Out With the Old

Oh the times they are a changin'! There are so many signs that indicate we're in for a ride next year. From tech to politics to business to celebrity deaths, it is more and more clear that the old ways are, well... old. Before 2016 becomes history and hands off the torch to 2017; I just wanted to say I am as excited and curious as anyone to see what the new year will bring. I have compiled my resume into the above word cloud to show all the wonderful topics we have to talk about and improve on in the coming future; and because well, I am looking for my next exciting position in at company X as well. Take note that even the word cloud generator at wordle.net recognized that safety is so important, it incuded the word twice!

So here is to 2017! So much hope and promise, and so many things to get right. God bless you all, and may you have all the best in the coming year!

Merry Christmas

MAY THE WARMTH OF THE SEASON

BE IN YOUR HEARTS 

TOWARDS YOUR FELLOW MAN; 

AND PEACE ON EARTH, 

GOODWILL TOWARDS ALL MEN.

Nothing too profound. Just best wishes for the holidays.

42

Ask the Right Questions

42…the answer in Douglas Adams’ 1979 novel The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy from the supercomputer called Deep Thought to calculate the “Answer to Life, the Universe and Everything.” 42…and this after more than seven and a half million years of processing. As one could imagine, people were not happy and began looking for the Question that gives the Answer meaning.

Every day in research, tech, and business - challenges and problems are being surmounted. Obviously, part of overcoming these critical challenges are obtaining solutions to problems. Answers to questions. However, we often put the cart before the horse. Teams are constantly chasing solutions with little regard for the question; and little regard for the relevancy of the questions being answered. This is known as solutions-driven problem solving; which can be a naïve approach to any solutions strategy. A rote task-achieving method that neglects to address one of the most fundamental questions in business: are we solving the correct problems?

A much more practical approach to answering internal or even client based requests is problem-driven solutions. In this methodology, an individual or team is focused on what the problem truly is that needs to be solved. There is a famous quote attributed to Henry Ford (which he didn’t really say, but gets credit for any way – talk about a Zen master!) which reads “If I had asked people what they wanted (when designing the automobile), they would have said faster horses.” This quote reflects the almost reflex-driven habit of delivering solutions to a client. If someone (internal or external) comes to your organization asking for a solution – it may well be wise to discuss with them what questions are driving the requested solution. Spend 15 minutes clarifying the needs of your customers and you may well save days of wasted time delivering a solution only to find it doesn’t fix anyone’s needs. Be humble in your questions with the intent of not only achieving better communication, but also mining the origins of the problems you are trying to solve. This careful consideration of the needs of the organization you are attempting to deliver a solution to can make the difference between innovation and status quo.

So, challenge the assumptions of your processes, procedures and operations. Make sure the answers you are delivering are relevant to the true questions you are asked to provide the solutions to. Challenge your own assumptions and habits as you go about your day to day. Repetition breeds stagnation; relevant assessment is the path to true enlightenment. Just keep your towel handy for those moments when management decides to lay waste to your project to make way for an intergalactic bypass.

Don't Nuke It!

I was in the military - the United States Navy, to be precise. I went to Nuclear Propulsion "A" school where I learned many things; one was to always try your best because you can fall flat on your face when you don't. But that is a lesson for another time. Today I want to talk to you about a phrase that is used a lot in naval nuclear power circles. That phrase is, "Don't Nuke it!" 

If it isn't self explanatory enough, I will clarify. "Nuking it" was a phrase used when someone (typically one with a decent amount of intelligence) tried to deliver an over complicated solution to a decently simple problem. It wasn't a question of destroying something with an insane amount of energy, it is more a question of someone taking their highly educated mind and over-engineering a solution that is a bit over the top. It is the difference between this:

and this:

This article may fall a bit on the opposite side of the spectrum from my last blog entry where I told you how infinitely important it is to plan. The question remains, then; can you over plan? The answer is an emphatic, yes! Planning is an awesome tool of wondrous potential power. You can achieve great things by thinking about them, and planning them in detail. But you can over plan and over think; you too can 'nuke it'!

Over engineering a solution is equally as likely to occur as over planning. Whether due to ego, a drive to impress a superior or other team members, or for those individuals who just naturally can't help themselves; this is a trap we can all fall into at times. So the following list are some of the ways I try to avoid this particular pitfall. No, not thinking at all, is not the solution.

1. Set a time limit. Thinking and planning are great. I highly recommend them. However if you never get out of the planning phase all you will ever produce is a really good plan with nothing else to show for it. Set some bounds on how long your planning period is going to be. These limits should be realistic, and flexible - but you need to adhere to them. You can and should revisit later to update the plan, so don't feel bad about moving on to the delivery stages. Taking action on a well laid plan is satisfying and is the actual stage where the results are manifest. So don't let your planning hold you back from doing great things.

