Robert Poynton divides his time between an off-grid, solar-powered house near Arenas de San Pedro in rural Spain and Oxford, where he is an Associate Fellow of the Saïd Business School. He designs and facilitates programmes, retreats and workshops - which act as pauses for thought - both online and in person, for organisations and individuals. In Spain, Robert often uses his local environment in his work. He hosts a range of creative programmes and events, such as Reading Retreats, in and around the Sierra de Gredos mountains. His work at Oxford University is practical not academic - he uses the playful approach described in Do Improvise (published in 2013 and updated in 2022), to help leaders work with complex change. For ten years he has also been an integral part of the Praxis Forum at Green Templeton College, a research centre focused on the connection between thinking and doing. In 2020 he founded Yellow, an online learning programme that is designed in response to the participants rather than a pre-determined curriculum. He has spoken and led workshops at The DO Lectures, The Skoll World Forum, Singularity University and Schumacher College. He is married with three grown up sons. His wife runs an organic beef farm.