over (DE)centralization

Centralizing the control and knowledge in one point is in effect creating a single-point-of-failure and multiple points willing to relocate to the center. As a result motivation to work is reduced, creativity is restricted by burdening and tangled communication channels,

Over decentralization is equally dangerous. Surprisingly for the very similar reasons.

To me, this rule is equally true for countries, governments and enterprises. I hope to find some guidance how to balance between these two extremities.

Sun smile

This morning, for no particular reason, and despite all the troubles that are pressing my head, the sun in the sky made me smile.

I suppose this is due to the fact, that from the evolutionary theory perspective, we are all children of the sun. A fact to support this is the ease of communication that a single smile can bring.

The sun is behind clouds now, but the memory of it is still alive. I plan to share it with whomever I meet today ;- )))

"Yes" or "No"

"German" or "Chinese"

Sometimes the best motivator is the situation we are dealing with.

For a couple of days I have been wondering which language or learn: German, Chinese or a combination of both. The big problem was that both courses had to start at the same time.

Before taking a decision, I did my preparation according to the guidance of Spencer Johnson's "Yes" or "No". My mind was telling me that I should pick up the useful German. My heart was dragging me towards the "cool" Chinese. As a result I was close to the idea of sparing more time for German and keeping the Chinese as a side dish.

Unfortunately for the Chinese, the organizers turned out to be impolite and I lost my confidence in them. So now I am in a position to study German only and search for a new Chinese language course offering.

Additionally, my next target in mastering the "Yes" or "No" tactics is to take decisions without relying on the circumstances.

"I have no particular talent. I am merely inquisitive." - Albert Einstein

Motivating the Change

I have finished the first, theoretical part of the SAP book about BPM. It contains a very good summary of the history and theory of the matter.

However, one of the strongest summaries of the whole improvement idea is the one from Exupery:



"If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless see"

I have tried to connect it with my experience: persuading separate people to yearn is difficult and requires a lot of tact. It is even more problematic in a large organization as it meets different kinds of resistance on different levels and in different locations.

Well, I am most than willing to assist in helping people yearn about the see. I just hope that more of the people I meet will be able to see the poor elephant in the snake's stomach.

The Dip

At school we were thought that one negative example is enough to invalidate the theory we are trying to prove.

The Dip by Seth Godin is exactly the same example. It shoots at you statements that make you doubt your own behavior. It helps you question the theories supporting your existential philosophy. It is like a real friend supporting you and giving you a hope and advice.

But do not be fooled by the "entertaining book" description on the back cover. A handful of courage to dwell in your deepest motivational factors will not be enough to really entertain yourself and smile at your mistakes. This book will send shivers up and down your spine. But it is for a good reason, as they will help you get through the dip. You can only hope that a fortunate circumstance will face you with it in time before you choose too many wrong battles.

Being Good vs. Being Respected

As a young kid I watched A Bronx Tale movie. One of the many topics is about the borderline between being good to people around you and being respected by them.

The gang boss Sonny had an interesting summary of the survival rules:
You should be tough on people, so that they fear you. At the same time you should be kind to people, so that they need and maybe love you and do not feel urged to kill you. The secret is in the balance between love and hate.

Nowadays, thinking about murder is not among the widespread fears. Nevertheless there are many different forms of deaths in our society. At work your idea might not win if you are not pushy enough. Or if people think you are too light-hearthed even though this is a sign of a life-philosophy (Happy Gilmore) and not a problem solving capability.

Sadly, even though we are mostly not living in a gangster environment, we are still guided by such rules.

The Original Zebra

It is Madagascar time again. The focus this time will be on the existentially confused Zebra. He is enjoying and dreaming of the colorful world. Yet, he is trapped by the impossibility to answer the quesiton:

"Am I a black Zebra with white stripes
or white zebra with black stripes?"

Can somebody help him answer it?

What do you mean? What did you say?

Have you ever wondered why people stare at you with those special empty look, silently conveying to you that they got lost somewhere in your words? What is even worse, as you can not get the precious "empty look" feedback, is to have some of your writings being misunderstood. I suppose this is the reason, why in most cases I prefer the face to face dialogues.

Some time ago, my wife found an interesting sounding book:
Powerful Reports and Proposals.
It deals with corporate communication. The interesting aspect is that most of the observations are true for the off-work interrelations as well. Probably it is due to the fact that after all we are all people.

Nevertheless, if you see some improvement in my writing, then you should know that this book is a good one.