Life: Human life

According to the most brilliant startegist who ever lived, according to my opinion, Human life is the best gift that exists. Think about it. All life forms get to sleep, have sex, eat, drink etc. but only humans have the ability to do great things. So, do GREAT THINGS!

Life: Decision Making

We make decisions every day. Some big, some small. I noticed that most people do not have a framework that they apply to decision making. Most of the decisions are made on "gut-felling" and without required analysis. I attended an executive program on decision making at Harvard and as optional reading material, I read "Smart Choices" http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780767908863&itm=2
It outlines a very simple approach which can be applied to all decisions-business, personal, financial, etc. The recommended model is called PrOACT-URL. It is:

Pr=Problem: Identify the problem correctly. E.g. when you buy a car, usually the problem is commute and not the car.



O=Objectives: What are trying to achieve by solving the problem? You can have multiple objectives with one problem.



A=Alternatives: What alternatives do you have and what alternatives can you create?



C=Consequences: how well the Alternatives meet your Objectives?



T= Trade offs: If can’t achieve all your objectives, what are you willing to trade off?





U=Uncertainty: What information you don’t have that my effect your decision?



R=Risk tolerance: How much risk are you willing to take?



L=Linked Decisions: What future decisions are linked with your current decision in evaluation? E.g. After you buy a car, you have to figure out where to park it.

You may want to quantify the PrOACT-URL factors and apply to a problem you are trying to solve. Good luck!

Life: Coffee and Life

My sister sent me the following story today. A good reminder of what life is:

Live a good life

A group of alumni of a Management Institute, highly established in
their careers, got together to visit their old university lecturer.
Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and
life.

Offering his guests coffee, the lecturer went to the kitchen and
returned with a large
pot of coffee and an assortment of cups: porcelain, plastic, glass,
some plain-looking and some expensive and exquisite, telling them to
help themselves to hot coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the lecturer said:
"If you noticed, all the nice-looking, expensive cups were taken up,
leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is but normal for
you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your
problems and stress. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the
cup, but you consciously went for the better cups and are eyeing each
other's cups." "Now, if Life is
coffee, then the jobs, money and position in society are the cups.
They are just tools to hold and contain Life, but the quality of Life
doesn't change."

Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee in it."

So don't let the cups drive you...enjoy the coffee instead.

Technology: History of Aviation

One of my very close friends is visiting from Florida this weekend. I took him to the Museum of Flight today. It was very inspiring to see what William Boeing did. In addition to the Wright brothers, we owe the evolution of the global trade to William Boeing. He was a Yale dropout who moved to Seattle to make money when he was 21. He did make money in lumber trade. He was a millionaire at the age of 27. In 1909, he came across seaplanes and was fascinated by them. Furthermore, he thought that they could be made better. See William's biography at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_E._Boeing. What was most amazing at the museum was the speed of technical advances in those days. After the first flight in 1903 by Right brothers, the aviation industry involved very fast. The commercial flights began in 1928, less than 25 years after the 12 second long flight. I am amazed how the technology progressed so fast without the communication channels (Internet, TV, etc.) which are available today and without computers.

Lesson learned:

Pursue your passion, everything else will follow.

Human Behavior: Privacy

I was walking back to my place yesterday and at a stop light I overheard two women talking about the fastest way to get to the ferry terminal. My first instinct was to give them the directions but then I thought about how it might be considered invasion of privacy. My next thought was that it is not a life-threatening situation, they would figure it out eventually and if they need help, they can ask me for it. Before I could decide, the light turned green and women walked to in a different direction:-)

Everyone has his one definition of privacy. What is yours?