Visiting the new Campbell Clinic & Academy

I was originally due to arrive at Nottingham station for 10:30am on Thursday morning, leaving me plenty of time to arrive at The Riverbank Hotel in Trent Bridge and prepare for my afternoon lecture for The Campbell Academy Year One Implant Course.

The day before, Colin messaged me to ask "do you want to come over early for a quick tour of the new building?"

There was, of course, no need to speculate on my answer and Phillippa was quick off the mark to assist in re-scheduling my train journey. I was equally happy to leave the house earlier and forgo my morning run.

So, arriving at the station, I jumped on The Metro south across the river and Colin was waiting at the Wilford Lane stop, standing in the morning rain. From there, we walked to his home and, as good friends do, just picked up our conversation from where we left it in June 2019, when I interviewed him for The Extreme Business Academy.

Our conversation was (I discovered later) related to his blog post that day, dealing with the digital overwhelm from which many of us suffer.

I always pull Colin's leg that he uses his widely followed blog and podcast to share his dismay at the attempts of the connected economy to interrupt our train of thought. That said, this morning we laughed a little at his attempts to mentor his son on internet use and my attempts to keep up with an avalanche of box sets from Netflix, Prime and Apple TV, by spending more time on my Watt Bike and less in the open air!

After a short walk we took the equally brief drive out to what I had previously visited as a freshly flattened field of soil (a bulldozer parked in one corner).

What greeted me was a seeming chaos of mud, vehicles, scaffolding; people in hard hats and high-vis yellow jackets, surrounding not one but three buildings at various stages of construction.

Colin began a 30-minute tour that circumnavigated the site and then took me inside to visit the three floors of the the new Clinic & Academy.

There, my description ends.

I'm going to let Colin and his team guide you on your own tour when the time comes. Whether you are lucky enough to be at one of the open evenings, attending a post-graduate course or follow on the very social media that Colin shuns. The fact is that over the next few months the new building and its show-stopping internal features will undoubtedly make their way into your news feeds.

Prepare to be amazed and inspired.

What I saw today was before the logistical opening next week but even whilst surrounded by the 70 contracting firms who are still working on site, I can say that the tour left me speechless.

Speechless with admiration for the courage and determination that it has taken to bring this dream into reality.

Those of us who have followed the journey in Colin's second blog (!) know what a test of nerves that has been.

I'm inspired by Colin, his team and his family, who have battled through the roadblocks and challenges laid before them, have had the darkest of hours and are now within distance of the first finish line.

In simple terms, when you see the place, you will wish you worked there.

They should name the building "Maslow's Peak", because any intelligent person who has the opportunity to further their career here, either as an employee, a consultant or a delegate, will know that they are self-actualising.

I'm due back here soon for one of the open evenings. That will be a special moment. But I'm even more excited to be returning on 27th March as a visiting guest lecturer on their year-long business course. To have been asked to present here will be a red-letter day in my career.

If you want to know if there is a future in this country for humble entrepreneurs, for those who want to build self-managing businesses, for those who want to pursue ethical, clinical and philosophical excellence, for those teams who want to be the best at what they do - look no further.

Colin and I have known each other long enough that it was OK for me to be very quiet as the tour concluded. There were no words.

We returned to Trent Bridge and he dropped me at the course venue before rushing back to the existing clinic for a management team meeting. I didn't see him again that day - and won't for some time.

We don't need to speak much, because we know that, when it has been necessary, we've made a difference to each other over the years.

I'm proud of my friend and client and I know that what he has achieved here will continue to inspire me and many others.