Author Archives: James Wickham

My son has the mumps. He has been very brave and is now starting to recover. The public sector sometimes gets a bad reputation for helping its citizens (especially if you read ‘The Daily Mail’ / ‘The Daily Express’). But we (especially Dylan), as a family, have been served well. The 111 service that weContinue reading “Joined-up services in the public sector — are we getting there?”

– To Do?– Things?– Planner?– Reminders?– Todoist?– Pen and paper? The list of solutions seems endless (especially digitally), and they cater for individual / collaborative tasks. Many are dependent too on what platform you use e.g. they only work on iOS. The main problem, I have found to my detriment, is that I have spentContinue reading “What productivity tool do you use?”

· Is it time?· Is it the resources that are made available to you?· Maybe it’s managing third parties?· Or possibly scope creep? There will be many more, but these are all risks and issues that can be managed, via a rigorous risk management philosophy. Undertaking a Risk Management exercise throughout the lifecycle of aContinue reading “What’s the hardest thing to manage in a programme or project?”

“20/20” is a reply I have heard many times, which is good (I am all for healthy eyesight!) but is not really what I want to hear when speaking to a Director, CEO or CIO. I would prefer to hear, either, “we haven’t got one” or “yes we have, and its ‘X’, ‘Y’ and ‘Z’.Continue reading “What’s your vision?”

Last week, whilst in France, I visited the wonderful Mémorial de Caen museum. It details the history of World War II, highlighting many of the significant events that took place, especially in Normandy. There were some amazing artefacts and posters, including the one I have attached below. It displays a quote from the then PresidentContinue reading “Make every minute count!”

Definitely quality, but the quicker you can do it makes you more efficient and more productive, thus, you can then do something else. In transformation, especially in a large organisation, you have to play the long game. Take people on the journey to ensure change is effectively managed and personnel are supported and communicated to,Continue reading “The key to doing a good job. Speed or quality?”

The key to doing a good job. Speed or quality? Definitely quality, but the quicker you can do it makes you more efficient and more productive, thus, you can then do something else. In transformation, especially in a large organisation, you have to play the long game. Take people on the journey to ensure changeContinue reading “What is a good job?”

I am sharing an article I wrote for BetterGov. I look forward to your comments. Covid-19 changed the world. Nearly every individual, every organisation (whether in the public or private sector) was affected. The impact was significant and, fair to say, heavily negative. In the United Kingdom, like most other countries, individuals were put throughContinue reading “Covid-19: The aftermath and local government’s reaction”

weather and climate A wise man once told me, don’t worry so much about the weather, just make sure the climate is okay. We were in a pub garden and my first thought was, do we need to move inside? I then gathered my thoughts and realised what he meant. My manager was trying to getContinue reading “Weather vs Climate”