by John Macdonald | Apr 13, 2024 | The250
Adding extra capacity sometimes leads to worse overall performance. “More is better.””If I just had more money.””That’s easy for you, you have more money/time/land/etc.” We often conflate abundance with advantage. It can be.... by John Macdonald | Apr 12, 2024 | The250
Last weekend, I drove to NYC to deposit my oldest son and his girlfriend back in Brooklyn after they had spent a nice weekend with us. Up and back through three of the five boroughs: Staten Island, Brooklyn, and Manhattan. I’ve driven through NYC dozens, maybe... by John Macdonald | Apr 11, 2024 | The250
Work expands to fill the time available for completion. I hate meetings at work. And you do, too. I know you do. Long ago, bleary-eyed in the middle of the night, I learned a couple of valuable lessons about meetings. The first is we have way too many.... by John Macdonald | Apr 10, 2024 | The250
When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure. “Is this going to be on the test?””What code do I use to ensure this is covered by insurance?””How do you rank me against my peers?” We game the system. It’s... by John Macdonald | Apr 9, 2024 | The250
Two-way door decisions are the kind where you can always change your mind, back up, and make the other decision. Ordering a burger is a two-way door decision. One-way door decisions are the kind where you can’t go back once you make it. Jumping out of the... by John Macdonald | Apr 8, 2024 | The250
Customer: Can you help me with this problem?Clerk: Not my job. Manager: Will you help Jane figure this out?Employee: Not my job. Test Engineer: Can you help me understand how this works?Software Engineer: Not my job. “Not my job” may seem like the...