The Mulberry St. Journey…
so far
Mulberry St started with a 4am realisation. After years as General Manager of a successful technology consultancy, Clare Swallow had spent plenty of time talking with leaders about courage, purpose and creating workplaces where people could do their best work. Then came the slightly uncomfortable thought: if you’re going to encourage other people to be courageous, you probably need to practise it yourself.
Clare loved building businesses and teams, but the work she kept being drawn back to was bringing people together to solve meaningful problems, helping teams make sense of complexity, see things differently, have the conversations that matter and turn ideas into action. So in 2020, she took the leap and started Mulberry St.
A lot has evolved since then. Clare has worked alongside boards, leadership teams and organisations across New Zealand on strategy, culture, innovation and change. But the thread running through the work has remained remarkably consistent:
Bring the right people together. Ask better questions. Create the conditions for honest conversation. Make sense of what emerges. And make it easy to act.
Today, Mulberry St helps boards and leadership teams navigate complex challenges, with a particular focus on strategy, facilitation and alignment.
Because while a good strategy matters, the document is rarely the hardest part.
The hard part is getting people to genuinely understand where they are, make choices about where they're going, align around what matters most, and then keep adapting as the world changes around them.
That's where Mulberry St comes in.
What we believe
Our work is grounded in a handful of beliefs about people, teams and how meaningful change actually happens.
Keep it human.
Human beings are at the centre of everything we do. Frameworks, technology, processes and methodologies can help, but they're only ever tools. The best conversations start with understanding the people in the room, and the people affected by the decisions they make.
Make it matter.
Time together is valuable. We don't run workshops for the sake of running workshops or create strategy documents destined for a drawer. We focus on the conversations, choices and actions that will genuinely move things forward.
Do the right thing.
We're comfortable asking the difficult question, challenging an assumption or saying when we don't think something will work. Good facilitation isn't about keeping everyone comfortable. It's about creating enough trust to have the conversations that matter.
Enjoy it.
There's a place for curiosity, optimism and even joy in serious work. Connection creates the conditions for curiosity. Curiosity builds courage. And courage gives people permission to think and act differently. That's often where the interesting stuff starts.
Make it easy to act.
Complex doesn't have to mean complicated. If nobody is going to read the 50-page strategy, let's create the one-page version people will actually use. We believe in clarity, simplicity and leaving people knowing what happens next.
And one more thing: there's no paint-by-numbers.
Every organisation has its own history, people, tensions, ambitions and hard-fought lessons. So while we bring frameworks, experience and plenty of ideas, we don't arrive with the answer already written. We work with you to find the answer that's right for your organisation, and then help your people turn it into something real.
Mulberry St brings teams together to solve meaningful problems.
What People Are Saying
“
Clare not only got who we are, but also what we could be. She has made a real difference to our business
”
— Gary Stanard, Director, Maxiloda
“
The amount achieved and learnt within a short timeframe was exceptional. Clare has a real knack for engaging and empowering a group to share.
”
— Glen Forgie, Managing Director, Tui Products
