Chris Donnelly

Founder (Business Acquired by Croud)

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Writer

Chris Donnelly Ltd

With a track record of delivering 20+ keynote talks across cities such as London, Paris, Dubai, Austin, New York and 100s of more intimate casual and business events, Chris will always deliver a talk that leaves an audience feeling engaged and motivated. 

Chris is comfortable speaking to audiences ranging from intimate business settings through to speaking to thousands of people and has spoken on behalf of corporations like Microsoft.

Chris’ talks are a blend of forward-thinking ideas and practical advice on how to transform your outcome. Examples of recent talks are:

- How to build ultimate leverage with personal brand
- The Blueprint for explosive growth in business
- The Art of Building Engaged Workplaces in 2024
- The One Person Business
- Leading From The Front
- Rejection Proof: How To Turn A No Into A Yes

speaking@chris-donnelly.co.uk

Public Speaker / Keynote Speaker

Lottie

Our mission is to "Elevate later life"

Lottie is a marketplace that helps individuals looking for later life care by finding them the best care home or retirement home.

Lottie has now expanded nationwide and become leading marketplace in the care sector. 

Found has been launched as a CRM and Occupancy for for the later living sector

Seniorcare was developed out of the Lottie platform and is now the leading eldercare employee benefit in the UK

Co-Founder

Found CRM

Found CRM by Lottie 

A cloud-based care home operation software, mapped and built specifically to the care and retirement industries unique customer journey and supports care homes with CRM, Occupancy, Administration and Finance

Found results in a higher conversion rate, better attribution of marketing spend, saved time and ultimately high occupancy.

HEAT

Investor

303 London

Verb Brands

The Leading Performance & Creative Marketing Agency for Luxury & Premium Brands. 

VERB Brands is a luxury digital marketing agency which helps brands reach affluent & HNW audiences through data, creative & media. We support brands across their search, media buying, social media & creative content.

VERB works exclusively with the leading luxury and premium brands in the world. 

---

In 2013, while at university, I launched VERB with the sole aim to build the leading agency for luxury and premium brands. 

In 2017, Verb Brands Limited acquired DBD Media Limited and merged the business into the wider Verb offering. DBD was a 30 people strong and one of the first SEO and PPC agencies in London, established in 2000.

December 2021, Verb Brands was acquired by Croud Inc and LDC in an 8 figure deal, giving Verb international scale and technology to help our luxury and premium brand’s grow.

Chris stepped down as CEO to focus on new projects.

Founder & CEO

Proteus Property

Acquisitions Manager

CBS Corporation

Broadcast Journalist

Follow for posts about startups, scale ups, AI & my entrepreneurial journey. Built & sold Verb Brands | Now scaling health tech Lottie.org

For commercial enquiries please message: enquiries@chris-donnelly.co.uk

For speaking enquiries please message: speaking@chris-donnelly.co.uk

Chris writes a newsletter called Step By Step 

Step By Step is a Newsletter with 400,000+ followers who receive "Actionable business & personal advice from someone who has actually done it". 

Chris is the Co Founder of The Lottie Organisation (including Found CRM & Seniorcare)

Lottie is a health tech business that is designed to "Elevate later life".

Described as the air b and b for care homes. Lottie supports individuals looking for the right care home and ensures that the family and the resident get the best care possible at the best price possible. 

Found CRM is the leading CRM & Occupancy software for care homes & retirement living communities

Seniorcare offer the UK's leading eldercare employee benefit solution, and help your employees understand, find and fund care for their elderly loved ones.

Verb Brands

Chris Donnelly is the founder of Verb Brands. 

VERB is a luxury digital marketing agency that drives strategy, growth, and revenue. The world’s only luxury data-driven, creative media agency, VERB provides full service performance marketing  for luxury and premium brands. Based in London, Manchester, New York, and Shanghai. 

Chris led the business as Founder & CEO from 2013 until 2021 until the business was acquired by Croud in an 8 figure private equity backed deal. 

