6 August 2021
Good People
We had some unexpected changes to our planned work scheduling this week. The way that we drew together and quickly and cleanly addressed it was a really good snapshot of how despite the nature of agency life, if you have positive people and keep an open mind, you can tackle most curve balls that are thrown your way.
There’s still a bunch of stuff to do on our design career progression framework but I’ve started drawing leads and principals from the various design disciplines into the conversation. I’ve published the core content amongst this group for feedback, but the thing we haven’t really got around to discussing is the logistics of operating the framework. How do we start the process of promoting folks, who is involved, how frequently do we do things, etc etc. Holiday season is upon us which makes getting all the right people in the same place at the same time even more of a challenge. But we push on!
I read Radical Candor a couple of years ago and it’s still the thing I refer to every time I have to have a difficult conversation or give a piece of challenging feedback. I’d recommend it to anyone, whether you manage people or not.
Good Work
I joined a “ways of working” session ahead of a piece of work with a new client. Sometimes these chats take the form of a presentation deck which can feel a bit one-directional. This one was a few notes on a Miro board and a nice, relaxed conversation. Lovely. Good way of working, Lauren!
A few of the team have been investigating options for interior design at our new shared office space. I dropped in to the update call for a nosey. ‘citing!
Good Stories
I’ve ordered a new bicycle. I had originally plumped for an electric hybrid because of how much fun my Brompton Electric is, but cancelled that order and decided to bite the bullet and go fully self-propelled 😅 I’m also quite keen on the idea of something I can learn to maintain (mostly) myself, over time. It wouldn’t be inaccurate to also say I didn’t want to wait a likely-to-expand six months for a bike either.
The Olympics has become a bit of a fixture on the TV in our home which as the only sports fan in the household has been an absolute joy. When I’m in charge of things, I’ll bring back a Saturday afternoon “World of Sport”-type programme that showcases weekly all the interesting and diverse things we only normally get exposed to every four years.
We went for a long Sunday stroll with family. I’ll bore anybody to death telling them about how much I love the new Northern Gateway sports centre and its perimeter walks and cycle paths here in Colchester.
