10th February 2025
I’m trying an OKR (objectives and key results) retrospective this time. I wasn’t sure how well this would translate, given that I’m working on multiple projects with different OKRs, but it was pretty good.
Goal performance
- I’m making some good progress on the content design project I’m working on. This morning I marked up the site map to show how many of the foundational pages are done, in progress, yet to start, and so on. It was good to see how far we’ve come, although the project is lagging a little behind the timeline.
- I went to Newcastle for a face-to-face kick-off meeting with a new client. We’re going to be working together for the next 3 to 4 months on a content strategy. Rather than creating the strategy for them, I’m coaching and advising them through the process. The meeting went well. We covered a huge amount of ground (and sticky notes) in three hours. Every single member of staff attended (it’s a small team) – which is definitely a first for me. I’m really into this approach and the client’s acknowledgement that content is part of all their work.
- Back in 2021, I worked with Harewood House Trust on a content strategy. Its new website went live last week, which was so exciting to see. It was also lovely to be tagged and mentioned in the launch announcements after all this time. I have so many good memories of working with Harewood. I spent a couple of days there doing some research, and even got to stay on site, which was an absolute delight. I was also drawn to Harewood’s commitment and approach to talking about its connection to slavery.
- It was a short week due to travelling and taking a day off, so I made no progress with my website planning.
Blockers
- I’ve been watching El*n M*usk’s attack on USAID unfold this week. It’s not really a blocker for me — although one tender I’m bidding for has been delayed as a direct result. It’s more of a blocker for the third sector and humanitarian aid in general. I’m thinking of the staff at USAID, the organisations it funds, and all the people around the world who are going to suffer as a result. It’s also hard not to think about what this signals long-term about attitudes to international aid and development. This isn’t isolated. In 2020, Boris Johnson’s government merged the Department for International Development with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. I think approaches to development and aid need to change, but in a way that is anti-colonialist and anti-white supremacy, rather than this.
Learnings
- I took an extra day to explore Newcastle. I went to the Baltic and saw an exhibition about photographer Franki Raffles. I’d never heard of her before, and I’m so glad I got to see this. Franki Raffles was a feminist, activist, and social documentary photographer. I was struck by the idea of photography as a tool for social change. Many of the pictures on display were commissioned by charities and local councils. They saw the value and potential in documentary photography. It got me thinking about the status of documentary content in the third sector now. If you’re working on this kind of thing, I would love to talk.
Next steps
This week, I need to:
- Push my content design project forward as much as I can
- Work out the next steps for the content strategy project post-kick-off
- Finalise some contracts for upcoming projects
- Use any downtime to work out a plan for my website
Cultural stuff
- I finally saw Bird, Andrea Arnold’s latest film. I’ve enjoyed all of AA’s films. I love the intimate way they’re shot, the incredible performances from first-time actors, the way she manages to capture extreme vulnerability, and the settings — which often seem to be on the fringes, between city and country. This film had all those elements, plus a bit of magical realism and a soundtrack by Burial, who made one of my favourite albums ever (Untrue).
- I also saw Babygirl. Solid 6.5 out of 10 for me, and I found the exploration of power dynamics interesting.
- I’m still reading Yellowface, On Connection, and The Creative Act.