Suggestions
Nikki Gatenby
Professional Background
Nikki Gatenby is a highly accomplished business leader, coach, and author known for her impactful approach to leadership development and organizational performance. Currently serving as a Non-Executive Director, Chair, and Coach at Toucan Productions Ltd, Nikki leverages her extensive experience in the corporate world to guide organizations towards achieving their strategic goals while fostering a culture of engagement and innovation. Her commitment to building resilient business practices is reflected throughout her diverse career.
Gatenby’s professional journey includes significant roles at various esteemed organizations, including former Non-Executive Director and Coach positions at Adventure Connections, William Joseph, Clickthrough Marketing, and Sherpa Marketing UK. These roles underline Nikki's adeptness at offering strategic guidance and implementing effective coaching frameworks that enhance organizational effectiveness. Her directional roles have showcased her ability to steer organizations through changes, implementing sustainable business strategies that resonate with both employees and clients.
Not only has Gatenby excelled in the non-profit sector, having served as a Trustee at The Trust For Developing Communities, but she has also made remarkable strides in the consulting space. As a former Managing Director at Propellernet and Client Services Director at TMW Unlimited, Nikki honed her skills in client relationship management and service delivery, ensuring that client expectations were not only met but exceeded. Her early career as an Account Director at Rapp set the foundation for a career marked by innovation, strategic thinking, and a deep commitment to excellence.
Education and Achievements
Nikki Gatenby’s educational background lays a robust foundation for her professional endeavors. She studied Business and Communications at the prestigious London Business School, where she acquired critical skills in strategic thinking and effective communication. Further enhancing her educational credentials, Nikki pursued studies at INSEAD, one of the world’s leading business schools, as well as completing a Bachelor of Arts in Business Studies at Kingston University. Her academic journey also included advanced studies at Cranfield School of Management, equipping her with vital business acumen and leadership capabilities.
In addition to her extensive educational background, Gatenby has authored the bestseller "Superengaged", which achieved the remarkable distinction of being a No. 1 bestseller on Amazon in the Movers and Shakers category at launch. This work reflects her passion for employee engagement and organizational culture, underscoring her role as a thought leader in these areas. Nikki is also the Co-Founder of Menopoised, an initiative focused on empowering women in business, allowing her to advocate for diversity and inclusion within the corporate sector.
Notable Contributions
Throughout her career, Nikki has contributed to numerous boards and advisory positions, demonstrating her commitment to mentorship and community impact. As the former Board Advisor, Chair, and Coach at Clearleft, she has supported the development of strategic initiatives aimed at innovation and user experience in design and technology. Her role at Mdhub as an Advisory Board Member underscores her influence in nurturing entrepreneurial talent and supporting diverse business ecosystems.
Nikki’s role as a coach has profoundly impacted the organizations with which she has been involved, providing valuable insights that motivate leaders to cultivate high-performing teams. Her holistic approach combines practical business insight rooted in her rigorous academic background with an empathetic and engaging coaching style.
In summary, Nikki Gatenby boasts a rich tapestry of experience spanning various industries and roles. Her educational achievements, coupled with her strategic leadership in numerous organizations, render her an influential figure in the realms of business coaching and corporate governance. With a passion for enhancing corporate culture and advancing diversity in leadership, Nikki continues to forge paths towards organizational excellence and community engagement.
Highlights
It seems it’s everywhere. Yet we’re in the first hours of AI. You’re not late.
The most prolific AI tools of our future haven’t been invented, yet. You’re definitely not late (yet).
I’m not an expert, clearly, although even experts don’t appear to agree what AI actually is. Which is, um, discombobulating.
