This Business and Moment...

[HangTime]

If it makes any of you feel better, I was told to take a risk off of a risks and issues register as it ‘sounded too negative’. Erm…

Risk management is handled very differently by different orgs in my experience. There's a few different approaches:

1. Don't track and manage risks in a formal way at all
2. Lip service, maintain a risk/RAID log for the sake of it but don't do any active management. Very few risks are ever closed.
3. Head in the sand, mark everything as green or amber (sounds a bit like your situation). Channel the raising of risks through a small group of people. Probably more common in a supplier-client relationship.
4. What I call the "mirror" approach to risk management, whereby if you raise a risk, the senior leaders immediately reflect it back at you and demand to see your plan for mitigating the risk (often the whole point of flagging up a risk at a SteerCo is because it needs additional intervention/support, if it was easily mitigated it would've been done already and not be in the list of top risks). Creates a culture where people are scared to raise risks because it just creates more work/admin.
5. Generally effective risk management with regular discussion and status updates, collaboration around mitigations rather than just keeping your head down and praying the actions lie with others.

 

[OspreyO]

There's another one, lock everything down, remove anyone's ability to do anything, and create a load of rules that make it impossible to do anything.

 

[Converge]

Another good one today was:

Person A: ‘Why do you have a risk where costs could rise due to the project team not having the time and knowledge to understand all the areas that may be impacted?’

Me: ‘Well, can you say for certain that they won’t rise?’

Person A: ‘No.’

Me: ‘Surely not knowing or being able to say for sure is the definition of a risk?’

Person A: ‘No, take it off.’

Got to love being a contractor sometimes.

 

[Jokester]

To be fair, there are times where procurement costs aren’t a direct project risk if the client has agreed to pay the purchase costs, though they should be informed it’s a risk to them rather than than just saying, not our problem!

 

[Converge]

To be fair, there are times where procurement costs aren’t a direct project risk if the client has agreed to pay the purchase costs, though they should be informed it’s a risk to them rather than than just saying, not our problem!

Exactly, it should be somewhere, even if only to cover your own arse and show due diligence / consideration.

 

[dlockers]

Another good one today was:

Person A: ‘Why do you have a risk where costs could rise due to the project team not having the time and knowledge to understand all the areas that may be impacted?’

Me: ‘Well, can you say for certain that they won’t rise?’

Person A: ‘No.’

Me: ‘Surely not knowing or being able to say for sure is the definition of a risk?’

Person A: ‘No, take it off.’

Got to love being a contractor sometimes.

I wouldn't agree with that risk either tbh. That sounds like core project scope to go and figure it out. It also implies costs will rise because they will go and get the time and knowledge required, which is something that can be planned for.

cover your own arse

^^ and this is why most RAID logs are garbage.

 

[Converge]

I wouldn't agree with that risk either tbh. That sounds like core project scope to go and figure it out. It also implies costs will rise because they will go and get the time and knowledge required, which is something that can be planned for.


^^ and this is why most RAID logs are garbage.

Normally I would agree, but as you will likely know/experienced, not all projects are alike or have the time or inclination from the people in leadership positions to be that sensible. In this instance, they’re pushing ahead regardless of what we say to the contrary and won’t give us the time to find out. Hence it’s very much a risk.

 

[NickK]

So I’ve been selected as part of the focus group for organisational health.. output goes into the CEO and board.

Should be an interesting distraction. Translating organisational bile and venom into something constructive should be a interesting.

 

[NickK]

Ahh well. Just got terminated via under 2 year clause after delivering the programme of work.
So now looking for role

Actually quite glad.

 

[thewanted]

Ahh well. Just got terminated via under 2 year clause after delivering the programme of work.
So now looking for role

Actually quite glad.

Damn, that's some slimey behaviour :/ Sorry to hear it, but the place did sound like a complete circus.

 

[NickK]

Damn, that's some slimey behaviour :/ Sorry to hear it, but the place did sound like a complete circus.

