Weekly Braindump is a curated list of things I’ve worked on, thought about, listened to or read during the last 7 days.

I’ve been working on…

• Tackling overgrown network drives. Have we all become accustomed to seemingly infinite cloud storage space? (yes)
• Starting some discussion on user centered service design and how we could benefit from it.
• Prototyping a rewards ‘thing’ to make digital training fun for staff. Complete some training, get a badge! Collect the whole set! More carrot, less stick.
• Doing some initial scouting of how we could build an open map of community assets (things like gardening clubs, community groups etc). OPEN being the operative word — we don’t want to be gatekeepers of it. Would love to speak to you if you’ve already done this!
• Dusting off the old SQL Server skills (or lack thereof) to automate a regular local copy of a web based system for on-premises reporting.
• Enrolled in a self-learning u.lab course on leading from the emerging future (although I haven’t finished my pre-requisite homework yet!)
  https://www.edx.org/course/u-lab-leading-emerging-future-mitx-15-671-1x

I’ve been thinking about…

• If the yearly business plan is the metronome for change, perhaps we need a faster metronome (3 or 6 months?) with smaller blocks of work?
• How things like ABCD and User Centered Service Design fit into what we think of as the traditional framework strategy/projects/objectives. Do the parameters need to be a bit looser to allow more creativity to discover problems and find solutions.
• I’ve been pondering the The Void again this week. What steps can I take to ensure that my personal learning doesn’t leave me isolated from others? (aka — bringing people with you as you learn)
• All things Virtual Reality and the possible business applications thereof.
• The ethics of virtual assistants (Siri, Alexa, Google). As we increasingly humanise some of these interfaces, should we be a bit wary of the information they are giving us? “Good morning Neil, my sensors indicate you are dehydrated. Shall I add coke to your grocery list?”

I’ve been reading…

• Inertia is the biggest killer in the workplace. By @BenHolliday
  https://medium.com/@BenHolliday/what-doesnt-hurt-can-eventually-kill-you-a01c19c48f08#.fqn6yiid9
• GDSTeam talks about using unconferences for team meetings.
  https://gds.blog.gov.uk/2016/09/09/unconference-setting-our-own-agenda-for-the-latest-all-staff-meeting/?utm_content=bufferb8bbf&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
• Fascinating look at how some of the greatest entrepreneurs started on their road to success (generally with a good dose of failure along the way).
  https://fleximize.com/careers-of-the-founders/?ref=producthunt
• The proven path for doing unique and meaningful work. Re-Work!
  https://medium.com/the-mission/the-proven-path-to-doing-unique-and-meaningful-work-78060d8f2ab4#.y8503nchl
• Storify of the Digital Innovation Fund showcase run by YLab Wales. (New cool digital stuff in public services)
  https://storify.com/YLabWales/digital-innovation-fund-showcase
• Optimization is relentless. Inventing is hard. Scaling is even harder.
  https://medium.nobl.io/what-every-institutional-innovation-program-gets-wrong-8943fdee9fce#.61qitxqns
• How digitally mature is your organisation? Here’s a handy model via @TimKitchin
  http://digitalleaders.org.uk/how-digitally-mature-is-your-organisation/
• Be careful what you measure, it’ll get gamed! HT @Lily_Dart
  https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-09-09/wells-fargo-opened-a-couple-million-fake-accounts
• GoodPracticeWAO ran a cracking event this week around public services and digital. Excellent points within this Storify. Via @GoodPracticeWAO
  https://storify.com/GoodPracticeWAO/redesigning-public-services-the-strategic-importan?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=SocialSignIn&utm_source=Twitter&utm_content=Digital
• Beware the knowledge void that we unintentionally create between ourselves and others. By @CarlHaggerty.
  https://carlhaggerty.wordpress.com/2016/07/28/reflecting-on-how-i-learn-and-how-i-help-others/
• GOV.UK details how it reduced the cost of printing a letter from £3 down to about 50p! That’s the promise of platforms and automation.
  https://governmentasaplatform.blog.gov.uk/2016/09/13/pounds-to-pennies/
• I’ve been re-reading this great primer by @Likeaword on cool mapping things (for real people).
  http://benproctor.co.uk/cool-mapping-things-for-real-people/
• Viv — the new virtual assistant from the creator of Siri can program itself!!
  https://hackernoon.com/is-post-siri-virtual-assistant-viv-about-to-take-over-the-world-e3922bc4cce#.ivsrjdahh
• Avoiding organisational debt.
  https://medium.com/positiveslope/avoiding-organizational-debt-3e47760803a0#.pr2rz6aka
• How to spot a zomibe project. By @BakedIdea.
  https://medium.com/@BakedIdea/the-curse-of-the-zombie-projects-b4ff7f97090c#.shwsjuioj

I’ve been listening to…

• TED Talk — The future of money. Great encapsulation of the benefits of bitcoin and the blockchain and how it could drive innovation in the way we use currency.
  https://t.co/sjPbscVzVm
• BBC Click : Futurefest. Interesting discussions about augmented humans.
  http://pca.st/UTQa