Work: What Went Wrong?

If everyone thinks the same way, then society would fail at the first stupid idea

Over the last few days, I got some time to think about what make and break a project. After some long thought, it comes down these few reasons:

• people: managers, co-workers, supporting teams, external teams
• plan: vision, milestones, requirements, designs
• execution: tools, communications, automation
• non-engineering: timeline, finance, competitors

So, why oh why... do projects fail? Because there are thousands of ways it could go wrong. And should one factor stands out too much, it becomes a loose string in a sweater that slowly taking other parts down with it.
      If the leader has no vision, then there is no direction
      If the team does not have the right tools, then the product will be delayed
      If the co-workers do not get along, then parts won't fit well together

So, when I was asked what went well, I could have given the usual answer -- we work hard, we tried to plan, we created some automation, etc. But I answered with what went wrong -- lack planning, and insufficient tools. However, I never got around to people... It is sad to see that there are much more to be said, but change-agents limit the scope. If the goal is to bring changes, then all ideas should come before any time constraints. The insufficiency of patient, sincerity, and humility is what I see, and it means nothing will change. THAT is what went wrong after all the wrongs...

Reblog: WordPress - A Cycle of Blogs

Feb 26, 2012

Hi, my name is Kittipong, and this is my blog. It is a blog about my insight into life, and programmings. Each month, I will try to bring my (near zero) insight on a different aspect of life, or different points in programmings. And if you have any comment, feel free to comments.

Since this is my first blog, I probably should give a back history. I started working on a website back in late 1990′s. If I am not wrong, it was 1998 when I was still in high school. Back then I was not sure why anyone need a website, so even though I learned HTML couple years earlier, I did not create a personal site until 1998. So, what changed my mind back in 1998?

If you think it was for a humanitarian cause, then you thought too much of me. If you say curiosity, then you are in for a disappointment. It was for a simpler cause. It was for love. No, it was not for the love of technology. In fact, there probably was no love involved. One day during the autumn of my junior year, I was talking to couple girls in my class. They were smart and quite literate in computer, and one of the topic involved a website. When I told them I know HTML & CSS, one of them encouraged me to start one. And like any young blind teenager, a whisper from a girl was enough to made me started a website. Tada!!!

I started with Geocities. Yes, the same Geocities that is no longer around anymore. Tokyo, Palace, 4409. That was my Geocities address. And it lasted many, many years. Until I graduated and got a degree. Oh, the memory of simpler days. And, oh the realization that Geocities had no plugins for scripting languages, or DB. That was a big problem when I tried to get a job, and my Geocities failed to impress. This was back in 2005. So, in the end, I registered another host that allowed PHP & Mysql combo. All were rosy, until I realized one thing… it was hard to backup mysql.

The free host did not provide any backup. So, I had to perform manual backup — display all posts and save the HTML. Hmmm… In addition, with all the programming works on the site, I hardly use site for blogging anymore. Actually it came pretty close to being a revision README file. Another problem I faced was the need to visit the site every weeks, or it could be closed. Yeeeaaaa!! NOT!

Just to speed up. It did get closed. I started a blog on Google (eBlogger). It was filled with posts that made me look like I had a mid-life crisis every other weeks. Since I did not have anyone to complain to, it ended as new posts every so often. After two years of tween-life crisis, I took another shot at PHP & Mysql site again. And SURE enough, I got lazy for a while, and it was closed down. Geeez. So, here we are with wordpress. Hopefully, I can do better this time.

Random: save it

Nobody can save you, but yourself.
Everything else are there to help you.
No religion can save you, but it can renew your hope.
Foods are there to satisfy your bodily hunger.
And shelter, it give can only give you warmth and security.
Relationship is a source of guidance and encouragement,
but none can save you but yourself.

So, save yourself from what?
Save yourself from self dissipation. No longer a sense of self control. No longer a sense of self. No longer a sense of what is truly yourself. Looking backward, you do not understand yourself. Looking now, you do not know yourself. Looking forward, you do know what you want.

