Can You Trade Off for Ease?
I was thinking of how I make tradeoffs. In many projects, people often think we need to optimize for time and against quality. It’s a fake tradeoff, because the cleaner…
Read moreWhat Does the Data Mean?
Sometimes, I find it difficult to see the data in front of me. I might think there is no data. I might make meaning of the data—possibly incorrectly. We need…
Read moreHow Often Do You Finish?
It’s the resolution time of year again. Too many people will make resolutions and not accomplish those resolutions. I also see the same thing in my consulting and teaching practice.…
Read moreWhat Makes You Remarkable?
I want to be remarkable, worthy of attention, in some ways—in my writing, speaking, and consulting. I would prefer to not be remarkable for my physical appearance. Yet, I am.…
Read moreWhat Is Your Sustainable Pace?
Back in the ’90s, people started to talk about “sustainable pace.” We work to the best of our abilities during the day. We’re done and pleasantly tired at the end…
Read moreHow Much Grunt Work Do You Have?
I’ve been traveling a ton in the past couple of months. That means I get to meet all kinds of people—professionals in my field, hospitality people in hotels, taxi drivers,…
Read moreHow Do You Maintain Your Emotional Balance?
I’m in Paris at a conference this week. I was a keynote speaker, which is lovely for my ego. One of the participants asked me how long I’d been a…
Read moreWhich Number Career Are You On?
I had lunch with a colleague today. We spoke about his freshman-in-high-school age (14?) child who was studying Computer Science. The student is actually solving problems with code (Python) and…
Read moreHow Do You Think and Feel About Age?
A number of people have asked me in the last few weeks and months when I’m going to retire. While I think that might not be a totally appropriate question,…
Read moreIs This Problem Deterministic or Non-Deterministic?
We solve many problems over the course of a day, week, month, year. Some problems are difficult because the problem is difficult to solve. Some of my book projects are…
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