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About Martin

Practical, experienced, straight talking and caring about making a real difference
Making a true difference is what drives me.  Drawing from a professional career in excess of 35 years, I bring a reality and intense focus to the coaching, training and facilitation work I do with my clients - and that's why they seek me out and continue to recommend me."  Martin Johnson
I’m Martin Johnson and I work with individuals and organisations to support them to achieve growth and fulfil their maximum potential.
I’ve been working with SMEs, public sector and corporate organisations since 1981. I’ve specialised as a coach, facilitator and leadership trainer since 2004.

​Being average is simply not an option for me. I invest continually in my own development, I challenge myself continually, and I continually adapt and enhance the way I work with my clients, bringing new ideas, approaches and staying fresh - so that I help them think and act differently to increase their (and their organisation's) performance.

Who I work with

​I work with smart teams and individuals that don't have the time to waste on theory without substance. My clients continue to ask me to work with them because they get real impact and increased performance from our sessions together.
CEOs, Directors, Managers, Board members, Senior Management Teams, Sales & Marketing Directors/Managers, Technical or subject specialists 

Many of my clients are directors of successful businesses they started themselves some years ago; they want to grow their business, their teams and their own capabilities whilst also staying sane and enjoying the journey.​
They are seeking experienced and impartial support to help them think and act differently to meet the many challenges they face.

​They want to continue their own professional development, find greater balance and stretch and enhance their strengths so they (and their teams) can be confident they truly are working and living at their best.​

Sector experience

Creative and media
I have a particularly strong experience in working with creative and media based companies – including architects, interior designers, exhibition companies, film producers, PR, print, marketing, online/digital and graphic design agencies.

Technical experts  and professionals who now need to develop their people management skills or widen their confidence in areas such as new business development and business strategy.

My ability to understand complex information and experience at working with a wide range of professional industries allows me understand their needs, gain their trust and offer the support they require.

Other industries I have worked for include:
Manufacturing, food and retail, research, recruitment, healthcare, fitness, HR, property and building services, surveying, engineering, product distribution, film distribution, equipment hire, scientific (and many others)...
​Not for profit and public sector
Coaching executives and senior managers in the not for profit and public sectors is something I enjoy. So many of the directors and managers I work with want to really make a difference to social well being, communities and/or the environment.

​Many of the challenges are similar to business and others different – for example coaching directors to find easier ways to manage and influence the relationships with Trustees and Boards; supporting middle managers of large teams to cope with the pressures and frustrations of local and national policies and budget cuts and develop increased skills in managing and influencing their senior directors; being more resilient and tapping into and better understanding their strengths and the strengths of their teams.

​Experience includes: coaching a wide number of senior managers/directors within a city based Local Authority and a South East County Council; CEO / SMT of Housing Association; CEOs of Charities; CEOs of not for profit organisations.

How I work

The coaching and training I deliver is first and foremost practical. My background as a business director helps me to focus in on things that will make the difference, things that people can actually use and the kind of support that busy, smart executives value highly.

I’m interested in skills and knowledge that can be applied easily, consistently and that businesses can use quickly to increase their performance with.
The core values which drive me:

​Adding value & impact

Being outcome focused and working with clients to design, implement and support solutions that are followed-through and relate to the core priorities that drive the organisation, leadership and teams.

Continuous development
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​Staying fresh, constantly learning and developing, stretching boundaries and thought patterns to gain improvement.
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Creativity
​Adapting, thinking out of the box, being different, open-minded, valuing innovation, systemic and lateral thinking.

​Recognition and trust
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​Valuing the individual and their potential, being empathetic, building long term relationships built on respect and trust.

