15 minutes tops to look back on the previous seven days, which I tend to do most weeks. Trying to get back to sharing these publicly (with some mindful edits/cut outs). Maybe something in here helps someone else. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Over the last few weeks I’ve been trying to spend some time with people I used to work or people who know of “my work” (more of the former than the latter), in little one on ones. Four weeks, at least three people each week. Why? It was a bit self centred: Their takes on the things I was OK at, the things I am OK at still, the things I wasn’t great at (and also not good at now), get some outside perspective. I’ve not done anything like it for quite a while. It was interesting mainly listening. Thinking how things were, things are and how things have changed. And also, people’s perceptions of you are their perceptions.

In the main work job, I’ve spent the last couple of weeks deliberately being quiet in meetings/session/workshops/etc, listening — understand what the team, each individually, as a whole are thinking. I have confidence in the people I work with and to make sure they have the space to do little discoveries. That space includes the time for them to think alone, think in a group, and report back, however that manifests for them. It’s about respect.

Meanwhile as a product manager it’s about absorbing all those thoughts - emergent, half baked, rising, nearly tied up, maybe even over thought - all those options options options. It’s getting to that time of grabbing some strands and weaving them into a thread and be clear of the value of that. Deliver something quick enough to learn more solidly from.

I also decided to keep quiet about some wider things I have views on. As someone who works somewhere — irrespective of my experience, contractor over full timer and all that — I have A Role I Was Brought In To Do. Things like, say, SMART goals in iterative environments I might have personal views on but… if the intent is good then just roll with it. Just do the job, Si, deliver.

Evermore thought: How do we make sure we focus on outcomes, not a solution already in someone’s head. Service versus project thinking?

Lots of signal and noise thoughts intertwined with team versus programme. Protect the team, enable them to their best work. Everything else upwards is just reportage.

Health

A month note on running will be due at the end of April. It was a good running week in the end. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday had nothing, partly because of ever stacking distractions. 31km off three days’ running will do though, especially 26km over two days. Four days of no running in a week won’t do. Onwards though. Looking like a strong month overall.

Lots of walks.

Lots of DIY, which leads on to…

Home and house

Deck in the front yard is done, a week ahead of plan. Need to shape the fruit and veg patch, but that’s a couple of hours of grind, easy peasy.

Culture and that

Not too much. I like the new Pulp single, mind.

Looking ahead

We always assume when looking ahead there will be a tomorrow or a day after or day after that or… Just take every day as it comes. As I slide into May it's a big month for the boy, June is another big month, and so is July. It's a few months of changes. End each day as tied up as possible though.

Week note — week commencing 21 April 2025