Category: Business

Identifying the cleverest person in the room…

Posted on by The Information Badger in Business, Information Technology, Leadership, Learning, Meetings, Project Management, Psychology

IT professionals have experienced rapid innovation, constant engineering process evolution, progressive professionalism and quality improvement, and the commoditisation of technology and services over the last five decades. As an IT professional, the Badger’s worked with many clever and intelligent leaders, managers, and technical people who thrived on this continual dynamic change. Clever and intelligent people have always been at the heart of IT, but clever people don’t always have the greatest intelligence, and vice versa!

While fixing a dysfunctional project decades ago, the Badger had to attend a meeting involving the company’s Managing Director (MD) and other senior company staff and their opposite numbers from the customer to decide the project’s future. It was the Badger’s first time attending such a senior-level meeting. During the pre-meeting briefing, the MD sensed the Badger’s nervousness and reassured him that others would be doing the talking. As we entered the room containing the customer’s team, the MD winked at the Badger and whispered, ‘Tell me afterwards, who’s the cleverest person in the room?’  The meeting was difficult, but it concluded with agreement on a way forward. Deciding on the cleverest person in the room was also difficult. Afterall, how do you tell who is cleverest in a room of clever and intelligent people?

After the meeting, the MD playfully repeated the question and the Badger answered with what he thought the MD expected, namely that it was the MD! They chuckled, shook their head, said it was one of the customer’s team, and then went on to tell the Badger that cleverness and intelligence are different, but related, traits and that he should understand the difference to judge people and situations well. Cleverness is about speed of thought, ingenuity, emotional insight, adaptability, and creative problem-solving, while intelligence is about deep understanding and learning capacity. Clever people can think quickly, improvise, and solve problems in novel or unconventional ways, characteristics that are valuable in dynamic situations like debates, negotiations, or tricky interpersonal circumstances. Intelligent people, however, can acquire, understand, and apply knowledge in one or more domain, characteristics that are valuable in the likes of scientific research, planning, and the mastering of new disciplines. Clever people can be intelligent, and intelligent people can be clever, but the cleverest person in the room is always the person who has the best blend of both traits.

Learning more about the distinction between cleverness and intelligence over the years has been extremely useful. Since people are at the heart of the operations of any organisation, learning more about the difference not only arms you to pick out the cleverest person in the room, but also changes your perspective of those with impressive job titles who, the Badger’s learned from experience, are often unlikely to be the cleverest person in a room of other clever and intelligent people!

Cyber security – a ‘Holy Grail’?

Posted on by The Information Badger in AI, Business, Information Technology, Online Safety, Online Services, Privacy and Surveillance, Public safety, Risk, Security

King Arthur was a legendary medieval king of Britain. His association with the search for the ‘Holy Grail’, described in various traditions as a cup, dish, or stone with miraculous healing powers and, sometimes, providing eternal youth or infinite sustenance, stems from the 12th century. Since then, the search has become an essential part of Arthurian legend, so much so that Monty Python parodied it in their 1975 film. Indeed, it’s common for people today to refer to any goal that seems impossible to reach as a ‘Holy Grail’. It’s become a powerful metaphor for a desired, ultimate achievement that’s beyond reach.

Recently, bad cyber actors – a phrase used here to refer collectively to wicked individuals, gangs, and organisations, regardless of their location, ideology, ultimate sponsorship or specific motives – have caused a plethora of highly disruptive incidents in the UK. Incidents at the Co-op, Marks & Spencer, Harrods, JLR, and  Kido  have been high profile due to the nature and scale of the impact on the companies themselves, their supply chains, their customers, and also potentially the economy. Behind the scenes (see here, for example) questions are, no doubt, being asked not only of the relevant IT service providers, but also more generally about how vulnerable we are to cyber security threats.

