Despite many federal and state regulations aimed at improving the safety of utilities workers in the United States, there are several fatalities and many more injuries every year resulting from arc flash incidents on the job. Thankfully, advancements in worker safety technology have been helping organizations to reduce the occurrence and the risk of these […]
Project Management
The Innovation Wildcard – Surprise Yourself!
An innovation wildcard is a team member who is there to add a unique perspective that the rest of the team may not have. This person can be within the organization or pulled from outside. They may have deep expertise in other areas, or they may be new and more likely to question everything. Innovation […]
Observations From Making the Move From Jira to Azure DevOps: Key Differences, Pros and Cons
It’s a tale as old as time, or at least as old as Star Wars. I have “gone to the dark side” of project management platforms by dipping my toes in the Azure DevOps pool (spoiler alert, come on in! The water is fine). And while these two platforms can even be integrated with one […]
Unleashing Creativity through Constraints
When you hear the word “constraints,” what creative images and stories does your mind conjure up? The word often leads people toward negative thoughts of confinement, limitations, obstacles, or not getting what you want. With this article, though, I want to talk about useful constraints and how they can encourage creativity and innovation. Common Views […]
The Pain of Honest Evaluations
People are funny. We reason with ourselves that we want the truth, but we prove time and again that we prefer being lied to. If your gut reaction to that statement is defiance, there is a strong chance that you’re lying to yourself about your own emotions. This article isn’t about the psychology of our […]
6 Idea Blockers – Psychology of Innovation
The psychology of innovation is like any other area of life where our brains and emotions simply get in the way of our progress. Even when we are aware of the pitfalls, they are unavoidable. Our brains are wired to fall into these traps. I recently wrote a blog post about harmful innovation myths, and […]
When “Buzz the Tower” Does Not Mean to Get into an F-14
Readers of a certain age will remember when Maverick, played by Tom Cruise, in Top Gun told Goose that it was time to“Buzz the Tower,” which meant the fighter pilots had to execute a low fly-by passing very close to the control tower at high speeds. The officer spilled his coffee over himself because of […]
Managing the Uncertainty and Complexity in Software Development – Flags and Lessons (part 3/3)
This is the third post of a blog series which summarizes the lessons I learned during a technological migration with high uncertainty and complexity. In the previous post, I talked about how I faced the problem. In this post, I’ll summarize the flags and lessons. I can conclude that no matter how hard a […]
It’s Probably My Fault – Always Assume the Problem is Yours
It was 2002 when I landed what I considered to be my first real professional job. I was hired by a small advertising agency as a graphic designer, though I mainly got the offer because I also knew how to build websites. At the time, I had not created any principles and would still often […]
Managing the Uncertainty and Complexity in Software Development – Facing the Problem (part 2/3)
This is the second post of a blog series that summarizes the lessons I learned during a technological migration with high uncertainty and complexity. In the previous post, I talked about how I discovered the original problem. In this post, I’ll talk about how I faced the problem. The details, uncertainty, and complexity kept my […]
Managing the Uncertainty and Complexity in Software Development – Discovering the Problem (part 1/3)
This is the first post of a blog series which summarizes the lessons I learned during a technological migration with high uncertainty and complexity. In this post, I’ll talk about how I discovered a problem. Recently, during a migration from a client’s project, I had the opportunity to apply and improve my skill set: technical, […]
Celebrating Differences in Global Teams
As typical of me, let me start off with a personal story and slowly move to the subject. I come from a family of authentic Indian cuisine experts. One of my favorite dishes that I can relish anytime and every time is “Aviyal”. Aviyal is a super simple dish where all vegetables get cooked in […]