Rui Mariano's Blog {think better, act fast}

Foray Into Religious Matters: The Middle Way

2009-05-29T17:10:00.003+01:00

"The Buddha himself was born a prince, and so had been showered with luxury since childhood, however, he soon realised that true happiness was not to be found in luxury and so went to practise or experiment with the practices of self-mortification, as a forest dwelling ascetic. However, during his six years as an ascetic, he found those practices, too, to be empty of true happiness. While he practised these, he knew that both of these approaches were too extreme. He realised that self-indulgence was utter materialism and self-mortification was utter spiritualism, so then he balanced these two extremes into the middle way, giving importance to both mind and matter, because when they work together, interdependently it is very powerful. He called this path of balance between the two extremes, the Middle Way."

source

Unschooling

2009-05-08T18:57:00.002+01:00

"A leading business school did a study that showed that its graduates did well at first, but in ten years, they were overtaken by a more streetwise, pragmatic group. The reason according to the professor who ran the study: 'We taught them how to solve problems, not recognize opportunities.'"

- Creative Whack Pack, Roger von Oech's

This excellent post re-ignited my thoughts and is utterly germane with my current pondering about entering the school system again. I've been skeptical about the "school system" for a long time, but now with a broader view and life experience I'm more rational and less emotional in my opinions. As in almost everything, it has good and bad things. I don't have one general opinion and I'll not state any. General opinions are dangerous, because there is no such thing as the right thing if there's no context given, and turn-key solutions are at best mildly satisfactory. Moreover, I have school-age nephews, so I must refrain myself in certain issues.

Not So Random Quote 14

2009-04-23T23:42:00.005+01:00

"The thoughtless, the ignorant, and the indolent, seeing only the apparent effects of things and not the things themselves, talk of luck, of fortune, and chance. Seeing a man grow rich, they say, 'How lucky he is!' Observing another became intellectual, they exclaim, 'How highly favored he is!' And noting the saintly character and wide influence of another, they remark, 'How chance aid him at every turn!' They do not see the trials and failures and struggles which these man have voluntarily encountered in order to gain their experience; have no knowledge of the sacrifices they have made, of the undaunted efforts they have put forth, of the faith they have exercised, that they might overcome the apparently insurmountable, and realize the Vision of their heart. They do not know the darkness and the heartaches; they only see the light and joy, and call it 'luck'; do not see the long and arduous journey, but only behold the pleasant goal, and call it 'good fortune'; do not understand the process, but only perceive the result, and call it 'chance'."

As a Man Thinketh

Me See (aka The McKinsey Way)

2009-04-21T18:00:00.001+01:00

I'm fond of any tool that brings me productivity or simplicity. I'm not biased toward anything (at least consciously), so I tend to seize any idea, concept, technique, framework, etc, that promises to serve my needs. The key is to keep an open mind about everything.

One of the concepts that I've adopted is MECE, a framework used at McKinsey to structure issues related to a business problem. It's simple. First, group ideas into issues so that each issue is separate and distinct, this way you avoid overlapping and duplicate ideas. Second, ensure that all of the issues taken together should comprehensively deal with (or explain) the problem at hand, hence not overlooking information and ensuring a complete picture of the problem. The goal is to define a clear picture of the problem or issue, ie, simplify.

We do this every time (aggregate in categories, and ensure that we don't forget anything) so it's not a newfound approach. The secret is in applying it consciously and systematically to any issue.

Just as a mnemonic, MECE is an acronym for 'mutually exclusive and collectivelly exhaustive'. Try it yourself.

Black Thursdays

2009-04-20T17:33:00.002+01:00

"Do one thing every day that scares you."
-Eleanor Roosevelt

I'm interviewing a lot of people nowadays and far too many are the typical "one year’s experience 10 times" instead of the desirable "ten year’s experience". Far too many people likes the comfort zone. They basically avoid failure, but by avoiding failure they undermine their ability for future success. They simply stop doing new things, increasing their fear of uncertainty and the unknown more and more - it's a reinforcing loop.

In my snow trips we usually set apart an entire day for the hard slopes (not this year, regrettably). We call it the Black Thursday. Black slopes are theoretically the most difficult and dangerous of all, so there's plenty of opportunity to confront (and overcome) fear. The funny thing is that, generally, by overcoming physical fear or improving our skills in any specific activity, we can improve our ability to conquer fear and succeed in other fields and tasks as well. So, the outcome is not proportional but magnified.

Of course, due to the underlying risk, these black Thursdays sometimes brings casualties. But, that which does not kill us makes us stronger.

