One day I started writing down a personal checklist of tips, techniques etc that I believed will help be become a better problem solver. Another important reason to have the checklist was to be consciously aware of techniques at my disposal.

I am planning to make this a series of essays on Problem Solving where I will walk through each tip I have in my personal checklist and my rationale for including it in the checklist. Your thoughts are welcome and much appreciated!

The entire list of tips are:

1. Be Logical. Keep Emotions under check.
2. Do you understand the problem?
3. What are the constraints for this problem?
4. Is there somebody who can help you solve the problem?
5. The Rule of Three. Describe 3 potential solutions to the problem. Describe 3 ways in which you could have misunderstood the problem.
6. Understand when you have to stop. Take a break.
7. Paradoxes are beautiful. Embrace them!
8. Stress leads to poor decisions.
9. Listen.
10. Your reaction to mistakes is more important than the number of mistakes you make.

1. Keep Emotions under check. Try thinking Logically.
Anger, Fear, Frustration, Disappointment, Embarrassment, Sadness will reduce your ability to be effective at problem solving.

Having worked with computers, I realized that it does not make the job easier when you get frustrated or angry. Especially at the computer! Jerry Weinberg had a great insight when he said that the software programs we write are a reflection of our intelligence. Often times, our frustration is not at the computer but at the reflection of our own selves that the computer is so eager to project back!

I wanted to recount a personal story that helped me see the importance of this tip. I am currently the Technical Lead on a data warehouse project. I was developing ETL jobs to transfer data from one database to another (simplifying to an extent). I was having trouble with one particular ETL Job and was making numerous mistakes on this particular job. I would start getting nervous and anxious whenever I would run this ETL job. It became a Monster in my head – the capital M kind. One afternoon, I started to execute this ETL job with lots of trepidation. The job usually took 15 minutes to complete. Being very nervous, I started monitoring the target tables and checking if the table was populated to determine if the ETL job ran successfully. After 15 minutes, there was no data in the target tables and the ETL job was still running. My heart fluttered a bit and it seemed that I was having trouble again with this job and that thought made me even more nervous! 15 minutes turned to 20 minutes. No data in the target table. Finally at the 30 minute mark, I was in full panic mode and my nervous system was at DEFCON Level 5. My image of being a competent programmer was taking a huge hit in front of my own eyes. I felt embarrassed, ashamed and disappointed that I was not able to fix the problems with this ETL Job. I started investigating what the problem could be and came up with a couple of scenarios why the ETL Job was running for so long without finishing. I wanted to do a thorough job and tried to validate how these particular scenarios could be possible. In the end, it struck me to look at a Audit table we have built for tracking the progress on ETL Jobs. I was stunned to find out that the ETL job had finished in under 5 seconds. All this while, I thought the job was still running and hadn’t completed! On closer inspection, I realized that I had passed a wrong date parameter to the job that resulted in no data.I fixed the parameter and the ETL job finished successfully!

I had made the following mistakes because of my anxiety and nervousness:
1. I had failed to monitor the audit tables and instead chose to monitor the target tables to see if the data was moved successfully.
2. When I saw the target table had no data, I incorrectly assumed that the ETL job was still running.

This particular incident is etched in my mind because I could see how strong negative emotions had a huge impact on my problem solving ability.

Looking back, I have consistently noticed that emotions such as Anger and Frustration does not really help us get closer to solving the problems. That does not mean that we should never vent our frustrations etc. However, in the grand scheme of things, they seem to be wasted energy! Being calm and relaxed, have better results! :->

2 minutes into the speech I was completely hooked. After I listened to the entire speech, I had a great uplifting feeling. There was something in that speech that resonated very deeply within me. The speech was profound, philosophical, humorous, and very well delivered. I was totally mesmerized to say the least. Immediately, I asked my wife to watch the video. She liked it as well. I found myself going back and listening to this speech whenever I felt I needed an uplifting message to brighten up, bring energy and purpose to my day.

I tried searching for other videos of Dolly Parton and could not find anything that came close to what I had experienced after listening to her commencement speech. I thought it would be good to put my thoughts on Dolly Patron (based on this speech) down to paper. It felt like a good way to begin writing after a long hiatus.

1. Dolly is authentic
What struck me about Dolly the most was her authenticity. She was comfortable in her own skin. She was not afraid of who she was. She talked openly about her looks – the wigs, the big breasts, the push-up bras, the high-heeled shoes and the tight clothes. It was very refreshing for me to look at a person who was supremely confident about who she was. She spoke the truth and she was authentic while doing so! I loved the part where Dolly said her idea of fashion came from a “town trollop” that lived near Sevierville, Tennessee.

