Next-Up

29/09/2026

New HR Magazine coverage: 68% of people out of work aged 50–64 say they'd like to work. That's hundreds of thousands of experienced people the labour market is leaving on the sidelines.

Our founder Victoria Tomlinson is quoted urging HR leaders to look at their own numbers: is your recruitment process actually letting older workers through the door?

Every board, CEO and HR director should know the answer.

https://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/content/news/seven-in-10-unemployed-over-50s-want-to-work-ons-reveals

24/09/2026

📕 Expiry Date Never is 99p!

To celebrate the launch of Expiry Date Never – Age is the New Superpower, we’ve managed to bring our special Kindle offer forward.

So, for a limited time, you can download the Kindle edition for less than the price of a cup of coffee (considerably less these days!).

The book challenges the outdated idea that our opportunities diminish as we get older. It’s about what comes next – in work, life and everything in between – and why experience has never mattered more.

If it’s been sitting on your “I really must read that” list, this is your sign…
👉 Get your Kindle copy for 99p via this link https://shortifyme.co/6jAIk

And if you do read it, we would love you to write a review on Amazon

17/09/2026

Thank you Dr Shaheena Janjuha-Jivraj, PhD, FRSA for this wonderful Forbes article! It sums up beautifully what we are arguing about living longer lives and what employers and governments need to do.

Our conclusion that in 100 years our great great grandchildren will wonder what on earth retirement was. It is incredibly unhealthy. If we think our social care is a problem now, wait and see what happens when thousands of people aged over 50 can't get jobs, will have used savings, unlikely to have strong sense of purpose and highly likely to be more at risk of Alzheimer's - ten years earlier.

Keep people actively engaged and they can be net contributors - Sir David Attenborough should not be an anomaly. It will have to become normal to see people aged 80, 90, 100 working in our offices. Not necessarily full time, but having experience that is valuable to draw on.

We are currently wasting this experience. My book www.expirydatenever.co.uk outlines what I believe needs to happen.

15/09/2026

Michael Clinton spent 23 years at Hearst Magazines - home to titles including Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper's Bazaar and Esquire - rising to President and Publishing Director and taking the business from print into a social following of over 32 million. Since leaving Hearst, he's founded ROAR Forward, a media and insights platform focused on the 50+ generation, and written ROAR: Into the Second Half of Your Life and his forthcoming book, Longevity Nation (Atria Books, May 2026). He sits on the board of The Stanford Center on Longevity and was named to Estée Lauder's inaugural Longevity Collective in 2023.

In this episode, Victoria Tomlinson talks to Michael about what his years at Hearst taught him about who publishing has - and hasn't - served, how the 50+ market breaks down into very different life stages, where he sees publishing heading next and how ROAR Forward has developed since launch.

Expiry Date Never is the podcast from Victoria Tomlinson's book of the same name (Pearson, September 2026), making the case that the 50+ generation is an under-used advantage for business, not a problem to manage.

Michael Clinton spent 23 years at Hearst Magazines - home to titles including Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper's Bazaar and Esquire - rising to President and Publishing Director and taking the business from print into a social following of over 32 million. Since leaving Hearst, he's founded ROAR Forward,....

14/09/2026

Last weekend Victoria Tomlinson had the amazing experience of speaking at the Financial Times Weekend Festival.

She talked about putting your connections, CV and LinkedIn through AI and asking to see patterns you might have missed, work out who can help you - with what, what skills you need to develop for the future and where your markets are going. And more.

16/06/2026

Getting charity roles is often harder than people expect. We will show you how - join our webinar series

A charity role can be a first step to wide-ranging experience for jobs and board roles, giving back and helping others, widening networks, using your skills, and developing your skills.

Print 🖨

15/06/2026

Three webinars. One goal - getting you into the trustee role!

30 June — Get a Trustee Role
What trusteeship actually involves, what boards are really looking for, and how to find the right charity fit. With experienced trustees Roderick Roman and Judith Donovan CBE

7 July — Build Your Brand
The specific steps most people skip. What do you bring to a board? Too many think about ‘sharing their experience’ – you need to forget that and focus on the gaps around a board and what THEY are looking for.

14 July — Meet the Trustees
A panel of working trustees sharing how they got there, what the role is really like - chosen from YOUR areas of interest.

60 minutes each. Live online. Practical throughout plus the first ten to register for the full series get free individual CV feedback from Victoria.

Please find all the details on how to register here 👇
https://lnkd.in/eWgnDH_d

19/02/2026

Our next in-person Professional Services Retirement Forum is coming up and honestly, this conversation has never felt more relevant.

“Retirement” is still a word many partners don’t want to talk about.

In theory, succession starts years out. Clients transition smoothly. Partners leave on a high.

Instead it's often completely avoided so clients are unclear of plans, teams demotivated and partners - after 20 or 30 loyal years - feel no-one cares about them.

This isn’t just a retirement conversation.

It’s about taking the long view - how professional services firms build value, continuity and options across the entire partner lifecycle.

The smartest firms are already thinking differently - turning experience, alumni networks and AI into long-term competitive advantage.

That’s what we’ll be exploring together.

📅 Monday 23 March
👥 For HR Business Partners and People Leaders supporting partner transitions

We’re joined by Avivah Wittenberg-Cox, Roderick Roman, Louise Ballard (Moody), and Jonathan Routledge, plus senior leaders sharing insights from our Next-Up Navigator pilot.

This is a closed forum designed for open, honest discussion. If you’re responsible for partner continuity, succession or long-term value, we’d love you in the room.

Please contact [email protected] if you would like further details.

19/02/2026

Jonny Ross is running a hands-on workshop in Leeds:
NotebookLM for Websites: Fix What’s Not Working and Feel Proud Again

And we are going to be there. Are you?

📅 Friday 20 March 2026 | Leeds | 9:30–4:30
You’ll leave with a configured NotebookLM workspace + a practical 90-day WebProud plan for your own site.

Save the date: Friday 20th March (Leeds)

Most SME websites aren’t broken.
They’re just… not right.

The content’s grown.
The message has drifted.
And deep down, you’re not as proud of it as you should be.

In March, we’re running a small, in-person workshop for SME founders and marketers using NotebookLM, Google’s best-kept AI secret, to fix what’s not working and rebuild confidence in your website.

No hype.
No “AI slop” nonsense.
Just practical clarity.

More details soon - but if this already sounds familiar, keep the date free.