From my years of work, there are a few models and ideas that keep coming back to me. One of those is the Conscious Competence Ladder, a way of thinking about how we learn things that is attributed to Noel Burch from a company called Gordon Training. The idea is quite straightforward. We are either … Continue reading Starting
Category: Themes
When was the last time software made you smile? If you are anything like me, it's probably easier to recall when it made you grimace. The ten minutes this morning, for example, that I spent trying to get my headphones to talk to my phone (Cambridge Audio: lovely hardware, ropey software). Or the labyrinth of … Continue reading Software to make you smile
This week I have learned: saying goodbye is hard. Especially when one has been part of a team that has become as strong and as open and as trusting as the Technology & Transformation team at RHP. I will miss them all, but the time is right for a change for me and for them.being … Continue reading Weeknote 585 – goodbye
Back in October 2019, in those days we fondly remember as "before Covid" I joined RHP, a relatively small social housing provider based in South West London that provides around 6,500 rented homes to people in the area in which I've lived for the last 17 years. I have learned a huge amount in that … Continue reading On housing
This week I have learned: Assumptions based on thin evidence are easy to make and potentially fatal. Whether it's assuming experience because of the role that someone is in, or lacking context that explains otherwise inexplicable behaviours, we do it all of the time. Generalising is how we make sense of the world. Yet it's … Continue reading Weeknote 584: scaling back
We don’t really talk much about finishing jobs. There’s a whole industry about starting new jobs - the first 90 days and all that jazz. But how to finish up - well… Searching the World Wide Web it’s notable how starting a job is framed positively, yet if you search for finishing up an old … Continue reading On finishing
On a reasonably regular basis, I get asked to speak at events. I mean, I'm not deluged with offers. And none of them pays me. But it's nice to be wanted. However, requests in the last few months go something like this: Me: Thanks ever so. I'd really like to take part. Full disclosure, though. … Continue reading Crossing the divide
This week I have learned: the challenges of unpacking thingsintersectionality can raise the hackles in unexpected placesthat in-person events are probably better overall than online ones... but if you promise me breakfast, I need breakfast!that in-person makes family diary management soooo much harderthat an increasing number of "last times" starts to get emotionalthat there are … Continue reading Weeknote 582: decoupling
A few weeks ago I posted something vaguely witty on Twitter. This is such a regular occurrence that I can't even remember what it was. It was probably funnier in my head than it was on screen. But some people responded to it. Some Likes. Some Retweets. These aren't important to me (of course they … Continue reading Forget about the bloody water cooler
This week I have learned: How a 19" rack can give the illusion of order and tidinessThat there's no sign of things letting upThat a path will emerge out of the fogThat the Roundhouse is a glorious spaceThat it's good to be podcasting again Next week: my last event as a CIO for a while … Continue reading Weeknote 581: gigging
mmitII 