How effectively do we learn from mistakes? Having different mechanisms, such as retrospectives, helps increase learning. But how effectively do we use these mechanisms? Clear intention for improvement and having follow-ups are crucial. We shouldn't have these mechanisms just to say, "yes, we are doing it." We need...
You need to put your money where your mouth is. If you want to grow your people, don't just send them to conferences; tell them to read books. Lead by example. Otherwise, no one will follow. Put awards for people who grow. Promotion is not the only way to reward people. Give swags and awards; invest in these because...
Trust is built by respect and transparency. Employees feel respected when the leader gives them what they need; equipment, devices, coffee machines, and information. People should feel empowered when their needs are fulfilled. When the leader hides information, people can't do their jobs because they need the...
Clarity is needed in the organization. Everyone needs to fully understand what we're trying to achieve. Since everyone is a decision-maker in leader-leader organizations, they have to make decisions in line with what the organization is trying to accomplish. If not, we end up with a suboptimal decision. Related...
Taking care of people in the organization doesn't mean keeping them safe from the results of their behavior and work. It means giving them tools, education, and advantage to achieve their personal and professional goals in the best way. Related Note(s): Protective Leadership and Finding Your Leadership Style -...
Resilient organizations don't allow mistakes or errors. Even when the captain or CEO makes mistakes, people who are competent in the area can inform the leader and say, "No, you're wrong." This open feedback culture creates resilient organizations that eliminate mistakes. Related Note(s): 27c: Why Environment...
"While goals give direction, systems make progress." Focusing on systems bring result and help us to reach goals. Goals only set the course. If we leave the port and set our course only half a degree wrong, we end up in a totally different place. Use goals to set a direction and systems to find clues that distract...
When you sell a technical initiative as a business case successfully, you can use that initiative as an umbrella for others. If other initiatives will contribute to the business case you sold (it doesn’t have to be a strong contributor), you can include them as well after you sell it. This looks sneaky at first, but...
Three levels (outcome, process, identity) of change define our success in changing habits. These are like onion layers. Changing outcomes is the outer layer, such as losing weight. Changing processes is the middle layer, such as the eating system. Changing identity is the inner layer, such as our self-image or the...
Most of the time, we try to change our habits, starting with outcomes. We focus on what we want to achieve. However, if we reverse our view and focus on who we want to become, we see real change. For example, when we want to quit smoking, and someone offers us a cigarette, instead of saying, "No, I'm trying to...
There is a sweet spot in optimizing for quality. The further you try to maximize something, the less benefit you get. At some point, the quality becomes useless and only serves as an art piece. This applies to many things, such as writing, architecting software systems, coding, etc. We need to carefully analyze the...
We make decisions to make the team work efficiently and in harmony. Sometimes these decisions come from the top of the hierarchy, and sometimes not. The team lead or manager takes responsibility for the implementation. However, most of the time, this process is not that easy. There are many factors involved in the...
