Issue 3 of Tortoise Magazine was released today. It features a wintery atmospheric illustration by Helen Docksey on the cover and another strong curation of Chester's creative stories. We've worked hard to make sure this stands up against the well received second. It's been an interesting journey. The process behind…
Collaboration is a word that is thrown around in increasing measure at the moment. It’s in vogue. But in publishing, where the traditional business models and routes to market are virtually a thing of the past, and when access to funding for small journalism projects is difficult, collaboration is…
When I'm not travelling as part of my wine life, I try to follow a strict regime. It involves committing to a few intensive business days a week, eating healthily, switching off at the right time and trying to harness short bursts of productive energy. You might wonder why I've…
In 1999 The Harvard Business Review republished one of my favourite management and leadership anecdotes of all time. Management Time: Who’s Got the Monkey? by William Oncken Jr. and Donald L. Wass was first published in 1974 but remains as relevant today as ever before. Through the metaphor of…
I consider myself to be capable of much more than I'm achieving. This applies to almost every aspect of my life. I know I can add more value to the people that matter to me most, make my family more financially secure, be more creative and bring better projects to…
Setting goals is a crucial part of any personal, professional or business development. The best goals are small, manageable and measurable, and linked inextricably to a general direction. In a sense, these goals should represent a path and in achieving each small goal you should move further down the path…
Tell me if this sounds familiar... It's approaching the end of the month and you really should send that newsletter you threatened to do last month. In fact, you're painfully aware that you don't communicate with your mailing list nearly as often as you should and the whole subject has…
Over the last few months I've been lucky enough to be part of the creative process to bring a magazine from concept to reality. Tortoise Magazine has just launched and can be found crawling around Chester. We are very proud of the positive feedback that is flooding in and along…
I've been watching a lot of cycling recently. From the comfort of my armchair, I find the slow, tactical buildup quite relaxing. For the majority of the race it's a controlled test of rhythm, strength and endurance before those riders still in the frame make a late sprint for the…
The other day I rang a friend who had recently qualified as a solicitor. I asked him to witness the signing of a document (nothing particularly important) for me, as well as one for my fiancé. There was a snag. My fiancé couldn't make it, and so she signed in…