

Another EZ work-hack, same deal. - NSX2

This is going to seem so simple, you might be quick to dismiss it as stupid.  But they teach it to fighter pilots, special forces teams and a small variation of this is taught in hospital emergency room triage training; in other words, situations where you have many variables, need to make a decision with imperfect information and your decision must lead to results ASAP.<p>It's called "A.C.T.E. micro-cycling" and is a practical real world application of skunkworks philosophy (keep messing up faster and more creatively until the solution reveals itself).<p>A. --&#62; ASSESS the situaion rapidly.  Don't try to figure out everything.  Do something physical like walking or showering or laundry and let your "subconcious" spit out the situation IN A LIMITED TIME.  In other words, occupy your over-analytical left-side concious mind, and let your "big picture" right-side subconcious mind figure it out automatically under a tight deadline.  "By the time I'm done showering and blowdrying my hair, whatever I figure the problem is, that's what it is."  Numerous studies have shown that whatever your right-brain spits out quickly in a tight time-space while you're not "actively thinking" about the problem usually covers 70-90% of the most important issues no matter how much additional time you spend "trying to figure it out".  After that it's rapidly declining returns.  So analyze and come to an assessment, but do so using the powers of the part of your mind that knows the answer already while you get laundry done too :=)<p>C --&#62; CREATE a &#62;&#62; simple &#60;&#60; plan that can be immediately implemented and will bring feedback within hours at best, half-a-day or a day at most.  Not plans that need input from this guy and that guy but they're on vacation or its the weekend, just "what can I do right now with what I have at hand to see what kind of results that approach gets me so I can make another quick plan based on almost immediate, continuous feedback?"<p>T --&#62; TAKE ACTION!  (self-explanatory; see my other post on why "micro-planning-acting" cycles bypasses brain's built-in resistance to taking action and tendency to get lost in procrastination loops.)<p>E --&#62; Evaluate the outcome of your actions and start another micro cycle - you can actually consider this part just another "Assess" or a "re-assess."<p>ASSESS with right brain, CREATE a super-simple immediately doable plan that gets instant feedback, TAKE immediate action without concern for perfect resources, etc.  EVALUATE the outcome of your microcycle with whatever changes your "A.C.T." made to the environment and adjust accordingly.<p>No point in trying to optimize either the assess, the create plan or the action part.  The emphasis is on the speed in completing the cycle and the continuousness of one cycle to the next - ie, 4 of these micro-cycles done over 1 weekend will give you more valuable insights than a month's worth of perfect planning and getting together the perfect people/resources/etc.<p>But I'm sure some of you people already know this.<p>As a professor of mine used to say, "Sometimes efficiency is inefficient" (sometimes getting the system to become efficient takes so many resources and time and effort that it drains the energy needed to actually apply and get results from the system, so a "simple, messy, quick" method actually works more effectively than and efficient system.<p>Again (if you found this useful and wish to offer something of value in exchange): I am in New York City area. I want to do a startup like the rest of you. I am not a "haxor" ... but my background is in its own way completely relevant to what I want to do. Technically the idea is more of a "different use of mostly already existing technology/platforms" not a "radically new technology" thing, and from my research most of the stuff / functions can be found in open-source applications.<p>Nonetheless I need some techies. Connections would be appreciated. Or insights into your minds: HOW DO YOU FOLKS LIKE TO BE APPROACHED? WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT TO YOU IN A STARTUP? Hours? Freedom? Dress code? Impact on the world at large and the resulting improvement in quality of life for humanity? Adrenaline rush of doing something clever and sneaky that will take people by surprise? A philosophical cause? Doing the right thing? Making the world a better place? A solid business model? Endless supply of Red Bull? Xbox 360s in the break room? Bean-bag chairs? Free beer for late night programming sessions?<p>Seriously, I have read past posts where people without programming backgrounds post "looking for programmers" type of posts that seem to get at best ignored or at worst trashed; how can I bypass this seemingly built-in reluctance of programmers to work with people unlike yourselves technically, but like yourselves in other ways and with different skill sets that would complement your own for a more balanced whole? If you click my profile there's an email if you wish to contact me directly.<p>Thanks in advance! 

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antimattar
Hey, Good stuff!! sounds a lot like "release early, release often"

RE: approaching us folks... Your list of "whats important" didn't include
equity. In this market, I think you need to be looking for a "techie" partner,
more than an employee that likes your "dress code".

And on a personal note, I think of a "techie" as the guy who sets up the
printers and unboxes the new LCD monitors... we are "geeks" or "coders" - IMHO

~~~
NSX2
Thanks for the reply; I guess I took it for granted in this day and age that
of course equity would be considered. But I imagine that all startups offer
equity so I really wanted to get to the jist of what would get "geeks" or
"coders" as you say past the tipping point. In other words, what are the top 3
things that would make a good "coder" say, "You know what? I'm going to start
some specs ... as soon ... as I ... get home ... TODAY!"

The idea? The person? The impact on the world? Free Sour Skittles?

~~~
antimattar
I think you've hit it... the idea + the person. They have to think YOU are
competent. Most Geeks/coders appreciate competency above most other traits...

The change-the-world thing... is 50/50, in my experience. Some coders really
want to change things for the better, others look no further than the
screen...

The last thing I'll say is that it seems that lately... a lot of coders have
gotten really judgmental about the DESIGN of the products they work on. So if
you commit to having a talented designer contracted it might get you brownie
points. Nothing kills the buzz like having to skin one's app with the client's
sister's scribblings

 __please pardon my bluntness __

I'd be much more diplomatic (and less honest) if you were my client ;-)

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NSX2
Hey antimattar; might I enquire as to your professional identity, if not
personal than firm? I just assume when you say, "if you were my client" ...

