The Starting Line

Things I'm pondering about...

Problem Solving

The following is my approach to problem solving:

Stage [1] Identify the Problem

  • Define the problem statement
  • What problem are we trying to solve?
  • Use the W5 - Who, What, Where, When, Why
    • Who does it affect?
    • What happens? How long does it take? Frequency?
    • When does it occur? Any preconditions?
    • Where does it occur? Why does it occur?
  • Important: Do not lay blame or provide a solution at this stage
  • What is the impact of not solving the problem?
    • Data corruption
    • Business function interruption
    • Dependent system affected
    • Costs or financial penalty
  • Consideration” What is the competitive advantage of solving this problem?
    • Resources are limited and the focus should be strategically placed

Stage [2] Define the Requirements

  • All activities must be driven by well-defined requirements
  • Define what is required, do not include how this is going to be accomplished
  • The more clear (or precise) the requirements are the better solution outcome
    • Logically group and label each requirement so it is easier to talk about (4.1, 4.2, … 5.1, 5.2, etc.)
  • For planning:
    • Are their dependencies between requirements?
    • Can they be done in parallel or cycles?

Stage [3] What are the Assumptions/Constraints/Capabilities

  • What are we assuming?
    • Current capabilities - systems, technical skills and knowledge
    • Resources - both time and money
    • Dependencies - other system or regulatory dates
  • Are the constraints hard or soft - are there any flexibilities?

Stage [4] Catalogue all possible options and rank them

  • List the pros and cons of each option
  • Ranking:
    • Long-term (strategic) and short-term (tactical)
    • Cost of development
    • Cost of maintenance
  • Build vs Buy
    • Writing and maintaining code is expensive
      • Vendor product may be more strategic, we can leverage their expertise
      • Vendor provides bug fixes and new capabilities
  • Are there any existing capabilities that we can leverage?
    • Using existing infrastructure or shared service
  • Does the option require Proof of Concept (POC)?
  • Can we divide and conquer or group together options?
  • Is there a work around?
  • Consider options outside of technology
    • For example: Define a new business process that a user completes

Stage [5] Recommend an option

  • Based on the information gathered, select the best option or top 3 options
  • Communicate the options
    • Present the options to the stakeholders
    • Make a recommendation and the reasons why you selected it
    • Decision: Stakeholder will select an option
      • They make not go with your recommendation - accept the decision
  • If the first option does not work, then go to the next option (be flexible)
  • Remember what the goal is: To solve the given problem

Stage [6] Activity Plan (a.k.a. Project Planning)

  • Define all the high-level activities and which teams are responsible for them
  • For each high-level activity, define the low level details and which resources will complete them
    • Estimate how long each activity will take
    • Remember estimating is an art not a science - sometimes tasks take longer to complete, especially if they are highly complex (maybe they should be chunked) or have dependencies
  • Include any dependencies between activities
  • Plan for success
  • Prepare for delays and/or disasters
    • A plan is not a prison - things do go wrong and we should be prepared to handle it

Seek Wealth, Not Status

A pair of Gucci shoes, a Louis Vuitton purse and Prada jacket will make you look rich but not wealthy.

We all like to look good and feel good. How incredible would it feel to slip into a pair of hand-made Italian designed shoes, jump into a shiny new limited edition aqua blue 480hp, V8 Maserati with advanced driver assist, and cruise down the highway with the wind blowing in your hair. Then return to your newly renovated 4000 square feet luxury home with heated floors, a marbled kitchen and a media room hosting the latest 85 inch 8K Samsung TV. Welcome to the good life!

If you bumped into this person with this lifestyle your immediate reaction might be that they are extremely wealthy. They have it made, they must be on easy street. And If I work a little harder, climb the corporate ladder, I too can have a piece of the good life.

In the majority of cases, it is just a facade. Peak behind the red velvet curtains and you see the ugly pile of debt, sleepless nights of stress and the pressure of keeping up appearances.