Having seen much debate, intrigue, hype and fatigue, the brilliant Beautiful Business Podcast team invited me to chat, here's 50 minutes with Chloe Bannister covering:
Embracing Change 💡 Championing human nature in collaboration with AI is key to our futures. Humanistic AI all the way 💡 Why ABBA Voyage rocks & why authenticity will be at a premium (random) 💡 Why drones have the same design principles as flying squirrels (even more random). Fact 💡 Before the 1st industrial revolution, being a Human Alarm Clock was a job (possibly the most random)
Horror Stories Sell Headlines 💡 Big predictions by Sam Altman & Elon Musk are part of the debate, but even they can’t agree, whilst they’re best positioned to navigate this 💡We humans are a bit shit at predictions, literally. In 1894 The Times newspaper predicted every street in London would be buried under 9ft of manure by 1950, due to horse drawn carriages. They didn’t account for the invention of the car. We’re in the same position 💡 We can worry about what could go wrong. There is so much that could go right (in healthcare, education and beyond) 💡 Oh, and Musk said we’d have a driverless car in 2016. Still waiting...
Enshitty-what? 💡Still, we’ve got to be careful of ENSHITTIFICATION (favourite word discovery) where platforms are set up to be positive for users, then decay into monetary extraction (think social media) 💡 AI hallucinations need to be kept in check, but it’s not all gone to the dogs 💡 Conversations about difference in opinions are essential; the outliers, the edges, are important for progress
Human First 💡 We are still humans, we’re not robots, yet 💡 How AI could enable us to be our ‘Saturday Selves’ all-day every day; being creators, innovators & dreamers to come up with ideas that may light up the world 💡 How talented people have choices, let's avoid treating them like robots
What Matters 💡 Jobs will change, yup. Why focusing AI on efficiency, with us on effectiveness, could make work MORE FUN 💡 If we automate & outsource to AI what doesn’t light us up, we can spend time on what does
Our AI Digital Companions could make us smarter, superhuman even, not by fearing change or competing, instead by working in collaboration.
We’ve been through industrial revolutions before. We don’t need to get in a spin. AI will spark change in our businesses, so embrace (don’t be replaced) your future facing leadership in the age of AI.
What say you?
🛑 Finally, I’m acutely aware that some/much of this could be wrong/naïve/out of date😅 we recorded early May. 👂 Have a listen, I would love to know what you think.
(I wrote this, not ChatGPT. Just saying)
#agencylife #AI
“I promise you, being at the top right of the Kraljic matrix just may change your agency life.” (Say WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?)
Based on the fascination I have with procurement (I know), along with years of playing the game and helping others to do the same, this 33-minute podcast is rammed full of hints, tips, insights and observations that may well help you nail your next deal with joy.
💡 How to increase pitch success rates by being brutal about how you qualify your leads 💡 The power in the mantra: ”volume is vanity, conversion is sanity” for agency leaders 💡 The necessity of feedback loops and having a 'pitch doctor' – feedback is how we learn after all 💡The need to focus on the ‘deal’ conversation as well as the ‘pitch’ work you've so beautifully crafted 💡 Defining the ideal customer profile to deliver value and elevate the agency-client relationship 💡 Understanding procurement language, learn what they are learning, to enhance your negotiation skills 💡 How to gracefully decline RFPs (you can be beautifully ruthless - and let's face it, no one wants to be a loser, or waste time on pitches they were never going to win) 💡 Knowing your odds and consciously increasing them through the value you bring 💡 Knowing what you’re prepared to trade (not to discount, ban the word discount, it does nothing for your value, literally) and knowing when to walk away 💡 Why hope is not a strategy, not a winning one anyway 💡 Playing the game and changing the game – avoiding the race to the bottom 💡 Why turning down pitches is a winning mentality to avoid wasting your teams time as you grow (could you turn down 40% of pitches as the most successful agencies do?) 💡 And that every single agency can do this
If you don’t know you’re BATNA from your Kraljic matrix, you may not be putting yourself in the best position for a successful procurement negotiation. Mike Lander has oodles of knowledge about this and years of experience in creating successful agency outcomes. I have a few opinions too (obvs).
👂 Have a listen, would love to know what you think (link to podcast in comments).
