This has been a short week (with only 3 days at work) but I’m pretty pleased with what I achieved in that time:
- Publishing the Architecture Toolbox I’ve been working on for a few months. That sounds a bit grand for what’s really just a library of re-usable artefacts but, hey! I finally realised that I can’t do everything (perfection is the enemy of good) so it’s time to let it fly and let others contribute…
- Starting to get under the covers of a new engagement with a local authority client where we’re carrying out some digital service design. It’s fascinating for me to learn from my colleague Richard Quayle (@RichardSQuayle) around concepts like the locus of control, the negatives of a command and control structure (cf. Edward Deming’s approach), failure demand – and much more as we jointly deliver this Business Consulting engagement.
- A very insightful chat with a client where we’re looking to engage around an Architecture service. It was refreshing to hear that they find TOGAF too conceptual and want to take a more pragmatic approach around EA on a Page (which I referenced in my post on developing IT architecture skills).
I’ve struggled with procrastination/distraction this week too. The challenges of back to back online meetings are obvious but it seems meetings spaced out through the day can be equally problematic. The challenge is that they leave no time to really get into flow before the next meeting is due.
Anyway, both of these cartoons resonated with me…
— dinosaur (@dinoman_j) November 28, 2020
Today’s Comic: We are all, in our own little way, that ship. pic.twitter.com/GVDjLxzErX
— Chaz Hutton (@chazhutton) March 24, 2021
(in the week that a the MV Ever Given got stuck and closed the Suez Canal, for 6 days.)
Back in the world of work, Alex (@LyleD4D)’s lateral thinking let me embed an msteams:// link in a SharePoint page, by changing the protocol section of the URI to https://.
Meanwhile, my colleague Richard Kleiser (@ThatRichK) introduced me to this diagram from Dave Clarke, which attempts to visualise the concept of Enterprise Architecture:
This was shared with me today as an illustration of how #EnterpriseArchitecture needs to span multiple levels of people, process and technology, with many people getting stuck in the lower levels (HT @ThatRichK): https://t.co/f2BSaqh1mq
— Mark Wilson ???? (@markwilsonit) March 29, 2021
And that reminds me of something I meant to mention in last week’s weeknote – Rich Goidel (@RichGoidel)’s Strategy vs. Tactics cartoon, which featured in my Microsoft Catalyst pre-sales training:
#Strategy vs. Tactics, by @RichGoidel pic.twitter.com/Wa3gG0kysL
— Mark Wilson ???? (@markwilsonit) March 24, 2021
I also started to see the direction that motoring is heading in. As electrification reduces revenues from servicing, software will become the next subscription opportunity.
Although it was probably intended as an April Fool, What Two Figures (WTF) pretty much sums up my feelings about What Three Words.
Outside work, the UK’s easing of “lockdown” restrictions saw the return to Caveman Conditioning – training outdoors again instead of over Zoom!
I also completed some online learning around First Aid Essentials in Sport. This is a requirement for my certification as a British Cycling coach but I’ve struggled to complete an approved course during “lockdown”.
A look ahead to the weekend
This weekend will see me:
- Meeting up with another family for a country walk (something we’ve not been able to do for a while!).
- Returning to Youth Training at my local cycle club (the first time we’ve been able to run a session since I became a coach).
- Resuming Cyclist’s Dad/Directeur Sportif duties as my eldest son returns to racing.
It will probably also involve consumption of Easter Eggs (I did buy rather a lot of Creme Eggs this week).
Talking of Creme Eggs, Natalie Jackson (@NatalieDellar) alerted me to this post with “groovy things to do with Crème Eggs“.
And next week…
In addition to celebrating the 49th anniversary of my arrival on this planet, next week will be mostly spent at home including some time doing geeky hobby stuff in the Man Cave. There will also be the final assessment for my First Aid Essentials in Sport certification (which will be interesting over a Zoom call, to which I’ve been asked to bring a pillow and a bandage!).