The Middle encourages and equips individuals and teams to navigate the distance between where they are and where they want to be using seven key insights, required to develop the resilience and resolve needed to keep going, despite tough environmental circumstances.

The Middle is unique in that it draws stories and insights from an ambitious goal, to cycle around the world and raise R1 million for vulnerable children. The practical skills and tools learned during this tour have been applied in many contexts since, and are well presented in The Middle’s offerings, which include a published book, an online course, a keynote and a workshop.

Through partnering with The Middle, we have been able to offer our clients:

• Journeys (both in the classroom and outdoors) which explore how to develop the grit and resilience needed to reach our goals.
• Facilitated keynotes which explore the topic of grit and resilience through media and engaging stories.
•  An online platform for those wanting to define their own goals and spend time processing how to navigate toward those goals intentionally and strategically.

Catalyx is a social development agency whose core focus is on the design, piloting and scaling of social impact programmes for business and government agencies by providing services that address social developmental challenges.

The agency is an Exempt Micro Enterprise (EME) and a Level 2 BBBEE contributor (51% black-owned, 37% black woman-owned), and offers project management of social impact projects such as the MRP Foundation Jumpstart Program, the Tongaat Hulett SSIP | ITHUBA project and the NPC Sebenza project.

Through partnering with Catalyx, we have been able to offer our clients programs which:

• Develop comprehensive life skills programs for shop floor employees.
• Develop leadership programs for supervisors and lower-level managers.
•  Develop higher levels of business acumen in all layers of staff which in turn creates more understanding as to why certain business decisions are made.

STORY Sessions believes in shaping city culture through story. Their public events bring together all who seek to be active participants in the writing of a meaningful city story, from refugees, to the homeless, to informal traders and city entrepreneurs.

STORY Sessions has developed a formidable network of voices within our city who can shift mindsets and open up a dialogue around what it means to write a meaningful collective story. Whilst our focus is on city culture, we recognise that organisations also require the space to converse around how to write a collective story together.

Through partnering with STORY Sessions, we have been able to add value to our clients by:

• Enthusing powerful immersions and key voices into their conferences and events.
• Creating the space for leaders to share their own stories, which in turn opens up meaningful conversations and fosters trust.

Workshops In The Wild transforms your teams, leaders and organisations with powerful insights for leadership and culture from real life examples in the wild. WITW offer online modules and live workshops held in South Africa’s diverse wilderness areas. These offerings  support individuals, teams, NGO’s, schools or organisations to transform and grow in a very unique way; by looking at their own context through the eyes of wild animals, tiny insects and the diverse ecosystem present in nature.

Workshops in the Wild is a collaboration of brands specialising in wilidlife guiding, conservation, photography and leadership consulting. This ensures WITW can deliver impactful and credible offerings, following years of experience in wildlife photography, videography, leading people through the wilderness, and supporting individuals and organisations to shape and sustain a healthy culture.

Through partnering with Workshops in the Wild, we have been able to offer our clients:

• Unique and highly experiential leadership workshops out in some of South Africa’s dynamic reserves.
• Online modules which leverage nature to share powerful insights relevant to teams and organisations.

The Sett is a coworking space in Durban offering workspaces, meeting and training rooms as well as space to disconnect from the office, drink good coffee and engage in quality thinking.

The Sett believe in creating space for people to thrive. The Sett has offerings which suit entrepreneurs who require a space to work in community with others, leadership teams who require a breakaway from the office to meet, or bigger teams who need space to train and hold their conferences. With 25 hot desks, three meeting rooms (4 / 6 / 8 seater), a training room capable of hosting up to 25 people, along with an auditorium for larger groups of up to 150, The Sett really does have a space for everyone. The Sett prides itself in providing great service, great coffee and food, additional chill zones and friendly staff.

Based in Umhlanga Rocks, The Sett is central to KZN’s business hub and is easily accessible from surrounding suburbs as well as the King Shaka airport.

Through partnering with The Sett, we have been able to add value to our clients by:

• Crafting unique conferences which truly hit the mark when it comes to the experience they require.
• Host workshops and ensure that all the resources required for an impactful day are met.

Insights Discovery is a simple psychometric tool built around the language of colours to help people understand themselves, understand others, and make the most of the relationships that affect them in the workplace.

