Who among us have not uttered these words as a child or for those who are parents heard them? Usually in the context of a trip in an automobile, but perhaps now in our journey to the next . . . Society is on a number of interconnected journeys. Most visible is the Covid-19 transit
This Baby Boomer graduated from college in 1970. Just in time for Saturday Night Fever and Grease, Avocado colored refrigerators and Harvest Gold dinnerware. Plus, the best friend a then bachelor ever had–the microwave oven! Not to forget the Gasoline Lines and Hyper Inflation, Vietnam, Peace/Race Protests/Riots, a Major Recession, Stagflation and other wonderful (not)
Awash with data, how many decisions made actually use it to add value? Too few one suspects and partly because decision-making systems are not designed for this volume. Much is made about Big Data and the value it can add to a business. However, there is little said about the software applications and compute power that
Watching one of the Sunday morning political news shows recently, as yet another pol described that the ‘science is changing‘ and mentioning the results of new data, it dawned on me that smart individuals are conflating science with data. By one definition, Science is “he intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the
Picture sourced from LinkedIn, author unknown. It seems like there are a lot of answers these days, even to questions that have not been posed. As of this writing, this author understands that masks work for Covid-19 but vaccines not so much although we are advised to get the shots and even a third one
Attributed to former US Senator and Governor Rhode Island, Lincoln Chafee, “Trust is built with consistency.” Moreover, from statistics we know that Internal Consistency, “measures whether several items that propose to measure the same general construct produce similar scores.” The follow on definition statistical reliability, “is the consistency of a set of measurements or measuring
Originally published as a LinkedIn article on July 6, 2021, this updated version is reprinted here with the permission of the author. Links to relevant sources are added. Lately, many LinkedIn posts bemoan the state of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. The seeming slow take up of great ideas. Some argue that DEI initiatives are no
“Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide.” — Napoleon Bonaparte Volumes have been written on decision-making and this pundit has offered his share of insight and comment on the subject as well. Some of our comments regard the appropriateness of the human intercession in electronic decision making. Others
“A healthy corporation acts on the interests of its stakeholders and customers” — Ari Melber, Journalist Currently, organizations are being implored to implement Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) driven business models. Proponents even suggest that investment in organizations that do not have this imprimatur should be avoided or even divested. However, one wonders what has
“A good, quick, small team can beat a big, slow team any time.” — Paul William “Bear” Bryant, legendary college football coach In the early 1990s my former wife and I, both avid sailors decorated our boat for the local Christmas Boat Lane Parade. While we had some help, most of the work was performed by the
What Are We Doing? An interesting sign of the times. Individuals on social media who identify themselves by name, photo, job (even senior) title, organization etc. are taking controversial positions on a variety of often emotional subjects. In the old days discussions about , sex, politics and religion were off limits in the corporate
Not Again In 2018 we posted an opinion regarding social media driven sales ‘cold calling.’ As noted then, the comments went along the lines, “I reviewed your profile and I know I can help.” This unsolicited approach continues to be blown off by this and other pundits/potential customers as amateurish. Recently, the tactic has
I Need a Book Deal! With the change of the US federal administration, previous key individuals are now coming out and writing books regarding their former boss. This all the while with plenty of video evidence where these individuals pontificated a position and even changed their position dramatically while in the employ and in
Not the So-Called New Normal The light at the end of the Covid-19 tunnel may not be the train many still believe. Populations are being inoculated at very high rates. Moreover, there is ample evidence in my metropolitan area that the general population no longer believes or adheres to the ‘advice of experts.’ This
A Year of Leadership–Or Not! On March 2, 2021 the Governor of Texas announced its 100% reopening–effectively proclaiming an end of the Covid-19 crisis. Needless to say in our hyper-partisan world, many widely decried the decision and even accused him or bringing physical death to the state population. Mississippi announced a similar rollback of virus
“For safety is not a gadget but a state of mind” Second only to the basic need for food, water and what is required to sustain physical life, safety and security are the next step in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. In other words one cannot love or feel belonging or achieve a level of
“When converted into productive thought and action, the energy it takes to blame, shame, and game is enough to launch anyone into heights of real success and happiness.” – Charles F Glassman Entrée It is not often that an entire geographically LARGE state loses power and water simultaneously. Now we know it can happen! Welcome
Recently, my team and I were tasked with a delicate decision making process. Due to its nature and signatory level, team members were only authorized to explore and present options. The final decision was mine alone. Our project governance model clearly defined this decision making process. One day I received a call from remote members
“Without data, you’re just another person with an opinion.” ~ W. Edwards Deming Data and its use is a very hot topic these days. Significant controversy exists over decision making regarding Covid-19 strategies and the quality or lack there of the data supporting government policies. Scientific disagreements and so called ‘academic arguments‘ are appropriate, especially
Salute Ladies and Gentlemen! December 7, 1941 was 79 years ago. A twenty-year-old at the time would be 99 today, almost a centenarian. My father is 98 and not likely to see 2021. We live in a technological age, and despite the pandemic it is relatively easy living for many. No one is asking our
Crisis Drives Change In 2001 this writer approached the Houston medical community, post tropical storm Allison which flooded many basements in the Houston Medical Center with the loss of experimental data and other records. We proposed the development of an Internet based solution to hold and manage medical records of all types. The response to
A friend of mine sent me this uncited picture, so my apologies to the originator as I cannot give you the rightful credit deserved. If you see this, let me know and I will update this blog. We are all enduring 2020 in our own way. Sometimes positive but often negative. Battling my own 2020
Melvin—a story of growth. At beginning of my oil and gas career, I was partnered with my mentor to be and at the time my supervisor; Melvin. A gruff old cuss, he was a long-time south Louisiana ‘Cajun’ field engineer. Little did I know at the time the next months would be life changing for
Lessons in Leadership—how dare you put young people in jeopardy for loss of life or failures they will live with the rest of their life? As we end Veteran’s Week, we are reminded of President Herbert Hoover’s comment, “Older men declare war. But it is the youth that must fight and die.” Hoover was president
“If it disagrees with experiment, its wrong” Our point today is to assess how behavioral decisions are being made today; not about the politics of one candidate or the other. The race to the US presidential election has entered its final phase. As of this writing, establishment wisdom holds the conventional candidate as the presumptive
“If it disagrees with experiment, its wrong”—Richard Feynman Full Disclosure: this author holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics with a minor in Mathematics. My doctoral dissertation developed a new Game Theory based practical solution. For those unfamiliar with this discipline, check out the movie Beautiful Mind or the work of John von Neumann
Thoughts from a Scientist Full Disclosure: this author holds an undergraduate degree in Physics with a minor in Mathematics. My doctoral dissertation developed a new Game Theory based practical solution. For those unfamiliar with this discipline, check out the movie Beautiful Mind or the work of John von Neumann who is also the father of
Managing Tension at the Margin As September draws to a close the Houston metropolitan area has dodged two hurricane bullets; Laura and Beta. Fingers crossed that this very active season draws to an early and quiet close. The beauty and downside of the 24/7 news and weather reporting is that lay people learn more jargon
Not as Easy as it Seems When transforming this website to the Word Press platform, this author accepted the “wisdom” of various online sources and used a so called up and coming new Page Builder. A huge mistake! After many failures and indeed public page lockups, I changed to a more established solution—the one used
The battle of Leyte Gulf in 1944 with over 200,000 individuals involved is possibly the largest naval battle in history. Hopefully, one of the last ones. In that battle, the submarine USS Darter initially detected (on radar) the Japanese task force early on October 23. Other US naval vessels spotted that armada shortly thereafter on
