The view I chose for the top of my five year reflections no longer exists. A year ago, I captured a beautiful fiery sunset over Leeds city centre from the window of Quarry House. If I stood in the same spot today I’d see only the brick slip clad walls of the massive new block … Continue reading Another view: Reflections on a sixth year in the NHS
From the start of my time at NHS Digital, I was in the habit of publishing six-monthly updates on my work. I kept up the habit at 6 months, 1 year, 1.5 years (a special favourite), 2 years, 2.5 years, and 3 years. Why the 2 year hiatus? It’s complicated. At 3.5 years, I found … Continue reading This way up: 5 years into my work for the NHS
I hate emergencies. Some people thrive on drama, on spontaneously pulling improbable triumph from the jaws of a terrible situation. Personally, I’d much rather we didn’t get into that situation in the first place. I knew this about myself before I did the Nye Bevan Programme, and my learning on that programme confirmed it. Leadership … Continue reading 3 years into my work at NHS Digital – part 2: Responding to change over following a plan
Every 6 months since I joined NHS Digital in June 2017, I’ve written an update on our progress building digital capability inside the NHS. It’s a helpful discipline for me to look back and see how far we’ve come, and to remind myself what more we have to do. Ending my 2.5 year note in … Continue reading 3 years into my work at NHS Digital – part 1: this is transformation
I’m starting to write this on a sleepy Friday evening train back to Leeds, two and a half years and one day since I started at NHS Digital. I won’t publish it for a week or so now, out of deference to the pre-election period. This morning at Leeds Station I popped my postal vote … Continue reading Levelling up: Two and a half years into my work at NHS Digital – part 1
In a breakout room to the side of the Service Design in Government conference in Edinburgh, with a floor to ceiling view of Arthur’s Seat and a lawn where alpacas were led to graze, I chatted about service maps with a small group of my brilliant NHS Digital colleagues. I felt a little guilty keeping … Continue reading Worlds colliding – reflections 2 years into my work at NHS Digital
Other people's jobs are endlessly fascinating. At a birthday celebration a couple of years ago I got talking to Johnny, a family friend who works as an aquarium curator. He told me a surprising thing about his work: how little of his time he spends actually looking after the fish. Johnny's job is to look … Continue reading “Look after the water” – reflections 1 year into my work at NHS Digital
This is my fifth annual report on working as a service design and innovation consultant. For the story so far, see posts from 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. Saying yes to more things, more often Early in the New Year, a Stick People client got in touch to ask about a big piece of work with a very short deadline. I … Continue reading Annual Report Number Five
It's the second-to-last day of April in the year 02016 and I'm just getting round to writing this annual report to myself on a fourth year of independent consulting. For the story so far, see: Annual Report Number 1: April 13, 2013 Annual Report Number 2: April 15, 2014 Annual Report Number 3: April 18, 2015 This one has taken a … Continue reading Annual Report Number Four: theory, practice + Jaffa cakes
The night we kicked off Leeds Service Jam I sneaked away a little early from the post-theme-reveal dinner to a different pub on the other side of town. There I found an astonishing assortment of former colleagues from my time at PA New Media, Ananova and Orange - some of whom I hadn't seen for a good 10 years. … Continue reading Annual Report Number Three
A couple of Fridays ago, 14 of my favourite people gathered down at the Leeds Museums Discovery Centre for a bit of a get-together. Besides being responsible for some pretty amazing projects of their own, they'd all been involved in some way in my first two years of independent service design and innovation consulting. I wanted them to … Continue reading Annual Report Number Two
Exactly 365 days ago I set out on my independent consulting adventure, complete with the de rigueur intent to document my progress in weeknotes. Week one was an intense blur of 5am flights, meetings and bratwurst; it went un-noted. Weeks two and three likewise. For a while, I told myself there’d be “monthnotes” instead. By … Continue reading Annual Report Number One
Matt Edgar writes here 