My friends and colleagues tell me that audio books are a Big Deal. I believe them, although I still read in ebook and paper. So, I had audio books made for Predicting the Unpredictable and Agile and Lean Program Management. Predicting doesn’t have too many images. Agile and Lean Program Management has a ton of […]
What Do You Optimize For? Read More »
One of my coachees has a common problem. He has a ton of work he doesn’t want to do (the shoulds). He has some work that gives him joy that he wants to do. He has too much work overall. He’s stuck. He can’t quite get anything done because the work he wants to do
What Should You Do First? Read More »
I’ve been in a couple of Fitbit challenges to see who can walk “most” in a work-week. I’ve enjoyed them and have pushed myself a little each week, to see if I can do just a little bit more every day. One of the problems I have is that by Friday, I’m tired. I’ve been
How Do You Persist? Read More »
I’m curious about many things. I bet you are, too. I’m curious about how people make choices, what they see as options, what they choose to measure. I’m curious about how things work. I feel as if the world has so much variety and my biggest choice is how to sample all the wondrous things
How Do You Feed Your Curiosity? Read More »
I made a big mistake the other night. I was doing maintenance on my mailing lists. I was quite excited about deleting people who were no longer valid subscribers. I deleted too many people and screwed up the Create Adaptable Life mailing list. I fixed it, and that got me thinking about several things: I am
When Do You Stop Working for the Day? Read More »
A colleague sent me an email this morning. She had read Agile and Lean Program Management, and especially liked the section called “Potentially Useful Practices.” She told me she thought of them as “pup”s and was going to use that idea for a talk she was developing. She talked about cute puppies—which one was a
When Are You Serious? Read More »
I was at a conference last week. There was a panel about women in technology. Of course, I went. I heard several concerning stories. One woman said something like this: “My previous husband was concerned when I went out for dinner with professional colleagues. He was concerned I was “seeing” other men.“ Note that she
What Holds Us Back? Read More »
Richard Feynman, a physicist, wrote a terrific book, What Do You Care What Other People Think?: Further Adventures of a Curious Character. If you have not read it, I recommend it. Let me pull apart the title a little. There are several questions here: What do other people think, especially about you? What implications do their
What Do You Care What Other People Think? Read More »
I’ve been thinking about support these last few weeks. I have found support networks quite helpful, both for my emotional and physical needs. Some people don’t want support. If you try to help them, you inflict help. Sometimes, I don’t want support either. When I lean on a door to open it, I use my
How Much Support Do You Want or Need? Read More »
In Jerry Weinberg’s Secrets of Consulting, he talks about becoming “pickled.” When you’re a consultant, the value you bring is that you are outside the environment. You have an external perspective. If you stay with just one client long enough, it’s as if you are a cucumber in a barrel of pickles. You can’t help but