And please don’t forget to create your Value Bank and keep it up to date. It’s a wonderful place to go in times of trouble, or if some jolly soul from procurement is on the blower, (if this makes no sense at all, have a listen, it will, I promise – or get in touch and we can talk Value Banks till the cows come home).
#agencylife #procurement #winningnegotiations
People also viewed
Related People
Mesh is a relationship management platform that serves as a personal CRM, helping you organize and deepen both personal and professional relationships. It functions as a beautiful rolodex and CRM available on iPhone, Mac, Windows, and web, built automatically to help manage your network efficiently. Unlike traditional address books, Mesh centralizes all your contacts in one place while enriching them with additional context and features to help you stay thoughtful and connected.
Mesh works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Mesh offers several powerful features including:
- Comprehensive Contact Management: Automatically collects contact data and enriches profiles to keep them up-to-date
- Network Strength: Visualizes the strength of your relationships relative to others in your network
- Timeline: Shows your relationship history with each contact
- Smart Search: Allows you to search using natural language like "People I know at the NYT" or "Designers I've met in London"
- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
- Home Feed: Displays updates about your network including job changes, news mentions, and birthdays
- Groups: Organizes contacts into meaningful categories
- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Mesh is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
Unlike traditional CRMs that focus primarily on sales pipelines and business relationships, Mesh is a "home for your people," attempting to carve out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. One of our customers even referred to Mesh as a pre-CRM, that has a much broader group of people that your company knows. Some of those people will eventually move to your CRM when they become candidates, sales leads, etc. Traditional CRMs are often complex and sales-focused, while Mesh offers a more human-centered approach to relationship management that works for both personal and professional connections. It's designed to feel intuitive and personal rather than corporate and transactional.
Mesh takes privacy seriously. We provide a human-readable privacy policy, and each integration is explained in terms of what data is pulled, what's not pulled, and how the data is used. Mesh encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Mesh work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Mesh is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Mesh is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Mesh is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Mesh offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Mesh offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Mesh for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Mesh accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Mesh offers extensive integration capabilities. Mesh introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Mesh supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Mesh also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
Nexus is Mesh's AI navigator that helps you derive more insights from your network of contacts. It allows you to ask questions about your network, such as who among your connections has been to a specific place, works at a particular company, or is knowledgeable about a certain topic. Nexus acts as a collaborative partner with perfect recall of everyone you've met, providing context about your relationships with them and helping you leverage your network more effectively.
Mesh makes it much easier to stay in touch with the people you care about. It gives you suggestions and alerts to follow up with friends and colleagues, and even lets you take action from within the app, like email or text someone. Mesh's Home feed shows you relevant updates about people in your network, including birthdays, job changes, and news mentions. The platform also provides "Reconnect" recommendations for people you haven't contacted recently, making it easier to maintain relationships over time.
Mesh is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Mesh stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Mesh excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Mesh is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Mesh offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Mesh's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Mesh has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Mesh is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Mesh beneficial.
Mesh offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Mesh offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Mesh's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Mesh offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Mesh focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Mesh also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Mesh offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
Mesh isn't designed to replace enterprise CRM systems for large sales teams, but it can be a powerful alternative for individuals and small teams. Many people use Mesh instead of Salesforce, Hubspot, and Pipedrive. Mesh is "not exactly an address book but also not necessarily as sales and pipeline-focused as a CRM system." The founders refer to their app as a "home for your people," carving out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. For solo entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small teams focused on relationship quality rather than sales pipelines, Mesh can absolutely serve as your primary relationship management tool.
Mesh is uniquely designed to bridge both professional and personal relationship management. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh helps you organize your contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. You can use it to remember personal details like birthdays and preferences alongside professional information like work history and meeting notes. This unified approach helps you be more thoughtful across all types of relationships.
Mesh's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Mesh has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Mesh a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Mesh's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Mesh's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Mesh has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Mesh's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Mesh as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Mesh eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.