On Hearing and Speaking the Truth
I have worked in both types of places and find most fall into area #2.
A fascinating 5-page story on how AIG was involved in the gobal financial meltdown. It just goes to show that bad management is bad business.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
Stuff I Have Found Interesting Today
So You Want to Buy an American Car?
4 out of the top 10 cars with the most domestic content are made by Toyota (with #1 being the Camry).
Lessons in Software from James Waletzky
A sensible top 10 list (for detail follow the link):
Lesson 1. Keep it simple.
Lesson 2. Define ‘done’.
Lesson 3. Deliver incrementally and iteratively.
Lesson 4. Split scenarios into vertical slices.
Lesson 5. Continuously improve.
Lesson 6. Unit testing is the #1 quality practice.
Lesson 7. Don’t waste your time.
Lesson 8. Features are not the most important thing.
Lesson 9. Never trust anyone.
Lesson 10. Reviews without preparation are useless.
Resources on Self-Organizing Teams for Agility
Quite a list for those who have the time.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Review of "Brain Rules"
Subtitled "12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home and Schhol" by John Medina.
I loved this book. The brain has been fascinating to me since I studied neural networks in graduate school. This book is the most informative and readable book about the brain I have ever read. I think it is must read for anyone, especially true if you are a parent and/or teacher. The books main point is much of the brain is a mystery, but there are some thing we do know. He groups this knowledge into 12 rules.
Rule #1: Exercise boosts brain power.
Rule #2: The human brain evolved, too.
Rule #3: Every brain is wired differently.
Rule #4: We don't pay attention to boring things.
Rule #5: Repeat to remember.
Rule #6: Remember to repeat.
Rule #7: Sleep well, think well.
Rule #8: Stressed brains don't learn the same way.
Rule #9: Stimulate more of the senses.
Rule #10: Vision trumps all other senses.
Rule #11: Male and female brains are different.
Rule #12: We are powerful and natural explorers.
One of my favorite quotes comes in the introduction "If you wanted to create an education environment that was directly opposed to what the brain was good at doing, you probably would design something like the classroom. If you wanted to create a business enviroment that was direclty opposed to what the brain was good at doing, you probably would design something like a cubicle." There are many myths busted by this book as well as some points to adjust how you live to allow your brain to function better. I think we all need that.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Stuff I Have Found Interesting Today
The authors makes a good point about making sure you serve the customer needs not your own.
GETting Documents From CouchDB
How to conduct a Five Whys root cause analysis
A good explanation of the technique with real world examples. One point that didn't get enough focus is the need for trust in the organization. Without the "respect for people pillar" this will just be a exercise in futility (e.g. the Toyota Half-Way).
Review of "The People's Tycoon"
Subtitled: "Henry Ford and the American Century" by Steve Watts.
A well written book about an interesting and amazing man. Henry Ford was born during the Civil War (1863) and died after WWII (1947). He was the father of mass production, a fervent anti-Semite, and a pacifist. He created one of the largest companies in the world then almost drove it in the ground by driving out rising stars and undercutting his only son as president. He was close friends with Thomas Edison and received a Grand Cross of the German Eagle from Nazi Germany.
His legacy affects us today. He is the father of Lean, the consumer economy and the rise of the middle class. Some of his ideas were truly weird, but his impact on last century and thus today can not be dismissed. To understand America one needs to understand our history. Henry Ford is definitely a figure worth studying and this book is a good place to start.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Stuff I Have Found Interesting Today
FW: Sailing a Straight Course in a Time of Variances
A message on the Lean Software Development yahoo group by Tom Poppendieck that has a great email from Jim Womack on leadership.
Oh, You Wanted "Awesome" Edition
Funny stuff from Codinghorror.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Stuff I Have Found Interesting Today
A great post with a new term "Canalizing" - as in like a canal.
Seth Godin on the future of writers and editors and how magazines and papers are dead. I think it is obvious, but I have been known to be wrong before.
Hudson River Crossings: Improving Bus Capacity
I never plan on being a commuter from NJ to NY, but this short film was extremely well done!
I have had the same thoughts as Alistair. This response from David Anderson basically says we need limits because that's how we do it. I think WIP limits can help when you are learning (prevents you from sliding down the path of large amounts of WIP), but I think your goal would be to not need them as your process becomes more mature. A lean practitioner blogged a similar idea as The Fifth Primary Practice of Kanban, but kinda wimped out on his original idea of "Eliminate Kanban".
Interesting idea: work a fairly simple problem many times so the variations will be the techniques used. Now to make the time to do this!
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