It’s been a bit! I promised it would be monthly-or-less… I’m pleased to have proven the point.

I decided not to run a meetup in August. We took August off in 2024 too. A fallow month, if you will. A chance to let the ideas percolate. And to avoid being altogether too warm in most of our non-AC venues.

We had meetups in June and July since I last emailed…

… in June we heard some strong opinions on thumbnails from Sam Mbatha, and Edward Dark’s learnings and insights on OCD and leadership, before engaging in a lively all-room panel titled “So what is it you do again? Generalists, specialists, and everyone in-between“.

… and in July we heard from Zoë Jones on ‘Walking the line between empathy and authority’, and from Charly Massey on ‘Reflections of a Brexit refugee’. The night was sponsored by LucidLink, and Tom Holmes hosted us with grace, before we got super broad on the all-room topic “What are we still pretending is working?”.

Upcoming meetups

Our first event back is on Tuesday 9th September. We’ll be hearing from Susie Lochiel-Owen & Catriona Hastings, as well as Joe Harbinson, and from our lovely friends at LucidLink. As always, there are a couple of spots reserved for people on this list who put their hands up. HMU if that’s you.

There will be further instalments on the 7th October and 12th November, before a December break. And we’ll be coming back strong in 2026 with another, bigger mixer event. More info on that in a future mailer.

Speakers & Sponsors

I’m incredibly grateful that 75% of the meetups (and 100% of the mixers) have been sponsored, which means we can put on free food and drink. This year only the 7th October meetup remains unsponsored. If you or someone you know would like to be our benefactor, now or heading into 2026, please do be in touch.

And I’d also love to hear from you if you have a tight five minutes to share with the room, or somebody you think I should be bringing into the lovely community that’s building around these events.

As I wrote out the talks we heard in the last couple of months, and those to come, I felt a deep sense of gratitude for the time, effort and generosity that go into sharing at and attending the meetups - both the speakers, and also the whole room in the panels. Thank you for making these events a consistent highlight of the calendar, and for getting so involved!

ttfn

I hope you’re all enjoying your summer, are riding your particular part of our ever-changing industry with aplomb, and to see you soon…

Kev x

NB - I’d appreciate it if you didn’t forward this message. There is no “subscribe” button for this newsletter, nor for the LinkedIn group. These are closed groups for past attendees of the events. But please do unsubscribe at any time using the link below.