Roisin Markham

In Ireland hardly anyone returns to the office the first week of January. In previous years most of our clients were not back in the office. We noticed work really slowed down from about the 12 December to the 6 January, with US clients and global teams that could begin happening from Thanksgiving bridging into Christmas. Typically BDT Consultancy would take 2 weeks holidays over Christmas This year is different.

2025, it rings with significance.

The first quarter of this century.

This year I brought myself back to work early to get ahead of client work. I took New Years off to spend with family but otherwise I worked last week. When I say brought myself back it was navigating tending to half our family being ill with flu and trying to get headspace to write.

This blog post is written by me without the aid of AI. So it may ramble a bit.

My studio notes

• Writing business case – Regenerative Agriculture.
• Applied knowledge & behavioural economics – Farmers & land owners first step, next step @ soil health
• Deep design of business workshop – using the doughnut economics tool for business. I got to work with a brilliant business and their senior management team of 20. How the business can help humanity get into the doughnut – addressing the why, how and actually difference it will make & pathways to action we’re all identified.
• I’ve begun my third year of daily drawing practice.

Insights

• Writing – is a habit, I need to build my writing muscle again. I am out of practice.
• Building my concentration levels after a break is important, what helps me is using a timer & different types of noises, specific beta sounds or lofi music. Noises here refers to a mixture of wild nature and human soundscapes. Since 2016 I’ve been using the Rain Rain app – my favourite combo is still ocean waves, forest rain, fire crackling. Sometimes I’ll add a cafe sound. The app allows you to increase and decrease individual sounds as well as oscillate them. I use Insight Timer app for brainwave music mixing natural and electronic sounds for binaural beats that help me focus.
• When you think you don’t know – look across your libaries of frameworks and find a model that supports the work you are doing
• I do love the Innovation Diffusion model and using it backed up my approach on sizing the market through other types of data & research.
• The deep design of business workshop worked well layered onto an unrolled doughnut large poster, with different coloured post-it notes representing different aspects of the work
• Impact KPI’s integrating the deep design of business linked to profit sharing, mutual aid or the the development of a educational/land trust might be an bridging model worth exploring for business owners to move from being purpose led business owners to distributed ownership.
• Don’t create an Impact KPI index unless it demonstrates transformational change that brings your business back into planetary boundaries and where all of humanity across your supply chains have a strong social foundation. You might start with your staff, your suppliers but also look to the community and catchments your business operates in.
• Unhindered self expression will be embraced more fully this year. I continue to see the importance of spaciousness and my daily creative practices, the benefits from rewilding my imagination. I am investing in creating spaces for myself and others to adventure in creative flow.

I was going to ask you a question but it’s gone…

Do you have a question for me? Let me know.