I recently ran into a good idea. My tea is usually too hot to drink when I make it and when it’s ready for drinking, I’ve already forgotten I made it in the first place. So, to the witty inventor: make me a cup that makes sure your tea is quickly drinkable after making, but then stays hot long enough to be able to forget it.
Without fear (or how to be right)
Mar 28, ’12
10:38 AM
TL;DR It’s right to be right and wrong to be wrong. Learning from previous mistakes will only prevent you from doing it again, while repeating right decisions enables you to be successful once more.
In the past year I’ve heard a lot of opinions about whether to be right or wrong. The most common approach to “being right or wrong” is to say it is okay to make mistakes.
A well-known anecdote about an inventor I very much admire, Thomas Edison, is that he made 99 wrong lightbulbs before making the very right one. However, all it took was one right lightbulb, so the 99 wrong lightbulbs do not matter in the end. People tend to emphasize the rightness of being wrong, by stating that even if Edison made 99 million wrong lightbulbs, that one right lightbulb would be enough. Maximizing the anecdote to the absurd, states that it is just fine to be wrong. It simply takes a lot of mistakes to do something right.
I simply disagree. It is wrong to be wrong, and right to be right – not the other way around. Subsequent to being wrong is the fear of being wrong, that’s why everybody wants to be right. By stating that it is okay to be wrong, you do not acknowledge the fear of being wrong and therefore you do not solve anything when simply saying that it’s okay to be wrong.
It is natural that we fear to be wrong. We hate the feeling that says that we messed up, we feel ashamed and find it hard to admit a mistake. This is natural behaviour. Human beings have a terrific intelligence and combining that with our natural need to survive makes us very logical beings. Making a right step takes us further, so making a wrong step takes us back. Yet again, this is natural and logical behaviour.
So why do we say it is right to be wrong? To make it up when we’ll eventually be right that one time? So how many lightbulbs did you invent so far? From my personal experience, I’ve been far more wrong in my life than right. And unfortunately, I haven’t been right in the end.
99 wrongs don’t make a right. One right makes a right.
Subsequent to the fear of being wrong is one’s self-esteem and self-worth. People who tend to be right more develop higher self-esteem and believe in themselves more. Fear of being wrong, and actually being wrong, reduces that. The only solution to make wrong decisions less destructive is to make more right decisions.
So how do you make right decisions?
From my own personal experience, I try to make decisions based on previous wrong decisions. This is partially effective. Simply learning that you shouldn’t touch a hot plate from the oven prevents you from doing it again. But does that actually teach you something? Yes, it teaches you not to repeat mistakes.
Okay. Strategy for being right: do not repeat old mistakes. The next step: generalize the mistake. It’s probably not good to touch anything that’s hot.
The next strategy is my personal favorite: as not repeating is to wrong, repeating is to right. It’s not that hard! Repeat previous right decisions. The same way you can generalize and elaborate on previous wrong decisions, so can you about the right ones. How can you adapt a right decision to make it more effective in different situations?
I know. This is not helping one bit. What you’re reading right now doesn’t give you strategies for right-decision making. And it sounds too simple to just repeat right decisions. You can learn much more from mistakes.
Wrong. You can learn as much from successes as from mistakes. And where a wrong decision doesn’t hold the solution to improve, repeating a right decision simply does hold that next step. If you’re wrong, you don’t know how to make a right decision. If you’re right, you do know how to make a right decision.
I hope this changed your perspective of being wrong. Stop fearing wrong decisions by making right ones, and improve yourself by repeating and elaborating on those right decisions.
If you can make one right decision, it only takes one more to be succesful once more. 99 wrongs don’t make a right. One right, makes a right.
When writing important things: LIFO
Mar 23, ’12
4:58 PM
At the age of sixteen, I worked for a major supermarket franchise at the grocery “department”. My job: make sure all displays where stuffed with groceries. During this very boring process I had to grasp the concept of “FIFO” (first in first out). Basically, it makes sure that products with later expiration dates were sold later than the products with earlier dates.
However, just a few weeks ago it got me thinking: LIFO. Last In, First Out. During several e-mail conversations, it occured to me that people tend to respond first on the issue you wrote last in your preceding email.
Dear John,
Thanks for your response. How’s your wife? On the matter: could you please inform [department] of [important thing]? Those issues in at Production really need looking after.
Considering the [important client], please be aware of [important thing]. I expect a report in three days on my desk.
Kind regards,
[Supervisor]
What is John going to respond?
Hi [Supervisor],
Thanks, she’s fine. You’ll have the report within three days.
