What I am doing now

This is a Now page, inspired by Derek Sivers. You should create one too!

I will be updating it monthly

Updated Monday 24.02.2025 at Oslo (Norway)

What a whirlwind of a first month in Bydel Sรธndre Nordstrand it has been!

I can confidently say this has been one of the most meaningful and impactful career transitions of my life.

Here are some reflections so far ๐Ÿ‘‡๐Ÿป

๐Ÿฅ ๐—ช๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ธ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—›๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ฆ๐—ผ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜๐˜†
This is my first time working in the public sector, and itโ€™s been fascinating to see how the fabrics of society operateโ€”healthcare, education, urban planning, and more.

These are the systems we often take for granted in a well-established democracy, and being part of their evolution is both humbling and empowering.

โœจ ๐— ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด๐—ณ๐˜‚๐—น ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—œ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ณ๐˜‚๐—น ๐—ช๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ธ
For the first time in a long time and one of the most rewarding aspects of my job, is seeing the direct effect and value of my work on peopleโ€™s lives and society.

๐Ÿ›๏ธ ๐—”๐—ฝ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ช๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ณ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ฆ๐˜๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ
Working here has deepened my appreciation for the welfare state we live in Norway.

Seeing how taxes are thoughtfully utilized to care for citizens, ensuring a high quality of life for everyone, has been eye-opening and inspiring.

Itโ€™s a system built on trust, care, and collective responsibility, and Iโ€™m proud to contribute to it.

๐Ÿ“ ๐—ช๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ธ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐——๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐˜ ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—น
Being placed at the district level means I get to engage and work across public services.

This is where local citizens interact with the cityโ€™s public services, and itโ€™s a privilege to be part of shaping those first touch points.

๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿ’ผ ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ฝ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—–๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ
For the first time in my career, I have a manager Cathrin Blitzner Mรธller who truly understands and values human-centered design and innovation. Itโ€™s refreshing to work with someone who not only โ€œgets itโ€ but also champions it.

๐Ÿค ๐—–๐—ผ๐—น๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ด๐˜‚๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐—•๐—ถ๐—ด ๐—›๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜๐˜€
The people I work with in the public sector are some of the most engaged, motivated, and genuinely caring individuals Iโ€™ve ever met.

Their dedication to helping, taking care of others and improving society is inspiring.

โค๏ธ ๐—™๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—•๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ธ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—Ÿ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐——๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ป
After many years in the private sector, I had lost some of my passion for service design. But this role has reignited that spark.

The public sector is where service design truly shinesโ€”itโ€™s where we can create meaningful change and bring real value for people's lives and communities.

โœ… ๐—œ๐—ป๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ช๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—œ๐˜ ๐—•๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ด๐˜€
Unlike many organizations that place innovation under IT, my department is under Org Development.

This positioning emphasizes the role of innovation as a tool for organizational change and development, with service design and human-centered design at its core.

This first month has confirmed that Iโ€™m exactly where I need to be, has reminded me why I chose this path and has given me a renewed sense of purpose.

๐Ÿ™๐Ÿป Thanks to everyone who has supported me in this transition!

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