While taking in the colours of Autumn visible through the window by his desk, the Badger found himself mulling over what these incidents imply in a modern world reliant on the internet, online services, automation and underlying IT systems. As the UK government’s ‘Cyber security breaches survey – 2025’ shows, the number of bad cyber actor incidents reported is high, with many more going unreported. AI, as the National Cyber Security Centre  indicates, means that bad actors will inevitably become more effective in their intrusion operations, and so we can expect an increase in the frequency and intensity of cyber threats in the coming years. The musing Badger, therefore, concluded that organisations need to be relentlessly searching for a ‘Holy Grail’ to protect their operations from being vulnerable to serious cyber security breaches. As he watched a few golden leaves flutter to the ground, the Badger also concluded that in a world underpinned by complex IT, continuous digital evolution, and AI, this ‘Holy Grail’ will never be found. But that doesn’t mean organisations should stop searching for it!

These damaging incidents highlight again that cyber security cannot be taken for granted, especially when the tech revolution of recent decades has enabled anyone with a little knowledge and internet access to be a bad cyber actor. The UK government’s just announced the introduction of  digital ID by 2029. Perhaps they have found a ‘Holy Grail’ that guarantees not only the security of personal data, but also that its IT programmes will deliver on time and to their original budget? Hmm, that’s very doubtful…

AI – Pop goes the weasel!

Posted on by The Information Badger in AI, Business, Digital Transformation, Information Technology, Technology

The Badger’s five-year old grandson, full of energy, innocence, and inquisitiveness, has been staying for a few days. It’s been fun, tiring, and a reminder that grandparents can be important influencers for Generation Alpha!  It was also a reminder that today’s childhood is vastly different to that of previous generations. The Badger’s grandson considers being on WhatsApp video calls, watching kids YouTube videos, and engaging with technology like phones, tablets, and laptops in classroom and home settings as routine. This wasn’t the case when the Badger was five, nor was it when the youngster’s Millennial parents were that age!

One evening, just before the lad’s bedtime, the Badger was on the sofa engrossed in the news feed on his smartphone. Reports of anxiety that AI is a stock market bubble about to pop had grabbed his attention. Some reports (like the one here), but certainly not all, derived from a report from MIT noting that most AI investments made by companies have so far provided zero returns. This fuelled concerns, existing in some quarters for a while, that AI is a stock market bubble soon to crash. Many of the reports drew parallels between AI and the dot.com crash of 25 years ago. As a professional in the IT sector at that time, the Badger experienced first-hand the dot.com era and its aftermath, and so he became absorbed in his own thoughts about the parallels. Until, that is, his grandson jumped on the sofa, prodded the Badger’s ribs, and asked to watch a ‘Pop goes the weasel’ cartoon. Initially struck by the synergy between ‘Pop goes the weasel’ as a good label for his AI thoughts, a suitable YouTube cartoon was found and the two of us watched it on the Badger’s smartphone. (A kids punk-music version of the rhyme didn’t seem suitable just before bedtime).

Once the youngster was in bed, the Badger cogitated further on the dot.com era and AI. The late 1990s saw rapid tech advances with many investors expecting internet-based companies to succeed simply because the internet was an innovation. Companies launched on stock markets even though they had yet to generate meaningful revenue or profits and had no proprietary technology or finished products. Valuations boomed regardless of dodgy fundamentals, and the dot.com crash was thus, to those with objectivity, inevitable. To an extent, some of the same dynamics exist with AI today. It may be a transformative technology, with the likes of ChatGPT having impressive traction with people, but AI is really still in its infancy striving to show a return on investment in a company setting. The Badger senses, therefore, that AI is likely in  sizeable correction rather than dot.com crash territory. This should be no surprise, because the history of tech stock market valuations suggests, to quote the nursery rhyme, ’that’s the way the money goes. Pop goes the weasel’… 

Do acquisitions disproportionately shed older staff?

Posted on by The Information Badger in Acquisitions, Business, Education, Human Resources, Information Technology, Leadership, Learning, Legal matters

A youngster about to join a large enterprise after completing a degree at University asked an interesting question last weekend. ‘Does an enterprise that acquires another company use the purchase as a smokescreen to shed older, long-serving, higher-paid employees?’  That’s an interesting and unusual question from someone at the very start of their career. So why did they ask it? Well, firstly their new employer has acquired another substantial company and restructuring activities are underway. Secondly, they knew the Badger had some experience in navigating a number of mergers and acquisitions. Lastly, the tech-savvy youngster had come across online chatter that his new employer’s older staff with long service were being disproportionately targeted during restructuring. The youngster, with no experience within large enterprises, anticipates a long career with their new company, but they were a little perturbed that their new employer might possibly be engaging in age discrimination, something that’s prohibited under the UK Equality Act 2010.

