Rafal Bergman

Thank you for sharing Andrew Gambier. Over the course of my career I have learnt that great problem solving, in all its forms, is reliant on four essential foundations; Teamwork, Technique, Time and Trust. We refer to them as ‘The 4 T’s’ of problem solving. The NHS and other Healthcare institutions are often very strong on the Teamwork and Trust elements internally, but they rarely have uniformity when it comes to Technique across Trusts. But the final 'T' is their biggest issue by far. A high quality and robust RCA needs time. It needs key stakeholders to spend focused time together, time to gather evidence and it needs an environment where that time is valued and quiet meeting rooms are available for the collaboration. The teams we have trained from NHS Trusts are exceptional people who really want to build their understanding and prevent recurrence of incidents (try and find a better example of team work than in midwifery!), but in a 12 hour shift, and as things stand, it is incredibly rare for them to be allowed the time to go in a room for 5 hours and focus solely on an RCA. If a small proportion of that £4.1bn was spent creating, training and supporting RCA teams in Trusts, it would be money well spent.

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🚀 Fantastic to celebrate the start of #WorldSpaceWeek yesterday with an evening of insightful debate on the New Space Economy courtesy of #Codex, the Institute of Physics and a distinguished panel of #spacetech entrepreneurs and investors – Katie King, PhD, Nick Shave FRAeS, Andrew Bacon, Mark Boggett, Sean Sutcliffe & Sanjeev Gordhan, ably moderated by Joanna Hart. It’s hard not to be excited and inspired by the opportunities being unlocked both in space and on earth by developments in spacetech and the new space economy. Lower launch costs – thanks largely to SpaceX – combined with the prospect of lower return costs too, are opening up a whole new world of commercial possibilities from in-orbit manufacturing of pharmaceuticals (BioOrbit) and semiconductors (Space Forge), through on-orbit servicing and debris removal (Astroscale), to solar farms and datacenters in space. 💫 Precisely because the scale of the opportunity is so exciting, my attention was drawn to a couple of important themes underlying yesterday’s debate. These are recurring threads that many in the broader UK tech sector will recognise but they are magnified in the context of the new space economy: 1.    A record number of UK space start-ups are being founded every quarter, but a lack of growth capital constrains their progress commercially – what needs to change so that more of these companies can fulfil their potential and grow into global champions from a UK base? 2.    Skills shortages threaten to constrain growth in the new space economy. Whilst there are specific shortages now – Katie highlighted the difficulty filling roles that require both biotech and space engineering expertise, for example – we will need many more physicists, mathematicians, computer scientists and engineers of all descriptions to deliver on the promise of the new space economy. Against this backdrop, it was shocking to hear from Institute of Physics’ Group CEO Tom Grinyer that some 400 UK secondary schools don’t currently have a dedicated physics teacher. What more can we collectively do to address these issues now so that we can all benefit from the advances in spacetech tomorrow? 🚀

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Well, the last of the main political parties launch their manifesto today. Without being political one way or another, and while tax, the welfare state, security, education etc may be very important, if you were to have a wishlist from your business point of view to be delivered by the next government what would it be? I will start: 1. Stability - having a clear 4 or 5 year path which doesn't change is critical for business planning. We also spend a lot of money in USD and EUR and the uncertainty that someone will crash GBP is a big issue 2. R&D tax credits - simplify the R&D tax credit rules, perhaps make them more stringent so they can not be exploited by just saying it is R&D and having some evidence-based system to prove you actually do innovation, but with that make it more favourable. 3. Invest in Innovate UK / UKRI - double, triple or even quadruple the budget for grants provided through InnovateUK/UKRI. It is such a tiny amount in the scheme of government spending, but the ONLY way we are to grow the economy out of the stagnation it is in is by companies like mine innovating new products. We won £50k grant for Veribli which allowed us to build the MVP and launch. We have just won another from Made Smarter Yorkshire & Humber which is allowing us to build out our Smart Beer Pump. These are small figures but totally transformative for a small business like ours, this leads to employment, higher VAT income, and ultimately corporations tax payments. 4. Clean up the judicial system - I am not sure how this can be done, but we need to prevent people with deep pockets from using the justice system to destroy their counterpart, no matter the right or wrong of either party, the size of your pocket really should not be the determining factor. 5. More work is needed on greenwashing, extending the changes made recently to the companies act from companies turning over £500m. Force ALL companies to submit ESG report to companies house and give them the same weight as accounts, making directors legally responsible for their accuracy. 🤷‍♂️ What would you add from your company's point of view? 👇 Comment below 👇 #ge2024 #generalelection #business #redtape #innovation #innovateuk #RandD _______ I am Matt, at Veribli we offer smart RFID technology and a platform that allows you to control and automate your production, track your assets, create smart products and build, direct long-lasting relationships with your customers and enabling a circular ecosystem. At Axsi Systems Ltd we track health & safety tasks & inspections for cleanliness, HACCP, fire doors, construction sites and much more. 📧 [email protected] 📲 01482 455855

