"In God we trust, everyone...

... else bring data."

I think the only reason I even bring this up is because I've been looking at many, many spreadsheets lately — and with that, an awful lot of data.

This pithy term comes to me honestly because many years ago I was developing my function excellence skills and participated in Six Sigma Black Belt training. This humbling affair still resonates when I think about the onslaught of statistical and functional excellence models, playing with toy catapults (and the statistical analysis behind what was seemingly child's play), and my disheartenment when I watched people much smarter than myself in a daze after class. In the end I completed my project and because of the experience carry the following three truths at my core when it comes to how I need to think about things.

Truth 1. "In God we trust, everyone else bring data" — it's a reminder that only data offers an objective view of things.

Truth 2. The DMAIC model is very useful when you want to improve something — Define, Measure, Analysis, Improvement, Control

Truth 3. What we "subjectively believe" tends not to be the same as what "objectively is" — and sometimes it's worlds apart.

I'm hard wired to be subjective, figurative, and broad thinking (and I suppose I'm really an artist stuck in a scientist's body) and because of this, I hold these hard earned truths with passion and appreciation. 

Data is the currency of real understanding and it trumps words like "I think", "I feel" and "I believe" and enables you to use the words " I know". Data brings objectivity to the understanding of a situation, what's really happening, and helps you drive better decisions and actions. While I'm thinking about this, here's another pithy saying that warrants consideration, "Lies, damn lies, statistics" — it's a reminder that even numbers need to be vetted and confirmed for accuracy because, although data is objective, it still needs to be validated.

It seems there is actually a fourth truth that I almost forgot about —

Truth 4. When you bring data make sure you aren't bringing data for data's sake but for reasons associated with an objective (hopefully to move your goals forward.)

Forgive me for not remembering it sooner but the training was a while ago, and as you may appreciate, a little traumatic.

iamgpe

What will happen over the next twenty years...

I have never been much of a futurist — I am more one to muddle through the muck of the moment and work through whatever comes my way. Recently though I've been thinking I should take a different tact because we're in the throws of dramatic change and with that, amazing opportunity. Maybe it's time for me to take pause and think about what the future may hold (and like a good surfer, look for a fine wave to catch). If you have ever attempted to surf you know the best wave is found in the green water — it's where you can catch the wave early, ride it longer, and have more fun.

This is something I am actively exploring and will be quick to ask about.

So I ask you, "What do you think will happen over the next twenty years?"

As I start to explore the green water of the future, here are some of the considerations that have resonated with me so far... be it as opportunities to explore, problems to anticipate, or simply considerations to prepare for (aka adapt to).

• Our natural environment will continue to change, and all that stuff we make will continue to spill over into it. 
• Our symbiosis with technology will continue to a point of physical change and it will blur the lines regarding what it is to be a human being.
• Artificial Intelligence will impact the definition of work and what people do.
• The established structures of trust, power, and government will be challenged by technology and by the evolving definition of work and how people find fulfilment.
• National identity will be displaced by city and corporate states.
• The "networks of connection" will challenge the ability of people to connect, relate, and trust at a personal level.
•  We will live longer, but probably not healthier.

As I say I am no futurist so this is a conversation I am eager to have with anyone who has some thoughts. Please let me know what you think (or know) — it's greatly appreciated.

At this point, all I know is we are on the cusp of substantial change, I want to be part of it, and a person can do amazing things in twenty years.

iamgpe

Ownership, responsibility, culpability... and progress.

I once knew a leader who was enthusiastic about ensuring every goal (objective or project) had an owner and his thinking was simple — if there was no owner how could you expect anything to get done, and in the same vein, there could only be one. For him, if you had more than one owner, there was no true accountability (which in his mind was more or less like not having an owner at all). 

It didn't take me long to jump on his ownership bandwagon because it's really the only way to get anything done.

And now for the rub that comes with this progressive thinking — since most things don't happen without a team of people, how do you reconcile this with the need for one owner?

You definitely need to ensure you have the right people on the team, a solid time and event schedule, the needed resources, sacrosanct operating mechanisms to ensure action is moving forward, and a solid "multi-coloured" dashboard to ensure everyone knows what's happening — all of this is solid, quantifiable, and necessary, but the reconciliation with "one and the many" comes with the words "responsibility" and "culpability", and even more subtly, the words "you" and "we". 

re·spon·si·bil·i·ty [rəˌspänsəˈbilədē] NOUN — the state or fact of having a duty to deal with something or of having control over someone

cul·pa·bil·i·ty [ˌkəlpəˈbilədē] NOUN — responsibility for a fault or wrong; blame

you [yo͞o, yə] PRONOUN — used to refer to the person or people that the speaker is addressing

we [wē] PRONOUN — used by a speaker to refer to himself or herself and one or more other people considered together:

Anything you are involved with inherently needs responsibility and culpability, and if it's just you it's easy because you own all of it — and if there is more that just you then these words need to be injected into the group. Ownership is about "you" accepting responsibility and culpability for the goal (objective or project), and if there is a team behind you then that involves expanding the definition of responsibility and culpability to include everyone involved (something imperative for success) — the "you" becomes "we".

If you ever hear yourself trying to avoid "responsibility" or "culpability" then you are falling short as the owner — and if you ever hear anyone on the team trying to avoid "responsibility" or "culpability" you are also falling short, because remember, you own that too. 

Ownership and Leadership... semantics if you ask me, because its true when they say, "True leadership has no title".

iamgpe