According to Simon Platt, every one of us, regardless of our age, job, title or background, has it within us to inspire others – even if we don’t always realise it.

Simon lived in the same village as Sir Captain Tom Moore, and observed close at hand how a simple idea lifted the nation’s spirits in lockdown and raised £39 million for NHS charities. In this uplifting BA Brew, Simon talks to the Crew about the skills, traits and beliefs that can help us inspire ourselves and others in the BA community and beyond.

The Brew crew are also joined by Simon's colleague Charlotte Neill who is running a workshop with Simon at the IRMUK BA Conference 2025. They are hoping that by BA’s sharing their stories in the workshop, others might see themselves in them or realise they’ve been inspiring people all along without even knowing it.

Topics touched upon include:

• What comes first, motivation or inspiration
• Practical steps to inspire yourself and others
• The lasting impact of role modelling and ‘paying forward
• Tangible actions we can all take in our day to day lives.

Simon Platt is Principal Business Analyst at Whitbread, a Neuroinclusivity Advocate, public speaker and podcast host. Simon was a BA of the Year Finalist in 2023.

Further Resources

Articles

• Work-life Balance: Creating a Career and a Life you Love
• Neurodiversity: The BAs Survival Guide
• Book review: Begin with You by Petra Velzeboer
• Wellbeing in Times of Change

Courses

• Introduction to NLP One Day Workshop

BA Brews

• BA Brew 49: Mental Health
• BA Brew 54: Neurodiversity