My most challenging interactions play out a lot like this. I’m a fixer. I want to get in and fix it (or if I can’t, I want to figure out how to motivate others to do it). As a result, this video called to me for two reasons: 1) It’s a reminder that we…
Satisficing – (verb) Pursuing the minimum acceptable results or outcome because that decision is familiar, hassle-free, and requires the least investigation. Herbert Simon first coined the term in 1956. The difference between satisficing and iterating is the idea of permanence. When you satisfice, you’ve accepted an end-state far less than ideal. In other words,…
The phrase “to leave your foot in” in soccer is analogous to behavior we sometimes see in software implementation. “To leave your foot in means to first go for the ball but continue after the ball has been won, or lost, and kick the opponent. The ‘in‘ in the phrase refers to the tackle, giving ‘in…
Unable to find any work as a teacher or academic, Albert Einstein worked as a clerk at the Swiss Patent Office. He found the lack of intellectual challenge perfect for his side hustle. To Albert Einstein, the patent office was “that worldly cloister where I hatched my most beautiful ideas.” A clear understanding of your hustle…
If you are ever overwhelmed with the amount of work or the number of people coming your way and feel that you can’t help them all – I’m hoping the below Parable will help. Adapted from The Star Thrower: Once upon a time, there was an old man who used to go to the ocean…
The Customer is Always Right. One of my Executives mentioned that to me the other day when I was speaking with them about an Irate Customer. The Customer is Always Right. That phrase has haunted me for over 15 years in software implementation. And another ten years in various service industries. That line, however,…
Software Implementation is not like Candyland. First, take a card, and move a few spots. Then, take another card, and move another few places. Repeat until the game ends. Implementation is more like chess. It requires an active mind, an understanding of the pieces on the board, an understanding of your opponent (change, in…
There’s a classic story from the book Art and Fear: The ceramics teacher announced on opening day that he was dividing the class into two groups. All those on the left side of the studio, he said, would be graded solely on the quantity of work they produced, all those on the right solely on…
I’ve found, and this will be controversial, that there are very few idiot leaders. Instead, I’ve seen employees who believe they deserve recognition, and the only logical reason they don’t receive that credit is that their leader has to be an idiot. I’ve seen this mentality many times, and I’ve even experienced this firsthand….