Answering required words that were balanced, honest, and rooted in personal experience of post-acquisition integrations. So, what did the Badger say? Firstly, that acquisitions often lead to reorganisations which can legally justify redundancies based on performance or role duplication at any age or level of seniority. Loyalty and long-service counts for nothing in such a scenario, and older employees may be more vulnerable because they typically have higher salaries and benefits, which means shedding them can significantly reduce payroll costs. Secondly, an acquisition can be a vehicle to change an enterprise’s culture, especially in fast moving industries subject to rapid innovation pressures. This always favours the retention of younger, tech-savvy staff and those with in-demand skills. Thirdly, not every acquisition is a smokescreen for eliminating older, higher-paid employees, but, in reality, some acquirers do quietly use their purchase to shed older, higher-paid employees because they know that it’s normally difficult in these circumstances for individuals to prove age discrimination for their redundancy. Do acquisitions disproportionately shed older staff? Some do, some don’t.

The youngster nodded, reaffirmed their intent on a long career with their new employer, and asked if the Badger had any advice for the long term. Yes. Maintain skills that are current and valuable outside your company, as mergers and acquisitions rarely reward loyalty or long service. As you get older and more experienced, watch out during acquisition integration activities for a) silence about future roles for you or your peers, b) performance reviews, and c) role redefinitions. These often signal something is afoot that affects you personally. Also, never forget that HR works in your employer’s interest, not in yours.

The youngster grinned and said they obviously had lots to learn! The Badger smiled too, pleased that he’d sown a few seeds of awareness in a youngster who will soon learn that things are never quite what they seem inside organisations when it comes to workforce matters.

Late payments to subcontractors and suppliers…

Posted on by The Information Badger in Business, Digital Transformation, Ethics & Regulation, Information Technology, IT Project Management, Leadership, Processes and Practices, Project Management, Supply Chain, Technology

Enterprises often hold an annual leadership conference to review the highs, lows, and lessons from the year, and to align their leaders with the business objectives for the year ahead. The Badger first attended such a conference decades ago when all attendees were gathered in the same place for an intense couple of days of formality and informal networking with peers. Enterprises today are increasingly sensitive about the logistical costs and environmental issues associated with gathering people in one place. Many such leadership conferences have thus become more hybrid in nature with smaller, distributed gatherings connected using online video streaming services. This very modern, tech-based approach has many benefits in terms of cost and convenience.

Although the Badger’s first annual leadership conference was a long time ago, he still remembers vividly a particular point made by the company CEO during a presentation lamenting the difficulties of being an IT subcontractor delivering  projects into client’s major programmes. The point was ‘Being a subcontractor is great, but being the prime contractor controlling when a subcontractor gets paid is much, much, much better!’  For some of its projects, the company had been struggling to get prime contractors to pay valid invoices for achieved milestones within contracted terms. The prime contractors had played all kinds of games to pay their subcontractors and suppliers when it suited them, rather than to what was written in their agreed contracted terms. They knew that apart from chasing and whining, subcontractors and suppliers were unlikely to take more forthright action because they wanted to avoid lasting damage to the client relationship in case it excluded them from potential future work opportunities.

Since then, UK legislation in 1998  has made provision for interest on late payment under commercial contracts. However, recent information suggests that only 1 in 10 subcontractors/suppliers enforce this right by actively charging interest, claiming compensation, or seeking debt recovery. This suggests that some level of reluctance remains due to concern about damaging customer relations,  especially for smaller businesses who are, after all, the majority of the UK economy and often heavily dependent on a small number of clients. It may be decades later, but the CEO’s point noted above remains relevant.

