Business sociology can be very interesting - the dynamics of departments, groups, teams, or other blobs of people working together toward a common goal. In business school they called this organizational behavior, but I think organizational sociology sounds much cooler.
Incidentally, the Org Behavior question was the only one I missed on the comprehensive final I took when I got my MBA, but I'm a lot wiser in they ways of how groups operate now. I'd probably still fail that exam question, though, because memorizing categories and lists of labels from theorists hasn't been particularly useful to me in the real world.
So, in terms of useful information we can use, I'm hip to how (despite the hassles and overhead of group dynamics) groups are more successful than individuals. Always. If you want to learn more about the science behind this; to hear about how fireflies the in Thailand all flash on and off in synchronicity; to hear the original exercise that inspired James Surowiecki's jelly bean jar guessing exercise -- tune in to the best Podcast on the web (imho) -- Radiolab. You can download a free standard MP3 or podcast of the "Emergence" episode here.
Afterwards, you can thank me for turning you on to Radiolab. Then you can join me in complaining that they only put out 5 new episodes per season.
There's no such thing as a $99 Brake Job
I have a rant today. This isn't my typical blog content, but I wanted to get it off my chest, and hopefully save others from the troubles I experienced yesterday.
My son took the car to Just Brakes yesterday for the $99 brake job that is the cornerstone of their advertising. Brilliant marketing - poor execution. Actually, brilliant execution if their goal is not to sell $99 brake jobs. An hour after my son dropped off the car I got the call - my $99 brake job was going to cost a minimum of $530 for just the rear. It was like pulling teeth to get a detailed breakdown of the costs over the phone- the manager kept telling me that they would all be on the printout I receive after I pay for my repaired car. Interestingly, he told me that in addition I needed to seriously consider new brakes in the front too. This was interesting since I just got new brakes in the front 3 months ago.
Anyway, to make a long story short, I discovered that $99 only applies to certain brakes that they have in stock. After some Googling I learned that this is a common ploy that they use. In Marketing 101 they called this "bait and switch", but that's illegal, so there must be a loophole that the Just Brakes folks have found a workaround for.
Anyway, I finally got the detailed breakdown of costs and called a reputable mechanic that I've used in the past. He quoted me a price that was half of the Just Brakes price, so I picked up my unrepaired car from Just Brakes and won't be back again.
My son took the car to Just Brakes yesterday for the $99 brake job that is the cornerstone of their advertising. Brilliant marketing - poor execution. Actually, brilliant execution if their goal is not to sell $99 brake jobs. An hour after my son dropped off the car I got the call - my $99 brake job was going to cost a minimum of $530 for just the rear. It was like pulling teeth to get a detailed breakdown of the costs over the phone- the manager kept telling me that they would all be on the printout I receive after I pay for my repaired car. Interestingly, he told me that in addition I needed to seriously consider new brakes in the front too. This was interesting since I just got new brakes in the front 3 months ago.
Anyway, to make a long story short, I discovered that $99 only applies to certain brakes that they have in stock. After some Googling I learned that this is a common ploy that they use. In Marketing 101 they called this "bait and switch", but that's illegal, so there must be a loophole that the Just Brakes folks have found a workaround for.
Anyway, I finally got the detailed breakdown of costs and called a reputable mechanic that I've used in the past. He quoted me a price that was half of the Just Brakes price, so I picked up my unrepaired car from Just Brakes and won't be back again.
Who else out there is modestly envoweled?
I suppose I was distressed to learn that because 31% of the letters in my name are vowels, and 74% of names have a higher vowel make-up, I am considered to be modestly envoweled. This 'fun fact' is one of several I discovered about my name, including a statistically based estimate of the total number of people in the U.S. who have the same first/last name combination as me.
You can check out fun facts for your name here.
You can check out fun facts for your name here.
More about Pigs
The reaction to the 3 Pigs was awesome - Yanic from Belgium put a lot of work into his thorough rework of the problem. Check it out here. I realize he's selling a product, but regardless, I really enjoyed his comments.
I agree with most of the feedback I received, although the spirit of the models was more conceptual'ish than design'ish, which tends to accommodate looser implementation precision.
The one choice I regret the most is sending the "eat()" message to each of the first two Pigs, which is actually telling the Pig to eat. To correct this, either the message to Pig is "getEaten()" or the message eat(Pig) is sent recursively to the Wolf (as Don suggested.)
Nevertheless, I'm really digging the idea of modeling a well known story as a means to hone my UML skills. Maybe I'll tackle Aesop next...
The Three Little Pigs - in UML
I like modeling. Not the kind Tyra does, although I do like it when Tyra does it, it's just not something that I do, not that I'd be any good at it anyway...Sorry, got off track. Anyway, I like to build models that express information in an organized and precise way. The notation I use doesn't really matter much, as long as it's easily understood by the reader. I have used a lot of notations in my career. I still have that green plastic IBM flow chart template that my Dad gave me years ago (I wonder what that would fetch on eBay?); I suffered through the CASE tool years (thanks James Martin); and I used notation from OMT, Booch, and OOSE before becoming an early adopter of UML starting with version 0.9 in 1996. UML has stuck with me through the years, and it has become a casual and efficient way to take notes and express things.
Earlier this week I was talking with a coworker about models and modeling, and I proposed an idea: What would a children's story look like if expressed in UML? I took this to task that night and produced The Three Little Pigs, in UML. Check it out and let me know what you think. The PDF document can be downloaded here. (It's set up to print it double sided on legal sized paper.)
A Greener Work Week
Green this, green that...it's the buzz these days. So let's get real, how about a greener work week? During the first dozen years of my working life, I had the benefit of working for a forwarding thinking company that had a 4-day work week, or as we like to refer to it: 3-day weekends. If the majority of companies were to adopt the 4-day work week, the impact to the environment and the economy is staggering.
