About

50 Things About Me That You Probably Didn’t Know or Care About

1. I am British and I speak with a British accent
2. I have a 16 year old Son, James Douglas Stapleton
3. I have four brothers, all younger
4. I live in Nailsworth, England
5. I have lived and worked in Seattle, WA for a while and fell in love with Pike Place Market
6. I am a Business Change Consultant, helping business leaders with change
7. I was born in Manchester, in the north west of England
8. I love New York City, and I also love San Francisco
9. I am a MBA graduate from the University of Liverpool
10. As well as a BSc graduate in Computer Science
11. More recently I became a qualified eMentor, and eTutor (Level 3)
12. I’d like to do a PhD, but to be honest it’s only because I’d like to choose to be called Dr Stapleton
13. My passion is personal growth and development
14.  I also coach ‘rising stars’ to achieve more than they ever thought they could
15. And help people through tough times too
16. My previous employers were Microsoft, Oracle, and a string of US startups, particularly through the DotCom boom, and bust
17. My most famous failed project was BOO.COM
18. In my career I have been in roles focused on 1st line support, consulting, network security, web development, and management
19. My favorite kind of work is complex and challenging problems in a pressured environment
20. I am not as effective in a steady state
21. I thrive in extraordinary situations
22. Most of my experience is in financial services
23. I have written articles for several IT industry and Legal Sector magazines
24. And have had two articles featured on the British Computer Society website
25. I have been quoted in the Washington Post on the subject of reverse headhunting using social media
26. And contributed to two books about social media
27. I am available for comment or contribution to similar publications – get in touch
28. I am an author, my first book was published on Feb 19 2015 – The Ten Habits of Highly Effective Professionals (3rd Edition) available on Amazon Kindle right now.
29. My second book is How to ACE Your Performance Appraisal, also available on Kindle.
30. I will soon be publishing a book about Agile Business #agilebusiness
31. I think, one day, I will turn my hand to becoming a serious author of books, but not necessarily an author of serious books
32. I love to spend time with my son
33. He often asks me questions that only a visit to Wikipedia can help me
34. I am 6’4″ tall
35. I have my own hair and teeth!
36. I love real ale
37. And real coffee
38. I am not a fashionista
39. I’d hate to be a fashionista. although I appreciate style and the aesthetic
40. I love music of many varieties – my iTunes collection is described by friends as ‘eclectic’
41. My favorite author is Terry Pratchett (RIP)
42. And my favorite books are the Discworld series
43. My favorite TV show is Game of Thrones, and I like The Blacklist, Westworld and Boardwalk Empire too
44. I drive a black BMW X5
45. Although I love to ride bikes
46. I destroyed my Porsche Speedster a few years ago – not a happy moment
47. I prefer rugby than soccer – it’s a ‘proper’ game
48. I enjoy photography, but I consider myself an total amateur at present
49. I am useless at golf, which is why, one day, I will be taking lessons
50. Taking walks on a friday evening through my Cotswold town, followed by the pub with my friends and dog, is my favorite activity of all