Voice Notes while the Data Loads

What happens when the thing that defined you: the role, the purpose, the reason you got up every morning, quietly stops needing you back? In this episode, Timmy Cheung explores the retirement nobody talks about honestly. Not the pension pot. Not the gold watch. The grief. Drawing on the film Logan, a Wall Street Journal piece on the concept of a "mattering span," and a deeply personal re...

There's a question that runs underneath every promotion, every job title, every carefully built career. Almost nobody asks it. In this episode, Timmy Cheung explores what happens when work becomes the entirety of who you are, drawing on Tajfel's Social Identity Theory, Carmy Berzatto's identity crisis in The Bear, and a deceptively simple question from a Season 1 episode of Frasier tha...

You showed up. Every single time. You stayed in the choir for five years when two were mandatory. You volunteered. You worked the front desk. You went above and beyond at every job, in every team, in every organisation. And the recognition? Never quite matched the effort. In this episode, Timmy Cheung unpacks the gap between what we give and what we get back. From a dusty school plaque his daughte...

What happens when you grow up in a Chinese takeaway, where directness is the language, arguments are sorted in seconds, and the next order is always waiting... and then walk into your first proper office environment completely unprepared? In this episode, Timmy Cheung tells the story of the mistake that almost derailed his career before it even started. A piece of feedback that came from the wrong...

We've all had a bad interview. But have you ever had one so bad that the interviewer got their phone out mid-answer? In this episode, Timmy Cheung revisits the worst interview of his career the afternoon he took off, the presentation he over-prepared, the out-of-body experience of hearing himself say entirely the wrong thing... and the moment he realised the interview was actually telling him...

Season 2 is here and this time, we're going somewhere the data can't follow. In this opening episode, Timmy Cheung unpacks why feelings, not figures, are the real drivers of human behaviour at work. From a senior leader who cleared the room with one sentence, to an NHS appointment that left him feeling like a number on a conveyor belt, to Queen Ramonda commanding the UN with nothing but dignity, t...

Season 2 of Voice Notes While the Data Loads! Season 1 reminded us it's about people, not just numbers. Season 2 explores the uncomfortable truth: feelings drive decisions more than data ever will. From tantrums that tank your brand to interviews that change everything. From childhood awards that taught you about value to when work becomes your entire identity. From retirement's identity crisis to...

After 9 episodes of dashboards, frustrations, and very human problems, here's the question I've never answered: why do I keep doing this? People analytics isn't about being a yes-person. It's about being an internal consultant who asks uncomfortable questions. What's the business problem? Is there even a problem? How does this relate to strategy? Here's the truth: the soft...

That nagging voice that whispers "you have no idea what you're doing, and everyone's about to find out." Imposter syndrome isn't just for beginners. It hits high achievers hardest. The irony? The most capable people experience it most intensely. I was born in the year of the Ox - natural leader, strong, reliable. But there are moments when that confidence wavers. When someone...

Four months preparing an engagement survey. Scoping, crafting questions, planning communications. Then three months later: "Our engagement dropped from 72% to 68%. What does that mean?" It means nothing. Without context, without understanding, without empathy... that number is just a number. At the HR Analytics Summit back in September 2025, Kerri O'Neill said something that stuck: bring the human...

My best friend Shirlan used to work in the NHS, in the Mental Health clinic. No technical background at all. Two years ago in a coffee drive-thru, I told him about ChatGPT and how it can help in his day to day life. His response? "Not for me, I'll do my own thing." Fast forward: He tried and tested turning a 2.5-hour report writing into 30 seconds using AI. He demoed this to manageme...

Last week: being forgotten because of age. This week: being invited but never asked to dance. "Diversity is inviting someone to the party. Inclusion is asking them to dance." - Nicky Clement We're brilliant at getting people through the door. We've got the diversity splits, the representation numbers, the targets. But then what? We measure who's in the room. But do we measure...

What happens when the thing that makes you valuable becomes outdated? People analytics is a young industry. It moves fast. It idolises innovation. So where's the place for experience when everyone's chasing the next AI breakthrough? We talk about diversity - gender, race, disability. But age? We joke about boomers not knowing how to unmute. We roll our eyes when someone says "we'v...

Think of the best athletes in the world. They all have coaches. People who see what they can't see, who've been where they're going, who fight in their corner. People analytics is only 20-30 years old. It's not a heavy craft yet. Which means the people doing it right now? They've made the mistakes so you don't have to. The difference between coaching and mentoring, why you...

You know the problem: getting people to understand data so they can take action. But what about the opposite problem? When people are SO data literate they'd rather debate methodology than actually do something? "How did you calculate this?" "Why wasn't our team involved?" "Can you split this by tenure, department, role, and star sign?" Analysis paralysis doesn't just happen when people don't get...

Data visualisation tools - which tool is best? Wrong question. The real question: what are you actually trying to achieve? I built a dashboard. Scoped it properly. Delivered exactly what was asked for. Then heard the soul-destroying words: "This isn't something I'd feel comfortable showing my clients." What I learned: the fanciest dashboard means nothing if it doesn't solve t...

I thought I'd waltz in with fancy analytics and blow everyone's minds. Spoiler: I was spectacularly wrong... Turns out, before you can create magic, you need to create the right evironment... Who are your people? What do your levels mean? Why does any of this matter? The uncomfortable truth: people analytics isn't just about impressive wizardry. It's about building foundations so boring, you'll wa...

Teaser for what's to come...