15 Uncomfortable Truths Every Employer Should Read:

1. The worst time to offer someone a pay rise or a promotion, is when the notice has been handed in.

2. You don’t have a “work from home” issue, you have a trust problem.

3. People don’t just quit jobs, they quit bad managers.

4. Company culture is not bean bags, free beer or a free subscription to a meditation app.

5. If your team doesn't feel comfortable to say “I don’t know” or “I disagree.” You have a lot of work to do.

6. If you’re not paying people what they are worth, others will.

7. Employees have 4X better engagement when receiving consistent feedback.

8. Micromanagement never means “hard work”, it means a lack of freedom.

9. If your entry-level job advert requires real work experience... then that is not an "entry-level" job. It is a normal job paying an entry-level salary to an experienced worker.

10. If the actions of the company leaders do not align with the values, any trust will be destroyed.

11. If you are sick, you need to go to a medical appointment or your child is sick… it should not count as annual leave.

12. When you look after your team, your team will look after your clients.

13. Never expect your new employees to “hit the ground running” if you aren’t providing a fantastic onboarding programme.

14. The fastest way to kill company culture is to let bad behaviour be tolerated and rewarded.

15. It will cost you considerably more to replace someone than it was to pay them what they are worth originally.

- - - - - 

TLDR:

Make your people the priority and your people will make your business theirs.

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It doesn't matter where you fit in this chart.

Leadership is not a title. It's these 8 things:

Brilliant leadership sheet from my good friend Justin Wright 🔥

1. Your actions
2. Your attitude
3. Your behaviour
4. Your drive
5. Your empathy
6. Your example
7. Your integrity

And the most important part:

8. Your team's respect

Leadership isn't something that is given to you.
It's your daily actions. 

Want to become a better leader?
Begin now—in your current position.

🧠 5 Quick Tips to Become a Better Leader Today:

1. Be Proactive: Don't waste time waiting. 
Quickly find areas that need improvement.
Take the initial step to address them.

2. Influence Others: Motivate those around in your environment. 
The best leaders do this by:

↳ Setting the example
↳ Actively listening to others
↳ Aligning a team on one shared mission

3. Make Decisions fast: Leaders need to be decision-makers.
It doesn’t mean you need to make monumental choices.
But small consistent decisions can set you apart as proactive.

4. Take ownership: Be completely accountable for your actions
Always take responsibility, both for wins and losses.

5. Be a strong communicator: Keep others in the loop.
Provide clear guidance and share your vision.

Leadership is your consistent behaviours.
You can begin whenever
And in any position. 

You don’t have to wait for permission or a promotion.
It’ll happen faster when you're acting the part.

♻ Repost this to help others become leaders today
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12 Leadership Green Flags: 

Leadership isn’t a title. It’s how you treat others.

The best leaders all do the following: 

1. Take an interest in your life outside of work
↳ They want to know you as a person, not a number. 

2. Never schedule meetings over lunch 
↳ Lunch is your time to recharge and fuel up. 

3. Ask for your ideas
↳ They want everyone to be involved in decisions. 

4. Ask for your feedback on the company's culture
↳ They care about the culture.

5. Follow up on or action the feedback that you give
↳ Good leaders act and implement with speed.

6. Give every room they walk into a burst of energy
↳ Their presence is inspiring. 

7. Get stuck in with the day-to-day when needed
↳ They set the example, they won’t just command. 

8. Set boundaries and respect yours in return
↳ They understand the importance of boundaries 

9. They praise in public and discipline in private
↳ They respect you and your reputation

10. Are transparent about their plans
↳ They want everyone to be aligned. 

11. Share the rewards of the business’ success
↳ They never keep it all to themselves. 

12. Give credit where it’s due
↳ They praise consistently for hard work. 

Does your leader show these green flags? 
Tag them below to give them the praise they deserve ⬇️

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12 Free Websites That You Need To Bookmark Right Now:

(And the links to find them) 

1. Unsplash 
↳ High-quality images which are free to use.
↳ Perfect for improving social content if you’re limited in time.
https://unsplash.com/

2. Remove bg
↳ Removes the background in photos for free.
↳ Super useful for updating your LinkedIn profile photo.
https://www.remove.bg/

3. Draw IO
↳ You can create flowcharts, diagrams, and visual representations for free.
↳ Fantastic when showing ideas to your team.
https://www.drawio.com/

4. 12 ft Ladder
↳ Will get past the high majority of paywalls for free.
↳ Perfect for accessing articles without subscriptions.
https://12ft.io/

5. Otter AI
↳ The perfect free note-taking solution.
↳ Great for turning your meetings into content ideas.
https://otter.ai/

6. Coursera
↳ Free access to top business and university courses.
↳ Take your personal learning to the next level.
https://www.coursera.org/

