Hello. 
I'm Bradley, and
​I'm a (recovered) workaholic."

While that was – partly – in jest, I thought it might be an interesting way to get this page on my personal story started…
​In it I’ll share my own experiences, hopefully some of my outlook on career development and improvement, and what inspired me to embark on building Protagion. I’d also really like to hear your personal career stories, so would strongly encourage you to make contact with us. Please tell us what motivates you to achieve and give us your top tips on what has helped you so far.

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Looking Back

​I’m roughly a third of the way through my career and worked for 15 years in the Financial Services environment. It is rather daunting to think I have another 30+ years of “work” until I can officially retire (!). But, that also means there is plenty of time to do new things and keep life interesting. Over that time, I was very privileged to work and lead teams in different locations around the world, travelling on business fairly often too. This gave me a different appreciation for cultural diversity; while I actively made decisions to seek these opportunities out, my life is indeed richer for the experience. Diversity and diversification are quite important to me, and even influenced my choice of university and subsequent professional qualifications, reflecting designations from different parts of the world.

Look Both Ways

Being partway through my career gives me a different perspective on work as I can see towards both ends of the career ladder: with admiration for those who have achieved so much in gaining their own experience, and with anticipation for those who are starting out, in the knowledge that they have a rewarding, fluid and uncharted future ahead of them. At the risk of oversimplifying, I believe that there is so much knowledge and potential within us collectively, that I want to help in bringing that together for us to have more rewarding careers – whichever rewards we personally prefer.

During my working life, I’ve recruited staff, built and adjusted teams a number of times. Working with people to develop them individually in line with their unique aspirations and talents has been one of the most rewarding aspects for me. I’ve mentored many professionals over the years, and people development is crucially close to my heart.

Thinking back on my own journey, there are a number of standout elements which influenced me, whether in a small or large way. Below I describe some of these.

First and foremost, my interest in entrepreneurship was influenced by a strong desire to have a bigger and more sustainable impact on the world. As I’ve aged, I found that my professional industry’s focus on (i) growing the wealth you already have, or (ii) protecting your existing position e.g. income, or repaying debt on death, was too narrow for me. Targeted education as a means to social mobility has also been on my mind. In fact, I would not be where I am if it had not been for scholarships and bursaries to study – I am eternally grateful to my high school and first employer for those opportunities. More recently, I’ve read books on entrepreneurship, two of which I recall particularly vividly, partly because of the excitement they stirred in me as I read them: Business Model Generation*, and The Introvert Entrepreneur*. Both of these spurred me to take the giant step of starting my own business.

Looking Up

I’ve also been very fortunate to have a number of individuals in my life who have, each in their own way, supported my dreams, identified potential in me, or nurtured emerging talents. The earliest of these were specific teachers over the course of my schooling, and remembering each of them now brings a smile to my face. Sadly some of them are no longer alive, but their legacy lives on through the students they impacted over their teaching careers.

Another influencer I met at university, and today he is a great friend. Interestingly, when we first met, we didn’t get along at all, probably because we were both over-opinionated teenagers and clashed. Luckily we matured, and he gave me an amazing piece of advice about a presentation I needed to give in front of a new intake of first year students. I’m paraphrasing, but it had something to do with "showing different facets of a diamond to the light". That was the first time I really understood that personality and outlook are not static, and can be improved through effort and openness to change. In fact, after that presentation (which to make matters worse included some heckling from the front row!), one of the guest lecturers, a trailblazer in her field that I also admire, said to me that it had been one of the best examples of dealing with a heckler that she had ever seen. Every time I hear someone say that “presenting is like acting”, I recall that day fondly.

Over the course of my working life I’ve had the opportunity to work with some amazing people too; in terms of their ability, their belief in others and their own personal ambitions. One of them I worked alongside for a number of years and many of my beliefs today about personalised development stem from my interactions with her. Others I saw frustrated by the system, told that “we can’t create precedents”, and “no-one achieves anything remarkable in their first two years – you’re here to learn”, and still they triumphed, breaking the mould. This was because of their sheer persistence and ability to make connections with more senior opinion leaders.  

I’ve also been influenced by some passionate coaches, at different stages of my working career, who’ve helped me with aspects like self-reflection, perceiving your behaviours through the eyes of others, and start-up business advice. There remains a long journey of learning ahead, and I look forward to embracing new insights as they are shared.

In addition, I look at my university class, and my professional cohorts, with admiration. So many of us have become, over the last decade-and-a-half, phenomenally successful, each with their own story. The varied roles we’ve had, the number of countries that we have worked in, the people we lead and the businesses we’ve started or been a part of are awe-inspiring. I doubt that it’s because the class of 2001 was especially fantastic, but because there exists in each of us the potential for a fulfilled and prosperous future. At its heart, I believe achieving this future is about alignment with our own personal values, and then being aware of, and open to, new opportunities that reinforce these. That is why I’ve personally spent so much time over my career reflecting, and aiming to understand myself.

Looking Forward

Having worked in different cultures and employment systems, I’m fortunate to have seen varied perspectives on “work”. As a hiring manager who prefers the personalised approach, something I’ve found particularly difficult to understand is why some employers want to hire people who’ve done the job already. I agree that it makes the next 3-6 months efficient, but what about the longer term? Surely as a worker, you wouldn’t want to do the same job over and over again in different companies: Wash, Rinse, Repeat…
​I’d want to learn and grow. When considering new opportunities I’ve been attracted by those I currently know the least about. For me, that’s where the challenge and growth come from.

That’s been another factor behind my step to start my own business, and attempt to bring something positive, aspirational, and uplifting to the world, helping to connect those who want to learn and grow with support to achieve their unique potential. Who knows how it will all turn out... I very much look forward to the next 30 years!
​Please do join me on this journey.

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Please be aware that some readers of the Kindle Edition of Business Model Generation have found it difficult to read electronically given the extensive use of visuals in the book. I read a paper version myself while travelling in Italy.
Protagion is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk. The links with * participate in this programme.

​PS: Still Looking...