Weeknotes #297 — Quick leg

Not a euphemism

A tough, busy week. We’re now just a couple of weeks away from the final big project milestone of the year and things are ramping up. On Monday I felt as though I was being put through the wringer a little bit with a couple of difficult situations; things got significantly easier after that, but no less busy. We have everything and everyone in place to be successful, we now just need to get it over the line.

At long last, we finally got to the week of the budget announcement by the government here in the UK, almost four months after they won the general election. Their plans to borrow more, tax more and spend more on investment are things that need to be done given the state of the country. It has amazed me — but not surprised me — how little coverage there has been on Brexit as a root cause of some of the trouble we find ourselves in today. It has cost the economy £140bn so far.

I have my fingers crossed for Harris to win next week’s election in the US. The idea of Trump getting in for a second term is stomach-turning.

This was a week in which I:

Triaged a couple of issues that have come up late in our project, agreeing on how we will test and assess solutions.

Joined the project completion meeting with our construction vendor, reviewing the outcome of the mechanical and engineering work that they have done on one of our sites.

Briefly met with our furniture vendor who was visiting our site to discuss fabric finishes and our plans for new boardroom tables.

Took part in a risk assessment meeting for our plans to open a new office in a new location.

Reviewed the latest design presentation for a shared space in one of our offices. Gave feedback on a couple of concerns that we have with the plans.

Had an introductory meeting with a new joiner at our sister company.

Submitted a narrative and photos to our regional internal newsletter about the opening of a new office that we completed in October.

Started year-end appraisals for my team. I’ve not had ‘permanent’ staff reporting to me for a decade or so. I’m already looking forward to the conversations and objective setting.

Took my team through the overview presentation that I put together a while ago that describes our function: the services and capabilities we offer, the products we own, and the current initiatives that we’re working on. Gathered lots of feedback on how we can change and improve the document.

Had a follow-up conversation with a new recruitment vendor, giving an overview of our company and what I’m looking for in a candidate to fill my vacancy.

Had a genuine ‘water cooler moment’ with a colleague that has led to a meeting being set up between a technical expert in our team and one of our business units. It’s exciting to have the opportunity to leverage the skills of our team in a broader way.

Picked up a new iPad Mini which I plan to try out as a dedicated reading device. I love my old Kindle, but it would be better if I could also read articles and PDFs that I’ve saved to Readwise Reader. At the moment I end up saving maybe 20 or 30 articles for every one that I read. I’ll see how it goes.

Ran our monthly Lean Coffee session with the team. It felt a bit flatter than usual, so we decided to wrap things up a little early.

Took Friday off in order to drive up to Mansfield with my eldest son as he was taking part in a cross-country relay race on Saturday. We were booked into a Premier Inn with a Beefeater restaurant attached to it; I’d not been to either of these in years. The Beefeater was full for dinner, so we booked ourselves a table across the road at The Nuthall. I tried deep-fried corn ribs for the first time. When they arrived, they looked to me just like halloumi fries. My son laughed at me as I tried to eat them whole, not realising the ‘rib’ part. I’m not sure my digestive system was expecting to have to deal with a corn husk. The race itself was good, with my son running a superb time in his leg, and the team doing themselves proud despite the first leg runner being tripped up by someone who fell in front of him.

Rode the cycle club ride a day early, the second time in as many weeks that I’ve tackled it solo. Being in Mansfield on Saturday morning meant I would miss out, so I assumed which route we’d be riding and pedalled it on Friday.

Media

Podcasts

Nick Robinson’s interview with Matt Goodwin got me thinking about how cultural integration of immigrants is always presented as a one-way street, i.e. the immigrants need to change their ways to fit in with the country. Wouldn’t we all end up culturally richer if it was two-way?

Video

Started watching Rivals on — surprisingly — Disney+. We’re really enjoying it. It’s bubblegum, but the casting is inspired. I never thought I’d be watching a moving performance from Danny Dyer.

Web

The Earth is spinning faster, bucking the trend from previous years. Fascinating and slightly concerning?

Started a paid subscription to 404 Media after finding myself being sent there more and more from various sources. They do great work, and seem to be the kind of organisation that I should be supporting.

Great resource showing technology apprenticeship jobs in the UK.

AI-generated listings resulted in hundreds of people turning up in Dublin for a non-existent Halloween parade.

Books

Continued reading My Old Man: A Personal History of Music Hall by John Major. I’m about a fifth of the way through, and not finding it a gripping read so far.

Next week: Symposium, and final checks before project go-live.