njschro's blog

Management by walking around (MBWA) is an interesting concept. I have always fancied myself a hands-on worker valuing time behind the desk. But Berkun points out that when in the position of a PM, the best way to enhance communication is to form relationships with those involved. This makes sense as I reflect on my prior experiences in various workplaces. My mentors in the business world have always focused deeply on these relationships. And beleive me, I think it rubbed off on me.

Equally useful is the advice Berkun provides by scaffolding states of communication. That is, Berkun gives 5 forms of communication that I can use to diagnose problems in communication. Now that I think about it, this structure is going to be very useful. I am going to reference it as I patch up some problems in a group project. Everyone is clear on what to do, so the err in communication is conversion to useful action. I think the most significant dilemma in this group project is assumption. I assumed that everyone would take the initiative, but the opposite has taken place. So, I will invest more time in helping everyone understand their roles and how their work contributes to the big picture. This is just a thought…

Wow! The role-definitions scaffolding technique is very interesting. Uses for this are quite wide ranging. Not only will people involved see their contributions, but it also helps to strengthen relationships! And of course, I should never be afraid to ask the ever-so-useful question “What can I do to help you do your best work?” According to Berkun, stating this question accomplished three essential tasks. First, it establishes that the person do their best work. Second, it gets them to evaluate their performance. Third, it opens discussion for ensuring that the best work is done and how to acheive the best results.

This week was much more productive! I finished the Word templates and am currently putting the finishing touches on the website design. I will have it uploaded to the Google Wave by this Sunday. Shortly after, she will give me feedback on the design.

I’ve been having a lot of fun messing with the color scheme in Photoshop and Dreamweaver. I think what I am going to do next, since I am in the same phase, is experiment with onion skin CSS. This will give a sleek appearance to the website. This way, I won’t have to worry about going back and forth between Photoshop and Dreamweaver frequently. More on this after while…

• RT @anthonyfontana http://twitpic.com/2g8d42 – Holding my first Android pad straight from Tawain, the Gtouch by Gemtech. #nerd #android #

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This post I made from my Droid. I downloaded the WordPress app from Droid market. Now I can update my blog right away – without having to log in on my laptop. 🙂
By the way, this is an interesting quote. What do you all think?

“Plurality must never be posited without necessity” ~ William Ockham

This is what scholar William Kneale found in Ockham’s work. Reflection on this statement is brought about because I fancy myself a reflective person. I enjoy looking to my past and seeing how I made the best decisions by eliminating those options that are too involved. Although Berkun gives many helpful tips, inspired by over 15 project managers; I see his reference to Occam’s Razor as most justifiable.

I embrace Occam’s Razor on many occasions. There have been entire works written about this method and it is alive and well in many academic and business settings. In my life, the concept is most often exercised during work hours, homework, and within most multifaceted assignments that span long periods. I also utilize this idea when reading philosophical concepts – usually analytical ones. I especially like to use it when reading the Christian Bible, Koran, Book of Mormon, etc.

I find the connection with Sherlock Holme’s statement “If you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth” and decision making a little loose, but I see what Berkun is trying to say. Doyle’s fictional Sherlock Holmes used this statement during the early-day CSI. The reductionist approach was used for finding criminals at large – not a decision. Although eliminating unnecessary details contained in constructing a scenario – the decision making the Berkun writes about operates in a different arena.

Since there is a great deal of thinking involved in this approach, I think Berkun accentuates Occam’s concept by incorporating the visual (below). This is a good image for understanding time allowance in reflection.

I thought this was a cool thing to include on my blog. There are many uses for this tool. I think I might synchronize it with my mindmap for my client project. It would be a good way to reflect on my work and see how I completed the project.

Critique on the potential for great pretension.
I agree that a way to avoid pretension is to write with the intended audience in mind. I also understand how pretentious writing defeats its own purpose by obscuring ideas. I argue that pretension is not necessarily a “temptation of the ego.” Pretension is using affectation to impress an audience. Such artificiality is something I would do my very best to steer clear of. After all, I would want my audience to connect to my work. However, I consider pretensions something perceived by an audience.