It's probably not a million miles away from other large organisations. It had the added issues such as reversing a centralisation to decentralisation ITOM after they fired everyone previously. Bad decisions as a legacy that really causing the majority of it.

It works out quite well - I'm a builder of things, and I get bored easily so as the services go live the teams are already fully autonomous so there's no reason for my role to simply "oversight" etc. I already knew this looked like the direction for a while. I got a good performance review but given the boot due to 'performance' (no details) to trigger the 2 year rule after the delivery - so the fact I wasn't being involved in the forward direction simply points to one thing so not a surprise.

I was having a good chat with the HR guy - the decision had been made whilst my boss was away, so read into that what you will, and he was saying it was a shame because I had some good ideas and experience for the OHI work lol.

For a longer detailed thoughts and diagnostic of what happened:

Spoiler

I know precisely what happened - the opco had 14 major P1 issues from legacy services (ie onprem services developed in the 2000s and not todo with my cloud platform) and as the opco payed 75% of my business case budget, the opco board was told that my teams (under the control of my arch nemisis) are required as part of plan to stablise by quickly moving them to the cloud. The reality here is thay it only took a week to make the changes needed in my product but ownership of my product then becomes a board coup by one opco over another board as part of the decentralisation ITOM for the opersting companies.

The CTO (my boss’a boss) was then basically told that the teams are moving and they had no choice. Hence the CTO probably blames me and my boss.. and crap flows down hill so I’m the scapegoat that has less than 2 years service. Additionally there was no need for me in the opco as the teams (all third party) will fit under a number of people’s areas. I was told off record by the head of the area in the opco. Hence my role was redundant but it’ cheaper to fire individuals under 2 years.

Lots of indicators including there’s the reality that there's no company business model that supports the the group costs or a change to the approach.

I do have the feeling that being a known and personally liked individual and being publicly selected for the OHI team, plus, the sudden departure of someone involved with the success service with the obvious moves of the teams to the opco (without backfilling) is going to send a shockwave to the remaining 22 FTEs - it simply says down sizing FTE in continuation of the move to decentralise. It also sticks a voodoo pin in the validity of the OHI exercise and it will cement FTE staff scepticism shown by the current OHI decline (12% rating drop so all scores now sitting in lowest 25% percentile from last year and -74% referal rating!!).

From the team’s perspective it makes no difference as they’re third party so they don’t care who pays them but this does add to the risk. I get the feeling that there may have been a narrative that they can replace my role and be more flexible because of it. This would explain the meeting I was not invited betwen the CTO, the nemesis and my third party manager last week.

I think the one thing that the arch nemesis was responsible for (securing agreement for a way of working with another third party) was blamed on me to the CTO. I was told by him that he had sorted it but when guy he was discussing it with left the company, we find that that nobody had told the other thirdparty. In short he’d gained a verbal agreement but not a contractural agreement.

I’d sorted out a problem with another team where it was missing service level parity and resolving the missing things like counter-terrorism checks etc contractually as part of the business case. We (my boss and I) were told by my nemesis that his assignment was all sorted.. and contractually it was not. (hence the tree way cro/nemesis/third party delivery managerour meeting where out existing partnering thirdparty being asked to extend the team they have in place alongside the thirdparty that my nemesis failed to get a contract for. Not that he liked the original thirdpaty so this turns out better but more cost not coceres in the business case).

Yet the nemesis not held accountable..

All this with the background thay my boss acts/directs theatre productions out of hours and my nemesis owns and runs a stage lighting company who is doing the lighting for free for my boss’s stage play... Not that there’s any hidden commercial agendas.. especially now my nemeses works for a different legal entity now.. hence it could almost be construed as conflict of interest.

It’s been commented on at least twice by executives that he’s over ambitious and needs more experience. He’a mentored by a different opco CTO (he’s two levels higher than me in career organisational level), and he’a written to me that he’ll go to any length to achieve what he wants and that in one case he needs someone to fail for his plan to succeed. Very schadenfreude.."

