This was the first real moment of reflection.
Not from family. Not from friends.
But from people who’d shaped how I really think about change.
As Steve Norgrove (you’ll meet him in Round Two) put it:
“Change can be messy.”
I needed to know if this idea — bees doing change — could land with a wider audience.
So I reached beyond the usual circles.
John J Oliver.
Michael Ballé.
Andy Bounds.
Three respected voices. Each had made a mark on me in different ways.
I messaged them all on LinkedIn.
Each said “yes” to my initial message.
So I followed up with what I thought was a savvy move:
“Please sign an NDA before reading.”
Apparently… not so savvy.
Requesting an NDA is, it turns out, a bit of a no-no.
As quickly as they’d said yes, it felt like being on a quiz show:
Zing. Zing.
2 for 2. 100% failure rate.
(statistically not a good score)
One after another, the lights went out.
Each of them said, in their own way:
“No to NDAs.”
So I sent the draft anyway.
Copyright protected, and with a simple ask:
“Please don’t share.”
When it came time to send Andy’s email, I skipped the NDA bit entirely — figured I’d spare myself a third fail.
John J Oliver OBE — we met at Leyland Trucks, around 2009, post-workshop.
Michael Ballé — I read his book, we connected on LinkedIn 2009. Quiet ever since… until now.
Andy Bounds — keynote at a Masterclass. Andy lit up the room. I then followed with a Case Study on how we had simplified complexity, and improved productivity dramatically.
We Connected on LinkedIn in 2012 – and again no further contact.
They owed me nothing.
But they gave thoughtful, honest feedback.
It was … thought provoking feedback… and a real moment of – hmmmm the book might be ok.
The first 360° round of reflection.
This website uses Cookies to improve your browsing experience and to help with our marketing. You can read more about removing Cookies here: Cookie Policy
I'm fine with this