And the goal of obtaining these prized high-end luxury consumer goods is for status (or as the Tik-Tokers says flexing). These items are a signal to the world that “I am extremely successful, I am rich, I am special, (and in some cases) I am better than you!” The price of seeking status is the ever-growing credit card bills, the line of credits and the monster mortgage. I know, YOLO, you only once, my twenty thousand Instagram followers want to see my next status purchase.

Naval Ravikant, the CEO and co-founder of AngelList dropped this tweet back in May 2018: Seek wealth, not money or status. Wealth is having assets that earn while you sleep. Money is how we transfer time and wealth. Status is your place in the social hierarchy.

The wealth that you should seek:

  • Health - learn about nutrition and exercise, how to have high energy
  • Financial Literacy - banking, taxes, managing income and expenses
  • Communication - how to listen, understand, persuade, negotiate and present ideas
  • Income Generation - beyond working 9-5, starting a business, investing
  • Education - continuous learning, Google/YouTube/books has opened knowledge that were locked in stuffy textbooks and high tuition institutions
  • Time - the most precious and limited resource we have
When you focus on wealth generation you become more valuable and hence society becomes more valuable. When you focus on status you make a multinational corporation richer while it makes your poorer.

Writing Challenged

I can't write. I am a terrible writer.

I don't have the ability to express my thoughts.

Words and sentences are challenging for me to write.

And don't get me started on spelling, if the word contains more than five letters, it might as well be Greek or Klingon.

Words are strange creatures, we spell "know" the same way we spell "no". How can "I know you said 'no' when I asked you if you axed that tree.', be valid?

I struggle, like a person drowning in the ocean, trying to breathe out a series of words while being swamped with facts and ideas. Someone, please throw me a life jacket.

I'm told to shift my state into writer’s mode, like when Michael Jordan gets into the zone before an important playoff game. As if writing and basketball are the same sport!

Why is writing so hard? Why can't I make sense of something that I have been taught to do since I was three? Is my brain missing the 'writing app', “Hey Siri, help me to write!”

I can do this. I have the ability to write.

I can take facts and ideas and translate them into sentences that can move a person to tears, prove that gravity exists, or convince you that Drake is the best opera singer the world has ever known.

So where do I start?

I was told to read more books. Download more words into my tiny brain. Gather more facts and ideas until they overflow into coherent sentences. If that were true I should be able to make a blockbuster movie since I spent half my life watching Netflix and Youtube (admit it you have too!).

Maybe I should practice writing. (Is it practice or practise? English why do you hate me so much?)

More words I write the better I'll get at it. Maybe I need a coach to help me along. Micheal Jordan, who's arguably the best basketball player in the world, had an amazing coach and practiced every day. I want to be 'Just like Mike' but with my sentences. I know I can get this skill. One word at a time, one sentence at a time. There is always a path to success I just need to seek it out.

I will start will a simple sentence, this is where I will begin my journey:

"I can't write."

The Starting Line

“Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.”
Steven Pressfield: The War of Art

This is where I shall begin:

The hardest part is to start. You need to start somewhere and this is a good place to start the journey. Let me tell you, starting is hard. Ever wake up on a Monday morning and want to fall right back to sleep? Just the thought of dragging yourself to the cold bathroom from your warm and cozy bed is equivalent to climbing Mount Everest in January during a biting blizzard. Once you start the journey, you have to avoid the traps and pitfalls of notifications from your phone, beckoning you to read a text message, view an instagram picture, or an email claiming that a Nigerian prince can give you a million dollars for helping him. Or the endless chores that need to be tended to, to keep your life organized such as the piles of laundry that need to be folded, a mountain of dishes that need to be washed and dried, a broken appliance or a hinge that needs to be fixed.

However, that’s not the obstacle, that’s far from it. There are only two reasons why we don’t start:

1. Fear
2. Procrastination

Fear of failure, fear of being wrong, fear of not knowing enough, fear of looking bad, fear of risk taking. We also procrastinate, we will start in the afternoon, start this weekend, when it’s summer, when the kids are older, when the economy is better, after you finish reading another book. Imagine if you could let go of your fears and just do it - get over the resistance - imagine what your life could be.