For illustration, let's say ACME employs 10,000 employees at it's various offices. Each employee commutes an average of 15 miles each way and drives a car which gets an average of 20 mpg. Based on $4/gallon, the savings is $300 per employee per year, and $3,000,000 for the company's entire workforce. I realize that employees may choose to drive on their day off, which offsets the savings, however, that expense becomes a choice rather than a necessity. Scaling up that idea, if 100 Million people (or less than 1/3 of the U.S. Population) eliminated one commute per week, the combined reduction is 150 million gallons of gas per week! That equals a $32 Billion reduction in gas consumption per year. Imagine what that could do to the supply/demand curve that causes the price of gas! Imagine the reduction in emissions, traffic congestion, accidents, injuries, commuting angst, yada, yada...
So back to the 4-day work week. If you're concerned that it makes slackers out of us, consider this: Companies that adopt a 4-day work week gain a week and a half of work days per employee each year. How? Employees work 40 hours every week, including holiday weeks. So if Friday is your normal day off and there's a holiday on Monday, you would be off on the holiday but would work Friday that week. Employees tend not to complain on those weeks because they get to enjoy a 3-day weekend every week of the year. Thuse, company gains 8 working days per year from every employee.
Additionally, those companies that put all employees on the same 4-day work week can reduce power consumption and costs by shifting to a weekend HVAC profile on one additional day each week. For companies that must have employees present 5 days a week, rotating the extra day off can reduce the need for parking and office space if managed smartly.
For illustration, let's say ACME employs 10,000 employees at it's various offices. Each employee commutes an average of 15 miles each way and drives a car which gets an average of 20 mpg. Based on $4/gallon, the savings is $300 per employee per year, and $3,000,000 for the company's entire workforce. I realize that employees may choose to drive on their day off, which offsets the savings, however, that expense becomes a choice rather than a necessity. Scaling up that idea, if 100 Million people (or less than 1/3 of the U.S. Population) eliminated one commute per week, the combined reduction is 150 million gallons of gas per week! That equals a $32 Billion reduction in gas consumption per year. Imagine what that could do to the supply/demand curve that causes the price of gas! Imagine the reduction in emissions, traffic congestion, accidents, injuries, commuting angst, yada, yada...
So back to the 4-day work week. If you're concerned that it makes slackers out of us, consider this: Companies that adopt a 4-day work week gain a week and a half of work days per employee each year. How? Employees work 40 hours every week, including holiday weeks. So if Friday is your normal day off and there's a holiday on Monday, you would be off on the holiday but would work Friday that week. Employees tend not to complain on those weeks because they get to enjoy a 3-day weekend every week of the year. Thuse, company gains 8 working days per year from every employee.
Additionally, those companies that put all employees on the same 4-day work week can reduce power consumption and costs by shifting to a weekend HVAC profile on one additional day each week. For companies that must have employees present 5 days a week, rotating the extra day off can reduce the need for parking and office space if managed smartly.
Mapping an FTP Drive in Vista
As an update to my previous post, NetDrive is incompatible with Windows Vista, and no, it won't run in compatibility mode (just tried it.) You don't need it though. Vista has built-in mapping to FTP locations. Just follow the drive mapping dialogue in Windows Explorer and select "other computer location", etc, etc. The steps are intuitive. By the way, I was surprised that SyncToy wasn't built into Vista, but the free download (v 1.4) works in Vista.
Personal Remote Backup Solution
I recently set up a 500GB NAS Head on my home network to use for backup of my home PC as well as for my sons to use to back up their computers when they're away at college. There were a lot of options, and there was a lot to learn to set this up properly. I thought I'd share what I learned and also welcome comments from anyone who has suggestions to improve the configuration.
Step 1: Get a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device. This is an external hard drive that connects to your Internet Router using a standard Ethernet cable. It has a built-in FTP server. These devices used to be epensive, but the prices are dropping. Last week Frys had a Buffalo 500GB NAS on sale for $139.
Step 2: Plug it in, connect it to your router, and install any software that comes with it on (one of) your home PC(s). This software is used to set up partitions, ftp, etc. on the NAS.
Step 3: The NAS should be instantly viewable by other PC's on your home network. The router will assign a unique IP address to it. You'll probably want to map it as a network drive so you can easily access it without needing to know the IP address.
Step 4: For local backup, I prefer to sync files. There is no compression on the backup disk, but it's easy to navigate and find files on the backup device using a standard sync. My two favorite sync tools are FileSync and SyncToy. I'm using SyncToy now with the "Echo" setup, because it's easy to schedule it to run each night. Check for instructions in the Help screen.
Step 5: For remote backup, several additional steps are required. For brevity, I'll assume that you have a dynamic IP address and I'll just tell you what to do without explanation:
5a: Find out your current "real" IP address (not the one assigned by your Router). Get this at http://www.whatismyip.com/.
5b: Go to http://www.no-ip.com/ and sign up for a free account. Assign an friendly name alias for your IP address. (e.g., johndoe@myftp.org)
5c: Still at http://www.no-ip.com/, download and install software on your home PC that keeps your alias updated with your IP address whenever it changes.
5d: Connect to your NAS to set up and start the FTP service. The easiest way to access the NAS software is to open a web browser and type in the local IP address of the NAS (probably 192.168.n.n) If you don't know the IP address, open a command window and type IPCONFIG /all. The NAS software should allow you to set up username/passwords and set NAS folder access (none, read only, read/write) for each user account. Once set up, this should run automatically when the NAS is turned on. Your home PC does not need to be powered on for the NAS to work.
