About Time - with Chris Nichols

Sue Pritchard is a farmer in Monmouthshire, and she also Chairs the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission - which has moved from being a temporary commission of inquiry to becoming a permanent voice in the policy and practice space around the relationship between land, food and farming.Sue is a passionate advocate for better - better food, better treatment of farming, better ecological practice - and she does not see these as separate. This episode is a wonderful weaving of personal worlds and policy imperatives.

Elizabeth McManus, a gifted coach, poet, and artist, shares her insights on the beauty of mindful living and personal growth. She discusses the importance of noticing life's subtleties and how creativity flows, likening poetry to a spontaneous calling. McManus highlights the spiritual value found in everyday tasks and emphasizes living fully in honor of those we've lost. Through reflective storytelling and connections with music, she invites listeners to cherish the present and celebrate the richness of human experience.

Andres was one of my students on the Ashridge MSc in Sustainability and Responsibility. He has since gone on to create the Bi-leadership Fellowship, which is a process to nurture deep connections and a shift in leadership around the world. It’s a fascinating story, and Andres tells it in his usual gentle way. But don’t be misled - this is pioneering and powerful stuff.A wonderful story, told by Andres as he prepared for a journey to Norway, amongst other things to visit the legendary mountain cabin of deep ecological pioneer Arne Naess. Just delightful.

Cedi Frederick is one of my inspirations. I first met Cedi on a Chief Executives programme run by ACEVO at Ashridge 20+ years ago. Since then Cedi has been CEO and board member of numerous bodies in health and social care. Most recently his focus has been on Chairing an Integrated Care Board, and on working on bodies addressing racial and other inequalities in health in London and beyond.  It’s a fascinating journey, from being a child of the Windrush generation to becoming one of the leading figures in healthcare, by way of professional basketball. Time spent with Cedi  is always time well spent - do have a listen.

Peter was a colleague in Ashridge Consulting, who subsequently did his doctoral work at the Tavistock NHS Trust. Peter is a massively experienced and skilled group consultant, and in this episode he talks about his doctorate (fascinating work embedded in a leadership team at a time of a shift, from an era of plenty to times of difficulty). It’s a consulting story of great relevance to all of us now, as the world, or at least many parts of it, move into more strained and stretching times.Peter is a generous teller of the story, sharing much about himself and why this work matters to him.

In this episode I talk to James Aldridge about his work as an artist. James was a long time friend and colleague of our mutual friend, artist, Dr Chris Seeley. In this episode James talks about how they first met, it involved art and socks. James also talks about his work, in community art making and in his own practice and how it helps to build awareness and connection to place and to the living world. He talks particularly about his Queer Rivers work, which is a powerful and wonderful (and now long lasting) exploration.A delightful conversation bringing to life James’ work and its importance.

Dr Eve Poole is a speaker, writer, Chair and Chief Executive, and an old friend. We worked together at Ashridge for many years.These days she is based in Edinburgh and has worked as a Chair and Chief Executive of several fascinating organisations from Gordonstoun School to the Church Estates Commission. She is one of the few people I know who has been immortalised as an oil painting, and who is a regular guest on BBC Scotland.In this episode she shares some of her stories, and speaks about what inspires her to do the work she does. Time with Eve is always time well spent, and this episode is a lovely exploration of some worlds most of us don’t get to see. 

I’ve known Giles Hutchins for a long time. When we first met, Giles was in the process of leaving his mainstream consulting role to become a freelance writer and speaker. He moved to Devon, and we had many opportunities to walk on the moor and talk about our mutual work (at the time I ran the sustainability MSc at Ashridge and also taught at Schumacher College).In the years since, Giles has become one of the leading authors in the field of regenerative and future fit business. He is an acknowledged expert and speaker, and now hosts life changing gatherings on his farm.He tells some of this story, and speaks about his own origins and influences in this episode. It’s a wonderful and rich conversation.

Stephen Gould was the MD of family brewer and pub owner Everards for many years, and I first met him through my work with the ALMR (the pub and hospitality trade body, known these days as Hospitality UK). Stephen these days is a non-exec, being Deputy Chair of Everards and serving on several other boards. He has always been a purpose led leader, based on his christian faith, and also an inherent belief in the importance of people and trust. In this episode we talk about that way of leading, and about how it enabled the re-invention of a heritage brewing company into a place based community offering, linking commercial success to partnership and place. It’s a fascinating story.

I’ve known Dr Victoria Hurth for a long time. When we met she was doing her PhD at Exeter. She’s subsequently been a full time academic, and more recently has moved into freelance “pracademic” roles. I’ve always been blown away by her capacity to handle massive creative and organisational workloads. She’s a teacher, a writer and a convener / collaborator on the globe governance stage.In this episode we talk about the roots and origins of her work, and what keeps her going. We talk about her work on the new ISO, and her forthcoming book Beyond Profit. It’s a fascinating conversation and I hope you enjoy it.Here are a couple of links to some of Victorias work:Book: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13085230/  ISO: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13091442/