Playing

2009-04-15T13:02:00.003+01:00

"Fear is a habit - I am not afraid."
- Aung San Suu Kyi

It's been a long time since my last post. I've been busy - though that's should not be an excuse. Let's say that I've put blogging in a lower priority level. I've been busy trying to grasp the secrets of my new job. As usually when facing a new challenge, I dive into it to form a map of the territory. Only by knowing the territory can I play in them. Now I'm playing.

Iconoclast 2

2008-12-09T16:07:00.001+00:00

A person who actively participates in dialectic arguments to prove two opposing views wrong. A destroyer of sacred images, points of view and cultural ideals for the sake of promoting awareness through realism.

source

Iconoclast

2008-12-09T15:10:00.000+00:00

- noun.

1. a breaker or destroyer of images, esp. those set up for religious veneration.
2. a person who attacks cherished beliefs, traditional institutions, etc., as being based on error or superstition.

Look for the Second Right Answer - Your Creativity Muscle

2008-11-11T13:34:00.003+00:00

Question: "Speaking of 'mantras,' do you have one?"

Answer: "My mantra is 'Look for the Second Right Answer.' This has been my guiding principle for over thirty years. Much of our educational system tries to teach us to look for the 'one right answer.'

I find that looking for the second right answer is an incredibly easy way to open my mind. For example, when I'm looking for information, this mantra tells me to go beyond the right answers that have worked in the past and look for others. When I'm trying to be creative, it playfully advises me to put my ideas in unusual contexts to give them new meanings.

When I'm evaluating concepts, it implores me not to get stuck in the negative, and not to fall in love with one particular approach. And, when I'm implementing ideas, it reminds me that if one idea doesn't work, a different one just might, and to act accordingly."

(Roger von Oech interview)

I've been learning a lot with von Oech's creativity books. They make my mind stretch, and that's the kind of books that I like. Creativity (the mind) is a muscle that we need to strengthen, just like any other muscle.

Nowadays, I seldom get stuck no matter the issue or problem. Instead, I have another challenge: to quickly find the best solution among the alternatives that I can generate. And that's not easy.

The Needles in the Haystack

2008-10-07T15:55:00.003+01:00

"Truly successful decision making relies on a balance between deliberate and instinctive thinking."
- Malcolm Gladwell, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking

I'm making a lot of interviews these days which nudged me to revisit Blink. We've clear hiring criteria and we objectively assess the candidate skills and competence but, sadly, there are other factors more difficult to assess, namely talent and passion. 'Hire talent and passion over skill and experience' is conventional wisdom in recruitment. The rational is simple: skills and experience can be gained, talent and passion can't.

Now, how do you check for talent and passion? I follow Steve Jobs advise: "Recruiting is hard. It’s just finding the needles in the haystack. We do it ourselves and we spend a lot of time at it. I’ve participated in the hiring of maybe 5,000-plus people in my life. So I take it very seriously. You can’t know enough in a one-hour interview. So, in the end, it’s ultimately based on your gut. How do I feel about this person? What are they like when they’re challenged? Why are they here? I ask everybody that: ‘Why are you here?’ The answers themselves are not what you’re looking for. It’s the meta-data."

With a sufficient large input I'll simply choose candidates randomly, it's the rational decision, otherwise we need a 'smarter' strategy - perhaps something two parts instinctive and one part deliberative. In the end it's our experience (gut feeling) that counts. Read the book.

The Secret Simplified

2008-09-16T22:23:00.004+01:00

"All that a man achieves and all that he fails to achieve is the direct result of his own thoughts. In a justly ordered universe, where loss of equipoise would mean total destruction, individual responsibility must be absolute. A man's weakness and strength, purity and impurity, are his own, and not another man's; they are brought about by himself, and not by another; and they can only be altered by himself, never by another. His condition is also his own, and not another man's. His suffering and his happiness are evolved from within. As he thinks, so he is; as he continues to think, so he remains. A strong man cannot help a weaker unless that weaker is willing to be helped, and even then the weak man must become strong of himself; he must, by his own efforts, develop the strength which he admires in another. None but himself can alter his condition"

