Is this a crisis moment? ??
Atom CTO February newsletter
Welcome to the latest Atom CTO newsletter where we share tech news and stories for founders and entrepreneurs who are starting and scaling businesses.
Editor’s Note
The headline of this newsletter is a bit dramatic, I have to say.
The news certainly isn’t all sunshine and roses at the moment now is it, but do I think this is a moment of crisis? No.
Having said that though, many of the business leaders I’ve spoken to this past month are not the most optimistic people. The rise in the living wage, the reduction in the NI threshold and the corresponding increase in the rate of employer’s contribution has knocked the wind out of most small businesses I know and the shenanigans going on across the pond isn’t helping to lighten the mood music.
What I find quite striking is that if I compare this to 2008, when there was a real financial crisis, business leaders today are more pessimistic than I felt they were back then.
Now that is something.
Why is this? Well, I think most of us business owners have had enough. You work hard, are constantly squeezed, are befuddled by red tape and are never recognised as the true engine house of the economy - we are a nation of shopkeepers after all.
Instead, we’re the villain that isn’t paying enough, isn’t training enough, isn’t giving enough time off and worst of all, isn’t contributing enough, we are, apparently, all fat cats taking long holidays. When was your last break?
So what do we as business owners do?
We keep calm and carry on and this month, I have an interview that I think you should all listen to, as it will put things in perspective.
This month, I interviewed a friend of mine - Dominic Courage, who for the past decade has been working for Save the Children in some of the worst crises zones that humans can generate and from him, I extract titbits of knowledge that will help all business owners navigate through whatever you want to call these current times.
For me, the most relatable analogy he gave is that when you’re in the crisis, its like you’re on the balcony and the dancefloor at the same time - you need to be able to remove yourself from the activities in order to give yourself the best view of what is going on.
It’s a great interview and one I am sure will give you all something to mull over as you’re staring at your spreadsheets this April, wondering where all the money has gone.
As ever, if you are interested in learning more or have a tech challenge you need to solve, then we are here for you! Email [email protected]
Bhairav Patel
Managing Director Atom CTO
Interesting Insights
Latest articles in tech and entrepreneurship collected by the Atom team:
What if your team doesn’t want to improve? It might not be laziness, it could be overwhelm, a hostile environment or a disconnect with the end goal. Here are some tips about how you can create some space for a team to explore improvement without pressure. ??
The system of work has long relied on IT leadership getting rewarded for operational performance, cost savings and control. But now, IT leaders need to focus more on responding to the chaotic business environment rather than simply acting as project delivery managers. ??
This article looks at the four main approaches to building reasoning models so that you can learn how to enhance LLMs with reasoning capabilities. ??
The Anthropic Economic Index is an initiative aimed at understanding AI’s effects on labour markets and the economy over time. The team behind Claude has published an initial report here. ??
Slowing down before making a tech or digital transformation decision means you’ll waste less money, and avoid bigger problems down the line. Read Bhairav’s full insights here. ????
Atom CTO Podcasts
Dominic Courage, formerly of Save the Children and presently Deputy Director of External Relations at the Humanitarian Leadership Academy talks us through what business leaders can learn from a humanitarian crisis.
Hear from Tech Executive Consultant Aviv Ben-Yosef about how CTOs can address the challenge of tech being seen as just a cost centre and how to shift perceptions towards it being more of a driver for growth.
Bhairav is joined by founder Phil Mpofu to talk about how AI is reshaping the ecommerce ecosystem but how it always boils down to the same thing: solving real problems for real users.
Webinar: How to Build Products People Actually Need
On Thursday 6th March, Bhairav will be hosting a webinar with product expert Diana Matei where they will explore practical strategies for gathering meaningful customer insights, validating assumptions, and creating solutions that resonate with your target market. Sign up to the webinar here.
Subscribe to the Atom CTO podcast here
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Keeping in touch
Connect with Bhairav on LinkedIn
Send us an Email: [email protected]