On the long drive down the A303 to Somerset yesterday morning, I caught a show on Radio 4 that was exploring the concept of "over parenting". It was an interesting listen, and one thing in particular has been bouncing around my head since, a metaphor for describing two different styles of parenting: the carpenter or … Continue reading Carpentry vs Gardening
Sometimes I find that a tiny element of a song can transfix me. A riff. A lyric. A voice. Here, for example, are my all-time top three snare drums in pop music: 3 - Swing Out Sister - Breakout Apparently not about the hit computer game, SOS provided a top notch bit of smooth 80s … Continue reading 51 for 50 – 2016
This week I have learned: to not be judgemental about using Excel. Well, not as judgemental.once again the power of Working Out Loud.that the new supplier seems to be ace.online events can work...... but sometimes they really don't.that we are in this for the long term.Presenting to a big group is a great way to … Continue reading Weeknote 505 – sampled beats
I think I first came across Belle and Sebastian when hearing their song The State I'm In whilst in The Fox Reformed wine bar in Stoke Newington in the late 1990s. The first album that really got me hooked was Dear Catastrophe Waitress, particularly after the song If You Find Yourself Caught in Love shuffled … Continue reading 51 for 50 – 2015
This week I have learned: it's been a long time since a derby-day victory.that it's surprising to see more suggestions that it's made up than there are directly wishing ill will.we have completed our first major procurement and have found the end-to-end digital business that I've been looking for for years.even UI look and feel … Continue reading Weeknote 504: Schadenfreude
I've never been a big fan of the associations of the concept of "Shadow IT". It's been often portrayed as a bad thing, the result of a Corporate IT department that has lost control. Somehow that those pursuing alternatives to the mandated corporate systems are somehow furtively trying to undermine the power of authority. Ever … Continue reading Shadowless IT
With the exception of opera, I have had a number of fascinations with songs sung in other languages. There are vast swathes of Brazilian music I adore where the musicians could be singing about the price of frozen peas for all that I know of Portuguese. I have absolutely no idea what Sigur Ros are … Continue reading 51 for 50 – 2014
Pharrell Williams, Nile Rodgers, silly hats and Giorgio Moroder. What's not to like?Random Access Memories is a cracking album. https://open.spotify.com/album/4m2880jivSbbyEGAKfITCa?si=0qoVAqvARHSNCy3xWS1ToA You can see the #51for50 project to date here: https://mmitii.mattballantine.com/category/projects/51-for-50/
This week I have learned: only when you really start to get under the covers of how your customers live their lives, you really can get to think about how to provide them with better services.And you also need to understand what those services actually are.Going through a really formal procurement process has been at … Continue reading Weeknote 503: levelling
Orginally published on CIO.co.uk, April 2015. People skills in technology leaders are as important as ever. The abiding memory that I’ll have about this year’s CIO100 judging is how solid people skills were a differentiator for so many of the eventual top 10. What is worrying is how this should still be seen as exceptional … Continue reading CIO Archive: It’s a people thing
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