This resonated with me powerfully, as there are many times I do not speak the truth, am afraid to express my feelings. Sometimes, I find it hard to accept myself and I wish I could be better (for example, I wish I could listen better to my wife!!).I am also a little skeptical when I try to talk about people who have influenced me as I believe I will be judged “negatively”.

Just watching Dolly being truthful and humorous was a great learning experience for me. It taught me that we need not be afraid of who we are, our beliefs, backgrounds etc.

2. Dolly had great stories
The best part about Dolly’s speech were the stories. The stories helped create a connection with Dolly and they helped the message she was trying to convey much more vivid. I could visualize Dolly at her home with a tin can attached to the end of her broom singing for the chickens. I could see the passion that Dolly had for music at such a early age. I could see the strength of Dolly’s convictions when she talked about how she felt embarrassed when the entire class laughed when she said she wanted to be a Star and that she never let this embarrassment come in the way of achieving her dreams.

The speech had a great message conveyed through memorable stories. A really deadly combination that we can use while giving talks ourselves!

3. Dolly had uplifting messages
If I had to boil Dolly’s message in one line, it would be:
Dream More, Learn More, Care More, and Be More.

I do not have words to describe how simple and powerful this message is. Each mini-lesson (Dream More etc) were packed with great insights. My personal favorites were:

1. Dolly’s thoughts about Dreams and how they light a fire in our gut and how we should be willing to pay the price to achieve our Dreams
2. Dolly tells us how we should take complete responsibility and not blame somebody if something goes wrong
3. Dolly’s message about continuous learning and taking chances and not being afraid to try something new
4. Dolly’s message about pursuing excellence and not being mediocre

4. Dolly showed her spiritual side
At the end of the speech, Dolly talks about how we can Be More. She mentions how each one of us has a “God Core” – our spiritual center, according to Dolly the place where heaven and earth meet (17:10 mark in the speech). Dolly emphasizes the need for us to listen to our “God core”. For the past couple of months, I am coming across various references to this “God Core” – Our “Essential Self” according to Martha Beck, our “Psychic being” according to Sri Aurobindo.

In all honesty, I do not have an understanding of what the “God Core”, “Essential Self”, “Psychic being” is. I do believe in my heart that Dolly has a deeper understanding of life. I believe part of her stupendous success can be attributed to the fact that she listens to her “God core”.

My hope/wish/desire is that all of us can connect with our “God Cores” and live a fulfilled and “limitless”/”boundless” life.

Please feel free to share your experiences if you have watched the video. I would like to know how this video affected you personally!

In my mind rings a bell
That if I want to prevent hell
I have to tell
YES to being well

Looking at problems with a different view
Leaving innocent bystanders without a clue

Searching for someone to woo
Without realizing the world is a zoo

Oh ye, sweet lass don’t go astray,
She knows not the dangers of the way,

The shepherd is fearful of dirty clay,
And all the debts he has to pay,
If she chose that way,

He does fervently pray,
Wishes she may stay,

A matter of black and white and not gray,
Is what the rules say,

A weak brother wishes that he may,
Dispel skies that are gray,
Devils within he cannot keep at bay,
A mute spectator in a drama with bloody frays,
Hoping to make peace with his weakness that will forever stay
As he Trudges along life’s mysterious way

I have no answers. I have only questions.

It pains me to think about all the innocent people that got killed. Their lifes, dreams, and aspirations were cut short for no fault of theirs. I decided to dedicate a poem to my brothers and sisters who were killed. I pray to God to give strength to their families to cope with this terrible tragedy.

The scent of flowers is in the air,
The day begins without worries or care,

My brothers wake up with dreams galore,
They do not know what is in store,

A blast rips the silence,
We are engulfed by violence,

The air is filled with fear,
Are our ends very near?

Watching blood, chaos and death makes me sad,
How could things turn out so bad?

There are questions on my mind
Answers I may never find

My brothers and sisters,
I have nothing but tears,

I cry for you with all my heart,
You may be gone but we will never be apart,

When will these senseless killings end?
When will there be peace, my friend?

In silence and sadness, I pray
To guide those who have gone astray

Love and harmony are the only way
To keep our planet from blowing away.

Possibilities of Organization was an awesome read. It is a “different type” of book. Oshry’s writing style is simple and yet powerful. The points he makes are very profound. I think the simplicity in Barry’s writing style stems from his deep understanding of organizations and systems. I was surprised by Barry’s accurate portrayal of what happens in organizations. He clearly describes what different people in the organization feel and why the feel that way. I like the terminology Barry uses to describe the roles we play in an organization – TOP, BOTTOM, MIDDLE and CUSTOMER. To understand what Barry means by these terms, read the article: Total System Power (PDF).

