David Johnson
Visiting Professor | University of Newcastle
Durham, Durham, UNITED KINGDOM
Business and entrepreneurial psychology
Biography
David speaking is informed by his background and experience. He is a Chartered Psychologist, coach and entrepreneur with that rare combination of a strong academic background and rigorous practical focus. Having spent many years in a range of UK universities, including visiting professorships, he eventually created the innovative Barclays Centre for Entrepreneurship at the University of Durham – one outcome of which was ‘The Exchange’, one of the first programmes targeted specifically at the social enterprise sector. David is particularly focused upon working with and speaking to organisations managing the change process as the demand for greater application of an entrepreneurial mindset and innovation is a real need for many organisations namely those with their roots in the public sector. As a business owner at the helm of Venture to Think he is also well-versed with the pragmatic demands of running a business.
Having previously created profiling and recruitment tools for organisations including Channel 4, Pizza Hut UK and Whitbread, in 2002 he created his own business. Recognising that one of the major barriers to success in any enterprise is the attitudes and behaviours of key players. ‘Venture to Think’ specialise in the development of profiling and coaching tools for the enterprise sector. Extensive applied academic research led to the creation of 21st Century Entrepreneurs - providing entrepreneurs in social and commercial enterprises with coaching insights to guide their day-to-day behaviour. As David says, ‘you don’t need to be a psychologist to understand and coach entrepreneurs – our tools provide a language to start a discussion and draw attention to strengths and areas for development’.
Venture to Think have worked with hundreds of clients in recent years tackling issues such as how to create and grow a successful business; how to make the transition from public sector employee to entrepreneur; how to build an effective team within an emerging small enterprise; how to manage personal performance in a rapidly changing and very uncertain world; how to maintain performance whilst addressing the increasingly turbulent environment.
David has published and presented on entrepreneurial and business psychology.
Industry Expertise (3)
Training and Development
Corporate Leadership
Business Services
Areas of Expertise (2)
Corporate Entrepreneurship
Business Psychology
Education (2)
University of Loughborough: PhD, Medical Social Psychology 1986
University of Bradford, UK: BSc Social Sciences, Social Psychology 1978
Links (3)
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