thoughts Systems Thinking (and a little money thrown in) I just read this article Thinking in Systems and was impressed by both the way that Matt illustrated how systems are adapted, from a gaming perspective, so you KNOW that's dear to my
trust Missing a Deadline Missed deadlines is a failure of leadership and not solely of execution. Many don’t want the responsibility of that statement but then, why are you in leadership? It’s our job to
improving My Company is Weird It's Thursday - that means my kids are with me and I was picking them up from school but it wasn't just any Thursday, it's Thirsty Thursday. That's the one day a month
life Deliberate Acts of Kindness There always seem to be calls for people to exercise "random acts of kindness" and while I appreciate the heart that they're speaking to, I prefer more deliberate ones. Being kind
thoughts Programmed to See the Lack A math professor walks into class one morning and starts the day by writing a 2 column chart on the board. He numbers them 1 to 10 in the top row and then
Who are Leaders Alright, so you don't have the role. You don't have letters after your name. You don't even have "Senior" in front of your title. How can I possibly be a leader?
leadership Compassion In Leadership "[leaders] may entangle themselves in the complications of their own assumed competence and use their specialism as an excuse to avoid the much more difficult task of being compassionate." -- Henri
Letting Go Hi, my name is David and I'm a geek. Have been all my life really and it was something that I took identity from (especially once I got past the stage were it
leadership Drucker quote Only three things happen naturally in organizations: friction, confusion, and underperformance. Everything else requires leadership.
thoughts Screw Finding Your Passion Ran across this post and had to share especially given the alignment with "So Good They Can't Ignore You" (a book I'd rank in my top 5 of all time) Screw
thoughts Quotes Here's a couple of interesting quotes I've run across recently: "Trust is a peculiar resource; it is built rather than depleted by use." -- Unknown This makes me think of working
thoughts Life is a Mix Life is a story. It’s not a set of facts or a compilation of data but a complicated interplay of the small and the large. Sure, those the facts and stuff are
leadership Leadership Starts with Me Managers are limited by cognitive load. Because stuff can't think, they must and their capacity to do so for the multitude of things is the bottleneck to what can get done. When we
speaking Discussing The War for Talent at YES CEO Symposium I'm very excited to be participating in the upcoming panel on "The War for Talent" on Thursday, March 30th, 2017 and will be discussing how we, at Improving, compete in this
thoughts Walk the Walk But Don't Talk They say that the best way to inspire others is to model it and I have to agree. Modeling something is like magic; while people may be amazed or wonder how you do
thoughts Be Accessible Have you ever heard of having an “open door” policy? More than likely. Have you ever found that to be a lie? Sadly, more than likely. Often times companies, or individuals, like to
thoughts Controlling Emotion and Mindset Emotion is always a reaction and, therefore, cannot be intentional. Mindsets can be either reactionary or intentional but intentional is typically better. I say typically because if you were to see a snake
thoughts Always More Efficient *** What is something you should do less efficiently so that you can do it more thoroughly? *** We are always working to be more efficient - we attempt to multi-task (yes, I know it's
business Profits for Good "Capitalism" is typically a word that evokes images of a fat business man on a pile of other people's hard work and money. It's not a pretty image and certainly not
thoughts Time For Work Disclaimer *** This is a perspective I'm currently exploring and so I'm arguing both sides. You've been warned. *** Family When we need time for something it must be taken. It cannot be replaced or
thoughts Excel is a Cul-de-sac In my recent transition, I've had to become even more intimate with Excel as a tool of my job. Previously I've used Excel in crazy ways, as a data source for an ODBC
thoughts Wisdom Not Just Knowledge Sites like Quora are time sinks for the virtual wisdom they provide. They're like brain candy. Don't get me wrong, I love candy too, but it's no substitute for a good meal. People
thoughts Scrum as Cake Analogy I've used this analogy a couple of times when explaining agile adoption, specifically Scrum, to folks so I wanted to put it here for reference. The Analogy Imagine for a minute that you've
life-hack Working Body Means A Free Mind I spend a vast majority of my week positioned squarely on my butt. It's a sedentary life, which is why I've had to start working out again, but it's one that I love
business A New Chapter I know it's been a while since I posted (a typical excuse, right?) but I've been pretty busy lately. Let me fill you in... This summer our company decide to create additional positions