Author: thisduck

problem –> solution

A lot of management folk I’ve dealt with have brought this up enough times that it’s worth talking about. I cannot stress how wrong this is, but I will try.

The idea is that if you bring up or voice a problem that you must also present a solution.

Any managers that say this or propagate this are practising weak management. They are not doing their job properly.

There are many reasons for this. Most important of all is that organizations that truly excel and improve have a policy of transparency and brutal honesty. Problems and concerns within an organization must traverse the entire management food chain.

In my opinion, bringing up a problem is the most crucial part, regardless of whether you propose a solution or not. Problems equal opportunity, and that opportunity ought to be shared amongst the team/organization. To assume that the person who finds the problem will be the best to solve it is foolish. Having the “no problems without solutions” policy leads to people bottling up problems until they’re able to draw out a solution. This leads to a collection of problems that should have been addressed a long time ago. You cannot afford to have people afraid to voice problems and in general their opinions.

Bringing up problems provides everyone a chance to collaboratively find solutions. Delaying problems simply magnifies them in the future.

The idea is not to create an environment where people are whining, no. The idea is to foster an environment where people are free to voice problems, and collectively discuss and solve them. So as a manager when you tell your team that they shouldn’t voice problems without solutions. You’re failing them. You don’t know what you don’t know, it’s okay to accept that.

mark my words

I’m trying my darnedest at school not to be sucked in by grading systems. Marks are wrong. The system by which we are graded is extremely flawed. I’m not saying I know a better way. I do not. I simply see what we have currently as flawed.

It’s not conducive to the process of learning at all. Not to mention how the competitive nature of the ranking process often discourages creative collaboration.

In one of the classes a girl was asking a series of questions to see if her approach to the a problem was correct. Her last question was, “But I won’t get a zero will I?”. This highlights the problem with marks. Students are tailoring the way they think and approach problems so that they achieve the highest grades. This, as opposed to thinking about ways to best solve the problem.

In fact, students will often only do assignments because they will be graded on them. Marks become a reason for getting students to do things or else they wouldn’t be interested in doing anything. The grading systems we have are poor substitutes for proper teaching techniques. Grading schemes allow teachers to be lazy in the way they structure the “learning” process. They don’t have to make lessons involving or interesting. They simply need to attach a value by way of marks.

Clearly the system is broken.

More on this later.

can you really?

Random thoughts/sentences.

The more things change the more they remain the same.

A very well run campaign indeed. Tremendous, in fact. Does that translate into anything else? Who knows?

Obama’s campaign had to be one of the best run large-scale marketing campaigns ever. Ever.

It will be interesting to see what happens next. Let’s be “hopeful”, but let’s not fool ourselves. They’re all politicians after all.

One thing that is hopefully indicative of how someone operates is that Obama seemed to surround himself with the right people and let them to their job. This is a very good trait to have in any situation. It’s nice being a great public speaker, charismatic, calm and cool and all, but if you don’t surround yourself with the right people (and let them do their work), it’s all for not.

Change? If nothing, hopefully it’s a change in attitude and change in perception.

It’s almost easy to care one day every four (US) or five (Canadian) years. But do we have a way of keeping the government honest along the way? Some form of accountability that’s is not yet another full fledged election. Can you imagine if during a campaign there was a neutral committee that fines a party for each false claim they make? Carry this into their term, and actually somehow holds a party accountable for their campaign promises?

I do have to say, the Americans have impressed me. This is the same country that let Bush be president for two terms, and clearly elected him for one (the second) term. And despite the smear campaign run by the Republicans, they still elected Obama.

Muslim. Arab. Pals around with terrorists. Socialist. Marxist.

And still, they elected him. Thank you for showing politicians that smear campaigns are awful, and they should not work.

in transit

Scene 1

Person1 is sleeping in the corner seat in the subway car. Person2 is sitting adjacent to Person1 and reading a newspaper. The subway car comes to a station, the doors open, Person2 is still reading the paper. The chimes go off to indicate that the doors are closing. Person2 realizes that this is their stop. “Oh shit!”, says Person2 before they drop the newspaper on the floor and run towards the doors.

Scene 2

Person3 walks into the subway car. Sits in front of the paper and starts to read it without picking it off the floor.

Scene 3

Person4 and Person5 are reading the paper and start having a discussion over one of the articles.

Scene 4

Person6 (guy) and Person7 (girl) are sitting next to each other, both reading that paper. Person7 goes to turn the page but Person6 interrupts, “I’m still reading.”

They strike up a conversation and at the end Person7 decides to give Person6 her number. She has a pen, but nothing to write on. “You have a piece of paper?”, she asks. Person6 searches his pockets and finds nothing. Person6 decides to tear off a piece of the newspaper and Person7 writes down her number.

Scene 5

The subway car comes to a stop at a station. Person1, sleeping all this time, is startled. The chimes go off. Person1 realizes this is their stop. “Oh Shit!”, says Person1 and runs towards the doors. Person1 steps on the newspaper and slips and falls to the floor.

The doors close.

THE END.