All Aboard!
Six months ago, I took a deep breath, jumped in, and launched Ambire Advisory.
Since then, it’s been… well… riding a wave. I’ve been head down; wind in my hair, working with law and accountancy firms to accelerate the value of their business, honing their investment stories and building structures to support growth ambitions.
It’s been busier and more rewarding than I dared hope. One of the most energising parts has been working with senior teams to lean into change — solving tough problems collaboratively, bringing people with them, achieving much more than they thought.
I am continuing as Chair of the Leadership & Management Section of The Law Society, and with that has come a wave of roundtables and podcasts on the topics everyone is trying to get their head around. If you have not done so yet, please take a look at the Leadership and Management Section – it is genuinely very good.
And also, there is the Good Impact Group. If you have Marketing, BD or Strategy skills that you would like to put to good use in a voluntary role, or you know a charity looking for support, please look at some of the opportunities on offer.
As we head toward Christmas and time for a bit of a break, we thought we would send our first ever newsletter. Now I have sent a lot of these in my time – but this is the first one for us – so bear with me…
On the Ground
So what am I hearing in my network and in professional services more widely?
Firstly – AI.
Not bots carrying out litigation or arguing about IFRS 16… yet, but the real strategic decisions firms are wrestling with:
· How do we use it?
· How do we measure it?
· How do we change our operating model when technology makes us faster,
but our revenue model rewards being slower?
· And how and who is going to pay for it?
Secondly, external investment: professional services firms are curious and private equity firms are exploring how to value and add value to these opportunities: “Efficiency”, is creating a sector simultaneously innovating, transforming… and occasionally hyperventilating.
And finally – the cornucopia of issues driven by highly regulated, largely autonomous, people-based, organisations continue to keep CEOs and COOs awake.
All of which has made the last six months feel like an extraordinary privilege: supporting leaders to take decisive action while keeping culture, people and purpose intact.
On the Lighter Side
Charlie Chaplin said, "A day without laughter is a day wasted" so here are some of things that have made me laugh this year.
The LSAS conference curated by my friends at Conscious Solutions created a whole load of giraffe-based mayhem. Here is my team’s effort (we won):
Teaching my Uni Student children to cook remotely and discovering that they don’t know how to mash a potato or address an envelope. It turns out that ChatGPT can simplify a Delia Smith Recipe down to three ingredients and one pan in under 15 seconds – all with calming emojis.
And a couple of truly bad seasonal jokes for you (tis the season after all):
How does Santa’s accountant value his sleigh?
The Net Present Value.
Why did the lawyer have so much trouble fighting Santa's case?
He came with a clause.
On We Go
As we work our way through the short days of December and January, i’d love to reconnect.
If you fancy a conversation about:
- steering strategy and culture through uncertainty,
- leading teams through complex change,
- navigating the AI / PE / Everything Everywhere All At Once dynamic,
- or simply a coffee where I don’t use the phrase “Gross Recurring Revenue”
…I’d really love to catch up and hear what you’ve been up to.
Thank you for your support, encouragement and friendship. It made all the difference in taking the leap and continues to be what makes this work meaningful.
Warmest wishes,
Abby Winkworth
Principal Consultant, Ambire Advisory Limited, Chair, Leadership & Management Section, The Law Society and Trustee, Good Impact Group
abby.winkworth@ambireadvisory.co.uk
linkedin.com/in/abbywinkworth
If you think someone would enjoy these reflections, please feel free to forward them on.
Cheers,
Abby