How do you solve a problem like millennials?

I spent yesterday afternoon at a fascinating event hosted by software development company Softwire, exploring issues of attracting and retaining young technology talent. Panelists Bill Thompson from the BBC, Softwire's CEO Zoe Cunningham and employer brand specialist Daria Taylor explored a number of themes. But by the end of the session I think I've concluded … Continue reading How do you solve a problem like millennials?

Will everybody please mute…

Office meeting rooms are the confluence of at least five disciplines: Workspace design professionals lay them out; Facilities management people service them; Telephony people provide some of the tech; IT people provide the rest; and learning and development people train people (occasionally) in good meeting practice. The result? Mostly a mess. Especially because the actual … Continue reading Will everybody please mute…

Weeknote 236: new alliances

Things I have learned this week: - making progress is so much easier when working with others - for all the talk of new modes of working, some people are unable to see anything as a "job" being a "job"; not sure if they or I are more foolish - the boundaries of technology, workspace design and … Continue reading Weeknote 236: new alliances

The laziness fallacy

When it comes to change, as a species, we are lazy. We are lazy for good reason - changing how we act or behave significantly increases our exposure to risk, and has a negative impact on the performance of what we do. We're so lazy when it comes to change that we'll often reject changes … Continue reading The laziness fallacy

Define mobile?

I must have been really bad in a previous life, because I find myself yet again in my career spending time staring at technology architecture models. If they in any way sound interesting, let me tell you quite strongly that you're deluded. However, there was one part of one of the diagrams I was pondering … Continue reading Define mobile?

Retail experiences

I'm neither religious nor bought into the technology retailing cult that is Apple. As a result, I have a similar sensation when I enter into a church or an Apple store; a strong sense of being in the wrong place combined with a curiosity as to why so many people have gathered together to worship … Continue reading Retail experiences

Platform thinking

As part of my work for central government, over the past few weeks I've been immersing myself in the work of Tim O'Reilly and the concepts of Government as a Platform. The concept at its heart is a metaphor. In fact a metaphor of a metaphor which is always a slightly risky approach prone to … Continue reading Platform thinking

Co-coaching: the next stages

Diary planning is currently underway for the next steps in the co-coaching experiment. A quick recap: find two organisations that are significantly different but have an areas where they are essentially facing the same challenges. Bring the two organisations together. Help them find ways to work together to address their common challenges. I've been putting … Continue reading Co-coaching: the next stages