Cash flow difficulties can cause liquidity crises and even collapse for any size of enterprise, and so when the Badger heard that the UK government is introducing tougher late payment legislation his first thought was not alleluia, but why hasn’t AI and automation revolutionised payment processing in enterprises to ensure that payments  against valid invoices are always fully paid within contracted terms?  After all, digital technology has been transforming everything for years, and so perhaps this new legislation will add momentum to making a payment revolution happen faster. Let’s hope so. By the way, if you’re interested, you can check how well an enterprise does in paying within terms using the government tool here. 

Work-life balance…

Posted on by The Information Badger in Business, Delivery, Human Resources, Information Technology, Leadership, Life, Wellbeing

Work can be all-consuming. Organisations emphasise values like ‘employee well-being’ and a ‘people-first culture’, but most really operate with deliverables and timelines as their overwhelming priority. HR departments may advocate for ‘work-life balance’, but business leaders, project, programme, and service delivery leaders always push staff for huge effort and heroics to meet a deadline or milestone. In the IT sector, for example, do organisations ever willingly miss a deadline or milestone because of ‘employee well-being’ or their ‘people-first culture’? No.

The Badger’s just had some downtime in Morthoe on the UK’s North Devon coast. The apartment in which he stayed had wonderful coastal views, and it was while nibbling a scone on its balcony in the afternoon sun that thoughts turned to work-life balance. Life on the North Devon coast still provides access to all of today’s online services, but the sounds, the sea, the geology, the flora and fauna, and the local lifestyle forces relaxation and puts work-life balance into perspective. What did the Badger conclude about work-life balance? Simply that it matters. It isn’t just a trendy phrase. It’s a necessity for sustaining energy, protecting mental and physical health, and keeping one’s mind sharp. It matters because burnout reduces productivity and clouds judgement. Downtime helps the brain reset improving creativity, motivation, and decision making. It also matters because quality time away from work helps to build a broader perspective on life as a whole.

The Badger concluded years ago that there are three certainties regarding people. The first two are a) people and not machines, and b) they are all different. Some thrive on having really intense work periods followed by breaks of really deep rest, while others thrive with a daily structure of predictable routines, boundaries, and pressures interspersed with regular shallower rest periods. We are all different, and so the key to a good work-life balance is simply to adopt a personal rhythm that fuels and refreshes rather than drains your capability. Finding the rhythm that works for you within the terms of your employment contract is important. There’s a paradox, however. Employment contracts normally include a holiday entitlement to rest and recharge, and yet many people don’t take all their entitlement. The reasons for this are numerous, but sometimes it’s because a) the work culture rewards hustle more than rest, and b) that an individual misguidedly thinks that everything will collapse if they take a break. So, what’s the Badger’s third certainty about people? Simple. No one is irreplaceable.

If you accept these people certainties and find your rhythm for work-life balance then you will be healthier, sharper, more productive, and more resilient, and the organisation you work for will perform better too. So, use your holiday entitlement. As the Badger was reminded while nibbling scones in the North Devon sunshine, a break is good for you…

Everyone is a salesperson…

Posted on by The Information Badger in Business, Delivery, Education, Information Technology, Leadership & Management, Sales, Technology

Good senior leaders and managers often enjoy being invited to speak to employees attending company training courses. The Badger certainly did. His sessions not only always delivered a message relevant to the training course but also provided an opportunity for attendees to ask questions about any subject close to their heart. Their questions were often diverse and required quick thinking to answer, but that’s what made the sessions fun! It was always rewarding to see attendees relax during the sessions, to hear their responses to the Badger’s answers, and to observe body language when the audience stayed silent. It was also pleasing when ‘light bulb’ moments spread across the attendees faces if an answer triggered a rush of understanding.

