Lorna Cobbett: Founder of Blue John, How trauma led me to become a female founder
My Duvet Flip by Jack Parsons
Jack Parsons
4.2 • 5 Ratings
🗓️ 15 October 2024
⏱️ 44 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Check out Lorna’s LinkedIn here:
Episode Guest
Meet Lorna Cobbett, Founder at Blue John.
Lorna founded Blue John, a reputation management consultancy, in 2024 following a 12-year career in strategic communications.
A former investment banker, she started her career in 2001 in London and spent eight years working for Citi and Goldman Sachs. Lorna’s career in strategic communications included being a Partner at Bell Pottinger, Managing Director at Hawthorn Advisors, and UK CEO at Citigate Dewe Rogerson.
Lorna is a senior, trusted advisor for companies and leaders across a range of sectors and works with public companies, private companies, and start-ups.
She has extensive experience in reputation management, transactions, crisis and change management.
Outside of work, Lorna is married with 8-year-old triplets (Roman, Essie and Eva). Essie was life limited and will be forever 18 months old.
Lorna and her family support Chestnut Tree House, the children’s hospice that Essie went to, and she also is a parent ambassador for Together for Short Lives. She is a passionate social mobility champion and a founder member of The 93% Professionals.
Episode Timestamps
00:00 Introduction and Personal Philosophy
03:01 Career Journey: From McDonald's to Tesco
05:54 The Importance of Learning and Adaptability
09:12 Entrepreneurial Spirit and Corporate Challenges
12:04 Navigating New Work Environments
15:08 The Impact of Labels and Societal Expectations
17:55 Transitioning from Investment Banking to Entrepreneurship
21:01 The Birth of Blue John and Its Mission
23:51 Personal Loss and Its Influence on Life Perspective
26:46 Empathy and Support for Others
30:10 Life Lessons and Career Reflections
33:11 Essie's Legacy and Motivation
35:49 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Episode Partner
Blue John is a reputation management consultancy for companies and leaders facing growth or change.
They advise brands to ‘start with your truth’ and deliver reputation management consultancy through advisory, strategic communications, transaction support or change management.
Often it is a combination of all these areas, as Blue John recognise that each company (or leader) is on their own journey, and it is rarely linear.
Blue John is there to stand alongside brands, however and whenever they need them.
Everything for reputation, for reputation is everything.
Support Links: https://www.togetherforshortlives.org.uk/
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Whenever you start a job, you want to prove yourself, you want to be successful. |
| 0:04.0 | I always say look in before you look out. |
| 0:06.0 | You don't know the qualities of the people that you work with first. |
| 0:09.0 | Don't even bother looking outside because you haven't really understood it fully internally. |
| 0:13.0 | If you don't know, ask. |
| 0:16.0 | There's no such thing as a stupid question, |
| 0:18.0 | but if you ask the same question three times, I'll think you're stupid. |
| 0:22.1 | Yeah, there you go. |
| 0:23.1 | Lorna Cobbett, founder and CEO of Blue John, we're a reputation management consultancy |
| 0:30.8 | with a team of 20 people and this is my debate flip. Tell me about Blue John. What I wanted |
| 0:35.9 | to do with Blue John was to advise companies and leaders that were facing growth or change. |
| 0:40.3 | One of the words that we talk about a lot of Blue John is consequences. |
| 0:43.3 | So if we're going to do this, what's the consequences? |
| 0:46.3 | And even if you choose to do nothing, there's a consequence in doing nothing. |
| 0:49.3 | You lost your daughter? |
| 0:51.3 | Essie, yes. |
| 0:52.3 | I fell pregnant with triplets. My daughter, Essie, yes. I fell pregnant with triplets. |
| 0:55.0 | My daughter, Essie, suffered a brain injury at birth, which meant that she was life limited. |
| 1:00.3 | So when she was 11 days old, we knew that she wouldn't live beyond childhood. |
| 1:05.1 | Every day could be your last, and it's entirely up to you how you choose to live. What would you say is your life lesson? |
| 1:14.6 | It's that comment around do what makes you happy. |
| 1:16.6 | If you're not doing something that feels motivating and exciting to you, |
... |
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