Once again the teams from Diversified UK and Diversified USA came together for our annual Strategy Day, which took place at Jurys Inn Brighton on Friday 7 December.

To kick things off, our finance director, Paul Warren, jumped on the drums to give us all a (very loud) welcome at 9am. Our MD, Carsten Holm, then took to the stage to review the business’s many successes in 2018 and outline our plans for the year ahead.

He was followed by Helen Conway, Versha Carter and Jimmy MacDonald, who each gave an update from the Peterborough, Cotswold and London offices respectively.

Next up, CEO Ted Wirth claimed the limelight to give us an overview of what happened around the globe at Diversified this year and share the goals for the big picture in 2019.

Just before lunch, we were joined by Deborah Searle, who gave an inspirational talk about her personal journey of discovery rowing solo across the Atlantic, the strategies she used to keep going and how she applies them now in her business life, to help illustrate what we are all capable of.

Feeling motivated and energised, we broke for lunch before getting the afternoon under way with a quick paper airplane race and the announcement of the 2018 Customer Service Awards winners.

Then it was time to split into groups to discuss how we can improve next year and make a real difference to how our customers feel about doing business with us, reading our magazines or attending our events. To round up the day, each team took a few minutes to present back their ideas, leaving us with much food for thought.

With our heads filled with lots of new information and plenty of ideas for the year ahead, we each grabbed a mulled wine before heading off to get ready for an evening of festive (and boozy) celebrations at the Diversified Christmas party…