This week I have mostly been in workshops with both partners and customers. Getting some miles in, tired, but worth it.

  • 🏢 - On Tuesday, I spent the day at the IBM UK HQ talking to them about their portfolio of products and our planned strategy for further collaboration with them over the next year. Despite their market perception as “big blue” the most corporate of corporate companies, they actually have some really good tech and solve some really cool problems. This is the first workshop with them of a series that will happen over the next few months as we align ourselves. I am hopeful for what can be achieved here.
  • 🚁 - Also this week I attended a customer QBR. All our corporate customers have these sessions and while I often attend the sessions for our Top-25, I also like to occasionally drop into some of our others because it allows me to get a better view of “reality vs vision”. Boy, did I! Lots of little things for us to improve on - nothing massive that is damaging their service or the relationship but lots of feedback that made me cringe - which tells me we still have a long way to go. Awkward, but still enjoyable and absolutely useful.
  • 🚄 - When I wasn’t in London, I was on my way to spend the day with a customer in Lille. I do this about twice a year and it’s a good opportunity to meet some folks face-to-face that I mostly only ever see on teams. I also forgot just how many small clarifications and side conversations happens when in person. Coffee, lunch, problems fix and roadmap developed. I also find that having a few hours on the Eurostar is great for my personal productivity.
  • 🏉 - Yes, another weekend of rugby activities. This time of year, it’s Love Rugby season, a few weekend sessions where the team turn up and have fun and games with people trying rugby for the first time. For the adults its just a good social and an opportunity to reflect on how far our kids have come since they started rugby through the same first-time sessions.

📈 - This weeks stats:

  • 241 minutes of podcasts
  • 5,358 average weekly steps
  • 37 book pages read (House of Huawei: The Secret History of China’s Most Powerful Company - p256-p293)

📺 - This weeks background entertainment: