Articles for category: Initiative

Idea Nation

You can stare at your screen and hope that inspiration comes at you – strikes you like a lightning bolt, fills you with the energy to move forward, and implement at never-ending speed. And you can wait for that idea that no one has (that you can’t prove that no one has). Or you can start working on what you have in your head now and see where it takes you. It might not become something, it might not garner a billion-dollar valuation, but it might be something that has value to some, and they didn’t know they needed it

Where to Start

When firefighters arrive at a blaze, they assess where to start and begin. Time is of the essence; lives are at stake. I’m sure they get it wrong – misjudge the wind, can’t see all the variables, don’t know about that indoor propane tank, etc, etc – but they have to start somewhere. If given the opportunity to stop time and spend hours and even days determining the proper approach, I’m sure they’d take it. But they can’t, they have to have faith in their team, what they have learned and what they know – and they give their best

Where we Need to Be

I read two types of articles these days; We completed our work within 4 hours and have a new product. I was hired to come in and fix a company’s product and have spent the last 2 weeks making it scale. The answer is in the middle: find the right people who use the right tools, to deliver the right thing somewhere in the middle. The middle is where we all want to be, but it’s not Instagram-worthy enough to get there, so we go with Option 1, but then when 1 breaks, we are forced into 2. Somewhere in

Things You Can’t Argue With

There are many things you can argue with, but at the same time, many things you can never argue with. Someone’s effort and desire to solve a problem – let them loose. Someone’s commitment to an issue. Someone’s dedication. Someone’s consistency. Someone’s drive or initiative. These are things you can’t argue with; they might be going in the wrong direction or require guidance, but you can’t argue with them because with them, this person is showing how much they care. Arguing with them, coming down on them, will only serve to slow down and stop their effort, when that is

Data vs the Computer

In Star Trek lore, Data (the Android) was the next logical level step in evolution from Spock. (Stay with me, I know we’re entering new territory). You can’t get more logical than Spock than being a computer with no emotions. But when you watch Star Trek, they still had work to do, they still had problems to solve – Data didn’t know all the answers. AI is great, it saves time and helps us incredibly, but don’t make it your slop bucket – let it free you up for more important tasks, like saving the galaxy. If your old job