Jon Moon
Clarity and impact
Testimonials & clients
Below, testimonials appear more than once if relevant to different sections
WiT & "Impact": now loved by an Irish Dragon - click for more
Clients
WiT
Book (also see some of its Amazon reviews)
Online Courses - redoing clients' documents;
Consultancy - redoing clients' documents;
Legal disputes - how clarity and impact saved the day
Courses, Conferences & Away Days
What Course organisers say:
Sales & Marketing comments
Finance comments
Other - many functions at once
What Boards say
What delegates say
Conferences & Away Days
First, something for those that read or do Board packs
Don't just read how a pack was transformed. See how it was - here, the 'before' and 'after' packs are public documents.
First, some background: the Environment Agency is a £1.2bn UK public body, and its Head of Financial Management, Bob, attended a one-hour talk and read my book. He then redid the Board pack... and the Directors loved it. This is his story:
"I saw Jon’s one hour talk, then read his book. It inspired and galvanised me to change the Agency Finance pack for Directors and then the Board... The Directors thought it was fantastic – they immediately recognised it as an exemplar for the rest of the organisation and encouraged all Directors to consider how they could simplify and make more impact with their reports.
If Bob can do this to his pack, so can you to yours.
How it was done: Bob drew on lots of tips in lots of chapters: chapters 1, 3, 6, 7, and 8 of my book (WiT; Tables; Numbers; Document Design; Variances, KPIs and 'flashes'). In particular, page 1 of the redo is a routine WiT layout and page 2 draws on download 49.
WiT and "impact" : now loved by an Irish Dragon
When Gavin Duffy, a Dragon on Ireland’s “Dragons’ Den”, gave tips on tendering and pitching at a Marketing Forum in Dublin, June 2009, he described my book as “hugely useful in the finer points of writing proposals or using slides in presentations” and "essential reading”. As well as being a Dragon, Gavin is Ireland’s top media coach and an economics columnist with Ireland’s Sunday Independent - and back in the 80s, he presented Irish TV’s first ever business programme.
When I asked Gavin for a formal testimonial, he replied in style:
“I love Jon’s work. His tips are hugely useful, his WiT is fantastic and ground-breaking, his book is essential reading. If you want to enhance your sales tenders, pitches and slides – if you want to win more business – get into Jon’s stuff. It’s really, really good.”
We can't all be Dragons. But now we can all pitch like one.
Clients
I've delivered in-house training at all these and more.
Household names
Dept of Work & Pensions
Royal Bank of Scotland
Transport for London
BT Openreach
Home Office
Lloyds TSB
Nationwide
TalkTalk
Unilever
Ofcom
Tesco
BBC
NHS
AIG
INGOther big companies
Innocent Drinks (smoothies)
Shepherd Building Group
International Power
Expro Group plc
Matthew Clark
PA Consulting
Royal Liver
Experian
Roche
Amlin
Willis
RPS
HLF
JLTTraining & higher education
Cranfield School of Management
Manchester Business School
Herriot-Watt University
University of Warwick
Coventry University
Liverpool University
City & GuildsOther, including associations
National School of Government
British Bankers' Association
Financial Services Authority
Legal Services Commission
MOD Land Forces HQ
ICAEW
Also, many have paid for their staff to attend my public Courses - Shell, Barclays, Freshfields, HSBC, UBS, Schroders, ICI, Dept for Transport, Allianz Insurance, Waitrose, Home Office, European Bank for Reconstruction, WestLB bank, Waterstones, Ordnance Survey, Arbuthnot Securities, Museum of London, Royal Bank of Canada, Nexen Oil and so on and so on.
About WiT
"Jon’s new approach (WiT) gives documents real clarity. It visually lifts ideas from the page and gives work a clean, slick look" Plain English Campaign
"Stunningly simple, yet mould-breaking. You’ll never look at a bullet point the same way" Michael Izza, Chief Executive ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales)
“WiT is fantastic and ground-breaking" Gavin Duffy, a Dragon on Ireland's Dragons' Den. Click here for more on Gavin and for his full testimonial
"Simple ideas can change business forever. WiT is one such idea" Dominic Burke, Group CEO, JLT Group plc
"We use WiT when presenting to our clients' Managing Directors, and it's dramatically improved what we thought was unimprovable" Malcolm Durham, Chairman of City-based part-time CFO company FD Solutions
"Bullet points don’t give impact. WiT does" ‘Business Executive’ magazine, May 2008
"WiT will change forever your relationship with bullet points" ‘Student Accountant’ magazine, April 2008
"We’re using the ideas in Jon’s book – and in particular, his WiT – to really sharpen our internal and client facing presentations. If you’re serious about sharpening yours, get into WiT. It will take a little bit to retrain your old bad habits, but it is worth it. Highly recommended!" Kress Riley, Director of Operations, Accenture Supply Chain Academy, Rochester, NY (USA)
"WiT is excellent" Jonathan Taub, Group Planning and Analysis Manager, Dealogic
And WiT is great for Annual Reports too...
