Dr Dave Nicol | What I'm working on now

What I'm Doing Now

This is my "Now" page. It's different to my "About" page in so far as that's partly a look back in time (at what was), but also a look forward (to what might be). This page, however, is all about what I'm working on now. I'll update it from time to time as things change.

Updated February 7th 2023. Brighton, England.

Reset. Drop. And Go!

2022 was a year that brought stability and clarity to a lot of areas of my life.

After three years spent struggling to work out how the two halves of VetX would work together, I finally thought, perhaps they were never meant to. So you will probably notice that I've separated the VetX and Dr Dave Nicol brands to focus on entirely different audiences. VetX now exists exclusively to help vets have great careers in general practice. And we've introduced a new flagship service called The Vet Career Concierge. This is a service where vets can come to us and ask us to help them find a role in a practice that cares.

Happily, we know lots of these through our transformational Leadership training programs!

In this, we have an absolutely immense advantage in that both vets and practice powers trusts us to make the right connections.

The other part of my work is now exclusively found on my Dr Dave Nicol website. This is the work of helping leaders grow sustainable businesses through our process called 'Culture Farming'.

In this process I help practice owners imagine what their practice could be, and step by step help them build (or rebuild) it, so they are running a practice they are excited about and they have staff who are not just happy... but proud to work there.

It's quite a journey, but the rewards are massive for those who are willing to do the work.

I've also realised that when the practices I work with get to eight figures in revenue, it's time for them to find a new coach to work with as they've grown out of my skill set. And that's not just ok, it's wonderful! Just like when a teammate leaves because they had the chance to grow and succeed in your practice. There's really no better measure of success in leadership than seeing others thrive.

Project Roundwood

Roundwood, my own practice continues to thrive. Our co-operative ownership scheme is currently being approved by the powers that be. Fingers crossed this all goes well and our first round of options will be issued to our team.

I'm massively positive about being able to do this and offer a different paradigm of thinking about how we reward teams for their effort. There are others doing this too, Pennard Vets in Kent are a brilliant example of doing things differently.

Our end of life care business is up and running and should grow well from here.

Writing

OMG... OK, I finally decided to write the Leadership book slowly taking shape in my head. The chapter list is the first step and is nearly done. I've got an idea for the style that I think will be engaging and different from anything else.

The title will make you smile if you are in any form of leadership. But I can't share that just yet. ;-)

Triathlon

Winter training is going well. Nowhere near enough road time but I'm frankly convinced that it would only be a matter of when I get in an accident than if. Ice, low sun, crazy drivers... no thanks.

So lots of indoor training, which is pretty dull. So to spice things up, I joined Brighton Tri Club. Already I'm enjoying the interactions and getting some useful insight into improving my technique.

My objective is to qualify for a team GB age group place in Olympic distance triathlon. I harbour great doubts that this is possible, but I'm going to try my very best to accomplish it, and at the very least, give an account of myself I can be proud of. Target time is anything south of 2hr 25mins.

Regardless of outcome, I'm really enjoying the process.

Co-parenting

Being a dad and co-parent takes up probably the greatest amount of my time. It is without any doubt the greatest source of both joy and guilt. Joy because being a father to my wonderful daughter, Marcia, is the best gift I ever got. Guilt because I'm also conscious that I don't always do the best job of balancing time or being present.

That said, I'm getting better at saying no to stuff that is fun but not a priority.

And with all of that said, it should be abundantly clear that I've got a boat load of work to keep me purposefully, joyously (and often stressfully!) occupied.

As such, I say no to a great deal of opportunities presented. So forgive me if I don't accept a work assignment.

I try my very best to live by the maxim of "If it's not a f*ck yes.... then it's a no." This, as with everything else in my life, is a work in progress.