Why did we forget about this blog?
I'm upset... mostly at myself.
Shall we try again?
k
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
A Refinement on Setting Goals
Interesting piece in the Boston Globe I found by way of the Blog of the Nation from NPR...
Goals are great. "Among psychologists, the link between setting goals and achievement is one of the clearest there is, with studies on everyone from woodworkers to CEOs showing that we concentrate better, work longer, and do more if we set specific, measurable goals for ourselves." I've talked about the importance of specifics and metrics in setting goals on this blog before. Goals and reaching or not reaching them are pretty much the foundation of all our dramatic narratives (total Matt Good uncited conjecture). Goals are good. But of course, the worthy aphorism "Know Thyself" applies as much here as everywhere else...
There is risk in setting goals. This is pretty obvious on a small scale (visiting the grocery store with the goal of buying some beef does not help you if you are making fish, even if you did reach your goal). Of course, it's easy to pretend that a given concept, when properly dressed up with bigger words and impressive, accomplished backers, is not at its core that given concept at all. Seems to be happening a lot in our world these days.
Take GM: they set out to regain 29% market share, but "In clawing toward its number, GM offered deep discounts and no-interest car loans. The energy and time that might have been applied to the longer-term problem of designing better cars went instead toward selling more of its generally unloved vehicles." Yop. Wrong goal. Except in this case, it turns out that the goal they set was mutually exclusive with the goal they should've set. Oops.
Right about now, you're supposed to think about myopia and remember that I wrote up a nice little post about Wakefulness of Mind just a few minutes ago. Being wakeful (or intellectually curious) will help you to set the correct goals, and to realize when one specific goal is mucking up the broader picture.
Are the two in conflict? No, they actually are in harmony, even though they work on opposite ends of the spectrum. Wakefulness attempts to understand all aspects of an issue, and goals attempt to focus on just one of it's facets. Either without the other is suboptimal.
Another reason rampant goal-setting can be dangerous: "Business professors Maurice Schweitzer of the University of Pennsylvania and Lisa Ordonez of the University of Arizona, co-wrote a 2004 paper on what people do when they fall just short of their goals. According to Ordonez and Schweitzer's experiment, in which subjects played a word game and then reported how well they did at it, what people do is lie to make up the difference." This is not the kind of thing you want large companies to be tempted to do when sales are down. Or car companies to do when their Pintos keep exploding
Here's a few more choice quotes from the article that sum up some of the new thinking on goals:
Goals are great. "Among psychologists, the link between setting goals and achievement is one of the clearest there is, with studies on everyone from woodworkers to CEOs showing that we concentrate better, work longer, and do more if we set specific, measurable goals for ourselves." I've talked about the importance of specifics and metrics in setting goals on this blog before. Goals and reaching or not reaching them are pretty much the foundation of all our dramatic narratives (total Matt Good uncited conjecture). Goals are good. But of course, the worthy aphorism "Know Thyself" applies as much here as everywhere else...
There is risk in setting goals. This is pretty obvious on a small scale (visiting the grocery store with the goal of buying some beef does not help you if you are making fish, even if you did reach your goal). Of course, it's easy to pretend that a given concept, when properly dressed up with bigger words and impressive, accomplished backers, is not at its core that given concept at all. Seems to be happening a lot in our world these days.
Take GM: they set out to regain 29% market share, but "In clawing toward its number, GM offered deep discounts and no-interest car loans. The energy and time that might have been applied to the longer-term problem of designing better cars went instead toward selling more of its generally unloved vehicles." Yop. Wrong goal. Except in this case, it turns out that the goal they set was mutually exclusive with the goal they should've set. Oops.
Right about now, you're supposed to think about myopia and remember that I wrote up a nice little post about Wakefulness of Mind just a few minutes ago. Being wakeful (or intellectually curious) will help you to set the correct goals, and to realize when one specific goal is mucking up the broader picture.
Are the two in conflict? No, they actually are in harmony, even though they work on opposite ends of the spectrum. Wakefulness attempts to understand all aspects of an issue, and goals attempt to focus on just one of it's facets. Either without the other is suboptimal.