John
John replies on the last issue in the e-mail, because that’s what resonates after reading. I’ve tested this with several of my clients and when using a story-telling kind of reporting, they tend to reply on the last (few) items. The reason behind this remains unknown to me. In the illustration above I tried to emphasize that John first replies to the remark about his wife. I consider this more valuable to John than his work affairs (at least at that time). He notices the friendly interest his supervisor shows and therefore replies to it. That said, I think LIFO is not a matter of order, but of importance and the way important things resonate.
Solution
I’d like to propose three solutions.
- My personal favourite: give all the issues (items to discuss or decide) the same importancy weight. One way to do this is using a list. Just write down all issues, roughly using the same length. Try not to start every sentence with the same words, which make them look too similar and could expose the first and last items more. You could categorize them on subject, urgency, etc. but make sure this doesn’t emphasize items more than others. The result: the bias against more important, more outstanding items fades away. All issues are created equal.
- One issue per e-mail. I believe this is proposed in Tim Ferris’ book (4HWW). The downside of this solution is that when you have lots of issues to discuss, it gets annoying to send a dozen email (and let others read them).
- Don’t use email for issue tracking and decision making. It’s time consuming and not suited for issues with a lot of “properties” (urgency, importancy, who has to decide this?). Use some management software for it, like a bugtracker or ticket-based programs. This enables you to render issues using the same set of properties, presented in a generic way, plus adding extra features to (hopefully) boost productivity and result outcome.
Happy communicating!
Grid calculations (never again!)
Mar 21, ’12
9:14 AM
Recently, I had to do some math in order to figure out what the x and y coordinates were of elements in a grid, defined by a consecutive number n. It annoyed me, so here it is, to never do it again.
// Variables int num_c = 5; // number of columns int num_el = 33; // number of elements int el_w = 100; // element width in pixels int el_h = 100; // height int m_r = 10; // margin right int m_b = 10; //margin bottom int n = 0; // incremental value from 0 to end of array int x = ((n % num_c) * el_w) + (m_r * ((n + num_c) % num_c)); int y = (floor(n / num_c) * el_h) + (m_b * floor(n / num_c)); int max_y = (ceil(num_el / num_c) + 1) * (el_h + m_b);
The above is pseudo-code and you’d put line 11 and 12 in a loop, of course.
For 2012
Dec 31, ’11
3:14 PM
Although I find it hypocrite, meaning that the other 364 days in a year are just as important as 31 december, here are my goals for 2012.
Please, keep me to it.
- Worrying less about worrying. It’ll be fine, even if I don’t worry. If things won’t be fine, it probably isn’t that bad and if it is, I’ll manage. Things will be great and I’ll get my chances.
- Grow further, develop myself further.
- Expand my venture, Sporous, to an annual volume of 50 grand.
- Visit New York (again) and Tokio.
- Stay happy.
All the best for 2012. It’ll be great.
(I forgot: graduate!)
Sporous features layered ideation
Dec 4, ’11
6:28 PM
What use is there to an app for ideation, if it doesn’t allow filtering?
Be a smart follower
Nov 29, ’11
3:56 PM
Because I signed up for a mailing about “working smarter”, I received an e-mail from a sponsor with 7 tips about being a more effective leader. I normally don’t take action on these mailings, but this one seemed interesting. The including page is right here: Turbocursus Slim Leiderschap, door Jeroen Busscher. It’s in Dutch, but I’ll share it anyway.
7 key aspects of leadership
Busscher emphasizes the following. In order to be a smart and effective leader: make others responsible (don’t instruct), facilitate their needs (don’t motivate), ask questions (don’t give answers), show interest (don’t be an example), trust (don’t coach), inspire (don’t think) and be lazy (don’t work too hard).
What if you’re not a leader
Not to worry. You’re the leader-type but not always in the position to lead. So what do you do? Depend on others to be the leader? No, of course not. Take leadership by being a follower.
Be a smart follower
- Take responsibility, don’t follow instructions. You’re here to think yourself, don’t let others think for you.
- Find your needs. What do you need to perform better? Ask for it. Not granted? Ask again.
- Question. Do not ask questions, just question everything. Don’t follow the path that others laid out – question what others find normal.
- Be interesting. Love what you do. If you don’t, stop and go looking for something else. Be in pursuit of your interests, surprise yourself.
- Trust yourself. You’re the one who’s capable of doing this, not somebody else. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.
- Be inspired. Did the greater things come to you when you’ve asked for it? Brilliance is just around the corner.
- Don’t be productive. Be effective. Working 60 hours a week will get you somewhere, but doing the same in 30 gets you further.
Now, be a dear and kick ass.
#drawmyfollowers by Greg Burney
Nov 27, ’11
8:35 PM
A few months ago I stumbled upon the profile of @gregburney on Twitter, who apparently would draw those who’d follow him. Today I got a reply from him, keeping his word, with the following astonishing result.
Thanks Greg!