5e: Connect to your router and find/follow the instructions for port forwarding. Make sure port 21 (the default FTP port) is set to forward to the NAS device. Port 21 can only be forwarded to one of the devices on your network. Any inbound traffic to port 21 on your router will then automatically be redirected to your NAS.
5f (option 1): Use this option for standard FTP access from a remote PC to your NAS. From a remote PC, install and run an FTP client. A good free one is Filezilla. You just need to enter three things: 1) your IP address alias from step 5b (johndoe@myftp.org), 2) your username and 3) your password from one of the FTP accounts you set up in step 5d.
5f (option 2): Use this option to set up synchronization (as described in step 4.) Get FTPSync here, and set up access using the same three items shown in option 1.
5g (option 3): This is the slickest option, which is what I'm going to try first. On your remote computer, install NetDrive (freeware download here), which let's you setup a virtual local drive. It looks and acts like a local Windows drive, but it processes corresponding FTP traffic behind the scenes. You'll need to set up the three security items from option 1 in the NetDrive configuration. Once the virtual drive is set up, you can use your favorite Sync option from step 4 to handle backups. Or you can just access and use the drive. NetDrive was developed by Novel and is unsupported freeware, so it may not stand up to future Windows updates. There is a similar product call WebDrive, but it's not free.
If anyone has any better ideas, please share!
Step 1: Get a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device. This is an external hard drive that connects to your Internet Router using a standard Ethernet cable. It has a built-in FTP server. These devices used to be epensive, but the prices are dropping. Last week Frys had a Buffalo 500GB NAS on sale for $139.
Step 2: Plug it in, connect it to your router, and install any software that comes with it on (one of) your home PC(s). This software is used to set up partitions, ftp, etc. on the NAS.
Step 3: The NAS should be instantly viewable by other PC's on your home network. The router will assign a unique IP address to it. You'll probably want to map it as a network drive so you can easily access it without needing to know the IP address.
Step 4: For local backup, I prefer to sync files. There is no compression on the backup disk, but it's easy to navigate and find files on the backup device using a standard sync. My two favorite sync tools are FileSync and SyncToy. I'm using SyncToy now with the "Echo" setup, because it's easy to schedule it to run each night. Check for instructions in the Help screen.
Step 5: For remote backup, several additional steps are required. For brevity, I'll assume that you have a dynamic IP address and I'll just tell you what to do without explanation:
5a: Find out your current "real" IP address (not the one assigned by your Router). Get this at http://www.whatismyip.com/.
5b: Go to http://www.no-ip.com/ and sign up for a free account. Assign an friendly name alias for your IP address. (e.g., johndoe@myftp.org)
5c: Still at http://www.no-ip.com/, download and install software on your home PC that keeps your alias updated with your IP address whenever it changes.
5d: Connect to your NAS to set up and start the FTP service. The easiest way to access the NAS software is to open a web browser and type in the local IP address of the NAS (probably 192.168.n.n) If you don't know the IP address, open a command window and type IPCONFIG /all. The NAS software should allow you to set up username/passwords and set NAS folder access (none, read only, read/write) for each user account. Once set up, this should run automatically when the NAS is turned on. Your home PC does not need to be powered on for the NAS to work.
5e: Connect to your router and find/follow the instructions for port forwarding. Make sure port 21 (the default FTP port) is set to forward to the NAS device. Port 21 can only be forwarded to one of the devices on your network. Any inbound traffic to port 21 on your router will then automatically be redirected to your NAS.
5f (option 1): Use this option for standard FTP access from a remote PC to your NAS. From a remote PC, install and run an FTP client. A good free one is Filezilla. You just need to enter three things: 1) your IP address alias from step 5b (johndoe@myftp.org), 2) your username and 3) your password from one of the FTP accounts you set up in step 5d.
5f (option 2): Use this option to set up synchronization (as described in step 4.) Get FTPSync here, and set up access using the same three items shown in option 1.
5g (option 3): This is the slickest option, which is what I'm going to try first. On your remote computer, install NetDrive (freeware download here), which let's you setup a virtual local drive. It looks and acts like a local Windows drive, but it processes corresponding FTP traffic behind the scenes. You'll need to set up the three security items from option 1 in the NetDrive configuration. Once the virtual drive is set up, you can use your favorite Sync option from step 4 to handle backups. Or you can just access and use the drive. NetDrive was developed by Novel and is unsupported freeware, so it may not stand up to future Windows updates. There is a similar product call WebDrive, but it's not free.
If anyone has any better ideas, please share!
The Immortality of Humans
Simply put, ignoring all other factors, scientists have discovered that all creatures large and small have one common characteristic related to mortality: their hearts beat an average of 1.5 billion times over their lifetime. Finally - a biology problem that can be solved using a spreadsheet! That is, all creatures except human beings, whose heart beats as much as double that number - closer to 3 billion. (Go ahead, do the math, I know you're dying to.) When you put your spreadsheet together, notice what happens to your life expectancy when you drop your average pulse from 70 bpm to 60 bpm. Makes all that that exercise you've been thinking about seem more important than you may have thought.
Humans weren't always so askew from the rest of the creatures. Over time, through science and other evolutionary changes, we have managed to throw a kink in an otherwise perfect correlation. It hasn't been easy, though. As we introduce technologies that extend our lives, we also introduce new risks that may shorten it. (There wasn't much risk of getting hit by a bus in 500 B.C.)
Some scientists believe that it's plausible to push the life expectancy of newborns born in the next decade up to the age of 100. If you think the Social Security system is in peril now, just wait!
