Opening doors for
ambitious businesses

Best Proactive
Energising Relationships

Best Proactive is a business relationships practice that specialises in helping companies large and small to create positive networks for doing business more effectively.

Our expertise is in helping clients to open doors, forge links and create an environment in which to expand and develop.

Services include effective networking, representation at events, speaking at conferences, creating business links, board development, corporate planning facilitation, visioning, executive mentoring and establishing pre-contract relationships.

Track Record

Best Proactive is led by John Best, a dynamic leader with an enviable track record in developing businesses and organisations in sectors ranging from energy, enterprise and marine to waste, safety and retail. This has been delivered through commercial, membership, not for profit, associations and voluntary organisations.

His experience encompassed senior roles with a commercial waste operator and an enterprise partnership before he conceived and founded the East of England Energy Group (EEEGR) and became its first chief executive. EEEGR quickly became the region’s leading membership organisation and lobby group for the energy industry.

John went on to become head of sustainable energy for James Fisher & Sons PLC.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a member of the Institute of Leadership and Management and the Institute of Waste Management. He is also an ILM Level 5 business coach and an ambassador for the Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) Network.

John serves as a trustee for the PETANS training centre and for six years was non-executive chairman of the Beach radio station.

Focused Services

Best Proactive’s services are highly focused on creating the right environment for effective business.

Effective Networking

Turning up at an event and handing out as many business cards as you can isn’t networking. Making networking work involves research, planning, targeting, talking, listening and following up. It’s important to do it. But it’s vital to do it properly.

Coaching and Mentoring

Developing your team is key to developing your business. We will share our experience in building strong teams to grow businesses and membership organisations to help your company to find and nurture the star performers of the future.

Creating Links

Business happens between people not companies, but establishing connections with the people you want to do business with can often be tricky. We’re here to break down barriers, build bridges and create links with the people that can help your business to grow, through the focus of mutual benefit.

International

Sustainable business should not be constrained by borders and boundaries. We have experience of helping to forge links with key individuals and organisations in many different countries. We can also help you to work effectively with UKTI.

Board Development

We’ve established and supported boards of directors and trustees to help them work together more effectively and develop a structure of good governance that benefits an organisation at its highest level. Our experience can help your board to reduce meeting times, speed up decision-making and work compliantly.

Representation

Not everyone is comfortable speaking at conferences or pitching ideas to a group. So let us take centre stage on your behalf to deliver your paper, promote your services or express your views with authority. We’ll do our homework, prepare thoroughly and represent you with confidence.

Working with Academia

Our schools, colleges and universities are a rich source of talent for our future business needs. Encouraging your staff to engage positively in the process provides benefits for all. We have great experience and links to help make this happen effectively for you.

Visioning

Companies and organisations often need a little outside perspective when they’re moving to a new phase in their development. We’re experienced in facilitating planning sessions to help companies large and small to choose the right path for the road ahead.

Resource Management

If you always do what you’ve always done, you will always get what your always got! Let us bring a fresh set of eyes to your business process and critically challenge where simple change can make a significant difference to the bottom line.

Innovation

Innovation is the life blood for any business. It keeps them competitive and at the cutting edge. But frequently the processes needed to deliver improvements through innovation get lost in the day to day challenges of running the business. We have experience of helping you to navigate your way to successs.

Funding

Good business ideas should be supported by funding rather than seen simply a way of drawing money in. Funds can provide critical support to achieve specific milestones, but sustainable development is demonstrated by continued value added. We can help you in applications, management and monitoring of funding opportunities.

Scene Setting

The success of contract negotiations can often depend on how well you know the other side. Best Proactive can help you research their background, identify the key players and markets and provide an informed framework that sets the scene for your submission.

The Advantages

There are a number of advantages in engaging with Best Proactive for the development of your business.

Cost

Contracting with a consultancy for specific areas of work on a daily rate or retainer is highly cost effective and doesn’t add to your fixed salary costs.

Focus

We have a wide range of experience but are clearly focused on areas that we view as the most crucial for the development of most organisations – clients, potential clients, key staff and the board. People are good for business.

Expertise

We know what makes a business tick and can use all our years of experience to help yours to climb towards its full potential.

Testimonials

John Best was first introduced to me in 2010, when Marine Power Systems was in its embryonic stages of development. Since this time I have engaged with John on a number of occasions, maintaining a strong working relationship, always benefiting from his support and guidance.

He is an utterly motivated, proactive individual, with the determination to help both people and companies of all scales; willing to exploit his highly credible network of trusted experts to assist, whilst calling on his own wealth of experience.

John consulted us at a pivotal time in our business. A time when we required both barriers to be broken down, so that we were talking directly to the best qualified personnel in the marine energy sector; and also a time in which we were seeking finance to support our growth.

His ability to assimilate our needs efficiently and subsequently establish the correct contacts & investors helped us enormously; ultimately excelling our growth and development circa 12 months sooner than would have occurred otherwise. A consummate professional, who would prove to be an asset in any organisation he resides.

Dr Gareth Stockman
Managing Director
Marine Power Systems

I am Chairman of two companies, De Flow Ltd formed in 1994 and Neftemer Ltd formed in 2006. Our connection with John started when the above companies joined EEEGR (East of England Energy Group) in 2009. With John’s assistance we developed business contacts in Southern USA and a long term business relationship with companies connected with and in Brazil.

John’s business advice is alwass very practical, knowledgeable and helpful.

I will be happy to provide direct references for John if requested.

David Whittingham
Chairman
Neftemer Ltd

John Best is the ultimate connector of people and companies. As the originator and first chief executive of the East of England Energy Group, one of his principal aims was to provide effective networking opportunities for companies in the energy supply chain, and to give those companies a strong voice at local, regional and national government levels.
He did this most efficiently, helping companies large and small to forge links, do business and connect with some of the country’s key decision-makers.

He undoubtedly played an important part in helping my own company, TMS Media, to gain a foothold in the energy sector and to become a leading supplier of PR and marketing services to oil & gas and renewables companies.

Steve Scott
Managing Director
TMS Media

I have known John in a professional capacity and as a good friend for the past decade and have great pleasure in providing a testimonial in support of the value proposition that I know he can bring to organisations. I trust and respect him implicitly and have absolutely no hesitation in recommending him as a safe, reliable value adding business advisor.

John is an excellent communicator and connector of people seeking to discuss possibilities around potential new business ventures. Additionally, he has an extremely good working knowledge and understanding of the Energy sector – upstream, midstream and downstream and the supply chains and client organisations who they serve. He is one of the strongest and most well respected networkers I know in the sector and lying behind his pleasant and friendly character is a steely determination to get things done and make changes for the better. This was particularly apparent during my time at the industry Association Oil and Gas UK where we jointly progressed many pan-industry business improvement initiatives during John’s time at the helm of EEEGR as their Chief Executive.

He is able to act highly effectively at all levels – Government officials, trade association bodies, executives within client organisations and practitioners and also more junior staff within organisations where he has a clear passion for helping people develop skills and succession planning.

I value John as an industry colleague and friend very much.

Professor Norman McLennan, FRICS, FCIPS, FIIAPS
The Robert Gordon University Aberdeen & Former VP Supply Chain for Sasol Exploration and Production International