Digital and Agile Specialist

Category: Leadership

  • #OneGreenGov

    One of the key reasons I joined @Difrent was their commitment to #TechForGood. In my experience #TechForGood is one of those phrases that gets batted around, as such I was very keen when I started to understand what that phrase meant to Difrent and if it really meant anything at all! Much to my delight,…

  • Thoughts from the other side

    No, don’t worry, I’ve not passed on and started speaking from beyond the grave; but given I’m now 3 months into my role at Difrent I thought it might be worth reflecting on how I’ve found things on the other side of the commercial table so to speak. In the first 3 months I’ve worked…

  • We’re all a little weird down here

    Yesterday Dominic Cummings, the PM’s senior aid, wrote in his blog about the need for number 10 to hire assorted super talented weirdos, unusual software developers, fantastic communicators and great project mangers (amongst other things). This clarion call for change in the public sector followed up from his previous statements about the need for change…

  • What I’ve learnt this year

    This year has been a year of big change for me; I started a new job, left the public sector, moved cities, moved in with my partner, bought a new house, and most importantly, we got a dog. As a Pagan, I celebrate Yule and the Winter Solstice; At the Winter Solstice we reach the…

  • One month in…

    Last month I started with Difrent, my first job in the Private sector after 15 years in the public sector, which felt very much like a change of scenery and a new start, whilst also being a familiar continuation of what I know. So at the end of my first month I thought it would…

  • Welcome to the Dark Side.

    Last week I started working for @BeDifrent, a business transformation agency working with both Public and Private sector clients to help them deliver #TechForGood. This is a massive change for me, I spent almost 15 years in the Public Sector, I always said I was a public servant for life, and in my heart I…

  • Having a vision

    I regularly talk to organisations about why having vision and mission statements are important. Over the years I’ve seen many good examples and some bad ones too, both inside and outside the public sector. They often seems to be overlooked when deciding to transform an organisation, instead companies tend to focus on their Target Operating Model or…

  • When is Digital not Digital?

    When it’s not about user needs or human centric design, but instead about fixing technological infrastructure. When it’s not about transforming the service but keeping the lights on systems. When it’s not about asking “why?”, because you already know the solution you want. As Tom Loosemore said, Digital is applying the culture, practices, processes &…

  • Building a case based on assumptions

    Why you shouldn’t start with the business case. I’ve been working within Digital transformation for almost ten years now, working on some of the largest projects and programmes within the public sector. From front line services to backend systems, from simple forms to complex benefit processing applications. One thing that has been a feature of every…

  • Being a visible leader with an invisible disability.

    Hi, I’m Zoe and I’m a NeuroDiverse Senior Civil Servant. Last week I attended Civil Service Live, it was an interesting day, with sessions on everything from AI and keeping abreast of new technologies, to Transformation to resilience and personal wellbeing. The session that stood out most for me was the “Making Government an event greater…