The Place of Excellence

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The Place of Excellence

Strategist | Educator | Coach - Help start-up businesses THRIVE within the Creative/Craft Industry

The Place of Excellence aims to create opportunities for adults and young people to explore their creative skills. We also aim to develop a self-employed mindset with the possibility of re-integrating learners back into employment or the business arena. The creative skills are structured to develop social skills and empower the learner’s general well being. Our overall aim is to ensure that our learner’s are able to contribute to the immediate and wider community in a positive and productive way. The teaching is currently delivered by a qualified teacher who has both expertise and experience in all areas of delivery. The combination of knowledge within the industry and the educational arena makes the style of teaching unique.

30/09/2026

FROM CONFUSION TO CLARITY What Are You Carrying That No Longer Belongs in Your Next Season? Moving forward is not always about adding something new. Sometimes it is about recognising what we should no longer carry. We can become attached to responsibilities, habits, expectations and even versions of ourselves that once served us well.

I have had to ask this in my own journey: does everything that brought me here need to come with me into what comes next? The answer is not always yes. Something can have been valuable and still have completed its purpose. Clarity sometimes requires subtraction.

Pause. Reflect. Respond.
What are you carrying simply because you have always carried it? Identify one thing to release, reduce or renegotiate so you can create space for what matters next.

28/09/2026

THE THINKING MINUTE: The Questions We Ask Shape the Answers We Find
I have become increasingly interested in the quality of the questions we ask ourselves. “Why can’t I make this work?” produces very different thinking from “What would need to change for this to work?”

I have seen this in my own journey. Whether developing an idea, making a business decision, teaching or considering what comes next, changing the question can change what I am able to see.

Good questions interrupt automatic thinking. They help us examine assumptions and explore possibilities we may have missed. Sometimes we do not need more information. We need a better question.

Pause. Reflect. Respond.
Think of one situation you are trying to resolve. What happens when you change the question you are asking?

25/09/2026

PARTICIPANTS' VOICE: Behind the Participants' Voice: Sometimes the Greatest Progress Is Unseen One thing this 31-Day Strategic Reflection Momentum Challenge has reminded me is that progress isn't always visible.

As a facilitator, I've created space for others to reflect, rediscover their strengths and explore what's next. But I've been challenged too. Working through the daily exercises myself has reminded me that reflection isn't simply something I facilitate. It's something I must continually practise.

Sometimes the greatest transformation happens quietly, through changed perspectives, difficult decisions and personal growth that nobody else can see. Not all progress needs an audience to be meaningful.

Pause. Reflect. Respond.
What progress have you made recently that nobody else can see? Take a moment to acknowledge it.

23/09/2026

From Confusion To Clarity: You Don't Need More Options. You May Need Better Priorities. More choice does not always create more clarity. Sometimes it creates more noise.

I naturally see possibilities. One idea can quickly lead to another, and suddenly several things could all be developed or explored. But I have learned that not every good idea is a priority for now. The challenge is often not finding more options. It is deciding what deserves our attention first.

Clarity helps us distinguish between what is interesting, what is important and what is genuinely necessary in this season.

Pause. Reflect. Respond.
What three things are competing for your attention? If you could move only one forward this month, which would create the greatest impact?

21/09/2026

The thinking Minute: The Thinking Behind the Strategy Matters as Much as the Strategy. We often focus on strategy: the plan, roadmap, actions and deadlines.
But the quality of a strategy often begins much earlier, with the thinking behind it.
In my own work, I have learned not to rush straight into “What are we going to do?” I want to understand why we are doing it, what problem we are solving and what outcome we are trying to achieve.

Planning can look productive without necessarily being strategic.
Sometimes the most valuable work happens before the plan reaches the page. A beautifully presented strategy built on unclear thinking is still an unclear strategy.

Pause. Reflect. Respond.
Before progressing one current plan, ask: what thinking is this strategy built on?

09/09/2026

From Confusion to Clarity: What Are Your Patterns Trying to Tell You?
One experience can easily be dismissed. But when the same situation, frustration, opportunity or behaviour keeps appearing, I have learned to become curious.
What is this trying to tell me?

I see patterns in my own work: what energises me, where people repeatedly seek my support, the ideas I keep returning to and the things that drain time without producing the impact I want. Reflection helps us join the dots.
Patterns are information. They may not immediately tell us what to do, but they can show us where to look more closely.

Pause. Reflect. Respond.
What has repeatedly shown up recently in your work, energy or thinking? What might that pattern be trying to tell you?

07/09/2026

The Thinking Minute: What Happens When Leaders Don't Make Time to Reflect?
Leadership can easily become a cycle of responding: another decision, another problem, another deadline.

When things move quickly, reflection can feel like something we will do when we have more time. But leaders rarely find time to think. We have to create it.
In my own leadership, teaching, business and community work, some of my most useful decisions have come when I created enough space to ask: “What is actually happening here?

What am I not seeing? Are we solving the real problem?”
Reflection is not separate from leadership. It is part of leading well.

Pause. Reflect. Respond.
Before responding to one current challenge, what might you see differently if you gave yourself time to think first?

05/09/2026

𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬’ 𝐕𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞: Anita’s Discovery: From Thoughts to Clarity “This challenge definitely helped me remember who I am and the things that I’ve done… I can’t be defined by where I am today.” Anita Berg

𝐌𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
Anita’s words are a powerful reminder that reflection isn’t only about where we’re going. It’s also about recognising how far we’ve already come. We can become so focused on what’s next that we overlook our achievements, strengths and resilience.

Intentional Strategic Reflection gives us space to remember what we’ve overcome, what we’ve accomplished and what we still have to offer. Sometimes, the greatest breakthrough isn’t discovering something new. It’s rediscovering yourself.

𝐏𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞. 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭. 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐝.
What achievement have you overlooked because you’ve been too focused on what’s next?

02/09/2026

𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲: The Difference Between Activity and Progress
It’s easy to mistake activity for progress. We fill our calendars, answer emails, attend meetings and tick tasks off our lists. But being busy doesn’t necessarily mean we’re moving forward.

One question I often ask is: “Are you moving, or are you moving in the right direction?” Progress isn’t measured by how much we do. It’s measured by whether our actions are moving us closer to what matters.

Intentional Strategic Reflection creates space to identify what adds value, what drains our energy and what we may need to stop doing. Because being productive isn’t about doing everything. It’s about doing the right things, for the right reasons, at the right time.

𝐏𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞. 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭. 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐝.
Which activities moved you forward this week, and which simply kept you busy?

31/08/2026

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞: The Hidden Cost of Constant Busyness We live in a world that celebrates busyness. Full diaries. Endless meetings. Constant emails. Overflowing to-do lists. But being busy isn’t the same as being productive and it certainly isn’t the same as making progress.

Constant activity can distract us from what matters most. When we’re always responding, reacting and rushing, we leave little space to think strategically.
Sometimes it isn’t a lack of effort that keeps us stuck. It’s a lack of intentional reflection.

Our best decisions often emerge when we step away from the noise, reflect and reconnect with what matters. Don’t measure your day by how busy you were. Measure it by whether your actions moved you forward.

𝐏𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞. 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭. 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐝.
Where has busyness replaced intentional thinking in your life or work?

Address

124 City Road
London
EC1V2NX

Website

https://www.tpoe.co.uk/

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