Maps and musings

While I was out running on Tuesday (and thinking about all the things that could go wrong in the Gary Numan interview), the Minx went for a solo mooch around Holmfirth, which was when she picked up this old map of Manchester and Salford for me. She knows how I love an old map.

Actually, I've been thinking about those days leading up to the interview, how perhaps I should have enjoyed the anticipation more, taken more pleasure in the actual interview. But I couldn't; that's just not who I am or how I operate.

There are a couple of attributes that I have that I believe have made me good and successful at my job over the years: one is a facility for rapid understanding and analysis, and the other is an ability to anticipate all of the things that might go wrong with any given project or situation so that I can then consider how they might be mitigated.

The latter faculty could simply lead to panic and paranoia except that I can also factor in the likelihood of any potential issue from actually happening. (That works most of the time!)

So yes, it would have been more enjoyable to be a bit more laid back about the interview but I also think that all of that mental 'wargaming' in advance led to it being a success and that's what I'll remember (and be able to listen back to in the years to come).

OK, now I feel better :-)

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Reading: 'Touching The Void' by Joe Simpson