Welcome to romchip.co.uk

First things first: why Romchip?

It was a nickname bestowed on me at university when, even back in the early days, I started gaining a reputation as a PC fix-it geek who could help my fellow students.

Rolling on a few years, Time magazine might describe me as:

"A quietly dedicated family man, an ambivert whose subtle leadership can be the bridge within divided teams and provide the solace young mentees need to thrive. His seemingly casual, friendly approach to business belies a deep thoughtfulness with a strong moral core driving a passion for ethics, sustainability, fairness and perfection.*"

(If you do happen to be a journalist from Time, that’s the introduction done).

Remember to treat yourself with kindness and be excellent to each other.

*Perfection is a personal point of view and in reality, is it even achievable? I wrote a whole blog about it.

A bit about me: Scout Leader, Mo-Bro, and part-time lutanist*

In my spare time I volunteer as a Beaver and Cub Scout leader for my local group. I thrive on encouraging young people to enjoy outdoor activities, spending time in nature, and being involved with my community.

My other passions are music and guitars. These days my main musical performance outlet is with my local ukulele band on my trusty guitalele. We do it for fun and raise a little money for charity as we go.

Aside from music, I also enjoy supporting and sprouting a Mo for Movember, tinkering in the garden and dabbling in a little Dungeons & Dragons.

Not forgetting my life of servitude under Alfred the Kitten (cat).

*lutanist - not some strange cult(ist) but rather a quirky way to describe my guitar playing

A bit about work: Solution provider, leader and mentor

Work (noun): the opportunity to bring my valuable experience and skills to an organisation and its people.

In my working life, I’ve developed the ability to adapt and learn, mentor with empathy and own with conviction.

If getting things done (the right way) ethically, sustainably and fairly, with a focus on a truly positive client experience whilst ensuring the wellbeing of all involved is your thing, then let's have a conversation.

You can find out more and download a full copy of my CV using the button below.

When Innovation Outpaces Wisdom: A Change Manager's Open Letter to the Technology Industry

Change Management 101

Mitigate for known, potential and unknown risk before committing to a change. Plan to cancel, remediate or rollback that change before, during or even after implementation to negate identified risks and prevent harm.

In plain English: when you innovate and plan to implement sweeping change, don't just focus on the benefits. Understand the full impact, including potential detrimental consequences, whether direct or indirect. Understand how those risks will be prevented or compensated for. If your change could introduce unacceptable risk or cause harm, a change leader must have the strength to stop, review and potentially rethink the strategy rather than simply ploughing ahead believing the problems can be patched later.

As an innovator and change leader, there is an inherent responsibility to safeguard against risk, follow ethical principles and work toward eliminating harm for the benefit of the many, not just the few.

When a process fails (for your customer) - a true tale of woe.

Everyone has a tale of when a service has failed to meet expectations, causing unnecessary stress or work to resolve. Whilst I am myself responsible for delivering products and services to meet (or exceed) our client’s expectations, I am also a customer of services. So take a couple of minutes with your morning cuppa as I retell my tale of process breakdown (and of course how I believe it could be so easily avoided)

High employee turnover? Perhaps Process is the Problem

As a business owner, one of the most disruptive events to your organisation is the replacement of an employee. Aside from the potential loss of a friend or ally, there is the loss of knowledge and the automation of daily tasks that came from that employee knowing their job. The extra time required having someone ‘buddy’ the new employee until they are able to contribute fully and of course, the extra load placed on the remaining employees covering the leaver’s work is coupled with the costs of hiring.