If you find this stuff interesting, listen to Robert Krulwich explain in more detail in his Podcast here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12877984&ft=1&f=1007
The Immortality of Lobsters
Some believe lobsters could live forever if external forces left them alone and allowed them to continue to eat, molt, and grow. The largest lobster ever found (and recorded) was over two feet long and weighed 42 pounds! The reason that lobsters don’t live forever is that external forces seem to step in at some point, leading to the demise of the lobster: bacteria, lobster traps, predators. If we wanted to test the immortality of a lobster, we would probably have to create a highly controlled setting that blocks these external forces. Even then, it’s possible that the nature of the controlled setting itself could create additional emotional forces that negatively impact the lobster's life expectancy. These thoughts form the basis for a train of thought I’ll continue in the next blog: The Immortality of Humans.
Change Agent – Brubraker Style
In a fictionalized account of the 1960's Arkansas prison scandal, the 1980 film Brubraker depicted Robert Redford as a mole prisoner. In the film, Brubaker was imprisoned and subjected to abuse and corruption that had become de facto at the prison. After witnessing and experiencing the many problems at the prison, Brubaker eventually reveals himself as the new warden. His first hand experience with the problems at the prison provided Brubraker with insight to fix the problems that could have been impossible to discover if had taken over the prison more conventionally.
Around 15 years ago I was working on a large software development project at a major insurance company. A new employee named Bill was brought onto the team. We didn't know much about his background, but he was hard working, productive and he seemed to study everything and everyone around him with great interest. We would learn later that he had recently retired from a distinguished career as a military officer and leader. On the day it was announced that he was promoted to Vice President of our 250 person project, it was evident that this had been the plan all along. Bill had the enviable opportunity to lead an organization that he understood from the inside out. This is very different from the typical "promote from within" strategy, where the new boss has a history of relationships, biases, and un-repaid favors that could constrain his leadership effectiveness.
In my career as a consultant, I've had many opportunities to perform as an invited change agent. In those situations, I was often challenged with discovering deficiencies that were well hidden by those who felt threatened by me. I've also worked in organizations where I was a member of a dysfunctional team in a dysfunctional organization. A decent change agent ought to still be able to implement change in that situation, but macro-level change from within the organization is very time consuming, frustrating, and often impossible. What a tremendous opportunity it would be to quietly study an organization from within, then step forward to not only recommend needed improvements to the organization, but to take responsibility and full accountability for making those changes happen.
Do Your Second Best
A colleague recently told me about the struggles he and others experienced when working on their doctoral dissertations. He told me that many tended to struggle with perfecting their research and preparation for defense of their dissertation. Christian author and scholar Ramsay McMullen visited with them one day and listened to their rants about the challenges of completing their work. Ramsay told them, "If you are a perfectionist, then do your second best." There is a certain profoundness in that statement. I have been a victim of perfectionism in the past, and many I've worked with have experienced the same struggle.
By the way, for a less pragmatic version of the same idea. Look to philosopher and writer Voltaire, who said, "Le mieux est l'ennemi du bien.", or "Perfect is the enemy of the good."
Often, results offer greater value than perfection. So if your work tends to stall, and results come slowly, try your second best.
By the way, for a less pragmatic version of the same idea. Look to philosopher and writer Voltaire, who said, "Le mieux est l'ennemi du bien.", or "Perfect is the enemy of the good."
Often, results offer greater value than perfection. So if your work tends to stall, and results come slowly, try your second best.
Content Cornucopia
Yes, the Internet has a lot of high value content. Unfortunately it also has a lot of crud you have to weed through to find the good stuff. Wikipedia can't be the only place to find quality commercial free content. I found it: www.archive.org.
For text, it contains the complete Gutenberg collection (classic novels, literature, non-fiction, etc.) There are a multitude of audio recordings for free download (old time radio shows, broadcasts, and music) , classic videos (old newsreels and some youtubeish stuff) , computer software, and more.
Examples I noticed include Tom Sawyer, The Time Machine, The Bible, video of the Hindenburg explosion, "Leisure Suit Larry" software program, Burns & Allen radio show, CBS Radio Mystery Theatre, Dragnet.
Oh, and for additional fun, check out the wayback machine on the same site. Remember what was on your company's website 10 years ago? Key in a URL of any website and you can pull up an archive of what that website looked like on previous dates.
Now you have something to do over the holidays. Enjoy ;-)
For text, it contains the complete Gutenberg collection (classic novels, literature, non-fiction, etc.) There are a multitude of audio recordings for free download (old time radio shows, broadcasts, and music) , classic videos (old newsreels and some youtubeish stuff) , computer software, and more.
Examples I noticed include Tom Sawyer, The Time Machine, The Bible, video of the Hindenburg explosion, "Leisure Suit Larry" software program, Burns & Allen radio show, CBS Radio Mystery Theatre, Dragnet.
Oh, and for additional fun, check out the wayback machine on the same site. Remember what was on your company's website 10 years ago? Key in a URL of any website and you can pull up an archive of what that website looked like on previous dates.
Now you have something to do over the holidays. Enjoy ;-)
Bob Hope TV Special Taping at SMU
Members of the SMU Mustang Band performed as part of this TV special, taped in Moody Coliseum on 10/28/1983. This video excerpt includes the introduction and monologue. I was somewhere on the back row, but you can't see the band members very well. I can make out a few familiar faces laughing at the lame humor - I'm glad they didn't catch me on camera fake laughing too. ;-)
I also have the Bonnie Tyler performance and the Police sketch with Hope and Morgan Fairchild, which I'll post another time.
Cotton Bowl 1983
This video is of the SMU Mustang Band halftime performance at the Cotton Bowl (SMU vs. Pitt) on January 1, 1983. To make this fit in YouTube, I edited out the performances of the Pitt Band, Kilgore Rangerettes, and the combined band "Tribute to the USA". This copy has been edited to just show the Mustang Band. Some great closeups of active members of the alumni band as well as some old friends I haven't seen in a long time.
