I should start this with some sort of cliche about how time flies and it’s all getting quicker as I get older and yada yada yada. But, do you know what? It actually seems like a really long time since I last did one of these Yearnotes. This one, in fact.
Now into my third year operating under the stamp London banner (although under a few more too, given the partnerships and associations I’ve been making), I’d summarize the years as follows:
Year 1: the shit-scary, awful lot of business development, not very much business year
Year 2: the putting it on a even keel year
Year 3: the… oh, you mean I’m never going to predict this stuff year?
And that kind of sums up how it feels at the moment. It’s much more than hand-to-mouth. But there is undoubtedly a level of “I have no idea really what the future holds beyond about six weeks away” that occasionally wakes me up in the middle of the night (like tonight) but mostly I’m able to deal with.
Which maybe makes everything sound a little bleak. Which it shouldn’t – because the upsides professionally have been enormous. I have intrinsically rewarding work that I’m able to create out of my own efforts that is leading me to find further opportunities.
Am I on course towards the mission for stamp – to do work that is about the intersection between technology, people and communications that has some sort of lasting impact? Well, I think so. The research work I’m wrapping up in the New Year for the Leading Edge Forum is very much on that track. Being rolled out to talk to the boards of international corporations about innovation is on that track. Launching into some work to help senior people in our health service think about the opportunities that digital has for the way they deliver services is on that track. There aren’t any sets of commemorative stamps in production, but that’s not the point – it’s a north star not a deliverable objective.
And as for 2016 – well, beyond the hard work of writing The Sharing Organization report which will take up much of January, and then beginning the process of sharing that with the world, to an extent it’s a matter of waiting and seeing. That’s a fairly coded way of saying I have availability from February if you think I might be of help to you or your organization. Drop me a line.
So for all of you lovely people who read my ramblings, may I wish you a wonderful festive break, and best wishes for the New Year ahead.
Matt
mmitII 