Challenges
By admin | May 31, 2009
So much for my wishful thinking. Losing your boss and his boss is not good for morale. After many sleepless nights, I have a lot of reflection to do.
Here’s a poem for the moment:
How Did You Die?
By Edmund Vance Cook
Did you tackle that trouble that came your way
With a resolute heart and cheerful?
Or hide your face from the light of day
With a craven soul and fearful?
Oh, a trouble’s a ton, or a trouble’s an ounce,
Or a trouble is what you make it.
And it isn’t the fact that you’re hurt that counts,
But only how did you take it?
You are beaten to earth? Well, well, what’s that?
Come up with a smiling face.
It’s nothing against you to fall down flat,
But to lie there — that’s disgrace.
The harder you’re thrown, why the higher you bounce;
Be proud of your blackened eye!
It isn’t the fact that you’re licked that counts;
It’s how did you fight and why?
And though you be done to death, what then?
If you battled the best you could;
If you played your part in the world of men,
Why, the Critic will call it good.
Death comes with a crawl, or comes with a pounce,
And whether he’s slow or spry,
It isn’t the fact that you’re dead that counts,
But only, how did you die?
Topics: Professional | No Comments »
Silly Goose!
By admin | May 24, 2009
It’s been an interesting couple of months 
The first version of the project I was working on in the Gates Foundation was released a couple months ago. The feedback so far is almost universal disapproval. It’s humorous that this response is better than what I expected.
- The problems that have been identified are fixable
- The conversations to improve the system have finally taken off
- Leadership has stayed committed to the goals that were defined
I may have skipped out on an MBA for this opportunity, but there are no classes in the world that could have given me a better business education. What an incredible experience!
I’m adopting a kitten. My girlfriend and I named him “Silly Goose” months ago and now we finally have him in our hands. Well… I will have him in my hands soon. Megan is on a two month stint as a nurse with Project HOPE in South America. Silly Goose and I are looking forward to welcoming her home.
In my short time as a pseudo-bachelor, I’ve run through an amazing assortment of gadgets:
- Sold my 17″ Macbook Pro and got an HP 2140 – I love Apple and its eBay resale value. Surprisingly, I sold the Macbook Pro for $50 more than what I purchased it for six months ago. The tiny HP 2140 netbook has proven itself to be a ridiculously cheap and effective replacement.
- Bought and sold a Viliv S5 – I worked with a tiny OQO machine for over an year and loved it. However, computers that small are not really for productivity. The company is now out of business. I purchased a Viliv S5 from Hong Kong to see what the buzz was about and sold it one day later. I couldn’t justify keeping it.
- Bought a Slacker G2 Radio – I’m very impressed with the Slacker Radio Service. I don’t like purchasing music and I no longer have a regular radio. Slacker provides customized music stations and artist discovery for a very reasonable price. You either hate or love the music it plays and it customizes the playlist accordingly.
- Purchased a Advanced Frames Inflatable kayak – I knew I wanted a kayak but I never thought I would get an inflatable. The Advanced Frames kayak weighs as much as a regular kayak but is infinitely more portable. I take it down to a launching point on Lake Union and inflate it. This is a purchase you can’t justify by dividing the cost of a kayak by the number of weekend kayak rental trips. I simply kayak much more often because I own one.
- Bought a Kindle 2 eBook Reader – Another purchase that can’t be justified by simple math. With an eBook reader, I just read a lot more books than I would than at a library or through a brick and mortar book store. It’s wonderful!
There are a ton of cool gadgets coming out soon. I’m sure I’ll be checking a few of them out.
- Palm Pre – I predict that Palm will resurrect itself with this awesome phone and finally give the iPhone some competition. I don’t I’ll get it because I’m not interested in a two year contract with Sprint
- New Generation Apple Devices – I know a new iPhone is coming. What else could Apple pull out this year? What else will I initially dismiss but eventually buy?
- Larger Kindle DX – Finally, a full page eBook reader that I can print my work documents to. Who needs a 6″ screen when you can have 9.7″?
- Nokia N97 – Unfortunately, I’ve pre-ordered this device despite knowing it won’t be a good fit. For $200 off the retail price plus a bluetooth headset, I’m sure it will eBay well.
I’ve also caught up on a ridiculous number of TV Shows:
- First Season of Fringe – This looks like a cross between the X-Files and Alias. Its one of the best new shows I’ve seen in a while. With all the good shows ending over the past couple of years – the Wire, Shield, Heroes (I like to pretend that ended after the first season), Sarah Conner Chronicles, Battlestar Galactica - it’s nice to have a new show to enjoy.
