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  Waywood Training Leadership

Waywood Training is part of Waywood Enterprises Limited, a UK limited company.  Director and company founder is Dr Stuart Wood.

  Business, Education & Training Experience

Stuart worked in the pharmaceutical industry for more than 18 years. After 8 years in clinical research he also embraced an educational role which evolved into a full time technical and medical support and educational role to clinicians and healthcare professionals on aspects of virology, immunology and oncology.  He also provided internal training support to sales and marketing staff, was an active member of numerous cross-functional teams.  During this time he visited Loughborough University to teach undergraduates and postgraduates and also give talks for the University Careers service.

In parallel to his business career, Stuart visited schools to run creative percussion workshops for children and teachers.

He passionately believes in people and helping each individual to achieve their full potential.  His passion is 'making the complex easy' so that everyone benefits.

Stuart accepted redundancy from the pharmaceutical industry mid-2007 and subsequently established Waywood Enterprises Limited.

  Academic Background

Stuart obtained a first class honours degree in Medicinal & Pharmaceutical Chemistry, going on to obtain his PhD in neuropharmacology, specialising in narcotic analgesia.

During his time in industry Stuart obtained a distinction in the Diploma of Clinical Sciences from Cardiff University and was also accredited with the professional status of Chartered Chemist (CChem).

  Key Presentation Skills Training

Stuart was asked about the diversity of training offered: Isn't it a bit too diverse?

"I guess that depends on whether diversity is seen as something positive or something negative. The diversity of training I offer comes from the diversity of the things I do and have done: my life experience and my life skills. I see these as complimentary not exclusive.

If you think about most of my academic and business experience, it's been focussed on communication, relationships, getting things done and helping others do the same. For the last 6 years I was in the Pharmaceutical Industry nearly 90% of my time was spent giving presentations, talks and training to a whole host of different people: doctors, surgeons, scientists, specialists, generalists, nurses, administrators, sales, marketing, colleagues, meetings and so on. During that time I got a pretty good feel for what I do well (because my audience told me) and I also spent a lot of time improving what I didn't do so well.

My skills are definitely focussed around interpersonal interactions and helping others understand and presentation was my bread and butter: I had to do it well as a lot of the company's business success depended on it. So, helping others learn about presenting is something in which I have a great deal of experience and it uses my strengths. Most people seem to hate presenting and public speaking: apparently it's No. 1 on The Greatest Fears surveys(though I'm sure that relates to the audience asked!). I enjoy it. I really do.  strange I know, but as I've been giving talks in school, church, Sunday School since I was pretty young, in my early teens I guess, I think I've done my apprenticeship and know I have a lot of experience that can help others.

So to answer your original question, 'No, I don't think I'm being too diverse: my life experience is diverse and I'm just sharing that with others."

  The Clinical Trial Experience & Clinical Trials for Non-Experts

Stuart was asked how he came up with the idea of The Clinical Trial Experience.

"Having left the industry and started helping out with the STEM Ambassador scheme, it became apparent that schools really are interested in the whole clinical trial thing.  I was surprised recently to see that Health & Social Care and Psychology A-levels both look at clinical trials (also called drug trials) as part of their syllabus. So it's not just 'the scientists' that have an interest in this type of work. Students from Key Stage 3 upwards seem very interested in why we have trials, how they're run, how we can be sure that the results are valid, what happens when things go wrong; all that kind of stuff. But there's a lot of ignorance out there thanks to unbalanced media hype which presents a distorted image especially when something goes wrong, which as with any experiment, it can do. My background puts me in an ideal position to pass on my expertise, experience and knowledge in a balanced and hopefully, understandable way. So, I developed The Clinical Trial Experience which allows children, teachers, adults, in fact whoever wants to use the training, to run their own mini clinical trial, without drugs or needles! They get involved with all sorts of decision-making from start to finish.  My ability to make complex things easy to understand allows me to pass this information on in a way that is accessible even to those with little or no formal science training, whilst my academic background allows me to present this information in universities and to professional societies.  There seems to be a lack of awareness outside the pharmaceutical industry of just what types of jobs are available once you're in, so I'm able to help 'on the careers front' as well."