Insights offers four assessments which cater for individuals and teams.
Insights Discovery Personal Effectiveness – this individual profile is very effective in enhancing self awareness, supporting personal growth and improving relationships at home and at work.
Insights Discovery Beginning The Journey – this is a team intervention where each person receives a personal profile with the Foundation and Management chapters.
Insights Team Effectiveness Workshop – this team intervention is the next step in enhancing how teams work together.
Insights Sales Effectiveness and Influencing Workshop – designed to help sales people influence others by understanding their mindset, capability and behaviour during the stages of the sales process.

All these assessments can be customised.

Through partnering with Insights, we have been able to add value to our clients by:

• Adding a dynamic to our culture strategy rollout by raising leader’s self-awareness and their impact on culture.
• Coaching individuals and teams to become more effective leveraging the clarity that an assessment brings to the table.

Circles are our “social technology” _for dialogue conversations. Dialogue is not an event, but a sustained, intentional process that creates safe spaces for courageous, often uncomfortable conversations about topics pertinent to diversity, inclusivity and transformation. As is true of any dialogue process, Circles are spaces in which we listen deeply, with empathy and curiosity. They are spaces in which we courageously and honestly share our lived experiences and perspectives. These kinds of conversations hold the transformative power that can lead to deep personal change, as well as radical societal, systemic and cultural change.

When it comes to diversity and inclusivity, concrete steps (such as changes in company policies and processes) are crucial, but these changes alone can fall short of what is needed for long term sustainable culture transformation. The value of these Circle conversations lies in the fact that they enable authentic personal engagement and action to ensure sustainable change towards a truly transformed and inclusive culture.

Through partnering with Open Circles, we have been able to offer our clients:

• The facilitation of Circles (both in-person and virtually) as well as the training and certification of internal Circle facilitators within organisations and schools.
• In-person and virtual workshops & coaching to equip people with the language, awareness and skills needed to engage in increasingly stretching and robust conversations about diversity and inclusivity.
• Leadership development workshops that build capability around the practice of Courageous and Inclusive leadership.

EDIFY provides training resources to empower individuals & communities with resources for better addressing ones spiritual, mental & emotional well-being.

EDIFY has a number of empowering resources available in response to the ever increasing need for affordable mental health support.

The average time between first symptom & treatment when it comes to mental health needs is 11 years. Some of the reasons why people tend to struggle in silence is, shame stigma’s, financial restrains and lack of affordable resources. Lack of self-awareness is one of the most crucial components to why people become stuck in self-defeating patterns of behaviour. When we know better, we have the opportunity to choose to respond better. Understanding the basic building blocks to owning one’s mental health and emotional well-being is no different to understanding the significance of disinfecting a wound – yet most have the knowledge for owning ones physical health, but not one’s mental health.

By partnering with Edify, we have been able to offer our clients:

• Training resources available on-line via an on-demand learning platform. These courses consist of short power packed video’s with downloadable PDF notes along with reflective questions.
• Workshops & Coaching which develop leaders to engage in difficult conversations surrounding mental health.

Nzou is the shona word for elephant, demonstrating that the Nzou brand is rooted in Africa. Elephants are complex social structures which work well. This is their vision for corporates anywhere in the world, which is why they are partners of the the Appletree Group.

Nzou Global Leadership Development is a business that aims to make a meaningful contribution in the field of leadership development. Through offering academically based leadership development, cross-cultural competency, life coaching and mentorship, Nzou seeks to guide leaders through disruptive change and enables the organisations and people they lead to thrive.

Through partnering with Nzou, we have been able to offer our clients:

• Leadership solutions including coaching and workshops focused on intercultural competence.
• Training in change management for project leaders.

Meneses Simpson Inc. specialises in employment law and industrial relations, with an added focus on trusts, estates and commercial drafting.

Raymond Meneses, of Meneses Simpson Inc, has many years’ experience as a specialist litigator in the CCMA, Bargaining Councils and Labour Courts. He has served as the executive responsible for employee relations at Mass Discounters (Game and Dion Stores) throughout the African region, and brings both a specialist legal expertise as well as practical coalface experience to the table.

Through partnering with Meneses Simpson Inc, we have been able to offer our clients:

• Bespoke training on the management of discipline and performance in the workplace, including workshops on effective communication and conflict resolution in the employment context.
• Keynotes, webinars and conversations around employment legislation which plays a role in shaping organisational culture.
• Mediation services for relationships that are in conflict.