Day 14 – 21 January 2014 What is it about having a beard the makes people think they can poke fun at you? I’ve suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous beard insults already including: your photo must have been taken when you were much younger; any longer and it would look weird and; you … Continue reading A year of work in progress – day 14
A year of work in progress – day 12
Day 12 – 17 January 2014 There are two main groups that I attend which represent ICT in the region, the Society of ICT Managers (SOCITM) and the North East ICT Managers (NEICT). My friend Roy chairs the first and I chair the latter. Today it is the turn of SOCITM. This group covers the … Continue reading A year of work in progress – day 12
A year of work in progress – day 11
Day 11 – 16 January 2014 No! I’ve left the power cable for my laptop at EDC. When I got it out of my bag I thought I mustn’t leave it there but I did and so a quick unscheduled trip to Spennymoor was called for. Back at County Hall my first meeting (only 5 … Continue reading A year of work in progress – day 11
A year of work in progress – day 9
Day 9 – 14 January 2014 Wow, a very quiet day. Only three meetings, one in the morning, one at midday and one in the afternoon and the best bit was that my first was at Northumberland County Hall, less than a kilometre from home. Number 8 on my 10 things I’m going to do … Continue reading A year of work in progress – day 9
Embedding
I have been thinking a lot about the relationship between the work that you do and the place that you do it and I have become more and more convinced that if place matters at all then the best location is to be as close to your customers as possible. If place doesn’t matter then … Continue reading Embedding
A year of work in progress – day 6
Day 6 – 9 January 2014 It is not often that we get a chance to make a direct impact upon the good people of the county. ICT is usually in the background (or in the basement in most cases) but it is different with the Digital Durham programme. Our aim is to provide, or … Continue reading A year of work in progress – day 6
A year of work in progress – day 5
Day 5 –8 January 2014 Today was a management meeting today. The Project leaders met in the morning, that is the wider management team and the Senior Management Team met in the afternoon. I was asked to give an opening talk to set the scene for the year ahead. This is an abrdiged version, a … Continue reading A year of work in progress – day 5
A year of work in progress – day 2
Day 2 – 3 January 2014 Boy was I tired. For the first time in ages it was the alarm that woke me. I’m not used to real work but I was back at Meadowfield this morning to help out in the stores once more. The schools come back on Monday and so we need … Continue reading A year of work in progress – day 2
A year of work in progress – day 1
I’ve been inspired by Rachel Orr, A Head Teacher I have met and a blogger. On 1 January 2013 she set out to write a blog post every day for a year. You can find it here and it is some achievement: 365 days in my shoes. This year I’m going to try something similar, … Continue reading A year of work in progress – day 1
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