Clai cyffredin nid aur ac arian. Being ordinary doesn’t feel like much of a goal does it. It’s certainly not aspirational in the sense of the ‘happy clappy’ vision statements you see in lots of corporate documents. But ordinary and mundane are essential. This is the stuff of everyday life, the fabric of society, the […]
Agile Project Management and a Naval Bombardment in Newport, South Wales
This is actually about the game Battleships and not some sinister plot (probably by Cardiffians) to obliterate Newport in a naval bombardment. Last week I went to Newport to learn about agile project management from James Scrimshire of hurricanefour.com and got involved in a game of Battleships. It was at a Port80 event organised by […]
Experts are great……. you just have to keep them in their box.
This is something a former boss of mine used to say. I realise it has the potential to upset a few people (particularly experts); please don’t get offended just yet. This post Is Best Practice the Enemy of Innovation generated a bit of discussion that got me digging deeper into the role of experts in […]
Graphic Facilitation….so much better than my notes.
Building on my enthusiasm for graphic facilitation (as mentioned in previous posts) I was fortunate to see Paul Richardson of apagraphicfacilitation.com in action at Welsh Public Services Summer School. In the spirit of a picture really does speak a thousand words and the drawings are so much better than my notes, here are a few […]
Berlin Love Padlocks…. not as viral as I’d imagined
That’s a title that could conjure up something interesting particularly if you frequent the more exotic Berlin attractions (I’d imagine). Well actually it’s quite sweet and innocent. Love padlocks are a tradition that involves placing a padlock on a piece of municipal iron work, usually a bridge railing, and throwing the key into the river […]
Three Very Different Organisations, Five Common Words. IdeasUK Employee Engagement Network Meeting.
Last week I had the great joy of attending an IdeasUK Employee Engagement network meeting in Cardiff, hosted by the Wales Audit Office. The three organisations presenting workshops were incredibly different yet, I picked up on five common themes: Longevity, Trust, Evidence, Belief and Passion. Question: Are these the key elements of success for any […]
Why us Welsh make the best guides at German Museums
Recently I visited 3 Berlin museums in a single day, impressive I know, 6 hours of intensive learning and culture. These were all good learning experiences; however the best one was delivered by someone Welsh, Shaun from Aberystwyth! I’m not being biased here, there are good reasons I’ll explain. I’m not going to give you a […]
Sherry and Twiglets vrs Fence Building. How shared action builds relationships, and why I want a walking coach.
This might seem like an odd admission but…… I have always dreamed of having a boss that would take me out walking in the Brecon Beacons once a month. There, I’ve said it. Now let me explain why…… I’ve got a new neighbour, who’s doing lots of renovation work on the property including fence building. […]
Will descending from Welsh Sheep Farmers prevent you collaborating?
Back in the mid 1800’s a group of Welsh emigrants were being rescued from an island where they been shipwrecked. Before they left, they modestly showed their rescuers what they had achieved during their years of isolation. “These are our houses, this is the school, this is the reading room, this is the rugby field, […]
Field notes to Report……..what we write down is different to what happens
If you are Welsh and have even the faintest interest in rugby you’ll know exactly what this picture is all about (just in case you don’t have read about why Allain Rolland was right). This isn’t a post complaining about referees, they are just like the rest of us, struggling to cope with the reality […]
What's the PONT 