Random: A Foundation Of Lies

inveigle - verb to entice, lure, or ensnare by flattery or artful talk or inducements

Spare me the praise, and start with an honest opinion. It is disappointing to hear a praise when I fully understand how flaw it is. It is irritating to hear no suggestions when I have seen you done better. If you want to see that things be better, start with saying how it could be better.

Stop pretending that nothing is wrong with it. Stop being quiet or lazy. It does not help progress the work. Even worse, it could come back to bite you in the future.

It's already 2009, and it is looking to be a tough year with the economy. Companies that make money are laying off people, because their profit has lowered. Asking employees to be faithful to a company, when profitable companies are slapping their own employees with pink papers.

Did you see that gross income? Right... a preparation for the worsen economy.
How about consider other alternatives? Right... this is what other companies are doing.
They took actions, so why don't they fix it? Right... they already left with millions in their hands.


Spare me the praise, people.
Spare me the praise, corporate entities.

Random: 2009.01.01

convention - noun An agreed upon conduct or attitude.

Ever write according to the format and style, and not to the true intention? Ever do something according to the convention? In the end, it goes by, it passes, and its relevancy is a matter of history. And if you ever examine the action and its reasons, nobody really understand why.

Did it bring happiness to you or anyone else? Maybe satisfaction or relief?

Sometimes it look as if I have no common sense. I do not understand the way people think or go about thinking. There are scenarios that I do not know how to respond, or go about responding. Making my own road, doing thing my own odd way, thinking in a non-linear cultural influence, and it seems at odd with everyone. Sometimes even to myself.

Did it bring happiness to others? Maybe satisfaction or relief?
For others, I can not answer. For myself, there is a little less of regret. A little less of worry. The future will comes to be the present, and recorded as the past. The history will tell a story in various different stories depending on the perspective on each person. A change in personality. A different person. An uncertainty of individuality.

Random: Is 2008 a good year?

So 2008 is coming to an end. Was it a good year for me? Let looks at it point by point . . .

• Financial - Nope. Everything in 401k went down.
• Occupation - I changed job; however, neither companies are doing well.
• People - Did meet more people from the past, but only so few will communicate. Not sure why most people are like that. Maybe I sound off superficial, maybe I am not beneficial to them, maybe I am just act too weird, or maybe I just expect too much. It seems to me most younger population(<40) operates in two modes: glib and/or opportunist. It is rare to find genuine people. Maybe being genuine is not fashionable, which would make me ... outdated?!
  
• Self - Did better than any stock this year, or any time in my life. I give a +500% annual boost. The year has been filled with action, story, and emotion. Plenty of disappointment, and unexpected surprises all around, but all intermixed with surreal tranquil moments.
  

So is 2008 a good year for me? Would not call it good, but rather... a revolutionary year.
Not only did the world changes, but so have I in many good and bad ways.

How about you? Is 2008 a good year for you?


Hoping that 2009 will be better,
-kainr2

Random: Konkai wa ...

I don't know the exact cause, but there are the feelings of unrest both physically and mentally. I do not have that feeling of calmness or at peace for a while now. Could it work? Could it be the coffee? Could it the subconscious' impulse? Could it be the lack of free time? Could it be the physical activity?

Maybe it is the people.
Maybe it is myself.

Random: Prediction of Tomorrow's Adults

My prediction of the US economy and adults 20 years from now:
- Invest more money than now.
- More saving than the current generation.
- Complain a lot more about high tax.
- Less likely to take risk in entrepreneurship.

Random: Wake Up

Normally, I wake up around 6:30 AM for work, but recently, I would randomly wake up around 5:30 AM. It is bothersome. It is difficult to sleep because there are dreams... often reflecting on my own hopeless desire, and the past mistakes. At time, it was pointless to sleep any further, and I would simply lay there pondering. Occasionally, I would just get up.

Is it worth it to sleep anymore?

