Please send an email to rethinkandfocus@gmail.com for questions and feedback. Thanks a lot.
Interested in eBOOKs with the yearly content of my Blog? Please check Downloads in the main pages below. Pressing any picture will bring you to the source/reference I used, same for the text in blue. Enjoy!! Now also availabe on Substack, see https://rethinkandfocus.substack.com/
The dog of 1993 could be the AI from 2025?
"HOW PETER STEINER’S 1993 DRAWING BECAME THE MOST REPRINTED CARTOON IN ‘NEW YORKER’ HISTORY"
A lot of different topics today. The new laptop is running smoothly and no additional installation is required so far. Well done ...
My post about the Executive MBA program had 760 impressions so far. I am in discussion with the registration office about my study transcript and an English certificate for not native speakers. For the transcript I found a special office at the RWTH University for verification. I did send my request today, but it will take some time, because I finished in Feb-89 and their digital archive started in autumn 1989, bad luck for me.
For the English certificate I will be using the duolingo english test that is well accepted by a lot of Universities. Should be easy, but I will make use of their FREE practice first, to get familiar with the approach, before it gets really serious.
Then we have the power outage in Spain and Portugal. It started small and our Portuguese colleagues first thought it is just a local, maybe in their house issue. But it was two countries, unbelievable -- April 28, 2025: expert reaction to power outages across Spain and Portugal
Conclave to elect Pope Francis’ successor set to start on May 7 -- start next week, we will see how long it will take to agree on one cardinal and the white smoke goes up. Then we can compare the final selection with the AI proposal ...
Fitting well to the 2nd picture - How Trump's policies and Project 2025 proposals match up after first 100 days - big changes for the whole world in the last 100 days, for sure. To really see the impact and results for "Make America great again" will take much more time I would say.
How To Overcome Perfectionism: A Complete Guide
Professors Staffed a Fake Company Entirely With AI Agents, and You'll Never Guess What Happened
The Digital Deception Economy: How Bot Farms Distort Social Signals by Rita McGrath
Why Every Leader Needs to Become An AI Leader (Plus Free Courses To Get Started)
The Age of AI Will Reveal the True Agilists by Jurgen Appelo
10 Things Organized and Productive People Do Every Day by Travis Bradberry
"Build bridges, not walls." -- Pope Francis
The old pope was really building bridges -
"Those who today always look for disciplinarian solutions, those who long for an exaggerated doctrinal 'security,' those who stubbornly try to recover a past that no longer exists - they have a static and inward-directed view of things. In this way, faith becomes an ideology among other ideologies." -- Pope Francis
Hopefully the next one is going in the same direction, we will find out in the coming weeks.
The next week is another 4-day work week as 01-May-25 is a public holiday in a lot of countries, e.g. Germany, Portugal and India for example. Some interesting links for a possible long weekend, when you take Friday off:
How to Make Decisions Asynchronously – And Avoid Yet Another Meeting. A 5-step guide to get real work done and clear your calendar for good by Gustavo Razzetti
The Board's Strategic Experiment Infrastructure
Accelerating Learning Through AI by Petri Kokko and Nicklas Berild Lundblad
[21-Apr-25] Stop Saying This at Work
[23-Apr-25] Countries Accumulating the Most AI Patents
[26-Apr-25] The Most Dangerous Trap (And How to Avoid It)
Have a great, successful and surprising week 18-2025 ...
Besides the picture, see The Top 10 Most Wanted Skills for AI Jobs
I did get my new laptop yesterday, it was time after three years to catch up to the latest specifications. 32GB memory and a 1TB SSD disk. I use three operating systems in parallel, Windows 11 for very rare occasions, Ubuntu as backup for any issues with my main platform Linux Mint. Restoring the personal files is an easy task, installing the operating systems from scratch besides Windows takes a little bit more time. But it is always helpful to have a fresh start, to get rid of all the overhead and unused applications and installations from the past.
After being accepted for the QUANTIC Executive MBA program I am now asked to deliver some missing documents. One is a transcript of my RWTH Aachen education, normally an easy task, but I did start my studies in 1982 and the related transcript was from 1980. After some searching I did find a scanned PDF document in German only. I used a free online OCR tool to create a better readable version that I did translate into English, keeping the original formatting. Hopefully this will be sufficient to meet the QUANTIC requirements?
Next is an English Language Proficiency Requirement. In general an understandable requirement for not native speakers, but I did work 20 years for US companies and I am using English most of the time during a working day in my current job, as we are working in international projects and with a large Indian community. I will see if this argumentation will be enough to pass this step?
Leadership Beyond Hierarchy by Marcus Raitner
The Most In-Demand Jobs on LinkedIn Right Now
Looking Through the Window
Xi Jinping has a clear opinion and seems to be in a much better position:
China stands firm in trade war: There are no talks, U.S. should move first
We will see shortly, as Trump's 1st 100 days will be passed next week.
How Our Brain Learns
Here a short piece of Tanmay Vora's latest post, worth reading the whole content - How Our Brain Learns:
"It is fascinating how AI is reshaping the world of work and what it means to be human at work. The paradox of our times is this: the faster the world changes, the more essential human learning becomes. Not the kind of explicit learning that comes from reading AI generated content, but the implicit learning that happens as a result of noticing, observing, analyzing, collaborating, doing the work and reflecting."
