Why reading this blog? Why stumble upon it? Why digg “Practice This”?
The easiest way to answer these questions is to share the blog’s values, its mission and the vision.
by mikebaird
Values - what this blog is all about
- Share. I share my practices that work, you share you opinions and your angles.
- Time. I value both your and my time.
- Reader is in focus.
- Simplicity is king.
- Practical content - something I personally do or believe in.
- Improvement. Eternal, never ending quest for getting better.
- Consistency. Consistent topics, post structure, timely posting, consistent change…
- Dialog. I like compliments and support - that is how like-minded individuals get together. I love controversial, opposite opinions - that is how individuals become like-minded.
More values are on my about page.
Mission - what this blog does
- Share simple and easy to consume and apply practices for personal growth, achievement, and balance.
Vision - where this blog goes to
- Practice This is place where like-minded individuals share and discuss their practices about personal growth, achievement, and balance.
10 comments ↓
I agree that simplicity is king, but occasionally, I am confronted with non-simple problems.
Have you heard of Kepner-Trago analysis? KT analysis? I’d be curious to know what you think of it. It’s a systematic way to make a complex decision. Very nice way to convert complex problem to a simple problem. It is, however, time intensive (not good for quick decision making.)
Can you share a link to simple how-to for the method? I guess there are tons out-there…
To be honest, it failed already for me as you mention it is time-intensive. Time is my most valuable resource. Here is my take on whether i should start learn/adopt something new:
http://practicethis.com/2007/05/31/if-it-is-simple-and-stupid-then-there-is-a-chance-it-works/
I might be involved in less complex world though…
“Life is really simple, but men insist on making it complicated. ”
Confucius
Funny, my next post is about personal strengths. I think that one of my strengths is breaking complex (in my world) problems into many simple, and then solving it one by one. My technique is simple - start with something simple, something i know:
http://blogs.msdn.com/jmeier/archive/2008/02/10/start-with-something-simple.aspx
@alik,
I took a 2-day class on it. It’s definitely for industrial strength decision making (e.g. investment, hiring selection, make vs. buy)
It’s really meant for making decisions when multiple people are affected. It’s a way to cut through the opinions/emotions, and make a rational decision based on facts.
Here’s a simplified version:
http://www.decide-guide.com/kepner-tregoe.html
I used it once to make a recommendation on tool selection for next generation technology. Another time, I used it to decide what software to buy for our company.
@alik,
Forgot to mention: just read the part under ‘Decision Making’ and ‘Time Boxed Method’
That is too cool!
I did not know i already practice this
LOL!
http://practicethis.com/2008/01/10/time-boxing-is-the-biggest-secret-for-achieving-results/
The best part about stuff you pointed is it has simple steps to follow. I do it on intuitive level, but this KT stuff prescribes simple steps.
I definitely going to give it a try although methods might be vary but principles resonates with me a lot
THANKS!
Like I said, I’ve only had to (formally) use it twice in my life. However, I think the method is good to learn since it teaches a structured way of problem solving. The key points to take away are: determine alternatives, define must/want, assign weighting factor for the wants, rank and tabulate score for alternatives. Use the score as a *guide* (not the single and only criteria) to make the decision.
Very simple, but very powerful.
Love it!
BTW, this is an example of my vision (see this post’s body) - share and discuss practices that work.
Super cool, love it!
Another part to add to the decision framework is the overall approach
If you need others to buy in, then you should get their finger prints in on it.
You should also set expectations around your approach. For example:
- make the decision yourself?
- take input and decide?
- take input and concensus?
As far as decision making, most of the toughest decisions aren’t linear.
Experts make rapid critical decisions using satisficing.
In fact, it’s helpful to sanity check whether your gut reaction matches your thoughtful conclusion.
The key in any decision making system is identifying the relevant criteria and weighting the criteria. The mistake is to simply list pros/cons and *count* the pros against cons.
I use this approach to share my decision making frame with others and to expose the criteria and also get clarification around the value of the criteria.
JD, I am sorry I am late with response.
I am using Threat Modeling approach to make tough decisions. Without delving into details it incorporates everybody’s view (like you said, everybody’s finger print). In the end I get the overall risk of making the decision or letting it go. If one of my important goals (assets) is under serious risk I make the decision to mitigate it. Otherwise I accept the risk, move on, and never look back.
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