The Problem-Solving Mind

"To a problem-solving mind, it is beyond excruciating to see a problem, know the solution, and not be allowed to implement it."

All the more so if you experience the consequences of that problem personally and regularly. Even a small rock in your shoe can become all-consuming if you’re never allowed to stop and get it out.

The invitation to Apathy: When a problem-solver is told they aren't allowed to solve the problem, they eventually stop looking for them. They check out. Doing only what is explicitly asked until they find somewhere else.

If you want to keep your best problem-solvers, give them some sovereignty over their tools.

Instead of a blanket "No," try building a "Fix-It Budget." Give the team time every sprint to to clear the path and pick the rocks out of their shoes. Don't ask them to justify the ROI of every single refactor; trust that they know which pains are the most acute.

Excerpts from Aaron Goldy, Business Systems Architect

source: LinkedIn post

SMART goals

SMART is a well-established tool that you can use to plan and achieve your goals. While there are a number of interpretations of the acronym's meaning, the most common one is that goals should be:

Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

When you use SMART, you can create clear, attainable and meaningful goals, and develop the motivation, action plan, and support needed to achieve them.

https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/smart-goals.htm

resulting: One Mistake Never to Make When Leading a Meeting

Full article One Mistake Never to Make When Leading a Meeting

Resulting is when you judge the quality of a decision by its outcome.

After you’ve made a decision, if you base its quality or “rightness” solely on its outcome, then you might misjudge what was in fact a good decision that simply turned out poorly due to luck. You may hesitate to continue making the same kinds of decisions based on this short-term loss, this single toss of the coin, when in the long-term, over the course of many tosses, it would actually be to your advantage to do so.​
If in preparing to make a decision, you already feel 100% certain that you know the best possible outcome, then you’ll stop looking for alternative information and options, and, sensing that your mind is made up, other people will be unlikely to share contrarian opinions with you.

So, what does all this have to do with running a meeting?

When you offer what you think is the best possible solution to a problem, before soliciting your team’s feedback. By sharing your opinion first, you create a result in their heads. You give them the outcome.

So when you’re leading meetings in which you hope to solicit engagement and feedback, follow this simple rule: Do not share your opinion on possible solutions before asking for input from your team.

If you notice people are still hesitant to engage, you can say something like “I don’t have any set opinions on this, folks, so please don’t hesitate to throw out your craziest ideas.” Encourage people to think in terms of probabilities — “Even if you’re just 40% sure of something, share that idea anyway.”

Mosaic

People are more like mosaic tiles than pieces of a puzzle. Puzzle pieces fit just right and make a clear picture. Mosaic tiles are broken and have rough edges. The picture they construct is best seen from a higher perspective. But there is a beauty and flexibility and creativity made possible by the ragged forms.

pomodoro technique

The pomodoro technique is a time management method based on 25-minute stretches of focused work broken by 3-to-5 minute breaks and 15-to-30 minute breaks following the completion of four work periods.

Steps for the pomodoro technique:

1. Decide on the task for the work segment.
2. Eliminate the potential for distraction. Close email and chat programs and shut down social media and other sites that are not related to the task.
3. Set the timer to 25 minutes.
4. Work on the task until the timer rings; record completion of the pomodoro.
5. Take a three-to-five minute break.
6. When four pomodori have been completed, take a 15-to-30 minute  break.

Read the whole pomodoro article