Dynamics of New Hires

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Dynamics of the Quality of Life

Dynamics of Happiness and Practicality

Part of a class project (ESD.74 System Dynamics) in Summer, the picture illustrates the “premature demise of new hires”, which happens time and again, regardless of industry, geographical location, and the size of the corporation.  

Dynamics of New Hires

Experienced hires tend to “Do it Myself” due to increased work load and schedule pressure. Though well-intended “Do It Myself” serves to meet deadlines, the new hires do not receive optimal coaching time from their mentors. Quickly, the new hire’s learning and experience saturates. “New Hire Engagement” is minimal as the new hire is not being “taught to fish”. “Teaching a man to fish” takes time and the benefits are not immediate (depicted by double line on arrow from New Hire Experience).

Say meeting deadlines is analogous to “feeding a man with fish”. Yes, urgent and important. “Teaching a man to fish” is important but not urgent.

Which is better in the long run? The answer is obvious but our actions often say otherwise. Why? Time for rethink and change. 

Thanks very much for reading. 

Works Cited

Gadewadikar, J., Teo, K. S., & Wong, M. F. (2012). ESD.74 System Dynamics Assignment 7: The Dynamics of New Hires. MIT.

Hindsight Bias and Fundamental Attribution Error

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"Why did you do this? You should have done that." Most of us (including me) are guilty of similar thoughts or words. 

This is a classic example of hindsight bias (knew-it-all-along effect). 

Accident investigators already know the accident outcomes and sequence of events. Hence, they tend to be biased and focused on significant data points leading to the accident. Instead of blaming individual actions, it would be more meaningful to understand why individuals took or did not take appropriate actions based on the information available and context facing them leading to the accident. Recommendations should focus on the changes and improvements required to help individuals make better decisions in future to prevent accidents. Of course, the underlying assumption is that humans do not possess malicious intent.

Another concept is that of fundamental attribution error. The observer overvalues his own point of view and undervalues the actual situational context faced by the actor being observed. If the roles of the observer and actor are swapped, the same fundamental attribution error is likely to occur. 

It is almost impossible to eliminate hindsight bias and fundmental attribution error. The takeaway is to  focus on systems rather than individuals.  Improving the design of the systems (including technical, social and sociotechnical systems) is certainly more productive than focusing on blame. For instance, performance measurement systems shape and drive the behaviors of employees in enterprises. Who is to blame when undesired outcomes occur? 

Again, even if the system in place is flawless (is there one?), human ingenuity, the very reason that differentiates humans from other living things on Earth, more often than not, is the very same reason that collapses the systems we built. Seems like "People" are stickier problems than "Technology". Leadership may be the best solution available.  

Thanks very much for reading. 

Languages of Love and Appreciation

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Dynamics of the Quality of Life

Dynamics of Happiness and Practicality

Hand Painted Love Piece For Me

I had a wonderful first two weeks in June. My mother and brother visited me from half way round the world. Also, I'm very fortunate to constantly receive love and encouragement in multiple forms from Carrie, my extended family, and close friends.

Dr. Gary Chapman and Dr. Paul White identified five languages of appreciation. These languages can be applied to relationships, marriages, and the workplace. 

Words of Affirmation （肯定的话语）

A simple "Good Job" or "I appreciate it" goes a long way. 

Quality Time （精心的时刻）

Undivided attention and deep listening are key. 

Acts of Service （服务的行动）

A child will never forget his father giving him piggyback rides. What about cooking a meal for your loved ones?

Tangible Gifts （爱的礼物）

Flowers for V-Day seldom go wrong. Personalized gifts and cards are even better. 

Physical Touch （身体的接触）

Say goodbye with a hug and encourage with a pat on the shoulder. 

Which ones do your prefer? What about those around you?

Thanks very much for reading. 

Works Cited

Chapman, G. D., & White, P. E. (2011). The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace. Chicago, IL, USA.

The Leader

(This picture was taken when I visited Acadia National Park, Maine, USA. The leader leaves a trail for others to follow.)

My inspiration for this post came from the impending leadership transition at school. A good manager may not be a good leader, but a good leader is certainly a good manager. Managing is “hard” while leading is more “soft” than "hard". Mastering the art of balancing between the “hard” and “soft” is the most challenging part of leadership.  

