I need a beer

Monday this week got off to a bit of a slow start.  I'd spent the weekend ripping up carpets from the upstairs of the housing and doing some final painting touches.  This meant on Monday morning my legs were stiff to say the least.  Anyway I still dragged myself into the office and enjoyed  a clear day in the office catching up on e-mails and with the team.

On Tuesday I headed down to Bristol for the NTSB meeting.  Of course it was raining when I got to the station; 15 minutes later and very wet I arrived at the meeting.  It turned out to be a really good couple of days.  The first day featured robust discussions on, amongst other things, the role of intelligence in a modern service and how the NTSB can really lead the profession.  Despite the challenges ahead I think we are in good hands.  The Tuesday night saw a nice meal and night out in Bristol a by chance we bumped into the mayor of Bristol.  He was interesting to talk to and certainly had a clear vision for what he wanted his City to be.  Whilst challenging I always think it is better when politicians provide this clarity.

The Wednesday was more of an update day and it gave me a chance to update the board on our work.  I had to rush off home, as I needed to clear the upstairs of as much furniture as possible ready for the carpets on Thursday.

Thursday saw two meetings in London.  One was a good open discussion with Trustmark on the future of approval schemes.  Certainly get the feeling that we can work together and build something that works both from a consumer and business perspective.  The second was a meeting at the Local Government Association, LGA.  It was good to see that the LGA has regulation high up the agenda and there was certainly a challenge put to us about how we can help our members deliver on the LGA vision of 'open for business'.  I shot home again to move some more furniture before dashing back to meet up with the board, ahead of Friday's meeting.

Today's (Friday) meeting saw some really good discussions about what the Institute should prioritise going forward.  We agreed a draft vision and strategy to discuss with council and others going forward.  A busy week but very valuable.

Weekly update

Since coming back from holiday – which itself was a strange experience in Egypt. (We stayed at a wonderful resort with amazing friendly people, but a lack of tourists because of the troubles there.  It’s a shame for the ordinary people, as the resort we stayed in, Sharm, is miles away from the trouble, perfectly safe and they are completely reliant on the tourist money for a living.) – I’ve had a bit of catching up to do including attending last week’s the AGM in Cardiff hosted by our TSI Welsh branch.

This week hasn’t been too full of meetings and has provided a chance to think about the future of the Institute.  In particular we have upcoming board and council meetings.  Whilst it can be occasionally frustrating from a business perspective to have such rigid governance, if we get it right it can add real value and consensus to our work.  It’s not only important that we focus on the right issues but members engage through their council reps.  Council will be looking at some big issues in mid-October, including the future of the profession, our strategic objectives for the next few years and what members want from the Institute- the little stuff! 

Next week the board will be looking at our three year strategic, business and resourcing plan – with a view to wider consultation before hopefully signing off the plan at their December meeting.

A meeting I did attend this was the Consumer Protection Partnership.  This brings together high-level partners to discuss issues impacting on the consumer environment.  Often these types of meetings can feel like process-driven talking shops.  I think that the partnership has been a little like that as it has been finding its feet but I get the sense of a seed change, and a real focus on improved outcomes.

I also spoke at a conference aimed at collection agents and companies.  You could tell just by looking at the delegates which ones had entered the profession via the accountancy route and which ones via the frontline collection route! 

Whilst my job can be stressful my partner’s (Eileen) work as a specialist Macmillan Nurse always gives me a sense of perspective.  We had some good news this week when she was offered a new job – still with in the field of cancer care but a slightly less stressful one. 

One final personal snippet.  I help coach junior cricket within the village.  Last week saw the first Masters v Apprentices match.  I was extremely nervous - we would never have lived it down if the juniors had beaten us.  In the end we did win, with yours truly scoring a useful 31 not out.  Apparently the kids have put it down to the quality of the coaching they receive.