7. Hemingway Editor
↳ Analyses text for readability and suggests improvements.
↳ Perfect for when you’re launching a new website.
https://hemingwayapp.com/

8. Trello
↳ One of the best project management solutions.
↳ Really easy and fun to use, perfect for small teams.
https://trello.com/

9. Clean Email
↳ Declutter your email inbox by unsubscribing from unwanted emails.
↳ Use this to feel far more organised.
https://clean.email/

10. Open Library
↳ Find millions of free books.
↳ Only takes your email address to borrow books.
https://openlibrary.org/

11. Notion
↳ Create a connected workspace.
↳ Build to-do lists, calendars and more.
https://www.notion.so/

12. Canva
↳ Design anything from graphics, presentations or assets
↳ Super easy to use and is trusted by millions of marketers
https://www.canva.com/

What's a website you can't live without? 
Let me know below ⬇️

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10 Hard Hitting Leadership Realities

I know at 33 that I wish I knew at 23.

The best leaders never stop learning. 
They don’t:  

- Ignore feedback
- Settle and stagnate
- Let their team do all the work

Instead, they inspire and set the example.
Study these to level up your leadership: 

1. You must set the example for the behaviours you want to see
↳ Don’t expect reliability if you’re not reliable yourself. 

2. Do not have any meetings without an agenda
↳ Agender-less meetings will waste time
↳ Set expectations - see results

3. You need to take extreme ownership
↳ You are responsible for your team.
↳ Own your failures and learn from them fast.

4. Don’t be scared of showing vulnerability
↳ It shows you are human and people respect that.
↳ Always be transparent and prioritise good communication.

5. You can’t do everything by yourself
↳ The best leaders delegate and delegate well.
↳ Empower your team and put your belief into them.

6. Psychological Safety is everything
↳ Your team should be comfortable disagreeing and saying they don’t know.
↳ Disagreement promotes better outcomes.

7. Make communication your biggest strength not weakness
↳ Keep open, clear and fast communication.
↳ Over-explaining is not always a bad thing.

8. Feedback should never be rejected
↳ The best leaders encourage feedback, it's how they improve.
↳ Always act on the feedback fast - lead by example.

9. Emotional Intelligence will always beat IQ
↳ Understand your team's emotions and show empathy.
↳ Focus on keeping your team happy and they’ll keep your customers happy.

10. The small details matter
↳ As soon as expectations slip, you’re setting a new expectation
↳ Small details executed well = big results

Being a leader is never easy. 
It’s a constant journey of learning and self-improvement. 

Liked this? I’ll be discussing how to thrive as an introverted leader in my newsletter this Sunday! 

Do not miss out, join 100,000+ and access it here: https://lnkd.in/eVCiGdBU

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Keynote Speaker, Author & Entrepreneur. Follow for posts about startups, scale ups, AI & my journey. Co-Founder Lottie

This should be your 2024 energy. 

Here is how to get past doubt and get started today:

Most people are great at talking about their dreams. 
But very few people put any actual action towards them. 

Why? 
It’s often due to self-doubt and fear of leaving the comfort zone. 

But we cannot let this affect us. 

A study by the APA stated that those who push past the doubt and get out of their comfort zone experience: 

↳ Greater resilience 
↳ Better adaptability 
↳ Higher levels of personal growth

Here are the 3 most common limitations. 
And how you can push past them to do what you want to do: 

1. Common limitation: “This has to be perfect” 

How to get past it: Understand that perfectionism is paralysing. 

It’s one of the biggest reasons for procrastination. 
Truly successful people make the action gap as small as possible. 

No matter where they start. 

2. Common limitation: “I’m scared of looking stupid” 

How to get past it: Know that everyone will look stupid starting out. But think about this: 

The experienced entrepreneur doesn't judge the new business owner. 
The best-selling author doesn't judge the novice writers. 
The bodybuilder doesn't judge the fitness newcomer. 

The reality: Everyone is too focused on themselves. 
The sooner you start, the sooner you pick things up fast. 

3. Common limitation: “What if I fail” 

How to get past it: Learn that failure is not a bad thing. 

It is one of the greatest things that can happen to you. If you’re not failing, you’re not learning. 

Embrace failure at every stage. 

TLDR: 

Too many people will allow their doubts to get the better of them. 
They’ll procrastinate, make excuses and delay taking action. 