Another reason rampant goal-setting can be dangerous: "Business professors Maurice Schweitzer of the University of Pennsylvania and Lisa Ordonez of the University of Arizona, co-wrote a 2004 paper on what people do when they fall just short of their goals. According to Ordonez and Schweitzer's experiment, in which subjects played a word game and then reported how well they did at it, what people do is lie to make up the difference." This is not the kind of thing you want large companies to be tempted to do when sales are down. Or car companies to do when their Pintos keep exploding
Here's a few more choice quotes from the article that sum up some of the new thinking on goals:
- "Goal setting has been treated like an over-the-counter medication when it should really be treated with more care, as a prescription-strength medication."
- "You know how Shakespeare wrote that the fault is not in our stars but in ourselves?" asks Latham, a professor at the University of Toronto. "Well, the fault is not in our goals but in our values."
- If you are GM, argues Schweitzer, "You clearly don't want 29 percent market share, you want something much more complicated than that."
Wakefulness of Mind
I saw a little something from Philip Pullman, author of the "His Dark Materials" series (and who I would usually not really give much of a care about), that caught my attention. In a speech to the Convention of Modern Liberty (whatever that's about), he talks about what he calls "wakefulness of mind:"
"Another virtue that a nation needs is intellectual curiousity. Wakefulness of mind, one might put it. A nation with that quality would be aware of itself, conscious of itself and its history, and every separate thread that makes up the tapestry of its culture...
"A nation where this virtue was strong, would be active and enquiring of mind, quick to perceive and compare and consider. Such a nation would know at once when a government tried to interfere with its freedoms. It would remember how all those freedoms had been gained, because each one would have a story attached to it, and an attack on any of them would feel like a personal affront. That is the value of wakefulness."
Isn't that a rather nice articulation of what it means to be a thinking person? For those of us who have a strong sense of context, it just sets our geek-o-meters a buzzin'.
The term "Wakefulness of Mind" is also pretty good on its own. It does a little more than "intellectual curiosity." "Curiosity" implies that what you are considering is trivial, optional. "Wakefulness" implies that thinking about something on a deeper level is essential to your very consciousness. What a nice way of putting it.
Tip 'o the hat to the fabulously nerdy Lisa Gold: Research Maven blog, from which I pulled (and pared down) the excerpt.
"Another virtue that a nation needs is intellectual curiousity. Wakefulness of mind, one might put it. A nation with that quality would be aware of itself, conscious of itself and its history, and every separate thread that makes up the tapestry of its culture...
"A nation where this virtue was strong, would be active and enquiring of mind, quick to perceive and compare and consider. Such a nation would know at once when a government tried to interfere with its freedoms. It would remember how all those freedoms had been gained, because each one would have a story attached to it, and an attack on any of them would feel like a personal affront. That is the value of wakefulness."
Isn't that a rather nice articulation of what it means to be a thinking person? For those of us who have a strong sense of context, it just sets our geek-o-meters a buzzin'.
The term "Wakefulness of Mind" is also pretty good on its own. It does a little more than "intellectual curiosity." "Curiosity" implies that what you are considering is trivial, optional. "Wakefulness" implies that thinking about something on a deeper level is essential to your very consciousness. What a nice way of putting it.
Tip 'o the hat to the fabulously nerdy Lisa Gold: Research Maven blog, from which I pulled (and pared down) the excerpt.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
My first post...
I found this book enjoyable. Is America full of fundamentalists? Justin has always hated, and has never wanted to work for "The Man," but has found himself in a job that, though not directly responsible, is responsible for futuristically hurting the common man. I find it increasingly peculiar that Hamid addresses American society as "pragmatic and effective." Do we as people just cut what we don't need, despite the cost for a person's quality of life and future happiness? I could get into corporations and such, touching on how much outsourcing is done by American businesses overseas for cost savings so as to increase profits, but I don't know all the numbers for that.
