Billy Maddocks
Always trying my best
Introduction
I have worked in many senior roles throughout my career. My diverse background as a strategist, technologist and research allows me to understand and empathise with organisational challenges at all levels. This has helped me to gather a wide ranging understanding of effective strategy and processes all focussing on doing the most for people.
This experience means I am able to work in close collaboration with designers, product managers, domain experts, engineers, and organisational leaders to align between peoples motivations, market opportunity and organisational capabilities to workshop innovative solutions and follow those solutions from inception all the way to thriving solutions.
You'll find more shameless self promotion on my LinkedIn
#DigitalStrategy, #Innovation, #roadmapping, #StrategicPlanning, #UserTesting, #CustomerResearch, #DesignThinking, #TechnicalConcepts, #CustomerExperience, #ChangeManagement, #InnovationWorkshops, #WorkshopFacilitation, #ClientManagement, #UserResearch
A bit of history
Learning to work in online companies
My work life started as a need to earn a bit of cash to survive and in doing so I stumbled across digital technology and online businesses as a place I felt most at home. I worked as a website administrator and a couple of different jobs. Website work came naturally to me and supported my computer science degree well.
Honing my technology craft
After finishing my degree I jumped headfirst into coding, helping to build and maintain a multitude of websites, platforms and blogs along the way. Most notably by the time I reached lead developer at a content marketing agency I learnt that coding itself was not the solution. To truly make successful digital products I needed to talk to users, measure their success and have business needs at the forefront of my mind.
Not only this, my seniority meant I had to train new developers, work with other departments and meet with clients. The complexity of people's own needs, motivations and the way they affected the work I did was becoming ever more apparent.
Embracing the strategic and people focused
It was at this point I was promoted into a more senior management position where yet again it was people that were the main challenge and what I learned most in this time. The boardroom I was in had a very diverse set of personalities, opinions and skills sets. The clients I worked with were being pulled in all directions by their bosses and staff. No matter how good the process, strategy or solution, it was being held up by conflicting agendas, motivations and success criteria.
What I know now is that I was trying to do what was best for our customers, my department and team members but this was conflicting against the need for fast growth and profit. I thought at the time it was because I didn’t enjoy my job and so decided to change my career path and move to Denmark.
The Denmark years
I moved to Copenhagen in 2015 and started a Masters degree with a focus on Artificial intelligence and user experience. I wrote my master's thesis with Hello Great Works and then started full time employment with them soon after.
Given my aptitude for strategic thinking I succeeded in learning a lot about design thinking, qualitative research methods and innovation strategy. Essentially how to understand what people need and bring a whole team of people along with turning that understanding of needs into a solution that people truly want.
But I missed being involved in implementing the things I’d strategise about, I needed to learn if the strategies I made were working over the following years. Luckily this is when I met Luke, my legend of a business partner, and Elsewhere started to form
The elsewhere years
Now here I am.
All my work and life experience has all culminated in the creation and running of Elsewhere, the studio I am so proud to have helped to start and turn it into what it is today.
Elsewhere is a studio where I get to use all of my previous experience working in strategy, technology and design to help talented people to build, nurture and champion their people first organisations. Truly balancing the organisations need for profit alongside what is best for their employees, customers and community.
I get to work with some of the most innovative organisations and people, to help them take the seeds of an idea or problem and turn them into thriving solutions. I get to strategise and research, then see and learn from solutions out in the world to hone my skills. I get to have my cake and eat it, then bake an even better cake next time.
My role at Elsewhere
My role as Impact strategist and researcher involves shaping both elsewheres’ and clients' visions, making sure everyone is heading in the right direction and knows the steps to get there. It’s all about charting the path to success and creating an environment of continuous informed learning to get there effectively.
Whether it's helping to grow individuals, organisations, or digital solutions, my role is to give clear guidance on the direction and back it up with solid evidence. When people are looking for someone to show them where we're going and why we're going there, I'm the person with the best current answers.
Of course, I can't do it alone. Effective communication and collaboration are key parts of what I do. I work closely with different teams and stakeholders to make sure we're all on the same page and moving forward together. After all, teamwork makes the dream work!
Digital strategy and roadmaps
Work closely with cross-functional teams to define digital strategies that support project objectives.
Develop roadmaps outlining the necessary steps and milestones to achieve digital transformation goals on a project.
Collaborate with technology and design teams to ensure the successful execution of digital project work.
Stay updated on emerging trends and technologies, providing recommendations for digital advancements.
Facilitate the collection of data from users and customers to inform strategic decisions and roadmaps
Impact measurement & research
Establish frameworks and methodologies for measuring the impact of organisational initiatives. for elsewhere and its clients.
Collect, analyse, and interpret data to assess the effectiveness and outcomes of implemented strategies, for elsewhere and its clients.
Prepare reports and presentations to communicate impact findings to stakeholders, for elsewhere and its clients.
Identify areas for improvement and recommend actionable insights based on impact measurements, for elsewhere and its clients.
Organisation strategy
Collaborate with key stakeholders to develop and refine Elsewhere and it’s client's strategic goals and objectives.
Conduct thorough research and analysis to identify opportunities for growth and improvement for elsewhere and its clients.
Develop comprehensive strategies and action plans to align the organisation with its long-term vision, for elsewhere and its clients.
Monitor and evaluate the progress of Elsewhere strategic work, making adjustments as necessary for elsewhere and its clients.
Collaborate with employees to help them define their goals, vision for their role and how to get there
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