"In 2008/09 we used ‘Words in Tables’ to help restructure our annual
report to make it more succinct, interesting and dynamic. As a result
our annual report was 20 pages shorter whilst still including all the
main developments, statistics and stories of the year. Feedback has
been very positive, which has shown that people find it clearer, more
user friendly and vibrant" Carolyn Regan, Chief Executive, Legal Services Commission (which is a "non-departmental government body" (NDPB) with about £2bn budget)
Click here for the Annual Report, there's lots of WiT on pages 10 to 23.
About the book
"Full of originality and wisdom … takes preconceived thinking and turns it on his head. Your business reporting will never be the same again" Michael Izza, Chief Executive ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales)
“Essential reading - really, really good.” Gavin Duffy, a Dragon on Ireland's Dragons' Den. Click here for more on Gavin and for his full testimonial
"A must-read … This book has all the answers and will redefine how you think about business documents" Dominic Burke, Group CEO, JLT Group plc
"Essential reading not just for students of business but for everyone in business!" Dr Jikyeong Kang, Professor of Marketing and Director of MBA Programmes, Manchester Business School"A practical, comprehensive route map (for) clear and understandable reports and presentations" ‘Professional manager’ magazine, March 2008
"Full of tips and ideas that are simple and easy to use … almost everyone could benefit from this well presented … ‘must read’ study"
Chartered Management Institute
About the book - on Amazon’s website
Here’s just a few – click here to see them all on Amazon
"Deserves a place among the business writing classics"
"Excellent - has the potential to re-write the rules"
"One of the best investments I’ve ever made"
"Cannot recommend it highly enough"
"I wish I read this 20 years ago"
"The best business book ever?"
"Pure and simple.. but brilliant"
"Get this book immediately"
"Could not put it down"
"An exceptional book"
"A FANTASTIC book"
"Absolutely amazing"
"Essential reading"
"Massively useful"
"Buy this book"
And finally…
"I have recommended this book to everybody from my teenage daughter through to my great uncle who retired some time ago but still produces a newsletter for his local church"
About the consultancy - redoing clients' documents
“Jon quickly grasped our business needs and gave our management pack clarity, impact and insight. Jon challenged our team's communication objectives, worked fast and was excellent value for money” Phil McNaull, Director of Finance & ISIT, Heriot-Watt University
“We get lots of customer feedback - every month, thousands of people answer dozens of questions. With so much data and in spite of our best efforts, we were struggling to summarise it clearly; we were conscious that outside the immediate research literate audience our tables, graphs and slides didn’t engage as best they could. Result: the business wasn’t making the best use of the information.
Jon redid our reports entirely. His new layouts were elegant, clear, inviting and had impact. Managers now engage with the information and use it: Operations see which problems to correct, Sales see which sectors to target, PR sees which messages to communicate, Management see which issues to manage. Jon dislikes the cliché: “information is power”, saying instead: “information isn’t power, clarity and impact is”. He’s proved that to us. Highly recommended.” John Irwin, Research Manager, Consumer Insights, TalkTalk Group
"Jon grasped our business needs, gave us invaluable insights and ideas, and designed tools and documents to help us monitor our business more clearly and concisely. And my team enjoyed working with him too! Highly recommended" Jason Shaw, Chief Financial Officer, MS&L
Legal disputes - how clarity and impact saved the day
A client who knows that I sharpen sales pitches asked me to sharpen its legal defence - it had to counter dozens of allegations from 14 witnesses in a 600 page report. Here’s the client’s words (albeit they're anonymous for legal reasons):“Jon was awesome. Faced with such a large file of testimonies and evidence, it seemed a lost cause. It wasn’t. Jon came to the rescue and, by laying out the information in his own distinct way, he not only found the flaws and inconsistencies, he presented our defence with real impact.
But his approach gave us more than just clarity, it gave us belief. And with this belief, we turned our defence into attack - much to the other side’s discomfort. A short while later, the other side dropped all allegations it had brought 8 months ago, and we received a great settlement.
