Mind the Gap: Get More Accomplished
One of the fastest and most accessible planning tools is Gap Analysis (GA). This technique requires honest evaluation, clear goals, and flexible and creative planning. Gap Analysis works by clearly defining the current situation, determining the situation that would constitute success, and working out the pathway to go from the current state to the completed state. This process can be used to resolve business problems or achieve personal goals. It is particularly useful in resolving complex problems when time is of the essence. read more…
Communications: Encoding and Decoding
Years ago I offended a friend by saying that art is always translated from medium into idea by the receiver, but that translation always distorts the message. We can not experience the art directly, but only as we understand this. He let me know for thinking this, I was an idiot. His belief was that we understood art directly by looking at it. He was sure he did this without prejudice, bias, or the influence of personal experience.
All communications go through a process of encoding and decoding. Emails, text messages, paintings, cartoons, dramas, and meeting agendas all share these same processes. So regardless of whether you are communicating with your team at work, friends at a party, or your family, you are using the basic process that involves ENCODING and DECODING. read more…
This list has apparently been floating around since the summer, as Huffington Post linked to it in July. The list could be 100 years old and it would still be worthwhile. There are few individuals who have no encountered depression in their family, in their work place, or among their friends. Managers and team leaders need to know how to communicate those who are suffering from depressions; team mates need to communicate to each other.
Using the sentiments, if not the exact sentences, listed in this article can build bridges with those in need. Just as importantly, the list of phrases to avoid helps us to understand and hone our communications skills in critical conversations.
While this list addresses clinical depression, it is applicable also for folks how have suffered setbacks such as the recently unemployed, those who are mourning friends and family, or others who are going through hardship. It can help us to understand that the natural thing to say can actually be the ineffective or counter-productive thing to say.
According to recent research, either upper-class people are less empathetic and therefore can not read other people’s emotions, or they are unable to read other people’s emotions and are therefore less empathetic. Either way, there is something lacking in the schooling at American’s prep schools.
Upper-class people are less adept at reading other people’s emotions than their lower-class counterparts, according to a new study published in the journal Psychological Science.
http://bodyodd.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/12/13/5624389-rich-people-have-no-idea-what-youre-thinking
For the past fifteen years I have been working in a unique niche in IT, serving as an application analyst/architect and a business communications expert. Working the full Software Delivery Life Cycle (SDLC), I:
- Worked with customers and sponsors to envision projects and set broad project scope
- Gathered business requirements to create conceptual designs, technical specifications, functional designs, specific scopes, resource definitions, objectives and goals and project schedules
- Wrote, managed and edited peliminary designs, application and systems documentation and other technical documents for both coverning projects and programs
- Developed applications according to specifications and designs including front-end, n-tier and data level development
- Worked as independent developer as well as member or lead developer within larger teams
- Wrote, implemented or coordinated testing process
- Documented development in both technical and user guides
- Managed release of new software products and software enhancements
- Supported project after release including serving as Tier II and Tier III analyst
- Worked with customers to manage and scheduled phased enhancements for existing software
- Managed software retirement and migration for obsolete software
