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Gavin McMahon

Gavin McMahon

Co-CEO | Founder

"Lapsed Engineer, now tinkers with brains."

Gavin partners with clients to create tailored learning programs. He is rumored to build and run practical, entertaining workshops. He leads the development of newfangled leadership and customer experience products.

Gavin's early career crosses the defense, automotive, publishing, and technology industries. He worked in engineering, strategy, and senior product development roles.

Gavin graduated from UCLAN with a B(Eng) Hons. in Mechanical Engineering. He served as a platoon commander after graduating from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

After a short stint in the defense industry and working in Africa, Gavin made a career change. A Sainsbury Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, he went on to study at Institute Theseus in France. There, he graduated with an MBA in Innovation, Strategy & Information Technology.

Gavin was a founding member of the London Business School’s i:Lab. There he co-wrote the case study: Netscape Communications Corporation. One of the first digital case studies, Netscape charted the rise of the first Internet giant. The case featured in MBA and executive education programs at Harvard, London Business School, and INSEAD.

Gavin is a proud father of two very handsome basset hounds (and kids).

Client testimonials

Kelley Kurtzman

“...as I watched Gavin and the rest of your team work, asked to do bigger and bigger projects, your ability to scale and deliver absolutely what you said and then some, I think is really critical in this competitive environment…”

Tami Erwin
Kelley Kurtzman
VP, Global Consumer Sales & Service Centers
Verizon
Matty Braden

"Gavin is a fantastic partner, and I've had great success working with him on many projects. He is a true thought leader who consistently brings creative, modern, and impactful learning solutions to the table. His ability to take ideation and brainstorming with a client and turn that into a compelling strategy is 2nd to none."

Tami Erwin
Matty Braden
Director Organizational Learning and Development
Paylocity
Kim Iorns

"Gavin has a unique gift of having strengths in creativity, process, and storytelling that enable him to create impactful learning solutions through design, visuals, and experiences.

He possesses a knack for being able to organize a myriad of ideas into visual, tangible, consumable content that is focused on the strategic outcome while keeping simplicity front of mind. 

In my 20+ years in learning, I have worked with many business partners and it is rare to find someone like Gavin with this trifecta of skills."

Tami Erwin
Kim Iorns
Director, Talent Development and Learning
H&R Block
Carlos Arcila

"Gavin's excellent at what he does, which is making you a better business storyteller. I've had the pleasure of working with Gavin on numerous projects from 1:1 professional development training to creating/rolling out department wide training (Storytelling using Data). - and each time he's professional, accessible and works with you to ensure success."

Tami Erwin
Carlos Arcila
Corporate Communications
Verizon

Articles by

Gavin McMahon

Running OKR’s — How to create a growth mindset in your team
Testing OKR’s — How to know if your OKR’s are working with 6 simple tests
Beginning OKR’s — How to set and use OKR’s for your team
AI Secrets — How to Decode Inputs & Outputs
Nuances of AI — How to Simplify the Complex Concepts of AI
AI 101 — How to Begin Using AI
Impactful Tales — How to Master Storytelling in 3 Words
Unraveling Trust — How to Cultivate Trust in Every Relationship
Brandon’s Belief — How to Define Your Belief System and Develop Strategic Thinking
The half-yearly round-up.
Bite-Sized Brilliance — How to Use Stories to Fuel Innovation
Agenda Agility — How to Move from Topic-Heavy to Outcome-Driven
Word Hacking — How to Spice Up Your Speech
Seven stories — How to lead your business through change.
A new hope — for your communication.
Battling Bureaucracy — How to stay nimble, by doing less.
Concrete Language — How to cement simplicity with concrete language.
Strategic Narrative — How to articulate the need for change.
Motive Triangle — How to achieve action with hope, fear, and reason
Message Discipline — How to get your point across.
Data Story — How to build standout stories with data.
Storytelling Superpower — How to connect strategies and create value.
Audience Hook — How to grab attention.
Good Communication — How to use story to solve the attention problem.
Feedback Loop — How to give effective feedback.
Three Conversations — How to avoid career limiting mistakes.
Critical Results — How to prioritize the critical work that stirs progress.
Executing Strategy — How to get your strategy understood and actioned.
Frame. Action — How to cut through the noise and be heard.
Meetings! Meetings! — How to escape the tyranny of useless meetings.
Back Office — How to think about ‘return-to-work.’
Negative Space — How to think critically in an uncertain world.
“I Quit.” — How to slow down regrettable attrition.
Move on — How to develop a rhythm for agile work.
Complex Y — How to use simplicity as a superpower.
Work is... — How to turn hybrid work to just work.
Well Met — How to make meetings work.
Reworking Work — How to unlock the potential in hybrid work.
Toxic Spill — How to rethink, not rebrand, the Great Resignation.
Message Sent — How to work on your signaling.
All Change — How to rethink how we lead through change.
New World — How to manage work without the workplace.
Talent Suck — How to buck the talent black hole.
Verbal Blunders — How to get rid of the ‘umm’ word.
Blade Runner — How an old movie can inspire new business goals.
Verbal Seasoning — How to remove the ‘boring’ from your presentation.
Presenter Types — How can “Coaches” stick to their structure?
Presenter Types — How can “Storytellers” put themselves and their audience on the same map?
Presenter Types — How can “Producers” cut clear of the clutter?
Presenter Types — How can “Inventors” overcome words being a worry?
Presenter Types — How can “Counselors” put their audience in the picture?
Presenter Types — How can “Teachers” connect with their audience?
Authentic Storytelling — How to present at your very best.
Kirk’s Razor — How to drive innovation with product stories.
Revolutionary Words — How rhymes can make your messages stick.
Product Storytelling — How stories help your product grow.
Leadership Storytelling — A conversation with Ronan Dunne.
Cultivating Curiosity — How to shape a learning culture.
Remote Learning — A conversation with Janice Robinson-Burns.
Wheel Spin — How Chief Learning Officers are reinventing corporate learning.
Nudging Mastery — A conversation with Jordan Birnbaum.
Learning Futures — How seven trends will shape learning and development.
Elegant Plots — How to clean up your charts.
Chart Chooser — How to choose the format for your data.
Seeing Charts — How to look underneath your data.
Visual Hierarchy — How to show your story.
Use Headlines — How to get the point of your presentation across.
Powerful Point — How to build a story with slides.
Showing Evidence — How to boost your credibility.
Hero Formula — How to put your audience at the center of your story.
Audience Mapping — How to speak to your audience’s listening.
Story Checklist — How to tell if your story is working.
Visual Literacy — How the future of work requires a new, soft, skillset.
Pixar Rules — How to tell phenomenal stories, according to Pixar.
Help wanted — How to maximize performance.
Words Matter — How to up your communication game.
Operation Keyhole — How to lead remote teams.
Story Business — How all the world is a story.
Beating Ebbinghaus — How to bend the forgetting curve.
Short Stories — How to practice simplicity.
Deliberate Practice — How to get better at almost anything.
Adjective Thinking — How to be a better [insert adjective here] thinker.
Conversations Matter — How to fight "Death by PowerPoint."
Framing Matters — How it makes you a better communicator.
Unconscious Biases — How to boost your leadership thinking.
Communication Fail — How to dig your way out of the leadership ditch.
Story Structures — How to make your messages work.