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This is a good summary But also misses three things a) The ageing population - the so called dropping off is not due to Covid alone in my view b) The impact of AI c) The changing market position post brexit The impact of AI on UK will be positive because 1) Inward investments(ex MSFT, Google, Salesforce) 2) Good education systems 3) Overall increase in productivity due to AI https://lnkd.in/eFnTUdcf

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🔔 Funding Alert for UK SMEs 🔔 The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) launched a £7.4m pilot scheme yesterday to subsidise the costs of AI training for SMEs in the UK. Eligible businesses are able to apply for for funds to cover up to 50% of their AI training costs. To be eligible, you must: - Be registered and operate in the UK - Employ between 1-249 employees in the UK - Have been operating for at least 1 year - Be able to match-fund 50% of the cost of the training You can get between £2,500 and £10,000 in grants, depending on your business size. You'll be responsible for finding your own AI training provider (*massive, dramatic cough and lots of pointing at myself*). Applications are now open, but it's a short pilot window - they'll close on 31 May. To apply, head over here: https://lnkd.in/e6PGNqZg It's a big step in the right direction - very best of luck to all who apply. PS Need some help with the AI skills bit in your application? I've opened up some totally free 1:1 slots for this very purpose: https://lnkd.in/eD2HeUb3

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I could spend hours writing scientific papers to justify how AssetFloow's Dynamic Flow Network outperforms Neural Networks, Decision Trees, LLMs, or any other forecasting model out there… ... or I could share this testimonial from the UK’s leading supply chain company, Wincanton. Try it yourself, get early access to DFN-3 in our website www.assetfloow.com #Forecasting #PredictiveAnalytics #DFN #Logistics #Retail #ArtificialIntelligence

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SOLID.. Still relevant/less relevant/irrelevant? This is an older article that I'm reposting; I referred to it in a recent interview and it provided some good talking points https://lnkd.in/dJcs8D8 #solid #software #dotnet

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Tomorrow I’ll be hosting the first of a series of webinars to explain why the Flexible AI Upskilling Fund is for you 🫵 If you are a professional, based in the UK working for an SME, you may be eligible for up to £10k in grant funding to train your people in AI. In this webinar I'll cover: • What AI could do for your business • What is UK government's 'Flexible AI Upskilling Fund' • Eligibility and funding details • The application process & how to apply • How to select the right AI training I'll also be releasing exclusive content, to help you make a successful application. If you don’t think AI is for you, think again. You don’t need to be able to BUILD AI systems to USE AI systems. AI is for everybody and I’ll show you why. Register for the webinar here: https://lnkd.in/egTtwDuT

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AI & Partners - How does the UK intersect with EU in terms of #AI regulation? This ground-breaking report from OpenUK helps to shed light on a question of growing significance. With EU #AI Act implementation imminent and questions of its extra-territorial nature front and centre, business leaders can benefit from these expert insights. Check out the post below for details. #AI

