Strategy Café

Join the Alembic Team for an insightful webinar that explores how to manage the pace of growth, evaluate your business model’s capability, and optimise your systems and processes. Discover the vital role people play in driving change and learn strategies for creating additional capacity within your organisation. We’ll discuss the importance of governance as the foundation for sustainable growth, and how to recognise when your team is ready to scale. Plus, we share practical tools you can implement straight away to drive your business forward and towards your growth and investment goals!

Watch as Dr. Todd Kashdan explores how anxiety and anger, often seen as negative, can be reframed as powerful motivators in the right context and with an appropriate level of intensity. Learn how moderate anxiety enhances performance and vigilance, and why anger can drive constructive action. Discover the importance of recognising emotional intensity and expressing emotions appropriately in different situations. Todd shares how we can learn to embrace both ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ emotions for personal growth and effective communication.

Tune in to our Strategy Café with James Mitra to hear: - How a chance encounter had a positive impact on both himself and his business, and was a lightbulb moment that changed his attitude to networking, - How JBM has scaled purely through word of mouth from clients, - The importance of creating an environment where people want to stay, - What he has learned through his mistakes, - How James and JBM are disrupting the recruitment industry with their focus on relationships, values and connection. During the session, James shows a beautiful vulnerability as he shares a pivotal moment for JBM during a difficult time - an experience that has significantly shaped JBM into what it is today.

Tune in as Ned Cummings, Chief Revenue Officer at Nurole, discusses: - Empowering candidates by matching their passions and interests to opportunities, - How to invest in your board for maximum ROI, - Common trigger points of conflict at the board level, - And more... If you're looking to revolutionise your board composition and bring fresh, diverse perspectives to the table, Ned's insights are invaluable!

Tune in as Peter van Eeden shares examples & learnings on the impact growth can have on the people in organisations during acquisition, fast growth, & growing then closing. This thought-provoking Strategy Café highlights the importance of asking the question ‘what is the impact of change on the people?’ Don’t miss this webinar full of essential insights into managing growth while prioritising the well-being of your team

Check out our exciting Strategy Café session with wizard fundraiser David Levine as he shares all his best magical insights to help you prepare yourself, your business, your idea, your pitch deck, and your process for success in the challenging yet navigable world of fundraising. While securing funding can be daunting, David will show you how to streamline the process and optimise your approach. If you're a founder in search of funding, look no further! Watch David's Café for invaluable tips and strategies.

Tune in as John Harte discusses: - Where his passion for good governance started - How to manage the challenges of resolving conflict at the board level - The Agency Model - The three currencies of honesty, trust, and respect - Board legacy and decision-making - Adopting an adaptability and contribution mindset - The Chair's facilitation role and board processes - The Four Lines of Sight - Leading in a VUCA world This session offers practical insights and strategies for enhancing governance practices and fostering effective board dynamics in today's dynamic and demanding business environment.

The dynamic of your leadership team, especially in a family business, is key to success. Great teams have more chance of surviving in a difficult market and will outperform other teams in a good one. There is no route to high performance without being deeply emotionally involved with one another and easing the tensions that pressure brings. When interpersonal chemistry and relational intelligence in leadership teams are not yet developed, the tensions of daily life sometimes become 'Dead Cats.' Smellier than the elephant in the room (which we all know to ignore), a dead cat needs action, and our process of Burying the Dead Cats can heal relationships at breaking point. Tune in as the Alembic Team discusses Dead Cats, and how to bury them. The tensions that naturally happen in the high pressure of business leadership, and even more so in family businesses, can gain momentum and push us apart. Our process helps clients learn how to change the direction of that momentum, fix broken relationships, and make the impossible possible. We hope you find value in listening to this webinar and would be pleased to talk to you more about how to do this for your family business or leadership team. Book a meeting with a member of the team on our website alembicstrategy.com.

Join Wanda, Minter, and Michael as they discuss these AI regulation questions: What does current AI regulation look like? Whose responsibility is it to regulate and govern AI? How can we get the AI regulation level right? What is the most important thing for companies to understand regarding AI governance? Where can businesses start?

Tune in to hear the Alembic Team's experience of AI so far, the ethical and emotional questions raised by AI, and what to consider before incorporating AI into your business.

