I had a couple of days out of the office this week, so don’t feel I’ve been as productive, talking to people is a different kind of work.
What did you learn?
Two people have come to me this week with possible projects. I was able to put some pieces together because I can see the overlaps and also I was able to draw on past experiences of what the implications of the projects might be on users. It’s cool to realise I’ve got that sort of wider context.
What did you enjoy?
This week was a quieter week which was nice. I didn’t feel rushed, that does make me wonder if there is more I should be doing.
I did a mini service blueprint which prompted a lot of questions which was useful. I think it helped the team understand what we’re building.
What did you learn?
I’m learning more about how decisions about funding are made, which is very interesting.
Who did you talk to outside of your organisation?
I went on an away-day for two days with an adjacent team and spent time understanding their strategy. It made me realise how much I enjoy meeting new people. I was able to understand what is going on in their world and add value.
Prioritising is a universal struggle, there is always too much work to do.
I had conversations with people about how we could work together. It was cool that they are excited about what we’re doing, but we’ve got some way to go to work out how that works in practicality. I’m finding it hard to think that through and know how to negotiate it.
What are you reading and listening to?
I watched Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action | TED Talk. And then I’ve also listened to the audio book Find Your WHY. I’ve started to think about what my stories might be that will help me find my why. My next step is to find someone to facilitate my talking through those stories.
I listened to Pop Science — Can you Sleep with your Eyes Open? — BBC Sounds. It was great, I listened to it in the early hours when I’d woken up too early and was a bit confused by the questions and answers. When I realised it was first broadcast in 1995 then it all made a lot more sense. It’s so interesting what’s changed during my lifetime.
I listened to Design thinking was supposed to fix the world. Where did it go wrong? It’s a fascinating review, this has got me thinking about how much design is working, should we be going slower in some areas to be able to work at the pace of the people who use services, and faster in others because we already know what needs to be done?
