Skip to main content

About

Hello, I'm Jim Donovan. Welcome to my personal website. The Isambard name (pronounced IS-mm-BARD) honours Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the renowned 19th century engineer. Designing and operating a great business is akin to a great engineering project:
  • Purpose: an overarching proposition of what you offer the world, to whom, and why they'd want it;
  • Principles: mutually-reinforcing core principles and values which define and underpin everything you do;
  • Vision: a clear, coherent, consistent, and elegant design of how you will make and fulfil your offer;
  • Focus: doing what should be done to build that (and not doing what shouldn't);
  • Ambition: thinking, planning, and acting for greatness.
This site contains articles I've written over the years, drawing on my experience of business leadership and transformation (including lessons learnt from the occasional non-success).  I'm currently working on another writing project, which I hope will see the light of day sometime in 2024.  Watch this space! 

I have disabled open comments on this site, but I welcome intelligent dialogue, and you can contact me directly on Twitter or LinkedIn: