anthony galvin
Is seasonality a reason?
Many e-commerce business experience (or suffer) seasonality. The Q4 sales retail hustle, and the ensuing workload, is the best know example. There is no escaping the rush to the holidays. But is seasonality a valid reason to use in your standup, monthly sales meeting or QBR?
Seasonality isn’t a user need. There’s no "Job To Be Done" for a product feature where the answer is seasonality. The real user need is something quite different, seasonality is the outcome of so many people having similar or related needs and behaviours.
Prompted by Rory Sutherland, I recently discovered Obvious Adams by Robert Updegraff, the allegorical business story, written in 1916. One of the main lessons from this is that to be good at marketing, and especially now product marketing, you have to carefully observe user behaviour and speak to your customers (and then do the obvious thing well).
The cult of seasonality as an answer is an easy way to bypass the difficult, but essential work of understanding your customers.
18/03/2025 permalink
Hoggard: Static Site Generator
I made a static site generator named after former England cricketer Matthew Hoggard.
25/01/2025 permalink
Best photos of 2024
Everdon Stubbs, Northamptonshire, Jan 2024
Our go to place for a quiet walk. Even when it's 'busy' there's plenty of space for clearing your mind.
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Maidford, Northamptonshire, Jan 2024
The dog never seems to mind the cold. A chilly start to the day along walking along the Maidford Brook.
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Shooting from the line, Barclay Centre, Brooklyn, March 2024
Local entertainment on one of three trips to New York in 2024. Basketball seems the most stage managed of sports - constant music, multiple musical interludes, cheer leaders and most of the exctiement packed into the last few minutes. Except on this occaision the Brooklyn Nets were seriously off the pace.
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Avoriaz, France, April 2024
Spring in the Alps. Great snow and plenty of sun. Another fantastic family ski trip.
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Early Paris-Roubaix breakaway at Saint-Quentin, France, April 2024
Paris-Roubaix is all about the cobbles, but we caught the early part of the race whilst the riders were still fresh. Even in these early stages there were plenty of people out on the streets in Saint-Quentin.
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Spring bluebells, Mantles Heath, Northamptonshire, April 2024
Every year when the bluebells are out we try and work out if they are as abundant as previous years.
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Eddie in the garden, Maidford, Northamptonshire, May 2024
It's surpsingl tricky to get a good picture of the cat. Managed to grab this one on a sunny morning in the garden.
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Maidford, Northamptonshire, June 2024
It's not often we get glammed up for a night out and get a good picture of both us together, but the Stewkley Charity Ball is worth making an exception for.
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Tunnel on the Monsal Trail, Derbyshire, June 2024
In her youth, Emma's paternal grandmother, Violet, rode all over the Peak District on the back of tandem. As a family we took a trip along the Monsal Trail to celebrate her life.
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Dad, Rochdale, July 2024
The last photo I took of my Dad. Taken at home whilst sitting up with him in his final days.
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Plage Imi Ouaddar, Morocco, August 2024
Family on the beach. Sun, sea, great food and hopistaility. The south west Moroccan coast is quite the spot for a holiday.
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Taghazout, Morocco, August 2024
Looking west.
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Coco, Maidford, August 2024
It's a dogs life.
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Yankee Stadium, New York, September 2024
Of all the american sports, baseball is probably the one that I could really get into. Having been to quite a few ball games in NY over the years this was actually the first time I'd seen the 'home team' win. Which does wonders for the atmosphere.
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The Oval, London, September 2024
Probably the only sporting event I consistently attend. The weather and over rates seem worse than when I first started going to The Oval, but test match cricket there is always compelling.
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Maidford, Northamptonshire, September 2024
It’s not everyday a double Olympic champion cycles through your village.
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London, October 2024
Nearly 15 years since we moved out of the city.
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Mantles Heath, Nortahmptonshire, October 2024
Failing to take a picture of the aurora.
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Maidford, Nortahmptonshire, November 2024
Early stroll.
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Abthorpe, Nortahmptonshire, December 2024
Emma and Hazel picking their way through a puddle on the walk up to Bucknell Wood near Abthope. The autumn and winter of 2024 were full of torrential rain and floods and this picture sums up what getting around the country felt like at the end of the year.
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05/01/2025 permalink
Amazing aerial photo of Deptford from 1938
Historic England have released a collection of aerial photos from 1938. This one of Deptford is fascinating - I spent about 15 years in and around Deptford, from the late 1990s until we moved out of London. So much of what is captured in this photos has gone or changed beyond all recognition.
But not everything.
The churches stand out, gleaming. The railway. The river. The royal naval college in the distance. Emma's old flat next to the snooker club. I can even make out a couple of pubs on Creek Road that we used to drink in as students.
03/10/2024 permalink
A grey and brooding late summers day and the rolling roads of Northamptonshire are playing host to stage 5 of the Tour of Britain. We have a whole peloton of stars flying through the village, including the double olympic champion Remco Evenepoel.
The full rolling road block of police outriders.
The breakaway then a flying peloton, followed by the team cars.
Then suddenly it’s gone.
A few minutes later and you wouldn’t have even known it happened.
But I’ll always remember when Remco rode through Maidford.
07/09/2024 permalink
For a whole heap of reasons we usually end-up in the Alps for some spring skiing and snowboarding. The snow conditions have varied over the years. Weather in the mountains is unpredictable at the best of times. If you go to the mountains there's no point worrying about the weather, you just have to put the right kit on and get on with it (or sit it out in the cafe / chalet / cabin of your choice).
Environmentally resonsible winter sports holidays are clearly a difficult thing to achieve. Anyone interested in snow sports knows that many resorts are struggling with the impact of climate change. Fewer snow sure weeks - especially for lower resorts - reduces the viability of many winter tourist businesses across Europe (and beyond). Without at least 100 days of snow resorts will close. Any holiday is probably contributing to climate change, especially if you holiday in a ski-resort.
