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Welcome to Inclusion Bites, your sanctuary for bold conversations that spark change. I'm Joanne Lockwood, your guide on this journey of exploration into the heart of inclusion, belonging and societal transformation. Ever wondered what it truly takes to create a world? Remember, everyone not only belongs, but thrives. You're not alone. Join me as we uncover the unseen, challenge the status quo and share stories that resonate deep within. Ready to dive in? Whether you're sipping your morning coffee or winding down after a long day, let's connect, reflect and inspire action together. Don't forget, you can be part of the conversation too. Reach out to jo.lockwood@seechangehappen.co.uk to share your insights or to join me on the show.

So adjust your earbuds and settle in. It's time to ignite the spark of inclusion with Inclusion Bites.

And this is episode 177 with the title Empowering Through Routine. And I have the absolute honour and privilege to welcome Ed Johnson. Ed is a tech entrepreneur and the CEO and co founder of URoutine, driven by a passion for empowering people through structure, goals and inclusive design. When I asked Ed to describe his superpower, he said it is being fueled by purpose. He builds systems that help people thrive to self motivation and meaningful accountability. Hello, Ed, welcome to the show.

Thank you very much. Wonderful to be here. Excited about our conversation?

Yeah. And we were just chatting away in the green room before we pushed the record button. We first met, we reckon about 2018 sometime IBM South bank and it was an EDI DEI recruiter type conference, if I remember rightly. And you were one of the keynote speakers on that day?

I was. And I have to say I felt at that time I was very early on in my previous company and founding my previous company. I felt at the time like I had no idea what I was talking about and I was trying to perfect the elevator pitch and some days it was really eloquent and sounded professional and other days I'd hear myself saying it back and think even I don't know what I'm trying to do.

Or sometimes it sounds so crass, doesn't it? Sometimes you lift back and go, oh, that's a bit cringy. And oh, did I really say that?

Exactly, yeah. And I think that IBM day was probably one of those days where I was one of the keynote speakers and didn't really know what I was talking about. I sort of mumbled and rumbled through it. But I met some wonderful people, you included, so that was a great point.

I will say you winged it well and you did create a lasting impression on me and your belief because the product you were involved with was Pushfile, which is a mentoring platform. And I'm a great believer in the people space around the power of mentoring, formally or informally. And Pushfire Platform was about trying to formalise, creating accountability within mentoring, wasn't it?

Absolutely. The main objective was for us to help people to find and form mentoring relationships that worked and give that a bit of structure, give people the ability to track their progress with their mentor or mentee. Yeah, we seemed to have managed to achieve that when we went on that journey and started engaging with lots of people who were interested in mentoring, which was great to see.

It became quite a big hit in corporates. I saw some of your client lists and it really did get traction and still is, I guess.

Absolutely. It's continuing to grow. It's really a wonderful thing to see it continuing to thrive and incredibly proud that my co founder and I built this, you know. Yeah. Organisations really were engaging with and continue to engage with the power of mentoring. I think it's such an important part of one's professional development, access to a mentor, but also the opportunity to be a mentor. I think that's very empowering for individuals as well.

So who was your mentor? Did you have many?