Jim McLaughlin
Jim McLaughlin is one of the country’s most experienced facilitators. He combines his facilitation practice with Directorships – in manufacturing and in software. He is thus highly practical and outcomes-focused with a wide and deep level of practical business experience.
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He has worked with groups from all walks of life and all professions (and none). He has worked with Engineers, Teachers, Scientists, MPs, Accountants, Caretakers, Doctors, Nurses, Machinists, Architects, Pilots, Web Developers and many more professions.
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Facilitation Experience
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Jim started running groups 25 years ago. In that time, he has run the following:
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â—¼ Team and Project Away Days
â—¼ Staff Conferences (with 500 + participants)
â—¼ Board and Senior Management Strategy Events
â—¼ Merger and post-merger negotiations
â—¼ De-merger negotiations
â—¼ Action Learning Groups
â—¼ Collaboration networks
â—¼ Board Effectiveness evaluations
â—¼ Inter-departmental process design workshops
â—¼ After Action Review processes
â—¼ Project Evaluations
â—¼ Contingency and planning scenario development events
â—¼ Software specification events
â—¼ Group Coaching
â—¼ Customer Innovation processes
â—¼ Whole-company strategic planning
â—¼ Whole-system planning processes
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His sector experience includes: Manufacturing, Telecoms, Information Technologies, Financial Services, Professional services, Government, Health, Local Government, Government Agency, Higher Education.
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Facilitation Style and Approach
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Personable, thoroughly researched, planned, spontaneous (where useful), creative. “Jim asks the BEST questions”. Sometimes he creates spaces where deep and meaningful conversations are had. Other times, he create spaces and processes for complex problems to be worked on with simplicity and ease. At other times, he creates a methodology to enable numerous sub-teams to co-create. When he needs to be challenging, he is so dimplomatically, creatively and productively. When he needs to be supportive, he gives it whole-heartedly.
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Accreditations​
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Jim experience is supplemented by the following formal training:
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â—¼ Ashridge Facilitation Programme
â—¼ Co-active Group Coaching
â—¼ Neuro-Linguistic Programming (at Practitioner and Master â—¼ Practitioner level)
â—¼ More to Life and Insight Personal Development Training
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Academic & Professional Qualifications
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Jim holds a degree in English Literature and a Diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing. He graduated with distinction at Masters level qualification in Strategy and Innovation at Said Business School, Oxford University.
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Clients Say ...
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Above all Jim brings a contextual understanding of business leaders and their needs that added enormous value to the project that helped the team, but I think even more importantly the client, to focus on what was really required beyond the dry words of the project report. He was willing to challenge the client in an acceptable way so they delivered something beyond their own expectations to their end users that will have a lasting impact.
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"As I watch project managers being fired by the week on the apprentice they could all learn from him how t do it. If I was Lord Sugar I’d hire Jim."
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Professor Nick Holley, Director of Learning, Corporate Research Forum. Former Global People Director, Vodafone.
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"Great facilitator, capable of helping you to reach new heights – but always with a focus on practicality and implementation. Jim knows that it is what gets done that matters – not what gets said or thought Highly recommended!"
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Mike Chitty, Head of Applied Leadership, NHS Leadership Academy
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"Jim is a great business facilitator. He was able to understand the challenges our business was facing very quickly and in a short space of time help us formulate a plan to move forward. He is very personable, fair and imaginative – all great qualities in helping us, but more importantly always had an eye on the end goal so that our work together made a real difference in practice. I would highly recommend Jim for strategic and facilitation work."
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Jacqueline Watson, Managing Director at Citrefine International Limited
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"The best large group facilitator in the business."
Resli Costabell – colleague and occassional customer
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"First time I have worked with Jim who was recommended to me. He “got” our business very quickly, which meant he was able to do a first class facilitation job within challenging timescales. Jim was also able to support our strategy development activity by sharing highly relevant industry and technology insights which is a testament to his broad business experience."
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Operations Director, DS Smith – Europe’s largest packaging business
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"Working with Jim is one of life’s better experiences. His knowledge, energy and enthusiasm shines through in everything he does added to which he has a fine eye for detail. Undoubtedly an ideas person he uses his connections well in pursuing these and uses his strong people skills in getting the best from everyone."
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Neil Higginson, MD of Employee Benefits plc
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"Really insightful sessions with a sharp focus on medium and long term results. The practical tips and suggested resources were excellent. It helped hugely in focusing myself on growing the business, rather than just working for it."
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Tony Wall, MD of AAR (Europe) Major International Aviation Engineering Company
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"Jim very quickly grasped the essence of our company and helped us formulate a great 5-year strategic plan covering all aspects of our business, ranging from defining and recruiting key positions, developing a marketing plan through to choosing tactics to operationally execute. He is a born marketer, but he has that special plus of also being operationally savvy, action oriented and without blah-blah. He is effective, has integrity and is just a very likeable guy."
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Lise Madsen, MD Honeyrose Bakery (where I subsequently became Non Executive Director)
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"Jim is an exceptional guru, consultant and advisor. He out thinks any other consultant I have met …and he’s on your side. Practical ‘cos he runs his own very successful business but enjoys coaching/consultancy. Every time I spend a session with Jim I walk away with a big smile and a fistful of unstoppable ideas."
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John ‘Baldilocks’ Donnelly , Inspirational-Edukational-Perspirational Speaker, Learning Point
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"Jim managed a strategic planning retreat for my management team. It was fab. Very focussed, very enjoyable and with great outputs. He’s a big guy with immense integrity and fab ideas."
Steve Andrews, CEO and Chairman, Whitewater
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“That day has probably saved us three months of work. I’m amazed at how much we got done.”
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Participant – Vodafone website planning workshop
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"Jim is an absolute pleasure to work with. He helped design and facilitated a large staff conference (450 staff) effortlessly, bringing what can be a disparate group of people together using humour, integrity and a clear focus on the key messages of the day. Jim always goes the extra mile, giving costructive and well observed feedback to help relationships move forward and a huge dose of creativity. I would highly recommend him for facilitation, Executive coaching and creative problem solving and development."
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Tracey Webb, Head of Learning and Organisation Development, Network Housing Group
