Learning | The Stranded Starfish

I Didn’t Know I Knew That

joe — Fri 20-May-11

Pig Diving Instincts are a funny thing. Some of the greatest breakthroughs in history have been the result of trusting one’s instincts yet I can’t imagine any acceptable business plan that has “my gut tells me” as part of its rationale.

Why do these instinctual feelings that seem to point to the right answer need more solid reasoning before we move forward? What if we can’t find that solid reasoning – should they be abandoned?

“Trust the instinct to the end, though you can render no reason” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

What happens when we demand reason over instinct? Continue Reading…

In Learning awareness, Conscious, instinct, Learning

Go Immerse Yourself

joe — Sun 3-Apr-11

Cricket I have a confession to make – I have been totally enthralled watching the World Cup cricket matches.

I have another confession to make – I could barely spell cricket a month ago.

Why the new found interest? It wasn’t because I needed another sport to watch. It was because I wanted to better understand something that was very important to many of the people on my team. The fact that I enjoyed it so much was an accident, but not really as I’ll explain later.

Over half of my team is from a country where cricket is of great interest – India, the UK and South Africa. So when the grandaddy of the them all, the World Cup, came around the buzz became pretty intense. When India made it to the semi-finals our office in India gave the folks the afternoon off. We don’t give days off when the Braves make it to the World Series so this is big! Continue Reading…

In Learning bonding, cricket, immerse, india, Learning, world cup

The Curse of Knowledge

joe — Sat 5-Mar-11

Let’s play a little game. I want you to think of a common tune that we would both know, like Happy Birthday or Jingle Bells. Now play out the rhythm of the song by tapping your finger on the table and see if I can guess the song.

Before we start, make a guess – if we were to do this for 100 very well known songs, how many would I get right? If you were like most you would have said 50 or half of them. If I were like most people in a 1990 study by Stanford researcher Elizabeth Newton, I would only get 3.

Why the big discrepancy? Continue Reading…

In Learning communication, influence, knowlege, teaching

Want a Job?

joe — Sun 26-Sep-10

Interviews suck.

They can be one of the most anxiety soaked events that leave you feeling spent and judged. Today, though, let’s take away a little of the anxiety by disclosing one critical thing you can do to get to the final stages of the process.

The ancient Greeks said it best.
Continue Reading…

In Learning awareness, Conscious, improvement, knowledge, Leadership, Learning, opportunity, vocabulary

Don’t Drop the Baby

joe — Sun 2-May-10

Colonel sanders race What is the first thing that comes to your mind when I say Colonel Sanders? Chicken, right? How about Hank Aaron, Job, or Debbie “Mrs.” Fields? Despite the incredible complexity and richness of each of these people each are predominantly known for one standout thing.

Unless you are an avid football fan you may not known Rudi Johnson. Rudi is a running back in the NFL that is superior to nearly all other running backs in one way – he hardly ever Continue Reading…

In Learning awareness, change, improvement, insight, Learning, repetition

Iguanas, Leopards and Humans – Part I

joe — Sun 14-Mar-10

Iguanas, leopards and humans all share one thing in common, we all make first impressions. For an iguana, first impressions are primarily used to decide fight or flight. Leopards added the ability to have first impressions that include emotions. Humans topped this all with the incredible ability to screw it all up with complex reasoning.

The difference between these three systems is largely one of time. An iguana that takes an hour Continue Reading…

In Learning

It’s like going to Wisconsin

joe — Fri 26-Feb-10

It’s been a difficult week – a week of highs, a week of great introspection and a week where I discovered something very painful about my role here. To get to this discovery, I need to introduce a little bit of history.

Thirteen years ago I became the first engineering manager at a very small startup called Internet Security Systems. Like many startups, it was the wild west of times. We were brash, confident to a fault, energetic, willing to do whatever it took to conquer the world. It was the definition of Continue Reading…

In Learning change, Leadership, Learning, popular

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