How Learning to Drive in the UK changed my notion of “Essentials” ….and my new course on DAM

Most of you reading this probably know how to drive, and do it frequently. As someone who’s lived most of my life in cities, I’ve spent comparatively little time driving - I get around mostly on foot, and on public transport. Like most Americans, I passed my driving test when I was 16 years old. It was laughably easy: someone asked me to drive around a parking lot and some local roads for about ten minutes, and I was granted the right to drive for life.?

Or so I thought. The United Kingdom only lets new residents drive on a foreign license for one year - after that, it’s considered illegal to drive on a non-UK license. You’re required to get a British one. Admittedly I dreaded the task of taking the British driving test, which includes not only a 50 question written test but an approximately 40 minute detailed “practical” test, with a stern and humourless driving examiner.?

Something I heretofore found easy and approachable - driving - became far more complex to navigate. Despite quite a bit of experience driving rental (hired!) cars in left-driving countries from South Africa to New Zealand, I was now required to learn the far more complex rules, data points, and best practices not only of driving on the left, but with a manual transmission, in the chaotic and highly variable traffic ecosystem of London. The British driving test not only involves how to properly signal and navigate around the famous big red busses, but also how to manoeuvre around a multi-variable ecosystem with mounted police men, twelve-spoke roundabouts, cyclists, and flooded fords in the English countryside.?

My environment was far more complex, and worse yet, I had to unlearn all the bad habits of an infrequent urban driver who’s usually on the right side of the road. Like any complex DAM implementation, it required a new way of thinking, a lot of practice, and change management. Alas, like over 50% of the British population, I failed the test on the first try. It was the first test I ever failed in my life. In addition to bumping into the left curb (kerb!) when asked to park the car, among a string of other sloppy errors I made, it turned out I drove right into the most challenging ecosystem to master.

The test centre where I first took the test had a first-time pass rate of only 27%.?

Ever the analyst, I proceeded to review all the pass/fail statistics of every test centre in the UK, and rather than take the test again in London, I made a booking in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, where the pass rate is 53%. In addition to deepening my understanding of the rules, best practices, and the British driving ecosystem, I analysed and used data to better ensure my success! (Or really, I simplified the ecosystem.) Fortunately, I can now drive around to my heart’s content on this lovely island in the north Atlantic, my beloved adopted home. Here's a video of me happily driving and talking about my new course on DAM Essentials.

DAM implementations now involve far more complex rules, data points, and chaotic and highly variable ecosystems than they ever have before. In partnership with Henry Stewart Events, I’ve updated my DAM Essentials: An Introduction to the Technology and Practice for this far more complex and variable world. The course starts on April 25th, and I hope you’ll join me for this safe and well-informed ride!