Quote Station
"Analysis might excite the mind, but it hardly offers a route to the heart. And that’s where you must go if you are to motivate people not only to take action but to do so with energy and enthusiasm"
Stephen Denning
i have a confession
I have a confession: I once lived a double life. For almost twenty years I held strategic marketing and leadership roles for pharmaceutical and medical device companies. But secretly I was also learning to write short stories. Then in 2012 I started writing a novel.
Yes, I know what you’re thinking, but I actually finished it. The Birdman of Acton will (finally) be published in 2019, but back when I was battling to find an agent I realised that strategy and storytelling were complementary skills. For example, strategies often fail because leaders haven’t nailed the story. And so I started the Lee Farnsworth Agency to help leaders to get their strategy and their story right.
I call my company the Lee Farnsworth Agency but I will let you in on another secret: it’s mostly me. I don’t have staff but I do have a wide network of facilitators, trainers, designers, producers, actors, comedians and filmmakers that I can draw on as required.
about me
I grew up on a dairy farm in Lincolnshire alongside a pet cow called Stupid. When Stupid’s milking days were over I headed to Newcastle and gained a degree in Genetics and a doctorate for studies of the molecular biology of the mitochondrion. I’m pretty sure my PhD thesis is still the only one that opens with a biographical limerick.
I made the leap into Pharma sales with Napp in 1994 and a couple of years later transitioned into marketing. The next 15 years were spent at SmithKline Beecham/GSK and Allergan in strategic marketing and business leadership roles at UK, Nordics, US, European and Global levels. This included significant stints working with blockbusters Avandia and Botox. My pharma claim to fame is that I was invited to meet Muhammad Ali during my time working on Parkinson’s Disease. In my final role in the industry I was the VP and GM for Neurosciences (Botox) for the EAME region at Allergan.
I started the Lee Farnsworth Agency in 2013 and since then I have worked with more than 20 pharmaceutical, medical device and biotech clients.
When I take a break from being a one man agency I love reading, writing, hill walking, playing football (Seer Green 2017 Player of the Season!) and fig rolls.
For a more chronological and less idiosyncratic biography see linked in.
i have a confession
I have a confession: I once lived a double life. For almost twenty years I held strategic marketing and leadership roles for pharmaceutical and medical device companies. But secretly I was also learning to write short stories. Then in 2012 I started writing a novel.
Yes, I know what you’re thinking, but I actually finished it. The Birdman of Acton will (finally) be published in 2019, but back when I was battling to find an agent I realised that strategy and storytelling were complementary skills. For example, strategies often fail because leaders haven’t nailed the story. And so I started the Lee Farnsworth Agency to help leaders to get their strategy and their story right.
I call my company the Lee Farnsworth Agency but I will let you in on another secret: it’s mostly me. I don’t have staff but I do have a wide network of facilitators, trainers, designers, producers, actors, comedians and filmmakers that I can draw on as required.
about me
I grew up on a dairy farm in Lincolnshire alongside a pet cow called Stupid. When Stupid’s milking days were over I headed to Newcastle and gained a degree in Genetics and a doctorate for studies of the molecular biology of the mitochondrion. I’m pretty sure my PhD thesis is still the only one that opens with a biographical limerick.
I made the leap into Pharma sales with Napp in 1994 and a couple of years later transitioned into marketing. The next 15 years were spent at SmithKline Beecham/GSK and Allergan in strategic marketing and business leadership roles at UK, Nordics, US, European and Global levels. This included significant stints working with blockbusters Avandia and Botox. My pharma claim to fame is that I was invited to meet Muhammad Ali during my time working on Parkinson’s Disease. In my final role in the industry I was the VP and GM for Neurosciences (Botox) for the EAME region at Allergan.
I started the Lee Farnsworth Agency in 2013 and since then I have worked with more than 20 pharmaceutical, medical device and biotech clients.
When I take a break from being a one man agency I love reading, writing, hill walking, playing football (Seer Green 2017 Player of the Season!) and fig rolls.
For a more chronological and less idiosyncratic biography
see linked in.
capabilities

1. strategy
Brand Strategy development
Brand planning and facilitation
Positioning
Segmentation
War games
Advisory board facilitation
3. Skills training
Pharma brand strategy and planning
Pharmaceutical marketing
Leadership storytelling
Leadership development
Presentation skills
Communication skills
Influencing skills
1. strategy
Brand Strategy development
Brand planning and facilitation
Positioning
Segmentation
War games
Advisory board facilitation
2. Stories and speaking
Speech writing
Presentation crafting
Messaging
Communication campaigns
Workshop facilitation
Conference curation
Conference moderation
Speaking and keynotes
Film making
3. Skills training
Pharma brand strategy and planning
Pharmaceutical marketing
Leadership storytelling
Leadership development
Presentation skills
Communication skills
Influencing skills
WRITING
The most influential story ever told
Most of my work with leaders involves true stories. Very occasionally we might call on a fable, but on the whole the truth is best. However, when I went to the British Library as part of my quest for yet more ‘story science’, I found a paper that proves that fictional...
read moreStory Science
Enter ‘storytelling for business’ into the Amazon search bar and you will find pages of books proclaiming that stories can drive your brand and/or make you a better leader. One of these books –Story Factor by Annette Simmons – was even included in the 100 Best...
read moreStrategy Story
It’s that time of year again. Strategies and the colossal PowerPoint presentations that embody them are ripening. But is all the effort worth it? I once worked with a leader who said that he preferred a poor strategy well executed to a great strategy poorly executed....
read moreREADING
If I’m not writing there is a good chance I will be reading. Of the business books I have read along the way, there are a few which have heavily influenced my approach and my work.
Here, I give each of them the credit they deserve in precisely 100 words.
lee farnsworth agency
Address
Cedar Chase
Taplow
Berkshire
SL6 0EU