Somehow the meeting room we were waiting outside had been booked out by someone else. Some generous soul said it had been double-booked and others thought it was just an oversight. It turned out that the date for the meeting had been moved but the room booking hadn’t been carried with it. There was a … Continue reading Self-organising meetings
Big commerce, big government
There are some great things going on across the North East region these days, especially in tech. If you have been reading this blog or following my Tweets over the last fortnight or so you will know that I seem to have been at an endless stream of conferences and trade shows. It’s funny how … Continue reading Big commerce, big government
CIO or CTO
At last week’s launch of the Harvey Nash CIO survey we got round to talking about job titles. Is there a difference between a Chief Information Officer and a Chief Technical Officer, a CIO and a CTO? There was also talk of a CMO, a Chief Marketing Officer, which is one I had never heard. … Continue reading CIO or CTO
CIO Survey
I enjoyed the panel at the launch of this year’s Harvey Nash CIO Survey. It was held at KPMG’s offices overlooking the Baltic Flour Mills on the banks of the Tyne (the queen of all the rivers). There were five of us sitting out front and about seventy people in the audience. They were mostly … Continue reading CIO Survey
The museum of our working lives (my 1000th blog)
A colleague of mine was getting herself ready to leave. I met in her office to talk about the kit that she would no longer need. It was a grand office that befitted her position. Even though she had been here for a shorter period than I had she had managed to fill it with … Continue reading The museum of our working lives (my 1000th blog)
The digital ‘industry’
Hans said that ‘the trouble with digital is that everyone talks about it as if it is an industry yet it is not.’ We were at the North East Combined Authority Digital Leads meeting and were grappling with trying to turn our thoughts and concepts into something more tangible. ‘It is not an industry’ he … Continue reading The digital ‘industry’
Caught in the vernacular
Mike and I got talking about those little phrases that are caught in the vernacular, things we hear every day that make us wince or stick in our craw, things that people believe are true yet are holding us back. Business as usual. There is something wrong with the culture. We added a new one. … Continue reading Caught in the vernacular
Flying saucers
Sometimes you mean to do something yet your actions give you away. Your thoughts and words say one think but you inadvertently give a different message with the things you do. The expression 'do as I say and not what I do' was created for such occasions. If they didn't happen then it wouldn't be … Continue reading Flying saucers
My first Local Chief Information Officer Council
Well, to be honest, I quite enjoyed my first Local Chief Information Officer Council meeting. Let’s call it LCIOC for short. Part of me was determined not to while another pat was secretly looking forward to it. As I have ended up chairing the local branch of Socitm (nee Society of ICT Managers) I … Continue reading My first Local Chief Information Officer Council
Too many to shake a stick at.
I’ve ended up with a new team. I think I’ve already told you that. It covers a lot of transactional stuff around payments, collections and human resources and so there are a lot of people involved. Too many to shake a stick at. I held my first one to one with Michelle. Those with the … Continue reading Too many to shake a stick at.
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 