Artificial Intelligence (AI) is all the rage but are these laudables premature? Is it in really Artificial Unintelligence (AU) or just latest manifestation of the 30+ year old Expert System and a passing fad? Recently, none the less than Google (parent Alphabet) suffered a $100 billion market setback when their AI strategy suffered a lack
“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 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
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
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
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
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
In statistics a Latent Variable can be defined as, ‘a variable inferred from observed or measured data.’ Its analysis is often used psychology, economics, and predictive modeling. This author used Structural Equation Models (SEM) in his 1996 doctoral dissertation, Cross Cultural Negotiations Between Japanese and American Businessmen: A Systems Analysis (Exploratory Study). From that abstract,
We have all had that, “Where do I start” moment? Confronted with the NEW, sometimes the task seems daunting. In a recent conversation, a colleague and I were discussing an adult training program. The subject centered on how to help students jump start a creative flow. We humans are fond of using so called cheat
It appears that issues associated with the Covid-19 pandemic will remain for some time. Hopefully, the emerging vaccines will be readily available in the coming months. That said, one of the disruptive changes that may codify is Working from Home. In our March 16, 2020 piece, Home Base During a Crisis: ‘get up, clean up
App developers have fallen in love with the concept of Minimum Viable Product aka MVP. Wikipedia defines minimum viable product (MVP) as “a version of a product with just enough features to satisfy early customers and provide feedback for future product development.” This development model might make some sense for consumer software or even some
Current events may have us all longing for the ‘good ole days.’ Sounds good on paper but not something any of us can realize. Nostalgia aside we all must continue to slog on. It is after all a one-way trip and there is no Delorean to help us. The Challenge of Change People change all
In a recent Harvard Business Review, I was struck by an article about Best Practices for small businesses. From that piece, “To successfully navigate Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA) challenges like Covid-19, family business leaders can look to best practices from another organization that specializes in VUCA situations—the U.S. military’s Special Operations Forces (SOF)”
Let me understate, ‘working in the petroleum sector has always been challenging.’ Now we find ourselves in a major economic downturn caused by a Covid-19 pandemic and aided and abetted by an international crude oil price war. Once again, many thousands have lost their livelihood and possibly not return to a similar job as the
April 20, 2020 marks the tenth anniversary of one of the most horrific incidents in the upstream oil and gas sector—Deepwater Horizon. In addition to the tragic loss of eleven lives, the sector forever changed. Immediate restructuring of federal oversight resulted in the establishment of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and their
The anecdote, ‘A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to’ wherever manifests itself for a number of paths. One interpretation; we often end up somewhere other than expected. We find ourselves at another historical precipice. Some suggest Armageddon, the end of life as we know it and the emergence of a new normal. This writer
We have been hearing for years how, Big Data Analysis will help us optimize our businesses and generate performance at levels here to for never hear of. So where is it now? Two major sources for data on the Covid-19 virus are Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is
Prognosticators of the future, including this one are speculating on the Post-Covid-19 world. As with every disruptive crisis, things change going forward. This one will be no different and will probably accelerate certain trends, end some and generate many new opportunities. Some industry sectors and many organizations will need to transmute the way they do
In the middle of a global pandemic, all of us who can are advised to work from home. Many of us have worked remotely for a while now. Whether traveling, dealing with sick children, avoiding traffic or dealing with a natural disaster remote management has become part of our business DNA. Yet, this pundit was
