Following the senior manager's meeting, this morning it is the big presentation on Redgrave (our proposed jv with Andersens) to all purchasing staff in the old lecture theatre on the 6th floor. This was decrepit until a few weeks ago when the Chairman made a rare visit to Kings Cross and wanted to make a speech to a hundred people. Mysteriously the theatre, which was a real tip, became usable again overnight....
Again, the news about Redgrave is received better than I expected. The performer in me does come out on these occasions, and I do enjoy (despite some nerves) standing on a stage in front of 70 people. We get a certain number of "what's in it for me" or "what are the TUPE rules on redundancy?" questions, but there are also some very intelligent ones where people are thinking ahead and strategically.
D, who I worked with at the DSS and then tempted down to London, asks why we would give away competitive advantage by providing our wonderful purchasing services to competitors. Too clever for his own good, young D, and he'll make a purchasing director one day. But in general, people see some opportunities and seem to be more positive than negative which is good.
It is my daughter's 10th birthday so I manage to get away at 4.30 and make it to the Pizza Express in Sunningdale for her birthday tea with a couple of friends. It is amazing how much noise three very nice girls can make in a fairly small restaurant, and daughter manages to poke her friend** in the eye with a bit of pizza while they demonstrate the latest dance that Westlife (or some similar anaemic boyband) performed on Top of the Pops last week. And a lovely time is had by all, as we just about avoid being thrown out by the tolerant management...
*He did make it to a very senior role, as I predicted
** Her friend is now a very impressive political reporter and TV presenter!