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We’ve been having some issues with our remote access.  The tool we use works very well for some yet is a little temperamental for others.  Understanding the problems has been difficult enough as it involves different devices and people’s home broadband connections.  It has also been very difficult to sort the wheat from the chaff … Continue reading Remote working

I heard that there are seven elements of leadership, just like there are seven habits of effective people and seven dwarves to go with Snow White.  A quick scan of our favourite search engine shows that there may be anywhere between six and nine.  I wish they would make their minds up.  It turns out … Continue reading Seven elements of leadership

We need to be more consistent. I hear this all the time in my organisation.  I also hear it when I am out and about talking to colleagues in other organisations.  It is a common issue.  People expect us to be consistent whatever that means.  I think they mean that whatever goes in, the same … Continue reading Consistency

I like going to the Institute of Customer Service events.  I have been a member for a dozen years or so, ever since I was at North Tyneside.  I wear my badge with pride.  There are so many big things that I need to think about such as where technology is going, new ways of … Continue reading Thinking about customers

Last week I went to my first ever Socitm MAC, that is the Society of Information Technology Managers Members’ Advisory Committee in case you were in any doubt.  Sometimes acronyms do help.  Although I have been chairing the regional meetings for a year now, this is the first national event I have attended, apart from … Continue reading My first MAC

Have you ever tried a story chain?  It is a nice little ice breaker to get an event going.  The rules are quite simple, you split up into groups (I’ll leave the size up to you) and one of you starts a story.  It can be about anything you like but as we all know … Continue reading Story chain

I am the Guerrilla Worker.  I rock up, open up my laptop and Bob is my uncle.  Work is something I do rather than somewhere I go.  I have never had a problem in finding anywhere to work.  Indeed, I am writing this sitting at a desk in a room on floor six of County … Continue reading Coat stand

I like maps.  I’ve always been interested in them.  Old ones or new ones it doesn’t matter.  They are fascinating things.  I like all the detail and the wonders that you can discover.  I like the way that real life is codified and represented so that we can red and interpret the information in front … Continue reading A different projection

Justin has been running another round of lean start-up training.  It seems to be going well.  It is part of our drive to change the way that we think and deliver services.  The approach helps us to think about projects and product delivery in a different way, a more rapid and agile way where failure … Continue reading Organisational context

I came across a programme about Andrea Camilleri the other day.  He is Italy’s most read author.  He wrote the Inspector Montalbano books which have been serialised on BBC 4. You may have caught them. Now this is not the kind of programme that I would have normally watched.  Sure, I like his books. I … Continue reading An all-inclusive ticket