So, if you have a dispute on your hands, my advice is to use Jon” (Name witheld for legal reasons)
About the online Courses
"Many thanks for the Course, it's brilliant!" MS, British University Finance Director Group"Excellent - a lot better than other online Courses" Anon - Senior Manager in Management Consulting, Deloitte & Touche
"Although I'd already read Jon's book, the online voiceover really helped me grasp his material even more. All in all, a revolutionary and rewarding experience. I won't hesitate to do his other online Courses" LG, South Africa
"Very impressed … really grabbed and held my attention - I wanted to keep going through all of the sections… the audio commentary was extremely clear and engaging and the visuals just right…. highly informative, thought provoking and amusing in the right places (the out-takes were very funny)…. I would certainly recommend this course" Learning & Development Director, Insurance Sector, London
About the Course - from Course organisers
Sales/ Marketing in-house Courses: organisers' comments“Jon ran several fantastic courses for our front end business producers and delegate feedback was excellent. He’s not simply another presentation or report-writing trainer. Jon’s work is unlike anything you’ll have seen before and is in a class of his own. I highly recommend you book him for your business producers” Learning & Development Director, Insurance Sector, London
“I really liked the work done by our Finance team after Jon had presented to them, so I booked him for my Marketing, Design and Communications group. I’m so glad I did, he’s helped us in so many ways. In particular, he’s given our Sales documents so much more impact - if you think Tender documents should say: “we recruit the best staff” or “we put clients first”, think again. If you think Jon’s magic is just for Finance, not Sales and Marketing, think again. Then contact Jon. He’s that very rare breed: the complete package, coupled with lots of great new ideas (WiT in particular). Highly recommended.” Graham Donald, Marketing Director, Matthew Clark (£500m drinks company)
“We thought our tender documents were pretty good. Jon showed us how easy it is to make them so much better. His Course is called “Clarity and Impact” and it does exactly what it says on the tin. Fantastic. Highly recommended” Jan Fishwick, Chief Executive, Parents and Children Together
(This next one wasn't from a Course, but is on Sales & Marketing)
“To enhance your sales tenders, pitches and slides.... to win more business – get into Jon’s stuff. It’s really, really good.” Gavin Duffy, a Dragon on Ireland's Dragons' Den. Click here for more on Gavin
Finance in-house Courses: organisers' comments
“OK, Jon’s Course doesn’t sound like much – some new methodologies on ‘simple’ topics like tables and graphs and bullet points – but they are like a light switching on, they have the power to transform documents dramatically. After joining this company as CFO, we ‘Mooned’ our finance board packs and flash reports. They now look fantastic and have been extremely well received by the Board. To bring clarity and focus on your key issues, ‘Moon’ your documents too – Jon’s work really is 'what they don’t teach at accountancy school – but should!'.” Tom Boucher, CFO, Dataexplorers (the world’s most complete resource for data, analytics and insight into short-selling and securities financing)
“After I saw Jon give an inspiring 40 minute Conference talk to over 300 people, I booked him for our Institute members. I was asking a lot of Jon: 55 delegates for a whole day - and a Saturday too. No matter. He gave a wonderfully engaging and entertaining Course which was also extremely useful. Delegate feedback was exceptional and many have since thanked me for arranging the day” Elizabeth Welch, United Kingdom branch secretary of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants
“Accountants get taught how to crunch numbers but don’t get taught how to show them with clarity and impact. Thankfully Jon teaches this. And teaches it fantastically. Entertaining, inspiring, practical, challenging, thought-provoking – and very useful. Management really like our new-look “Mooned” documents. Highly recommended” Moira Reid, Senior Management Accountant, University of Liverpool
“Jon gave his 3-hour Course twice in one day to 50 delegates in total. The day went extremely well, delegate feedback was excellent – and WiT has become the new buzzword in our department!” Janet Keene, Finance Office Training & Support Manager, University of Warwick
"A real eye opener - insightful, enjoyable and very useful. Accountants really should learn, and be examined, on Jon’s methodologies as a key part of their formal training. Being able to present information to management which is clear, easy to read and understand is an essential part of any accountant's "toolkit". Our business partners really appreciate the simplicity and clarity of the new-look reports - it saves them time by focussing on what's relevant" Michael Cashin, Financial Controller, Pharma Development, Roche Products Ltd
Finally, what do the Finance function's clients think? Here's what a Marketing Director said (see the Sales testimonials for his full story): “I really liked the work done by our Finance team after Jon had presented to them, so I booked him for my department. I’m so glad I did... highly recommended.” Graham Donald, Marketing Director, Matthew Clark (£500m company)
Also click here to see how WiT improves your Annual Reports
Other - lots of functions at once...