- Seventh Season of 24 – Almost too predictable after 7 seasons. It’s still fun to watch, but its novelty is gone. Jack Bauer needs to retire.
- Dollhouse – It’s been renewed for another season, but I’m not sure if I like this show yet. I’ll give it time.
- Season 5 of Lost – This is definitely my favorite show of all time. The season finale was another game changer. It’s too bad that there is only one season left.
I’ve had visits from my friends in other states and countries, and I’ve taken a few trips on my own. Life is good. I will be launching another workoutrageous competition. I’m looking into twitter integration…
Topics: Hobbies, Personal, Professional, Tech | No Comments »
Polar Bears or the Poor?
By admin | February 15, 2009
“It is interesting how often the impact of climate change is illustrated by talking about the problems the polar bears will face rather than the greater number of poor people who will die unless significant investments are made to help them” – Bill Gates, in his 2009 Annual Letter
Polar bears or people? Unfortunately, it’s obvious that the impact of climate change on Polar Bears would resonate more with a Western audience than hordes of suffering people in Africa. Even more unfortunate is that this statement is applicable to almost every world problem. If underserved populations around the world looked more like sad puppies or disheveled kittens, perhaps we wouldn’t have to market global issues this way. Kudos Mr. Gates… you’ve used a single concise statement to describe the frustration of millions of social workers.
My work is getting more intense as we approach a major deadline. I’ve had a chance to reflect on some of my key decisions over the past few months:
- I did not apply for an MBA. Given the state of the economy and the fact that I’m already in an organization that I would join post-MBA, I’m happy with the status quo. I’ve recognized that movement within the Gates Foundation is more difficult than I imagined. An MBA might not be the right degree to help me get to the positions I want.
- I’m downsizing my material possessions. It’s time to go back to the basics… getting rid of the 52″ LCD TV, netflix subscriptions, most of my gadgets, and potentially most of my furniture. I plan to reinvest this into the community using my 3:1 Gates Foundation match. My job gives me an option to be a social entrepreneur in my community. I’m going to take full advantage of it.
Another Workoutrageous competition has started. This would be the 5th one since I created the site. For the first time, someone else is the Administrator. I plan to make updates “in game” based on her feedback. The code base is stable. I’m excited about how it will go… maybe my mistake in previous games was being the Admin. While I’m great at development and solving the technical side of the game, I have definite weaknesses on the social side of it.
Topics: Personal, Professional, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Malcolm Gladwell
By admin | January 25, 2009
One of the main benefits of being at the Gates Foundation is the large number of special guests and speakers we have every year. Last Friday, we hosted a chat with the brilliant Malcolm Gladwell. I had never read any of his books before but I had heard glowing reviews for Tipping Point and Blink. The focus of his discussion was his new book – Outliers. Despite the name, the real intent of the book is not to point out what is unique about an individual or situation, it is to present the unique set of circumstances that lead to an “outlier”. He was brilliant! Some of the things he discussed:
• Why rice growing traditions in Southeast Asia have led to higher math test scores
• Why most elite hockey players are born during the early parts of the year
• Why the birthdate of a majority of our software tycoons is within the same three year period
I purchased his book for a friend and got it signed, however I could not stop myself from reading it from page to page over the past weekend. It is brilliant!
The inauguration of Barack Obama is tomorrow. One of Malcolm’s most interesting speaking points was that America sees Obama as an outlier but in many ways he is not. Symbollically he might be the fruition of Martin Luthor King’s dreams, but technically his background doesn’t match. In the end, it doesn’t really matter. Tomorrow we will have an inspiring new president with an inbox from hell. I have tremendous faith in him.
Topics: Hobbies, Personal | No Comments »
Leadership and Feedback
By admin | January 15, 2009
This has been a very interesting week. Work is getting tougher and tougher as we approach a major deadline but I’m enjoying it tremendously. However, there are a number of challenges in our project that need to be addressed.
Surprisingly, we had a forum where our executive leadership allowed us to discuss our problems. I thought it was a great idea. However, there were two unexpected outcomes:
- I discovered that there were people suffering from the same challenges who had not been vocal about it before. This was very reassuring.
- The people who had been vocal about problems did not want to speak up. This was incredibly disconcerting.
I asked my question to leadership and they addressed it as well as they could. It seemed like they were recording my thoughts for future action. This made me happy. However, right after the meeting, I felt worried. Many of my peers felt like the forum was not the right place to discuss certain problems and that specific questions would be “career limiting moves”.
I feel like I made the right decision in voicing my concerns but I appreciate the challenge that executives face when searching for feedback. How do you create an environment where concerns can be heard while people do not feel threatened?
Topics: Professional | No Comments »
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