Another idea present in the book I latched onto was that Americans, after 9/11, were looking back instead of forward. I have yet to read any of the literature (novels) put out by Barack Obama even though I voted for him, but I hope I am not naive in my hope that he is looking forward. Isn't that what we are supposed to be doing as "intentionalist?" Looking forward? Is not being "intentional" premeditation on an idea, belief or occurrence and then pursuing it? Well, in light of this book, I hope that your goals/intentions do not in any way adhere to fundamentals. That you take into consideration the world and community in which the effects of our intentions evolve. Would that not be the proper Christian-like attitude?
Anyway, those are just thoughts I felt like sharing. I would be interested in hearing your ideas.
I found this book enjoyable. Is America full of fundamentalists? Justin has always hated, and has never wanted to work for "The Man," but has found himself in a job that, though not directly responsible, is responsible for futuristically hurting the common man. I find it increasingly peculiar that Hamid addresses American society as "pragmatic and effective." Do we as people just cut what we don't need, despite the cost for a person's quality of life and future happiness? I could get into corporations and such, touching on how much outsourcing is done by American businesses overseas for cost savings so as to increase profits, but I don't know all the numbers for that.
Another idea present in the book I latched onto was that Americans, after 9/11, were looking back instead of forward. I have yet to read any of the literature (novels) put out by Barack Obama even though I voted for him, but I hope I am not naive in my hope that he is looking forward. Isn't that what we are supposed to be doing as "intentionalist?" Looking forward? Is not being "intentional" premeditation on an idea, belief or occurrence and then pursuing it? Well, in light of this book, I hope that your goals/intentions do not in any way adhere to fundamentals. That you take into consideration the world and community in which the effects of our intentions evolve. Would that not be the proper Christian-like attitude?
Anyway, those are just thoughts I felt like sharing. I would be interested in hearing your ideas.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
I know, I know...
So. First post.
I am only now just posting because I can't get a grip on my life. My friends are better about looking things up on the internet, making lists and following them, knowing cool things... in short, you all are better about being intentional. This is my first step in becoming more like you.
I decided to get in on this list craze. I can't help it. I make lists... but my lists are often neglected. My lists are more about organizing my thoughts and ideas even though they are often in the form of specific goals or intentions. I often don't follow my lists. I often view lists as something to break. I think it's part of my particular "gifted-ness." Kate has me reading Gifted Grownups and I'm loving it. But this is not the post for discussing that book, merely a sidetrack of my original intention... so let me get focused.
In my quest to be intentional I realized over the last month that I really enjoy making things. I made an knitted afghan, a 12-foot long scarf, 3 wood-burnings and am working on an advent calendar for my sister. All in one month (oh, and Jacob Eckeberger requisitioned me to embroider him some pillows) and I want to do more of it!
So, armed with my desire to create (and a growing fear of relying on my parents for money forever) I started an Etsy.com store. That's right. I signed up. I created an account. Hello world!
That being said I'm not really looking to make a lot of money (hardly any, in fact) but I fully believe that having a store will help me in my quest to be intentionally creative.
We shall see.
I am only now just posting because I can't get a grip on my life. My friends are better about looking things up on the internet, making lists and following them, knowing cool things... in short, you all are better about being intentional. This is my first step in becoming more like you.
I decided to get in on this list craze. I can't help it. I make lists... but my lists are often neglected. My lists are more about organizing my thoughts and ideas even though they are often in the form of specific goals or intentions. I often don't follow my lists. I often view lists as something to break. I think it's part of my particular "gifted-ness." Kate has me reading Gifted Grownups and I'm loving it. But this is not the post for discussing that book, merely a sidetrack of my original intention... so let me get focused.
In my quest to be intentional I realized over the last month that I really enjoy making things. I made an knitted afghan, a 12-foot long scarf, 3 wood-burnings and am working on an advent calendar for my sister. All in one month (oh, and Jacob Eckeberger requisitioned me to embroider him some pillows) and I want to do more of it!
So, armed with my desire to create (and a growing fear of relying on my parents for money forever) I started an Etsy.com store. That's right. I signed up. I created an account. Hello world!
