Island ‘decelerator’ for stressed execs suffering from work burnout 

Scotland’s first ‘business decelerator’ – a retreat for corporate executives seeking to reinvent themselves and their organisations – is returning to the Isle of Bute this autumn.

While Glasgow hosts the delayed climate change conference Cop26, the west coast island will attract changemakers from business and non-profit sectors who are considering the post-pandemic future of work.

Geneva-based Gib Bulloch founded the Craigberoch Decelerator Lab on his native Isle of Bute in 2019.

The Lab is an immersive programme with a cast of trainers and performers that helps participants to slow down and reconnect with nature.

Bulloch said: “Alongside the current Covid-19 pandemic, we are witnessing a pandemic of burnout in the workplace as people work ever longer hours. The boundaries between work and home life have never been so blurred.

“We are so busy doing what we’re doing that we’ve lost track of where we’re going. We hope to show business leaders how accelerating change starts with slowing down.”

Bulloch is an award-winning social intrapreneur – a manager within a company who promotes innovative product development and marketing – who founded and scaled Accenture Development Partnerships and is the author of ‘The Intrapreneur: Confessions of a Corporate Insurgent.’ 

He added: “If business is to step up to the transformation challenge of creating a net-zero economy, it will need a workforce that is more inspired, more engaged and less burnt out.” 

Bulloch also believes Scotland can become a leading destination for global leaders as the pandemic redefines the future of work.

He said: “Rural isolation, once the Achilles heel of many remote communities in Scotland, can become a comparative advantage.  We think our model on Bute can be developed and taken to other parts of Scotland, creating a network of rural business decelerators.”

Craigberoch’s autumn schedule consists of two broad programmes that will run during September, and again when Cop26 takes place in November.  

The Decelerator Lab will run between 10-13 September and 8-12 November.  

“BE on Bute”, Craigberoch’s co-being residencies, range from a few days to several weeks, with participants able to use local co-working facilities or take part in optional creative activities.