I’m in a car sweating and reading, trying to take in the notes that had been thrust in my hand as I jumped into the taxi. Notes about who I am meeting for lunch, their title, their position, the business we have with them, the deal I need to make with them - I even have a picture so that we will recognise each other….adrenaline is running

It was another reengineering, another restructuring, another ‘maximising the talent pool’, another cycle of redundancies, another programme of ‘forward vision and present values’. This one was the biggest for three years. 300 people would be leaving across all parts of the company : support functions, line managers, every level of the hierarchy.

It has been a little while since you may have heard from me in print as an arts career case study in Building A Portfolio Career and I am delighted to have this opportunity to give you an update on how being a portfolio professional prevails as my modus operandi.

Remember that old game of beetle, when you roll the dice to see which body piece you can add? If I recall correctly, the head needed two antennae, (including ears!) and a mouth. Funny how, in our lives of communication, we reverse the proportions! Some years ago, I was playing a different high-stakes game in a business takeover……