Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Monday, November 5, 2007
Clever clogs
I guess one doesn't become a senior manager without there being some substance to one's knowledge and capabilities.
But even though that's the case it is damned irritating when they spot something that you, as the expert, should have picked up.
We had a review with Stephen Odell last week and he spotted an omission in our presentation.
I'd like to say it was deliberate; something we left out just to check that he was paying attention, but that would be a lie.
So we'll go back and rework that bit, and acknowledge our inferiority.
But even though that's the case it is damned irritating when they spot something that you, as the expert, should have picked up.
We had a review with Stephen Odell last week and he spotted an omission in our presentation.
I'd like to say it was deliberate; something we left out just to check that he was paying attention, but that would be a lie.
So we'll go back and rework that bit, and acknowledge our inferiority.
Doubting Thomas
Well actually it wasn't a Thomas, it was someone else who works in one of the markets - you know who you are...
"I don't have any faith in you, I mean Ford of Europe, delivering this on time." - (s)he said.
"Good point." I said "I can see where you're coming from, but we feel we're different (in so many ways) to other projects you may have encountered."
"Have you built anything yet?" they asked.
"Er no, but we hadn't planned to at this point in time." I replied.
"I'd be willing to place a bet that this project will be late." (s)he responded.
Now I know what's it's like to sit in the market and receive the product of the Ford of Europe machine. I know not everything is delivered when originally planned. I also know what it's like to work in Ford of Europe trying desperately to make things happen, according to the plan.
But wasn't it Henry Ford that said "History is bunk."? What has happened before doesn't need to have any bearing on our future. And, by the way, we are still on track to deliver on time.
Maybe I'm naive. I know I'm an optimist (which can be a curse). But I still think this is possible.
Would I put money on it? I don't bet.
"I don't have any faith in you, I mean Ford of Europe, delivering this on time." - (s)he said.
"Good point." I said "I can see where you're coming from, but we feel we're different (in so many ways) to other projects you may have encountered."
"Have you built anything yet?" they asked.
"Er no, but we hadn't planned to at this point in time." I replied.
"I'd be willing to place a bet that this project will be late." (s)he responded.
Now I know what's it's like to sit in the market and receive the product of the Ford of Europe machine. I know not everything is delivered when originally planned. I also know what it's like to work in Ford of Europe trying desperately to make things happen, according to the plan.
But wasn't it Henry Ford that said "History is bunk."? What has happened before doesn't need to have any bearing on our future. And, by the way, we are still on track to deliver on time.
Maybe I'm naive. I know I'm an optimist (which can be a curse). But I still think this is possible.
Would I put money on it? I don't bet.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Flux - in a state of
You could call it indecision and you'd probably be right.
I'm just having the wobbles about Help Me Choose. We've dithered and we've mithered and today Brendan and I took some half strength brave pills.
The thing is I'm not sure we've gone far enough.
I didn't roll over and I didn't relent without good reason though. It's easier, from the business perspective, to build complicated and strip stuff later if necessary than to build simple and add complexity later.
So on this one I'm sticking to the spec, but I'm not stuck like glue.
I can't wait for the gorillas to have a play (and yes I know it's guerillas but I don't get to make the chimpanzee joke unless I spell it gorillas).
I'm just having the wobbles about Help Me Choose. We've dithered and we've mithered and today Brendan and I took some half strength brave pills.
The thing is I'm not sure we've gone far enough.
I didn't roll over and I didn't relent without good reason though. It's easier, from the business perspective, to build complicated and strip stuff later if necessary than to build simple and add complexity later.
So on this one I'm sticking to the spec, but I'm not stuck like glue.
I can't wait for the gorillas to have a play (and yes I know it's guerillas but I don't get to make the chimpanzee joke unless I spell it gorillas).
The gender agenda
I've read 'Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus' and over the last week I've been aware of media coverage (particularly Guardian and Radio 4) of Deborah Cameron's book 'The Myth of Mars and Venus.'
It seems John Gray was writing a lot of tosh when he penned his book citing the many gender differences that are now part of our everyday vernacular.
Anyway, as I read around the subject I found a cool website.
The Gender Genie takes text (about 500 words) and analyses it so that it can guess your gender.I selected a couple of my blogs that didn't make it obvious I was female and cut and paste.
Guess what - I'm a man, but only just. The analysis produced a score of 652 for male and 640 for female.
I'm not quite sure what to think, or how to react.
It seems John Gray was writing a lot of tosh when he penned his book citing the many gender differences that are now part of our everyday vernacular.
Anyway, as I read around the subject I found a cool website.
The Gender Genie takes text (about 500 words) and analyses it so that it can guess your gender.I selected a couple of my blogs that didn't make it obvious I was female and cut and paste.
Guess what - I'm a man, but only just. The analysis produced a score of 652 for male and 640 for female.
I'm not quite sure what to think, or how to react.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Ireland
Ireland are our pilot market and I'm there now, having taken them through the 'where we are now' presentation which also starts to touch on the what we need to do next and planning for next year.
The term pilot market seems to be quite adventurous, quite exciting, quite daring.
And alternative term, and one I've encountered today is the concept of Ireland being guinea pigs. Now this has an altogether less glamourous feel. Being a guinea pig almost implies an element of being a victim. I wonder if the terminolgy reflects the level of nervousness being felt right now - the fear of the unknown. Maybe I need to work on improving confidence and a measure of my success in this regard might be to look at the terminology used.
If Ireland view themselves as adventurous pilots in six months time, I will have succeeded.
The term pilot market seems to be quite adventurous, quite exciting, quite daring.
And alternative term, and one I've encountered today is the concept of Ireland being guinea pigs. Now this has an altogether less glamourous feel. Being a guinea pig almost implies an element of being a victim. I wonder if the terminolgy reflects the level of nervousness being felt right now - the fear of the unknown. Maybe I need to work on improving confidence and a measure of my success in this regard might be to look at the terminology used.
If Ireland view themselves as adventurous pilots in six months time, I will have succeeded.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Progress
Well I've now caught up with the stuff that happened while I was away and I've attended numerous reviews of creative.
Homepage creative is agreed and looking spectacular.
Dealer Locator is looking amazing and the functionality is smarter than the current solution.
Help Me Choose is work in progress but is looking really good.
I have a flash demo of the homepage - if you want a walkthrough let me know.
Homepage creative is agreed and looking spectacular.
Dealer Locator is looking amazing and the functionality is smarter than the current solution.
Help Me Choose is work in progress but is looking really good.
I have a flash demo of the homepage - if you want a walkthrough let me know.
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