Word usage and grammatical structure may be intimidating to some, yet “intimidation” is something that depends on the reader – the audience. There could also be other communication barriers to deter the audience… Is the intimidating factor the learning curve? Is it not the audience who want to excel by calling to the forefront their capacity to learn new material? Could this sort of social tear be proliferating due to complexity and command of language/communication?

In the example of Thomas Jefferson’s drafting of the Declaration of Independence, Berkun seems eager to conclude that Jefferson’s role was not highly visible, nor did it need to be. He wants to draw the line under collaboration with one person’s artistic talent for writing as a catalyst. And this, eventually led to Jefferson drafting the Declaration, while he asked for his trusted friends, Franklin and Adams, to make the revisions. What was left out of the constitution is something that Thomas Jefferson never fully recovered from. Among the many deletions the last was the most devastating to Jefferson because he “apparently regarded it as one of his better creations.” In all, Jefferson wanted to “depict the separation of the colonies from the British Empire as a decision forced upon the colonists, who are passive victims rather than active agents of revolution” (Ellis, 62). Although Jefferson had no aspiration to sell his work, his writing suggests he desired to communicate his (then, radical) ideas. What bothers me is that Berkun leaves out the details when he writes “He was simply granted the authority to make use of his skills in the best service for his team” (Berkun, 79) Since many people easily accept without question that Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, there is little thought of investigation. Moreover, there is little thought of questioning weather or not it is Jefferson’s actual words.

If the definition of pretension is the use of affectation to impress, then the length and complexity of a written work does not matter. Moreover, intent to impress an audience is not solely dependent on the use of jargon and size, rather it is dependent on the writer’s style of communication. For instance, oversimplifying a vision, idea, or concept can rob an audience of the beautiful complexity and elegance that awaits them. But as humans, we often want information concise and easy. It is a part of our nature to recognize phenomena and create patterns to explain it.

The human tendency for credulity is abundant. And, I’m sorry to say it, but oversimplifying complexity is also a form of pretension. Authors, for example, may see the need to oversimplify a concept or present a superficial conclusion to historical accounts in hopes that the audience will understand their reality. I find it interesting how people become impressed with how motivational speakers are able to translate complex processes into simple step-by-step guides.

References
Ellis, Joseph J. American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson. Vintage Books, div. of Random House, Inc. New York. 1998.

This has been a great week! I finished a couple of logo ideas by coming up with solutions with text and my client’s initials. I also designed a letterhead for her to critique. I should hear back from her soon. Next week, I will be starting on the website design! Exciting!

I created EPS and PNG versions of these; I want to make sure they are the most usable files. 🙂 Next, I will incorporate her selected colors and translate NEWS and JOURNALISM to Spanish. I think she will want them in Spanish because she may operate in Spanish-speaking countries.

Here are the examples I posted to the Google Wave:

Claudia and I made a lot of progress this week. This progress is still rather minute when compared to the scope of the project. For instance, although I have maintained a stable level of completion per weekly deliverable, there are many more deliverables that require my utmost consistency.

To date, I have completed all of my planned phases with admirable accuracy. Even though my self-criticism remains persistent through many of my objectives, I have maintained productivity. All the more, Claudia has been very cooperative in her role of critiquing and accepting the various deliverables.

Thus far, I have completed the Identity phase and Identity Design phases of the project (refer to mindmap from earlier post). This weekend, I will be completing the structure and design of the website. This will challenge my faculties to the point of exhaustion, yet I keep in mind that this will be one of my greatest works in my career as a freelancer.

This week has been a little hectic due to multiple exams and a painting – which I needed to finish before the weekend. In light of this week from hell, I didn’t accomplish as much as I initially planned. However, next week is another opportunity to get ahead once again.

Thus far, I completed the first and second phases on the project. I am well on my way to getting a foothold on the third phase – web development. In this phase, I will incorporate the elements I created and the material (audio, video, and PDFs) for creating the website. The colors are already picked, so I am eager to create a custom CSS to make her website unique.