If you’re going to take on a large and risky project, it’s helpful to know thyself. A simple tool to is a SWOT analysis.A SWOT analysis invites you to consider your strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats. At the same time, you also examine internal and external forces working upon you. You can use the analysis to close gaps on weaknesses, mitigate threats, or determine how to best seize opportunities. I recently did “personal SWOT” with my team as part of our performance review. Valuable discussions happened. I recommend it.

I love this quote from the late Charlie Munger’s USC commencement address: It’s such a simple idea. It’s the golden rule so to speak: You want to deliver to the world what you would buy if you were on the other end. There is no ethos, in my opinion, that is better for any lawyer or any other person to have. By and large the people who have this ethos win in life and they don’t win just money, not just honors. They win the respect, the deserved trust of the people they deal with, and there is huge pleasure in life to be obtained from getting deserved trust.Click here to watch the full thing.From Marcus Aurelius, to the Bible, to Charlie Munger — it seems our mission in life is to show up with a product, service, or idea that makes positive change for those we seek to serve.

I admire parents.

I am not a parent.

I have no intention to become one at this point. And, I am in no position to judge how people parent their children.

I am in the position, I believe, to admire people who do parent children.

Parents have a patience about them; even when they don’t appear to be patience.

Parents negotiate the logic of little humans expertly. Kids are vicious negotiators.

I’m reading “Noise” by Daniel Kahneman, Oliver Sibony, and Cass sunstein. The authors talk about the flaws in our judgment — bias and noise. I think you likely understand bias. I don’t know if we truly understand noise. I’m learning that noise shows up in group decisions. For example, if 4 people solve a problem that involves judgment; you might have 4 wildly different answers — that’s noise. Musically speaking, if a group of musicians all approached the same piece of music differently and couldn’t agree on a common interpretation — that would be a “noisy” performance.You might see some more posts from me about noise and reducing noise. I hope you’ll enjoy the learnings as much as I enjoy the readings.

I finished reading The Art of Intelligence today. Henry Crumpton, the author, built his career in the CIA as an intelligence and counter-terrorism officer. If you like spy novels and Jason Bourne style stories, you won’t find too much value in the book. Perhaps the real-world spy industry is not as exciting as Hollywood portrays. If you want insights into how to think more clearly, you will find value in the book. Intelligence is for helping people make better decisions. Intelligence documents are products created by observers for the benefit of a customer — a policymaker, politician, customer, CEO, friend, etc. Good intelligence considers the objective of the customer, states what is observed, and offers an analysis (ramifications and implications) based on the customer’s objective. I think about my work. How do I make great intelligence products for my leaders and my customers? I think about you. How might I find better insights to share with you via this blog?I think about music. How might our art be a form of intelligence? What are our audience’s objectives when they come to listen to us? How do we serve up an insight to them that helps them get more of what they want from us?I wonder if good intelligence is nothing more than serving the needs of others.

Why must a 17-year old decide what they’ll do with their life? What makes us think that life shaped that person enough to know the path to take? You can argue that a 17-year old doesn’t need to decide. They always can change their path. Choosing a major doesn’t mean they’ve chosen a career. In the world of job search, would-be employers always want to know what someone did in college. What projects did you work on? What were your goals? Does my company help you achieve those goals? It’s track-oriented. Major leads to projects leads to career (in that example). It’s also possible that a college student chooses a path that interests them then; but experiences the second order effect of not being able to find a role later in life. Perhaps they majored in something like “music.” Yes, I’m biased.I am critical of the education and job market. I don’t believe (yet) that education prepares students to learn how to learn, improve decision-making, and/or build a life and career. I don’t believe (yet) that recruiters and hiring managers know how to free themselves of outmoded thinking about resumes and college majors. I’m 40 something years old. I have more interests now than I ever did as a college freshmen. I have no degree and a job that meets my needs. I’m in the minority of people who can make that happen. But why must it be that way?

The work you build is only as good as the utility people get from it. Therefore, keep your end user at the front of your work. Imagine them using your work in a way that allows them to themselves a better story about themselves. Focus on that story.

I too often say “yes” too quickly. I am contemplating embracing the opportunity cost of waiting so that I can say “no” more often.Do you desire a simple life? I do.I desire a life that prioritizes just a few things:My home and personal family unit;Reading, learning, and writing; and,Being outside to explore and hike.Some might call me anti-social or hermetic. I see myself as more Bohemian. I enjoy a good journey away from society to learn what’s out there, and then return to share. I’m not much of a home body; and I don’t enjoy traditions as much as others. If I’m going to be truly myself, I’ll need to say “no” to things more often. I’ll need more time to myself for exploration, learning, and reflection. I’ll need time to experience other people, cultures, and ways of being than what the regular routine offers me.To start, I’ll need to ask for time before deciding something one way or the other. You are not me. You might wish you could be more truly yourself. How might giving yourself more time to decide help you achieve that?

I am thinking about balance. It’s hard to achieve. I wonder if it’s ever “truly” achieved. I thought about balancing on a log or a beam. I observe my body making tons of little adjustments in order to maintain balance. I wonder if tight-rope walkers, who are skilled at maintaining balance, do that too. If that’s true, is a desire to achieve balance a fool’s errand? Perhaps it’s a journey of micro-adjustments to achieve the “optimal present.”

I’m teaching myself how to use block storage and virtual machines. Why? I want to become as self-reliant as possible technologically. It’s an old passion of mine from when I was in high school. Do I still have a knack for it?It pushes me to use my brain in ways that aren’t “artistic.”What I’ve learned so far:Damn.No, I don’t have it. I am humbled at how much I get to learn.It’s far more artistic than I originally thought.Life continues to surprise.