As a leader strongly focused on IT delivery, the Badger spoke mainly to training course groups from the business operation, delivery, and technical communities. Their questions were sometimes unusual. For example, on one occasion the Badger was asked ‘I hear senior people utter their favourite sayings frequently, but which of these have merit because they encapsulate a truth?’  The Badger gathered his thoughts for a moment before rattling off a string of common phrases in use in the company and signalling that they all had merit because they all captured a truth relevant in any company. The string included, for example, the following:     

‘What gets measured gets done…’

‘You don’t jump high unless the bar’s set high…’

‘If you bring problems then bring solutions too…’

‘Time is precious, get to the point…’

‘Decisions aren’t about making everyone happy…’

‘Everyone is a salesperson…’

This last one prompted an indignant response from a couple of attendees who were software engineers. They were contemptuous of  salespeople and unequivocal that  they were not, and never would be, a salesperson. On enquiring if they interacted with peers in their client’s organisation on their projects they answered yes. The Badger pointed out that they were actually representing the company when they interacted with external people, and that made them a salesperson of sorts regardless of their job title. He also highlighted that being ‘sales aware’ during such interactions was important because they were well placed to identify the early signs of potential avenues of further work which could be fed into the company’s main sales machinery for qualification and potential follow-up by others. They remained unpersuaded, and so the Badger pointed out that without sales the company would fail, and they would be out of a job! Their facial expressions changed as a ‘light bulb’ moment hit home on realising that even technical IT staff must be commercially and sales aware and acknowledge that ‘Everyone is a salesperson’ of sorts. ‘Sales’ is not a dirty word. It is at the heart of a company’s success and the employment of everyone within it. Remember, everyone is a salesperson…

A career as a TikTok/Instagram influencer?

Posted on by The Information Badger in Business, Education, Information Technology, Learning, social media

If a student says they intend to develop a career as a social media influencer on TikTok, Instagram (and other platforms), and they ask your opinion on their intent, what would you say? The Badger was put on the spot and asked this question during a discussion with a sizeable group of University students midway through their degree courses. Most in the group were studying various flavours of science, engineering, computing, or IT-based subjects. So, what did the Badger answer?

Well, to create a little time to marshal his thoughts, the Badger asked the group to raise a hand if they thought being a TikTok or Instagram influencer was a career path that needed a degree-level education? Only two students put a hand up. A couple commented dryly that most social media platform influencers had little underlying talent or expertise and were focused on their egos and gaining celebrity, notoriety, and money rather than something beneficial for today’s world. That’s harsh, but it’s an understandable perspective. Whether we like it or not, however, becoming a social media influencer is the aspiration of many young digital natives because it’s seen as an easy and convenient way to generate an income.

So, is being a social media influencer a real career path? Many believe so, ostensibly because some with that label make considerable sums of money through brand partnerships, sponsorships, advertising, and selling merchandise. They also perceive that influencers don’t need high educational qualifications although they must be adaptable and adept at analysing trends and staying relevant as audience preferences change. There’s no doubt that some influencers have skills in content creation, marketing, and audience engagement, and a natural charisma, and flair for storytelling, but the reality is that only a small percentage succeed in making a reasonable living from their efforts. Like in any career, success as an influencer on the likes of TikTok and Instagram requires some competence and skill, and so it would be foolish to suggest that being a social media influencer is not a legitimate career path in today’s world.

The Badger was thus careful when answering the student’s question. He simply communicated the advice given by his father when the Badger was first deciding to further his own education at University, namely ‘Get the best education you can in a subject you enjoy and are good at. Don’t pre-suppose how you’ll use that in the future because life has a habit of taking you in unexpected directions’. The students thought this was wise counsel because none of them thought they would secure jobs directly relevant to their degree subject. That’s a shame, but ever that’s been the case. They unanimously concluded that if you intend to have a career as a social media influencer, then it’s prudent to get the best education you can first.

When there’s a new sheriff in town…

Posted on by The Information Badger in Business, Change, Human Resources, Information Technology, IT Project Management, Leadership & Management, Training

‘The lunatics have taken over the asylum’. No, that’s not a jab at the world’s leaders, often hyper-wealthy and drunk on power and their own egos, it’s what a young Badger thought many years ago when his employer appointed a new Chief Executive from outside the company. Soon after their arrival, the new CEO appointed more outsiders to  key leadership roles. Unsurprisingly, most of them had worked for the CEO before. The workforce quickly grasped that the ‘new sheriff in town’ and their ‘deputies’ were intent on rapidly and ruthlessly making their mark.

