Our vision at Distillery is simple: happy people doing great work in successful organisations. We uncover the obstacles to this ideal and help our clients find elegant ways to solve them.
Distillery’s partners are Jeremy Timm and Michael Henderson. We have a combined 18 years experience in South Africa’s National Treasury where we worked prior to establishing Distillery. Before that, we worked for the private sector and for development organisations.
The company name came from our belief in the power of getting to the essence of things, first and foremost. The moment when our clients find the clarity they’ve been looking for provides the motivation for our work.
We’re both trained in Gestalt OD and use this methodology in our personal and professional lives. We have a network of senior and junior associates that we use for projects in South Africa and internationally.
Why our clients choose us
We like our work
This means our senior team are intimately involved on projects figuring out how best to support our clients, not leaving the work to junior analysts while they chase the next job. And retirement. We like this work, that’s why we do it.
We want to positively impact the world, just like our clients
Our path for this is through our clients, which means we have a vested interest in their success. We believe in the quality of our offering and we charge accordingly, but our energy comes from opportunities for positive change.
We support our client’s development, not their dependence
We believe in our clients. We give them the help they need to get clarity and build commitment and then we get out of their way. Our clever perspective isn’t the point – our clients’ learning is.
The Partners
Distillery’s partners are Jeremy Timm and Michael Henderson. They have a combined 18 years experience in South Africa’s National Treasury where they worked prior to establishing Distillery. Before that, they worked in the private and development sectors.
The company name came from their belief in the power of getting to the essence of an issue, first and foremost. The moment of clarity when the core of an issue is unveiled is the spark that provides the motivation for their work.
They’re both trained in Gestalt OD and use this methodology in their personal and professional lives. Distillery has a network of senior and junior associates for projects in South Africa and internationally.
Michael
Michael spent the first 10 years of his career in the private sector (in financial services in the UK and consulting on private sector development in Southeast Asia) before returning to South Africa to pursue an interest in psychology. Human behaviour remains his principal interest, and he’s applied this through organisational development projects for an oil major and retail organisations, as well as leadership development, coaching, thought partnership and performance management initiatives in the public sector.
He’s a big believer in Einstein’s assertion that “unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.” He lives in Cape Town and is currently writing a novel.
Jeremy
Jeremy is fascinated by the human condition and how humans engage with each other. He trained as a city and regional planner and ever since has been exploring what gets in the way of great plans being implemented. He loves looking at issues from different attitudes and altitudes. He’s worked within, and as a consultant to, all three spheres of the South African public service. He lives in Johannesburg, though a large part of his heart is in the Eastern Cape.
How we work
The following principles guide how we work:
We’re optimists. And realists. We believe everyone is doing the best they can in their current circumstances and that positivity is the most powerful lever for change.
We believe in the power of affirmation. We like pointing out what people and teams are good at. Sometimes they don’t know. Startling things happen when they find out.
We believe in energy. It always tells the truth. We track the ebb and flow of energy in people and organisations and use it to direct our work.
We believe in paradox. Slowing down allows us to go faster. Spending energy to finish something often leaves us more energised. Change is possible when we fully understand the starting point.
We believe ‘should’ is a dangerous word. Many things get lost in it. Everyone is different. Every team is different. When people only do what they ‘should’ do, uniqueness is lost, potential evaporates, there’s no room for creativity, and…
We’re big believers in creativity. We don’t believe it’s confined to ad agencies and art studios. Creativity is the channel that allows our clients to discover what they thought they didn’t know.
We enjoy our work. We hope you will as well.