I was wandering around the kitchen this morning, making my breakfast. I notice this tag on the counter. I held it up and asked, “Can I delete this?” Mark immediately cracked up laughing. So did I. In the real world, as opposed to our computers and the virtual world, we throw out trash. We don’t
Can You See Your Own Mental Models? Read More »
I was watching Ken Robinson on Passion. He made the claim that too many people live lives that are not fulfilling. Your work drains you. Instead, what energizes you? I reflected on my life. I am lucky. I found many parts of my professional life that energize me: Anything about product development energizes me: programming,
What Energizes You? Read More »
I prefer not to make mistakes. Yet, I am human. I make mistakes all the time. Making mistakes is not the problem. It’s the recovering from mistakes that might be the problem. How quickly you recover from mistakes is partly about seeing the need to adapt, your ability to respond to a changed situation, and
How Fast Do You Recover from Mistakes? 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 »
I was talking with my father recently about my writing workshops. I’m finishing the last touches on the first one and hope to finally make it available for registration any day now. (Famous last words.) I explained that even though people signed up for the workshops knowing they would do 15-30 minutes a day of
When Do You Suffer from FEAR? Read More »
I was walking briskly with a client between buildings on the campus. He told me he’d lost five pounds will all the running around he did all day. He said, “I never feel as if I accomplish anything. I want to be successful!” (He might have said I need to be successful. I no longer remember.)
What Does Success Mean to You? Read More »
I was in Prague last week (Agile Prague and a client). One of the nice folks at the client explained that beer in Prague Is inexpensive. For years, in The Czech Republic, the beer is less expensive than water or a soft drink. (There is now a law that says the bars and restaurants have
What’s Your (Beer) Emergency? Read More »
In Tip 4: Start Small, I suggested you start small. That’s so you can seek some feedback. I said I started small so I could make progress. How do I know I’m making progress? I might see an increase in how many words I write (yes, I track them), how many presentations I do, or
CAL Tip #5: Seek Some Feedback Read More »
Why do all the batteries die at the same time? I had a dying battery day yesterday. My mouse batteries died a day after I replaced them. The kitchen scale batteries died. My little clock near my computer had a dead battery. I went back and forth to the battery box several times yesterday. Things
When Do You Address This Problem? Read More »
Back in What Are Your Rules for Getting It All Done?, I briefly spoke about doing work that was valuable. That has a precondition: you need to know what you value. We hear a lot of talk about “time management.” I don’t buy the time management part. We can’t “manage” time. We can manage actions.
How Do You Value Your Time? Read More »