Gavin Simpson ACMA CGMA

The Business of Being Different

The system told me I was useless. The diagnosis proved I was just wired differently. I went from driving a dustcart to advising executive leadership for a global automotive giant and winning the CIMA Student of the Year Award and have save some of the UK’s largest businesses millions. My journey from "Binman To Boardroom" is not just a personal story of grit; it’s a living case study in human potential, neuro-inclusive design, and bottom-line business improvement.

I don't just speak about neurodiversity—I speak about the unrealised £30 billion worth of talent the system is leaving behind, and how your organisation can capture it.

I am here to change the narrative: Stop looking for flaws, start leveraging peaks.

Keynote Speaking: High-Impact Talks for Leaders and Teams

My talks are direct, factual, and backed by a Chartered Accountant’s understanding of efficiency and P&L. They are about courage, resilience, and the relentless logic of turning a "weakness" into an "unfair advantage."

Signature Talks (45-60 Minutes)

The £30 Billion Spiky Profile: How Neurodiversity Drives Business Value

• The Problem: Why are we losing billions in unrealised talent? The failure is not the person; it’s the system built for the "flat profile". We don’t have a shortage of talent, we have a lack of understanding. We judge a fish’s ability to climb a tree when what we actually want is someone that can hold their breath underwater!

• The Case for Change: I break down the financial and human cost of a broken system. Learn why the lack of diverse thought and groupthink created by a team all from the same background, all thinking the same, is the silent killer of innovation (The Kodak & Blockbuster case studies).

• The Solution: The logical steps to align your culture, processes, and environment to leverage the intense hyperfocus, pattern recognition, and visualisation skills of a neurodivergent team member.

Why invest in the most amazing rose only to plant it in a dessert and wonder why it doesn’t bloom. Human capital is an investment, ensure you enable that person to get your return on that investment.

From Broken to Wired: A CEO's Guide to Neuro-Inclusive Leadership

• The Masking Epidemic: I share the exhausting reality of masking and why employees hide their true selves—even in senior roles. This is the energy debt your business is paying every day. Allow your teams to use all of their energy in value add for your business.

• The Chimp Paradox at Work: A practical, stripped-down look at how to apply Dr. Steve Peters' mental management model to leadership. Learn to stop rattling your team's "Chimp" and drive rational, high-quality output.

• The Environment-Change Principle: You can't change the person, but you must change the environment. My journey proves that providing the right conditions (quiet space, clear structure) is the non-negotiable requirement for optimal output.

  Grit, Data, and The Final Destination: A Social Mobility Masterclass

• Poor Grades are a Lie: My story proves you don't need a university degree to thrive in the corporate world. Poor grades often just signal a mismatch in environment.

• The Hyperfocus Advantage: I detail how my obsessive interests in fishing, music, and data became the fuel for my financial career, leading to multi-million-pound savings for a UK company.

• The Non-Negotiable Lesson: The power of persistence, finding your passion (your obsession), and why self-belief is the only asset that matters on the journey from factory floor to Finance Business Partner.

  Ready to Transform Your Workplace?

  Book Gavin for a Keynote or Discuss Your Coaching Needs.

Coaching for Impact: Individual & Manager Strategy

This is not therapy. This is practical, goal-focused strategy based on the real-world tools I used to get out of the dark and successfully transform my life.

1:1 Neurodivergent Strategy Coaching (The Climber)

Goal: To help high-potential individuals (diagnosed or self-suspecting) stop the cycle of burnout and self-doubt.

Focus Areas:

• Spiky Profile Mapping: A deep, literal dive into identifying your unique Peaks (Hyperfocus, visualisation, problem-solving) and Valleys (sensory, memory, social).

• Chimp Management: Building the techniques to defuse Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria (RSD) and manage emotional overwhelm in moments of conflict or criticism.

• Strategic Adjustment Plan: Defining the three to five non-negotiable workplace adjustments that will unlock maximum performance (e.g., communication rules, focus time, environment control).

Neuro-Inclusive Leadership Coaching (The Leader)

Goal: To equip managers with the tools to confidently support neurodivergent talent without fear of saying the wrong thing.

• Focus Areas:

  • Communication Audit: Moving beyond "common sense" communication. How to communicate instructions and feedback in a logical, literal, and factual manner.

  • The 5 Whys for Performance: Using my business-improvement model to shift from punishing visible behavior to identifying and solving the root cause of underperformance (e.g., poor focus due to a sensory overload environment).

  • Creating Psychological Safety: How to structure meetings, manage transitions, and offer space that calms the inner voice and allows for the honest disclosure of needs.

Ready to Transform Yourself or Your Workplace?

Book Gavin for a Keynote or Discuss Your Coaching Needs.