A few years ago, Dan Barrett talked about working in Parliament, and how the bureaucracy behaves like a non-newtonian fluid. If you hit it, it stiffens up and behaves like a solid. So, to survive the system, you have to let it ooze through your hands.

And I got it if the habit of writing because, to torture the metaphor, it can be hard to tell if your hand is still moving in the ooze, or if it's all just gravity.

This is an attempt to talk about leading product work at the university without breaking confidence, but while also being able to dissect this stuff professionally.

I'm not the CDO

We had an internal recruitment for a university data lead and I threw my hat in for it. I got good feedback on my interview, but still didn't make it. I'm pleased in a way as it will be a hell of a job, but it's reminded me that my feet are getting pretty itchy. I've been here for two and a half years now. This is almost my longest ever job. I keep imagining what else I could do, preferably with the same commute (25 mins cycle past the French bakery or doughnut shop depending on route) and I worry that within the university there isn't much to do in the city that my skills are much use for. I think it might be a bit late to go private sector, and I’m not sure it’s actually the same job.

It’s growing

For the first 18 months in this role, I was the only named product manager in the university. We’ve got five now and we’ll probably get to ten in the next 18 months. I’m proud of it, and I really enjoy building up a team of people I trust to do the right thing, but it can feel a bit like parenting: you’re often trying to correct for the mistakes of those who managed you rather than necessarily doing your own thing.

Policy wink and defining a service at work

I’m a bit slow on writing up my DPhil at the moment for a few reasons. New baby, lots of job work and just a general feeling like civic tech feels a bit left behind as a topic at the moment. I’m also trying to do something about translating what I’ve seen in the DPhil into “policy” work, but I don’t really know what that looks like. I’ve written before about how the University runs a tonne of public services, but doesn’t treat them as a way of making good with the city. I keep wondering if pitching a Chief Public Services Officer is a way of getting there. Otherwise, how to find something to do that brings together the strategic piece about improving the digital world (the DPhil stuff), but also not noodling off and keeping a keen eye on actually practicing that (the product manager stuff).

Music

https://youtu.be/nYEw7tu89wY?si=j2vOxdnNXEwsXpTD

Having not enough sleep makes my brain really love acid house.

Dog

Nice photo