 My core influences - methodologies and tools to succeed

​My core influences and principles include:
  • ​Coaching - focusing on, acknowledging and developing the innate capabilities of others.
  • Kaizen - the principle of small, sustainable steps (and how to avoid the pitfalls of the 'panic zone').
  • ​Lean thinking - getting to the core of the issue, streamlining, working smart.
  • ​The 80/20 Principle - less is more; clarity, focus on what's most important.
  • ​NeuroLingusitic Programming (NLP) - awareness and tools to manage and develop our relationships, communication, understanding and influence; knowing how to adapt and enhance the patterns of our behaviours, thoughts and the results we achieve.
  • Neuroscience - how our brains work. I also study various aspects of psychotherapy which provide insights into facilitating changes in thinking, unconscious awareness and the vast potential of our human minds.
  • ​Building high performance teams (I'm a Belbin Team Roles Accredited Practitioner).
  • Emotional Intelligence - knowing how our own behaviours affect us and those we live and work with, and how to manage this positively.​
  • ​Design and communication - a background as a communications specialist and designer ensures I'm always thinking about the wider picture, inter-relationships and how to bring people's hearts and minds with you.
  • Outcome focus - clarity, visibility and understanding of goals, so that we work on what's important!
  • Strengths focus - working on the path of possibility; differentiating between limiting and allowable weaknesses; creating a strengths based culture. I'm an accredited Strengthscope Partner.
  • Process - understanding how things work systemically and using systems to capture, automate and streamline operations.
  • And most of all - ACCOUNTABILITY - encouraging others to take ownership, follow-through, stay aligned to the vision, organisational and team goals and enjoy the satisfaction and achievement they get from this.

Martin's background

​I originally qualified as a designer and producer and worked in the audio visual production, live event and graphic design industry - essentially covering 3 areas of client need: internal communication, corporate communication and marketing communication.
​
​in 1983 I started my own design and production company, MJ Productions Ltd, offering a flexible creative communications service to multi-nationals, specialist companies, as well as public and third sector organisations. Our clients included some of the worlds largest and well known brands, including Banks, Pharmaceutical, Manufacturing, Food and Retail sectors.

The more I worked with senior management teams in business the more interested I became in furthering my skills at developing strategy and teams - and this lead to setting up 80/20 Challenge in 2004, to concentrate in this area.
​I'm a trained coach, certified Trainer of NLP / NLP Master Practitioner.
​I'm accredited in Belbin Team Roles and an accredited Strengthscope Partner.

​During a period of over 6 years, while central government supported several initiatives for Small & Medium Sized Businesses, I worked with many SMEs to help them through rapid growth (including being an approved GrowthAccelerator Coach.)

​Although schemes such as GrowthAccerlator are no longer running, I continue to offer the same level of support to businesses that want to grow, stretch their capability and their teams.

​Virtually all my clients come from client and close network recommendations. I choose to work with individuals and organisations where I feel I can add impact, there is a commitment to the change process and a desire for personal and/or organisational growth.
Contact Martin
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Martin Johnson - coach, facilitator, trainer
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80/20 Challenge
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Thinking and behaving differently to increase performance

“Martin’s clear thinking helped us focus on the main issues that were holding back our business. With his experience we were able to focus energy in the most effective way allowing us to achieve the best results. I have no hesitation in recommending Martin” – Michael Hawksley, Director, Intendance Limited

“Martin brought a fresh approach to our company using his coaching and business development skills, helping us to increase our rate of growth through sales. We would heartily recommend him to others.”
​“I am delighted with the coaching that I have received from Martin Johnson. After only a couple of sessions I felt that I had a new focus and rigour in my approach to work, and had the confidence to tackle issues which I had felt were too difficult to take on. He has helped me to work towards my own solutions whilst giving me support and excellent guidance.”  M.N. Managing Director, Social Enterprise.
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Enabling individuals, teams and organisations to achieve greater confidence, performance, skills and balance
​in what they do and how they do it; increase growth, profits and results.

  All content ©  80/20 Challenge 2017     Banstead, Surrey, UK, 01737 352000   80/20 Challenge is a trading name of Martin Johnson
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