I feel tire mentally and physically. But at least when I am up, I can do something. I am tire of waiting for good things to happened. Regret. Regretting not doing what I should sooner. Regret of just waiting. And absolutely, tire of regretting. I rather walk for hours on a hot sunny day until my legs are about to collapse. I rather run until the senses are numb.

Won't ever achieve that desire. Somethings are impossible.
Can't stop dreaming either. Then there would be nothing to live for.

Random: Who I saw and What I have seen

Today I went to Sunnyvale on a business purpose with my coworker, and by luck I saw someone I recognized walking across the street next to me. Or at least someone I believed to recognized. I look at him for quite a while as he sped up pass both of us. The man looked rush with a vibe of frustration. My coworker continued the conversation, and I paid no more attention.

Then at 5 PM, I saw him again, walking passed the lobby of Yahoo. Again, no one seemed to notice this person but me. Again, he quickly walk passed the door and reached for the cell phone. At the end of the day, my curiosity got the better of me, and I talked to my coworker about this man.

You know, this morning, I thought I saw Jerry.

Yeah, that is him.

Oh, really? You know I am surprise that nobody say a word to him. He walk passed twenty employees, and no one say hello or goodbye.

My coworker went on to explain the lack of fascination for the man, which I still could not understand. Is it normal for the employees to not say a thing to the CEO? Is it a good thing when the CEO said nothing to his employees? So people do not matter anymore?

Should a CEO be ignored for his mistake, or does he has to be a innovative genius in order to be recognized? Even as a stranger, sometimes unknown people on the street say hello to me. But as an employee not saying anything to your employer, who you recognized, that is weird to me.

Random: Freedom

Recently, I watched a documentary on college entrance exam in China. It followed few different high school seniors throughout the year. The show present the lifestyle of these students who studied restlessly for the exam that would determine their future: college, career, and economic status. At the end of this documentary, one of the top high school graduated was quoted:

When I was studying so hard, I thought the most important thing was freedom.
You can't demand freedom from society, your school, or even from your own family.
You must rely on yourself to find your freedom.
If you can set your own heart free, then nothing can stop you.

-ZL

Upon hearing it, I thought to myself, "She got it right on the last two parts. But knowing what she just said, her life will filled with a struggle to be happy." When you free your mind and heart, freedom exist without any border, because any thought is possible, and any action can be taken. There is no limitation of choices.

So, why would her life will filled with struggle for happiness? Freedom often lack the long term fulfillment, because you are constantly refining the definition of freedom, constantly acting on the meaning of freedom, and constantly monitor yourself: behavior and thought. In doing so, you becomes someone beside yourself. Eventually there will a point where she will question herself, "what make me, a physical body with mind and emotion, an individual self with freedom?" This unsettling question has no right or wrong answer. It can be solved only when she is satisfied with her own answer. But even with a conclusive answer, her happiness is not assured.

Freedom is not just about making decisions on choices defined by society. Freedom is the ability to think and reason the choices, to determine the best solution regardless of whether it's unique or common, and to act upon it. Freedom in this sense is not so easy or absolute. Actually, it is a hard work, and quite complex, because your philosophy and ideology come into play.

Ignorant is a bliss.

Many have said it, and I agreed with it. At least they are not questioning themselves time after time until the end of their lives.

Random: Chino Hills Earthquake

Here is what I did during the Chino Hills earthquake on July 29, 2008.

Around 11:45 in the software lab, I just copied the software object file to the network folder in order to test the build. Just then, I heard a crack on the roof. Only about 5 seconds afterward before I realized that it was an earthquake. I headed for the lab's door before another shake came.

Few people around the area aggregated about a minute later, and talked about the quake. Few minutes later, I was back to testing, and some people went to lunch. In the cafeteria during lunch time, the TVs were tuned to CNN. The saddest part was how CNN tried to hype up the lack of major or minor damages.

Random: Ignorant People Continue To Be... Ignorant

Here I am reading the L.A. Times story this morning...

Police show up at IndyMac Branches in Encino, Northridge as waiting customers clash

I am not surprise that people are taking money out from IndyMac, but here is the question... why?

