Yesterday's coffee companion is a political strategist. We talked about: what we got up to at the weekend expectations around travel, and how our childhood experiences shape us London Detroit Washington DC and the power of the federal government to keep it relatively low-rise how DC was originally supposed to be square the complexities of … Continue reading 77th of 100
Category: Projects
Today's coffee companion is a data person. We talked about: the huge great hype machine that is going on around LLMs and machine learning the lack of qualitative data in business and organisations Goodhart's and Campbell's laws the strange cycles that emerge around financial periods ownership of data (or, more often, the lack thereof) how … Continue reading 76th of 100
This week I have learned: that my youngest is doing pretty well at school. The annual parents evening, still a Zoom showreel in neat 4-minute chunks, was nice. getting unsolicited feedback is the best sort. Thanks to John Sills for the lovely write-up of the PlayCards. I spent some time un-DRMing my e-book library. Knowing … Continue reading Weeknote 637: hawt
Today's coffee companion is a colourful soul. We talked about: the disruptive abilities of cats and public transport how the mental models of a city can be changed with new transport options cycling in London my next presentation how the feeling of "imposter" is as much about personal expectations of what others expect from you … Continue reading 75th of 100
Today's coffee companion is a marketing consultant. We talked about: the nature of coaching getting into organisations through one's professional discipline the tech hub that is Leeds conferences the loneliness of free-range working the surprising cross-over between our networks despite geographic distance the way that timezone might be a bigger gap in how networks form … Continue reading 74th of 100
This week I have learned: That people are probably confusing Serious with Solemn, and banning humour and fun from work makes serious things so much harder. I had a lovely evening listening to Neil Mullarkey talk about humour and improvisation at work and then saw this (prompted by Tom Geraghty's wonderful newsletter). In a conversation … Continue reading Weeknote 636: less solemn
Today's coffee companion puts a human face on audit. We talked about: how we got to where we are the overlap between audit and accountancy the human nature of developing good audit practices the 3 layers model the challenges of risk management in organisations, and how positive risks taken get siloed from negative outcomes avoided … Continue reading 73rd of 100
Today's coffee companion is a security expert. For reasons of security, there are no bullet points. But we did have a mighty fine conversation that encompassed Billion Dollar Mistakes, empathy in healthcare professionals, Wardley Mapping and using HR professionals as a technology sales channel. There are plenty more coffees to be drunk. Sign up at … Continue reading 72nd of 100
This week I have learned: there are certain points in projects, the "milestones", that might be better described as millstones. Points of playback, or reflection, decision points or just notional lines in the sand. They can put people under huge stress. Working out ways to reduce that stress, but still keep people motivated, is key … Continue reading Weeknote 635: milestone
Today's coffee companion helps make things people want, rather than making people want things. We talked about: The wonders of Barcelona The people challenges in consulting The ludicrous way in which people claim that businesses don't like uncertainty Psychological safety Sustainability, regeneration, fragility and antifragility Mutual connections There are more coffee companions needed. Book here: … Continue reading 71st of 100
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