question of the week

How Can We Avoid Confusing the Hard Parts (People) with the Easy Parts (Tools)?

question of the week / /

We all live through various hype cycles, personally and professionally. (Hype cycles look a lot like the Satir Change model, the image in this post.)  Right now, in 2024, “generative” AI is having its moment. But AI is not generating anything, certainly not new insights. Instead, the engines have ingested (without paying creators) lots of […]

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When Do You Choose Between Getting Something “Perfect” vs. Finishing It?

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I practice my writing by writing a lot. (I also read a lot about writing, but no one becomes a better writer by reading. Writers become better by writing.) In addition, I take classes to stretch my skills. That means I’m not going to “succeed” or write something “perfect” all the time. But I do

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How Can We Move from Craving Simple Direct Solutions to Adapting with Experiments?

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As a consultant, I work with people who have plenty of problems. (No one calls a consultant when things are going well.) Many of these nice people feel as if they should be able to find a simple and direct solution to their problems. Simple and direct solutions assume we know enough about the risks

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How Should We Confront a Lack of Fairness to Make the World a Better Place?

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In the past few weeks, I’ve read several nonfiction books that promote how women can improve their standing in the world, to create more parity. That’s great, but the writers surprised me. That content was not part of the title or the blurb—and that’s not why I chose to read the book. I’ve also listened

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What Makes You Feel Smart and What Makes You Feel Less Smart?

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I was working on visualizations of cycle time for my other blog (how long each item of work takes over time). That’s when I realized I needed to create a conditional formula in my spreadsheet. Conditional formulas are if statements. With my software background, I think in if statements. (If then, else other.) So, I

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How Many Lenses Can You Access to See Problems and Solutions?

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So many of us see just one problem, and therefore one solution. Sometimes, our mental models or filters prevent us from seeing alternative solutions. But sometimes, I think it’s literally how we see the problem that limits our mental models. If we can’t see the problem in all its glory, how can we possibly offer

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How Can We Clarify the Social Contract, Trust, and Betrayal?

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In general, I’m willing to extend a fair amount of trust to other people. For example, when driving, I trust other drivers to stay in their lane. However, when drivers swerve all over the road, I stop extending that trust in an instant—those drivers broke trust with me. That’s because they broke the social contract

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How Can We Make it Easy to Maintain Our Streaks or Habits?

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Many people tell me they want to write more often, But they have trouble building and maintaining a consistent writing habit. One person said, “I want some of your magic dust.” A consistent writing habit does not require magic dust. However, it does require a writing habit, and possibly a streak. Too few people know

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