassion and conviction - Mark Colbourne talks to James Short of hgkc about his journey of personal challenge and courage from the world of elite sport into business life.  His enthusiasm and drive are infectious as he shares his insights on building confidence, mindset, and wellbeing from his earliest days through to his world record breaking achievements at the 2012 Paraly...

In this, the first in our new Conversations podcast series, Sarah Owen, founder of DISCsimple , talks to James Short of hgkc about how he brings his experience of leadership and planning from the military and also from his own business that he set up and ran profitably throughout the last financial crisis in 2008.  This advice is individually tailored to help hgkc clients battling with the current...

Continuing our series of Short Conversations, Sarah Owen of DISCsimple speaks to Kim Jones of hgkc and the most important cultural and people characteristics clients must have as we move into the second national lockdown in England, and how crucial it is that leaders keep thinking about the long term for their people.   

As we move into the second phase of national lockdown in England, Sarah Owen of DISCsimple is in Conversation with Peter Quintana of hgkc about the impact significant disruptive change can have on the social, financial and emotional capital reserves of a business, and the urgent need for leaders to embrace planning as part of the solution. 

Kim Jones shares insights into the research that she's been doing into how business owners are approaching the need to innovate in a world that's changed not only by technology, but also by these extraordinary circumstances of social and commercial upheaval. Reframing is about having a plan for a disruptive future at the same time as delivering in a disruptive today. Kim’s insights inclu...

We are living in complex times. People are becoming comfortable with digital communication and collaboration platforms; remote working and reduced social interaction are becoming the norm. In this webinar, hosted by Weston Chamber of Commerce, Peter Quintana and James Short of hgkc talk about the challenges of planning in uncertain times, why we believe it is critical that you do plan, and offerin...

Experiencing more than a 90% drop in turnover overnight would be daunting for any business owner. Graham Preston of SFL Group talks candidly about their experience as an events production company facing exactly this situation, and how they have not only survived, but found new ways to do business with their clients. Viewing risk as an opportunity instead of a threat doesn’t mean being reckless, bu...

Chris founded financial planning company Ovation Finance in 2000, selling a majority to an Employee Ownership Trust in March 2018. For entrepreneurs like Chris, employee ownership is a new and innovative way of preserving their achievements. Done the right way, it will release fair value, preserve legacy and pass on control to employees without them having to raise finance. Chris talks candidly ab...

As a founding Director of a digital creative agency Gavin Jones shares his insights from the early days of a graduate start-up to a fully-fledged firm.  Elixel has a highly collaborative way of working.  Through design-led thinking, they create powerful digital experiences in websites and apps for their clients.  Our conversation is a people-centred approach, exploring creative thinking, collabora...

Modern have only ever known digital disruption and embrace the twin drivers of being technology-propelled and hyper-relevant to deliver success for their clients and their agency. How Modern is run is at the heart of their success. Kim Jones of hgkc, in conversation with Nicola Ray MD, used the seven strategies of high performing businesses from Accenture’s recent book “Pivot to Future” to frame o...

Brent Oldfield, co-founder and Head of Operations at Voltric Electric Vehicles shares with hgkc's Kim Jones his vision for transport of the future and how their business’s customer centric strategy has enabled Voltric to flex their business model and keep their pilot project on track .   Brent is focused on operations and strong processes to support the intrapreneurial team at Voltric as they...

John Dray, founder of Cloud Genius shares his insights on running a remote business during the lockdown and the opportunity this created for developing new products and services.  John has a uniquely empathic approach to solving problems and helping his customers focus on what matters most to them - the relationships with their customers rather than their IT. Our conversation is peppered with stor...

Kim Jones talks to John Rees, Head of New Technologies at Novel Engineering , who shares a personal reflection on scaling a robotics start-up and his take on how it can apply to any business. A strong engineering background made John a “builder at heart”. As a co-founder of Reach Robotics he shares in this engaging conversation how much he likes building businesses and the critical factors that ma...

Ed Palmer of 212 Radio interviews James Short, Director of hgkc about the key to virtual, but not remote, leadership - courage, confidence and communication.

Investing in data and technology to help clients optimise building performance - Phil Warren of ETS talks about improving building connectivity, healthy buildings, employee productivity and customer experience, and greatly easing the process of mothballing buildings and then bringing them back into service as we come out of lock-down.

Leading an SME, managing people in difficult times, staying legal, keeping people safe and staying in business are the topics in our latest Risk Management in a Crisis series of podcasts for leaders of businesses. Kim Jones runs a Q&A session with an expert panel that is packed with insights, hints and tips for dealing with the current situation and some thoughts about the future. Sarah Whitto...

The Government has announced a range of measures to support businesses during this very challenging period, but the rules are evolving, and new announcements are regularly being made. James Short of hgkc talks to Matt West of Metro Bank about the support that is available, and discusses what you can do to manage short term cash flow problems. 

James Short, an expert in strategic planning, leadership and change management, talks from his experience about successful risk management and leadership in times of a crisis. James joined hgkc after being tempted out of retirement, having spent several years sailing around the world. He rose to Major General in the army following a highly successful military career in which he was honoured with C...

In this second presentation in response to the Covid 19 pandemic, James Short of hgkc talks about leadership and how important it is to differentiate between leadership and management. Leadership is transformational, and the key quality of a leaders is the ability to communicate. For further information or support, contact us on hello@hgkc.co.uk, 0117 332 1002 or via www.hgkc.co.uk.  Keep safe.

James Short of hgkc offers practical advice and guidance on how to survive the next few months with your business intact. Every business must find a way of continuing to do business, and vital to this is a SOAP - strategy on a page - and a communications action plan. For further information or support, contact us on hello@hgkc.co.uk, 0117 332 1002 or via www.hgkc.co.uk.  Keep safe.

Emily Kenna, founder of Sense Risk Solutions, talks about her passion for all things insurance, the mindset and attitude that drives her to deliver a level of care that is unusual in a complex and highly competitive sector, and which has led her to set up a business that embraces diversity and inclusion, and genuinely listens

Zak Daud, founder and CEO of Eazi-Apps, talks about his mission to help entrepreneurs establish and build their mobile app businesses using an innovative drag and drop, ‘business in a box’ platform and a comprehensive package of support services, the satisfaction that he gets from seeing his partners successful, and his drive to change the very essence of capitalism for good.

Fourth generation family firm Managing Director, Martin Thatcher, talks about continuous change, the desire to win, and how innovation is shaping the past, present and future of Thatchers cider and his family.

Kate McEwan, owner and founder of Lotus Reflexology explains why she thinks people need to love their feet, and talks about how she is working towards making reflexology a serious alternative to some traditional drug treatments