You already built the business.
But what about the one you haven’t?
The one that’s been quietly burning…
> in your notebook
> in your gut
> in the back of your mind after a long day running the “real” one.
The Other One.
The one that feels too different.
Too personal.
Too stupid to pitch.
Too meaningful to ignore.
You’re not alone.
I wrote this for the founders, CEOs, and MDs who’ve built something great—
but haven’t yet built what matters most to them.

👉 Read: “The Other One: The Business You Haven’t Built (Yet)

If you know you’ve got something else in you, not to scale, not to exit, but to finally build the business that’s been waiting, this might just be for you.
DM me “The Other One” or click through to register interest.

You’ve let go of the old identity.
You’ve released the grip.
You’ve named the fear.

Now what?

This is the moment few talk about.

The stillness after the letting go.
The space between no longer… and not yet.

And for leaders who’ve built their reputation on decisiveness, movement, and staying ahead—
that stillness can feel like failure.

But what if that space is the strategy?

👇
Part 5 of the Identity Shift Series is here:
Stillness as Strategy
What happens when you stop performing and start listening.

For the ambitious leader no longer rushing to prove—
but learning how to pause, breathe, and lead from presence.

From “Not Wanting to F*** Up What’s Next”
To Greater Decisions > Greater Thinking > Greater Performance

We’ve been going through our own reinvention.
Not a rebrand.
Not a restructure.
A deeper shift.

Letting go of the version of The Alchemists that got us here so we can hold space for what comes next.
And what we’ve found is this:
The biggest transformation doesn’t happen in the strategy.
It happens in the identity.

This is the heart of Part 4 of the Identity Shift Series:
👇
The Inner Exit: Reinvention
Letting Go of the Leader You Had to Be
It’s for the founder, CEO, or business owner who knows they’ve outgrown the role they built and is ready to lead forward without dragging the old self with them.

If you’re in that space, this one’s for you.
You don’t need to let go of your legacy.
You are your legacy.

You can feel it before you can explain it.

You’ve built something real.
You’ve led through the highs and lows.
You’ve stayed strong when others wavered.

But now the real challenge isn’t external.

It’s internal.

It’s the quiet tension between holding on and letting lead.
The knowing that the way you got here…
isn’t enough to get you there.

This is Part 3 of the Identity Shift Series::
The Tension Between Letting Go and Leading On

For the leader who isn’t done
but knows it's time to evolve how they lead, who they are, and how they carry the mission.

If you feel yourself standing at that threshold
And would value a quiet space to think it through
Connect with me.
Sometimes one conversation changes everything.

You’ve always been the one who knows.

The one who delivers.
The one people turn to when things need sorted, fixed, led.

Competency built your reputation.
But lately—if you’re honest—it’s become something else.

A pressure.
A mask.
A quiet fear of not knowing, not keeping up, not being enough.

What if the performance of competency is costing you clarity?

This is Part 2 of the Identity Shift Series:
👇
The Mask of Competency

For the leader who’s done performing… and ready to lead from something more real.

You don’t need to prove anything.
You just need space to reconnect with what’s already there.

You probably won’t say it out loud. But you feel it. Especially in the moments that matter most.

There’s a moment you might recognise. It doesn’t appear in board reports or strategy decks. But it shows up in quiet pauses, late nights, and tough decisions.

“I don’t want to f*** it up.” And sometimes… “I don’t want to f*** it up again.”

This isn’t imposter syndrome. It’s not weakness. It’s the real weight of leadership.

Being the one who has to call it. To carry it. To make it happen when others are still looking for direction.

This is Part 1 of the Identity Shift Series:

Leadership in tough economic conditions is a lonely and daunting path. The weight of every decision is amplified, risks seem higher, and the pace of change is relentless. As a business owner or CEO, you are expected to provide answers, but who do you turn to when you need guidance?

Throughout 2024, the Alchemists Forum newsletters offered business owners and CEOs a wealth of insights, strategies, and practical tools to help them lead with purpose, build resilience, foster collaboration, and drive innovation. Each month addressed critical leadership challenges, providing a structured path for leaders to move from Good to Greater. Membership in the Alchemists Forum further amplified these learnings by offering a trusted, collaborative environment where ideas were transformed into meaningful actions.

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Your Mission to Transform Yourself, Your Leadership Team, and Your Business to Embrace ESG and the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

As a business owner or CEO, navigating uncertainty and adversity is an inevitable part of leadership. To successfully lead through these challenges, one must balance two essential elements: hope for the future and a clear-eyed understanding of current reality. This duality is captured in a powerful concept known as the Stockdale Paradox.

As a business owner and CEO, leadership is a journey shaped by insights, experiences, and the people you encounter along the way. For me, one of the most transformative leadership experiences came from studying the turnaround of Harley-Davidson.

As a business owner or CEO, confronting and embracing dyslexia can be both empowering and challenging. Dyslexia, often misunderstood as a limitation, can also be a source of untapped potential and strength.

Business peer groups have proven to be transformative environments for CEOs and business owners, offering collective wisdom, accountability, and support.

Alan Branagh, a seasoned performance coach with over 40 years of global corporate experience, has built his coaching philosophy on lessons learned directly from two of the greatest pioneers in performance coaching: Sir John Whitmore and Tim Gallwey.