2. Get a fresh perspective. A timely sanity check can save your life, so go ask someone to put eyes on the details that you have laid out so far. Not only will you get a new view on any holes in your logic - you're also going to get a good indication of whether or not your are ready to move on. This is a good teamwork practice in itself, even if it can require a bit of humility (but remember, ego is one of the reasons we got caught nuking it in the first place). Don't only ask what is missing in this informal peer review, ask what you can take out and you are going to wind up with well rounded results in the end. However, remember good work ethic; schedule a time to meet with the reviewer. Pouncing someone in the middle of their own project can be an annoyance, there are especially some who get annoyed by this practice (Adrian, I'm talking to you). Now that someone else has brought you back to reality, you can get on to the fun of taking action.

3. Focus on the basics. In sports, in engineering, in science - going back to the basics when you come to a difficult hurdle is going to recenter you and keep your own perspective grounded. We all know the acronym K.I.S.S. stands for Keep It Simple Stupid (at least I hope we do). Keeping it simple is a mantra for, well, simplifying your life/work. If a design just won't come together, go back to the origins and try again. If a solution is eluding you, take break and look at the problem with fresh eyes. There is a reason that simple is an art form, and you need to recognize when you are trying to reinvent the wheel. Look for solutions that are already in existence. Google what you are thinking about, someone else has likely been working on a solution already (also a way to gain a different  perspective). Learn to cut your losses and begin again; which brings me to my next thought.

4. Learn to recognize the warning signs. Some of this is experience, some of this is logic. Experts agree though, “Over-planning comes from anxiety. It's a way of dealing with worry and can give people a false sense of control,” explains Bryant-Davis. “It can go too far when a person loses flexibility, when they have set goals that are unrealistic or too rigid" (http://www.businessinsider.com/these-are-the-signs-that-youre-overplanning-your-life-2013-9). When you start going over the top in your planning or your solutions start looking like you have been spending too much time hanging out with Wile E. Coyote, you have a problem. And admitting you have a problem is the first step in any recovery process. 

Much has been written about over-thinking, but I just want you to think about over-thinking, but don't think about it too much. I had a big plan on how best to deliver this public service announcement to you, but it seemed a bit ironic - so I just started writing. I didn't want to nuke it, after all.

The End from the Beginning

"Planning is one of the most important project management and time management techniques. Planning is preparing a sequence of action steps to achieve some specific goal. If you do it effectively, you can reduce much the necessary time and effort of achieving the goal(www.time-management-guide.com/planning.html)." 

 Hi, my name is Sean. I plan to blog some about my history and experience within the next three blogs - but right now let's talk plannng. Notice that I used the word plan in that last sentence. Today we are going to talk about the plan, or better yet, the need for a plan. Have I mentioned that we are going to talk about plannning?

As I sat down to think about the first few things I would write in this blog it came to me that since planning and safety are arguably the two most important contributors to success, I should address both subjects early on. Safety is paramount in any effort, we all know that; but without a plan, even safety is ineffective. So lets start off with a plan, in whatever we do. My wife, who is the demi-goddess of planning, would be so proud to hear me say that.

 When you make a plan it is a good idea to have an end result in mind. Thus the title of this blog, The End from the Beginning. In Isiah 46:10 the Master Planner said:"Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:" That's good news, there is a plan. God knows the end from the beginning. Of course he does, you don't become the Master Planner without knowing the value of goal setting.


"Goal setting is a powerful process for thinking about your ideal future, and for motivating yourself to turn your vision of this future into reality. The process of setting goals helps you choose where you want to go in life (https://www.mindtools.com/page6.html)"


 If you don't have a goal in life or in business, then you are really just wandering aimlessly. In life, that can mean missed opportunities and a life-long lack of satisfaction. In business that means missed deadlines, ineffective teams and eventually failure. So get your goals. Now that you have them, great! You're going to need some sort of blue print to achieve your goal. Maybe something like a plan. This is all stuff you know,or really should know. I am not going to tell you how to define your goals, or the best ways to define the plan - these things have been written of many times over. I am just going to remind you of the importance of it all and talk a bit about what happens when you don't make a plan; and then tie it all in to how this applies to "the middle".

Okay, I am going to digress a little. Obviously I haven't introduced the purpose of this blog yet. I will get to that in later posts. I do however, want you to know what I mean by "the middle". The View from the Middle is my perspective on the technical workplace from the view of middle management or seasoned veteran, but not from the top of the food chain. Executives and directors have their play time and sharing space. Here is mine. So when I use the term "the middle" the attached advice or wisdom is how things apply to that most noble of professions: the seasoned technical leaders that don't own the ship, aren't eating in the officers cabin, but who hold a large load of responsibility to those who do; while at the same time are the champions of those men and women in the crew who make things happen on the floor.

