About Brett
Change management and productivity coach
I help organisations improve workflow processes and productivity systems.
I also help environmentally conscious professionals find ways to save the planet, adapt their careers and still have a balanced life.
My Story
It is inevitable that sooner or later you will realise you need to make a change in your career or personal life. I have made many changes, and have achieved several of these ‘against the odds’. If you feel something ‘just isn’t possible’ then I can show you how to make it happen even when it seems highly unlikely. I can help you find the courage to make the changes you feel you need to make and guide you through the process.
I started my career in the iron & steel industry but I didn’t like the dirty and dangerous working environment, so I made a change and moved to the oil & gas industry. When I was passed over for promotion twice after being told I was doing well and would be promoted ‘soon’ I changed my role in the organisation by making an internal transfer to a different department. A few years later I was looking for a job in Cape Town so that I could study a part-time MBA at my first choice business school and miraculously found something.
However, ‘miracles’ don’t just happen, they are engineered and achieved by developing a clear vision, a resilient plan and lots of patience and perseverance. When I realised my work in the oil & gas industry was entrenching the climate change problem it took me three years to switch my career to the renewable energy industry as a way to work on climate change mitigation strategies. You too can make the changes you feel you want to make. Through your career, your interests and priorities will change and I can show you how to re-align your career to follow these important value drivers. Organisations work best when employees talents and purpose are aligned with the organisation’s mission and purpose.
The 2008 financial crisis presented me with my second of three career redundancy experiences. Despite being unemployed for a year and a half I still managed to dig myself out of the pit of despair I was in and find work that turned out to pay more than the job I was laid off from. I learnt some important lessons about resilience and I can teach you what you need to know when things get tough.
It is possible to make the changes you feel you want to make and I can guide you along the way.
My story
“It is possible to make the changes you feel you want to make and I can guide you along the way.”
Why Work With Me?
The scientist in me seeks truth through curiosity while the human in me seeks authenticity and the courage to remain aligned to my values. Ethics, sustainability, reliability, and resilience are my core values.
I believe the planet we live on is a breathtakingly beautiful place and I know that getting into nature recharges my soul and makes me feel alive. I want to live on a planet on which my children and everyone else can thrive and experience wellbeing. The futurist in me knows that with the growing size of the world’s population the only way this is going to be possible in the long run is to live and work ethically and sustainably.
I know that processes add value and systems deliver results, so whether you are an individual or an organisation I can help you re-engineer your performance and achieve your goals. I use analogies and metaphors to contextualise principles. If you like space and nature, then you’ll enjoy my approach to solving problems.
Qualifications & Awards
I am continuously learning, developing and acquiring new skills and insights. I cross-link multiple disciplines and build bridges between industries and organisational functions. I’ve used a hertzsprung-russell star classification chart to analyse marketing data in the oil and gas industry and chemical engineering process flow diagrams to improve corporate strategy workflows. I’ve taught myself to code in HTML, develop websites, edit videos and create sales funnels. I am currently studying meta-learning skills. My top five Cliffton strengths are futurist, learner, focused, relator and achiever.
Education
- Chemical Engineering
- MBA
- Honours: Gold medal
- M.Phil (Future Studies)
- Honours: cum laude
Experience
- Oil & Gas Industry
- Iron & Steel industry
- Power and Utilities
- Renewable Energy
- Personal Development
- Career Coaching
Recognition
- Chartered engineer
- Gold medal awarded on MBA course
- Certified Happy at Work career coach
Organisations I've worked for
"Brett is a person I was always able to count on"
Brett Dawson is a highly qualified professional with great technical capacity and excellent managerial skills.
I’ve cooperated with Brett Dawson on the 0,5 billion EUR CAPEX downstream Project in Gdansk, Poland (EFRA Project – Delayed Coker Complex, 2015-2020). The project was executed with Project Finance with Brett as a leading lender's technical advisor. Brett was responsible for overseeing the Project during its execution and also, what was really challenging, overseeing the 30 days lenders reliability test of the whole new-built plant. We were working together for approx. 5 years. The Project was full of challenges we had to go through together and I found Brett to be a fully professional counterparty that was always keen to help in solving problems. Brett is an incredibly reasonable guy who is able to predict the strategic outcome of the decisions and is a person I was always able to count on, perfect in building a confident relationship, having also a very strong technical background and project management skills. Finally, we did it, and nowadays the running plant is also Brett’s success!