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.