Unfolding plans 19 – the value tree

I was intrigued.  The invite said that during the meeting we ‘will capture these (Mission Statement, objectives and priorities) in a “Value Tree” which is a graphical way of presenting the key objectives that requires them to be ranked in order of importance. The Value Tree can then be used at future “Gateways” to check … Continue reading Unfolding plans 19 – the value tree

Unfolding plans 14 – We need more women working in ICT

We need more women working in ICT.  It is a male dominated industry and at times can lean towards misogyny.  I did not put them in any order but this the first thing on my list of things to achieve this year.  Actually this is not a gender issue though it certainly manifests itself this … Continue reading Unfolding plans 14 – We need more women working in ICT

Unfolding plans 13 – I’m railing against the machine

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 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 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

A year of work in progress – day 223

Day 223 – 24 December 2014 So here it is, the last working day of my year and so the last day of this blog. I managed to get there without missing a post and without running out of things to say. Sometimes the words tripped off the ends of my fingers and there were … Continue reading A year of work in progress – day 223

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

A year of work in progress – day 220

Day 220 – 19 December 2014 Have you ever imagined what it would be like to navigate in space? I mean deep space. Back here on Earth in a sort of Euclidian way it is easy. We can safely assume that getting from B to A is just the reverse of getting from A to … Continue reading A year of work in progress – day 220