A Large Language Model (LLM), like ChatGPT, generates synthesized text based on statistical inference. You may think of that processing as the average or the most frequent value in its training dataset — wherever that dataset came from. How does the LLM approach differ from human intelligence? Well, I asked…

Letter to a Young Student in China — I have a secret that I want to share with you. It reveals how I achieved my most valuable successes. Everyone wants to be successful, don’t they? Suppose you have a math assessment coming up next week. I can imagine that you want to feel confident that you can apply…

Cautionary Tales of Complexity and the Dangers of Jumping to Conclusions — A/B testing is becoming increasingly popular in digital product development. Early feedback on the choice of direction may save you a lot of time and money. However, be careful about drawing too far-reaching conclusions from your test results. Imagine that for one day we let 5% of our retail’s online…

Exploring Intersections of Process and People — The message of a forthcoming pervasive Agile Transformation may not be well received by employees. Lessons learned indicate that more agility is not what to expect — despite the name. However, more often, there are opportunities for anyone in our organization to influence the outcome of these change projects. After…

How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life — A remarkably influential book was written in 1973. Half a century later, in 2023, it has essentially been forgotten. Not only did Alan Lakein’s How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life sell over 3 million copies, it also outlined the main characteristics of Pomodoro and GTD, as…

Too Many Tasks Crying for Action Prevent Us From Acting — It’s easy to get rid of things when there is an obvious reason for doing so. It’s much more difficult when there is no compelling reason. Marie Kondō has taught us to throw away all the things from the past that no longer contribute to our lives. One example is…

Eleven Things to Consider before We Start a Transformation — Between 2008 and 2015, Volkswagen’s engineering teams intentionally and repeatedly tampered with the emissions of car engines in laboratory tests. On the road, the vehicles emitted up to forty times more nitrogen oxides. A pithy observation that seems to contain a general truth comes to mind: Culture eats strategy for…

The Quest to Achieve Market Fitness — “That gum you like is going to come back in style,” the elderly room service waiter (Hank Worden) famously said in episode 16 of the 1990s TV series Twin Peaks. This line is not only game-changing for the plot, but it also predicts the emergence of a reaptive event. We…

It’s too early to say. — In 1972, when Chinese Prime Minister Zhou Enlai was asked about the impact of the French Revolution in 1789, he replied, “Too early to say.” The fact that he misunderstood the question does not make the answer less ingenious. This is especially true when we dance with path-dependent processes. Ouch…