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Add comment January 29th, 2009

A Lesson in Latin

Why DO Chooses to Make Choices

We explored the power of words in Dialogue Determines Direction where we consciously altered our speech to increase the accuracy of our communication. Today we take it one step further and look more deeply into the inherited meaning that some words carry with them.

At Digital Onion, we don’t make decisions, we make choices, and we do this very purposefully.

Decisions carry a finality with them. How final? Take the suffix of the word: –cide. In Latin, it literally means “to kill.” Suicide. Pesticide. Genocide. So, when you decide to go one way or another, what you’re really doing is killing off all other opportunities.

It doesn’t mean Digital Onion believes in keeping all doors open at once either. That’s where the beauty of choosing comes in. When we make a choice, we give it our entire focus, but it’s not permanent. We follow the choice for only as long as it’s useful. When the choice is no longer useful, we change it.

By choosing and not deciding, you give yourself the focus to follow one path with dedication, without killing off the possibility of other choices down the line.

So, what will it be – chocolate or vanilla?

Add comment January 26th, 2009

Building Extraordinary Teams

It Takes Accountability

Accountability is one of Digital Onion’s core company values. It’s one of the cornerstones around which we build our projects, our business and our lives.

Accountability is defined as the responsibility to someone or for some activity.

We talk about accountability in the context of teams, and how each team member is accountable to each other. In order for projects to achieve extraordinary results, accountability must be in place within teams.

If a team member is late to a meeting, an accountable team would track that person down and make sure he/she shows up on time. If a co-worker is late with his/her tasks, an accountable team member would help solve the issue. Does this happen in your projects?

These are the foundations of being a team. Without accountability, there is no teamwork; there is just a cluster of people. What makes an extraordinary team is a common a goal and accountability to each other to reach that goal, no matter what.

Add comment January 24th, 2009

Tony Wong Moderating at Agile Event

Bootstrapping an Agile Team

Where: Gorilla Nation Media, LLC, 5140 W Goldleaf Circle Floor 3, Los Angeles, CA 90056
When: Monday, February 9th from 6pm-9pm
Who: Interested Agile Practitioners. Admission is FREE but you must RSVP.
What: Please join our very own Tony Wong as he moderates an open discussion about creating extraordinary Agile teams.

For more details, visit ScrumClub.org or join the LA Scrum Club Meetup to be the first to hear about all our upcoming events.

Add comment January 14th, 2009

Gaining Freedom Through Limits

Timeboxing

Most people have a negative connotation with the word “limit.” A quick scan of the thesaurus turns up vocabulary such as “restriction,” “boundary,” “confinement” and “hinder.“ No wonder.

Here at Digital Onion, we view limits as a good thing. In our language, a synonym for “limit” is freedom. Sound too good to be true? Keep reading.

Take the concept of time for example. We’ve all felt the truth of Parkinson’s law at one point or another:

“Work expands to fill the time available.”

At Digital Onion we use a concept called “Timeboxing” to keep us from spending too much time on any one thing, and to encourage decisive thinking. It’s a simple concept, put into action by setting a time limit around a task or a decision and sticking to it, no matter what.

We can create trainings sessions in 4 hours. Plan an entire month of work in 8 hours. And reflect and improve our processes in just 1 hour.

We can do this because we say we are going to do it, and we stick to that.

This can take some getting used to. Spending lots of time on something is comfortable, easy, safe. But, this thinking is born out of the fear of making a decision. Once that fear is overcome, you will see your effectiveness and use of time improve tremendously.

This is not a singular phenomenon. As we send you off to try Timeboxing on your own, take this quote from Jack Welch with you:

“I learned in a hundred ways that I rarely regretted acting but often regretted NOT acting fast enough. I could scarcely remember a time when I said, ‘I wish I’d taken six more months to study something before making decision.’ “

If he can be fast and decisive in running the world’s third largest company, just think what you can do as you apply these same principles to your life.

Add comment January 12th, 2009

Happy New Year

Dialogue Determines Direction™

As we enter 2009, many of you will be making New Year’s resolutions. Maybe you want to quit smoking. Join a new business or networking group. Spend more time with loved ones. Give back to your community. Start a fitness program. Promote your business more regularly.

Whatever your aspirations, personal or professional, Digital Onion thinks this is a good time to introduce you to Dialogue Determines Direction™ – the idea that HOW you say something is even more important than what you say.

Have you ever sat in a business meeting and heard someone set the direction for the week by saying: “Let’s try to launch the website by Wednesday.” or “Let’s work on the platform integration for the next couple days.”

Think about the words used in those two sentences. What’s getting accomplished? Nothing. People are trying, people are working, but toward what?

If you want to set a clear direction, think about how you’re using your words. Instead of trying to launch the website, say: “We will launch the website on Wednesday.” That’s a statement. A declaration. A goal in and of itself.

So this New Year’s Eve when the ball drops, start off 2009 in the right direction. Dream big, be bold and DECLARE it.

There are approximately 175,000 distinct words in the English language. Choose wisely.

1 comment January 1st, 2009