"Jon delivered a fantastic full-day Course to over 30 people from 9 different departments within the Commission. Afterwards, delegates couldn't wait to get cracking with all the new ideas and tips - and were even wincing at stuff that they'd previously thought was fine" Rebecca Bennett, Information Manager, Legal Services Commission
Which means quick, dramatic changes to Board packs
“With Jon's techniques we have greatly improved the clarity and impact of our finance reports. Our Boards are delighted as is the Finance Department" Gary Young, Group Finance Director, RPS Group plc
"As an organisation we often drown in KPIs, and we have found it particularly difficult to make sense of our weekly performance results - there are just too many of them, all in different reporting formats. Within just a few days of Jon’s workshop, the team had reworked the key weekly volumes and financials with amazing results. Gone are the myriad of colours, tables and lines, and instead we have a simple, well organised report that tells a story for each key area of our business. Now at last I can see what I am looking for! Transformation in action." Kieran McPolin, Financial Controller - Acting CFO, BT Openreach
"We ‘Mooned’ our finance board packs and flash reports. They now look fantastic and have been extremely well received by the Board." Tom Boucher, CFO, Dataexplorers (click here for his full quote)
Finally, don't just read how a Board pack was transformed. See how it was. Click here.
About the Course - on delegates' feedback forms
Initials of delegate in brackets
"Fascinating and inspiring - two words I never thoughtcould be applied to a business report course" Jupiter (JB)
"Great delivery - infectious enthusiasm" Heath Lambert (NS)
"Excellent feedback (on our own work)" PACT charity (LB)
"Really useful... a BIG thank you" Innocent Drinks (PM)
"Extremely relevant to my work" TLR International (JW)
"Excellent, as was the trainer" Home Office (HD)
"Sharp, snappy, entertaining" Norfolk County Council (KB)
"It's like a light switching on" City and Guilds (BW)
"Really enjoyed the Course" Tesco (FM)
"Extremely well presented" Royal Bank of Scotland (LF)
"Very thought provoking" Lloyds TSB (AW)
"VERY, VERY useful" FSA - Financial Services Authority (NS)
"Excellent course" Nexen (PB)
"Very informative" Amlin (AS)
"Very interesting" Heriot-Watt University (LM)
"Very enjoyable" Miller Insurance (RS)
"Very engaging" PA Consulting (MC)
"Very valuable" Dept of Work & Pensions (GM)
"Fascinating" Legal Services Commission (RB)
"Excellent" Experian (NP)
"Inspiring" Unilever (TR)
"Brilliant" AIG (BU)
"Superb" Legal Services Commission (NT)
And finally...
"Gonna change my slides for tomorrow" Amlin (AS)
Conferences & Away Days
Got a Conference or management away day? Want to be inspired? Entertained? Want it to be practical too? Contact me.
“A fantastic, inspiring, entertaining 40 minute talk to over 300 people – and incredibly useful too. Many thanks.” Elizabeth Welch, United Kingdom branch secretary of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants
“Jon presented a seminar at our annual conference, a gathering of highly discerning and hard-to-please Finance Directors. He exceeded all expectations and gave a session that achieved the highest feedback scores we have ever seen – 54/55. Many of them asked him back to their place later in the year – a real sign of satisfaction” Karel Thomas, Executive Officer, BUFDG (British Universities' Finance Directors Group)
"Looking for something to lift your Conference? Try Jon, we had 177 delegates at our Conference and they said his talks were "excellent", "entertaining", "extremely useful", "fantastic". Jon got the best feedback score of the Conference - and by quite a margin too. Highly recommended." Lizzie Robson, Finance Skills Development Officer, NHS East of England
"Having used Jon before at a smaller event, I was confident his flamboyant delivery style would be just what my 75 delegates would need after a pretty dry session on financial regulations. He didn’t disappoint. It's very difficult to deliver a 45 minute session which offers practical tips that people can implement in the work context immediately but Jon’s presentation offered this and the supporting hand-out material enabled people to put down their pens and really engage with the presentation.
All 75 delegates gave Jon maximum marks for content and delivery which is unprecedented in the 6 years I have been running the conference." David Culley, Associate Director, Pure Resourcing Solutions
"I’ve seen Jon’s one-hour talk four times now (as Chair), most recently to over 90 people ... Jon generates a real sense of excitement in the audience ... (he) is the subversive who will shake up your thinking and make a permanent change to your mind-set and to your potential as a communicator. An enthralling one hour. Highly recommended." John Claxton, Chair of Learning & Development Group, CIMA North West Members Network
Finally, one of my clients has put on hundreds of talks. My talk has the best feedback of them all.
Finally, countries from where people have downloaded
All around the world, people want clarity and impact. Which is why people all around the world download the templates.
By March 2009, this site had "page views" from 101 countries. However, I'm told "page views" sometimes don't mean much.
Downloads do. So far, people from 55 countries have done downloads (and these are just the downloaders who 'fessed up to where they were from). Here's those 55 countries.
Andorra, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bermuda, Botswana, Canada, China, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Ghana, Guyana, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Macau, Mauritius, Malawi, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Oman, Pakistan, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Swede, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, USA, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Wales, Zambia, Zimbabwe
