It’s the Lunar New Year, and the coming year is the Yang Water Tiger. Let’s deconstruct what this means. Every year in the Chinese Zodiac – which is used by many Asian cultures – is characterized by an energy, an element, and an animal. Disclaimer To be clear, since we’re normally talking data and analytics…
In East Asian cultures (China, Japan, and Korea), the lunar new year always has three different attributes. There’s one of twelve animal spirits, one of five elements, and a yin or yang energy attribute. This year (2021) is the year of the yin metal ox. The last time we had this particular combination was 1962.…
Daniel Johnson Jr. recently asked: For every one of my strengths, there is a balcony and a basement level. The balcony level of a strength is when the strength is showing up at its peak effectiveness. The basement level is when the strength can potentially become a weakness. For example, I’m one to whom strangers…
Brittany asks, “At what point do you stop doing work for someone and how do you tell them, sorry… love to, but I charge for that?!?!” This is a question that every consultant has had to answer at some point in their careers. There are some bad actors out there who will absolutely take advantage…
I was asked recently, “what is the difference between change and improvement?” This is an intriguing question, because at first, it seems like improvement should be a subset of change. But is it? Change and improvement are two different things. Change is doing something different. Improvement is is getting better at doing the same thing.…
What’s the value of best practices? Some people live and breathe them; other people roundly criticize them. What’s the story? Best practices are competence in a box. They help us to quickly get up to speed on documented, reviewed, and approved ways of doing things. When you’re first starting out in anything, this is a…
One of my favorite comfort dishes is simple Japanese miso soup, often served in Japanese restaurants as an appetizer. Miso soup is made from a few simple ingredients such as miso paste, bonito flakes, and seaweed; while it’s not difficult to make, there are some tricks to make it as close to restaurant quality as…
In the martial arts, we spend a lot of time learning how to face and deal with difficult situations, dangerous enemies, and unpredictable challenges. However, the worst, most dangerous enemies we often face are ourselves. We get in our own way. We sabotage ourselves. We make things more difficult than they have to be. We…
What’s the difference between leadership vs. management? Imagine you’ve got a patch of woods that’s brambles, thorns, trees, and brush. You need to move yourself and your group through the woods safely and quickly. The Leader is the person in front, hacking away at the foliage, making the trail for others to follow. The Manager is the person who…
