THE MDHUB FUTUREHUB PROGRAMME The courage to know what you don’t know

Imagine your career as a jigsaw. The corners are sorted, and the edges are complete. Over the years, you’ve beavered away, slotting the pieces in one by one, and now you’re just one missing piece shy of your goal. What is that? A seat at the big table? To be a better leader?

The irony is that the last piece of the puzzle is probably staring you in the face, but it takes other people to help you find it (under the sleeping cat, always); those who can see you for the whole person you can be (career-wise at any rate, let’s not get carried away!)

If this sounds like you, you’ll find your ‘other people’ at Futurehub.

Futurehub was developed by MDHUB’s director Phil Green. “We identified a gap in the market with our members who were working on their succession planning. They identified a proposed successor who, while extremely talented, lacked some of the core skills and experience needed to move up. Futurehub is the result.”

Phil leads the 12-month programme. “We put a cohort of eight people together, covering all areas of business: finance and budgeting, branding and marketing, strategy, legal, business development and leadership skills. It’s a broad programme, with a strong focus on experiential learning.”

The experience and diversity of participants make Futurehub unique. People join from all roles and sectors of business. Everyone brings a skill or experience.

So, is Futurehub worth the time and effort?

Emma Penn, general manager of Nordell, an injection moulding service company based in West Sussex, says yes. “I wanted to know what I was capable of. The business was going through rapid growth, and I didn’t think it was right to be ‘waltzing off’ for the day, but the opposite was true.

“I learned a lot, I got a better financial understanding. I’m not comfortable around numbers, but Phil made it simple. The legal section was valuable, understanding responsibilities and duties. Phil works with businesses; he’s aware of the challenges in the current climate.

“As for my peer group, I’ve made friends for life. We worked in confidence, with trust. It was a shared experience. We filled in each other’s skills gaps, and I realised I knew far more than I thought. My confidence has improved massively.

“I sit on an advisory board and could feel out of my depth. I didn’t want to say the wrong thing. After Futurehub, I don’t justify what I’m saying because I’m confident I’m adding value with my opinion.

“Futurehub group gave me perspective. I know what the next steps look like now. In business, we are conditioned to be a certain way, and Futurehub challenges that conditioning.”

Then there’s Joe Mattelaer. Since 2017, Joe has run Curious Tech - refurbishing and selling second-hand consumer electronics online. In 2022, he branched out and began producing bespoke software for other businesses. You could say Joe ‘self-referred’ himself onto Futurehub.

“I’d been running a business for a few years, but I never had a formal business education and had to pick up the basics as I went. I wanted to reinforce what I knew and recognise what I didn’t. To build a solid foundation and develop good practice. Ideally, I wanted to scale up, which meant understanding business and financial processes.

“I needed to work out how to take ‘me’ out of the business so anyone could come in and run it. Not being able to do

Other Futurehub Alumni Concur

❛❛ MDHUB appears to be the best kept secret in Sussex, which it shouldn’t be! ❜❜

Steve King, Cheesmur Building Contractors

❛❛ Futurehub has helped me to further recognise my potential and that I know more than I first thought whilst being supported by MDHUB through the experience to achieve and not be afraid to make decisions ❜❜

Daniel Cook, Aegea

that limits the ability to grow. I joined Futurehub to learn how to step away from the day-to-day running.

“The key thing for me was that Futurehub is not what I would call a traditional way of learning. It’s peer-topeer led. We’re all at the same level, whatever we do out in the world. Everyone gets a say and pitches in, making the training agile. I wouldn’t have got half as much out of it otherwise.

“I understood my strengths, weaknesses, talents, and skills better. I exceeded my own expectations. I gained skills I can apply elsewhere and recognise where I needed to fill in the gaps!”

It just goes to show that there are times when everything is so frantic that stepping away seems like the last thing you should do, especially in business. And yet, in that crevice of time you manage to carve out for yourself, life-changing things can happen, especially if you’re in good company.

This year’s Futurehub programme starts on February 23rd.

If you are interested in finding out more please email Phil Green phil.green@mdhub.co.uk