John Potter
Quality
LinkedInMore years than I care to remember in the IT industry working for multi-year periods with Logica, the NHS, ICL in the UK and Portugal, Software One/One Meaning, Oracle in the UK and USA, and latterly Footdown/Tensense. During these decades I tried many disciplines – analyst programming, systems programming, design, project management, product management and quality assurance – and was highly productive in most. Now extremely fortunate, due to the generosity of Tensense leaders, to be involved in a very part-time way working in an area that I find fascinating and which I view as crucial for all organisations.
The importance of culture
It has been a really bad week for Sellafield with claims of a long-term toxic culture coming on top of the revelation that computer systems in Sellafield are being hacked. Given that employees at Sellafield are looking after some of the dirtiest and most hazardous substances known to man in difficult circumstances and many may […]
Never ending transformation
The recent cyber-attack on the email system provided by booking.com for hotels to interact with guests is a stark example of how companies need not only to stay ahead of their competition but to be constantly aware of new opportunities and vigilant to threats presented by continuous advances in technology. Cyber security is just one […]
Jobs on the rise
US job openings were up by 5.8% in August to 9.6 million, of which over half a million was an increase in professional jobs. This must be a matter of concern for business leaders looking to expand their companies. The competition for good people has gone up along with the costs. According to this article […]
Managing uncertainty
With a sharp fall in the PMI raising the potential for recession in the UK and a report that US employers announced 75,151 lay-offs in August, the highest level since 2020, it is understandable that people are anxious and concerned about the future. In her article in the MIT Sloan Management Review, Liz Fosslien writes […]
Media companies and hubris don’t make good bedfellows
The recent controversy surrounding Linus Tech Tips (LTT) serves as a stark reminder of the importance of leaders having the right tools and insights to make informed decisions, avoid reputational damage and respond effectively in times of crisis. The Forbes article on LTT highlights how quickly media companies can lose their standing when other media […]
Make the office great again
It would be hard not to notice the drawn-out debate on working from home versus returning to the office or some hybrid mix of the two. There are countless articles justifying each approach. For their part companies are taking action. Some like HSBC are embracing hybrid working and planning to move out of Canary Wharf […]
The challenges of transformation
With the news that the UK has the lowest export growth in the G7 other than Japan, it is clear that UK business is suffering. This situation is confirmed by PwC’s CEO survey which found that 22% of UK CEOs believed that their current business model will not survive to 2030. PwC identify a wide […]
Keeping Gen Z happy
Judging by the profusion of articles on managing workers, particularly Gen Z, in this post pandemic period, it is clear that a universal solution has not been found. The recent article on warming to a 4 day week in Raconteur about a four day week pilot trial run over six months found that medium and […]
Is the CBI asleep at the wheel?
With the IMF predicting that the UK economy’s performance in 2023 will be the worst in the G20, even worse than Russia, now is a really bad time for the UK’s premier business organisation, the CBI, to be dealing with scandal. Since both the UK government and the Labour party have stopped meeting with the […]