Future proof your career – some tips for women

Spoke at a women in technology conference recently on the topic of how to future proof your career. It might seem strange that I hardly mentioned technology at all in this talk. But the essentials for a long career are mostly outside of technology. Any intelligent person can pick up technology skills, but other essential skills include: Self analysis and self understanding NO to office … Continue reading Future proof your career – some tips for women

LinkedIn and the power of networks

I used to think of LinkedIn as a boring but worthy social network for business contacts. But I was wrong. Over the years it has become a critical B2B social network, with multi-million dollar deals often being done via the platform. LinkedIn has also disrupted the recruitment business and reshaped the way people find jobs. It changed the power dynamic in recruitment by enabling the jobs to … Continue reading LinkedIn and the power of networks

Business plan – ultimate waste of time or absolute necessity? #startups

There is an enormous amount of information and advice about creating a business plan for one’s startup. The advice ranges from the necessity to prepare a traditional narrative form business plan document, to preparing a business model canvas, or using a business planning tool or app. There are even notions like the idea-less startup, where the team is formed before the startup idea comes together. No business plan … Continue reading Business plan – ultimate waste of time or absolute necessity? #startups

What is the future of work? Zero hours, surveillance, robots and the jobs free future

The future of work has been on my mind a lot over the past few years. It seems  that the future of jobs is bleak in a number of ways. For example, zero hours, surveillance, and robots are on the horizon for many workers. This is all part of what I’ve come to call the ‘jobs free future’. This post about the future of work … Continue reading What is the future of work? Zero hours, surveillance, robots and the jobs free future

Social Media – the US Army gets it

Most organisations are grappling with the digital revolution and its democratization of communication. The US Army is no different. However, they have met the organisational challenges of social media head on and have become an acknowledged leader in practice. They along with other parts of the US military – such as the US Air Force – have invested resources in adopting, using and benefiting from … Continue reading Social Media – the US Army gets it

Reasonable Hours of Work in the ICT Industry

A friend who works in IT support (for a very large and well known IT industry multi national doing security patching and stuff) just phoned me because his boss wants him to work overnight to do a release and then to front up to work again early tomorrow morning. This is not the first time his supervisor has asked this, and not the first time … Continue reading Reasonable Hours of Work in the ICT Industry