Long ago, I had a huge fight with my grandmother. She said something untrue. I told her it was untrue and I explained why. Her response was, “You have such a black-and-white view of the world.” That’s true. I don’t believe in what we now call “alternative facts.” I call them “lies.” Notice that I […]
How Can We Discuss a Difference of Beliefs? Read More »
I was watching John Green’s Who I Was in High School video and I was struck by how much I resonated with it. I wasn’t a poor student in high school, but my teachers always said I wasn’t quite reaching “my potential.” I was curious how they thought they knew my potential when I had no idea.
What’s Your Destiny? Read More »
I took a science fiction writing workshop last week. It was great fun and I realize I remain a work in progress when it comes to my fiction. Yes, I’m a work in progress on just about everything, but for my fiction, I am in the midst of the change model where my performance varies
Where Are the Flaws? Read More »
I’m working on that document project I mentioned back in Do You Want Feedback? We, the writing team, explained how we would pair-review and rewrite where necessary to use more of the tone and less casual language. And, more importantly, we would correct the problems the original editing created. We did that last week. We all
Who Gets the Credit? Read More »
I talk a lot about adaptability on the blog. In case you missed it, let me set the context by defining adaptability. Adaptability is an effective change in response to an altered situation. Here’s why your adaptability matters. Life changes. Work changes. Our bodies change. No, you don’t have to have vertigo to realize your
CAL Tip #1: What is Adaptability and Why That Matters Read More »
Given that I’ve published so much, I meet people who say, “I want to write. But, I need to wait for a good time to write.” Or, they say they need an outline or permission from someone—a boss or a spouse. I can be pretty sure about one thing: these people will never write anything. The
What Are You Waiting For? Read More »
In the agile community, we have a saying, “Fail fast.” It means we are supposed to feel safe to fail, and that we want to fail fast so we can use that learning to iterate on the requirements. We have opportunities to improve. I like the idea that it’s safe to fail. No one berates
Are You Failing Fast or Learning Early? Read More »
I attended an Agile New England event this past week. One of the roundtable facilitators mentioned there was a difference between collaboration and cooperation. When you collaborate, you work with other people. When you cooperate, you do your work and make sure the work fits with other people’s work. I thought that discrimination was quite insightful.
Are You Collaborating or Cooperating? Read More »
I like getting “credit” for my work. Not just the work I did, but the work I didn’t do. When I write articles or books or whatever, I start by writing it “all” down. Some of these words are not useful. I look back at them and say, “What were you trying to say??” Sometimes
Do You Give Yourself Credit? Read More »
We all have assumptions. I recently flew on JetBlue. They are beta-testing their wi-fi. I assumed I would have to pay for it. Imagine my surprise when it was free! I was thrilled. (There was no wi-fi on the return trip, and that was fine with me.) When I teach my agile and lean project
What Are Your Assumptions? Read More »