Is Happiness Your Goal?
Several of my clients have told me they want to help people be happy. They measure—well, they attempt to—each individual’s happiness. I have not found measuring happiness all that helpful.…
Read moreDoes Your Current Success Define Your Choices?
One of my clients had been quite successful in a particular role. She’d decided it was time to look for a new job doing the same thing. She wanted my…
Read moreWhen Do You Choose Yourself?
Universities choose high school seniors in a crazy game of selection. Publishers choose a select few books to publish. I’m shepherding chosen experience reports for the big agile conference in…
Read moreCan Short Feedback Loops Offer Data?
When faced with a possible change, we often want to see data that shows our transition is a good idea. Sometimes that data exists and sometimes it doesn’t. What data…
Read moreCan You Trade Off for Ease?
I was thinking of how I make tradeoffs. In many projects, people often think we need to optimize for time and against quality. It’s a fake tradeoff, because the cleaner…
Read moreWhat Does the Data Mean?
Sometimes, I find it difficult to see the data in front of me. I might think there is no data. I might make meaning of the data—possibly incorrectly. We need…
Read moreWhat Are You Sentimental About?
My town is busy planning and discussing and planning and discussing (yes, continue for several more recursions) the plans for the new high school. We need a new high school…
Read moreWhen Do You Pay It Back or Pay It Forward?
I was thinking about being transactional: you do this for me, I do this for you. Often, the transaction is about money. When I pay for a thing—a book, a…
Read moreDo You Want What’s New or What Works?
How do you feel about change: do you like what’s new or what works? Sometimes I like new things. I love to try new recipes—often with company! I’ll try new…
Read moreDo You Have Permission?
I’m part of another group writing effort that’s just starting. We were using regular email, not a listserve to communicate. I got confused with all the emails because we didn’t…
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