This week I have learned: The complexity of self-isolation regulationsThe pleasure of taking remote working to the next levelThat things are really spread out in rural SuffolkThat change starts at the topThat there is a balance to be struck between the assurance of linear plans and the ambiguity and messiness of realityThat it is going … Continue reading Weeknote 544 – testing
I'm a Watford fan. You may already know this about me. Being a football fan, particularly being a fan of a smaller club, is a tribal thing. A thing of faith. A secular religion. Every so often The Algorithms suggest that I should be interested in other football teams. Google offers me news articles about … Continue reading Ooo are you?
This week I have learned: how automation can lead to significant errors if you miss human checks that once existed unseen in the manual process.how good it was to at last get to another Cardstock session.that my little boy is growing up fast.that algorithms lack anthropology.that replanning a whole bunch of stuff is a very … Continue reading Weeknote 543 – the long game
This week saw a new addition to the team, a Technical Architect. Except he's been around for a while. I'm firmly of the belief that we need to look to do things better now we have found out that flexible working can work at scale, rather than constantly pining for how things "used to be". … Continue reading Liminal Employment Spaces
This week I have learned: that the WB40 audience are great drinking buddies.the dangers of putting additional capacity into a flaky system.the wonders of serendipity.that my kids make me very proud.that it's all about the personal brand.the liberating effect of driving a white van.some people simply don't get the power and influence that they inherit … Continue reading Weeknote 542: meeting up
This week I have learned: I don't think it's possible for me to have a detached, unemotional conversation about performance management processes. The two years at the end of the forced curved period at Microsoft have scarred me.That hopefully Southgate's progressive agenda that started with that remarkable letter at the beginning of the Euros will … Continue reading Weeknote 541: triggered
This week I have learned: The wonder of catching up with friendsWhat a nightmare UK tourism will be this summerThe power of an open teamThat it's time to shift modeThat I can miss this Next week: an event in person
I had a fascinating conversation with one of our non-Exec directors this morning about life in general, and for a point about AI in particular. He by day is the CFO of a travel business, a world that has become consumed by sophisticated pricing algorithms in the last 20 years. As he pointed out, though, … Continue reading When the past can’t predict the future
This morning I ran a session in which I took my team through an exercise to explore skills and capabilities that we have as we beginning a massive programme of change in the organisation. Here's a few notes on the objectives, the structure and how it went... The Objectives The team has recently expanded with … Continue reading PlayCards Field Notes: a game for teams to explore innovation skills and gaps
Things I have learned this week: There is no such thing as “just an upgrade”.Medium-sized business finance systems is an area ripe for innovative disruption because all of the incumbents are crap.Working with other peer organisations is a great way to get people out of the weeds of pet issues.Ethical decision making should be much … Continue reading Weeknote 539: just another weeknote