As a Man Thinketh

Law of Attraction Simplified

2008-09-08T23:37:00.001+01:00

"Let's say you're walking through and airport terminal, looking for your gate. You've got 32 hours until your flight so you're not in a hurry. You're not expecting any calls or anything - just walking along, looking for the gate. There are 1000 things going on around you - conversations at various volumes, announcements over the loudspeakers, kids running around and getting yelled at by their parents. You're not paying attention, so you're not hearing any of it. Then suddenly, 'Joe Smith, pick the while phone!' And you go, 'hey, that's me!'
That's your reticular activating system (RAS) screening out everything that don't interest you and the waking you up to something that will interest you. In a crowded airport with thousands of commercial messages and announcements and other distractions, your RAS will tune out everything. Imagine what it would be like walking along or sitting in a restaurant if you couldn't tune out those things that didn't matter to you. You wouldn't even be able to have a conversation of focus on anything.
(...)
Another example is when you buy a new car. You never noticed that car before and suddenly you start to see it everywhere. Now that this specific car has become of interest to you, your RAS will pick it out of thousands of cars you see every day.
(...)
A very efficient machine the RAS zeros in on any area of interest. This is whatever is occupying your thoughts: your car, your hobbies, you goals, your success, your limitations, your failures, and so on. If you are constantly thinking about failure, problems, and concerns, your RAS will continually hone in on and bring you more of what you're most interested in.
(...)
You could be walking down the street, thinking that business is bad all over. You look around and see a GOING OUT OF BUSINESS sign and think, 'See, business really is bad.' But right next door there is this huge expansion project of lots of new businesses, yet you don't even see it because that's not what you're thinking about. The RAS is a powerful device that most of us don't consciously use. When I go in to help a company that's in trouble, the most powerful thing I do is to get them focused on solutions and setting goals for improving the situation."

The Ultimate Sales Machine

Not So Random Quote 13

2008-09-06T16:13:00.001+01:00

"To sum up: it is wrong always, everywhere, and for everyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence. If a man, holding a belief which he was taught in childhood or persuaded of afterward, keeps down and pushes away any doubts which arise about it in his mind, purposely avoids the reading of books and the company of men that call into question or discuss it, and regards as impious those questions which cannot easily by asked without disturbing it - the life of that man is one long sin against mankind. (...)

'But,' says one, 'I am a busy man; I have no time for the long course of study which would be necessary to make me in any degree of competent judge of certain questions, or even able to understand the nature of the arguments.'

The he should have no time to believe."

Waltzing With Bears: Managing Risk on Software Projects

Building Cathedrals

2008-09-03T12:07:00.004+01:00

A new foreman was touring the grounds and came across three brick masons building a wall. The foreman asked the first brick mason what he was doing. The first brick mason replied, "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm laying bricks." Then the foreman walked over to the second brick mason and asked him what he was doing. The second brick mason replied, "Can't you see? I am building a wall." Finally, the foreman walked over to the third brick mason and asked him what he was doing. The third brick mason replied, "I am building the perfect cathedral as a testament to my faith."

Seasoned readers have seen multiple variations of this story. Now that I'm in a new professional challenge, when I tell someone about it I'm recurrently getting the same questions: "What's your added value? Are you just placing people on your clients? What products or services are you selling?". I tell them that I'm fulfilling needs, managing expectations and making people happy (consultants and clients) - based on my work experience, and human and technical skills. Sometimes I add further and say that I'm fulfilling client real needs as opposed to client perceived needs (if you know what I mean).

That's it. I'm building cathedrals.

Another Reluctant Read

2008-09-01T17:09:00.005+01:00

“We have a ‘strategic plan.’ It’s called doing things.”
- Herb Kelleher

There are certain books that I intentionally avoid until the hype has passed. I don't like to be a marketing 'victim' - do what everyone is doing - but I eventually end up (speed)reading most of them. I call this my 'reluctant reads' (don't try to understand this, its predictable irrationality).

The last book that I've read in this conditions was Winning by Jack Welch, the quintessential execution man. Great book, simple and direct, touching some of the essentials. Overall very good, specially the chapters about the Candor Effect and Hiring. See a summary here. Recommended!

Inducing Simplicity - Lean Management

2008-08-28T12:13:00.003+01:00

"All we are doing is looking at the time line, from the moment the customer gives us an order to the point where we collect the cash. And we are reducing the time line by reducing the non-value adding wastes."
- Taichi Ohno

Since got acquainted with the lean movement (lean thinking, lean management, toyota way, etc) I'm always thinking about the unnecessary steps, actions or thoughts in everything I do. I don't call it a curse because I take it as a personal game, but I know that some people see it as unnecessary burden. Efficiency is desirable, but without a clear goal it may be useless. And in here lies the virtue of this particular mindset - it forces you to have clear goals and criteria.