11-19-1983 SMU/Arkansas Post Game Performance
ABC didn't show us at halftime, but after the game (and monsoon) in Little Rock, the members of the Mustang Band were the only remaining souls in the stadium. Announcer Curt Gowdy is talking over us as we perform Shanty Town and acknowledges us as we sing Varsity.
SMU won the game 17-0.
SMU won the game 17-0.
SMU UT 1983 Halftime Show
I found a couple very old videos I converted from VHS to DVD and am posting online to share. Here's the first one - Halftime show from the SMU-UT game on 10/22/1983.
#2 Texas beat #9 SMU 15-12 at Texas Stadium. This was our first year without the Pony Express (Dickerson/James) but we still had a winning season. One of the last before the program was squashed by the NCAA Death Penalty.
#2 Texas beat #9 SMU 15-12 at Texas Stadium. This was our first year without the Pony Express (Dickerson/James) but we still had a winning season. One of the last before the program was squashed by the NCAA Death Penalty.
Are you in a "Product" or a "Process" job?
If you are in a Product-centric job, you spend most of your day with stuff: creating, updating, innovating, maintaining, fixing, changing, moving, archiving, restoring, refactoring, etc. Typical product-centric jobs include software developers, artists, designers, engineers, factory workers, accountants, loan underwriters, and tax attorneys.
If you are in a Process-centric job, you spend most of your day interacting with others: talking, emailing, selling, negotiating, motivating, intimidating, inspiring, communicating, etc. Typical process-centric jobs include sales, project managers teachers, trial lawyers, CEO's, loan officers, and managers.
Most people tend to prefer one or the other, and often find themselves in a job that is not in their preferred category. The result is often fatigue and general job dissatisfaction. If you stick process-centric people in an office all day with a stack of work to do, they'll be bored out of their mind and find as many chances as possible to wander to the water cooler to find out what's going on in the world. Likewise, if you send product-centric people out in the world to attend meetings, engage in lively conversations, and talk all day, they will get exhausted and feel like the day was a total waste of time because they didn't get anything done.
If the world had only process-centric people, there would be a constant buzz of activity, but little would ever get accomplished. If the world had only product-centric people, a lot of quality work may get done, but there's great risk that its value and usefulness may be questionable.
It's healthy to understand that it's normal for there to be misunderstanding and conflict between process and product people. Accept the need for both types and move on. Also, if you are a product person in a process job (or vice versa,) a job change could reduce your stress.
If you are in a Process-centric job, you spend most of your day interacting with others: talking, emailing, selling, negotiating, motivating, intimidating, inspiring, communicating, etc. Typical process-centric jobs include sales, project managers teachers, trial lawyers, CEO's, loan officers, and managers.
Most people tend to prefer one or the other, and often find themselves in a job that is not in their preferred category. The result is often fatigue and general job dissatisfaction. If you stick process-centric people in an office all day with a stack of work to do, they'll be bored out of their mind and find as many chances as possible to wander to the water cooler to find out what's going on in the world. Likewise, if you send product-centric people out in the world to attend meetings, engage in lively conversations, and talk all day, they will get exhausted and feel like the day was a total waste of time because they didn't get anything done.
If the world had only process-centric people, there would be a constant buzz of activity, but little would ever get accomplished. If the world had only product-centric people, a lot of quality work may get done, but there's great risk that its value and usefulness may be questionable.
It's healthy to understand that it's normal for there to be misunderstanding and conflict between process and product people. Accept the need for both types and move on. Also, if you are a product person in a process job (or vice versa,) a job change could reduce your stress.
Download the Internet Here
I am a recovering pack rat. I've been accumulating 'stuff' for years, which totally contradicts my no-nonsense, practical, straightforward approach to most other things in life. Fortunately I am truly in recovery. I have started purging 'stuff' and was surprised to discover that it feels good.
So now that my closet and attic have lightened, I need to work on my next issue - being a media pack rat. All sorts of media: Music, videos, digital photos, electronic documents, etc. Many of these things are very personal and I will never purge them. Storage is cheap, so why not.
The media that I could probably let go of is the reference material that is readily available on the Internet: articles, white papers, web page content, etc. I have a tendency to take a snapshot of this information and store it on my computer for later use. That demonstrates a lack of confidence in our distributed information society - I don't have full confidence that I'll be able to find it again when I need it. As a matter of fact, maybe I better just buy a bigger hard disk and download the whole Internet to my computer so I'll always have my own copy.
Here's the link, in case you want a dowload a copy of the Internet for yourself: http://www.w3schools.com/downloadwww.htm
So now that my closet and attic have lightened, I need to work on my next issue - being a media pack rat. All sorts of media: Music, videos, digital photos, electronic documents, etc. Many of these things are very personal and I will never purge them. Storage is cheap, so why not.
The media that I could probably let go of is the reference material that is readily available on the Internet: articles, white papers, web page content, etc. I have a tendency to take a snapshot of this information and store it on my computer for later use. That demonstrates a lack of confidence in our distributed information society - I don't have full confidence that I'll be able to find it again when I need it. As a matter of fact, maybe I better just buy a bigger hard disk and download the whole Internet to my computer so I'll always have my own copy.
Here's the link, in case you want a dowload a copy of the Internet for yourself: http://www.w3schools.com/downloadwww.htm
Cool!
A diversion from my ramblings, check out one of the coolest projects which combines great computer graphics with an upbeat new age composition. I first saw it on a PBS special, and there are clips on this website: http://www.animusic.com/clips/pipe-dream2.html
I had absolutely nothing to do with this, but I saw the videos on PBS and thought I should post so others who may be interested will know about it.
Smoke & Mirrors - Don't Believe Everything You See!
