Our minds crave simplicity.
The doctor says to take a pill. We eagerly agree because it’s simple. Until he tells us that the pill will cause us to lose our hair. Ouch! Now it becomes more complicated and not such a great idea.
Continue reading“People are drawn to black and white opinions because they are simple, not because they are true. Truth demands serious effort and thought.”
Donald Miller
Making decisions based strictly on data rarely works out.
Let’s take ratings, as an example. Making programming decisions based solely upon ratings is like driving with a GPS that shows only where you’ve been. It’s like driving your car while looking in the rear view mirror.
(Ratings can’t illuminate the three most important factors to making good programming decisions. See Frost Advisory #664)
Continue readingTitles are funny. For some reason we assume if someone has a title that means that they know how to do the job.
I’ve known organizations that would be transformed if only one simple thing happened – that the one person with a particular expertise was the one person who made the decision in that particular area.
I’ve known far too many programmers that didn’t know how to program, managers that didn’t know how to manage, and engineers that didn’t know how to… whatever it is they do.
Continue readingJimmy Buffett wasn’t a one hit wonder, but almost.
Did you know that he never had a #1 hit on Billboard, and had only one song, “Margaritaville,” that even reached the top 10.
And yet the idea of “Margaritaville” inspired restaurants and resorts, a Broadway musical and retirement communities turning Buffett’s alleged desire for the simplicity of island life into a multimillion brand. He’s on the list of Forbes’ America’s Richest Celebrities with a net worth of one billion dollars.
What’s my point?
Continue readingWhat do you see in this picture, taken half a century ago this month?
Some will just see four guys and a lady standing on the curb. Not a very compelling picture, wouldn’t you say, with most of the faces barely visible.
Others will recognize those four lads as the Beatles, but don’t realize the photo’s significance without context.
A few will see this picture for what it really is – a rare shot of The Beatles taken just moments before the photo that was to become one of the most famous album covers in history – Abbey Road, the last album the Beatles recorded.
Well now, how I am going to turn THIS into a Frost Advisory?
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