And what about Clinical Trials for Non-Experts?

"During my time in the pharmaceutical industry I met many people from inside and outside the company who had little or no idea about clinical trials. I worked with a good number of these on a daily basis. Since leaving the industry I am still asked by a wide range of people about my work and exactly what clinical trials involve. It seems that if you're in the know you're fine, but finding someone prepared to sit down and explain things in simple terms that non-specialists and people with no scientific background can understand is very difficult. I guess that like so many other 'specialist' areas it's very easy to look inward and become exclusive, rather than looking outward to include people who could be so valuable to expanding our ideas and processes: you don't have to be a scientist or a medic to say something valid. So, I developed the One Day Course for Non-Experts which helps those who feel they know nothing, to find out more. I'm reassured by those who have taken the time to give me their opinion that I make this information accessible, easy to understand and memorable. I think this may be helped by my passion for demystifying some of our 'sacred cows' and helping others to understand for themselves. When I achieve that, I'm happy!"

  Music & Arts Experience

Stuart started playing drums at 19, taking up world percussion some 10 years later.  Over the years he has worked, played sessions and recorded with a wide range of bands; locally, nationally and internationally.  His playing experience includes working with Psalm Drummers where he was also one of five drummers involved in the 2005 procession and enthronement of Rev Dr John Sentamu as Archbishop of York and also playing at the Calling All Nations event in July 2006 at the Olympiastadion, Berlin. 

His CD, Soundscapes, using nearly 100 different percussion instruments (plus a few melodic ones) was released to critical acclaim in 1998.  The year 2002 saw fulfilment of another project with publication of Friendship is a Verb (in a hurting world), a book of poetry and thoughts on friendships and relationships, written by Stuart after a period of serious illness.

Stuart has run various percussion workshops for all ages, inspiring and encouraging others to discover their own creativity.  His work in schools was broadened as he combined his experiences to create workshops which supported and revised various aspects of the Key stage 1 and Key Stage 2 curriculum.

Stuart has also used his knowledge of the instruments, his science and industry background and his music experiences to produce workshops meeting specific needs for customers from a range of different backgrounds.

  Some Final Thoughts on Creativity

So what are your thoughts on creativity?

"This is one of my soap boxes!  Perhaps because I have streaks of scientist and musician running through me, I find creativity an easy concept. It's something I do, often without thinking about it. I think creativity is very important for success and fulfilment; in business; education; in daily life.

How many of us lack confidence or feel lost when it comes to being creative? Our last spark of creativity was probably extinguished during our education where logical, structured, deductive reasoning was our measure of success: we learnt to gets ticks, to get the answer right. Any crosses on our page were signs of failure. We didn't focus on how we could improve; we just needed to get top marks.

The sad thing is that our education switched on only half of our brain for most of the time! Perhaps things are getting better but I still see much confusion in education with my children and a lack of clarity. We seem to confuse creativity with chaos; throwing loads of techniques at our children from an ever younger age and expect them to survive. Some do; but some don't.

But we are most effective and productive when we engage our whole brain (surprise! surprise!) and that includes the less organised, less predictable, emotional aspects of our intelligence. When we use it all, I believe we start to become creative.

Creativity drives innovation, another buzzword. Innovation makes connections which may be obvious when pointed out, but were previously unseen. The result is that we create something new: a process, a product, a service, a new way of thinking, a new method or new idea. These in-turn create new opportunities with increased potential for success.

But creativity and innovation are not impersonal entities or commodities, neither are they self-starting or self-perpetuating. Creativity and innovation are qualities of human beings and we don't have to be the most powerful people to use them or drive them. By contributing our individual skills to our team, we are a remarkably powerful force. We help create within a team and it's creative teams that drive innovation.

I believe passionately in the value of each individual and the contribution they make. I hope that through my activities I can help others achieve their full potential, whether that's in business, in education or in life. When they start to discover their skills and abilities and their creativity, and see how they can use these there is huge potential for success, however we describe it."

Download our '5 Simple Steps to Creative Thinking & Idea Generation' leaflet in PDF format

"The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect alone, but by play instinct"
Karl Jung

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