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“Keep day dreaming, because if you don’t day dream, you don’t visualise the future and if you don’t do that, you’re not going to get there.”

Today’s guest is Seb Chamber Managing Partner of CIL Management Consultants.

Seb was introduced to me by a previous guest of mine, Dom Moorhouse, as someone I must get on the show and Seb certainly didn’t disappoint.

Seb’s route to Managing Partner is a really interesting story and one that while uncommon, gives an insight in to a lesser travelled route that I know many of you will be fascinated by.

Instead of climbing the ladder to Partner Seb bought in to CIL, something that we discuss in detail in today’s episode, and grew the firm from there. Before you think ‘well that’s okay if you have plenty of cash’, Seb didn’t and there’s a lot you can learn from Seb’s approach here for those of you with aspirations to buy in to a business yourselves.

But this is only part of Seb’s story and we cover a range of topics in addition to this including:

Growing a Consulting firm where the head office is based outside of London and why Seb sees their Froom head office (a town 30 minutes outside of Bath) as an asset to the firm.

Seb’s advice to those looking to climb the Consulting career ladder as well as those with aspirations to build a career at the top of their firms for as long as he has.

The CIL meme wall, yes you heard me right, meme wall – the first I’ve seen in any consulting office – what this says about CILs culture and why culture is critical when starting and growing a business.

I really enjoyed this wide ranging conversation with Seb and it was great to dig in to topics that I’d not discussed with any other guest before.

Whether you’re just starting out in Consulting, looking to climb to Partner in your firm or you have aspirations to buy in to a firm and be a part of growing a business there’s something in here for everyone.

You can find out more about Seb on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/sebastian-chambers-3ba205a/

Or drop him an email at schambers@cilconsultants.com

If you’re interested in finding out more about CIL you can check out their website – https://www.cilconsultants.com/


Specific things we discuss in the show:

Bounce by Mathew Syed – https://amzn.eu/d/9LTUgvI

Ted Talks – https://www.ted.com/talks

Elyn Saks TED Talk – A tale of mental illness – From the Inside – https://www.ted.com/talks/elyn_saks_seeing_mental_illness?language=en

What we talk about:

00:04:53 – Seb’s background and how he got to where he is today.

00:10:49 – The story of how Seb bought in to CIL and his advice for others looking to do the same.

00:16:45 – How Seb was able to buy in to CIL even though he didn’t have the money himself.

00:19:58 – How Seb assessed CIL when deciding whether or not to buy in and his advice to others considering buying in to a business.

00:22:56 – Seb’s advice on structuring your business to survive during both the good times and the bad.

00:25:38 – Why Seb sees their Froom head office as an asset to the business and the hidden benefits of having your head office outside of London.

00:34:41 – Seb’s advice to those thinking of starting their own Consulting business and considering whether to start it where they live or launch it in a major city.

00:40:26 – The CIL Meme wall, what this says about their culture and the importance of focusing on culture if you want to develop a successful business.

00:48:40 – How CIL assesses cultural fit during their recruitment process to ensure they hire the right people for the firm.

00:52:25 – Seb’s advice for junior Consultants looking to build a successful career in Consulting.

00:57:28 – Seb’s advice for Partners looking to build a career at the top of their firm for as long as he has.

01:02:00 – What led Seb and the CIL management team to buy out EY and the process they went through to do so.

01:07:10 – Seb’s book recommendations.

01:11:00 – Seb’s closing advice for you whether you’re just starting out in Consulting, In the middle grades or approaching Partner level.

01:12:30 – How to get in touch with Seb.

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