I sat at my desk with a blank page and a big question:
What would it take to build a business that helps leaders thrive in the AI era?
I didn’t have all the answers. What I did have was a vision: clarity, confidence, and perspective for people feeling overwhelmed by change.
The past 12 months have been a mix of excitement and uncertainty:
🔵 Leaving behind the comfort of “known” to step into something new
🔵 Wrestling with doubts: will this work? Am I doing the right thing?
🔵 Learning to trust my instincts and take imperfect action
There have been a lot of wins: launching the Wider Horizons business, connecting with incredible leaders and watching their growth, seeing ideas resonate and the light bulb moments they gave. There have also been many challenges: finding my voice, building systems, staying grounded when the noise of “do more, be faster” crept in.
What I’ve learned over the first 12 months:
✅ Continued growth comes from alignment rather than speed. Sometimes the hardest thing is staying true to what you are trying to do amongst the competing ideas / thoughts / ‘just do this one thing’ advice
✅ Clarity comes from doing, not just from planning. I really like a good planning session and its been a journey for me to shift the mindset to embrace that clarity only really arrives once you are practically doing something!
✅ The human element matters more than ever in an AI-driven world. I’ve listened to, read and thought about a lot of material about the possible and the likely consequences of AI. I have mixed feelings about the things that I have read, but the general view that the technology can be used to free up time and support being more connected to people, nature and ourselves aligns with my views on life
As I head into year two, I’m grateful for the lessons I’ve learnt, the support I’ve had from a huge range of people and the opportunity to keep building something that is true to who I am.
What about you?
If you’ve been on a similar journey — starting something new, navigating change — what’s surprised you most?
