Dove Nest Group

I make an apology for any avid readers of this blog who may have casually wondered where I’ve been for the past few weeks. I’d love to think that there are a lot of you who have missed my postings and musings. I’ve not fallen out of love with blogging (far from it) but have been keeping myself pretty busy on matters Dove Nest!

I set off early yesterday morning on the train in bright sunshine. By the time we’d reached London the bright sunshine had given way to grey clouds and temperatures which felt more like October then late May. Our Sales Director, Dan, and I visited a client to do an ‘advance tender’ for a piece of work we know is going to take place in 2018. It was an interesting meeting with a client we’ve grown to really like in the past few months and we feel we’re building a strong rapport and mutual trust with her.

This morning I’ve been with a new client who has just invited us to run what is turning out to be quite a complex and far reaching piece of work. I enjoy making complicated programmes work well, both (and most important) for the client but also inside our own business where there is a lot to organise, write and brief in a short space of time. I never mind about a tight deadline as long as we can deliver the outcome and quality everyone expects. Our client has been very open about some of the issues inside the organisation which has been extremely helpful as we plan and deliver this programme which should have a far reaching impact. Its a very interesting piece of work and we’re proud to be working with this organisation.

Rather unusually for me, I’d produced a detailed agenda which helped to focus everyone’s mind and we sped through the topics and finished, to everyone’s pleasure, 45 minutes earlier than planned. I’m sure there’s a lesson in there somewhere for me. As a result I was able to catch an earlier train than I’d planned…always a bonus when you spend a lot of time away from home.

I really enjoy visiting the south but I have to say that I love living in the north and it sometimes feels to me as if England (or at least the parts I know well) is at least 2 different countries with very different cultures and paces of life. When clients who are based in the south come to visit the Lakes they often remark on how different it feels with us and I’ve always thought that this diversity is part of the richness of living in this country, frustrating though it can be at times (previous blogs have highlighted my views on travelling around a crowded island).

So the tale of 2 countries in the title reflects not just the weather but also my happiness at being able to live in what I believe to be the most beautiful part of the country. I’m happy to be biased on my view of this.
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