But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. — James 3:14
Problems
- If you tolerate it, you insist on it.
- If you insist on it, it will be supplied.
- If you see a problem, you own it.
- If you ignore a problem, you’ll see more of it.
USC Football – UNFILTERED – Oregon
The Best Measure of Truth
If you act as if something is true, you will shortly find out whether it is or isn’t. Any reduction of effort or increase of abundance you enjoy as a consequence of your new belief is the best measure of its truth.
Aside
L’enfer, c’est les autres …
It’s Rivalry Week!
Jim McCarthy on Steve Jobs
He was utterly intolerant and disdainful of, and even mean spirited about, mediocrity. Not a designer himself, but a sublime critical thinker, he totally focused his life’s work on design perfection. This intensity, obsessiveness, and his total lack of compassion about others’ inferior thinking resulted – over a period of about 25 years, in five or six truly, climactically great products (the reader – as an exercise – may figure out
what they were, and why they make the cut.)
What You Say You Believe
What you say you believe isn’t as important as what you believe. And, obviously, you don’t believe what you don’t enact. Although describing, proselytizing, or otherwise articulating your beliefs in media other than your own acts can be fun, it is seldom very useful to you or anyone else. Babbling on about a value is a distraction from attaining it.
Aside
You know technically I’m not even really supposed to be here right now, might as well make the most of it …
Passion
The theory of evolution claims that only the strong shall survive. But the theory of competition says that just because they’re the strong doesn’t mean they can’t get their asses kicked . . .
USC 38, Oregon 35
We’re here to ruin your season. — Matt Kalil
The Ducks were 15-point favorites at home — 21-game home winning streak, 19-game conference winning streak . . . the Men of Troy haven’t had the speed to play with these guys the last couple of years but this year they do.
It looked like the Trojans had fumbled the game away with 2:54 left, up 3 on the Duck 15-yard line — a blown handoff between a fifth-year senior (Marc Tyler) and a Heisman Trophy candidate (Matt Barkley). Oregon had already scored two fourth quarter touchdowns and the Trojan defense was tired.
Ironically, the up-tempo Duck offense ran out of time. They never called timeout — they had all three available — as the clock ticked down between every play and they wound up having to send out their lousy kicker (60 percent, career long 40 yards) to try a game-tying 37-yard field goal with five seconds left.
Which he missed.
He may be the only weak link on that team. If you win every game in a blowout, you don’t need a good kicker but they needed one last night and he wasn’t there.
FIGHT ON!
Related articles
- Missed FG spoils Oregon’s comeback vs. USC (sports.espn.go.com)
Misled by Metrics
From a Sr. IT Consultant:
I recently asked a colleague [CIO] whether he would prefer to deliver a project somewhat late and over-budget but rich with business benefits or one that is on time and under budget but of scant value to the business. He thought it was a tough call, and then went for the on-time scenario. Delivering on time and within budget is part of his IT department’s performance metrics. Chasing after the elusive business value, over which he thought he had little control anyway, is not.
Aside
I’m holding myself accountable for my own destiny . . .
If You Tolerate It, You Insist On It
Whenever you perceive that a virtue is missing or that a vice is present, you either tolerate the situation or try to change it. If you cannot “fix” it, you can at least withdraw your participation. The problem with tolerating the absence of virtue or the existence of vice is that this choice summons them into your life.
You might tell yourself stories about the problem you perceive and your tolerance of it:
- That’s just the way it is in the real world.
- Others will not listen even-handedly to your perceptions and advice.
- It’s not your place to say truthful but difficult things.
- The problem lies in another department.
- You are not reading the situation correctly. You may not be able to discern beauty from ugliness or efficiency from waste, and your ignorance will be exposed. You’ll be rejected or ridiculed.
- You will look dumb if you ask for help to resolve any uncertainty.
Acknowledge that if you tolerate it, you insist on it. If you insist on something, you are its creator.
Race Against the Machine
We don’t believe in the coming obsolescence of all human workers. In fact, some human skills are more valuable than ever, even in an age of incredibly powerful and capable digital technologies. But other skills have become worthless, and people who hold the wrong ones now find that they have little to offer employers. They’re losing the race against the machine, a fact reflected in today’s employment statistics. . . .
There is no economic law that says that everyone, or even most people, automatically benefit from technological progress.
In a Conference Room
Stop being false just because you’re in a conference room. Start actively engaging. For example, when you think an idea someone states, or one a group adopts, is a poor one, investigate it. Either you don’t understand it, or it is a poor idea. Stop everything, and find out why someone would say such a thing at this time. What was the purpose? What is the meaning of the contribution? Your teammates will have to live with your inquisitive engagement. You will be present, and you will engage them. You will see them. You will hear what they say. You will seek information about their emotional states, beliefs, plans, and skills. You will connect with other team members to the maximum extent possible. They will have to adjust to your strategy and its results or else not invite you–which would be fine.
First Rule of Usability? Don’t Listen to Users
To design an easy-to-use interface, pay attention to what users do, not what they say. Self-reported claims are unreliable, as are user speculations about future behavior.
The way to get user data boils down to the basic rules of usability:
- Watch what people actually do.
- Do not believe what people say they do.
- Definitely don’t believe what people predict they may do in the future.
Separating the Sheep From the Goats
Three pit bulls that slaughtered 42 goats captured
Oh dear, this is going to fuel more paranoia and irrational fear of pit bulls.
I call on other dog breeds to slaughter more goats!
Dilbert: Goals
Aside
Chaos is the new calm