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The Paradox of Ignorance - Part 2 Last week I wrote about how I am listening to a BBC Radio 4 series by MP Rory Stewart titled ‘The Long History of Ignorance’ it explores many faucets in and around the idea that one must embrace ignorance as much as we do knowledge. I argued that as entrepreneurs and founders, without ignorance of the real efforts needed to be successful, we would at least be weighed down by the pressures or perhaps even not start the journey. I would like to extend the argument, that entrepreneurs, especially innovative ones embrace ignorance in a different manner and again this is a paradox. We are told (perhaps assume) that the most successful people are those who understand all of the ins and outs and every minor detail about a subject, industry or category, but in fact, being ignorant is more likely a precursor to innovation. We all know about the 'Do what you have always done, get what you have always got' syndrome. I can not tell you how many times I have been told 'We can't do that', 'we don't do it like that', 'it doesn't work like that', these are all blockers to progress. The ability to be ignorant of that and forge a new path on how it is done is likely the only way you can be successful, otherwise you are simply competing with others on the same model, process and product, but trying to get better margins or excel on service rather that finding a new way. I was reminded of this in a meeting with Gerard Toplass last week where we were discussing what type of salesperson we should engage with for Veribli, should that be someone who has been there and done it in the industry, who knows all the pain points, well yes, there is a good argument for that, depending on the type of person, they can talk on the same level to clients with a knowledge of what problems they face daily and how our system can solve those problems, however, there is also an argument that after a 30-year career in an industry, you are likely blinded to the art of the possible and accepting of 'how it is' rather than being ignorant to 'how it is' and challenging the status quo. I am not arguing that being ignorant without knowledge and skill is a recipe for success, it simply isn't, I strive for knowledge and learning every day, that is my magic sauce, however, there is an argument that a healthy dose of ignorance, and being comfortable in that space, can indeed be the difference between success and just a photocopy of what has been before. #ignorance #rorystewart #bbc #entrepreneur #founder ________ I am Matt, at Veribli we offer smart RFID technology and a platform that allows you to control and automate your production, track your assets, create smart products and build, direct long-lasting relationships with your customers and enabling a circular ecosystem. At Axsi Systems Ltd we track health & safety tasks & inspections for cleanliness, HACCP, fire doors, construction sites and much more. 📧 [email protected] 📲 01482 455855

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“We have five generations at work for the first time in history. That's a hard truth. It's a fact. We're ageing. That's only going to go in one direction. It's therefore in our hands as to whether we choose to do something constructive about it or not. So this is about more collaborative, connective and innovative organisations turning this into a real opportunity.” Brilliant conversation with Rebecca Robins CMgr CCMI Robins for our latest episode of Enter the Boardroom. 👉 Link in post below My three key take-aways ➕Next gen boards are a set means to variable ends: “The beauty of a next generation board in terms of a platform is that … Here is a construct, here is a blueprint that you can use. Its purpose will vary according to what your objectives are as a board, as a business. So as I say, it can be so many things in so many contexts. I think the first question we need to ask is, 'why are we setting this up? What is the purpose and how is it relevant to our business?' And then pretty much the rest will follow. You're on a very safe foundation if you're setting up in that context.” ➕Next gen boards shouldn’t be a project: “Never see it as a project or initiative. The beauty of this is it should be a sustainable platform that really is hardwired to what you're looking to achieve as a business ... You see that cohort [of next gen board members] in the context of, ‘what are we looking for the board to do and the next gen board to do in the same way? What are we looking to achieve over time?’” ➕Next gen boards contribute to general cross-functional collaboration: “The main impetus and insights [of the FT next gen board] were around how do we need to look differently at career paths, and how do we create better access to the board? It was providing fresh perspectives on the business strategy. It was a bit of a sparring partner, but it also [made the business in general] a more collaborative, inclusive place to work.” Rebecca Robins is Founder & CEO of a consultancy at the intersection of brand, culture and leadership. She also runs and teaches on leadership programmes for business schools and Universities, including University of Cambridge University. She is on the advisory of a number of organisations, including the Chartered Management Institute and ‘AI for good’ pioneer Quilt.AI. A best-selling author of two books, with book no.3 out this year: Five Generations at Work, available to pre-order from all good bookstore sites now! #nextgenboards #boardofdirectors #entertheboardroom 

