Day 19 – 29 January 2014 It is easier to get from where I live to Seaham through the Tyne Tunnel and I pretend to myself that this makes a welcome change from my normal daily commute. I just get stuck in different places. An accident at Moor Farm roundabout didn’t help. Our offices there … Continue reading A year of work in progress – day 19
A year of work in progress – day 14
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 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
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
A leaky bucket
Imagine a bucket with a hole in the bottom. That’s how we manage the jobs that we get within the service, or calls as we refer to them, using a leaky bucket. It could be a shiny read bucket with a strong wire handle and comfortable wooden grip or an old galvanised bucket with a … Continue reading A leaky bucket
Channel shift – it has to be more than just about money
I’ve been to a conference on channel shift, encouraging your customers to move to different forms of interaction with your organisation. It was good, perhaps not worth the five hour train ride but you always pick up something interesting from these events. Lunch was nice too. But my gripe was that speaker after speaker talked … Continue reading Channel shift – it has to be more than just about money
Colchester General Hospital targets improvement
Once again another hospital finds itself in the news because of its target driven culture. This time it is Colchester General Hospital and follows an inspection by the Care Quality Commission which found inaccuracies in recorded cancer waiting time data at the hospital. The manipulation of data to give the impression that targets were being … Continue reading Colchester General Hospital targets improvement
Buy more – pay more
The system of commerce that we operate within has the underlying principle that if you buy more then you should pay less. Buy two get one free. 33% extra free. Bulk-buy discounts available. The thinking is that the more that is shipped then the lower the distribution cost, the lower the associated overhead and the … Continue reading Buy more – pay more
Brand aware
Today we have been running a pilot session for our upcoming ICT workshops. These are building upon the successful customer focus sessions we ran last year. The basic thrust of the event is around our ICT strategy, how this fits in with what the business wants and what our individual roles are in delivering it. … Continue reading Brand aware
Keep rowing
I’ve been reading a book of late called ‘The oarsome adventures of a fat boy rower’ by Kevin Biggar. It was leant to me by Leah from OnBrand Partners. It’s about how he went from being a couch potato (I can empathise) to winning an Atlantic rowing race. It’s a great tale of commitment, team … Continue reading Keep rowing
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 