Today I'm spending a bit of time reviewing the recording of my interview with Phelim McDermott, one of the founders of the improvisational theatre company Improbable. I was introduced to Phelim by Neil Mullarkey, one of my earlier interviewees. I like the chain reaction nature of discovering people to talk to. Early on in the … Continue reading 17. Book Reset: tangential
Category: General
This week I have learned: librarian's haven't taken over the world, statisticians have. Whodathunkit? there is a look of glee in the faces of people in serious jobs who are given the chance to play. the force deployed by an organisation to implement governance over spending will be met by and opposite and slightly greater … Continue reading Weeknote 335: surprise exits
This week I have learned: apparently if you are managing a big office block on occasions after it rains it then pours. I am unspeakably chuffed to have had not one but two acknowledgements in Julia Hobsbawm's new book Fully Connected very excited to also have become a mentor for https://talkingcircles.co as part of http://drivewithbelron.com/ the work on Minimum … Continue reading Weeknote 334: Minimum Viable AVH
This week I have learned: a simple email can make such a difference a simple metaphor just as much I'm very excited about speaking at http://siliconbeach.eu/ and this collaboration too. Next week: Dorset.
This week I have learned: that I have apparently become a product owner (interim) that the key to improvisation is listening (thanks to Neil Mullarky) that Customer Experience should maybe become an optional extra that I bloody love radio Next week: trying to work out what being a product owner (interim) actually means, and a … Continue reading Weeknote 327: playing around
This week I have learned: there's nothing quite like a day spent judging people to find out quite how judgement I am capable of being... technology for technology's sake leaves me cold. for reasons of musical creativity I've moved back onto Windows for the time being. An interesting transition. If you ask a professional for … Continue reading Weeknote 326: if we all ignore it hard enough, it might just go away…
A new week, a new book. This week it's Steven Johnson's Wonderland: How play made the modern world. Johnson's thesis is that much technological innovation attend from the pursuit of happiness and distraction rather than from hard-headed economic need. In one of the early chapters he charts how the work of automata manufacturer Jacques dear … Continue reading The Thinking Duck
My wife and I argue about thermostats. After this article we'll probably argue about thermostats and my blogging. I see a room or car thermostat as a device to set a target temperature for the space in which it sits. If I'm too cold, I judge whether to increase the temperature a bit. If I'm … Continue reading Hot under the collar
There's a free ticket available for the Customer Experience World event at which I'm speaking next month. All you need to do is send you answer to the following question: What is the percentage of people using Twitter for Customer Service now? a) 60% b) 70% c) 55% by email to sandie@thefocusgroup.org.uk T&Cs here: http://www.focusgroupevents.com/CEW-Digital-2017/competition
This week I have learned: I struggle to understand how the "rational" approach to the impending President Trump is anything other than fairly irrational. I am contemplating buying a Mac. Long story. So much of my career has been in roles where the value is a narrative, not a set of KPIs. That can be … Continue reading Weeknote 320: 2017