Sometime reality sucks, or is uninteresting, or contradicts what we have always believed. That's what makes magic shows work - we know that he didn't really pull a dove out of thin air, but it's fun to believe the unbelievable, if only for a few seconds.
We're bombarded with illusions every day - images, thoughts, ideas that someone has conjured up to make us see something a certain way. Some call this marketing: The car salesman wants us to see the car with the shiny new car smell (that will disappear in a few weeks) and all the cool gadgets and gizmos (we could never afford); The real estate agent wants us to see a model home (without the laundry, clutter, & dirty dishes that were all shoved into cabinets and closets just moments before the prospective buyers arrived); The Red Lobster ad wants you to fantasize about the delicious looking platter of seafood (without the 30 minute drive to get there, the 1 hour wait when you get there, the crying baby at the next table, and the expensive bill.)
When you walk into many natural history museums, you'll often find a room with a very tall ceiling which is home to a T-Rex standing tall and looking ferocious, and it's long tail stretched across the floor. In reality, scientists discovered long ago that the T-Rex didn't walk like that - The T-Rex walked down on all four legs with it's tail sticking up in the air. That just wouldn't have had the same consumer appeal as the frightening T-Rex standing tall and erect, so bones were assembled in unnatural ways to create the illusion the curators were going for.
As you experience your day today, be on the lookout for smoke and mirrors. Are you seeing reality, or an illusion that was created to serve someone else's needs. Or if that seems too cynical or pessimistic, then just like the spectator at the magic act - sit back and enjoy the show.
We're bombarded with illusions every day - images, thoughts, ideas that someone has conjured up to make us see something a certain way. Some call this marketing: The car salesman wants us to see the car with the shiny new car smell (that will disappear in a few weeks) and all the cool gadgets and gizmos (we could never afford); The real estate agent wants us to see a model home (without the laundry, clutter, & dirty dishes that were all shoved into cabinets and closets just moments before the prospective buyers arrived); The Red Lobster ad wants you to fantasize about the delicious looking platter of seafood (without the 30 minute drive to get there, the 1 hour wait when you get there, the crying baby at the next table, and the expensive bill.)
When you walk into many natural history museums, you'll often find a room with a very tall ceiling which is home to a T-Rex standing tall and looking ferocious, and it's long tail stretched across the floor. In reality, scientists discovered long ago that the T-Rex didn't walk like that - The T-Rex walked down on all four legs with it's tail sticking up in the air. That just wouldn't have had the same consumer appeal as the frightening T-Rex standing tall and erect, so bones were assembled in unnatural ways to create the illusion the curators were going for.
As you experience your day today, be on the lookout for smoke and mirrors. Are you seeing reality, or an illusion that was created to serve someone else's needs. Or if that seems too cynical or pessimistic, then just like the spectator at the magic act - sit back and enjoy the show.
System of Record - Revisited (Wait!! Not as boring as it sounds!!)
Last night I took my son to one of those walk-up clinics. He had a sore throat, and the clinic was much more convenient than waiting until today when his Doctor's office was open. While there, we decided to get his immunizations updated for school. They asked if his Measles shot was up-to-date and I realized that if we were at his regular Doctor, they would know that.
That got me to thinking about the concept of "System of Record", which is a software term which refers to the 'official' version of a piece of information is stored. In the olden days, service providers served as the official system of record of the information related to the services they provided. For example, all information related to your health was available at your doctor's office; all information related to your auto and property insurance was available from your insurance agent; etc.
In today's distributed services world, when we shop our services around, who is responsible for maintaining 'official' information? I guess it's us. Maybe it should have been us all along, but honestly, I don't like recordkeeping and I believe that most people feel the same way about it. So as we shop services around and drop our information all over the place, aren't we headed toward information management problems? Now my son's medical record resides in (at least) two places, and both are incomplete.
There may be a business opportunity for "Information Portfolio Management". I'm not sure what the details may be, but hmmm.... sort of clearinghouse for general purpose information.
That got me to thinking about the concept of "System of Record", which is a software term which refers to the 'official' version of a piece of information is stored. In the olden days, service providers served as the official system of record of the information related to the services they provided. For example, all information related to your health was available at your doctor's office; all information related to your auto and property insurance was available from your insurance agent; etc.
In today's distributed services world, when we shop our services around, who is responsible for maintaining 'official' information? I guess it's us. Maybe it should have been us all along, but honestly, I don't like recordkeeping and I believe that most people feel the same way about it. So as we shop services around and drop our information all over the place, aren't we headed toward information management problems? Now my son's medical record resides in (at least) two places, and both are incomplete.
There may be a business opportunity for "Information Portfolio Management". I'm not sure what the details may be, but hmmm.... sort of clearinghouse for general purpose information.
Why Bother Reading This?
IN 2005 I attended Elliot Masie's huge learning conference in Orlando, where learning managers were inundated with new techniques for flooding employees with more information: email blasts, blogs, RSS feeds, podcasts, wiki's, online reference libraries, .... Yikes. Poor slobs back home didn't know what was to hit them in the months to follow.
Some say "Information is Power", while others say "Ignorance is Bliss". Regardless, the bountiful sources of information place a great burden on individuals to select content to consume, and determine what to do with newly attained knowledge.
So why bother with this blog? Since the scope is not mathematical proofs, or the result of scientific experiments, then it must be entirely opinion. Some of you may scan the blog and move on, some may realize that "No, it's not that dude from the White Shadow" and return to Google, and others may choose to read for a while and hang onto one ore more of my thoughts.
Whichever is your reason for stopping by, thanks for your attention.
Some say "Information is Power", while others say "Ignorance is Bliss". Regardless, the bountiful sources of information place a great burden on individuals to select content to consume, and determine what to do with newly attained knowledge.
