Digest

After getting several feedback (yes, I do Voice of the Customers, LOL) and after looking at the current layout of this Blog, I believe now is a good 'rest point' and summarize what posts we have so far.

So here we go, I am going to list several popular entries, good to start from, based on several subjects:

Problem Solving:

Problemo Solved!
Simple Problem Solving
Creative Problem Solving
IDOAIM Problem Solving Series
Riddle Me This

Mindset:

The Luck Factor
Things You Cannot See
Important Quote
Stuck in the Past
Test Your Brain Response
Too Powerful to Worry

Entrepreneurship:

History of Jell-O
A Note from an Entrepreneur

As you see... Turns out that I am quite heavy on the Mindset subject. This is not intentional, but it shows my belief that solving problems creatively requires a fully checked mindsets. If you find yourself stuck: at work, at relationship, at business, or at anything, perhaps the answer is with the man in the mirror.

Cheers.

3,500 Visitors Milestone!

Allrighty... Moving forward.

Let's keep this going, shall we?

Problem Solving Series #5a - Analyze the Problem

Allright, now we have arrived at the most fun part of the IDOAIM problem solving steps: Analysis.

There are literally hundreds of ways to analyze your problem, but essentially here are key important features that you need to answer:

First of all, everything, I mean everything, has causes and effects. Your data collection, your site visits, and your analysis should discover what causes which effects. There are several simple tools to analyze numerical data and answer whether a particular variable affects a particular output:

a. Scatter plot: If you have a numeric variable that is continuous, i.e. you can have any real numbers that spans a particular range, preferably a very wide range, and if you have an output in question that is also continuous and spans wide, you may want to plot these pairs into a simple scatter plot and see if small value of the input has a small value of output. Here is an example:

Courtesy of Jessica Hannah's Map Catalog - jessicahannahmaps.blogspot.com

In that scatter plot, whatever SAT is, it surely affects Beta Test score, whatever that is. So you don't really need to know what they are to know they are related. Nifty, right?

Don't go too fast!

It is still a good idea to understand the logic behind the relationship, because sometimes there is this thing called autocorrelation, which we shouldn't dwell too much here. (If you insist on an explanation, check this out, a simple illustration).

to be continued...

Selamat Hari Raya Lebaran

I am back!

For now, at least.

It has been quite a hectic several months at my end, and it proves several things, related to Change Management:

1. Creation of a new habit and new routine requires good time management: I started this blog with a serious intent to regularly keep it updated and pour (almost) everything I know about problem solving. Then I got into a strong headwind: Life and everything about it. First of all, I am currently involved in what I would like to call Project Utopia - a long term business transformation through the process of inductive evolution (are you hearing a tune from Tom Cruise's series Mission Impossible? Well, we'll see. This project is going to be a good series to write). Simply put, it is taking a huge amount of my time. Then there are other small pesky things such as Internet connection issue, writer's block, and health issue. My poor time management has put me behind on developing new blogging routine.
2. Creation of a new habit and new routine requires a massive amount of willpower and discipline: Some of you might already think about this as you read point number 1 - All those reasons of being behind in my blog, they look like excuses. Surely you can get around them and write, Dax? Sure I can. I guess I have to admit it. My main issue is not enough will power to move a finger and type, and keep to my daily blogging schedule. Surely it only takes about 15-30 minutes to write a simple blog such as this one, and surely I can always squeeze in that time during the day. We daydream longer than that in a day. Test it out yourself - run a time journal for a week and be surprised at how much hours we waste.
3. Creation of a new habit and new routine requires VISION and REASON - It needs a strong DESIRE: All right. I am not sure if I am 100% correct here. But when I look back and think of why I cannot get the willpower and the discipline I need to create this blog, probably it is because I lost my vision of purpose - perhaps I have become less willing to leave a scratch in the sea of information, and perhaps my head has too much cross talks to focus on why I am writing in the first place.

I am sure there are other reasons (excuses?) for a successful creation of a new habit in your work place (new process, new structure, new job description, new... anything), which is the essential result of any Change Management program. But I am sticking to these three main points: Making sure you spend time to adapt to change, making sure you WANT to change and stay on course of change, and making sure you know WHY you want to change.

Until next time.