Why shouldn’t we fire you?

Do you consistently add measurable value to your organisation or are you just busy?

I frequently ask this question of my coaching clients. I promise I’m not being a smart-ass! The question is intended to challenge their understanding about what value they add to their organisation! “What about you? Did you have a great year, quarter, month? What about a great week or even a great day? More importantly, how do you know?”

The fact is, I’ve never received a satisfactory answer to this question. What I tend to get are illustrations of how busy they’ve been, the hours they’ve put in, how hard they have worked, the problems they’ve dealt with. What I rarely get is how much measurable value they’ve added to their business!

Even if organisations follow the widely accepted convention of adopting objective setting and performance appraisals, my experience is that these quickly become administrative exercises. Not always, but most often! If this is the case in your organisation then all you’re creating is a lot of “white noise”: wasted energy, effort, time and money. In other words, very little measurable value-add! And paying for all that value-less activity is very expensive.

So why does this happen? Well I think it’s something like this… One of my daughters, at the age of 12, decided she wanted to do Taekwondo. Her best friend was doing it, and I think she liked the idea of having all the kit. I watched her train hard over many months and then I noticed that although she was faithfully learning the kata she had no real understanding of why she had to learn them. There was no clarity of purpose in her training, other than copying the moves she had been shown. The “why” was missing! So, one evening I asked her to watch a few minutes of a Bruce Lee film with me. And everything changed! Suddenly she understood what martial arts was all about! It changed her behaviour and performance level instantly! Instead of just following the kata, her patterns suddenly became crisper, quicker, more powerful and purposeful. Moves became complete routines with a clear result in mind. And almost overnight she started winning! First recognition from the coach then gold medals in competition!

Join our mailing list

Stay up to date with the latest insights and news sent directly to your inbox.

John Atkinson

Consultant

Background Info

John Atkinson serves as a consultant at Ninety Days, specialising in driving transformative change within organisations.

With a strategic approach aligned with Ninety Days’ mission, John collaborates with boards and executive teams to create actionable processes for immediate implementation, ensuring measurable outcomes.

With 30 years of experience, John brings a wealth of expertise to Ninety Days. He has designed engagement processes for the UN Food Systems Summit and supported the World Health Organisation during the Covid-19 pandemic. Notably, John oversaw the ‘Total Place’ program for the UK Government, demonstrating his ability to lead large-scale initiatives.

His pragmatic, hands-on approach, honed through work with global leaders in various sectors, adds significant value to Ninety Days’ interventions.

Mike Gill

Consultant

Background Info

Mike brings over thirty years of extensive NHS experience, including executive roles as Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Finance.

He has a proven track record in healthcare governance, having led transformation initiatives and improved governance arrangements at various levels within NHS organisations.

Mike’s expertise includes strategic financial planning, quality governance, and risk management. He has supported boards in delivering their strategic objectives and ensuring effective operational autonomy.

As a regular contributor to national board development programs, Mike provides invaluable insights and guidance to healthcare executives and non-executive directors.

Liz Leinhardt

Consultant

Background Info

Liz, RGN, PGCert Ed, BSc Hons MSc, is a highly qualified healthcare professional with extensive executive and operational experience in top-performing Foundation Acute Trusts, Primary Care, and Commissioning. Her exceptional track record includes consistently delivering performance standards and driving transformational change.

She collaborates with clinical and managerial teams to facilitate service transformation and sustainable change within organisations.

With 30 years of nursing experience and two decades in senior management, Liz possesses a wealth of knowledge in developing and delivering high-quality services.

Dr. Raj Patel MBE

Practice Lead

Background Info

Dr. Raj Patel was the Interim Medical Director of Primary Care for NHS England and NHS Improvement. He was previously Medical Director of NHS England for Lancashire and Greater Manchester as well as Director of Commissioning for Lancashire. He currently sits on the General Medical Council and the Doctors and Dentists Remuneration Body.

A Fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners, Raj was a GP in Greater Manchester for thirty years and has held senior clinical leadership positions in the NHS, locally, regionally and nationally since 1997 as well as a GP advisor role at the Department of Health.

Raj has worked extensively with broadcast and print media in the past. He is a graduate of Manchester University Medical School and sat on the General Assembly of the university.

Raj was awarded an MBE in The Queen’s Birthday honours list 2019 for services to healthcare.

Prof. Hilary Garrett CBE

Practice Lead

Background Info

Hilary, CBE, PhD (Hon), MSc, BSc, RGN, RHV, PGCE is an experienced public sector senior leader, recently retired from Deputy Chief Nursing Officer for England post at NHS England. Hilary continues to hold a post as a Non-Executive Director for the NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board.

She is a registered Nurse and Health Visitor with over 40 years’ experience of working in clinical, public health and leadership roles in the NHS. Hilary held several Director posts across both commissioning and provider environments in addition to holding a Deputy Chief Executive post for both.

She led many local and national programmes of work focusing on improving quality, safety and the working lives of people in the health and care systems.

Hilary is also an accredited senior Executive Coach and Mentor and is passionate about supporting people to realise and achieve their potential. 

Philip Curzon

Managing Partner

Background Info

With over forty years in senior leadership roles in both the public and private sector, Philip uses his experience to ensure that our clients execute the measurable change they have agreed upon.

Philip, along with our team of associates, remain with the client throughout the 90 Day Cycle to ensure that there is no loss of focus and that we adapt to the unexpected.

In his most recent role Philip was CEO of an educational technology company which transitioned from a bricks and mortar publishing house to a global online content provider.

He is also an alumni of Harvard Business School, INSEAD and the Army Staff College. 

Impactful Leadership

We focus on producing measurable improvements in key leadership behaviours that directly impact organisational performance.

By benchmarking leaders against global standards and providing personalised coaching, we empower them to inspire, challenge, and guide their teams effectively.

Through our unique 90-day Accelerated Performance Cycle^TM, leaders not only develop new habits but also lead projects that deliver tangible economic benefits to the organisation, ensuring a clear return on investment in leadership development.

Organisational Transformation

Our approach transcends mere change management, aiming for profound organisational transformation.

By meticulously assessing your organisation’s culture and leadership perceptions, we identify areas of alignment and discrepancies through our unique “heat map.”

This serves as a strategic guide, enabling targeted interventions and inclusive dialogues with senior leadership teams, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and adaptability that endures beyond our intervention.

High Performance Culture

We instil a high-performance culture within your organisation. By engaging employees in strategic thinking, planning, and execution processes, we empower them to understand their individual contributions to organisational success.

This shift in focus from day-to-day operations to strategic alignment cultivates an environment where excellence becomes the norm, driving productivity, innovation, and competitive advantage.

Arend Welmers

Managing Partner

Background Info

As Managing Partner and Founder at Ninety Days, Arend designs and delivers transformative strategies that drive rapid, measurable improvements in organisational performance and employee engagement.

With over thirty years of experience in performance coaching, Arend has dedicated his career to helping organisations accelerate their performance and achieve tangible results.

A challenging, inspiring and highly regarded coach, facilitator and speaker, Arend has a reputation for designing and implementing performance strategies that challenge conventional practices and quickly generate millions of pounds of additional value for client organisations.

Recent assignments have seen him designing and leading major leadership development and business change strategies in Lisbon, Paris, Berlin, New York and London. Arend’s commitment to excellence and his ability to inspire change have contributed to the success of numerous organisations.

Why shouldn’t we fire you?

Do you consistently add measurable value to your organisation or are you just busy?

Latest Insights