Supply Chain Focus - Guest Blog: Clan Alchemy & The Productivity Agency
January 16, 2026
We work best side by side, because between us we cover both halves of the same challenge. Neil focuses on the people side of change, how we think, interpret, communicate and behave. Nadia focuses on the process side, how work is structured and flows through an organisation. On their own, each of those matters. Together, they’re what make things actually work.
On your own, you don’t really need a procedure, you just do the work in your way. Add more people, and now you need a process. But the moment that process is interpreted differently, you’re back to people again. And round it goes.
That’s the space we spend most of our time in, the gap between a good idea and something that works consistently in the real world. It’s where friction tends to show up, but it’s also where the biggest gains are made when you get it right.
As the Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport continues to expand, we’re looking forward to helping organisations make the most of that vital connection between people and process and turning good intentions into work that genuinely works.
Q&A
1. Can you introduce your business and what you do?
At its simplest, we help organisations get ready for what lies ahead and then support them in making it work once they’re there. Between Clan Alchemy and The Productivity Agency, we bring both sides of the picture into focus. Most of the businesses we work with are already good at what they do. The challenge tends to show up when things start to change, when more people get involved, or when work begins to stretch across teams, functions, or locations.
That’s usually when things starts to slip and all of a sudden, decisions take longer to make and what looked straightforward on paper becomes harder to deliver in reality. Neil’s work focuses on how people make sense of what’s in front of them, how they interpret situations, interact with others, and navigate uncertainty when things aren’t black and white. Nadia’s work looks at the process side, how work actually flows, where decisions sit, and where things get stuck or slow down.
Put the two together, and you get a clearer, more joined-up way of working.
2. How do your products or services support businesses looking to invest, build, or expand in the Green Freeport?
The Green Freeport brings a different kind of opportunity; Growth with lots of moving parts all at once. What we tend to see is that organisations are already very good at what they do. The capability is there. The challenge is that as things scale or speed up, the people side and the operational side don’t always stay as aligned as the delivery itself.
That’s where we come in, bringing together Clan Alchemy and The Productivity Agency to look at both sides of that at the same time. Between us, we work with the human dynamics of how organisations behave and the practical mechanics of working together. It usually starts with slowing things down just enough to see them clearly, then getting the right people in a room, mapping what’s really happening day to day, and surfacing where different assumptions are quietly sitting underneath the same plan.
From there, we look at roles, decision points, and the places where clarity matters most. Not to add complexity, but to remove the friction that builds up when strong teams are working hard but not quite in sync. Our aim is simple: to help organisations keep doing what they already do well, just with less effort lost in translation.
3. What sets your business apart — why should investors and partners work with you?
What tends to set us apart is that we don’t arrive trying to replace what’s already there. We start with it. Most organisations don’t need another framework or a new way of describing the world. They need a clearer line of sight on what’s already happening, and where things are starting to drift.
That often means having conversations that feel almost obvious once they’re spoken but haven’t quite been had yet. Things like who actually owns something, or where a decision really sits in practice rather than on paper.
A lot of the value is in creating the right conditions for those conversations to happen properly. Not forcing them and not softening them either. We’re there to help people see each other more clearly, and to take what’s already working and make it sit together more smoothly.
4. How are you contributing to the wider Highland economy, community, or sustainability goals?
We both live and work in the Highlands, so this isn’t abstract for us. It’s home. We want to see the region do well in a very real sense with good work landing well for the people and organisations here.
Between Clan Alchemy and The Productivity Agency, we also bring a slightly different angle to the region. Neither of us are originally from here, so we’ve come with an outside perspective, and we’ve chosen to build our work here and stay here. That combination helps. It means we can sometimes spot things that are harder to see when you’re right in the middle of them, while still being fully invested in the outcomes locally.
There’s already a huge amount of capability across the Highlands with strong people, strong organisations, and a real sense of community. A lot of what we do is about helping that capability show up more clearly so good work doesn’t get slowed down or lost in translation.
We’re also both trustees and involved in community-focused organisations, which keeps us close to what’s happening on the ground in a very direct way. We don’t think there are many people in the region working quite at this mix of people and process in a way that’s both practical. For us, it’s about helping make sure the Highlands can take hold of the opportunities coming its way and actually enjoy delivering them.
5. Looking ahead, what opportunities do you see for your sector within the Green Freeport?
There’s a lot of focus on the visible opportunities - energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, and everything that they support. But the less visible opportunity sits in how well all of that connects up, because none of us is smarter than all of us. The capability is already here in the Highlands, the people, the skills, the track record. The real shift comes when all of that starts to come together in new combinations, as organisations start working alongside each other in ways that aren’t always familiar.
Beyond that, there’s something even more important emerging: organisations getting really clear on their purpose, why they exist, what they stand for, and how that shows up in the work they do day to day. That kind of clarity doesn’t just improve delivery; it helps attract and keep great people. And over time, it’s part of what gives younger people in the Highlands a stronger reason to stay, build their lives and careers here, and help shape what the region becomes next, and how successful that story is.
Interested? Find out more...
Neil can be contacted at neil@clan-alchemy.co.uk and Nadia's email is nadia@theproductivityagency.co.uk