So why bother with this blog? Since the scope is not mathematical proofs, or the result of scientific experiments, then it must be entirely opinion. Some of you may scan the blog and move on, some may realize that "No, it's not that dude from the White Shadow" and return to Google, and others may choose to read for a while and hang onto one ore more of my thoughts.
Whichever is your reason for stopping by, thanks for your attention.
Innovate through Intersections
Every once in a while a new seminal idea appears. These are not likely the result of an inspired yoga session, or round robin brainstorming meeting. Rather, they often emerge from heavy quanitites of research, writing, and introspection by brilliant theorists and researchers.
Most ideas, however, are combinations of multiple seminal ideas. Most innovation is the result of chemistry: mixing together ingredients to create some new compound. Those who tend to be really creative innovators tend to be good at creating intersections: crossing two typically unrelated concepts to create something new. (Remember the old Reese's Peanut Butter Cup commercial?)
A Couple Great Intersections:
Home computer meets the notebook -> Laptop.
Computer meets the pocket Daytimer -> Palm/PDA
Mexican Restaurant meets McDonalds -> Taco Bell
Bell meets clock -> Alarm Clock
Alarm Clock meets radio -> Clock Radio
Classical meets Jazz -> New Age Music
Copier meets Telelphone -> Fax Machine
So if you're interested in innovating, try creating unexpected combinations and imagine the result.
Most ideas, however, are combinations of multiple seminal ideas. Most innovation is the result of chemistry: mixing together ingredients to create some new compound. Those who tend to be really creative innovators tend to be good at creating intersections: crossing two typically unrelated concepts to create something new. (Remember the old Reese's Peanut Butter Cup commercial?)
A Couple Great Intersections:
Home computer meets the notebook -> Laptop.
Computer meets the pocket Daytimer -> Palm/PDA
Mexican Restaurant meets McDonalds -> Taco Bell
Bell meets clock -> Alarm Clock
Alarm Clock meets radio -> Clock Radio
Classical meets Jazz -> New Age Music
Copier meets Telelphone -> Fax Machine
So if you're interested in innovating, try creating unexpected combinations and imagine the result.
Become a Brilliant Conversationalist!
We're all guilty of talking about ourselves from time to time, after all, it's the one topic that we are absolutely the world's renowned expert on. Although we all have interesting tales to tell, the contradiction is that a person we are talking to may prefer to be telling their own tales.
Dale Carnegie once said that the person who let's others talk about themself is often seen as a brilliant conversationalist. The trick is keeping the conversation going by getting others to talk. Some may need a lot of prompting, probing, and urging to keep talking. That's your job as the brilliant converstionalist. Continue prompting, probing, asking, and urging to keep them talking.
This can be more difficult with some than with others because you may run out of questions, or you may become bored. In future blogs we'll continue to explore the art of small talk.
Dale Carnegie once said that the person who let's others talk about themself is often seen as a brilliant conversationalist. The trick is keeping the conversation going by getting others to talk. Some may need a lot of prompting, probing, and urging to keep talking. That's your job as the brilliant converstionalist. Continue prompting, probing, asking, and urging to keep them talking.
This can be more difficult with some than with others because you may run out of questions, or you may become bored. In future blogs we'll continue to explore the art of small talk.
Best Practice: "Inform" trumps "Impress"
"Storing the MBO's and PA's for the EMG requires the highest level of data security available. Can secure access be provided on a NAS device, or will a SAN be a better option?"
The person who said this sounded very impressive. The problem is that 99% of his listeners didn't understand at least one element of the statement. This isn't just a technology acronymn phenomena. It is common with business and company unique terminology.
An empathetic person will assume that at least one of his listeners won't understand something that is being communicated. See http://kenhoward01.blogspot.com/2007/05/best-practice-of-day-empathy.html
The tricky part is informing without insulting. If you're not careful you can sound like a 1st grade teacher explaining the difference between a cow and a pig. As a general rule, some acronyms are well understood as words (NASA, IRS, etc.) and can be stated without explanation. Others are commonly used but may have multiple uses (an IRA is a bank account to a banker, but has a completely different meaning to an Irishman) and using the words instead of the acronym might not be a bad idea. "I try to maintain the minimum in my Individual Retirement Account - IRA - when possible." I just blurt it out in both flavors and try to not sound condescending.
The bottom line is, if you are empathetic to your listener, you will be more inclined to provide more information and inform. Rarely will someone be impressed by a blabbermouth who tends to throw around a lot of big words and fancy acronyms. Someone who explains, informs and educates will be more likeable and tends to facilitate more productive communication.
The person who said this sounded very impressive. The problem is that 99% of his listeners didn't understand at least one element of the statement. This isn't just a technology acronymn phenomena. It is common with business and company unique terminology.
An empathetic person will assume that at least one of his listeners won't understand something that is being communicated. See http://kenhoward01.blogspot.com/2007/05/best-practice-of-day-empathy.html
The tricky part is informing without insulting. If you're not careful you can sound like a 1st grade teacher explaining the difference between a cow and a pig. As a general rule, some acronyms are well understood as words (NASA, IRS, etc.) and can be stated without explanation. Others are commonly used but may have multiple uses (an IRA is a bank account to a banker, but has a completely different meaning to an Irishman) and using the words instead of the acronym might not be a bad idea. "I try to maintain the minimum in my Individual Retirement Account - IRA - when possible." I just blurt it out in both flavors and try to not sound condescending.
The bottom line is, if you are empathetic to your listener, you will be more inclined to provide more information and inform. Rarely will someone be impressed by a blabbermouth who tends to throw around a lot of big words and fancy acronyms. Someone who explains, informs and educates will be more likeable and tends to facilitate more productive communication.
