I’m ranting again. I’m railing against the machine. I’m banging on and on about those issues that keep tripping us up, the rocks in the stream that disrupt our flow, the sand in our shoe which causes us to limp and the pea under the mattress that gives us a restless night’s sleep. We had … Continue reading Unfolding plans 13 – I’m railing against the machine
Unfolding plans 12 – are we a bureaucratic nation?
Sugata Mitra is a very interesting man. Get to see him if you can. I’ve mentioned him several times both around his school in the cloud work and also the development of self-learning environments. That reminds me that I must do something about my wish to create a self-learning work environment (number eight on my … Continue reading Unfolding plans 12 – are we a bureaucratic nation?
Unfolding plans 11 – In the future all business will rely upon technology.
It was an interesting meeting with Durham BID. Their offices are in the centre of Durham, just next to Greggs in case you are wondering. BID stands for business improvement district and they have the role of trying to improve the lot of the businesses, all four hundred and sixty of them, within what is … Continue reading Unfolding plans 11 – In the future all business will rely upon technology.
Unfolding plans 10 – Durham is the ideal place to site your data centre
I’ve been told that Durham is the ideal place to site your data centre. It’s something to do with the ambient temperature. You don’t need air conditioning - you just need to open the doors. Those of you down south paying over the odds for expensive cooling take note. We’ve been applying this principle in … Continue reading Unfolding plans 10 – Durham is the ideal place to site your data centre
Unfolding plans 8 – coming together isn’t just about doing things
The work with our neighbours is taking shape. It would be easy to talk about the projects that are underway. They are tangible, they can be measured and they can be accounted for. We have several up and running. They are big and meaty and it will be great when we see them through to … Continue reading Unfolding plans 8 – coming together isn’t just about doing things
Unfolding plans 7 – Was it Wanamaker who once said that he knew that half of his advertising was wasted?
Build it and they will come. Perhaps they will but many won’t. Demand stimulation is an essential part of our Digital Durham programme. Without it we would have nothing. A modern and effective broadband infrastructure would be of no value without people who use it. We’re building it and we need to encourage them to … Continue reading Unfolding plans 7 – Was it Wanamaker who once said that he knew that half of his advertising was wasted?
Unfolding plans 6 – Mentoring is something I’ve never done before
Mentoring is something I’ve never done before (third or second thing this year?). Last year the Senior Leadership Team was asked if this is something we could provide and towards the back end of last year we all attended some training and offered our services to the wider management group. Everyone was offered a first … Continue reading Unfolding plans 6 – Mentoring is something I’ve never done before
Unfolding plans 3
I’ve restructured our Senior Leadership Team meetings. Today we did something that I’ve wanted to do for some time but never got round to it. We had our first meeting entirely dedicated to the customer. It was a sales meeting or a commercial meeting or a focus on growth. I’m going to take this as … Continue reading Unfolding plans 3
Unfolding plans 2
The English language is a funny thing. Nearly every word has both a positive and a negative connotation. Take the word flexible for instance. As an adjective it can mean capable of being bent or susceptible to modification or adaptation. As an adjective there is a whiff of the sinister. I can take something that … Continue reading Unfolding plans 2
A year of work in progress – day 222
Day 222 – 23 December 2014 Writing a strategy is hard because I lack a basic skill. Concentration. I just can’t do it. I find it really hard to sit for hours focussed on the same thing. My mind starts to wander. There are three things I can cite in my defence. One: A strategy … Continue reading A year of work in progress – day 222
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 