A long post but you can see the complexity like game of thrones between company boards, changing group company operating models, the curse of legacy being used to further people’s agendas and position, secret commercial relationships and jewels in the crown being coveted as part of land grabs.

To quote an ex-colleague director - "it is what it is". There comes a point when it’s easier to move on and not be drowned by the rising cesspool.

So I will take the rest of the day off, update my CV tomorrow and start looking forward.

 

[NickK]

So I'm going to split my time:
a) Applications
b) Self improvement - looking at product/programme, some technical (coding swift, do some more in the cloud) and look at new technology spaces (using my experiences- such as observability and automated analysis of services). Finally start authoring thought articles around my experiences given not many people have a cloud estate that larger than 10 independent companies all running their own AWS with data centre migration, developer, security, risk, finops that NIST and critical national infrastructure compliant etc.

I've noted a couple of senior positions that align with my current experience directly so there's plenty todo to keep me busy.

 

[malachi]

So I'm going to split my time:
a) Applications
b) Self improvement - looking at product/programme, some technical (coding swift, do some more in the cloud) and look at new technology spaces (using my experiences- such as observability and automated analysis of services). Finally start authoring thought articles around my experiences given not many people have a cloud estate that larger than 10 independent companies all running their own AWS with data centre migration, developer, security, risk, finops that NIST and critical national infrastructure compliant etc.

I've noted a couple of senior positions that align with my current experience directly so there's plenty todo to keep me busy.

Definitely a good time to skill up. Something many dont do in this position.

 

[blairw]

I apparently have a role secured, grade etc agreed... but no offer has been sent yet... frustrating as I have another final stage booked in for next week and I don't want to mess them about!

 

[NickK]

I apparently have a role secured, grade etc agreed... but no offer has been sent yet... frustrating as I have another final stage booked in for next week and I don't want to mess them about!

Well it's all game if they've not got it signed.

I know it's tough but they're competing for you too.


My Linked in has been full of "WTF" style messages so I've spent the morning acting as agony aunt via linked in.

 

[blairw]

exactly... I ain't cancelling anything until ive got signed paperwork in my hand! I can only assume that it's sitting with finance for approval... but why not just communicate that?

 

[NickK]

exactly... I ain't cancelling anything until ive got signed paperwork in my hand! I can only assume that it's sitting with finance for approval... but why not just communicate that?

Peak holiday period.. and execs think the world revolves around their personal vacation.

 

[blairw]

Peak holiday period.. and execs think the world revolves around their personal vacation.

That's what has delayed next weeks final stage so much... EMEA General Manager / SVP wants to be the final decision maker for some reason and he was on a long vacation... I have been sitting waiting for over 3 weeks now on the final stage.

 

[subbytna]

Signed off on a new product today. Really excited as it's ultra high end stuff...for my business anyway

40Gb/s, 240W (48V 5A) charging and 8k Video@60Hz throughput - 2m and 3m length, coaxial cables. USB 4.

Should be here in 3 weeks time. It has been a while to get everything tested and ready but finally got it over the line and signed off on it...very excited

How nerdy is that lol

Oh hello

Finally here. These are sturdy built cables lol. I've got the 2m and 3m here now and I've got 0.5m lengths due next week. Really pleased how these turned out, I've got a sub branding for these cables, Velocity Still has the Subbytech name but the website will show them as Velocity cables, a play on just how fast these are.

 

[Martynt74]

Woohoo, after complaining i've finally got a new laptop. Unsure what the issue was with the old one, but it was just painfully slow. Taking ages between actions in Excel etc. Initially IT wouldn't replace as it's not due until March 2025 but after multiple back and forths the new one arrived yesterday

Forgot the pain of setting it up as there's quite a bit of software needed and we're responsible for that ourselves (small one off things like Excel Add-ins or VPN's managed by external entities).