Time is precious, let’s not waste it. I often have two main pressures when it comes to time: feeling like I have too much of it on my hands and feeling like I should be busier, and then saying “yes” one to many clients, school, family or community requests, and then having a strong desire [...]
What is an Ascent Consultant and what is the difference to being a contractor? A question we get asked a bit at Ascent is what does a consultant actually do and how is this different to a contractor? The main difference as a consultant with Ascent is that you are part of a consulting team [...]
LinkedIn is a valuable business tool that gains more influence with each year. Whether you want to connect (and stay connected) with your professional network, promote your consulting expertise, be seen as a thought leader in your field or simply start a conversation, LinkedIn has become indispensable. At the time of writing, “LinkedIn has 660 [...]
I read an interesting article in LinkedIn recently with a headline that caught my eye ‘Are you working from home or living at work?’. It got me thinking immediately in terms of how quickly I have got used to a new balance of working from home and occasionally going into the office at work in [...]
Our business case and commercial team have been experiencing a lot of demand from our government clients who are busy preparing budget bids supported by business cases to meet the annual December funding round. This year seems more important than ever, with a key focus being on the alignment to government priorities including the new [...]
In the past few weeks, I have been considering for a few customers, when is there a genuine need for a DevOps model to support your business? Based on Agile concepts, DevOps models have been in place for a few years, and surprisingly, not that difficult to design, migrate and then adopt. But does every [...]
When I started in IT there was a project management methodology available in government called Spectrum. It was a room full of ring binders with a template and instructions for every facet of project management from business case writing to benefit realization post-delivery. You started on page 1 of folder 1 and worked your way [...]
As we navigate the new world and re-jig how we do business, it's imperative for businesses to have a plan for “how to grow’. Through business.govt.nz Ascent have identified some handy tools and templates we’d like to share with you, including a 10-step template to assist business to reset and refocus. Complementing this, the Ascent [...]
Ascent is in the middle of supporting COVID19 operations. It’s an incredibly stressful time for all involved and supporting thousands of New Zealanders seeking information, support and financial assistance. For us, this is a privilege to be a part of this essential operation to help New Zealanders get back on their feet. Our business is [...]
