Whether I want it or not, I guess at the intention of a speaker behind his words, but I try to remember that those are my guesses, and not the speaker's intentions.
Those guesses become part of my mental model, and I use them to predict behaviour.
The first sketches are very rough ... for people I've interacted with only a few times, I use quick and standard labels, and I slowly improve my labels with detail (new data and guesses) about relevant things that --in my mental model-- make each individual different.
I try to remember that those labels don't describe or determine the individual.
They are not reality, but my view of reality.
I see it as some sort of scientific theory that explains the known facts, and is helpful to predict results, but may be proved wrong at any time by new data.
Fungus
Showing posts with label learn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label learn. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Mirror
A good friend asked me what are my top three pain points, and how do I deal with them.
I've never read Schiller, but Isaac Asimov in "The gods themselves" quotes him as saying that: "Against stupidity The gods themselves Contend in vain."
My nominees are:
Third place: Stupid peers that are so stubborn to open their eyes (and ears) to understand my point of view. Stupid peers that don't support my hidden agenda.
Second place: Stupid bosses that do not express themselves with enough clarity that I understand what they want me to do. Also stupid bosses that freely (of their own free will) believe that I want to do what they want me to do.
First place. Me.
How can I get around the pain point which is me?
By looking inside and laughing at what I find.
Once I solve this small problem, I'll tell you what to do about the other two pains in the neck.
Fungus
I've never read Schiller, but Isaac Asimov in "The gods themselves" quotes him as saying that: "Against stupidity The gods themselves Contend in vain."
My nominees are:
Third place: Stupid peers that are so stubborn to open their eyes (and ears) to understand my point of view. Stupid peers that don't support my hidden agenda.
Second place: Stupid bosses that do not express themselves with enough clarity that I understand what they want me to do. Also stupid bosses that freely (of their own free will) believe that I want to do what they want me to do.
First place. Me.
How can I get around the pain point which is me?
By looking inside and laughing at what I find.
Once I solve this small problem, I'll tell you what to do about the other two pains in the neck.
Fungus
Monday, June 15, 2009
Fitness
Some people want to find an exact match for an ill defined job. That's a problem, but not a new one.
The classic recruiting process is based on the assumption that recruiting can be done by a junior clerk who does not understand the organization's vision, mission and objectives, and may not even care either.
That kind of HR specialist wants to have it easy, and he uses a process that is based on the complete description of the job that has to be done. Emphasis on complete.
By complete job description, I mean a form filled with the kind of data that Frederick Winslow Taylor used to work with: How many steps are there from coal pile to loading platform? Does the job require lifting heavy boxes from the floor? Is the job holder under frequent stressful situations?
Remember Charlot in Modern Times? You get the picture.
He'll be proud to know that he's looking for a square peg to fit a square hole.
Happily, there are other HR specialists who understand that jobs are not round or square holes anymore and people are not pre-shaped pegs. They still need to know if you fit the culture and the task at hand, but more than anything, they want to know if you are ready to learn new tricks and how can you add value.
Fungus
The classic recruiting process is based on the assumption that recruiting can be done by a junior clerk who does not understand the organization's vision, mission and objectives, and may not even care either.
That kind of HR specialist wants to have it easy, and he uses a process that is based on the complete description of the job that has to be done. Emphasis on complete.
By complete job description, I mean a form filled with the kind of data that Frederick Winslow Taylor used to work with: How many steps are there from coal pile to loading platform? Does the job require lifting heavy boxes from the floor? Is the job holder under frequent stressful situations?
Remember Charlot in Modern Times? You get the picture.
He'll be proud to know that he's looking for a square peg to fit a square hole.
Happily, there are other HR specialists who understand that jobs are not round or square holes anymore and people are not pre-shaped pegs. They still need to know if you fit the culture and the task at hand, but more than anything, they want to know if you are ready to learn new tricks and how can you add value.
Fungus
Friday, March 6, 2009
Humor
We all agree that the right kind of humor is right, while the wrong kind of humor is wrong. In short, good humor is good, while bad humor is bad.
The ancients believed that several humors flowed inside our bodies, and had to be kept balanced. Some of these were: blood humor, phlegm humor, black bile humor and yellow bile humor. Imbalance of the body humors would make you sick.
I believe that good, healthy humor is sparked by discovery. The detailed description of the neuro-chemistry involved if out of the scope of this discussion, and I couldn't describe it if I tried, so I'll keep it simple.
In my theory, when you learn (or discover) something new, there is an exhilarating feeling. You feel fine. You laugh, or even better, you smile. You want more of the same drug, and that's what we call humor.
When you discover something that is not new, at least to you, you feel frustrated. The best way to keep people in a good mood (or humor) is to keep them creatively discovering new and interesting things. You can call it the Eureka effect, but you don't have to.
There are also substitutes that can spark good humored responses, like a respectful and interesting joke (when you discover the punch line, you learn something and you laugh).
A disrespectful joke may also make you laugh, but it awakes dark humors (fluids) that are destructive and unhealthy, and are better avoided at the workplace and elsewhere.
And remember Homer Simpson's wise words.
"It's funnier when the joke's not on me."
Fungus
The ancients believed that several humors flowed inside our bodies, and had to be kept balanced. Some of these were: blood humor, phlegm humor, black bile humor and yellow bile humor. Imbalance of the body humors would make you sick.
I believe that good, healthy humor is sparked by discovery. The detailed description of the neuro-chemistry involved if out of the scope of this discussion, and I couldn't describe it if I tried, so I'll keep it simple.
In my theory, when you learn (or discover) something new, there is an exhilarating feeling. You feel fine. You laugh, or even better, you smile. You want more of the same drug, and that's what we call humor.
When you discover something that is not new, at least to you, you feel frustrated. The best way to keep people in a good mood (or humor) is to keep them creatively discovering new and interesting things. You can call it the Eureka effect, but you don't have to.
There are also substitutes that can spark good humored responses, like a respectful and interesting joke (when you discover the punch line, you learn something and you laugh).
A disrespectful joke may also make you laugh, but it awakes dark humors (fluids) that are destructive and unhealthy, and are better avoided at the workplace and elsewhere.
And remember Homer Simpson's wise words.
"It's funnier when the joke's not on me."
Fungus
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