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 […]
What Makes You Feel Smart and What Makes You Feel Less Smart? Read More »
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
How Many Lenses Can You Access to See Problems and Solutions? Read More »
International Happiness Day occurred this week. While I’m normally a fairly happy person, I cannot express how much I hate this holiday. I hate, hate, hate this holiday. Happiness puts too much pressure on people to be happy. When we’re happy, supposedly, we smile until our faces hurt. Or we’re jubilant and joyous all the
How Can We Create Alternatives to Happiness as Our “Best” Goal? Read More »
Some people think leadership is the act of saying, “Come this way.” They think the leader is solely responsible for setting the goal and the direction. Worse, they might think the leader is the person who tells people what to do and how to do it. True, parents do that with children, especially when the
What Does Leadership Mean to You? Read More »
I had a big business surprise from one of my book distribution partners earlier this week. That upended all my careful plans. Since I’d been away from my office, this was my week to “catch up.” Ha! Foiled again. By definition, surprises are things we cannot anticipate. And this one was a doozy. While I
How Do You Manage Surprises? Read More »
A few months ago, in October 2023, I noticed a strange pimple on my nose that bled after I washed and dried my face. I checked with my doctor who said to see a dermatologist. I didn’t panic, but I made an appointment as soon as I could. (An urgent reaction.) The diagnosis was squamous cell skin cancer.
How Can We Combine Our Feelings of Urgency and Calm to Be Most Effective? Read More »
I learned a lot about my mental models last week. That’s when several people asked me “obvious” questions about specific software tools. I hope I was reasonable when I answered. But I assumed they exhibited learned helplessness. Wasn’t the answer obvious to everyone? Clearly not. Then, this week, I did exactly the same thing. Twice.
When Is the Problem Not Learned Helplessness or Confusion But Our Mental Models? Read More »
Most of us have been in a position where we feel as if “we’ve been here before”—even if we know we haven’t. Sometimes, we smell something or hear something, but we feel as if we’ve been here before. There’s a name for that: deja vu. But sometimes, we feel as if this thing—that maybe we’ve
How Have You Used Vuja De to Support Your Creativity? Read More »
If you’re like me, you have plenty of improvement goals. I have personal, professional, and office-cleanup goals. (Since my office appears to be a perennial mess, I count that as a separate and very subsidiary goal.) I often use the compounding effect to make those improvements. The compounding effect works very well for money. Put
How Can You Use the Compounding Effect to Achieve What You Want? Read More »
Too often, we frame resilience as a way to bounce back from a circumstance, such as an event, hardship, or adversity. But we don’t need bad things to happen to us to need resilience. In fact, most of the time, bad things don’t happen. But something changes, and we notice. That’s when we need to
How Can You Reframe Resilience As Bouncing Forward to the Next Decision? Read More »