Origins

How constrained is your business by job descriptions? Do you recruit competencies or do you recruit people?

These are provocative questions, but if you do anything other than look upon the total person, you convey the message that you regard your people simply as hired help. That diminishes both them and their concept of themselves. It is literally belittling and inevitably has a morale-sapping effect which reduces their engagement and hence their contribution to your business.

Bay Jordan has personal experience of this. In 1990, while employed as financial controller for a multi-billion dollar financial service company, he conceived the idea of what has since become widely known as the offset mortgage. When he presented this to his manager he was told, "Bay, we hired you to be a bean-counter. Stick to counting the beans!" He thus missed a great personal opportunity while the company missed something which might have saved it from significant losses and subsequently needing to be rescued by a bigger bank.

Compounded by his role in a mass redundancy programme as well as personally being made redundant twice, this experience proved life-changing. The pain and indignity of being made redundant aside, the issue of 'human economic waste' - the waste of potential associated with organisations not recognising the value of what they have and/or being closed to new ideas - became a major focus for him and he resolved to do all he could to reduce this significant waste.

Reflecting on his career as a Chartered Accountant, and more than twenty-five years experience in auditing, financial management, consulting and change management, Bay realised that IT investment and other change initiatives often failed to achieve the full benefit expected. This is because, more often than not, they are top-down initiatives, imposed by managers on users who have little or no involvement in the development of applications or contributing of ideas in areas where they are the real experts.

Consequently he founded Zealise in 2003 to help organisations better fulfil their potential by recognising and fulfilling the potential of their people. Building on this, and a passionate interest in the area of people management and incentive remuneration, Bay published "Lean Organisations Need FAT People which first outlined the need to value and account for the human assets and so win greater effort and co-operation from the workforce.

Since publishing that book in 2004 Bay has continued to develop and refine his ideas, to the point that he has transformed theory into the practical methodology which forms the core, unique service that he now offers through Zealise, and which necessitated the publishing of the Third Edition in 2009. This coincided with the publication of "A Feeling of Worth" which applies these concepts to broader issues and could be said to take them to a higher level.

What we do

Bay Jordan

We assist any organisation of more than 50 people looking to optimise its own performance by optimising the potential of the people who work for it. We partner with our clients to build an "us" culture that values people as human assets and engenders employee engagement in everything they do, eliminates human economic waste and facilitates greater personal fulfilment.

This kindles zeal, which Webter's Dictionary lists as the first element of morale, and which is an essential ingredient if you are looking to create a great organisaton where employee engagement inspires organisational integrity: a culture of organisational alignment in which people consider the organisation as a team and work together with greater enthusiasm and enjoyment to deliver continuously improving organisational performance.

Advisory Board

Bay is developing an Advisory Board of exceptional, "out-of-the-box" forward thinking, business leaders to guide and mentor the development of Zealise. New members will added as and when they are identified, but presently the panel includes:

Malcolm Lewis

Malcolm Lewis is the founder and CEO of StrategicVP (SVP) and specialises in working with corporate boards and senior management teams, as a "wizard, alchemist and strategic guide", combining the "hard" skills learned as a company "trouble-shooter" and corporate financier, with the "soft" behavioural skills of strategic leadership, culture and personal development. With degrees in Business Administration (BSc) and Financial Management (MSc) Malcolm is also a Chartered Accountant (FCA) and Certified Management Consultant (CMC). Reinforced by training as an Evolutionary Coach, Cultural Transformation Tools (CTT) Tutor, and in Strength Deployment Inventory (SDI), and Psychological Kinesiology, as well as being knowledgeable in Archetypal storytelling, MBTI, and LDF/Spiral Dynamics it is no wonder he has advised in 31 MBO's, MBI's and company restructurings and works with a number of blue chip companies and leading public sector organisations, as well as lecturing at 4 business schools. He currently lives in Bristol. 

Dominic Reimbold

Dominic Reimbold is the founder and CEO of GTI Global Talent Implementation and a joint venture partner in Minerva Training Associates. A specialist advisor in talent management, building on extensive experience in reskilling during turnaround situations and corporate transition, he has implemented Sales Force Effectiveness and Change Management projects in 5 continents. He has over 20 years’ experience working in firms and divisions of multinationals operating in global markets and mostly in borderless business environments, including such well known companies as Samsung, Computer Associates, Nicholson International, Achieve Global and Chupa Chups. Dominic has an MBA from University of Chicago Booth Business School and has taught MBA students in 3 business schools, moderated webinars for the Turnaround Management Association (TMA international), appeared on radio and TV and is quoted in printed media in UK and Spain. He is a dual national (US/UK) and has lived in USA, Spain and UK.