How exciting I am now a director of an ATA, an Apprentice Training Agency. Service Direct Newco, a wholly owned subsidiary of the council has been awarded this status. It has been a long up-hill climb to get there but it offers us some important capabilities. My thanks must go to Cath, Steven and Lee … Continue reading Training Apprentices
Data assets
Data assets are hard to get your head around. They not like physical assets such as PCs or laptops or services or buildings. I mean electronic data assets here. They hide in the ether. Just like that thing called love ‘You can't see them with your eyes, hold them in your hand, but I like … Continue reading Data assets
Learn from play
Children learn from play. Hold the front page. Who could believe it? Whatever will they think of next? I heard it on the news so it must be true, yet anyone who has ever had children knows this to be self-evident. Children learn the social norms of interaction, collaboration and hierarchy through play. Anyone who … Continue reading Learn from play
Broader broadband
I'm not involved in the Digital Durham programme as much as I used to be, at least not in the direct provision of broadband. This is testament to the great work that the team is doing back at World Headquarters. They don't need me to poke my nose in. I was reminded at the board … Continue reading Broader broadband
A0
I've been trying to get our ICT strategy onto a page. A single page. It is proving to be quite difficult because of all the complexity and the enormous list of things we get involved in. I've tried words and I've tried pictures. I would really like it to be like an infographic, all modern … Continue reading A0
Cyber security
Cyber is not one of those things I write a lot about. It's not the easiest of things to build a tale around, yet it lies at the very heart of what we do as organisations. It is a hugely important subject and should occupy the mind of anyone who has a responsibility to lead an … Continue reading Cyber security
Random benchmarking
Is comparison with another organisation ever worthwhile? I am not so sure. Every now and then the question of benchmarking raises its ugly head. Ugly to me that is. Tom and I have ended up having a conversation over its merits. Benchmarking in itself is not bad. It is what is done in the name … Continue reading Random benchmarking
Another bad habit
Of the twenty bad habits that senior managers have, according to Marshal Goldsmith, twenty things that they do that hold them back, I have fessed up to three of them. I have re-evaluated that up to four. They are listed in his excellent book ‘What got you here won't get you there.’ I have already … Continue reading Another bad habit
A rollercoaster
Life is filled with ups and downs. Like grandma said in ‘Parenthood’ it's like a rollercoaster ride. There are highs and lows. Sometimes you feel like your underwater, inundated with too much work, and then you rise to the surface to gasp for air only to find the sun is shining. Once more everything is alright … Continue reading A rollercoaster
Cumulating
The cloud will be the saviour of all mankind if you believe the hype. It will feed the hungry, liberate the poor and satiate our warring bloodlust. The world will be a better place thanks to the cloud. But how can a simple hosting arrangement, the rewriting of software or a transfer of revenue make … Continue reading Cumulating
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 