Tune in as Minter Dial discusses what empathy actually means, the importance of empathy when working with people and how it changes things, and building empathy into AI, business, and our personal interactions.

Join succession experts Bryony Cove from Farrer & Co. and Tom McGinness from KPMG as they discuss how we can uncover the wants and needs of the person being succeeded, the role and responsibilities of both the next generation and the generation retiring, how grief and change are not linear, and how both generations can create space for the right conversations. Plus some examples of successful and challenging client succession throughout.

Join the Alembic Team as they discuss the transitional phase of succession, the role of process and governance, how to set the new CEO up for success, the 'human factor' that is often overlooked but key to success, and key criteria to keep in mind during succession. The team also shares real examples of where succession has gone well and failed in their experience and why.

Join Chris Mason and James Mason from Mindshop as they discuss how Chris knew it was right time to bring his son James into the business, what this experience was like for James including overcoming imposter syndrome as he grew into his role, and the importance of clear roles, vision and authenticity.

Join the Alembic Team as they discuss the importance of identity and self-awareness as a founder, building trust, and how to identify and address your blind spots to allow you to step back and allow others to step up and make decisions.

Join Matt Price and Nick Mayhew as they discuss making the jump from employee to founder, when founding is the right answer, focusing on your growth as an individual, the importance of being curious and open-minded, and how to face challenges head-on.

Join Philip Mackeown, Nick, and Matt as they discuss the complexity of interpersonal and family dynamics especially as a business grows, the importance of legacy, the emotional landscape of succession, and how to identify and invest in key relationships.

Join Nick and Matt from the Alembic Team as they discuss the pros and cons of bringing your family into your business, the 3 things you need to consider when thinking about integration, both the practical and emotional/human side and creating neutrality.

Join Neil Davy, CEO of the IFB, and Nick Mayhew as they discuss the pivotal moments in his leadership journey, redefining what we mean by purpose in business, tensions in family businesses, and leadership resonance.

Tune in to hear Roseanna, Nick and Matt discuss when to choose challenge and when not to, how discomfort can help us to grow, how to step out of your comfort zone and the importance of wellbeing in leadership and challenge.

Tune in to hear Nick Mayhew and Chris and Clive Hyland discuss the importance of asking emotional questions, how to build a thriving culture, insight into the neuroscience of happiness, and answering the question 'is happiness alone enough?'.

Join Nick Mayhew and Em Stroud as they discuss the things that suppress our creativity, creating space for creativity, finding the joy in challenge. Plus get Em's top tips for enabling creativity in places where you might not feel that it is a strong feature of the environment.

Join Matt, Nick and Roseanna as they discuss the three levels of transformation - personal, team, and organisational, and the challenges that must be faced at each level. They discuss the importance of story, how to reach flow as a team, and finally where they see the most common mistakes when it comes to organisational change. Plus, the team share their top 10 tools for successful transformation.

Join Nick as he interviews Sheriff and Alderman Alison Gowman. They discuss what first drew Alison to the City of London, how it felt to be one of the first female partners in law in the City, the key to building relationships in challenging industries and finally her work on climate change with the City of London Corporation and Livery Climate Action Group.

Join Nick, Roseanna and Matt as they discuss cognitive waste - how can we come together as a team and focus on the right things? The team also discussed the different ways of identifying and tackling waste in organisations.

Join Roseanna Farish and Susannah Brade-Waring as they discuss the common headaches leaders face, how to address them, and what shifts in motivation mean for businesses.

Join Nick Mayhew and Matt Meyer as they discuss the challenging transition from manager to leader, the implications of too much focus on strategy, the importance of purpose, passion and communication, as well as questions from our audience.

Join Nick, Roseanna and Matt in the final session of the 'After the pandemic' series. The team discuss forming hybrid teams, how to get good at resolving conflict online, and what virtual high performance looks like. Plus some great contributions from our audience!

Join Nick, Roseanna and Matt as they discuss the complex topic of identity, how has COVID changed our identity and those around us, the relationship between identity and our beliefs, and what this shift in identity means for organisations. Plus some great questions from our attendees.

