These notes are a tool I use for reflecting, remembering (because I can't), networking and public accountability. Read more here.
I’ll never understand chips for breakfast. (I’m in Michael’s caff, Joel’s at the BRIT, it’s weeknote time, you know the drill).
🔨 This is not a drill
You know how they say in cyber circles “it’s not if, it’s when”? So, yeah, that.
I’ve been in incident response mode since Wednesday – which, not to diminish the impacts, is not uninteresting to me and is proving the benefit of our investment in cyber. The timing on the other hand was like rai-y-ain on my wed-ding day given Jia starts on Monday as our new cyber head. She’ll be in at the deep end now.
This personal blog isn’t the place to say much about the incident itself and we’re mid-investigation so the reflection and learning is all still to come. My role is convening and chairing the cross-org group – who have all been incredible, calm, professional – and communicating upwards to governors and fellow execs. Crises can be so catalysing for teamwork at its best. (Again, not meaning to be flippant here with these silver linings, it’s a serious breach being taken seriously).
Not my first rodeo. My prior incident experience includes the register to vote debacle pre-Brexit – definitely feeling the benefit of that and other experience at GOV.UK and from Croydon too (councils are hot on their business continuity drills), and of course we’re all well-practiced from Covid.
Other work
Everything else feels minor in comparison, but the 8.5 days I worked since my last note also included:
- Writing narratives to re-justify draw downs of grant funding (I’m in my element there so I quite relished this task)
- A huddle of my 3 directors on the big picture priorities, and a meeting of my whole SLT to go through Q4 achievements and Q1 priorities
- A slew of routine meetings of cyber group (pre-incident), exec board, 1-1s. (I typed Exec Bard instead of board at one point this week and now I wish we had an Exec Bard).
Fair to say I’m really enjoying work at the moment. Loads of challenges ofc but they’re intellectually stimulating and I have a good helping of autonomy, mastery and purpose.
Plus the world will finally get its answer when Tom and I are in the same room at the same time in May and I’m more than a little excited about that.
It’s not all work, work, work
I had a board games weekender in Nottingham with Alex, Ben and Mark. We played 3 rounds of 7 Wonders, 2 rounds of Nemesis Lockdown, 2 rounds of Crokinole, 1 round of Betrayal at the House on the Hill, 0.66 rounds of Scout (which I am selling, it’s crap). Was a brilliant weekend and we even ate some salad among all the Haribo, chocolate and crisps. Maturing, in our late forties/early fifties!
Kids are off now for Easter hols, I’d best get the chocolate eggs in. We switched Dylan to a new driving instructor (he will now succeed without Susan, and instead drive with Dave/pass with Portland) and I got up at 5.45am on my Monday off to book his driving test (JESUS CHRIST DVSA THIS SERVICE IS THE ABSOLUTE WORST). Plus we had a good meeting with the school about Joel, and took him to a mate’s Squid Games themed birthday party – how terrifying! Gravity in Wandsworth is kinda cool.
🔎 Found, interesting 🤔
Between the tepid bath and the cloud of vapour: a plea for pragmatic ambition – an excellent post, with links to 4 excellent models for you to open in your tabs.
Digital Works Podcast by Ash Mann – he’s asked me to do one, I’m game.
Adding sustainability to the government design principles – bravo!
Truth bombs from Sharon O’Dea: “Yes, AI has bags of potential. But let’s be honest: that potential hinges on something most organisations have neglected for years — good, current, trusted and well-structured content. And guess what? Yours probably isn’t.”
More sensible thoughts on AI: Developing a Transformational Vision for AI and Beyond; and Improving productivity and the need for service design and Big automated government in a time of austerity
Commentary on new GDS: Richard Pope, Rachel Coldicutt and others giving evidence to Parliament (haven’t watched yet but I intend to); and The UK government’s digital blueprint focuses too much on websites and apps and not enough on public services
Some product related stuff: Sketching for ideation, Air quotes “product” and How to tell the difference between rank order and prioritisation
Doug Weir from my team on how the BFI re-masters films for re-release [YouTube]
Good to see my old muckers Dave and Atika working together at Luton, and I like what Dave says about not calling the website “the website” to better represent the many things it does
This diagram from John Cutler (posted here):
Watching etc.
📺 Adolescence. I loved ep1, admired the one-shot difficulty of all eps, and I love it when screen culture has a real world impact like this show has done. But it’s somewhat style over content and skimmed over the issues imho.
🎬 Birthday Girl. A cracking Danish revenge film on a cruise ship, on BFI Player.
🎬 Four Mothers. Gentle fun with a heart, in NFT1 as part of BFI Flare.
📺 I’m loving The Studio on Apple TV. The one-shot episode 2 in particular.
📺 We’re doing Stath Lets Flats as our family half-hour comedy at the mo and it’s not up there with the best, but it’s amusing. “Silly billy awards.”
🎬 Rewatched Darren Aranofsky’s Pi, on BFI Player, hence this post’s drill-based featured image. Forgot how good the soundtrack is. “Restate my assumptions…”
📺 Con Mum. What a horrible woman! But very good telly.
🎬 Paterson on BFI Player. I didn’t get on with this/was distracted by my phone.
🎬 Tried Real Genius, a Val Kilmer film I’d not seen, but you must have had to be there at the time.
📺 Fern Brady: Autistic Bikini Queen. More likeable than funny, I would say.
🎬 Green Room our 5th watch, the kids’ first. So, so good.
🎧 Labyrinths podcast by Amanda Knox and husband, interviewing Jon Ronson.
🎧 Modern Driveway by Luke Abott, Jet Stream by Photay, Backrooms by Bakey.
📔 Holy Island by LJ Ross. Slips down a treat after a busy day, and there are 23 of these.
🍳 More Jamie Oliver air fryer book failure. This fragrant chicken in a bag was so completely raw after following the recipe we went entirely off it and slid it in the bin and had soup.
Distractions
- Teaching any game [Instagram]
- Movies that take place at the same time [BlueSky]
- New Naked Gun teaser trailer [YouTube]
RIP Val Kilmer. RIP world trade. RIP WH Smiths. RIP Croydon Digital (the council shut it down, I’ve saved a few of my posts here). Hope you like porridge, Russell Brand. Hello Switch 2 and MarioKart World. Bye to you, thanks for reading.
