Jonathon Bentley - Bentley Project Management
Jonathon Bentley, Managing Director at Bentley Project Management, completed the Help to Grow: Management programme at Nottingham University Business School in 2021 and returned in October 2023 to attend the new Executive Education Ultimate Scale Up programme.
Bentley Project Management delivers large scale strategic residential and commercial schemes from inception, through viability and feasibility, to onsite delivery across the UK for public and private sectors. The Help to Grow: Management programme is designed to help small and medium sized businesses, like Bentley Project Management, to learn and develop strategies for growth and resilience.
Looking back at his experiences of the programme, Jonathon said: "The Help To Grow: Management programme really helped me to take a step back from our business and look at where we needed to focus our attention. It came at the right time as we were looking to ensure the necessary infrastructure was in place to support long-term, sustainable growth."
The Ultimate Scale Up programme was the next obvious step for me and really allowed me to prioritise what was important in our business and develop strategies to grow the business further. I would recommend to any business owner. It will really help you understand where the challenges and opportunities are around growing a business.
When asked which aspects of the programme he found most effective and interesting, Jonathon said: “I found the master classing sessions, where business owners present a business challenge to a small group of other business owners, particularly useful. Using coaching techniques, you are able to look at the challenge or opportunity from different perspectives. It was an excellent way to share challenges and find solutions.
Business leaders often think that taking time away from the day-to-day running of their companies is risky but Jonathon highlighted the benefits of doing so for his business:
As the managing director, taking time away from the business (whilst on the programme) allowed me to develop ideas to take back and share with the board. Doing so allowed the company to see things more strategically and it will see the benefit from some of the ideas presented throughout the programme.
Reflecting on his experience at Nottingham University Business School, Jonathon said, “I had an excellent experience. A good range of businesses participated, and the facilitation and facilities were brilliant. It was a worthwhile experience with a high calibre of material that has come at the right time in our business growth."
Find out more about the Help to Grow: Management and Ultimate Scale Up programmes.