What impact has the pandemic had on your culture, your people and how you communicate? How can you prepare for the challenges ahead? As things move on, we have a chance to take control and get more engagement with what works and what doesn't. Communication can be difficult at the best of times. In this new world, with the loosening of physical connections, we all need to up our game. Tune in as Matt, Roseanna and Nick start to address the culture and communication issues that are emerging, some of the solutions they are seeing, and to begin to address the changes leaders must face.

The pandemic has brought a revolution to organisations over the past year, completely reshaping the landscape we lead in. For February's Strategy Café, Nick is joined by fellow facilitators Roseanna Farish and Matt Dunaway to discuss the issues clients are facing as the UK works through the pandemic, the changes leaders must address, how to adapt and practical ideas for leading in 2021. Join us as we start to address the issues that are emerging, some of the solutions we are seeing, and to begin to address the changes leaders must face.

Regularly voted as a Top Digital Marketing Influencer by Buzzsumo, Minter is passionate about helping leaders and organisations adapt to the continually shifting digital marketplace. Tune into to hear about his leadership approach, combining lessons learned as a rugby captain, the vibe of a Grateful Dead gig, and a simple authenticity to energise a world-leading cosmetic company, all of which is at the heart of his new book, You Lead.

Join angel investor Simon Thorpe as he shares valuable insights into the world of investment. Find out what he looks for before investing in a company, as well as the current trends in angel investment.

This Strategy Café saw the return of Elizabeth Bagger (Institute of Family Business), Kate Cooper (The Institute of Leadership and Management), Giles Fuchs (Office Space in Town) and Matt Earle (Robert Lee) to provide us with an update on how they're coping through the Covid-19 pandemic. Note: all views expressed are the guest's own and not those of Alembic Strategy.

As a leader, it's crucial to have the ability to convey your ideas, vision and instructions so they invoke passion and action from your team. This Strategy Café webinar explores the was we speak and listen, and how messages how to improve your communication skills This webinar covers some key tips for leaders facing the multi-dimensional pressures of the COVID19 crisis in business and health. It gives listeners guidance on some key points about the stress impacts, staying cool-headed, and what to focus on to emerge as well as possible with their long term goals intact and to be the leader their people need.

As we pass 8 weeks of lockdown and restrictions begin to lift, we reflect on the effects, what’s changed, and how we plan to move forwards. From the surreal evacuation from London to the confines of life working at a kitchen table, in this special Strategy Café webinar the panel share experiences of how they've coped. Highlights include: - The concerns about working from home have been turned upside down - The challenge of taking on key staff during a crisis - The importance of internal comms for staff welfare - On lockdown: "... it was just like an Alembic training session!" Listen again as Nick interviews Elizabeth Bagger, Kate Cooper, Matt Earle, and Giles Fuchs. All comments and opinions expressed are the panelist's own. Sign up for the next Strategy Café for free here: https://www.alembicstrategy.com/get-involved/strategy-caf%C3%A9-0

In this Strategy Café - the fourth in the 'coping in a crisis' series, we focus on those difficult conversations that you'll no doubt be having to undertake as a leader during times of crisis. You might get emotional, put them off, or say the wrong thing and make things worse. The anxiety about having them is as bad as the conversation itself. Getting conversations right has never been more important than it is right now.

Deciding what to do next is a critical activity for any organisation, more so during a crisis. This webinar sees the Alembic team discussing tools and techniques to help you organise key priorities so that they deliver the most impact for your organisation.

Matt and the Alembic team get together to discuss disaster scenario planning, and outline tools and techniques that businesses can use to develop strategy through crisis.

Strategy Café - Coping In A Crisis by Alembic Strategy

Strategy Café With Richard Burge - the post-Brexit trade landscape by Alembic Strategy

Strategy Café - Riots And Leadership, with Dr Victor Olisa, QPM by Alembic Strategy

In this edition of Strategy Café, Nick and the Alembic team get together for a festive strategy special under the topic of leadership.

Heather McLaughlin talks about the concept of challenges and threat in business.

Nick and Suzanne discuss the benefits of mediation and arbitration in the context of Family Law, and how this can be used in a business setting.

People change happens all the time. Leaving and hiring, especially as fluid work cultures are becoming the norm, happen all the time and each time cause change for all involved. Alice, Anna and Roseanna discuss this and talk about their experiences. 146916

The Alembic team discuss the Meaningful Human Leadership conference that was on the 12th June 2019 and the key themes that came out of the day.

