Our Great Staff, Great Stuff awards is one of those annual events that stand out in the calendar. It marks the change of season from Autumn to Winter and shows that the calendar year is coming to an end. It just seems to have come round so quickly this year. I can still remember sitting … Continue reading Great stuff
Bring back my blog
At the last round of presentations, I was asked a question. ‘What has happened to my blog? Not this blog but rather the one I used to do religiously every Friday at work. I had it down as one of my weekly tasks. It was only a small piece describing what I was up to … Continue reading Bring back my blog
Effect on performance
A trip down to Manchester seemed like a pleasant day out. I was asked to go down and speak at the North West regional meeting of Socitm. The invitation had come about when Paul and I had met at the Local CIO Council and he was one of the people who had seen my book. … Continue reading Effect on performance
Getting to be number one
I haven’t written about Andy Murray for a while. There are many things I haven’t written about but I do have form on this one. I first mentioned him back in October 2014 and he has made an infrequent yet regular appearance ever since. Now I know he is a bit Marmite. Some people for … Continue reading Getting to be number one
Elephants again
It was time to think about those elephants again, you know the ones in the room. Those hulking great issues that everyone knows about yet nobody wants to talk about. We’ve had a few sessions with dawn to try and flush them out. Can you flush out an elephant? Perish the thought. Was this session … Continue reading Elephants again
Work is changing
There is a very real issue we face and that is whether we can maintain the way that we work by continuing to be organised as we are. Many organisations, especially public sector ones are at a tipping point where the addition of greater and greater amounts of funding will not solve the underlying problems of demand and supply. … Continue reading Work is changing
General regulation
In this post-referendum, pre-Brexit era, the reach of the European Union can still be felt throughout the land. I’m not stating my position on the in or out campaign but anyone who really knows me would be clear about my views. Instead I wanted to talk about the General Data Protection Regulation or GDPR for … Continue reading General regulation
Building skills
I must admit that I find children and young people the worst audience to present to. They scare me stiff and as Graham and I walked into the main hall at Farringdon Community Academy I began to wonder what we had let ourselves in for. There were at least one hindered and fifty of them, … Continue reading Building skills
North East Combined
I don’t know what it is about this time of year but everything seems to be so busy. Perhaps it is the relentless approach of Christmas, the time when the world will end and by when everything has to be completed. Perhaps it is because we are well clear of the summer break and all … Continue reading North East Combined
Mega board revisited
Yesterday we had our first performance meeting under the new management arrangements. Bringing the management and leadership teams together every fortnight hadn’t delivered what we, or at least I had hoped for. The meetings had lacked focus and purpose and so it was time to try something new. We need to keep trying until we … Continue reading Mega board revisited
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 