I’m fed up with road works. If ever there was an oxymoron then this must be it. Road works means that they don’t. Every journey I make seems to be severed with multiple interventions by the highways people, local council and utility companies. Every road is dug up. My retinas are burnt with the reflected … Continue reading Unfolding plans 35 – If ever there was an oxymoron then this must be it.
Unfolding plans 34 – our runaway thoughts
Our thoughts are like trains on a track. They trundle along in whichever direction you send them. Backwards and forwards they go, trapped in their linear travels. They are very hard to stop are our runaway thoughts. Sometimes we come across a branch line, a quiet siding where we can let our thoughts and dreams … Continue reading Unfolding plans 34 – our runaway thoughts
Unfolding plans 29 – customers are our core business
Account management can be difficult to justify, especially in these straightened times. It is an overhead that we can ill afford. When we are being asked to watch every penny and cut out all waste, having a team of people who work with the customer, both internal and external, can be seen as a luxury. … Continue reading Unfolding plans 29 – customers are our core business
Unfolding plans 27 – a bit of town planning
Digital, is it a curse or saviour? I mentioned last year that a group of us had come together to see if we could use online technologies to help with the regeneration of Stanley. I’d put a report together to try and generate some interest and this week it was my opportunity to present it … Continue reading Unfolding plans 27 – a bit of town planning
Unfolding plans 26 – There are those that tell and those that ask
There are those that tell and those that ask, apparently. No human system is so binary yet most of us fall towards one end of the ask or tell continuum. We may prefer to ask but from time to time find the need to tell. We may feel that we ask when indeed we are … Continue reading Unfolding plans 26 – There are those that tell and those that ask
Unfolding plans 25 – Something has to give and the technology is going to help
I’ve noticed a subtle change. Services are coming to us asking for help. The drive to use technology is growing at pace. I don’t know if austerity has helped but it has certainly sharpened our focus. As the cuts have gone deeper and deeper there is an increasing realisation that we can’t do the same … Continue reading Unfolding plans 25 – Something has to give and the technology is going to help
Unfolding plans 24 – the true test of artificial intelligence is for it to deliver something unpredictable
It’s an interesting concept. How do you test artificial intelligence? It is a concept that is difficult to define yet we all can understand that human intelligence is different from so called artificial intelligence. I’ve already said in a previous piece that I struggle with the definition of artificial intelligence, or machine intelligence as all … Continue reading Unfolding plans 24 – the true test of artificial intelligence is for it to deliver something unpredictable
Unfolding plans 22 – It might be time for a rethink
It might be time for a rethink about our Strategic ICT Group. It has met every other month or so for a few years and the agenda has changed to accommodate the new things that we have done but basically the format has remained the same: an update on projects; agree new projects; discussion on … Continue reading Unfolding plans 22 – It might be time for a rethink
Unfolding plans 21 – I’m not one for using sporting analogies
So Andy Murray was the runner up at the Australian open. It was a shame. He’d been playing as well as he had ever been but he was up against a formidable opponent. Number six in the world was playing number one. It was sublime tennis. The match ebbed and flowed with each player gaining … Continue reading Unfolding plans 21 – I’m not one for using sporting analogies
Unfolding plans 20 – coming back to apprentices
I said I would come back to apprentices. I’ll keep coming back to them throughout the year as they are important in so many ways. They are also the seventh thing I want to achieve this year. According to the North-East Chamber of Commerce the region faces a "ticking time bomb" due to a lack … Continue reading Unfolding plans 20 – coming back to apprentices
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 