Over the past few weeks I have spent many hours thinking about my personal information security requirements and discussing pros and cons with others. My goal with this article is to clarify few concepts that have surfaced in these discussions. I want to help you find your way in the jungle of information security.

This post summarizes my learnings from the Roam Agile project. I present the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) version of the Agile Development Template. Here you will find the link to the Roam EDN archive containing the template, instructions for how you can get started, YouTube videos showcasing the solution, and a link to the graph I used for my project with my backlog, user stories, sprints, daily standups, customer feedback, etc.

I spent the last week working on a Roam template for Agile Product Management. My goal is to create a step by step how-to guide and a full-featured template database, that a product development team can pick up to kick-start their process using Roam. I assume that Roam will be the only task and user story management tool used by this team, and I am developing a fully self-sustained solution built 100% around Roam's capabilities.

What tools do you use to create quick sketches of ideas? How do you co-create with others in a visually engaging way? How do you balance traditional text based expression with visual thinking?  I have a whiteboard in my office. I can feel the energy level of any meeting increase when someone stands up, takes the pen, and starts explaining his/her idea at the whiteboard. Collaborating around a whiteboard always unleashes creativity. Home office, virtual working and social distancing have made this experience somewhat more challenging to achieve. The other problem with the whiteboard in my office is it has to be cleaned. Yes, I take pictures before wiping it, however the next time we want to continue the same discussion, our drawing is gone. I would need a larger office and more whiteboards to keep track of all the different discussions that happen around my board. I love visual thinking tools and have always been a mind map junky. Over the years I have used Freem...

Photo by  Lukas  from  Pexels Being effective at work is like a martial art . The difference between the novice and the master is often not the actual moves, nor the detailed sequence of their execution, but the efficiency, elegance, precision, and speed of delivery. There is no silver bullet , just radical common sense and a persistent drive to improve. It is also true, that the same outcome may be achieved more elegantly with a different set or sequence of steps. Take for example typing. If you use two fingers, you may spend years practicing and perfecting your technique, however you will likely never achieve the same level of speed and perfection as if you had learned to type with ten fingers, and had spent your time perfecting those moves. For most of my career I have worked in large matrix organizations. I have read and learned about work. I was trained. I have picked up best practices from colleagues. In this post I lay out a summary of some of the key patterns...

The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande Rating: 8/10 There are two reasons why people fail. Ignorance meaning we only have a partial understanding of the world and how it works, and ineptitude when the knowledge exists but we fail to apply it correctly. We have accumulated stupendous know-how and have accomplished extraordinary things. Nonetheless, that know-how is often unmanageable . Checklists are a strategy for overcoming failure by building on experience and taking advantage of the knowledge people have, but also making up for our inadequacies . The problem of extreme complexity Three different kinds of problems exist in the world: Simple problems like baking a cake from a mix. Complicated problems such as sending a rocket to the moon, which can sometimes be broken down into a series of simple problems and where unanticipated difficulties are frequent. Finally, complex problems like raising a child for which a process...

In today's short post I will explore thinking tools developed by Edward De Bono targeted at better understanding the other person involved in a disagreement or negotiation situation. De Bono argues that Western civilization is built on the concept of conflict where two sides if they have a difference in opinion fight it out. In the end one side typically wins, the other side loses. De Bono calls the Western approach the "Clash System".  As an alternative De Bono recommends an approach that seeks to "lead out" or "pull out" of the situation what is of value - no matter on which slide it is to be found. He argues that this is more then compromise or consensus. Compromise is still within the clash system and suggests that both sides give up something in order to gain something. Consensus means staying in the part of a proposal on which everyone is agreed on. He offers the idea of "osmosis" where there are no opposing or var...

Use daily updates as a tool for staying on top of what your people are doing and thinking. Daily updates are brief descriptions of what the person did that day, what they are planning to do the next day, their problems, their questions, and their observations. They typically take about five minutes to write and do wonders for staying in touch. Ray Dalio Principles I wrote about the concept of a Pattern Language in: A Pattern Language for Effective Thinking . If you are not familiar with the concept of a Pattern Language I suggest you check out that post. It will provide you with valuable background about patterns and how a pattern language works. It's only a 5 minute read. 2x2x2 is a simple workplace collaboration pattern that I am using with my direct reports. I will present the pattern using the template introduced in the post referenced above. For now this pattern stands on its own, it is not yet part of a pattern language. I am no...