But the sooner you understand that action in the moment is the most important thing. 

You can literally achieve anything. 

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Employees are 300% more engaged after a strong 1 on 1 meeting.

Here is the guide to nailing your 1 on 1 meeting: 

Get more out of your meetings today. 
This guide covers all the secrets: 

- How to prepare
- How to maximise your time
- How to follow up effectively

The outcome of an effective 1-1 will be deeply impactful. 

Employees come out: 

↳ More engaged 
↳ More aligned with the vision 
↳ More motivated and inspired 
↳ With knowledge of where they need to improve
↳ With a greater understanding of their performance

Level up your 1-1 meetings today.
Here’s a sneak peek of some of the points: 

Preparation (employers):
- Ensure the agenda is crystal clear
- Give your team at least one week's notice of when it’ll be
- Send any questions that you’d like to go over

Preparation (employees): 
- Ensure you have questions to go through
- Write down things you want to bring up
- Book out 15 minutes after to digest things

In the Meeting (employers):
- Host it in a quiet room away from others
- Spend the first 5 minutes with easy warm-up questions
- Spend a lot of your time listening not talking

In the Meeting (employees):  
- Take your time, this meeting is for you
- Discuss your wins and areas you are happy with
- Provide clear communication on where you need help

Post Meeting (employers): 
- Ensure all notes are emailed across
- Provide very clear feedback
- Explain how you are going to support

Post meeting (employees): 
- Take time to review all notes
- If there is anything not mentioned in the notes, raise it
- Provide your honest feedback on how you thought it went

Remember: 

This time is for you and your team…
Avoid all distractions and focus in. 

What’s your top tip for a solid 1-1 meeting? 
Let me know below ⬇️

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The best leaders don't create followers.

They create more leaders.

A great leadership guide by Eric Partaker

Here are 7 clear signs 

That you work for a great leader:

1. They Give Credit
↳ They put a spotlight on your achievements.
↳ They see your success as their success.

2. They Value Your Input
↳ Your ideas will be heard and will matter.
↳ All suggestions are welcomed.

3. They Support Your Growth
↳ They're always there for you when you need it. 
↳ They push you to reach new heights.

4. They Care Beyond Work
↳ They ask how you're doing out of work. 
↳ They are there to help and support, not just supervise.

5. They Respect Your Time
↳ Your boundaries are honoured. 
↳ Which helps you create actual Work-life balance. 

6. They Set the Example
↳ They don’t just speak, they act. 
↳ They consistently lead from the front.

7. They Make Decisions with Compassion
↳ Tough calls are made with empathy. 
↳ They always consider how decisions will affect you.

Know a leader like this?

Consider yourself blessed. Many do not.

Great leadership is uncommon but deeply impactful 

Spread the love below! 

Tag @ a leader who does these things ⬇️

♻️ Repost to inspire great leaders 

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How important is compassion in leadership?

What are some key strategies for leadership?

I have put together the best free Google AI courses.

With the links to get started on them right away. 

These fantastic new courses are: 

- Led by experts
- Suitable for people of all levels
- A great way to take your AI learning further

Do a deep dive today, 
Find the courses below: 

1. Introduction to Generative AI 
↳ Explains what Gen AI is and how it is used
↳ Discover Google Tools to help you develop your own Gen AI apps
https://lnkd.in/eTEbW_wU

2. Prompt Design in Vertex AI  
↳ Discover how to craft effective prompts 
↳ Learn how to apply Gemini models to marketing scenarios
https://lnkd.in/esi6FwFA

3. Introduction to Duet AI in Google Workspace 
↳ Learn about the key features of Duet AI
↳ And how they can be used to improve productivity
https://lnkd.in/e7g-Dstu

4. Responsible AI: Applying AI Principles with Google Cloud 
↳ Learn how to operationalise responsible AI in your organisation
↳ Use the framework to build your own responsible AI approach
https://lnkd.in/e-B8m-TF

Intermediate:

5. Conversational AI on Vertex AI and Dialogflow CX 
↳ Create virtual agents to have engaging conversations with customers
↳ Discover how to deploy generative fallback responses to handle omissions
https://lnkd.in/evSU29P6

6. Attention Mechanism
↳ Understand what the attention mechanism is
↳ Use attention to improve the performance of machine-learning tasks
https://lnkd.in/eBNi732F

