Ah me, it’s week 49. #
I usually write *something* at the end of the week, but rarely (if ever) manage to publish it. For me, writing is thinking more than it is anything else and giving my thoughts on the week an extra polish in order to share them is usually too much effort. But I’m remembering the benefits of sharing this rough stuff in public and every now and then the internal battle turns out with a victory for openness rather than discretion. Week 49 seems to be one of those now and thens (that’s now a then).
I hate raising expectations. And I know that writing here raises expectations (even if it’s only in a very small number of people) that I will write here again, every day or, if not then perhaps every week. I’d love to be the sort of person who puts this first. But I’m not, I’m just not. At least not at the moment.
Black Elephant had a little press last week. There was a feature in the weeked Culture supplement of Politiken, the Danish broadsheet (though I’ve been banned from calling it that in official communication, apparently ‘broadsheet’ is too British for an international audience). Part of the benefit for me of being in an international team is that I get to see where some of my blind spots are. I may think I’m pretty good at writing for a general audience, but, without turning this into a self-inflicted Struggle Session, there’s a lot that I’ve been able to get away with in a small UK pond that doesn’t fly so well (oh god, the metaphors I’m mixing) with people who have English as a second, third or fourth language or who’ve grown up in places where the British are seen, perhaps not as the enemy, but definitely as colonialists, insisting that the world run on our terms. Oh, wasn’t Dr Who good, on Saturday? I’m glad to see in the trailer for the Christmas special that he will eventually put some trousers on. #
Spent a lot of time on “Project Hidden Gems”. Trying to get the invitation right and out to the right people, but also working out more clearly what it’s for and how it helps us do what we want to do.
Oh and what it might cost. Again, I notice an overhead of working internationally. Not only do we have to think about timezones, like *all* the time, but also when we talk about money we have to be explicit about which currency we’re talking about. I’m getting better at thinking in multiple currencies at once, but it’s hard.
I’m glad that we’ve created a bit more project management infrastructure for this one. It’s a delicate balance when the team is so small, we don’t want to over do it (I mean honestly, this is always the case though, isn’t it? Who really wants more PM bureaucracy than you absolutely need? Other than people who make a great deal of money selling PM bureaucracy, obvs.) but I think one of the things I’ve appreciated since I got my ADHD diagnosis is being able to focus on clarity that helps other people, rather than the vagueness that really only helps me. #
We wrote a newsletter together this week, to highlight the press piece and what we’re doing in the New Year. I drafted something that was too long and wordy and then had my insides pulled out by the team slashing it down to three bullet point paragraphs. Having spent most of my career butchering other people’s wordy and over formal prose for the sake of comprehension and engagement, I didn’t like to be on the receiving end. I got over it. #
“Project HA!” is not a Black Elephant project, it’s with a larger, more local and more openly creative bunch of folk. It’s much closer to what we were doing at C4CC. It’s fun, but not without moments of difficulty and personal growth. I was glad that at our meeting this week, we sat in a circle for the first time (having a table between us, just feels wrong) and that I got to say that. I’m also glad that I’m very far from leading this. It’s great to be part of a thing that’s doing stuff, but not have to own every bit of it. #
I hosted two parades this week. My regular Thursday morning “On Golden Sands” and another, that was arranged with more of an invited crowd, on Friday evening. All the parades I’ve attended have different characters, and it’s not just about the people who come and the questions we ask. Partly, I think, there’s something about how I change and react to people that I don’t already know, but also time of day. Most of all, I think it’s the very difficult aspect to pin down, of “diversity” in the group. While you may understand beforehand, the checkboxy kind of differences between people: age, gender, race, geography etc. once you get in the room, you never know quite how the mix is going to play out. It’s exciting but a bit tiring on a Friday night. #
I’m enjoying having a weekend again. Different from when I was working at church and the weekend could always have the possibility of needing to attend a service or a church meeting. As well as having a very nice lunch and the necessary preparations for what’s happening in a fortnight, I spent too much time on the new Fortnite update, particularly the Lego and Racing extras that were released last week. Highly suitable for a man approaching 59 years old. #
Perfect Path 