Scotland’s first business 'decelerator' to awaken generation of Elon Musk innovators

Scotland’s first “business decelerator” is set to take place this weekend in a bid to “inspire creativity and breakthrough innovation”.

Author and consultant Gib Bulloch was born and brought up on Bute. Picture: Contributed

The training programme, which will take place on the Isle of Bute, promises to offer “an opportunity to decelerate from busy corporate roles to undertake deep personal reflection and development”.

The concept is the brainchild of author and consultant Gib Bulloch, who was born and brought up on Bute, but left the island to pursue a career in the corporate world, most recently setting up and running Accenture’s not-for-profit organisation, Accenture Development Partnerships.

Professionals from global corporations, including Standard Chartered, Deloitte and Reckitt Benckiser, and non-profit organisations such as The Clinton Health Access Initiative, will travel from London, Switzerland and even as far away as Hong Kong to attend the inaugural programme. Joining them will be an “eclectic mix” of skilled practitioners from the diverse worlds of art, music, improvised comedy and the military.

The training programme is taking place on the Isle of Bute. Picture: Contributed

Bulloch said: “This business decelerator is all about engaging with early-stage business professionals and disconnecting them from the constant distractions of technology, deadlines, and work/life demands. It aims to connect participants with the creative and transformative power of art, music, nature and community, ultimately encouraging a deeper sense of purpose and opening the door to new thinking.”

Benefits

He added: “Slowing down may in fact be the best way of accelerating the type of change business so badly needs. Besides the obvious benefits of building resilience, improved well-being and employee engagement, the Craigberoch Business Decelerator acts as a catalyst for creating innovative products, services and business models.

“The event aims to awaken a generation of dormant Elon Musk-type intrapreneurs and innovators inside the corporate world. We want to inspire and enliven human talents, unlocking commercial value for companies so that they can reinvent themselves to have a more positive social and environmental impact on the planet.”

The Craigberoch Business Decelerator has been formed as Scottish registered social enterprise. Further events are planned for 2020.

The course trainers include Alexander Inchbald, described as an “extreme artist and creativity mentor.

He said: “The business world, with its relentless focus on growth, profit, planning and numbers has been very good at developing the intellectual, analytic abilities that take place in the head, but at the expense of the more creative, collaborative and intuitive capabilities that arise in the heart.

“If corporations are to remain relevant and play a role in tackling the challenges of the 21st century, then they’ll need to help employees rebalance by unleashing creativity and collaboration and rebalance their culture by putting purpose at the heart of it.”

Victoria O’Reilly, who signed up for one of the community slots, added: “The vision for Craigberoch is truly inspirational. The ethos resonates with everything I’m aiming for in life.”