Two interesting reports today:
Fairphone's Impact 2024
Will be interesting to see, who will be the next pope. It is a key topic where ever you look. Even online betting is taking part of it:
Papal betting markets put their money on the next Pope
The Polymarket Pope: Online bettors are feeling confident about who the new pontiff will be
Cardinal Pietro Parolin (70, Italy), Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle (67, Asia) and Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu (65, Africa) are three names on the favorite list and also in my AI generated article. We will find out soon, interesting dynamics ...
Interested in the Conclave details? You can compare the official description or have a look at the Hollywood film and the opinion about the perspective shared.
Unless you inspire yourself, you cannot expect others to join you
How to Be a Better Listener: What's Holding You Back and Principles to Follow
Context-Switching is Brutal Enough by Jurgen Appelo
Let's start with the Jurgen Appelo article today, he covers the three topics purpose, benefit and action in several examples. Below two OpenAI use cases:
When examining two cases from the lenses of purpose, benefit, and action, we gain valuable insights into the importance of understanding these aspects. In the first case, the purpose could be to enhance customer satisfaction, the benefit could lead to increased brand loyalty, and the action might involve implementing a customer feedback system to address their needs effectively.
In the second case study, the purpose may revolve around improving employee engagement, the benefit could result in higher productivity levels, and the action could entail creating a comprehensive training program to upskill and empower employees. By analyzing real-life scenarios in this way, businesses can identify trends, opportunities, and areas for improvement to drive success and growth effectively.
Next is more related to the death of Pope Francis today. Radio and TV are full of specials about the life, next steps and the defined way to a successor. I did ask Google Gemini the following question - "As the pope died today and the next conclave will be coming up shortly, who could be a potential successor based on continent, country, previous assignments and best guesses?" - with a very interesting result, especially when you look at the very detailed research -- Potential Successors to Pope Francis: A Comprehensive Analysis.
Have a look at the full chat just in case you are interested.
Right before a breakthrough, everything feels like it’s falling apart.
How to Protect the Voices Your Organization Needs the Most
Part Two of Modern Canaries: The Voices You Need the Most
"Creating a culture where warning voices can thrive requires more than better listening. It’s about encouraging and protecting these vital perspectives. Protecting these voices means protecting your organization. So, how do you create a culture that protects the voices your organization needs the most?"
"Leaders often misunderstand the emotional stages of change, leading to ineffective management of team transitions." -- Angela Crawford, PhD
A lot of change will be coming after the Easter break. The current three month project phase will be finished by 05-May-25 and then my responsibility as Release Train Engineer will stop. The new operating model starting on the next day will apply different rules, we will see how this goes in reality. So far it is just on paper.
Beginning of Jun-25 I will be changing the department to join the Program Management Office. My main focus will be people related topics and communication. A great fit to what I wanted to do anyway and can do best, according to the opinion of my colleagues and my personal perspective. Will be challenging and fun.
“The only way that we can live, is if we grow. The only way that we can grow is if we change. The only way that we can change is if we learn. The only way we can learn is if we are exposed. And the only way that we can become exposed is if we throw ourselves out into the open. Do it. Throw yourself.” ― C. JoyBell C., taken from 56 Quotes About Change To Bring Comfort During A Season Of Growth
Tomorrow is another public holiday in Germany, Easter Monday, another 4-day workweek coming up, not so bad.
15 Mind-Blowing AI Statistics Everyone Must Know About Now
Forget ChatGPT: Why AI Agents Are The Real Game-Changer For Financial Services
Human Plus AI: Redefining Work In The Age Of Collaborative Intelligence
Beyond ChatGPT: The 5 Toughest Challenges On The Path To AGI
12 Free AI Courses. That could change your life...
We've curated an incredible lineup of free courses designed to help you master AI, no matter your experience level.
Want to be a better communicator? Start with these 8 micro-habits. Communication isn’t just about talking; it’s about being understood.
“How would your life be different if…You stopped worrying about things you can’t control and started focusing on the things you can? Let today be the day…You free yourself from fruitless worry, seize the day and take effective action on things you can change.” ― Steve Maraboli
Have a look and maybe copy and transfer?
There's a Striking Flaw in That Claim About Alien Life on a Nearby Planet (a small recap to my 17-Apr-25 post)
Chinese robots ran against humans in the world’s first humanoid half-marathon. They lost by a mile
"We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them." -- Albert Einstein
Let's start with - Are there signs of life on alien planet K2-18b, or is it just a lot of hot air? - an interesting news from yesterday:
"An ocean world that's teeming with microbes — and who knows what other kinds of life — is currently the best explanation for some chemical signatures that the James Webb Space Telescope has spotted in the atmosphere of a distant planet. That's according to Nikku Madhusudhan of the University of Cambridge's Institute of Astronomy, who called his team's new findings "astounding.""
