This week I have learned:
- once again, about the delights of meeting a bunch of complete strangers. Thank you, Iain.
- on Monday I had an hour of randomness with the current cohort at the School of Communication Arts. That some creatives commented positively on the design on the book means a huge amount.
- I have a rough rule of thumb when I’m working as to whether I’m making an impact or not: when people come to me unsolicited for advice, it probably means I’m doing a good job. This week, I found myself wondering if that amounts to intrinsic or extrinsic motivation.
- it almost certainly doesn’t matter.
- more silliness… https://experiments.mattballantine.com/blueplaque/
- there was a lot of travel this week. I quite enjoy a long train journey, but trying to work on a laptop in one of LNER’s aircraft-style seats appears to have given me a crick in my neck.
- that I became a teensy bit obsessed with waiting for The Boat to arrive. It has now arrived, and as of early this morning it has now left again. I do hope the books are sitting somewhere on a quayside in Felixstowe.
- that connecting ideas about increasing Luck Surface Area at an organisational level is fascinating me. Businesses obsess about streamlining best practices, but in doing so, they may well strip out the chance of success. Henry Ford’s success was as much down to him stumbling serendipitously across a wrecked car on a beach as it was about production lines.
The week in media:
Saw
- the final part of Race Across the World. It’s wonderful to watch, and a remarkable piece of production logistics.
Read
- a rather depressing piece about how the tech industry is essentially stuck.
https://www.baldurbjarnason.com/2026/the-old-world-of-tech-is-dying/
Listened
- I seem to be in an ’80s soul/funk groove at the moment. Loose Ends, Mica Paris, The Fatback Band…
- Fab Five Freddy on One Song.
Next week:
Stockholm and then a fulfilment centre in Swindon.
The week in photos:
mmitII 