I see the world as having plenty: plenty of interesting work, plenty of people, plenty of chocolate, plenty of everything. That’s the abundance mindset. Other people see the world more as a zero-sum game, where there is not enough of anything to go around. They need to grab what they want when they see it. […]
Do You Believe in Scarcity or Abundance? Read More »
A friend sent me a very long treatise about complexity. The author contends that we, as humans, have a confirmation bias towards complexity. I’m not linking to it because I found the writing too complex to read. I’m not going to inflict that on you. However, I do think the question is useful: are we
Are We Biased to the Simple or Complex? Read More »
In my coaching and consulting, I often encounter people who think in “or.” They ask, “Should I take this action or that action?” (They might talk about decisions, but it’s the same idea. It’s one or the other.) I’ve been asking them this question, “Can you mash those two ideas together to use an “and”
How Do You Create a Third Option? Read More »
I rented a car last week for a 2+ hour drive from Portland to the Oregon coast for a workshop. I used a GPS app on my phone to get the directions. I expected the phone to tell me when to turn. It didn’t. No noise, no directions, nothing. I had no reason to disagree
What Clues Did You Miss? Read More »
At 7am today, the roads are a slick sheet of ice. So are the driveways and sidewalks. We had some snow yesterday which changed to freezing rain. The temps went below freezing last night and now, everything is slick and frozen. It’s dangerous for anyone to walk outside, never mind me, a dizzy broad. I’m
How Long Do You Wait? Read More »
Mark and I watched Money Monster last weekend. One of the characters asked, “When is it your call?” (No, I don’t remember who or the total context. It was about the responsibility of recommending stocks to people.) The idea was “When is it your responsibility?” I got to thinking about who makes which calls about
When Is It Your Call? Read More »
I love to take vacations. Yes, I love my work, and I love to take vacations. I just returned from 12 days in Israel. In the past, when I have traveled to Israel, I mostly work and have a little vacation. I changed that this time. I only toured and relaxed. I had a blast.
What Do You Learn from Your Vacation? Read More »
I had several experiences in the past weeks: requests to write and speak as a consultant. And, a fascinating doctor problem. I’ll start with requests for my expertise. When I receive requests for my expertise (writing, speaking, reviewing, consulting), I evaluate those requests with certain guideposts: what fits my values and interests. What do I
What Guideposts Do You Use? Read More »
The gas company has been replacing gas mains in my neighborhood for the last few weeks. They’re not done. At 7am this morning, the gas main replacement guys dumped a big pile of dirt in front of our house, right outside my office window. The walk you see on the left is the walk from
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 »