Tipping Points

I'm on call this weekend.  And I've said for a while that my company does things wrong.  And we've never done anything about it.  I think this weekend was a tipping point.  It was a point where I realized just how little progress had been made towards known and desired goals.  There is nothing I can look at and say "yes, I have finished task X, Y, and Z.  Nothing.  Just a lot of mindless talk without real action. 

So today, in the midst of being pissed at what little work had been done, I made a list.  It's not the perfect list.  Just a list of actions that need to be accomplished and processes to complete to turn our out of control IT department into something I can be proud of. 

Kind of scares me, though.   Thomas Edison said "Opportunity is often missed because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work" and I think he's right.  Correcting the course of this ship is going to take weeks of effort.  Probably months or even years.  But it will take a lot.  But it needs done or nothing is ever going to change.

I already know the pace of growth isn't going to change.  We've been told that it's not going to slow down, and it might even get worse.  But I can't let that stop me.  I've simply got to get moving and get working.  You're either with me and you'll learn as I go, or you'll fail miserably.  I don't really care which, because there is work to do and I'm not going to work for a two-bit operation.  Not in the least.

library plan

The library project

So I’m used to not taking a lunch break and just working through.  I have decided that the time is better spent doing what I want to do, so I think I’m going to start what I call the library project.  A short period of intense learning on a daily basis, taking up part of my lunch hour.  The goal is pretty simple.  Take a finite amount of time and use it to learn something or grow as a person.  I’ve heard lots of stories and excuses from people as to why they can’t achieve their dreams.  And it really does shock me.  So what I’m looking at is something that is highly time constrained and structured, forced in during a period the average worker would have.  So long as you get a lunch break.

As for lunch, I usually take mine.  And I generally get an hour for lunch, so 30 minutes at the library should be enough time to both eat lunch and get some reading done.  The goal of this is self-improvement.   Now, here is how this works.  First, you need to find a library within your approved time frame.  If you have a three hour commute to get thirty feet, you are screwed.  I have a twenty minute commute, and work about five blocks from the downtown library.  So I’m close to where I need to be. 

Day one, which was today.

On day one, the goal is to simply learn the layout of the library.  Remember, you are under a time crunch so you don’t get to spend time talking to everyone and talking the grand tour.  Your best bet is to walk around and find the non-fiction stacks.  After finding those, just walk up and down the aisle, looking at book titles and noticing layouts.  Realize this: unless you have the library non-fiction marking system memorized, you are probably going to need to just look around for a while to find what you want.  But there are groupings, depending on your interest.

The goal of day one is just to get an idea of what is there, without making any choices on what subject to breach first.  You might not find what you are really looking for, or you might find a hundred things you’d like to read.  Pick subjects you might want to read, and write those down.  Once you have narrowed down the subject, you are ready for day two.

Day two

Find the subject area of the library that interests you.  After thirty minutes of wandering the place, you should have a vague idea where what you want might be located.  Once you find the area, flip through book covers until you think you’ve covered the area well.  Then, start looking for something to read.  Don’t bother finding a chair, because by the time you find a book the day will be over.  Remember, time crunch. 

Day three

Return to the area where you found your book, grab the sucker, and head for a chair.  Read as much as possible until you run out of time. 

That was the easy part.  Now, walk away and go back to work, thinking about what you have just read.  You now need to make a decision as to whether that book is worth continuing.  If you are bored after thirty minutes with the book, don’t bother trying to read any more.  Leave the book on the stacks and go find another book tomorrow. 

Remember, the goal here is rapidly finding and acquiring data in whatever manner you possibly can.  The faster you acquire information, the faster you can put that information to work. 

Hospitals

Camped out at a hospital for several hours, I realize that time is something that can just as easily be spent as used.  I wasn't prepared for this to distract myself from what was going on.  No entertainment downloaded.  Just a tv with cable and boredom all around.  So I find that I can download classes from iTunes U, and I should have been doing so all along.  But I never did.  And now I face a ridiculously slow hospital wireless network connection to download things I have plenty of time to watch.  And because I didn't have much of a plan, I'm writing this here using thumbs, and remembering my typing classes.  Sure, it's been twenty years since I took typing, but those thoughts still randomly come to mind.

The next morning.

iTunes U is pretty neat, and I think I’m liking it more and more since I’ve been playing with it.  It is an individual effort technology, though.  The information may be provided, but the end user still has to put in the effort to learn.  I’ve been spending my recent time with a networking class.  I’m convinced it will be more interesting once I make it past the introduction section and into the “meat and bones” of the subject. Given a larger screen size, iTunes U would be even better.  But I’m still just using my iPhone to view all this.  So tiny screen it is. 