That being said I'm not really looking to make a lot of money (hardly any, in fact) but I fully believe that having a store will help me in my quest to be intentionally creative.
We shall see.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Adam Savage is one of us
This is inspiring. I love obsessed people. I love love love love love love love love love love them to death.
Adam Savage is hereby on my list of favorite people.
(Also, that Fora.tv website is quite an awesome thing in its own right - sortof like TED. Check it out.)
Adam Savage is hereby on my list of favorite people.
(Also, that Fora.tv website is quite an awesome thing in its own right - sortof like TED. Check it out.)
Saturday, December 20, 2008
SMART Goals
Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-Bound goals.
Bek's comment on my Body & Mind post reminded me of a concept I had heard about on another blog I read: SMART goals (see above). It's sort of a management concept - an attempt to quantify nebulous things like "goals." I think most of the implications of SMART goals should be pretty obvious, but you may want to take a minute to think about each part of the acronym, especially if you have a tendency to skip over details sometimes, like I do.
I realize as I'm writing this that your opinion of the usefulness of this framework will be heavily based on how you tend to analyze events and data. I personally like to quantify it, so that I can attempt to use other logical frameworks to determine success, failure, and possible future courses of action. I like to do this because I am not good at thinking about and weighing subjective information. In fact, I'm so bad at it that I kept wanting to use words like "quantities" and "data" to describe what I meant in that last sentence. I need to determine what I consider to be important about a subjective piece of information, quantify it, and process it that way. It's easy to understand this as a literal metaphor: if you need to go to "the store," it's going to be easier to do if you already know exactly how to get there. If you have to go look up the address, make sure they're open, and see if they even have what you're looking for... you just might get overwhelmed and just turn on the TV instead. SMART goals get rid of all of those barriers between you and getting stuff done.
So for me, a SMART goal is something that I can USE. If I only had vague & time-insensitive goals, I would stall when I tried to decide what to do about it. I would have to wait until it was turned into something more precise before I could do anything about it anyway...
If you find your brain working at all like mine, I am very deeply sorry. But! If that is the case, consider writing down your goals, asking if they fit the SMART criteria, and perhaps making any necessary conversions. Because it's much easier to ACT on something if it's ready to go. All of this is useful for To Do Lists, Bucket Lists, Life Goals, Shopping Lists, ANYTHING, really.
Bek's comment on my Body & Mind post reminded me of a concept I had heard about on another blog I read: SMART goals (see above). It's sort of a management concept - an attempt to quantify nebulous things like "goals." I think most of the implications of SMART goals should be pretty obvious, but you may want to take a minute to think about each part of the acronym, especially if you have a tendency to skip over details sometimes, like I do.
I realize as I'm writing this that your opinion of the usefulness of this framework will be heavily based on how you tend to analyze events and data. I personally like to quantify it, so that I can attempt to use other logical frameworks to determine success, failure, and possible future courses of action. I like to do this because I am not good at thinking about and weighing subjective information. In fact, I'm so bad at it that I kept wanting to use words like "quantities" and "data" to describe what I meant in that last sentence. I need to determine what I consider to be important about a subjective piece of information, quantify it, and process it that way. It's easy to understand this as a literal metaphor: if you need to go to "the store," it's going to be easier to do if you already know exactly how to get there. If you have to go look up the address, make sure they're open, and see if they even have what you're looking for... you just might get overwhelmed and just turn on the TV instead. SMART goals get rid of all of those barriers between you and getting stuff done.
So for me, a SMART goal is something that I can USE. If I only had vague & time-insensitive goals, I would stall when I tried to decide what to do about it. I would have to wait until it was turned into something more precise before I could do anything about it anyway...
If you find your brain working at all like mine, I am very deeply sorry. But! If that is the case, consider writing down your goals, asking if they fit the SMART criteria, and perhaps making any necessary conversions. Because it's much easier to ACT on something if it's ready to go. All of this is useful for To Do Lists, Bucket Lists, Life Goals, Shopping Lists, ANYTHING, really.
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