Character shows over time, and especially in times of hardship. No leader will endure the test of time without integrity and humility because he will not have any followers. Character is shaped by one’s education and life experiences. No one is really born a leader. Predictability, consistency, fairness, and stability are hallmark of great leaders. Instead of describing all the desirable qualities of great leaders like in this paragraph, I wrote a few short stories on people in my life who have demonstrated remarkable leadership.   

It was my birthday in 2008 and one of my birthday cards wrote, “No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light.” It was from my superior and I was slated to take on a higher appointment. The next sentence was, “It is a heavier responsibility which you will not shoulder alone.” Together with the card was a nice torchlight, which I needed. His simple words and gesture had a great influence on me.

It had been three long days of sweat and a team of engineers had been troubleshooting an aircraft problem to no avail. My teammates and I were demoralized. We tried almost everything we could. When we got down the aircraft, we saw him in his long sleeve shirt and pants, squatting near the belly of the aircraft and staring at the antennas. He didn’t need to, but he came down from his comfortable air-conditioned office. He went on to share his 30 years of aircraft engineering experience with us. From that day, he came everyday and stayed hours with us until the issue was resolved. His dedication and rapport with the engineers were outstanding.

The commanding officer of an infantry battalion was one of the eldest soldiers in the unit. Nonetheless, he was the fastest runner. He was also the top graduate for his commanding officer course. He knew the names of all the officers, and most of the specialists and soldiers. Knowing most of them in person, he struck conversations just like their good friends. He used language and gestures that struck a chord with the soldiers. He made everyone a hero whenever possible, but held himself accountable. Soldiers with existing medical conditions stepped up and came forward when it was crunch time. Outside his military obligations, he has a successful career. He is also a good husband and a caring father of three. 

The team had good but not the best players in the soccer league. Each player had his strengths and weaknesses. They were of various background, religion, race, and spoke different languages. The coach prepared the team for the inter varsity competition, and the team went on to clinch the championship for the first time in history. He was the chief architect of the team’s success. He harnessed the best out of the players he had, and timed the peak of the team’s performance to perfection.

She is extremely busy but provides undivided attention during one-on-one conversations. Because she listens so carefully and attentively to everyone, her perspective is always holistic and balanced. She sees things that most people don’t. That is hard work. She speaks her mind as appropriate. Even when the situation is tricky, she gets her point across with grace and finesse. She has a great sense of humor and her laughter is contagious. Even when she doesn’t know the answer, she is able to point to the right direction or someone who can help. Once she knows that you are reliable and eager to learn, she empowers and elevates you, mentoring you along the way. When mistakes are made, she is magnanimous. Forward looking but always keeping in mind the lessons of the past, she advances with confidence and optimism, focusing her energy on things that matters most. She becomes a good follower when she needs to.

Last but not least, the true measure of a great leader is nothing but influence. When we meet great leaders, learn from them. Follow them. 

Thanks very much for reading.

Architect Your Life

Related article: Dynamics of the Quality of Life

My inspiration for this post came from two sources. The first was Clayton M. Christensen’s article on “How Will You Measure Your Life” on Harvard Business Review (Christensen, 2012). The second was the class “16.855/ESD.38 Enterprise Architecting” taught by Professor Deborah Nightingale (Professor of the Practice of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Professor of Engineering Systems at MIT), as well as Dr. Donna Rhodes (Senior Lecturer, Engineering Systems at MIT). The first source triggered my thoughts on life in general, while my heuristics assignment in the enterprise architecting class (Nightingale & Rhodes, 2012) motivated me to pen this.

In layman terms, heuristics are rules of thumb, educated guesses, common sense, and advice from experience. Enterprise architecting refers to designing business organizations for success. What is success in business? What is happiness in our lives? How about sadness and disappointment? How do we diagnose and architect our lives? I relooked into my heuristic assignment for inspiration. Here are the final heuristics that made my list, with two very important caveats.

Legend:

E: Heuristic for enterprise architecting

L: Heuristic for architecting our lives

H: Heuristic that applies to both E and L

P: Prescriptive

D: Descriptive

Caveat 1

[P] Decide what you stand for. Uphold it, always. [D] 100% of the time is easier than 98% of the time.  (Christensen, 2012)

Caveat 2

[P] Be humble. [D] Everyone knows something you don’t.

