The Compass - Azimuth | Fractional Digital Strategy & Education Consultancy

Digital Strategy Leadership

8 May, 2026

Clarity and Coherence: The Two Tests of a Digital Strategy

Most school digital strategies fail before the first tool is procured. The reason is rarely technical. It is almost always a failure to meet two simpler demands: clarity and coherence.…

José Picardo 0

Digital Strategy Leadership

4 May, 2026

What AI cannot replace in teaching, and why it matters for school leaders

Expert teaching is much more complex than it first appears. This is obvious to anyone who has done it, but the Dunning-Krugery that sometimes comes from those whose most recent…

José Picardo 0

Leadership

23 April, 2026

Why Schools Keep Promoting the Wrong People

A head I once worked with led an oversubscribed independent girls’ school in suburban Surrey. By every available measure she was a successful head. Results were strong. Parents were satisfied.…

José Picardo 0

Digital Strategy Leadership

14 April, 2026

The Blacksmith’s Wooden Knife: On Building a Tool I Could Believe In

There is a Spanish proverb I grew up with: en casa del herrero, cuchillo de palo. In the blacksmith's house, a wooden knife. The village blacksmith spends his days forging…

José Picardo 0

Digital Strategy Leadership

1 April, 2026

The Notes Between the Notes: What AI Is Actually For

Angine de Poitrine is a band from Saguenay, Quebec, that has recently taken the internet by storm, and I must admit I am mildly obsessed with their music and general…

José Picardo 0

Digital Strategy Leadership

27 March, 2026

The Return of the Specialist: What AI Means for Teaching Expertise

In almost every school I visit, there is a teacher whose classroom is the epitome of good practice: great delivery, students engaged, genuinely curious, asking questions that catch you off…

José Picardo 0