Next-Up

19/02/2026

Our next in-person Professional Services Retirement Forum is coming up and honestly, this conversation has never felt more relevant.

“Retirement” is still a word many partners don’t want to talk about.

In theory, succession starts years out. Clients transition smoothly. Partners leave on a high.

Instead it's often completely avoided so clients are unclear of plans, teams demotivated and partners - after 20 or 30 loyal years - feel no-one cares about them.

This isn’t just a retirement conversation.

It’s about taking the long view - how professional services firms build value, continuity and options across the entire partner lifecycle.

The smartest firms are already thinking differently - turning experience, alumni networks and AI into long-term competitive advantage.

That’s what we’ll be exploring together.

📅 Monday 23 March
👥 For HR Business Partners and People Leaders supporting partner transitions

We’re joined by Avivah Wittenberg-Cox, Roderick Roman, Louise Ballard (Moody), and Jonathan Routledge, plus senior leaders sharing insights from our Next-Up Navigator pilot.

This is a closed forum designed for open, honest discussion. If you’re responsible for partner continuity, succession or long-term value, we’d love you in the room.

Please contact [email protected] if you would like further details.

19/02/2026

Jonny Ross is running a hands-on workshop in Leeds:
NotebookLM for Websites: Fix What’s Not Working and Feel Proud Again

And we are going to be there. Are you?

📅 Friday 20 March 2026 | Leeds | 9:30–4:30
You’ll leave with a configured NotebookLM workspace + a practical 90-day WebProud plan for your own site.

Save the date: Friday 20th March (Leeds)

Most SME websites aren’t broken.
They’re just… not right.

The content’s grown.
The message has drifted.
And deep down, you’re not as proud of it as you should be.

In March, we’re running a small, in-person workshop for SME founders and marketers using NotebookLM, Google’s best-kept AI secret, to fix what’s not working and rebuild confidence in your website.

No hype.
No “AI slop” nonsense.
Just practical clarity.

More details soon - but if this already sounds familiar, keep the date free.

22/05/2025

Jeremy Moore, partner, Dickson Minto - how he underestimated LinkedIn. Listen to our latest peer story

25/04/2024

🌟 Meet Juliet Sanders , the inspiring founder & CEO of Feeding Families! 🌟 Founded in 2017 at the age of 57, Juliet's journey began as a personal project in 2016, delivering Christmas hampers to families in need. Today, Feeding Families is a beacon of hope in North East England, combating food poverty with support & security. Remember, it's never too late to make a difference! 💪

Setting up a charity at 57

15/04/2024

📢✨ We are excited to share with you that is speaking at BE BOLD NOW LONDON on 1st May 2024. 📣 Save the date and get your tickets now https://www.beboldforchange.org/london

Be Bold Now

26/02/2024

🎬✨ Join us on a captivating journey with Frances Harper, the incredible woman who went from secretary to filmmaker, embarking on a new chapter after the age of 60! 🌟 Inspired by a BBC Radio Suffolk story about Louise, a young s*x worker, Frances picked up a camera and learned the art of filmmaking from scratch.

Frances Harper, a former secretary, embarked on a remarkable journey into filmmaking at the age of 60, inspired by a BBC Radio Suffolk story. Intrigued by Louise, a young s*x worker, Frances felt compelled to share her story properly. Despite having no prior experience with a video camera, Frances p...

30/01/2024

Join our CEO, Victoria Tomlinson FRSA, at the RSA Fellow’s Festival 2024 - Newcastle stop on 29th February, where they are hosting a series of lightening talks on the theme of courage.

This year marks the 270th anniversary of the RSA, and this event will showcase how their heritage has shaped a commitment to courage. Victoria will be joined by a host of other inspirational Fellows, changemakers and innovators, to share their wisdom spanning five focus areas: environment, economy, culture, society and innovation. Together they’ll reflect on nearly three centuries of social impact, exploring how we can be even braver and bolder in our social change ambitions.

Find out more and book your tickets here: https://lnkd.in/eFFgJVnY

09/01/2024

If you got something you believe in and you enjoy doing, keep going - and something will happen!

After a full-on business career Alison Canning's spiritual journey led to a business

31/10/2023

This week we are launching our platform, Rethink Retirement, for employers who are working with 50+ employees. We spent a year developing and piloting this, including with major corporates. Thanks to the hundreds of people who shared stories for the platform and helped us shape this support. The feedback has been fantastic, helping re-energise many at the end of their careers and it encourages employees who want to keep earning to ask their bosses if they can work part-time/flexibly – and fill skills gaps.

Some of the insights from working with corporates
- Thousands of employees retire every year, who could and would love to, carry on working but part-time/flexibly
- But employers don't discuss the option of working flexibly instead of retiring because it is fraught with possible age discrimination. So they don't
- Our platform suggests to employees that if they want to keep earning, then talk to their bosses and ask if you can work differently - there is a skills shortage, they may be happy to do this
- The platform is the only benefit designed specifically by and for the 50+ generation
- There are 200 amazing video stories giving people ideas about what they can do next - feedback is constantly 'it's so inspiring'
- Nearly half the workforce will be aged over 50 by 2030 - this generation is a massive resource

Want to know more? Why not book a demo with us [email protected]

This is "Next-Up Platform" by Victoria Tomlinson on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

16/08/2023

New podcast: From corporate career to an empowered unretirement and personal fulfilment - Elton Mouna shares his story and advice on embracing change fearlessly.

In this episode, Victoria and Trevor are joined by Elton Mouna; former hospitality MD who has run three pubs; has been Head of Retail Marketing and Head of PR and Corporate Communications at Fuller's and the MD of London Pub Co Remarkable Pubs. Metaphorically speaking, Elton has walked the hospitali...

07/08/2023

So disappointed Amol Rajan BBC repeating urban myth "Older generation .. opted out of labour market, life is just too short to work" NO they have been chucked out, can't get jobs, ageism etc. Read what should have been covered in great BBC Radio 4 Rethink Work

Camilla Cavendish

I could not believe it. Last week BBC journalist Amol Rajan launched the latest of the BBC’s Rethink series – this one on Rethink Work. And right from the start, here we went again. In his introduction he talked about “Ageing populations needing care”and then“For an older generation who ha...