IndyMac has been taken over by the federal government already. FDIC insured their money up to $100,000. If they wanted to withdraw their money, they should have done so before the OTS has taken over IndyMac, especially those who had over $100K. IndyMac FSB is now a federal bank, in another word a government bank.

These withdraws are IMHO pointless. Their money will not disappear, since it is backed by the federal goverment. If US government can not give you your money, then expect a world economic crisis pretty soon... like tomorrow soon.

Beside the needless shouting and fighting to get their money out of IndyMac, another thing I am worrying about is their financial plans. Are they going to stash $10K to $100K in their homes? Are you putting it in Washington Mutual (another bank that might head south)? If so, they are just simply repeating the same mistake. Are they going to invest? Although, any fool can see that this is not the time. I would not invest in anything at this time unless I understand the company wholly, its goal, its practice, its potential, and its goal.

Random: Think about it

How can you know you are alive if you act according to the norm?
How can you know you are free if you think within the predictable rule?

July 2008 seems like another month for most people. To most people, it is another month. For me, it's a month that I have to say goodbye to two close friends. They are not dead, merely move on to something else. These two never met each other, yet they shared several traits and similar past: traveled to a foreign land, hardship, strong opinion, has specialized skill, conversational, etc. But much important trait is their honest opinion of me. They won't hold back to that I am wrong, and that is invaluable.

Now, it so happened that they gave the same opinion about me. That I will be alone from talking in my own manner, and acting according to my own norm. Are they right? So far, yes. People don't take too kindly of "abnormal" behaviors, and their first instinct is to avoid. In the end, I can only hope that being myself will lead me to meet other honest, open-minded individuals like these two.

I wish to write more, but it will do no good for anyone. Anyways, I will leave it as such for now.

Random: Unwelcome Words

Some people bring happiness wherever they go,
and some people bring happiness when they go.
-someone

I don't people can ever tell the whole truth about themselves, no matter how hard they tried. There will always be secrets that will not be told. The speakers are too afraid of the judgments, and the listeners often ignore the impure and imperfect reality. In the end, we end up talking superficially most of the time. Talking mostly about pointless details with a little hint of the truth.

Tell me everything about the keyboard in front of you.

I know no matter how hard you try, there is no way you can explain the whole facts about your keyboard that is in front of you. Maybe it's because you don't understand the keyboard fully, just like you don't truly understand your own mind and soul fully. Yet, you know that you mastered the keyboard. You can type 40 words per minutes without thinking too much about it. You understand how it is connected, and function.

What if you can somehow explained it full without a flaw?

Then the listeners will think you are abnormal, and possibly a keyboard freak. Is there really another way to think of such a person? Few people will ever appreciate the keyboard freak for the ability to analyze and express the concept of the keyboard.

People enjoy common ideas and shallow conversations. They rarely welcome the deep words for what it is. IMHO, fake people just make better people, since they make the world go around.

Random: Time of Turbulance

Luck is preparation meets an opportunity.
- R. Farsch

In a time of so many fluctuation's, luckily unlike Yahoo!, it's important to keep in mind why I have to look out for an opportunity. And I don't just mean a job here. It could be anything such as meeting someone else, talking to your friends, taking time to enjoy nature, exercising for you health, thinking alone for your own soul, etc.

To be honest, if I am apart of the perfect world, I would be sitting around doing absolute nothing useful, because I would not have to worry about job, health, relationship, or money. Instead I would just sit back on the Sunday afternoon watching a movie or an Asian drama thinking, "why can't my life be more exciting like the TV?" I would sit and complain about my perfect life in the perfect world.

Fortunately, my life not perfect, and neither is this world. I am grateful for it, because now I know there are other flawed lives and objects. Some can be changed. Others will never be. What is better is knowing that I can act outside the norm, knowing fully that it is my will.

Walking like an average person is to walk efficiently.
Walking like a monkey is to walk with a conscious effort.
-kainr2