Tim Isherwood Adventurer, strategist, coach

I first thought of just copying & pasting my CV but then I thought that when anyone reads your CV they tell you that you have written it in the wrong way: "It should be in the third person" or "it's more than two pages". So I decided not to do that but give a little background on who I am, where I have come from - some of the events that have influenced my attitude to life and some of my thoughts for the future. You can read about some of my influences HERE

Where my work ethos comes from:

I started work in the family paper mill in 1975. There wasn't really a job for me, which is still often the case with a family business, but I started in accounts. This was quite ironic as I hadn't been good at maths at school. To be honest I had been working in the mill since I was 14 as it was expected that we worked during our school holidays.

At this time there were about 400 paper mills in the UK, not a massive industry but one that made a good contribution to the country. Unfortunately the late 1970s was not a good time, not just for the paper industry, but all industries.

I became the Commercial Director and I seemed to spend my time during this period trying to find enough cash to keep the mill running for the next week whilst fighting to nullify the dire consequences of politics at that time. I remember in 1978 being presented with one such situation: find how to pay for a 25% payrise together with an additional 5th weeks holiday. It didn't help that our raw material prices were being influenced by tariffs & quotas imposed by our membership of the EEC or that schools, to whom we supplied drawing paper, had been told to reduce consumption by half.

The mill finally closed in 2010 ( having lasted since the mid 18th Century) but I had left long before, in 1982. Since then I have founded, run & sold my own business and worked as a consultant delivering strategic consultancy to family led companies.

The exploring and adventuring started in 1973:

In 1973, and whilst still at school, I was fortunate enough to be selected to join a British Schools Exploring Society Expedition to Arctic Sweden. I was in a group that had to survey a series of glaciers near to the Abisko National Park. This was to measure the extent of the ice at that time and was done on behalf of Stockholme University who had surveyed the glaciers in 1969. I was on the Passusjietna Glacier west of Abisko and we measured that the glacier had retreated by 37 metres between 1969 and 1973

This BSES Expedition told me two things about myself: one, I found that I could achieve anything if I wanted to and two, I had a taste for adventure, to do things that were different from what might be described as normal.

This is me, below, in the checked collar shirt watching someone try to mend our stove.

Go and see the problem for yourself!

Over the years I have become interested in the process of running businesses and how humanity and health always underpin long term success.

I love the example of Toyota, which is one of the worlds largest, family run businesses. They have gone from manufacturing looms in the early 20th Century to being the worlds largest car manufacturer in the 21st. The Toyota Production System is world renowned and ensures that there is a philosophy of continuous improvment. The Toyota principle of Genchi Genbutsu should be drilled into everyone. This means "go and see the problem for yourself".

I believe that in all aspects of our lives, not just at work, we have to apply relentless reflection and continuous improvement.

Where do we go from here? Slow down perhaps?

I have always thought that to spend the majority of our time working in an office, warehouse or factory is not right. It isn't how we are meant to be and we have to find ways of maximising our time spent in the great outdoors. Noah Yuval Harari says in his book "Sapiens" that the agricultural revolution was the biggest con ever done to mankind. It was the point in time which made our 24/7 availability inevitable.

We have to change our focus from "living to work" to "working to live". The work we do and the money we earn is an enabler, allowing us to enjoy our lives so that we have stories to tell rather than things to show. Recent research has demonstrated that out of our 8 hour working day we are productive for a mere 2.5 hours. We spend time on social media, browsing emails and attending endless & pointless meetings. The repetitive nature of our days is driving us all into madness.

We have to introduce an element of minimalism into our lives. This isn't anti capitalism but it is about making a judgemnt on how many steakes we want to eat each day. We have maximised on our asset possessions whilst minimising on our spiritual possessions. We have been warned about this in poetic form: W H Davies in 1911 with his poem "Leisure" which, amzingly, was inspired by William Wordsworth and his sonnett "The world is too much with us" written in 1802.

We have to boost our immune system. A paucity of outdoor activity and a diet saturated with processed foods and carbohydrates means that we lack vitamin D and vitamin C and many people are obese. If this continues we become susceptible to illness, disease and having a life that may be shorter than we anticipate because people have compromised their immune system. My thoughts on health, asking why we still accept this corporate problem, can be found HERE

In his book "Walking - one step at a time" Erling Kagge suggests that by moving more slowly our appreciation of the world will be greater. This is absolutely correct:

#walkingpace