2025-03-26 Wednesday - Due Diligence - an important skill

[image credit: markfizzwig on pixabay.com]

 

[my LinkedIn companion post]

Today's meditation:
Due Diligence - an important skill.

My approach uses a multi-dimensional analysis - and sometimes, what I find is very surprising.

While you can learn techniques of due diligence...that alone, will often mislead you.

Do not ___just___ trust what you see, what you hear, what you read.

Like a good reporter, you need to find two or more sources - for confirmation.

Seek different perspectives.

Think outside of the box.

Dig beyond just the surface.

Listen to your intuition...when something is "off", you should feel it.

Don't be misled by just identifying the facts and data points.
The relationships between the data points can also be vital.

At other times, it may be a data point that is missing (or intentionally hidden) that leads to an important finding.

Pay attention when the story is different, over time - and location where told.

Sometimes, it will be aspects of the time elements that lead to a significant clue.

Being able to spot patterns...invaluable.

To do it well, you will also need something like the instincts of a bloodhound.

2025-03-23 Sunday - Design and Architecture Reviews

 

[image credit: Guren-The-Thirdeye on pixabay.com]

 [my companion LinkedIn post]

Today's meditation:

Today I read a LinkedIn post by a Meta IT leader...with a long list of technology preferences/choices by which they would identify when NOT to hire someone...they also included design and architecture reviews.

To me, that is a very harmful belief. It smells of hubris. It is toxic.
I would hope that is not a commonly shared belief within Meta...but if it is, it would explain much.

No one person knows everything.
Humility is a valuable character trait in every leader.

Assuming you probably missed something should be a First Principle for any practice of design or architecture review.

Even if the design and architecture are correct - you may still yet learn something by engaging in a review with others.

But, here's the point that most people miss: Design and architecture reviews are also teaching and communication tools - for the benefit of others.

In 40 years, based on my many and varied field observations, across many organizations, for countless projects and initiatives - for almost any non-trivial problem, I think there have always been some useful observations, questions, suggestions, concerns raised - during a design or architecture review. In some, catastrophically bad decisions were corrected.

You do not waste time by engaging in design or architecture reviews - you are performing an important and necessary governance function - to mitigate potential risks, as well as supporting the communication (and awareness) aspects of change management.

 

2025-03-16 Sunday - On the value of tending your garden

 

[image credit: geralt on pixabay.com]

Today's meditation:
On the value of tending your garden. [LinkedIn companion post]

I am well-known for my habits of gathering, organizing, and freely sharing knowledge.
In this sense, I take care to collect and cultivate seeds.

I have a fairly large knowledge management repository - which I have spent decades refining and continuing to capture notes, ideas, citations, bits of knowledge, research papers, profiles of interesting people (investors, leaders, scientists, researchers, innovators, creators, makers), news on various businesses and industries that I find interesting, emerging trends, experiments, techniques, problems/solutions, vendor product developments, etc.

My collection of research notes on interesting articles, papers, blog posts, news items, etc. - for each year - are personally curated - and massive.

Within the last hour, a request came in from a former colleague, asking for some suggested background reading on a very particular topic. I just sent him 16 specific recommendations.

That was possible because of my consistent discipline in developing a personal knowledge management practice.

On Friday, I had a mentoring call with a young undergraduate student who is planning to do some graduate study in Europe, with a keen eye to universities in Germany. I provided him a fairly lengthy list of PhD researchers and professors there (in my network, and in fields related to his studies), that I recommended he connect with on LinkedIn.

That was possible because I have invested time in building a professional network that spans the globe.

A good gardener does not sit idle. You must tend to your garden and nurture the soil - continuing to plant seeds - so that it may bring forth fruit and nourish others.

May your harvest be bountiful.

2025-01-29 Wed - When You Need a "10th Man"

 

Today's meditation:
When you are planning a major high-risk business/technology initiative - you need a "10th man" (or, woman)

That also goes for every board, steering committee, leadership team...

To obtain the maximum benefit, you should engage an outsider.

Someone that is free from the political pressure of existing/operating within the framework of your organization.

