Weeknote 461: card tricks

This week I have learned: that the mortality rate of a 78-year-old today is the same as that of a 65-year-old in 1922. The impact of an ageing population is profound in so many ways, and quite frankly we are mostly like Ostriches to it all at the moment. it was unbelievably great to see … Continue reading Weeknote 461: card tricks

Weeknote 460 – budgets

This week I have learned: I have basically lost interest in politics. It is possible to fit a remarkable number of words onto a PowerPoint slide if you try really hard. That being given a structure to follow can help crystallize ideas. Getting some roadshows up and running, getting folk out and seeing people as … Continue reading Weeknote 460 – budgets

The wrong problem

My erstwhile WB-40 Podcasting colleague Chris Weston this afternoon flagged a website that is keeping a watching eye over the plethora of tactical voting websites that have sprung up this year to, primarily, help people who want to vote on grounds of Brexit rather than party allegiance. Who would have thought that we could get … Continue reading The wrong problem

Weeknote 459: #cardstock

This week I have learned: Many of the challenges facing social housing as a sector are far broader than bricks and mortar; economic deprivation, substance abuse, mental and physical health. Housing associations can't possibly solve all of that. But we can focus on those things that we can control and influence. Three simple questions: who … Continue reading Weeknote 459: #cardstock

Three questions

I've got a lot of filtering and prioritisation to do. There is a lot that is new to me. I'm getting to know a new organisation, new people, a new sector, new customers, new technologies (and a few old ones that are new to me). I need to start a journey towards being people-centric. I … Continue reading Three questions

Shifting gears

In the year after I left Microsoft, I spent time vacillating as to whether a freelance way of working or a traditional full-time role was my better option. As the work failed to come in during that first year, I veered towards the latter and got to the final two for a CTO role. I … Continue reading Shifting gears

Weeknote 457 – jigsaws

Things I have learned this week: Joining a new organisation is a little bit like doing a jigsaw puzzle. I'm currently at the stage where I'm trying to find the corner and edge pieces, and wondering where someone hid the box with the picture on it! It's great to meet my immediate team in technology … Continue reading Weeknote 457 – jigsaws

Weeknote 456: n00b

Things I have learned this week: going back into employment after over six years freelance is a funny business. but I'm really pleased that I've chosen to do it, and to do so at RHP. there's much to do - some cutting edge, some infrastructural. there's a great team I'm working with. the next few … Continue reading Weeknote 456: n00b

A new direction

On Friday, for the first time in over six years, I will be walking through the doors of an organisation as an employee. At the end of this week, I become Richmond Housing Partnership's Head of Technology and Transformation. Over the past few years, I've become increasingly interested in how homes are provided in the … Continue reading A new direction