edge+stretch our story
Our Story: The Origins of a Practitioner
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Thirty years is a long time to watch organisations get stuff wrong.
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I’ve spent three decades in the organisational change space - from a Senior Consultant role in an established institute to the messy front lines of internal roles in complex organisations. Over that time, I became increasingly aware of our collective obsession with quick fixes, sexy new solutions and Silver Bullets. These would often be presented through the medium of slick slide decks which, more often than not, were designed to manage, and occasionally evoke, anxiety if there was a solution being sold…
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I saw too many consultants thrive on client insecurities, watching from the balcony while leaders flailed on the organisational dance floor. That bugged me.
A fuse was lit
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The phrase ‘Edge + Stretch’ started as a throwaway comment during a conversation with a colleague about how clients actually experience how I work. It stuck because it captured a fundamental tension: learning - and change - happens when you identify your Edge, and then move to exploring how you need to Stretch if you are going to have a different experience of yourself and how you work. As I did my own work, I realized that without developing one's reflexivity, most development is performative.
I wrote a book about all this stuff
No Silver Bullet: bursting the bubble of the organisational quick fix came out in 2024. It was me spelling out the futility of quick fixes, as well as offering insights into the ineffective cycle of buying and selling them. More than anything else, it was a clarion call for greater reflexivity and encouraged a shift from binary thinking to a more integrated and thoughtful approach.
A Network of Difference
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I am clear about what Edge + Stretch is and is not. I am not a ‘one-man band with associates’ or herds of junior associates to feed.
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I collaborate with a diverse network of practitioners - coaches, scholars, change practitioners and more - who share my intent: to help you do the work you need to do, so you no longer need people like us. I collaborate with partners like Mayvin, The Tavistock Institute of Human Relations, and others because they, too, value helping clients learn how to dance with more confidence and elegance over ever greater dependency.
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The Intent is Independence
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My goal isn't to ‘land and expand’. If I can't help you sharpen your own nous and take the floor, I will introduce you to someone who can.
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I’m not here to 'manage your change'; I’m here to help you develop your practice by sharpening and learning relevant skills.
Founder
"You have a knack for not letting people off the hook, but not leaving them feeling like they are on the hook."
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Adam Tickell
University of Sussex
