Sheffield's Steel Heart Shines Brightly
The Company of Cutler's Business Breakfast, Belonging, and the Future of Sheffield
“A city is not just a place in space, it is a drama in time.” — Patrick Geddes
This morning, in the carved oak and silver gleam of the Cutlers’ Hall, I joined a gathering of Sheffield’s business voices for breakfast. There was formality, yes, but also a genuine warmth that is set beautifully by the hosts. This feels like home to me, a sense that beneath the heritage and ceremony, something more human and hopeful might be trying to speak.
The event, hosted by the Company of Cutlers, brought together sharp minds and quieter wisdom: legal updates, strategy talks, market insights - and in between, moments that spoke more deeply to our shared future.
A Living Heritage
The Company of Cutlers is 400 years old (founded 1624), yet it still breathes with purpose. Its members are not just stewards of tradition but protectors of the spirit of making - of craft, of place, and of responsibility. I was reminded of something we believe in Project Ignite: that heritage, when rightly held, isn’t a chain to the past, but a bridge to the future. In that room, I sensed that bridge beginning to stretch.
Insights and Threads of Connection
On Protecting What We Imagine
Atheer Galdagon was the first guest speaker, with a reminder that ideas have weight, and value. Atheer gave a great presentation on the Patent process, including The Patent Box, with its reduced Corporation Tax on patented profits, isn’t just an obscure incentive; it’s an invitation. An invitation for Sheffield’s creators to take themselves seriously. To treat imagination as a kind of economic muscle, and intellectual property as community infrastructure.
Sheffield has always made things. Now, the question is: what does it mean to own what we make in an age of ideas?
On Selling Through Trust
Alistair Wheatley shared a sharp and impressively tender take on sales. His message? Relationships precede results. It’s not about scripts or strategies, it’s about presence. About offering value consistently, and letting trust accumulate like compound interest. That’s how doors open, whether in boardrooms or on backstreets.
Project Ignite reflection: Relational capital is the true currency of change. It's trust that travels the farthest.
On the Shape of Work to Come
The employment lawyers, Glenn Jaques and Liam Kenealy, walked us through what’s coming: new rights for workers from day one, stronger protections for those in flexible roles, and a shift in how workplace cultures will need to respond. But the subtext was clear—this isn’t just about regulation. It’s about dignity. About building environments where fairness isn’t a performance, but a posture.
Project Ignite reflection: A workplace that honours people is not only ethical—it’s fertile ground for innovation, loyalty, and shared growth.
On Hope That Walks
Then came a message from Martin McKervey, on the Walk of Hope, part of the national Baton of Hope suicide prevention initiative. His words cut deeper than any legal clause or tax code. Suicide is the leading cause of death for men under 50 and women under 35. This is not a trend. This is a crisis. And the antidote is to be found in connection, in walking beside each other.
Project Ignite reflection: A walk like this isn’t just symbolic. It’s a lived proclamation: “You are not alone.” It’s hope made visible.
Practical Invitations from the Cutlers’ Hall
Have an idea worth protecting? Speak with an IP advisor. Atheer and his team are ready to guide you.
Reimagine your business outreach. Start a conversation by asking “How can I help?” instead of “What can I sell?”
Review your employment culture. What small change would make your workplace feel more human?
Join the Walk of Hope, Friday 28th June, 1–5 p.m. from Weston Park. Let your presence speak hope.
Collective Wisdom and the Sheffield Way
Sheffield has never been about noise for the sake of it. We don’t shout. We shape. This morning’s meeting didn’t end with fanfare, but something else lingered: a readiness. A willingness to think differently. To listen for the voices we’ve overlooked. To experiment not just with ideas, but with relationships.
That, to me, is the seed of collective wisdom: not the loudest person in the room, but the quiet agreement that everyone matters, and that change begins when we truly meet each other.
Vision for the Future: What If Sheffield...
What if inclusive growth wasn’t just a policy term, but something you could feel in your bones walking through every part of this city? What if creativity became Sheffield’s new steel… strong, adaptive, and shared?
In Project Ignite, we believe that future is not a destination, but a momentum. And the more people who carry it, the faster it builds.
Your Turn
Do you know someone shaping the future of work in a human-centred way?
Want to share how your business or community group is building trust, innovation, or compassion into your daily work?
Ready to take one small step - like walking, reaching out, or starting a conversation?
We want to hear from you. The future we imagine is already beginning in places like the Cutlers’ Hall, but also in the cafés, shop floors, and kitchens of this city.
Let’s keep lighting the way. Together.
With pride and hope,
Brian Mosley
Founder, Love Sheffield & Project Ignite
Author of "Uniting Hearts, Igniting Change"
One day iA, you will be writing about my Hubb free/open market in NEdge, Sheffield.