Something I’ve started to hear more and more lately is “just use common sense in your decision making”. Well, the problem is, you’d be surprised at how much gap there is between different people’s definition of common sense. So here’s an example. I spilled some juice on the counter the other day and I went […]
Business leadership hinges on effective decision making. Colonel John Boyd, a renowned military fighter pilot, developed the OODA loop after studying this critical skill through the lens of aerial combat. Boyd determined that superior decisions follow a cycle of four steps: Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act—a framework now widely applied beyond military contexts. Plenty has […]
I realized I have even more to say about this allegorical post. Dale Earnhardt, Jr., famously said one time, “If you ain’t cheatin’, you ain’t tryin’,” While I understand the competitive spirit he has that drives that line of thinking, it really got me thinking about my allegory about where the lines are, when you […]
My previous post on understanding other people’s actions and decisions has what I believe is a very important followup. And this concept I’m about to discuss extends way beyond business, but includes politics, friendships, and life in general. I mentioned that sometimes people seem unable or unwilling to understand the line of reasoning that another […]
I believe there’s a valuable skill that all people should have, and it is the skill of understanding why other people are making the decisions they are making. This can be a difficult skill to hone, and I was thinking about why this is. Here’s some thoughts I have on why it can be difficult. […]
Seems like I’ve been talking a lot lately about data, metrics, KPIs, and how that impacts your strategy, vision, and decision making. Well, here’s more. Here’s something I’ve witnessed that, in retrospect, is pretty fascinating. One time I was part of a team that covered an extremely large territory as a specialized service provider. We […]
I made this comment a few blog posts ago: they are constantly trying to pivot everyone (also valid and true, for a variety of complex reasons). …and I wanted to follow up on it. A super common complaint that I hear from staff developers and engineers is how their manager is constantly changing their priorities […]
So I have my MBA, amongst other college degrees and certifications. Although I try not to live my entire business life around my MBA, it did teach me some valuable quantitative approaches to things. Here’s an example. Recently, my old TV died (interesting that I used the word “died”, instead of just “broke” or “became […]
After last week’s post, I realized I had more I wanted to say. There is another situation related to this that I frequently see. Let’s go back to that aforementioned “group of persons working on addressing the strategic problems faced by an organization.” So when you are facing a tactical decision, such as the “wires […]
In 1986, computer software development pioneer Fred Brooks wrote a paper called “No Silver Bullet”. In this paper, he asserts, “there is no single development, in either technology or management technique, which by itself promises even one order of magnitude improvement…” (Brooks, Frederick P. (1986). “No Silver Bullet—Essence and Accident in Software Engineering” (PDF). Proceedings […]
Knuggets of Knowledge 