Richard Branson and Patterns of Success

2008-08-27T12:21:00.010+01:00

"One must be God to be able to distinguish successes from failures and not make mistakes"
- Anton Chekov

According to the most common criteria Richard Branson is the prototype of the (self-made) success person. But do you know that he reportedly started more than 300 businesses (I've even seen the number 800 somewhere)? Do you think that all of them were/are successful (profitable)? Of course not - I can answer in your turn. I bet that he had more failures (negative net-profit) than successes. Someone, on different criteria, could even call him a failure. In spite of that he is considered an highly successful entrepreneur, because he succeeded big time at least once.

I have another definition of success, one that comprises not only the results but also the process. I have no particular admiration for the guy who wins the lottery, earn big in the stock market (with or without inside information), or marry with a wealthy partner. But I admire Branson, not because of his results but because of his process and way of living. I think he's successful because he built the business machine: he combined good ideas with good execution and market acceptation a few times. More times than the average successful business man. I suspect that, in the case of Branson, the generation of ideas (let's call it innovation) was turned into a process in itself (it can be done). He probably became a master of uncertainty and risk management (that's only one needs to know to succeed. That and a psychology major).

The strategy of building a machine for success, now that I've thought about it, is pretty common. I have another example. I've subscribed to a computer shop online newsletter. Guess what happened? From that day on I've been receiving almost every single day a marketing e-mail teasing me with what's new and the current bargains (just one click away to their online store). Now, where do you think I've bought my last computer-related thing? Luckily for them I'm not alone in this world and that online shop has been steadily building its revenue. It's called the sales machine.

I'm talking about human processes (individual or group) but I could be talking about non-human processes because the same principles apply. A machine is something that produces some output using a well defined process, in an almost unattended way. That's it: we define the process, run it, check results, and adjust along the way (roughly the PDCA method). And wait for the results.

Life is stochastic, we can't totally control the outcomes of our actions, and we'd better not try unless we'd like to increase the profits of some medical practitioner in particular and the health industry in general. We can only control the process and adjust often to obtain the desired outcome.

A Pigeonholing Tale

2008-08-22T18:51:00.003+01:00

"My art and profession is to live."
- Michel de Montaigne

In one of my past jobs upon hearing the words "we the technicians" I felt compelled to respond. "I'm a human being, anything different is labeling, tagging, pigeonholing, categorizing, etc, usually in a detrimental way. I do not accept it", I said calmly. I've made my point for that and future conversations.

What's a technician, by the way? Are those whose profession is labeled 'technical', technicians? Are those who, during work, perform technical and also non-technical tasks, technicians? Are those with a more rational thinking, technicians? Some of us with more free time can even start a philosophical discussion about this. Or should I say the non-technicians?

We are judged by our professions (by what we possess, by the common definition of success, etc), that's why we almost always start social conversations with the inevitable question: 'So, what do you do for a living?'. I've decided to reply with the famous quote from Montaigne. I make my point for that and future conversations.

Not So Random Quote 12

2008-08-19T17:12:00.002+01:00

"Dignity, in fact, is invariably the mask to assume under difficult circumstances: it is as if nothing can affect you, and you have all the time in the world to respond. This is an extremely powerful pose. (...)

Remember: it is up to you to set your own price. Ask for less and that is just what you will get. Ask for more, however, and you send a signal that you are worth a king's ransom. Even those who turn you down respect you for your confidence, and that respect will eventually pay off in ways you cannot imagine."

The Concise 48 Laws of Power

A Health Tale

2008-08-18T14:47:00.002+01:00

A recent gym change gave me opportunity for another fitness evaluation, which I did gladly. Before the evaluation I took some time to walk around the gym, observing and talking to some fitness instructors. My goal was clear: check to see if anyone understood my philosophy, ideas, and goals (you already know my holistic approach to health). I settled with a guy with an apparently good technical background and who seemed to understand my words.

The evaluation day started with the most obvious question: "What's you goal?", he said. "My main goal is health", I said. "You're the first person who says that to me", he replied. I stared at him for a couple of seconds thinking to myself if it was his first day on the job, but I just smiled and said: "Really?!". The tests went on: with a Body Mass Index of 22.8, a body fat of an elite athlete (12%), and an heart pumping only 45 times per minute when in rest, I was ok. Funny, for a guy with an average of 2 workouts a week.

On the second day I've got my workout plan. As the main goal was health, my instructor took care of eliminating all 'non-healthy' exercises: that included the treadmill, weight-machines, stretching, heavy weights, etc. The prescription, according to my goals and criteria: brief, intensive workouts, with lots of calisthenics (simple movements usually performed without weights or equipment, that are intended to increase body strength and flexibility using the weight of one's own body for resistance) to pump up hormone production, followed by mild-weight workouts to build muscle. Funny, that's nearly the opposite everyone seems to be doing.