Now that you know what I mean when I say the middle, back to your originally scheduled programming. So I am going to do three things with this initial post. I am going to talk about 'thinking about the ideal future'. I am going to talk about 'motivating yourself to turn that vision of the ideal future into reality'. Last, I will talk about how a review of periodic goal setting or micro planning can more efficiently help you keep yourself or even your organization aligned with the end goal.

When it comes to knowing the end from the beginning, we're really just discussing what you really want to show for your efforts. As an individual, an organization or even just running a team from the middle of an organization; you have to know the goals. Ideally you should have some input in those goals (especially if they are personal goals), but even if that wasn't an option you should know them. Know them in and out and backwards and forwards. If you know your goals you are better able to know the needs of those above you, and better able to explain them to those below you. Know your goals and you know your relationship to those goals; and then you can make your plan.

Thinking about the ideal future is all about goal setting. My goal with this blog is to is to share perspective from the middle. I want to make you think about how you are doing things and how you can do them better, while at the same time achieving the same results for myself. Self-awareness is an excellent goal, if you can drag others into it, all the better. You can have tons of great experience in both your life-life and your work-life, but if you never stop to think about how that experience applies to the future, well, you're just not learning. So let's learn together.

The ideal future is 'ideal' because it is what you WANT to happen. The end result may look quite different after time and trouble have set in. How different depends largely in part on how well you are planning. Take it from me, because asking me to plan is like asking me to volunteer to take someone's place for a root canal. I know you don't want to plan. You want it all to work out, magically. So do I! It doesn't though, does it? If it does work out, it likely isn't exactly what you had in mind, right? No. So you have to plan, and since you have to plan - you might as well learn to like it. You had better learn to love it. You had better get darn good at it. Your success depends on it. I am talking to myself here, as much as you.

Take the time to define what you want out the future. Take the time to make a detailed plan on how to get there. If time is money, this is some of the best investment you can make in yourself or your organization. Dollar for dollar, planning is going to get you farther than most of your other skill sets, hands down. Invest in yourself and become a planner. Know thyself. Then know what you want to be. Then make a plan to make it happen. Then take action. "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it! Boldness has genius, magic, and power in it." -Goethe

Now, find what motivates you. It may be those darling children at home. It may be a drive to succeed or to be the best you can be. There are countless wonderful things you have in your life to motivate you. Plenty of not so wonderful ways as well. If you don't find ways to motivate yourself and your team, the plan and the goals are just like a map tucked away somewhere. You're not going to use a map to get where you are going if you can't find a reason to go on the trip in the first place. In many cases the motivation comes easy. Find the motivation and stay focused and see these things through. You've got a vision, now become that vision.

Life is a series of periodic goals. Potty training, getting through kindergarten. Surviving middle school. Making the varsity sport team of your choice. Graduating High School, etc. Many of you wonderful souls were born with this innate sense of purpose or planning; hold tightly to that wonderful gift. Most likely no one had to tell you to start planning for the future. You sprang from your mother's womb, looked her dead in the eye and cooed, "What's the plan, momma?" For the rest of us, it occurs later in life. Hopefully some parent, guidance counselor or even later a boss informed you that you need to set goals and have a plan to succeed. Maybe after analyzing several frustrating failures you became self aware to the need for planning. Or maybe, it is just now dawning on you after reading these inspiring words of wisdom that you need to learn about goal setting and planning. If you have made it this far, you know about it now, right? Good! Now what?

 I believe a fitting analogy is early nautical exploration. So, imagine you are the midshipman (see what I did there?) on an old Christopher Columbus era sailing vessel. Low tech, drafty, but quiet and beautiful. You want to get from point A to point B. You have limited supplies and you need to get to your destination in a timely manner or you will have problems on your hands and someone is going to hang the captain from the fore mast. You know your goal, you know your heading, and you set course and you hold that course steady. Is that enough? Not be a long shot, no. Three days later you are still in the middle of the ocean with no tropical island in sight, you're out of food and there is talk of mutiny. "What happened?", you may ask yourself. Why, currents, changes in the wind, the curvature of the earth and the fact that the helmsman fell asleep last night for a half hour; that happened. That isn't really why you are off course, however. You are of course because after you declared your destination (goals) and set your course (planning)you didn't plot your course on the charts and correct for changes in position. You didn't micro plan or factor the hundreds of curve balls that Mr. Murphy threw at you.

 Micro planning is the art of taking the time to break your over-arching plan into bite sized stages. Planning needs constant course correction. Planning needs a reality check on a regular basis. Plan your projects and business strategies, but also plan your meetings, your days, your weeks, your quarters, your projects and your years. Make course correction your mantra. Where are we now. Where are we in relation to where we need to be? What are we going to do to get back on track? Looking at these questions often keeps you on course, reduces waste, and saves time. Knowing the answers to these questions gets you noticed (in a good way). Now you are an effective leader and team member. Now you aren't scrambling to keep up with the folks who always seem to know what is going on. Now knowing the end from the beginning is valuable. Now you aren't just a fortune teller, you are a genius of achievement.