 | A CHANGE OF DIRECTION | | | | |   | And some exciting opportunities ... | Posted by Andrew Spencer on 21/12/2012 |
I have written before about working at The National Museum of Computing (TNMOC), albeit as a volunteer and how it is a good, exciting place to be. I have also written before about why it is a good place to visit ...
 i'm very pleased to be joining TNMOC in the new year as corporate events & groups manager
What I have not described before is an opportunity that I have been pursuing for more than a year. That opportunity has finally come to fruition and I join the very small permanent staff of TNMOC early in the New Year as Corporate Events & Groups Manager. The role is all about developing group business and is essentially a business development and event management role, designed to radically enhance one of the museum’s income streams.
The business of handling bespoke corporate events and other adult (as opposed to education) groups has been almost entirely reactive up to now. My task is to make it very proactive. This business will become a key factor in helping TNMOC continue to develop.
TNMOC as a destination venue is developing and expanding rapidly. In the 2½ years I have been working there it has changed greatly; for the better. The exhibits are being brought alive, indeed we announced just 3 weeks ago the revival of the world’s oldest original working computer – the Harwell Dekatron, AKA the WITCH.
The museum offers businesses and other organisations an opportunity to have some fun and to benefit themselves at the same time. The events range from simple group tours lasting an hour (very inexpensive!) to complex bespoke events.
A couple of examples of the former spring to mind: one public sector organisation visited just for fun and to relive the pasts of many of the group. Another company is bringing a select group of clients from all over Europe for an hours visit between finishing a heavy day of meetings and going to dinner back in central Milton Keynes.
Things get way more interesting with the bespoke events. Harnessing the experience and history encompassed within TNMOC can greatly enhance all sorts of corporate events such as team building days, product and service launches, networking events and so on. We have already hosted all sorts of these events, all of them on a reactive basis, and the reactions have been really good. Some companies are already re-booking!
We have just hosted a software company’s Xmas lunch and they travelled by train to the museum from London so they could enjoy themselves. The visit included extensive tours of both TNMOC and Bletchley Park and brought back a lot of memories for some of the staff. There will be a lot more of this activity next year.
There is also scope for corporate hospitality events, whether this is a company hosting potential or actual clients, or us developing our own hospitality events. We are thinking of all sorts of new and exciting ideas including reviving an event that used to take place: An Evening with Colossus. Watch this space!
And please don’t assume that this is only for the IT and technology people amongst us. Computers touch all of us at work and at home and learning where they came from is fascinating, believe me. There is a human story around all the technology we have on display; how the machines came to be, why, how they were used and by whom.
So I have a very exciting time ahead. One I am really looking forward to. There is so much to do. So much business to generate! If you are a local company, or even not so local, you will be hearing about all this directly in the not too distant future.
In the meantime I have a few personal decisions to make. Workload Innovation, my personal interim and consultancy business, will almost certainly go dormant. I hope the TNMOC role is for years!!
The only real question is whether to continue with this blog? I would love feedback on whether you find my postings worthwhile and worth continuing. An obvious motivation to blog is to promote yourself and/or your business. This motivation is now in abeyance but I do enjoy writing these posts. So do I carry on?
If you interested in holding an event at TNMOC or have any ideas please do contact me on +44 (0) 1908 565 460 or click here to ping over an email and I'll get straight back to you.
Until next time ... 
ANDREW SPENCER
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 | During Andrew's extensive business career he has worked in a wide cross section of companies, specialising in the creation of contact centres and business systems, software development, telecommunications and project management. Andrew's key skills are:
Business planning and strategy
Matching technology to business needs
Project management
Software development and implementation
Designing and implementing business systems
His work has included sourcing and implementing a new integrated telecoms system for National Energy Services, designing and project managing a new IT and telephony structure for the Greyhound Racing Association, and directing technology development for Wembley plc.
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