3. Triangulating Ideas
Gather your team. Evaluate the
ground. Plot your course. Take a
bearing. March forward. Take a
bearing. Course-correct. Cheat right.
Place one foot in front of the other.
Find the Control Point. Celebrate your
win. Re-evaluate. Learn. Adapt
strategy. Improve. Take the next
bearing. Place one foot in front of the
other. March forward.
4. Any Given Saturday
• Mow the lawn
• Stain the deck
• Trim the boxwood
• Call restaurant for reservations
• Finish requirements analysis for
Monday
• Find a babysitter
• Get cash from bank
• Return library books
• ad nauseum et infinatum
CC Image from Wikimedia
5. A Designed Saturday
1. Enjoyed reading a book on my deck
2. Had an awesome date night with the love of my life
3. Ready to knock their socks off on Monday
• Mow the lawn
• Stain the deck
• Trim the boxwood
• Call restaurant for reservations
• Finish requirements analysis for Monday
• Find a babysitter
• Get cash from bank
• Return library books
CC Image from Flickr
9. Make compelling stories out of your
Wins.
Turn a mundane or routine task into a
powerful victory by connecting it to your
values.
Rather than “duty shift on the front desk”,
try “I helped students succeed”.
11. References
JD Meier is a Principal Program Manager on the Microsoft Enterprise
Strategy team. Over the course of leading many projects, many teams, and
many adventures, he’s learned how to get results and balance life.
• http://sourcesofinsight.com
• http://gettingresults.com
• http://www.30daysofgettingresults.com
• http://www.asianefficiency.com/agile-results
• http://news.sciencemag.org/social-sciences/2011/01/hugs-follow-3-
second-rule
Editor's Notes
Ruled by your inbox?Slave to your calendar?Buried under a mountain of tasks?
From an old blog post: Momentum (http://blog.douglangille.ca/post/36366694419/momentum)On the way home yesterday, crawling through late afternoon traffic along the Bedford highway, I was listening to CBC Mainstreet NS. An item washed over me that has resonated with me ever since.The story was about a study published in January concerning a body of research that’s been mounting since 1911 concerning human behaviour and the perception of time. The recent work was tied to sporting events which, given the Canada Games in Halifax right now, provided context.I took it beyond that, of course.The upshot of the research is that people generally live their lives in chains of 3 second intervals. It take about 3 seconds for people to perceive, process and react to any stimulus.The given example is that people wave for about 3 seconds before giving up. There are apparently many examples of this pattern.It’s a limit for social interaction as well. A congratulatory hug longer than 3 seconds becomes awkward. The it turns in to a pat on the back. You get the idea.So, 3 seconds defines a “moment” and any given present moment or the “now” is about 3 seconds. I find that astoundingly interesting.I tweeted about it later as I was reflecting on it and Carter picked it as part of MacTech.ca Daily.So where is this post going?Well, I’ve been concerned with system response time and perceived frustration with IT systems. Complaints that it takes too long to login or launch some application or web site haunt my teams with their various projects.Just yesterday, I came across a couple of users in a training session that grew impatient with how long it took to launch an app. They clicked. They waited. They clicked again. They waited. Two instances of the application in question came up.How long should it take between “click” and “something happening”? I think this is a root usability question that “quality user experience” experts would no doubt be tackling.The problem is one of definition. How long?Well, I think we can understand it better knowing that a moment is 3 seconds. Any response time less than that would be considered instantaneous. Tolerance levels at 3, 6 and 9 seconds (a few moments) would be good point to measure as to defining acceptable “momentary delay”. After how many moments would a typical user require before the unnecessary second click? How many moments before the task is considered problematic or an outright failure?What is the real reason that Data obsesses about the number 3?(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cause_and_Effect_(Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation)Do you think the line of thinking is a momentous waste?
From an old blog post: May Reflections: (http://blog.douglangille.ca/post/85438711555/may-reflections-part-two)Last Saturday, I tested myself with the Eco-Endurance Challenge. It was hard. I hadn’t been orienteering in 20 years and I felt the sum of my years and weight of my girth. We clambered over deadfalls and clearcuts. We tromped across mossy boulder fields and boggy marsh. We did battle against the snarling tangle of landkill and scrub-brush. Our team visited 9 of the 60 Control Points in the 8-hours, finishing 17th of 30 in our category.No internet, we were real people having real conversation over a shared experience through teamwork, brain and body. There was lots of think-time too. When you’re tired, it’s just putting one foot in front of the other. I reflected on an abundant life and felt thankful. Not in a boastful way, but in a more practical sense. A shift in perspective, the scales of life tilt to the good. I have a great family, a purposeful job and the freedom to grow as a person.Nothing clears the mind better than a stomp through the woods. The following Monday, I attended our organization’s Project Management User Group (PMUG) and gave a little bit of a primer on Agile flavors of project management. As with most things, the discussion was more valuable than the the bullets. My mind kept looping back to the weekend’s activity, working to build context: plot and plan, change and adapt, act and react.Gather your team. Evaluate the ground. Plot your course. Take a bearing. March forward. Take a bearing. Course-correct. Cheat right. Place one foot in front of the other. Find the Control Point. Celebrate your win. Re-evaluate. Learn. Adapt strategy. Improve. Take the next bearing. Place one foot in front of the other. March forward.That’s agility defined."Plans are of little importance, but planning is essential." ~ Winston Churchill"In preparing for battle, I have always found that plans are useless but planning is indispensable. ~ Dwight Eisenhower
Key ConceptsTime as a First-Class CitizenFresh StartTest your resultsFix Time, Flex ScopeBoundariesTests for SuccessOutcomes Over ActivitiesApproach Over ResultsThe Rhythm of ResultsTime, Energy, and TechniqueStrengths Over WeaknessesSystem Over Ad-HocContinuous Learning
PrinciplesAction Over Analysis ParalysisApproach Over ResultsEnergy Over TimeFocus Over QuantityGood Enough Over PerfectionGrowth Mindset Over Fixed MindsetOutcomes Over ActivitiesStrengths Over WeaknessesSystem Over Ad-HocValue Up Over Backlog BurndownPatterns80/20 ActionChange Your ApproachContinuous LearningDeliver Incremental ValueFactor Action from ReferenceSet boundariesFix Time, Flex ScopeLess is moreRhythm of ResultsVersion Your ResultsPracticesAction ListsDaily OutcomesGrowth MindsetMonday Vision, Daily Outcomes, Friday ReflectionMonthly Improvement SprintsReference CollectionsScannable OutcomesStrong weekThe Rule of 3Timebox Your DayTriageWeekly Outcomes
The Winning WayBy asking what 3 Wins that you want out of today, you become more aware and conscious of how you invest your time.That one action puts you way ahead of most people who lose their days, weeks, and months. Time flies by, they spend a lot of time, but have missed out on capturing the value of the things they achieve.
Example Wins:First-draft of a presentation (a mini-milestone)“My desk is cleared" or "My inbox is cleared." Having an off-day?Sometimes the best wins are:Great breakfastGreat lunchGreat dinnerWe all have those days. Every day is a fresh start.
The SystemThe Rule of 3Hot SpotsMonday Vision, Daily Outcomes, Friday ReflectionDaily OutcomesWeekly OutcomesQueuesActionReferenceSchedule
