August 2026 Monthly Round-Up

August 2026 Monthly Round-Up

August. Traditionally the quieter month but I’ve been keeping busy that for sure! Some significant decisions were made, some important work was delivered, and a few things shifted.

Dart board with dart in the bullseye

📌 Five-Year Strategy

This month the five-year direction was locked in. It’s not easy and there’s lots of lessons to learn along the way but ultimately, being realistic about life, business and all that comes with it matters. So, a shift and a ‘back to basics’ approach re-adopted to feed into what success looks like for me. Key point there being what it looks like for me. I’ve no plans on featuring in Forbes any time soon.

📁 Client Compliance

Lots of work has been carried out this month around compliance. A favourite subject of mine and one I really thrive on. There has been loads around this, from policies, to internal audit, to client membership and supply chain requirements, training and more, it’s been very interesting and I have loved getting stuck in both online and in person.

📁 Client Proposals

Proposals went out for ISO work and combined ISO/H&S engagements for clients in manufacturing and construction. The pipeline is active and we remain optimistic!

📁 Client work Mentoring

A mentoring support structure has been revisited and clearly assigned roles and responsibilities, with their employer sponsoring the mentoring programme that is strongly aligned with business goals and clear KPIs. There’s always the challenge of day to day operations when it comes to making time for mentoring but, honestly, it is a great investment.

📁 Competency Work

Lots of structure being explored at the minute across many organisations when it comes to competencies, industry expectations, internal expectations, accountability and competency mapping to support structural direction. Very interesting and honestly, I have been using the work to thin about my own competencies and their worth vs nice to have. I’ve made some changes there too!

🏛️ IIRSM Trustee Work

A significant piece of volunteer work this month: I have been working behind the scenes at IIRSM with some structured documentation and getting stuck in as a new trustee on council.

📚 Research and Thought Leadership

A two-page research summary on the Confidence Gap (Kay and Shipman) was produced, drawing on published academic research. Content in the leadership and coaching space continues to develop with the goal to integrate leadership and management amongst everything I do.

I am starting a piece of research now, keep your eyes peeled for that as I am targetting C-Suites and Safety Professionals for some insights and would love as much involvement as possible!

🎙️ Podcast Content

Podcast preparation continued and flippin’ eck it has been packed full with guests, editing, scheduling and more! I even put together a few shorts that will be shared in due course, little snippets of knowledge to share to help that scrolling be a bit more productive (maybe, funny animals is a good pull when it comes to mindless scrolling to be fair).

💡 Personal and Professional Development

A structured reflective session this month surfaced something significant: a clear professional direction that had been there all along but not yet named. This all ties in with the 5 years strategy previously mentioned but direction is key and helps decision making one step at a time by bringing clarity.

🏢 Office

The rented office space has been exited. The cost didn't justify the return, and the decision aligns with the five year strategy. Ad-hoc meeting space in Wigan is the fallback for anything client-facing but for now I am back at the home office and productive as ever!

🤝 The Safety Social

Behind the scenes, a review of my actions and working hard has come to a positive ending to August with no less than three (!!!) events scheduled for September. I love the passion and excitement around The Safety Social and how involved everyone really wants to be.