Principals' principles

Practising what we preach …

We believe in transparency. We believe in making it clear who influences us as thinkers – and which philosophies we ascribe to.

Clearworth’s principals are Clive Hook and Chloe Cox and these are our principles.

If you agree with them, our m@sterclass will help you leverage their benefits. If you don’t agree with them, they will challenge your thinking and refresh your outlook. If you don’t have an opinion, then maybe our programmes aren’t for you. Our programmes are designed for people with a brain to catch.

Clive Hook

One of my big influences has been Mintzberg and his work. ‘Strategic planning often spoils strategic thinking, causing managers to confuse real vision with the manipulation of numbers’.

I tend to come from the emergent strategy school which, if organisations were more honest with themselves, accounts for much of what happens in reality.

This doesn’t mean waiting for things to happen though, it means actively and consistently engaging in strategic thinking to take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves.

It also means creating the infrastructure which can quickly be mobilised to pilot, verify and operationalise the ideas.

Operations as a discipline is often seen as the poor cousin of the more cerebral strategic planning; but without implementation, strategy is nothing.

Chloe Cox

My overarching and abiding principle has to be the need to work with reality but, as I have learned, reality is an acquired taste. I am surprised how often individuals and organisations choose to not face reality and operate in a way that is wasteful of energy and resources.

In my coaching and consultancy work I often have to take a deep breath and tell them what I see – and the reactions vary from an irritated retort to a surprised expression to a sigh of relief. In all cases, if the client is willing and able, an exploration of reality results in positive action and outcomes.

My consultancy training with Robert Fritz in the USA taught me to challenge concepts and not collude with the client in avoiding the truth. His expression, ‘let the chips fall where they may’ is what goes through my mind just before I tell them what I see….