According to no less than the Cleveland Clinic, ” Studies (regarding multitasking) show it makes us less efficient and more prone to errors.” Cleveland Clinic goes on to make the case: When tasks are easy and routine such as, “like listening to music while walking, or folding laundry while watching TV,” these are generally not
Organizational Conflict may not be visible. Passive Aggressive executives may not exhibit the classic signs of stress. The stresses of everyday business are well understood by those in that mix. Each individual has an agenda based on his/her personal desires as well as organizational job description and target (goal) requirements. By definition, this puts all
In our forthcoming book, “Navigating the Data Minefields: Management’s Guide to Better Decision-Making” we coined the term, Valid, Reliable and Timely (VRT). “This term identifies all data dimensions including its temporal component.” Check Up When we go to the doctor we expect that the information conferred by this professional is Correct, Consistent with the current
“Per McKinsey research from June 2022, nearly 70 percent of the top economic performers, compared with just half of their peers, are using their own software to differentiate themselves from their competitors.” McKinsey went on to state that: Digital products are driving the need to embed software across the board Increasingly, more value is being
The first thing a statistician, data scientist, medical researcher, engineer, social scientist or anyone depending on data is to assess its quality. As of this writing, the recent release of the Durham Report suggests that the FBI was lax in their assessment of the alleged Russian influence in the 2016 presidential election cycle. This resulted
Seems we live in a world of FAKE. How do you know what is fake and what is not? A recent article described certain activities in Silicon Valley as the end of fake. The point being that in the recent VC heyday, some have feed the market crap and taken advantage of the Greed is
Often attributed to the movie character, Forest Gump the title phrase can be interpreted as an abrupt change in one’s life. The past few years have brought significant changes to many of us. Illness, job change, moving to a new location, kids out of school and so it goes. Disruption can be intimidating, yet it
Our often called, ‘Best Friend’ has and continues to teach us all manner of life lessons. While the Dog Days of Summer will soon be upon those who live in the northern hemisphere, not all dogs choose to stay on the porch. Most dogs are action oriented. Throw a ball or a stick and some
According to Investopedia, “Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria are a set of standards for a company’s operations that socially conscious investors use to screen potential investments.” Definitions of the three components are pretty straightforward: Environmental–Generally refers to the stewardship of the planet and how organizations facilitate that responsibility. Social–Facilitating organizational responsibility to the global
We are offered the world at the tip of our fingers, But! There are many prices to pay. Theft by scam simply by clicking on a great opportunity is getting more sophisticated all the time. Recently, this pundit was offered a once in a lifetime possibility if only I would listen to an MS Office
This edition marks the 100th post in our Critical Mass Blog series. We have sought to provide thoughtful, unbiased insight into the contemporary business and organizational challenges we all face. Since our first blog post on November 27, 2017 our world has turned over in ways none expected. Likely, this trend will continue. This series
Not the rock bands of the 1960s–1980s, but the mining required to extract the heavy metals necessary for electric vehicles and other renewable energy solutions. So, what is a heavy metal and why do we care? Typically, “In science, a heavy metal is a metallic element which is toxic and has a high density, specific gravity or atomic weight. However,
The writing instrument, the pencil is purported to have been invented in 1795. It has been around for a while and continues to serve a useful purpose. In the following video, the late economist Milton Friedman describes the process for manufacturing this simple longstanding tool. The point he makes is that regardless of the simplicity
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
“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
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
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
“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
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