Someone that is unencumbered by the potentially debilitating concerns of whether their honest feedback will jeopardize their status as an employee, or put them at risk of obtaining an unfavorable annual review, or that speaking truth to power might put their bonus in jeopardy.

When your very survival is at stake, when you require discretion, when depth and breadth of experience is critical - and integrity is essential...call me.

For anything less, call someone else.

 

[LinkedIn companioin post]

 

2025-01-08 Wed - Some Recent Aggregated Key Observations - Coaching and Mentoring

[image credit: Tama66 on pixabay.com]

 

 

Today's meditation:
Recently, I had an opportunity to offer several folks some much needed career coaching/mentoring.

Sometimes, those conversations require some pointed advice, and some harsh truths. Especially when the person is laboring under delusions that are actively harming their efforts.

As a generic summary of some aggregated key observations:

No, you are not being discriminated against.

Here's why companies and recruiters are not responding to your application submission:

Your resume is like a tragic construction project that was abandoned mid-build.

Your resume is a recitation of places you have worked - but doesn't reflect WHAT you CONTRIBUTED, the IMPACT you had, or the RESULTS you produced....and, more importantly, you have not QUANTIFIED those details.

As a metaphor, your competition (for any job in your field of specialization) have invested time & effort to build a career, experience, and credentials - that would best be characterized as "showing up in a Ferrari" - while you have been satisfied with building a career that might best be characterized as "showing up in a Yugo".

You have made ZERO effort to distinguish yourself.

You have made ZERO effort to demonstrate thought leadership.

You have demonstrated ZERO effort to show that you are curious - and have been continually learning.

You have made ZERO effort to build a professional network.

You have not even tried to leverage the very meager professional network you have haphazardly built by happenstance.

You have NOT done THE WORK - to prepare yourself to compete in this job market.

You are NOT owed a job.
You must EARN the right to a job.

You have simply SHOWED UP - and exigent supply-demand forces have allowed you to have a job, in the past.

You have apparently depended on LUCK and HOPE - and that is no longer a feasible job search strategy.

You have been COASTING.

You need to GET OUT OF NEUTRAL.

You need to LIGHT A FIRE in your belly.
 

2024-12-31 Tuesday - 2024 Reflections

[image credit: Markéta Klimešová (MAKY_OREL) on Pixabay.com]

 

 

 Stats:

• [2] client engagements completed 
• Client #1: ~$260B+ annual revenue, automotive/manufacturing sector
  
• Enterprise Architecture consulting services
•  Client #2: ~$5B annual revenue, health & wellness sector
•  Enterprise Architecture consulting services

• [301] commits to my personal knowledge management GitHub repositories

 

 

 

• [6,541] LinkedIn connections
  
• [4] new LinkedIn recommendations  
• [75] total
  

• [90] architects interviewed/assessed
  
• [32] individual career coaching/mentoring sessions given
  
• [9] resume reviews completed
  

• [6,700+] miles traveled
  
• [10] Cities visited 
  

• [39,603] lines recorded in my 2024 Technology Reading List notes
  

• [18] blog posts published
  
• [5] books/manuscripts reviews completed - technical
• [1] books/manuscripts reviews completed -science fiction
  

 

Noteworthy 2024 LinkedIn Engagement

 

 

 

 

2024-12-14 Saturday - Today's Meditation: Analysis & Design

 

[image credit: MItodru Ghosh on unsplash.com]

Today's meditation:
Ready-Fire-Aim is a poor strategy in lieu of minimally adequate Analysis & Design.

Analysis & Design are intrinsic to creating long-term sustainable value.

However, Analysis & Design are approaching the point of being endangered skills:

Analysis helps us clarify and understand:

- What are the requirements?
- What is needed?
- Why?

- What do we have?
- What are the gaps?

- Who & What will be impacted, and how?

- What can be kept?
- What must be replaced?

- Is this the right thing to do?
- What are the *possible* consequences if we delay, or do nothing?

- What are other possible alternatives?

- How much *might* this cost (to create, to run, to maintain)?

- Do we have the right capabilities?
- Do we have the right people?
- Do we need to invest in training?

Today, there is rarely & barely sufficient attention given to Design - and Analysis is paper thin, at best.