I'll stick to this plan for a while (6 weeks), because I'm curious to see how my body react as I'm getting old, also because I liked the instructor novel approach, and finally, because the intro workout was really fun.

Great times!

The Urgency Trap

2008-08-14T12:26:00.001+01:00

It's one of the most dangerous business illusions - when we think we're on the right track or being effective just because we're finishing our tasks. Seth explained it well here. When we create an urgency context (and an urgency mindset) we tend to forget planning. It's the eternal important vs. urgent question: we plan when we give time to the important, urgency is mostly related to task completion (often times in an ad-hoc, unstructured or far-from-optimal way).

It's a balance between immediate or delayed gratification. We, humans, tend to prefer the former. Eventually, there will be a price to pay.

A Prolific Mindmapper

2008-08-13T18:20:00.002+01:00

I've started a new challenge in my career with considerably less time to blogging. Currently, my most used productivity tool is mindmapping. I'm using Freemind to dump, organize and generate ideas to my various business responsibilities, doing things like mapping of organization processes, defining strategies, and creating what I call, pretentiously, 'little onthologies' mainly for knowledge organization (although for this I also use concept maps). Definitely, one of the best tools to someone who simultaneously needs to grasp the all and its parts.

Great times!

Not So Random Quote 11

2008-06-26T18:07:00.003+01:00

"To excel as a manager you must never forget that each of your direct reports is unique and that your chief responsibility is not to eradicate this uniqueness, but rather to arrange roles, responsibilities, and expectations so that you can capitalize upon it. The more you perfect this skill, the more you will turn talents into performance.

To excel as a leader requires the opposite skill. You must became adept at calling those needs we all share. Our common needs include the need for security, for community, for authority, and for respect, but, for you, the leader, the most powerful universal need is the need for clarity. To transform our fear of the unknown into confidence in the future, you must discipline yourself to describe our joint venture vividly and precisely. As your skill at this grows, so will your confidence in you.

And last, you must remember that your sustained success depends on your ability to cut out of your working life those activities, or people, that pull you off your strength's path. Your leader can show you clearly your better future. Your manager can draft you on to the team and cast you into the right role on the team. However, it will always be your responsibility to make the small but significant course corrections that allow you to sustain your highest and best contribution to this team, and to the better future it is charged with creating. The more skilled you are at this, the more valued, and fulfilled, and successful you will became. (...)

It takes insight to focus in this way, and discipline, and since lopsided bets can be scary, courage."

The One Thing You Need to Know: About Great Managing, Great Leading, and Sustained Individual Success

A Brief Note About Mindset

2008-06-12T13:00:00.004+01:00

"Whether you think you can or think you can't - you are right"
-Henry Ford

"There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so"
-Shakespeare

"Mindset is 'an established set of attitudes held by someone,' says the Oxford American Dictionary. It turns out, however, that a set of attitudes needn't be so set, according to Dweck, professor of psychology at Stanford. Dweck proposes that everyone has either a fixed mindset or a growth mindset. A fixed mindset is one in which you view your talents and abilities as... well, fixed. In other words, you are who you are, your intelligence and talents are fixed, and your fate is to go through life avoiding challenge and failure. A growth mindset, on the other hand, is one in which you see yourself as fluid, a work in progress. Your fate is one of growth and opportunity."

Editorial review of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

"I say to myself that I'm never tired". I've heard this from one of the best soccer players of the world - the portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo. I think that summs it up. There's no secrets: he has the genetic conditions and has been building on top of that a great mindset. I think that the difference from him to other great players is largely a product of his mind.

The recipe is clear and applicable to any field of life. Now, we just need to have the genetic predisposition.

Inducing Simplicity - Bureaucracy

2008-06-10T22:46:00.001+01:00

"He understood that the purpose of bureaucracy is to compensate for incompetence and lack of discipline - a problem that largely goes away if you have the right people in the first place. Most companies build their bureaucratic rules to manage the small percentage of wrong people on the bus, which in turn drives away the right people on the bus, which then increases the percentage of wrong people on the bus, which increases the need for more bureaucracy to compensate for incompetence and lack of discipline,which further drives the right people away, and so forth.

Rathmann also understood an alternative exists: avoid bureaucracy and hierarchy and instead create a culture of discipline. When you put theses two complementary forces together - a culture of discipline with an ethic of entrepreneurship - you get a magical alchemy of superior performance and sustained results."

Good to Great