Weekend Building Blocks - 26 MAY 2017


There's no value in collecting blocks unless you're connecting them to build something awesome!
Here's what I've picked up this week:
  1. Professional Policing & the Data Dilemma. If you're interested in evidence-based policy and practices, read this piece by police sergeant Jason Potts, a current board member for the American Society of Evidence Based Policing. Jason and I have different predictions on the value of research in police policy (I see it as fairly limited & overall dim). In this piece, he addresses some of the obstacles and struggles here in the US with EBP. And yes, that was my uncited quote regarding "academic BS." 
  2. The Feynman Technique: The Best Way to Learn Anything. Yes, this is from 2012! What's the difference in knowing something and knowing the name of something? I've long considered what topics and subjects I know deeply enough about to explain them to my kids. In fact, now that I'm a parent, I enjoy breaking down answers to my own kids' thoughtful questions!
  3. When Is Good, Good Enough? How Leaders Should Talk About Standards of Excellence. For you Left of Bang fans, Patrick Van Horne discusses job performance standards. I've already warned Patrick that I'll be authoring a rebuttal to this piece on the term "standards" - suggesting we need to change our vocabulary to match the particular skills and traits we seek in our team members. Watch out, Patrick! 
  4. Corporate Innovation Challenges: Culture, Budgets, and "Frozen" Management. Jeremiah Owyang brings up the idea of middle management "permafrost" in this piece on innovation. Consider the size of your organization or team and how that alone may promote or stifle creativity in your members. As a new "manager" myself, I need this reminder to keep my team members' minds engaged in adaptive problem-solving!
  5. Technical vs Adaptive Challenges. Thanks to fire chief Dennis Rogers for sharing this piece. It includes a 3-minute video lesson on the differences between technical and adaptive problems and responses. This has been my study for over a decade now as it applies to policing. Glad to see the fire service also on-board! 
I also wrote a blog post this week:

Until next week, keep creating! 

Lou Hayes, Jr.
thinking & adapting like a Tactical Philosopher

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Presentation Hack: Your Last Slide(s)

Image
I've written before about introductory presentation slides . When the audience is filtering into the room, I prefer to play a few minimalist slides on a looping show over the typical static slide jammed with titles, organizations, names, events, and logos. (Many of you have circled back to me after having used this trick to share your successes with it! Thanks for trying it!) But what about ending the presentation? What tricks do I use to bring closure to a projected slide deck? How do I handle a summary or a Question-and-Answer session? First let me contrast two (2) different chronologies of the tail ends of presentations: Weaker Ending Final detail point. Grand closing (climax?) "Are there any questions?" Answer them if they're asked. Thank the audience. Awkwardly leave the platform Stronger Ending Final detail point. Brief Summary "Before I get into the final closing, what questions can I answer?" Answer them if they&#
Read the entire post here »

Presentation Hack: "For those of you who don't know me..."

Image
I've been to quite a few weddings. Not that I've been invited to more than any of you, but I have moonlighted in a few banquet halls over the years. As such, I've heard my fair share of toasts by Best Men and Maids of Honor. (And eaten my fair share of dinners in the back half.) For many Best Men or Maids of Honor, the dinner toast is one (1) of the most stressful aspects of a wedding weekend for them. Public speaking causes all sorts of anxiety - magnified by the pressure of knowing your failure might ruin your best friend's most special day of his/her life! Yikes! It doesn't take long to determine who is comfortable holding the microphone. And whether I can see the body language or not, it's sometimes the first few words that come out of their mouths that give it away. Few public speaking phrases get me to cringe as reliably and as intensely as an introduction of  "For those of you who don't know me..." This introduc
Read the entire post here »

The Generalist versus The Specialist

Image
There exists a conspiracy against the Generalist. Today's culture rewards those who Specialize: doctors, athletes, teachers, cops. Being labeled a Generalist comes with ridicule of being luke-warm, a moderate, uncommitted, or without passion. Those images are false. They are hallucinations. Time and time again, life penalizes the Specialist. We never learn from our mistakes. Striking a balance between being a Generalist or a Specialist hinges on one factor: one's confidence in the future . The equation is quite simple -- the greater the predictability of approaching problems, the more one should become the Specialist; the less foresight one has, the more benefit in being the Generalist. This axiom holds for any aspect of life: financial investment, medicine, emergency preparedness, physical fitness, backcountry camping, education, gambling, and of course....law enforcement operations. As with most of our theories, this is a spectrum bookended by two extremes. With a
Read the entire post here »