Another week, and lots of positive feedback from colleagues on these weeknotes, so they keep going. This time I’ve written it over the course of the week, rather than in one huge writing session at the weekend. I’m not sure it really helped… it’s still way too long. Anyway, here it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(I’m also slightly concerned that some people think I have too much time on my hands. I really don’t. I just stay up too late and don’t get enough sleep!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I struggle to write about work at the moment. I’m doing lots of cool stuff, but I don’t really want to tell competitors what Node4<\/a> is developing. Even so, it’s no secret that we’re driving forwards with our Digital delivery (that’s why Node4 bought TNP<\/a>, risual<\/a>, Tisski<\/a>, and ThreeTwoFour<\/a>) – and public cloud is a big part of that, particularly in the Microsoft space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My presentation to the Node4 Go To Market community on our public cloud transformation capabilities seemed to go well. And it would be remiss of me not to say that, if you want to know more about how we can potentially help your organisation on its Microsoft Azure journey then I, or my colleagues, would be pleased to have a conversation. Feel free to get in touch on email<\/a>, or book some time with me<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Beyond that, I joined an interesting call with IDC, looking at the European cloud market in 2024. And I’m just getting involved in a project with some cool tech to help address the ransomware challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most exciting though is that I’ve submitted a request to join Node4’s Innovate Leadership Development Pathway for 2024. This looks to be a great programme, run over several months, that results in an ILM qualification<\/a>. The reason I’m excited is that, for the first time in a while, I feel that I’m in a role where I can exploit my leadership potential. I had a career diversion into management, because I thought I needed that experience. Then I got out of it, only to fall back into it (and was very unhappy for quite a long time). Management and leadership are very different things, and over the years I’ve learned that I want to be a leader, not a manager.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Much is made of “watercooler moments” as a reason to return to the office (RTO). Well, is there any reason that such moments can’t happen outside the office too?<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2023, Matt Ballantine ran a “100 coffees” experiment to chat without any particular agenda<\/a>. It was a big success so it’s rolled on into 2024, currently at around 138. (I was number 49<\/a>.) Incidentally, you don’t have to drink coffee. It’s about taking the time to chat with people and other beverages are equally acceptable. Or, as Matt describes it in a post he wrote for his employer, Equal Experts, <\/a>about the process and its benefits<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Coffee here is a metaphor. A metaphor for being intentional about making space in our working days to create serendipity, build relationships, reflect, have new ideas, share old ideas and a wealth of other benefits that come from conversations without agenda.”<\/p>\nMatt Ballantine: “How to have coffee”<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Earlier in the month I had some “coffees” with some colleagues I no longer work with on an daily basis. It was brilliant just to check in and see what they are up to, to keep myself in touch with what’s going on in a different part of the organisation. This week, in addition to some “quick chats” with a couple of my peers, I met several people outside the company for “coffee”. Their roles included: a Chief Evangelist; a Managing Director; and a Digital Transformation Consultant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One I hadn’t seen since we worked together over a decade ago. Another is part of a “coffee club” that Matt set up to encourage us have a monthly conversation with someone we don’t normally talk to. And one has become a friend over the years that we’ve been catching up for coffee and occasional lunches. My own lack of confidence makes me think “what do I have to add to this conversation”, but invariably I learn things. And I assume that the value of meeting up with no agenda to “just have a chat” goes both ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our conversation topics were wide and varied. From family life to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n That’s the whole point. No agenda. See where the conversation leads. Get to know each other better. Learn new things. Build relationships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And all three \u201ccoffees\u201d ran out of time!<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was just about to ask my colleagues what fancy webcams they were using. Their blurred backgrounds looked so much better than mine on #MicrosoftTeams<\/a> calls… then I found this setting! pic.twitter.com\/fvDo2znsWN<\/a><\/p>— Mark Wilson (@markwilsonit) January 22, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Reminder: if someone talks about "old people" as a group who don't understand how to do things online, they're thinking about people who've already been dead for a decade or more https:\/\/t.co\/YGJoQozDad<\/a><\/p>— John B (@johnb78) January 19, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nCoffees (virtual and IRL)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Some of the things we talked about<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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This week in tech<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Some posts I liked elsewhere<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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