Enterprise Digital - the podcast

This week’s special guest is Stephen Mann from ITSM.tools, discussing the latest piece of research published with @peoplecert and @atomicwork. There’s some great discussion and insight into finding including the level of trust in AI – which is not complete but is increasing, as well as some practical insights into Governance and Risk –which are areas of increasing focus and which are more about doing the right thing than just enforcing controls… Somehow also we manage to include reference to headless, speeding cockroaches. Here’s the link to the report: AI in ITSM 2025: The State of AI in ITSM 2025 - ITSM.tools

We have a mascot for the podcast! This is a hissing cockroach that needs a name – please send your suggestions…. Ian Aitchison and Barclay Rae also discuss the key elements of ‘Discovery’ as used in consulting and product management. There’s also some sage advice on how to build up a good summary and clear analysis of the information that you might capture – and move projects and operations and people to the next level… This follow the last episode where we discuss the Art of Listening – how can we use these skills in ITSM and beyond..? Listen in and learn more…

This week’s discussion begins with some forgetfulness from Barclay Rae and some weird stuff about animal spies from Ian Aitchison. The main topic is about how we can improve our analysis and understanding, communication and engagement from – listening… Lets not talk to our users rather listen and talk with them, lets practise active listening – a key negotiation skill. There is some good advice here around how to hone and tune our ability to listen and engage more with our various stakeholders, colleagues, users and customers.

No, not Tom your workmate or friend, but TOM - Target Operating Model.  After all the ‘excitement’ of the 100th episode, Barclay and Ian settle down for some typically practical conversation, peppered with tales of eels – mating and being used as currency – ‘eelcoin’ perhaps… There is some good discussion on the need to define, visualise and project clear simple images of plans and ways of working, and this brings TOM into the conversation. Listen in for some initial insights on this, as well as eels...   As a reference the Andrew Campbell publication on operating model canvass is an excellent resource. Operating Model Canvas by Andrew Campbell | Goodreads

After many attempts to call previous fake episodes the 100th, we are pleased to release the latest version – the real 100th, No really it is. This is a special episode with a few guests and familiar faces – Roy Atkinson, Karen Brusch, Ollie O’Donoghue Daniel Breston, @James Finister.   Together we talk a lot about trivia, mice with virtual headsets, and the future of ITSM. Actually, we talk a lot. That’s it really, although we do cover #people, #culture, #AI, #Fundamentals, #data, #leadership and some more #AI. It’s a mix of shiny stuff , some silly stuff and lots of good practical stuff…   As we talk a lot this episode does last for 13 hours, but who needs sleep anyway..?  

We are still nonagenarians, soon to be centurions..! On this one we discuss recent events – itSMF UK, HDI, Gartner, Nexthink…balance and convergence are keywords as well as AI, DX and Cloud as the big things for 25, and also some reality around the use of AI.  Then we played buzzword bingo – please don’t mention P*thways… and how we are going onto Blue Sky, which we like because its like the early days of Tw/X… Positive podcasting people…   Next episode will be our 100th episode – we would love to hear any of your comments, reflections, inputs. Contact us at BlueSky, or via LinkedIn

This week’s podcast is a short discussion between Barclay Rae and Ian Aitchison (who we learn is officially an ‘inventor’ – with a patent..!!). The topic is on Improvement, and the constant stiving for constant betterment and higher levels of quality. Do we always need to do this? Why can’t some businesses and customers just be satisfied with what they have got and say that they are happy with? Are we too obsessed as an industry with always needing to upgrade our tech? Listen on for the wisdom of 160 Million years (yes tadpoles – OK it’s a tenuous link..)

In this episode Barclay Rae and Ian Aitchison explore some current themes around truth – how do we know what is real and correct as opposed to fake and plain wrong, or even just bad..? This is a universal topic at present around social media, and political discourse, however we explore some elements of how our industry deal with these issues. In particular we discuss the way that we communicate ideas and standards, frameworks etc – do we make this accessible and clear enough or can we end up being usurped by marketing content? As we move away from just talking amongst ourselves in IT this becomes a priority… This is a must listen (and short) session.

This week’s guest is the irrepressible Ollie O’Donoghue, lead analyst at Cognizant, and we are once again chewing the fat on the future (if there is one..) of the workplace, work and of course, workers. The impact of Ai and automation is being assessed at many levels and some of Ollie’s recent research looks at the effect this will have on entry level and also expert level jobs. Does Ai remove the need for some levels of work and also the time that is required to develop skills and knowledge? There are no clear answers to this but many mind-blowing connotations, and Ollie, Ian and Barclay all take some different positions on how this might play out… With @ian aitchison @Barclay Rae Give us a follow and let us know your thoughts

Randy Silver, a seasoned Product Management expert originally from the US and now based in the UK, dives into the nuances of product versus project management. He explains how product management is a continuous lifecycle, emphasizing the importance of direction and communication in decision-making. Discussion also touches on the distinct roles of pioneers, settlers, and town planners in product strategies. Plus, there’s a fun debate on whether sharks enjoy jazz music, linking back to effective team dynamics and personality types.