It's been a while

Dearest reader-base,

I must apologise for the large gap between my last post and this one.
Either a lot has happened or I am extremely lazy!

I am lazy.


I am now IT Service Manager at work which has been a nice promotion but a little stressful at times. I am now going to aim to work my way through the ITIL v3 Qualifications to become a certified expert over the next 2-3 years. Doing this is likely to ensure what I do for the rest of my career and at what level I can do so.

I have just come back from the itSMF Conference at the Novotel in London. This is supposedly THE conference of the year for Service Management geeks like me. I have to admit to being more than a little disappointed.

What I found was an awful lot of self back-slapping and condescending speakers. I don't consider myself one of the best public speakers in the world but I am certainly better than some of the guys I had to listen stutter their way through sentences.
I can handle people being nervous about speaking in front of a large group of strangers  - not just strangers but like-minded industry professionals waiting for you to slip up. It is natural to be nervous and choke on your words etc.

What I can't handle is the content of the presentations.
These presentations are put together in a relatively stress-free environment where time and consideration may be given to the content. These presentations were to be delivered to people in similar roles in the industry, people looking for practical advice on how to overcome common problems. For me, the majority of the audience have a grounding in the theory so why waste your 40 minutes explaining theory. It would have been a lot cheaper for me to buy a book and maybe that would have been more insightful. I think this shows a lack of respect for the audience.

What did I want?
I wanted to explain how people overcame various problems that are common to all. What did they do to make a difference? What obstacles did they come up against? How did they overcome them? Which problems could you not overcome? Why not?
I want practical advice that I can take away and try.


What did I get out of attending?

It wasn't all bad - not by any stretch of the imagination.
I felt that the opening speech by Sir Ranulph Fiennes was possibly the most inspiring speech I have ever had the pleasure to hear. This man is a legend and I only hope that the itSMF make the video available to all of its members to view again.




Also, I have come away with some ideas and a positive outlook on the future. Certainly, it has inspired me to become a certified expert in my field, I want and expect my team to become ISO20000 accredited, and I want to leave my company with a long-lasting legacy in the future. I would be very proud to see my team collect an award on that stage in the future and I will do everything I can to make that happen.