I was so impressed by the book that I asked my sister to read the book and asked what she thought (I value my sister’s thoughts very highly. She is way smarter than me and is very insightful). She felt that Barry’s ideas are applicable to families, our interaction with friends etc. I agree. We discussed Barry’s ideas at length and especially the point that when we talk with somebody, “our  interaction is not PERSON-to-PERSON, we are talking into a particular WORLD”. It’s amazing to see how we fall into such dangerous patterns of habit and the serious effects it has. This is something that Jerry also touches in Quality Software Management.

I thought I would reproduce Barry Oshry’s entire quote that made such an impression on me. The quote is found at the beginning of Chapter 19 – Learning to Be an Organizer (Page 207).

This is the first prize of power for all of us who work in systems: To be able to act in ways to enhance the capacity of systems to survive and develop in their environment. When we’re able to do that, we know we’re powerful. If we cannot influence systems in this way, then all the other trappings of power – control, dominance, perquisites, intimidation, revenge, hard-lining, bottom-lining – all of these are nonsense; they are power’s second prizes (or booby prizes); they are attempts to feel powerful or look powerful; they are consequences of not being powerful. But the true bottom line of system power is this: Are you able to influence the system? Are you able to act in ways which help the system cope and prosper more effectively in its environment? You may be the Chief Executive of your organization, you may enjoy an astronomical salary and luxurious perquisites, you may be King or Queen of the Hill intimidating and dominating all comers, but if you cannot influence the system so that it is better able to cope and prosper, you are working on second prize.

In Chapter 3 on What is needed to change patterns? , Jerry makes a very interesting and insightful point (in my opinion!) about Thinking I wanted to share:

“You can tell where your organization is by studying the quality of the thinking, and you can imagine where you want to go by imagining what thinking will be like. Remember: When the thinking changes, the organization changes, and vice-versa.“

Jerry’s point about Quality thinking is not restricted to organizations. It is applicable to everybody (software managers, developers, testers etc). Even though I find it easy to understand what Jerry is trying to convey, I find it very hard to change my own personal mental models and thinking style (as Scott Adams mentions, it is really easy to fall into cognitive dissoance).

One of the tricks I picked from Scott Adams is to defend both sides of an argument! This really forces me to take a broader view of a particular issue and truly understand the pros/cons. Jerry also provided a useful tip during the PSL workshop: The Rule of Three. If we cannot think of three things that can cause an idea to fail, we haven’t thought about the problem well enough. The Rule of Three can also be used during idea-generation. We shouldn’t go with the first idea/solution we think of. It is better to come up with at least three alternative ideas/solutions and choose the best idea based on the current context.

I was impressed with the instructor, Andrew Martonyi and I learned a lot by observing his teaching style. The following points stood out:

1. Andrew was a very good story-teller. Every important concept and principle was explained with the help of a story. Stories are a great way of communicating ideas. Human beings retain stories way better than facts or data (Read A Whole New Mind for the reasons behind this).

2. Psychology studies have proven that when humans tend to believe what they write down (Read Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini for other interesting tidbits!). Andrew made all the students write down important principles related to negotiation, the strategy of making concessions etc. Making students write down these principles instead of providing us with printed handouts was a master-stroke! It helped me get engaged in the class.

3. I liked the exercises that were setup to help us practice our negotiation skills. The exercises were really good and helped me observe first-hand the mistakes I was making. I have seen the value of experiential learning when I attended the PSL Workshop. The Karrass Negotiation Seminar helped reinforce the usefulness of experiential training.

4. It looked like a lot of thought had gone into the materials and what seemed like trivial details to me. All the exercises conducted in our Seminar involved negotiations between a buyer and seller. The buyer (or the team of buyers) were given a blue sheet that explained their context (ie., the context in which the negotiations where going to take place). The Sellers got their own sheet of paper that explained their context. It was on a yellow sheet of paper. The buyers were not privy to the information on the Seller’s sheet and vice-versa.

Andrew made me realize that we usually go into a negotiation thinking only about our context (or our blue-sheet of paper, if we were a buyer). We rarely think about the problems on the other side (the yellow sheet of paper). This brilliant analogy involving sheets of paper in different colors helped reinforce the importance of understading the problems/pressures on the other side for me.

5. No PowerPoint! I personally believe that PowerPoint should never be used in the classroom. It may make the job easier for the teacher. However, it doesn’t promote “real learning”.