Despite the cognitive dissonance we pootle along pristine French roads, enjoying the mostly good charging infrastructure. And what a trip. Visiting old friends, making new ones. Having lots fun in the sun and snow - and wow - what great snow. For the entire week the weather alternates between warm blue sky days or massive dumps of snow. As the seasons change under the weight of human influence and inaction, it seems, at least for now, spring is the best time to catch the snow.
07/04/2024 permalink
Whilst driving home from Morzine I realised that we were going to cross the route of Paris-Roubaix. So we accidentally / on-purpose managed to watch a little bit of the race at Saint Quentin.
07/04/2024 permalink
Rochdale scrubs up pretty well
Fantastic photos of the restored Rochdale Town Hall. A place that figuratively and literally loomed over my childhood. Whilst at the same time the government plans to sell off these kinds of buildings.
07/02/2024 permalink
Best photos of 2023
Bridleway near Plumpton Wood, Northamptonshire
Over the last few years we’ve been lucky to be able walk together before work. Remote working, a local school runs and an energetic dog combined to make this part of our weekday routine. Unfortunately this doesn’t happen so much now - new job and new school.
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Northern Lights from Maidford, Northamptonshire
For a brief moment, even South Northamptonshire was transported to the edge of the article circle. We took the kids up to the top of a hill near the house but it was too cloudy, and after an hour or so we took them home to warm up. A few hours later, pretty much in the middle of the night I went back out and grabbed this photo.
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Hovden, Hardangervidda, Norway
A day on the slopes, with old friends. Magic.
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A deer runs across the lake at Vinje, Hardangervidda, Norway
Looking out across the lake from my friends study. Amongst all the stillness a frenzy of legs and energy.
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Blue sky day in Morzine
Spring in the mountains. Blue sky and another chance to scoot around, this time with the family.
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Looking down on Avoriaz
About 20 years ago I came to visit Richard and stayed in what was then just an old barn. He took me up here and showed me this view. Still magic.
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Emma & Violet (Snr) at the Coronation Street Party
I didn’t take this picture, but it’s one of my favourites. Emma and her grandmother - Nanar Violet. Violet had seen 5 monarchs in her lifetime and this coronation was just before her 100th birthday. Sadly no longer with us, she remains an inspiration to us all.
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Lower Shuckburgh, Northamptonshire
Lush, green, rural middle of England.
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Following the family cycling round Rutland Water, Rutland
A day out. Cycling round and round. This was my view for most of the day. Pootling round Rutland Water is a great reminder that adventures can happen in your backyard.
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The church at Rutland Water, Rutland
Growing up in Rochdale there were lots of tales about the villages at the bottom of the reservoirs (Hollingworth Lake and Greenbooth in particular). But Rutland Water takes that to a new level.
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Amsterdam Harbour
One of the few work trips of the last year or so, and a scorching hot evening in Amsterdam.
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Path over the fields, Northamptonshire
When I'm away working in a city, it's this sense of space I really miss. Especially on a sunny day.
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Emma & Hazel, before the circus at Evenly Wood Gardens
Who doesn't love a burger before a night at the ~~opera~~ circus.
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Arriving at the Bothy on Ulva after 2 hours of walking
The most memorable walk of the year, at the start of our stay on one of the most magical islands that makes up our nation of islands.
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Rain stops play. Stewkley, Buckinghamshire
Amazingly we got back on and finished the game.
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Towcester, Northamptonshire
It often feels like the people responsible for planning in South Northamptonshire are determined to erase the unique history and character of this part of the world. Luckily they haven't quite succeeded.
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Cold view from Maidford, Northamptonshire
Looking along the valley over to metropolis that is Adstone (population 65).
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30/01/2024 permalink
25 years ago this week I started working at what was then known as a 'web agency'. I started off as the 'work experience' kid - I suppose today I would have been an intern.
Quickly that became a part-time and then a full time job. The dot com boom was still in full swing. I didn't know a lot, but I bought a book on building websites from the computer section of Foyles on Charing Cross road. The 'internet' section didn't even fill a whole shelf. So much about technology and building websites has changed since 1999.
But amazingly many of the fundamentals I started to learn about on that first day (between making cups of tea), remain true today.
1/ Good design makes complex things appear simple. But simple is unbelievably difficult to achieve
2/ Thinking about the end user as a real person really helps - the best way to achieve this is to talk to some of your users regularly
3/ Readable code beats 'clever code' 99% of the time - leave comments. The next person will thank you (that next person is often your future self)
4/ Technology is like cricket, an individual sport wrapped in a team game. A lot of working with tech is an individual endeavour, but it's a team game. You need to operate well as an individual contributor and be an excellent collaborator to succeed
5/ It always takes longer than you think (Hofstadter's Law is real), and you often don't control the deadline - try and have a version that's ready to ship even if it's not quite right
6/ Fast web pages with good semantic markup are good pages - 25 years on having a H1 on the page is still a good thing! Web frameworks are amazing, but good markup wins every time
10/01/2024 permalink
As the Scots say, "West is best". So for our August holiday we put that to the test, heading slightly further west than usual. But not by much. A few days west of our usual summer spot on Mull, in a off-grid Bothy on Ulva. A couple of hours walk from the ferry under leaden skies. Past the many cleared settlements. To arrive at the most perfect spot. A little house by the sea with a white sand swimming beach. In the evening a cosy fireplace and just enough comforts. Not to mention an owl outside the kitchen window. Not luxury in the holiday brochure sense, but a place to make family memories, which is it's own kind of luxury.
10/12/2023 permalink