Data is such a hot topic now. There are many good examples emerging of where it has been used to improve businesses as well as plenty of examples of when things have gone wrong. I was at a Digital Strategy and Business Intelligence Breakfast Meeting in Newcastle last week and one of the speakers, from … Continue reading Driving data to the average
Guerrilla Workers unite
‘You’re not the only Guerrilla Worker you know’ Ian said to me. I must admit I was a little taken aback by his tone. It was as if he was accusing me of claiming to be something that I wasn’t. When I stopped and thought about it however I felt better. Perhaps I am not … Continue reading Guerrilla Workers unite
Elephant eating party
How do you eat an elephant? Why, a slice at a time of course. Everyone knows that. So what do you do if you are faced with an elephant that needs to be eaten? You get a few friends round and ask them to tuck in. You have an elephant eating party. It was Su’s … Continue reading Elephant eating party
North East Data Group part 2
This is the second part of the presentation I gave last week to the North East Data group at Campus North on what Durham is up to with Open Data. I am pleased to say that our elephant has given birth. Mother and baby are doing well and we are off and running. We are … Continue reading North East Data Group part 2
North East Data Group part 1
Last night I had the pleasure of presenting to the North East Data group at Campus North on what Durham is up to with Open Data. There were twenty or so people in the room and it was interesting how many of them I already knew. It was a story of two halves, with my … Continue reading North East Data Group part 1
Fresh perspectives
I read that Taiichi Ohno would draw a circle on the floor and make his new disciples stand in it and observe how things really worked. He would make them stay there until they had a strong understanding of the business. I think it was in the book ‘The Machine that Changed the World’ in … Continue reading Fresh perspectives
Who should run the project
This is a question that has troubled me for some time. Who is it that should run a project, or rather which team or service should they come from? Good project management skills are hard to find, certainly within an organisation that has a lot of operational stuff going on. Change happens all the time … Continue reading Who should run the project
Open journalism
I’ve never really thought about being a journalist. To be honest I’m not really sure what they do. Yes, I get that they write articles for newspapers, magazines and the broadcast media but I am assuming that they do more than that. Surely it is something to do with stories, finding them and writing about … Continue reading Open journalism
We talk about diversity
There is a lot of talk about diversity in the media these days. Only this morning when I put on the telly there was an article on assessing disabled people’s ability to work. The government has promised to overhaul the work capability process and has promised to make it more personal. Their hope is that … Continue reading We talk about diversity
Taking time to get out there
We always try to start our meetings off with some good stories. It gets everything off on the right tone. Brian told us how he had been out doing some mock interviews with some school students and how much he had enjoyed it. Some of the young people were very good while some were less … Continue reading Taking time to get out there
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 