7. Create Image Captioning Models 
↳ How to create an image captioning model 
↳ Create your own image captioning models 
https://lnkd.in/eJD5X6eu

8. Encoder-Decoder Architecture 
↳ Learn about the main components of the encoder-decoder architecture
↳ And how to train and serve these models
https://lnkd.in/ePSmytSm

Advanced:

9. ML Pipelines
↳ Learn about pipeline components with TFX
↳ Learn how you can automate your pipeline 
https://lnkd.in/e8NGBsgn

10. Google Cloud Solutions II: Data and Machine Learning
↳ Harness computing power to run big data 
↳ Will give you use cases for implementing big data 
https://lnkd.in/ed2PRt7g

AI is advancing as fast as ever… 
It’s up to you to keep up. 

Take these courses today to build a brighter future. 

Which one are you trying first? 
Let me know in the comments below ⬇️

Disclaimer: Most course materials are free to study. However, labs may need credits in campaigns to be accessed.

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How can I operationalize responsible AI in my organization?

What is the attention mechanism and how can it improve machine-learning tasks?

Unlock this Japanese secret to non-stop improvement: 

The Kaizen Model. 

An incredibly useful concept broke down by my friend Eric Partaker 

But what does Kaizen mean? 
It means "change for the better."

Starting in the business world, it’s been adapted…
To improve anyone’s life, bit by bit. 

It’s all about the small steps,
Which lead to big changes over time. 

Why give it a go?

↳ It allows you to grow continuously 
↳ It stops you feeling overwhelmed
↳ It’s very doable. 

Here are 10 key steps 
To put kaizen into action:

1. Select one thing:
Begin with something small. A tiny habit for example
Aim to improve it little by little, making change easier

2. Learn from your mistakes:
Made a mistake? Don’t stress it. 
Understand what went wrong and learn from it.

3. Celebrate the small wins:
Found an easier way for it to work? 
Great! Celebrate that.

4. Take value in feedback:
Take on feedback from others. 
Use their insights to help you improve.

5. Be consistent:
Make daily improvements. 
Stay disciplined with it.

6. Share the accountability
Go on the journey with others. 
Grow together. Kaizen loves company.

7. Reflect on your progress consistently:
Look back at your improvements regularly. 
Then adapt and set new goals. 

8. Keep it easy 
The simplest changes are often the best. 
Try not to overcomplicate it. 

9. Stay patient:
Things worth doing take time.
Stick to it, and you'll see results.

10. Don’t quit:
You will always find room for improvement.
Embrace it. Look for ways to get better.

Kaizen is not just a concept. It's a way of life.
Take your first step today. 

You'll be surprised how far you can go with it. 

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What are some best practices for implementing the Kaizen Model?

Why is continuous improvement important in the workplace?

Introverts are more effective leaders (Harvard Reports) 

Yet 65% of corporate execs see one thing as a barrier to leadership: 

Introversion. 

Let’s bust the 5 common myths about quiet people:

1. Myth: Introverts are consistently shy 
↳ Truth: Being quiet doesn’t = social anxiety.
↳ Introversion is not about shyness it’s about energy sources

2. Myth: Introverts often dislike people.
↳ Truth- They like to recharge alone but enjoy socialising

3. Myth: Introverts cannot lead effectively.
    ↳ Truth - Most are strategic, thoughtful leaders.

4. Myth: Introverts are usually quiet.
↳ Truth - They speak when it's meaningful.
↳ Quietness isn't a lack of opinions or ideas.

5. Myth: Introverts are not fun.
↳ Truth - They enjoy smaller-scale activities that are quieter.

Introverts: Your advantage is your quiet nature
Here's how to start using it:

🔍 Search for Your Niche:
Find roles that fit your strengths, like deep thinking.

🕒 Batch your networking 
Schedule and balance your socialising time.

👂 Utilise Your Listening:
Understand team dynamics by using this powerful skill.

🔗 Develop Deep Connections:
Focus on valuable, one-on-one relationships.

📧 For Complex Ideas, Use Email:
For in-depth ideas, write emails; it gives you time to refine.

This world needs diverse leaders.
Embrace your unique strengths as an introvert! 

Always lead with confidence. Your voice matters.

Do you agree?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments ⬇️

♻️ Repost this to help bust the myths of introversion 
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