Have you seen the price of train tickets? No wonder the roads are so full. I had the notion in my mind that public transport was there so that the masses could have access to low cost transport. I thought that by sharing the journey with people I didn’t know it would mean that the … Continue reading Cheap train travel
Who put them in charge?
Who put celebrity chefs in charge? It seems that I can’t switch on the television now without seeing their beaming faces telling us what we should be eating. They’re chopping, they’re stirring, they’re mixing and they’re cooking. It’s cheap TV, easy to produce and easy to watch. It mixes characters with ingredients and has a … Continue reading Who put them in charge?
The fickle glitter ball
So, Abbey Clancy has been crowned Strictly Come Dancing champion for 2013. Congratulations. I must admit that my favourite was Natalie Gumede but I cannot complain, after all it has been a fantastic series. Both Clancy and Gumede have been near the top of the leader board throughout the last three months and both have … Continue reading The fickle glitter ball
Doing Lean
I’ve been fascinated by the concept of Lean ever since I read the book ‘The Machine that Changed the World’. Its description of the Toyota Production System and the dramatic effect that this had had upon automotive production was, and still is incredible. This must be at least fifteen years now and ever since I … Continue reading Doing Lean
Today we start a new job
It feels like the end of a journey, one that has lasted nigh on three years. It feels like we’ve been working to get meaningful broadband across the County forever. For the people who need it, the 170,000 on the wrong side of this digital divide, I’m sure it feels the same. And in many … Continue reading Today we start a new job
Change your password
There are some things in life that are such a hassle: filling the car up with petrol; taking a cheque to cash into the bank; and changing your passwords. These are not big things and thankfully you don’t have to do them that often but they get on your nerves. The yellow light that flashes … Continue reading Change your password
A conference I wasn’t at
This was another first for me this week. I managed to get a question raised during a live question and answer session at a conference that I wasn’t even at and it was all thanks to social media. I’ve been using Twitter for several years now. I got myself started in order to see what … Continue reading A conference I wasn’t at
A leaky bucket
Imagine a bucket with a hole in the bottom. That’s how we manage the jobs that we get within the service, or calls as we refer to them, using a leaky bucket. It could be a shiny read bucket with a strong wire handle and comfortable wooden grip or an old galvanised bucket with a … Continue reading A leaky bucket
Channel shift – it has to be more than just about money
I’ve been to a conference on channel shift, encouraging your customers to move to different forms of interaction with your organisation. It was good, perhaps not worth the five hour train ride but you always pick up something interesting from these events. Lunch was nice too. But my gripe was that speaker after speaker talked … Continue reading Channel shift – it has to be more than just about money
The day I didn’t buy online
Len Goodman, head judge on the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing says that he’s a wind-up watch in a digital world. I’m not. He has a few years on me but I am a silvering surfer, happy to be fully in tune with the shift towards the modern online way of doing things. I use social … Continue reading The day I didn’t buy online
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 