Driving agency success with pragmatic agile approaches

As an accomplished Agile coach, agency business owner, strategist and developer, I have spent over two decades at the intersection of technology, business, humans, and creative problem-solving. My journey began in the trenches of software development, where I honed my technical skills and developed a passion for building elegant, user-centric solutions. This technical foundation has been crucial in understanding the complexities of product development and delivery.

In founding and leading a digital agency, I navigated the challenges of scaling a service-oriented business, mastering the art of client relations delivering high-quality digital products and transitioning projects to value focused support agreements. This experience taught me the nuances of managing client expectations and the importance of transparent, effective communication in building long-lasting partnerships.

As an agile coach, I’ve guided teams and organisations in adopting agile methodologies, focusing on continuous improvement, flexibility, and delivering value quickly. My approach emphasises collaboration, adaptability, and empowering teams to make decisions that lead to better project outcomes.

In my role as a strategist, I focused on business processes and technological innovation. I help client-facing agencies refine their sales approaches and product delivery methods, ensuring they align with market needs and client expectations. My strategy work is informed by hands-on experience in software development, commercial approaches and product delivery in client-facing agencies.

With a client-centric mindset, I support agencies in crafting compelling value propositions, streamlining operations, and fostering a culture of excellence and innovation. My goal is to help agencies not just survive but thrive in the ever-evolving digital landscape by becoming more resilient, agile, and client-focused.

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Pressure and pragmatism lead to more progress

There are reasons that tight deadlines and huge pressure often get results.

The first is that people get immediately more pragmatic about what the actual requirements are, and agree to do less. Less can be done more quickly, and completed items are less likely to be subjected to a full loop of subjective tinkering.

The second is that when faced with a deadline, and some pressure to achieve it, people focus on just the single most important task.

The single most important thing to do right now is abundantly clear in these high pressure situations.

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Supporting Manchester Metropolitan University

In 2007, when I was still pondering over what to do with the rest of my life, I was encouraged by family to become a resident of Manchester Metropolitan University’s business incubator.

At the time it was called Innospace and based near the coach station in the centre of the city centre. Although the space was pretty basic, the support was great, networking with other small exciting businesses was unavoidable and the rent was almost zero.

Fast forward ten years and after occasionally keeping in touch with the team who kept Innospace ticking over, I decided it was time to give something back for all the support I was given when first finding my feet in business.


So for a few years now I’ve been speaking to MMU business school students about my story and how I’ve managed to enjoy working for myself and running my own companies for so long. The first couple of years of talks I stuck to my own experiences and failings. In the last couple of years I’ve broadened my presentations to be about specific learnings or recommendations. Life skills and awareness. What a student’s expectations should be and what abilities they should nurture to support their own journey.

This year I’ve stepped my support up again. I’ve squeezed in two talks to students and also taken part in the yearly dragons’ den event.

My first talk was called “Doing Less”. As the title suggests it is about creating a successful business without burning yourself out. Retirement in its current form is unlikely to exist when these people reach retirement age, and a more balanced life, with flexibility, quality of life, and treating money as a tool rather than a target is required.

The second was on bootstrapping a business. Only a small percentage of new businesses are funded by banks and investors. This talk is about the opportunities, limitations, pitfalls and benefits of starting with nothing and building a business yourself.

The dragons’ den final was a pleasure to be a part of. Hosted at BManchester—a new banking concept from the group which includes Yorkshire Bank—on Market Street Manchester, it was a modern and relaxed feeling with various experienced and insightful judges at my side.

The 7 teams offered a range of business ideas. The quality of business strategy and presentation was high, and the judging was tough.

We finally agreed upon two highly commended businesses and a winner. We also commended three individuals on various aspects of their approach to the process.


I’ve enjoyed all aspects of the support I’ve been able to offer MMU in 2019. I see it as a personal responsibility to give back to those who’ve supported me, and to offer insight and knowledge which helps Manchester to continue to encourage small businesses to be founded and thrive.

I’m looking forward to supporting MMU again next year, and other institutions and organisations in the near future.