About Time - with Chris Nichols

Rob Hopkins is something of a legend for his work in creating the Transitions Town movement. But there’s much more to know. In recent times his focus has been on the power of imagination and creativity. He has written two books on this, and is a powerful workshop facilitator and speaker.In this episode I was delighted to ask Rob to talk about some of his roots and influences, and to share some of his hopes for the future of the work.

Jean Boulton is the real deal when it comes to working with complexity. She’s got a PhD in quantum physics, an MBA, and an MPhil from Bath University – entitled The Complexity Turn: Narrative, Science and Utility. She’s written a lot, including two major books about complexity in organisations, and in wider life. Jean is a terrific teacher and communicator, and makes it possible for people outside the science field to understand some of the most difficult concepts that are becoming essential elements of organisational understanding.In this conversation we talk about Jean’s work, particularly her latest book The Dao of Complexity, about using it in practice, and about Jean’s life journey that brought her to writing such an exciting and pivotal book.

I first met Dr Fiona Tilley (or just Tilley, as I know her) as a participant on the Schumacher College Certificate in Education for Sustainability, a course I taught alongside Toni Spencer and Karen Blincoe many years ago.Tilley arrived having stepped away from her role as a business school academic. She has a doctorate and a CV full of publications and research. And when she arrived, she’d run out of road within the confines of business school academic roles. She was looking for something that gave her space for a deeper exploration.This conversation explores the place of space and facilitation in transformative learning, both from Tilley’s experience of that pivotal time in her life, and from her subsequent work as one of the most experienced facilitators of deep explorative journeys, taking people deep into renewed relationships with themselves and the wider living world.

Bill Critchley was Chris Nichols teacher on the Ashridge MSc in Organisational Consulting and Change, and for many years a colleague in Ashridge Consulting. In this episode Chris invites Bill to share some of his life story - including the influences that shaped his work and the challenges and triumphs of bringing a gestalt perspective into the work of a business school. It’s a wonderful and rich conversation delving into a pivotal period in the development of a truly radical consulting practice that ran itself according to the principles it taught and espoused. It’s both a piece of oral history of the field, and a totally contemporary take on what matters in organisations today.

Edward Peck was Vice Chancellor of NTU for ten years, before standing down in July 2025 to become Chair of the office for Students. Edwards tenure saw NTU soar in the league tables, with the University winning many awards, including University of the Year.In this episode Edward, and GameShift’s Philippa Hardman, reflect on the participative approach to strategy making and action that formed the cornerstone of Edward’s approach. GameShift worked with NTU through two complete strategic cycles, and the relationship between Philippa and Edward was a crucial part of the work. This conversation explores the how and why of taking this approach, and draws out lessons that will be of value to others planning participative (or open) strategy work in their university or other organisations.

John Higgins has been a friend and colleague for many years, and we are blessed that he is our research partner at GameShift.  John has produced some of the most powerful and vital research to influence the organisational, leadership, HR and OD fields over the past few years.This conversation gave us the chance to go behind the content of his writing to explore the foundations - why this work matters to John, the influences that have shaped his work, and the experiences that make it possible.

In 2016, following a traumatic departure from work he loved, Chris Nichols took a long walk, covering the South West Coast Path as a solo silent walk during the season from May to September. In this closing episode of Series One,  Philippa Hardman leads Chris through a reflection of his reaction to the Raynor Winn book The Salt Path, and the new film of the same name, drawing out Chris’ reflections on his walk. The reflections draw together some of the themes of this first series of the About Time podcast.

Chris Nichols first met Steve Clark at Anthropy 25 - a gathering of social change-makers at the Eden Project organised by John O’Brien. Chris was blown away by Steve’s personal story around his stage four cancer diagnosis, and how he has harnessed his experience to lead social change through education, activism and patient participation. In this episode Steve and Chris explore this story, and take a deep dive into shifting the language around cancer care, palliative care and more. It’s a powerful, personal and positive episode.

Kai Peters was the CEO of Ashridge throughout much of Chris’ time there, and has since played a range of higher education leadership roles. In this episode,Chris and Kai reflect on the Ashridge story, on the challenges facing higher education today, and on the future of business schools. Kai also shares some of his reflections on the skills and attributes needed in top university leadership in a world of AI, shifting geopolitics and societal change.

Helena Clayton is a coach, facilitator, writer and podcaster, whose work will be well known to many people in the organisational development and learning fields. Chris and Helena have known each other for a long time, through a shared interest in love in organisational work. In  this episode Helena talks about how her work on love came into being, and Helena shares reflections on how her Love Lab experiments have developed. The episode also take a look at the notion of endings, and hospicing, and the place of love in handling “good enough” endings.