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This TechCrunch article highlights 13.5 million hours in the NHS lost due to poor IT systems. I can certainly echo that issue with my recent experiences that show a fractured and ineffective use of IT and poor IT policies. (I won't bore you with the details, but ask me directly if you want to know). I believe that better IT could be a massive opportunity for the NHS. Yes, it would mean spending to save, but there's a significant opportunity to empower individuals, while eliminating much of the NHS bureaucracy and overheads. The greatest challenge ahead is two-fold. Firstly finding someone with the vision to transform NHS IT systems. Second, the ability to execute that vision without giving away massive, poorly structured and expensive contracts to the usual suspects. Would it be unreasonable for the NHS to create an internal start-up to develop new technology? Developers in Silicon Valley can create new companies with only a few millions in investment. So, should the government fund multiple skunkworks projects and see what falls out? Who will be the NHS IT Czar capable of completing a vision of the future? https://lnkd.in/erhX6cKR

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I couldn't help noticing that the debate about UK Capital Gains Tax has been based around first time founders (who don't care about tax) and investors (who may or may not care about tax). Missing from the debate are serial founders. It's a significant blind spot because they are a very important part of creating a self-sustaining (tech) startup culture. It seems that in the general imagination, startup life is like this: 1. Have a great idea 2. Work hard at it 3. Make millions 4. Retire and get a yacht Reality is a lot more messy and convoluted than that. I'd bet that the vast majority of founders don't follow this path. So I hope that the narrative gets wiser to the nuances of the startup sector; I'd love to see the UK building a more self-sustaining tech startup sector. Post here: https://lnkd.in/euKNpjAw

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Imagine carrying out that your #deeptechstartup 'has the science used by UFOs' and where many in corporate and LinkedIn meet/greet such a statement. "How can we believe or trust someone making such an outlandish claim, Reso? How come you have it and no one else?" Because I haven't gotten paid a working salary or earned a paycheck from pressing CTP forward for over two years now. Because the CTP Model adds two additional Fundamental Forces and an entire new field of science, Kaku's 'missing pieces' behind physical law', and because most of all... Because it is the truth. Because CTPSci Sciences can lead humankind to the stars. I am saying and stating the same things I was stating two years ago. (even 20 years ago during Drazen's original CTP Phase 1) (in spite of the 100s of 100s of statements from people claiming or stating they would assist our #startup in any way that ultimately never have done anything) (some days I would like to completely drop CTP, yet...) I AM STILL HERE. #founder #founders #founderstory #founderstories #techfounder #heiroftesla

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I found this short explanation of confirmation bias and anchored (anchoring) bias very interesting and thought of the many boards I have worked with through the years that are reluctant to recognise various levels of dysfunction they have when dealing head-on with pressing #governance issues. Your thoughts... https://lnkd.in/dAX9ybm4

In the latest episode of The Difference Engine tech Category podcast, with a new UK Government in place, Jonathan Simnett and I thought it was a good time to put a stake in the ground about overblown political promises. Not least the major fallacy that highly paid tech jobs will somehow save the economy. We show how politicians are looking for the upside of tech and Category impact in the wrong places. We also ask is the modern-day SaaS playbook the route to sustained Category leadership? We’ve seen SaaS companies come out of nowhere and create brand new Categories, but the current playbook appears to have its own Category destruction mechanism built in with customers being reduced to little more than bit parts in this recurring tech and finance drama. We also look at the B2B and B2C Category collision that resulted when Cisco bought Linksys and the reasons why value was destroyed, rather than created. But, first, we ask has Category creator par excellence Elon Musk gone too far this time? Click the link in the comments to listen to Episode 29 of The Difference Engine and all previous episodes 👇 #elonmusk #x #twitter #categorydesign #categorycreation #saas #tech #government #policy #cisco #linksys #thedifferencenegine #b2b #b2c #podcast #thedifferenceengine #techcategory #strategy #techstrategy #tesla #spacex

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