Weekly Braindump is a curated list of things I’ve worked on, thought about, read or listened to during the last 7 days.
I’ve been working on…
- Always interesting where a simple question like “Why do the water charges on this rent statement look a bit weird?” takes you. Sometimes it’s a bit like doing archeology. Digging down layers of organisational decisions, many of which people have long forgotten about or have no context for.
- Doing infrastructure type stuff for an as yet unannounced thing.
I’ve been thinking about…
- The importance of getting outside of your sector bubble. More on that here : https://neiltamplin.me/breaking-out-of-the-social-housing-bubble-2a3772446077#.63fx9k6aq
- I’ve been reading up on a lot of Service Design this week. Has got me thinking about how deliberate we are in designing digital for our users. Much of this is broadly dependent on whatever internal system has been procured. As we all become technology companies, I wonder how long we can keep abdicating these design decisions to others, particularly the most visible user facing bits.
I’ve been reading…
- Simon Terry reflects on whether we have the right initiatives in place for work in 2017 and beyond.
https://medium.com/@simongterry/work-ahead-for-2017-foundations-personal-organisational-work-a7519a60febe#.onhcaot2n - Really excellent deep dive into what it takes to do Service Design. Worth a read if you’re even vaugely interested in the subject. By Megan Erin Miller.
https://blog.practicalservicedesign.com/core-capabilities-of-service-design-55cb900ccd34#.dm54xehk4 - Paul Taylor observes that despite better technological alternatives, we still waste a lot of time in meetings. We have a collective responsibility to do something about it!
https://medium.com/shaping-work/technology-wont-kill-meetings-but-we-can-8bad86867a16#.eo4bu9azh - First Brexit, now Trump. In the post-truth era, many people have been delving deeper into the fake articals that poliferate across the Internet. This post shrewdly observes that many people share headlines, not articles.
https://shift.newco.co/fake-reading-opened-the-door-for-fake-news-79cc4d169627#.uzto6ymfo - Depressingly, the IP Bill (aka Snoopers Charter) is now a thing. This writeup by Wired tells you everything you need to know. (side note — Go and invest in a reputable VPN service immediately.)
http://www.wired.co.uk/article/ip-bill-law-details-passed - “I do not believe the introduction of motor-cars will ever affect the riding of horses” — 10 great things that were originally rejected. Sometimes, even the wisest people can’t recognise a really brilliant idea. By Gijs van Wulfen.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/10-great-ideas-were-originally-rejected-how-prevent-gijs-van-wulfen - The future could well be about balancing the application of automation whilst retaining humanity.
https://medium.com/the-blueprint/if-you-can-describe-your-job-it-can-be-automated-73fae42bf82d#.x14y1zxhn - Modern politics seems plagued by apathy. Much of this is due to citizens feeling like they don’t have any visible contribution into the system. Dyfrig Williams takes a look at crowdsourcing and e-democracy in Reykjavik, and how it’s creating a more meaningful dialogue between poilticians and citizens.
https://medium.com/@DyfrigWilliams/a-better-reykjavik-and-a-stronger-community-the-benefits-of-crowdsourcing-and-e-democracy-40bb309eaaf6#.5hokg961s - I really liked this post on #ShareTheFail by Rory Hanratty, not least because of the awesome Star Wars doodles.
https://medium.com/kainos/sharethefail-435b5dd82d50#.rphqi9r76 - Matt Ballantine observes that the typical response to Shadow IT is to stamp it out, but what is that saying about the organisation? Is there another way where playing and experimenting with tech is valued?
https://mmitii.mattballantine.com/2016/10/25/the-need-to-play/ - Digital is no longer options for CEOs. HT Sharon O’Dea.
https://flipboard.com/@flipboard/flip.it%2FaumRkV-digital-leadership-is-not-an-optional-p/f-2b4c4a4bea%2Fhbr.org - The future of work will almost certainly feature AI and automation, but some roles will still require the human touch.
https://hrgemblog.com/2016/12/02/human-up/
I’ve been listening to…
- Slack : Work in Progress #7 — Silence is a virute.
http://pca.st/U6xy - WB-40 : Episode 7 — The Social CIO
http://pca.st/Ju8J - Team Human : Ep 16 — The Future of Work
http://pca.st/ZfZT - 99% Invisible : Dollar Store Town
http://pca.st/O5UY