Monthnote: November 2024
Some shorter notes from a busy November.
Following recent team changes at TPXimpact, we organised and held an important reset with our Design Leadership team in London, spending a day together in person for the first time this year. I was able to bring in some external facilitation support for this, and we had valuable time to talk and come together again as a team. It was also good to get time together offsite and away from our usual office spaces, using the excellent facilities at Wallacespace, Covert Garden – just next door to the old GDS Aviation House offices.
I then spent the following two days in separate planning sessions with our Digital Transformation leadership team, with sessions led by our Managing Director, Jen Byrne. This was another important moment, where we were all taking time out of busy schedules to come together, and to start to plan towards next year. You simply can’t underestimate the value of in person time like this, making the time to catch up properly, and also in being able to all sit down and eat together in the evening.
We met at The Story Garden for our leadership working sessions, which was another great place to spend time, away for our usual meeting and office spaces.
I did a couple more London visits this month, with my only other travel being a trip to Edinburgh mid-way through the month. I spent an excellent final day of the year with the Scottish Digital Academy, supporting Tash Willcocks to run an Alumni Hack Day session with some of the previous cohorts of the Leading in a Digital World programme.
Outside of work, I didn’t manage any walks in the Lakes, as the weather moved swiftly towards winter, with much colder temperature and a series of storms that seemed to arrive every time we reached a weekend.
I did manage to stay well all month having got my flu jab (better late than never), and I seem to be avoiding the many bugs and winter viruses now doing the rounds, with lots of people needing to be off sick at work.
Following my October health updates about my hearing, I’ve been for a follow up hearing test and CT scan. I now need to chase up trying to get an appointment with the right consultant – I’m not holding my breath about how long this might take.
What I’ve been writing
I started writing more again in November, picking up on one of my goals for this year. I realised that I’ve not been great at finishing posts, despite lots of reading, research and note writing.
I shared some notes and thoughts on the book AI Snake Oil, and wrote a post about why I find the idea of “analogue to digital” a little jarring, especially given my Flu vaccination experience: Analogue because of digital.
I also shared some thoughts about the idea of ‘smallness’ – something that I think is an important mindset, and that can help larger or growing organisations, like the one I work for.
Finally, I shared this post for anyone managing a long term of worsening health condition – with a favourite quote of mine from Billy Connolly: Most things can be conquered.
What I’ve been reading
In November, I listened to the audiobook How Big Things Get Done: The Surprising Factors Behind Every Successful Project, from Home Renovations to Space Exploration, by Bent Flyvbjerd and Dan Gardener. It’s a book about why big projects fail, including IT projects, but that also talks about the importance of starting small, and building in modular ways. I liked this book so much I’ve now bought a physical copy to re-read.
I also read an excellent short book, Do/Pause: You are not a To Do List by Robert Poynton, and have been listening to On the Edge: The Art of Risking Everything, the new book by Nate Silver – some mixed thoughts here, but also some useful insights around understanding and holding risk.
This is my blog where I’ve been writing for 20 years. You can follow all of my posts by subscribing to this RSS feed. You can also find me on Bluesky and LinkedIn.