Instant gratification

Restraint can be incredibly complicated some times.  It’s easy to kick back and say wonderful things about delayed gratification.  It’s another to look at a bank account that’s got money and follow that delayed gratification.  Often, it’s the money factor that causes the mental process to start ticking say, “we can do that… it’s only X dollars.  That’s not a big deal.  Yet spending X dollars on getting rid debt or increasing savings?  Oh no.  Couldn’t possibly do that.  See, it’s that whiny, screaming two year old inside of you, telling you to go do something because “you’ve got the money” when really you don’t and part of your brain knows it. 

Right now, I’m talking myself down from spending $20 on a game I didn’t budget for.  And part of me is screaming that I should just go and buy it.  But then I had a conversation with a friend last night, and that’s why I haven’t spent the money.  See, he took on a second job without purpose.  Just for the income.  “Getting more money” was the extent of his plan.  But what happens to that money?  The ants probably carry it away, if I was to guess.  Because there is no plan and no end game with that money.  There is no end in mind.  Steven Covey said “begin with the end in mind” and I have to agree with him.  Because I do have an end in mind and I do have a reason for not doing something right now. 

See, I made a plan.  A plan to get out of debt and to quit being broke and quit worrying about being broke.  It’s a good plan, or at least I think it is.  It will work, even though it will take several years.  And I didn’t put that money into the budget to buy that game this week, so I’d have to make up that shortfall some time later in the future.  I don’t know at what point that would be.  Probably another draw from savings.  But I don’t want to be that guy.  I don’t want to be broke, in debt, and hopeless.  I want to have enough control on my life that I won’t go off and piss away everything I’ve got. 

But it’s still hard.  See, the hardest part of discipline is doing it every single day, regardless of whether you want to or not.  But that is what will take you to the goal and get you where you want to go.  It’s up to us to decide the where.  So the only person you’re failing is you.  No one else.  So hop to it, bucko.  And quit trying to spend money you don’t have. 

Good talks

More TED talks to discuss.  Nothing brazenly horrible this time.  Actually, some good stuff was found.    Pico Iyer’s Where is Home was a pretty awesome talk.  So was Cameron Herold with let’s raise kids to be entrepreneurs.  The best though, was Simon Sinek with how great leaders inspire action.  Generally, I’ll listen to a talk once and move on.  This one I’ve listened to at least three times in the last couple of days.  I guess it’s the difference between a truly amazing talk and an “eh” talk.  Like I’ve said before…  TED has some great speeches.  You just have to dig to find them.

And it makes me wonder.  Why am I doing this? Profit and financial stability is the result, but why?  And unfortunately, I don’t have a good answer for that at the moment.  I haven’t had a good answer in a while.   My question has always been “Are you where you want to be?”  And the answer has always been “No”.  So I get up, I work, I study, and I do things that will lead to greater success.  But there is no great underlying “why” other than I don’t like being broke.  And I’ve come to realize that isn’t good enough. 

See, the end result isn’t enough when you are running a marathon.  It works decently for a sprint, but is worthless for a marathon.  That seems to be why I jump between sixteen different subjects with no focus.  Because there is no greater end result, just finishing for finishings sake.  I was right in the “you need to look inward” part, but the path was never well described.  I think I know the first step, and the first step begins with “why”.  Until I can answer that question, the rest of this isn’t worth much effort.  I’ll probably continue doing what I’m doing to some extent, because I know this is not home and this is not what I want to do for the rest of my life.   “This” being the job I currently work.  Or maybe I might.  I don’t know.  That needs to be figured out as well. 

Good talks inspire change.  Change is good.   

brilliant ideas... right before bed

9 PM at night, and I think I’ve solved a problem in my head.  I hate it when that happens.  The brain wants you to take something, and spit it out rapidly, producing exactly what is needed right then and there.  But part of my brain says “we must do this now” and the other part starts prototyping, trying to figure out the requirements. 

For this fix to work, it must be easily adjustable and produce good, accurate XML files.  Assuming those XML files are not completely site/version specific.  It’s hard to tell anymore.  Back in the old days, you could load something into a hex editor or Notepad and see every single hidden control character on a file.  Or if there weren’t any, you could relax and sigh some relief and just move on with the next part. 

The only problem is that this solution is as endlessly complex and scalable as it is wonderful.  I don’t think anyone would use it except me, unless I built a front end on the sucker, but it would be awesome.  I’m thinking of a SQL database full of various values, producing custom XML files in the proper format to import into a specific site so the files are automatically generated and imported with speed. 

The idea is great, but endlessly complex.  Partly because I’ve never setup SQL server or built a decent database, much less written a program of the complexity I’m talking about.  But if it was written, massive numbers of sites could rapidly get new data imports after one simple adjustment.  I like that idea.  It’s just a massive undertaking amongst all the other junk I have to handle.  Will I succeed at it?  No clue.  I’ll probably start and abandon the project at some point, but I don’t know when that will be.  It’s the nature of how my brain works and the DIY nature of the job I work.