outcome

I think I’m finally beginning to win the argument over open data.  It has been a long haul and there are many sceptics.  They are quite right to be so, as it’s very hard to prove the benefits of opening up data for all to see.  Some projects have done it very well and are … Continue reading Opening data

You would think that judging a competition is easy, well let me tell you that you would be wrong.  When I was asked to chair the panel for this year’s Dynamites 16, the North East Technology Awards event, I thought that it would be a piece of cake.  I mean how hard can it be?  … Continue reading Judging the competition

I have come to admire artists, those who can see things that others can’t, those who can create beauty from oil on canvas, clay or marble and those who can challenge our perceptions and help us to see life in a different way. I don’t know much about the art world however, yet I finally … Continue reading Creative and artistic work

It is the awards season again and I'm in two minds. I never know if award events are good things.  I am not alone. A quick straw poll of my Leadership Team would suggest that we are all of the same view.  We are all slightly uncomfortable with them yet recognise that they have some … Continue reading Awards again

We are prisoners of our language.  It defines what we mean yet it confines our ability to change.  The way we describe things sets the tone for all subsequent thought about that subject, if we are not careful. I recall reading how Taiichi Ohno, considered to be the father of the Toyota Production System, had … Continue reading Doing our own thing

So yesterday was National Boss / Employee Exchange Day.  I’m not sure which nation this refers to but I suspect it is America.  There seems to be a day for everything now.  Who make these things up?  What does swapping the boss and employee actually mean? According to the blurb the day gives employees and … Continue reading National Boss / Employee Exchange Day

Today was my second Local CIO Council (LCIOC), the only meeting I go to with a nested acronym within an acronym.  OK, it’s not really an acronym but you know what I mean.  It is really just a set of initials.  Anyway, the meeting was held in London which is a bit of a pain … Continue reading LCIOC 2

A few blogs back I was telling you about our planning session with the Technical team, those people who look after our highways and other related infrastructure.  I said that it was an attempt to look at where we are going and how both services could work together to get there yet I never got … Continue reading Highways and Byways