At the time, the Badger was leading his very first systems/software development project. The rationale for the rapid changes made by the new CEO seemed unfathomable to someone who was completely focused on delivering his project. Looking back decades later, having accumulated wide-ranging business and delivery experience, it’s clear the company needed change to sharpen its commercial and financial focus. Indeed, the CEO changed it for the better in these respects, but to the detriment of a great embedded workforce culture that was exceptionally team oriented. Wariness and distrust of the new sheriff and their deputies spread through the company, especially when the scale of the salaries, bonuses, and share options being paid to the new leadership became public knowledge.

The Badger’s respected and long-standing line manager at the time supported the need for change. They were, however, vocal in their dissent about the new CEO’s approach and the chaos it caused. They confided to a number of direct reports, including the Badger, that they expected the new sheriff,  who was ruthlessly intolerant of anyone with the temerity to challenge the changes being promulgated, to exit them from the company. They were right. Within a few months, they left the company having signed a compromise agreement. On their last day at work, they gave the Badger two pieces of advice, namely, ‘When you deal with any CEO or senior executive consider them to be psychopaths until you’re sure they’re not’, and ‘Remember that any CEO or senior executive will be your friend, until it suits them not to be’. These struck a truthful chord which caused the young Badger to learn about the actual characteristics of a psychopath! (In simple terms these are summarized here, for example). Furthermore, these words of wisdom triggered the Badger to learn more about human behaviour and to use that learning to good effect throughout the rest of his own delivery and leadership career.

And that’s the key message from this item. If you have an opportunity to learn about the rudiments of human psychology, then take it and use what you learn when interacting with, and observing, others. His line-manager’s advice stood the Badger in good stead over the years. Keep it in mind, especially when there’s a ‘new sheriff’ with a new set of ‘deputies’ in town intent on change…

‘What’s the point of hard work…if the rewards are taken away years later?’

Posted on by The Information Badger in Business, Change, Information Technology, Leadership & Management

The UK government announced that from April 2027 any remaining unused pension on an individual’s death will count towards their estate for Inheritance Tax purposes. This is a big change which caused the Badger to holistically cogitate! Although farmers, in particular, are already angrily protesting, this change affects anyone, employed or planning retirement, with Defined Contribution (DC) pension schemes, the norm for most companies and auto-enrolment these days.  

From April 2027 any unused pension will be included in a person’s estate for tax purposes. The beneficiary of the unused pension also pays Income Tax when they draw on their legacy. This is double taxation, the morality of which is questionable, and it means that if the beneficiary is a higher rate taxpayer, then their effective tax rate could be a whopping 64%. There’s no doubt that the government’s announcement will significantly change workforce attitudes towards pensions, inheritance planning, and retirement over the coming years.

This change doesn’t just affect the ‘wealthy’, it affects those in the broad IT industry that are ‘modestly comfortable’ too. If you’re employed in IT then you’re well paid compared with the UK average, you work hard for what you earn, and you’re likely to be in the ‘modestly comfortable’ category. The IT and tech sectors, important for the UK government’s economic growth aspirations, can be challenging but lucrative if you work hard and continuously develop your skills. In the Badger’s experience, IT people do indeed work hard, go beyond the call of duty, and most are prudent and make sacrifices to provide a modestly comfortable future for their loved ones. They deserve their rewards, but many will now find themselves, as reported recently in The I, in a similar situation to that of Louise Rollings, a single mum who worked for decades at an IT company. She comments:

‘The changes announced in the Budget make it feel as though people like me are being penalised for having worked hard, prioritised, budgeted and made sacrifices all our lives. As it stands, very little space has been left for people who have worked hard all their lives to build up modest estates to feel appreciated and rewarded. What’s the point in hard work if the rewards of all that ambition and determination are taken away in later years?”

Quite! If you work hard, make sacrifices, pay all your taxes, save and invest prudently, and contribute to a DC  pension scheme (like governments encourage you to do and where you carry the underlying investment risk), then the question captured in Ms Rollings’ last sentence is very apt. If IT and tech are important for the country’s  economic growth, then the government needs to encourage more and more people in these sectors to work hard. That’s not likely to happen if you know with certainty that the rewards from your effort will be taken away many years later…