“The biggest risk is not taking any risks.”
For once in my life, I’m actually lost for words.
I mean, how on earth do I try and condense everything I’ve learnt/experienced in the last two years into a couple of paragraphs?
Truth is, I can’t, so I’m not even going to try. I’m going to treat this like I’m in Love Island and this is my best bits segment. You don’t need me to give you a blow by blow account of everything I’ve ever done, because lets be fair, if you follow me on social media, you can find out EVERYTHING.
This is my chance to reflect on my time here…so here goes!
You all know I came here on a temporary contract to cover Tom’s sabbatical, giving up a permanent full time role to follow my dream of working in the Bromford Lab. In my recent recruitment post I reflected on this and interestingly, people still ask me now whether I’d do anything differently if I had to make that decision again.
The answer is still absolutely not. I’d still make the same decision 10 times over. Yes, it was ballsy (some may say stupid) but I know that it was the right thing for me, both personally and professionally.
I love a challenge and taking a bit of a risk. It’s in my nature. My new role, although a permanent position, is with a tech start up called Homelync as their Head of Delivery, something I haven’t done in depth for a long time, so I’m back taking a bit of a gamble again. I’ll be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous - truth is I’m bricking it. It’s a small team and high stakes - no cock ups allowed. Thing is, I know that the last two years has armed me with new skills that I’m certain will mean I can tackle this job with the same enthusiasm and confidence I did when I walked into Bromford, so I’m hoping it will be as successful!
I’ve had many firsts here at Bromford Lab - my first solo public speaking gig, my first solo design session, my first speaker bio. I’ve had the chance to explore the world of design in more depth and have been able to gain academic qualifications from IDEOU, one of the world’s leading global design companies. I’ve learnt about cultivating the best sessions, hacks and customer interviews, including how you make sense of everything that comes out it to inform next steps, from Simon and how to build prototypes, tests and pilots from Tom, both quick and dirty ones to the more forward thinking design offers. I’ve been lucky to be surrounded by some of the brightest and best minds within innovation and design. I mean, anyone who can say they have learnt from the OG of Innovation himself, Paul Taylor, is pretty bloody lucky!
So I guess actually what I wanted to say all along wasn’t about me. I actually wanted to say thank you.
Thank you to Bromford for allowing me to be a part of your transformation journey. Whilst it was sad to see Philippa go, I’m excited for Robert’s vision and will be an avid follower/sideline supporter in watching him see this realised over the coming years as Bromford continues to grow and meet it’s strategic objectives.
Thank you to Bromford Lab for putting up with me for the last 2 years and changing the way you work to allow little old me from Weston-super-Mare to be a part of you. As much as we drive each other crazy, there’s no other bunch of people I’d rather have spent the last 2 years with and I’ve learnt so much from each and every one of you. That includes you Katie because I know you’ll be reading this and think it doesn’t apply, but seriously, this girl is the backbone that keeps us alive!
But most of all, thank you to Paul for taking a chance on me and giving me the opportunity of a lifetime. I really hope I’ve proved it was a good decision and I hope I’ll do you proud as I forge this new path in my career.
Anyway, that’s enough from me. I guess that’s all folks….for now!