Best Practice: Try 'AND' not 'BUT'
The word "BUT" can be a turnoff to many people. As an exercise, the next time you plan to say "BUT", try "AND" instead.
With 'BUT':
John: "What do you think of the dinner I cooked for you?"
Mary: "It's delicious, but it's going to ruin my diet."
With 'AND':
John: "What do you think of the dinner I cooked for you?"
Mary: "It's delicious, and I appreciate all of your hard work!"
Generally, 'BUT' is a conjunction which tends to join the first part of a statement with a negative phrase. Heavy 'BUT' users tend to be characterized as critical and pessimistic.
On the other hand, the conjunction 'AND' tends to elicit a postive/optimistic ending.
These thoughts are simply random musings of the author, and I hope they benefit you!
With 'BUT':
John: "What do you think of the dinner I cooked for you?"
Mary: "It's delicious, but it's going to ruin my diet."
With 'AND':
John: "What do you think of the dinner I cooked for you?"
Mary: "It's delicious, and I appreciate all of your hard work!"
Generally, 'BUT' is a conjunction which tends to join the first part of a statement with a negative phrase. Heavy 'BUT' users tend to be characterized as critical and pessimistic.
On the other hand, the conjunction 'AND' tends to elicit a postive/optimistic ending.
These thoughts are simply random musings of the author, and I hope they benefit you!
Best Practice: Learn to Decode Secret Messages
People often speak in a secret hidden language. Recognizing this, and learning to "decode" may eliminate much stress from your life, and greatly enhance our ability to communicate with others. If you master this singular skill, you can remain happily married, be a stellar employee, and become a whiz at small talk.
Spouse says, "I'm the only one who does any work around this house -- you're all slobs!"
Translated: "I had a crappy day and I'm really tired. I like coming home to a clean house, and I'm really disappointed when I come home from work and it's a mess. I would really appreciate it if all of you would stop what you're doing for a while and help me tidy up a bit. That would help me relax."
Boss says, "You're late again!"
Translated: "There are certain things that are important to me, and being at work at 8:00 is one of them. When people show up to work at 8:00, that tells me that they like working here and are enthusiastic about starting their day. That makes me feel good. Please be at work by 8:00 so I can feel good."
Person you just met at a party says, "Nice weather lately!"
Translated: "I don't know anything about you or what interests you. I'm going to throw you and easy one to see what you do with it. If you respond normally, and are pleasant, hopefully we can dive into some other topic that's not as boring."
Your response: "Yes, sure is!"
Translated: "Ok, I'll take the bait. I don't know many people here either, and it would sure pass the time to have someone to talk to. Maybe we'll even find we have something in common and find something that's actually interesting to talk about."
Spouse says, "I'm the only one who does any work around this house -- you're all slobs!"
Translated: "I had a crappy day and I'm really tired. I like coming home to a clean house, and I'm really disappointed when I come home from work and it's a mess. I would really appreciate it if all of you would stop what you're doing for a while and help me tidy up a bit. That would help me relax."
Boss says, "You're late again!"
Translated: "There are certain things that are important to me, and being at work at 8:00 is one of them. When people show up to work at 8:00, that tells me that they like working here and are enthusiastic about starting their day. That makes me feel good. Please be at work by 8:00 so I can feel good."
Person you just met at a party says, "Nice weather lately!"
Translated: "I don't know anything about you or what interests you. I'm going to throw you and easy one to see what you do with it. If you respond normally, and are pleasant, hopefully we can dive into some other topic that's not as boring."
Your response: "Yes, sure is!"
Translated: "Ok, I'll take the bait. I don't know many people here either, and it would sure pass the time to have someone to talk to. Maybe we'll even find we have something in common and find something that's actually interesting to talk about."
Best Practice: Use First Person Plural
Quick grammar lesson:
1st person singular: "I..."
2nd person singular: "You...."
3rd person singular: "He/She..."
1st person plural: "We..."
2nd person plural: "You..."
3rd person plural: "They..."
A general observation about people's perception of our communication style:
1st person singular: "I..."
2nd person singular: "You...."
3rd person singular: "He/She..."
1st person plural: "We..."
2nd person plural: "You..."
3rd person plural: "They..."
A general observation about people's perception of our communication style:
- 1st person singular is arrogant and boring. Watch people's eyes glaze over when you say "I this" and "I that".
- 2nd person is nagging. People tend to get defensive and raise their guard when they hear "You this" and "You that". It can also make you seem to be astute and all-knowing.
- 3rd person is gossip. Be careful when you talk about others. If you say something critical or mean, you're an evil gossip. If you say something nice, make sure you're sincere!
- 1st person plural is a great tool for earning collective buy-in for whatever you have to say. When I work with a customer I usually adopt "we" immediately, so they see me as a one of the team, a member of the family, someone who has the same skin in the game that they do. It can help you avoid consultant/contractor alienation.
Best Practice: Localize
One fateful trip to Cleveland several years ago, I learned a difficult lesson: people don't like it when you make fun of the place they live. Even if they live in a city that was once so polluted that the river caught on fire.
Since then, I've tried to err on the other extreme when working at a client away from where I live - I try to learn things about the location I'm working in, and talk about their sports teams, local government, news headlines, etc., as though I was a long-term resident. This diverts attention from the fact that I'm a contractor or consultant, and people tend to be more open and cooperative with me.
I now do this when public speaking, teaching, around the office, and in settings away from the office.
Since then, I've tried to err on the other extreme when working at a client away from where I live - I try to learn things about the location I'm working in, and talk about their sports teams, local government, news headlines, etc., as though I was a long-term resident. This diverts attention from the fact that I'm a contractor or consultant, and people tend to be more open and cooperative with me.
I now do this when public speaking, teaching, around the office, and in settings away from the office.
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