In this Institute of Leadership and Managment webinar, guest speaker Nick Mayhew (CEO of Alembic Strategy) gives practical advice on how to protect you from becoming overwhelmed. In this webinar, Nick offers a series of simple, physical exercises for you to practice daily so they become a habit, helping you to build your ability to cope when life threatens to become overwhelming.

Phil James, CEO of the Institute of Leadership and Management, discusses the modern leadership dilemma of how to build leadership capability as technology develops with Nick Mayhew, MD at Alembic Strategy. Which elements of leadership will serve us in the future, and how can these be taught?

Nick chats with Emma Stroud, Director of Truth.Works, performer, comedian and trained clown, about purpose and being open and authentic with yourself and others.

What does it mean in practice as employees evolve with technology? Which skills, training, and career opportunities should they invest in? In a special edition of our Strategy Café podcast, Amina Aitsi-Selmi, medical professional and coach, discusses 3 things business leaders can do to support individuals through the disruptions of the 21st century.

Nick talks to Mark Gallagher, former management board of two well known teams, Jordan Grand Prix and Red Bull Racing, and later as Managing Director of the Cosworth Formula One engine company. Mark discusses his experiences with the greats in Formula One - Ron Dennis, Frank Williams and Bernie Ecclestone - and their leadership.

Rebecca Hilsenrath, CEO of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), talks about the purpose and work of the EHRC, as well as key insights from her experiences as leader of the Commission.

Peter Callaghan is interviewed by Nick Mayhew, Managing Director of Alembic Strategy, on fixing profitability by identifying and doing the right things, followed by "Strategic Options for Uncertainty" - what to do when the future is unclear.

Chris Hyland of 4Ps Marketing and Happiness Index is interviewed by Nick Mayhew on team motivation and the role of empowerment in growth, followed by a session on motivation and teams.

Niki Fuchs talks with Nick about how a brilliant culture was the key to success in Office Space in Town, a company Niki runs together with her brother, Giles.

Dr Amina Aitsi-Selmi talks to Nick about discovering her true purpose and how she found the courage to step into it, and achieve influencing health at the highest level through the World Health Organisation. Her story starts at university, moves to being the only doctor for miles in war-torn Sudan, and through Alaska to this final point. Well-worth a listen!

David Dunaway is one of the UK's leading cosmetic surgeons, running the peadiatric cranio-facial reconstruction team at GOSH, and a Professor at the Institute of Child Health. His surgical business is highly innovative drawing on a huge range of talents to bring value to clients.

Nick welcomes back previous Strategy Café speakers: Dr Amina Aitsi-Selmi, Chris Hyland, Professor David Dunaway and Peter Callaghan.

Nick interviews Sheriff Neil Redcliffe JP about governance, leading the City of London and the parallels between this and leading in business.

Nick interviews Don Randall MBE about his role in the City of London Police, including being in command on the day of the Bishopsgate bomb, tackling fraud and counter-terrorism, as well as his contribution to the formation of Project Griffin.

Nick interviews Darren Hayward, Managing Partner of Nockolds Solicitors, about innovation in traditional sectors, having difficult conversations and implementing strategy.

Nick interviews former England Rugby player and now Defence Coach at Harlequins, Nick Easter. They discuss measuring performance, coaching at the highest levels and leading teams to success.

Russell Earnshaw, player and former coach for the England Rugby Sevens and U18's and new freelance coach, shares insights into coaching for performance with Alembic's founder Nick Mayhew. Russell shares loads of ideas here.

Nick presents a Pecha-Kucha (20 slides of 20 seconds each) about special numbers that are pivotal to the success and growth of a business.

Nick interviews Richard Metcalfe, Founder and CEO of Arkk Solutions, award winning FinTech company offering ixbrl and Making Tax Digital solutions for finance teams. Richard shares leadership insights into founding and growing his business.

Matt Rogan, Chairman of Two Circles, talks with Nick about how he cuts through company politics, why he values transparency within the company and what leadership skills can be learned through sport at a young age.

Dr Hilary Lindsay, former president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and now OU lecturer, discusses the role of learning in our constantly changing world, her own model for learning and how it works.