[1] Impetus for Change

H1: [P] Good enough? Think again. [D] It never hurts to be better.

[2] Sponsorship

E2: [P] Champion from the top, reconcile from the bottom. [D] Togetherness is the road to success. Otherwise is the road to mess.

L2: [P] You are the champion of your life, but find a few (not one) good mentors. [D] You think you know what you want, but your mentors may think otherwise.

Mentors can be anyone. They form your panel of judges. They can be virtual in your mind or physically present, as long as you can predict how they would behave in a given situation and their advice.

[3] Understand the Landscape

E3: [P] Invest effort to understand the business. [D] Slow is smooth, smooth is better.

L3: [P] Diagnose yourself and your surroundings. [D] Slow is smooth, smooth is better.

An accurate diagnosis of the current circumstances is the prerequisite for formulating  good strategies. Focus on both internal and external factors. External factors such as economic fluctuations are hardly within your control but worth your attention. Internal factors for enterprises include strategy, organization, processes, infrastructure, knowledge, information, outputs (products and services). 


All the internal factors can be readily applied to an individual. What are your goals (objectives)? Who is in your network (organization)? What are your steps (processes) and equipment (infrastructure)? Do you have the knowledge and information required? What is your output?

[4] Understand your Stakeholders

E4: [P] Build an insider (stakeholder) network. [D] Insights beat tons of market research.

L4: [P] Think of people that matter and (don’t matter) to you. [D] They don’t necessary value things you do.

Stakeholders of enterprises include shareholders, leadership, employees, partners, suppliers, customers, unions, society, etc. Stakeholders of individuals include family, relatives, mentors, friends, spouse, children, neighbors, bosses, subordinates, colleagues, classmates, public etc. The significance of various stakeholders may change over time. One stakeholder can be more important than another now, but that can change with time.

[5] Capture As-Is (Current) State

H5: [P] Define your meaning of success. [D] You are what you measure. The definition of success must reconcile the landscape, metrics, processes, and stakeholders.

Know exactly what is success and how you are measuring it. Be very specific. Metrics drive behavior.

[6] Create Vision

H6: [P] Be sure to reconcile your vision with the landscape. [D] Coherence is key.

[7] Generate Ideas

E7: [P] Ignore the proxy for creativity. [D] Baggage stifles new perspectives. 

L7: [P] Ask for another opinion (not your mentor, but someone you trust). [D] A new pair of eyes and ears offers new perspectives.

[8] Derive To-Be (Future) Architecture

H8: [P] Fuse the best concepts. [D] Synergies exist between them.

Architecture refers to how all the factors related to internal and external landscape fit together. 

[9] Validate To-Be (Future) Architecture

E9: [P] Bounce your To-Be Architecture off the proxy. [D] Intricacies will emerge to complete the picture. 

L9: [P] Bounce your To-Be Architecture off your mentors. [D] Intricacies will emerge to complete the picture. 

Proxy refers to an enterprise representative.

[10] Formulate Action Plan

H10: [P] Transform talk into actions! [D] Journey satisfies, destination satiates.

The journey is more important than the destination? They are equally important. We learn most during the journey, but destinations/milestones/"small wins" motivate us to do better and march on. We need both. If we touch our hearts, the destination matters more than we think.

[11] Work in Progress

H11: [P] Think, action and check. Keep repeating. [D] Journey to success is constant hard work, measurement and adjustment. Beware of disturbances.


Nothing is achieved without labor. Get moving.

My friend and classmate Ming Fai wrote an interesting article "Architecture of my life". Check it out!

Thanks very much for reading.

P.S. My synthesis of enterprise architecting and control theory. (Teo, 2012)

Works Cited

Christensen, C. M. (2010, July). How Will You Measure Your Life? Retrieved May 15, 2012, from Harvard Business Review: http://hbr.org/2010/07/how-will-you-measure-your-life/ar/pr

Nightingale, D., & Rhodes, D. (2012). 16.855/ESD.38 Enterprise Architecting Class Materials at MIT. Cambridge, MA, USA.

Teo, K. S. (2012). 16.855/ESD.38: Enterprise Architecting Heuristics Assignment. MIT, ESD.