Well... I'm Richie

As you may or may not know, I've started a new journey, an idea hatched a long time ago with two very dear and awesomely capable friends. To start working and partnering with like minded individuals and companies. Our story is only just beginning and you can see what we're about by looking at these posts:

• An Evolving Transformation — Introducing a New Chapter

• Open for Business

• Meet the Fellowship

This post is me introducing me... Richie.

I’ve become known as kinda the guy who will get the job done.  It doesn’t really matter what it is, give me a department, a team, a problem, some boundaries and I’ll get the train rolling to a better place… and if we can’t make it, I’ll give you the options to how we can make it so, well in advance. 

I’m going to introduce you to what makes me up, personally.  As telling you my work history first and why I’m good guy is the wrong way round.  Understand me, then my story.

Who am I?

I’m an anxious, recovering alcoholic, who is painfully honest, with a short attention span, who’s terrible at starting things, and has struggled with mental health to the point of breakdown.

As I said, I’m painfully honest.  I always will be, you’ll get used to that.  And, are these traits negative things, are these weaknesses in character? Fuck No!  Every perceived negative always has a positive.

I’m anxious: I have Generalised Anxiety Disorder. It means my mind avoids the positive rose tinted “it’ll be fine” mentality and goes straight to “It definitely is the end of the world, it’s all fucked”, catastrophising every idea.

• I use this to mitigate and validate the potential worst case.  I steer my ship away from that biggest danger zone into clearer waters looking to improve the possible outcomes, not gold plate them.  I deliver the appropriate result, the key being we always deliver.

I'm a recovering alcoholic: Was this a bad thing?

• No, I was never violent or nasty, I was a fun, functioning person who drunk far too much, like every experience alcohol has shaped who I am.  It put me ahead in life in some ways, made me memorable, and it also put me behind in many other ways.  Understanding a previous addiction and the reasons behind it allow me to steer clear of dependence, to step back and look at the whole.  To understand I used alcohol to enable a state of mind where I could avoid thinking about my problems.  Now I face down the challenges I have in front of me.  I ask myself often “Is this serving me or serving the goals I want to achieve” using a wide-angle lens.  If the answer is no… pivot.

I'm absolutely honest: Is that a problem?

• It could be seen as uncomfortable, unprofessional, even rude, but everyone knows where they stand.  I like to be transparent to everyone on who I am.  Tact and honesty can co-exist, and people knowing how I work internally is key to building any good working relationship.

  I’m a good guy, I’m not a dick head, I like to be transparent to everyone on who I am.  Tact and honesty can co-exist, and people knowing how I work internally is key to building any good working relationship.

I have a short attention span: Do you lose focus?

• No, I apply an Agile mindset to me, my life, my work, and how I live it all.  I might flit, I know that, so I plan to achieve in an uber focused way, enable a flow state, get it done, done well, assess, re-plan and move on.  I’ve been described hyper-driven, I’m not, I just want to achieve the best results in the shortest possible time avoiding the worst possible risks.  That’s how you achieve success in emergent complex environments, lots and lots of compounding little ‘delivered’ successes.

I’m terrible at starting things: Doesn't that stop you?

• When it comes to big things, yes, I am, because I have short attention span.  So, I harness the starting powers of those around me.  Then I start quickly.  I understand the problem more than a solution, validate what I start, I finish what I start, and I review what I’ve finished.  Again, embracing the Agile mindset, the most important metric is delivered value.  I’m a finisher.

My mental health: Is that an issue?

• No. It’s a huge benefit.  I’ve been to a dark place, amongst the shadows, a place where I was unable to walk or talk, I was unable to remember anything, and I was broken to the point I couldn’t function.  Because of my children, I had to fix myself.  It sounds bullshit and salesy, but I used agility to fix my mind.  Small successes, often.  I worked hard to understand how my brain worked in a biological, chemical and emotional way.  I’m 100% on top of my mental health, owning my thoughts and my feelings, and have been for the last 10 years.

• Anxiety, despair and lack of focus effect a huge percentage of people in the UK.  Having the first-hand experience, knowledge and the tools I’ve built up over the years means I can empathise and coach individuals in these areas.  It’s a hugely fulfilling part of me, being able to use this knowledge to help others.  If you can bring people up emotionally, they’re happier, they have a better exitance, they connect and they spark. A side benefit of this, is they work much, much better. Counselling individuals is a win, win, win. A win for them, a win for who they connect with, a win for the things they do.  I love it.

So you've had a glimpse inside my head, what about work?

Now you know what has shaped me. Now I'll tell you where I have come from.

I started in tech, not because I wanted to, but because it was more fun and paid better than college.  I was well out of my depth with my first job which forced me to very quickly upskill, learn what I needed to, and get the job done in the most efficient way.  That’s how I work.  I want the best results, with the least amount of effort, while having the most amount of fun doing it.  Technology allowed me to do that, but very quicky I realised I was constrained within my own capacity, hence my transition to leadership, and management.  Working with a well-functioning team allows them to be more effective than the sum of their parts, which again, I loved.  More value, more efficiency, and happier teams equates to more value produced.

Marv and Jorge were with me in this transitional period, where I was building teams and producing exceptional results.  As a trio (more a foursome at Fortek… Mr Folwell), we nailed what we needed to nail, and really did have some outstanding wins for Emergency Services worldwide.

I left Fortek, and embarked on many other positions, working in many different industries. Always excelling due to my drive to deliver. This may make me appear a generalist; someone with a little experience in many areas.   Which is true to some degree.  Having agility at my core means I assess the area of greatest weakness, I validate the resources and capacity we have within our control.  If lacking to get an acceptable result, we pivot, or I’ll step up and facilitate the removal of those risks, even if it means learning it myself. I can code, problem solve, manage projects, products and teams.  I live and breathe the SDLC and use logic to guide me.  I love metrics, am a great analyst, and honestly not to blow my own trumpet have become pretty damned good in each of these key areas.

However, again, I became constrained by my own capacity.  The next logical step was to have more teams, but I couldn’t hope to manage any more than I had previously.  The simplest way I could get more value, more effectively, was to coach many teams.  Agility is the mechanism I use to do that.  I don’t want the same job for the same company forever.  I want to facilitate a transformation which makes your people on the ground happier, and more productive.  More for less.

So, why have I chosen to work with Jorge and Marv on this journey?

We partner with clients to co-create a culture that adapts to an ever-changing world, balancing human depth with technological efficiency. Our mission is to prioritize human needs in technology evolution, reinforcing meaningful connections while sparking innovation and creativity.

The world is changing, faster than it ever has.  To work effectively we need to evolve, constantly.  Marv and Jorge get this.  They share my love of the natural world, of people, of being happy.  And synergy that needs to be fostered between our world and technology.  They are the guys that really can help push this, and I want to be part of that.

Think small to change big, facilitating an evolving agile mindset will make you happier, more confident, more productive.  These are things we need now if we're going to make a future worth living in.  Leave it and you won't get a say.

I don't want to help you come up with a solutions.  That’s not my bag.   I want to help you realise the potential your company and your teams have.  Double productivity and make people happy at the same time, especially when working for noble causes.  Drop me a line if you're getting frustrated, you're not moving fast enough, your teams are in turmoil.  Honestly, those are challenges I relish. Helping people helps me. Reach out for a chat, it costs you nothing.