Combining this article with the Albert Einstein quote above brings me to the following question - we are hunting for aliens, but we are applying the search criteria for human beings, with respect to the planet and specific chemical ingredients as prerequisite, why? - Aliens are Aliens, so we might search in the wrong place for the wrong hints, just an idea.
Next topic is - Here’s Why Science Says You Should Invest in Experiences Over Things - with a direct link to the 20-year study -
A wonderful life: experiential consumption and the pursuit of happiness by Thomas Gilovich ⁎, Amit Kumar, Lily Jampol
Without even knowing this study I took the invest in experiences idea serious some weeks back when I did apply for the Quantic Executive MBA program. After the admission interview on 08-Apr-25 I was not really sure about the outcome, but since yesterday I know that I have been selected for the EMBA Class of Dec-2026, a great achievement with age 62. Will be an interesting learning and experience for me, looking forward to the start in Aug-25:
Why YOU Should Spend YOUR Money on Experiences, Not Things
by Travis Bradberry
[17-Apr-25] Early admission to the Quantic Executive MBA.
"We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." -- Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, French - Philosopher May 1, 1881 - April 10, 1955
Some more material to look at for Good Friday:
Ranked: Countries Investing the Most in R&D
Visualizing China’s $18.6 Trillion Economy by Sector in 2024
OpenAI's Sam Altman talks ChatGPT, AI agents and superintelligence — live at TED2025 (Apr-25)
The Monster Setup Guide to Substack
Everything I Wish I Knew Before Launching on Substack by Jurgen Appelo
You’re an Ignorant Fool—The Law of Tragic Nuance
Six Theses for New Leadership by Marcus Raitner
If You Care, You Have a Funny Way of Showing It By Frank Sonnenberg
6 Must-Know AI Skills for Non-Tech Professionals
Embracing Empiricism — From Randomness to Reason
Cultivating a culture of critical thinking for effective and impactful outcomes by Erik de Bos
The 100 Greatest Cult Films - Classics
The Breakfast Club is an all-time classic, content and music. #24 on the Top 100 list. #2, #14 and #16 are good ones as well, my opinion.
With six women passengers: Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyễn, Gayle King, Katy Perry, Kerianne Flynn, and Lauren Sánchez
“You Ought To Spend A Little More Trying To Do Something With Yourself And A Little Less Trying To Impress People.” -- Richard Vernon from 25 Best Quotes From The Breakfast Club
Ranked: Where Living Standards Are Rising in Europe (2014–2024)
True leadership isn't about control. It's about empowerment
Stop chasing “busy.” Start chasing “impact.” This matrix shows the way. The Impact Effort Matrix
Modern Canaries: The Voices Your Organization Needs the Most
When you are reading my BLOG regularly or did read posts from the 2016 - 2018 years you might remember that I did work in Management roles for 18 years. First with EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and later with a Global responsibility. At the beginning leading the support teams for Mechanical Engineering tools, later Electronics Engineering and in the end Software Engineering.
Starting in my current company, I got a project management role and was not in charge anymore, what was not an issue for me. Starting a job again after a 18-month break and 170+ applications with age 56 had a much higher priority than the title and positioning on the organization chart. When I finally started to get into the world of AGILE in 2020, management roles had no interest anymore. It is now much more about self-organized, self-managed teams and servant leadership. See e.g. the 06-Apr-25 post from last Sunday.
From the "How to Lead when you're not in Charge" picture several statements apply to my current position and role, a good feeling:
From the Modern Canaries: The Voices Your Organization Needs the Most. Coal miners paid attention to their canaries, so why aren’t companies listening to their warning voices? By Gustavo Razzetti, the following are a great match to me, see description below:
The Challenger sees structural flaws that others overlook or have stopped seeing, often because of sacred cows.
The Caretaker sees the human cost beneath the results when performance comes at an unsustainable price.
The Questioner refuses to accept premises others take for granted – they expose groupthink.
The next two weeks are 4-day work weeks, due to Good Friday and Easter Monday, a really long weekend and short holiday.
The Must-Read Articles for Talent Professionals This Week (11-Apr-25)
TED Talk: A survival guide for musicians in the age of AI (Oct-24)
Charted: The S&P 500’s Trump-Driven Tariff Turbulence
Ranked: Duolingo’s Most Popular Languages in Every Country in 2024
Harvard is giving away $25,000 worth of knowledge.
Here are 9 FREE Harvard Courses Every LinkedIn Professional Should Take to improve their knowledge bank.
The AI Leadership Crisis: Why Chief AI Officers Are Failing (And How To Fix It)
Human Plus AI: Redefining Work In The Age Of Collaborative Intelligence
Here are 3 tips from #astronaut Soichi Noguchi on how to work better in a #team.
Who has the upper hand in the end?
Interesting, what can happen in just two days. The stock market goes down dramatically and then comes up again. The majority is losing money and most companies their market value. Some rich guys are both times on the right side and become even richer. Can this really be a coincidence? Maybe we will find out in the future?
In Germany the three parties planning to build the new coalition of the future government did present their contract yesterday. 144 pages that now have to be approved by the parties. In two cases it will be done by the extended management team, one party will ask all their members. Having Easter next week in mind, the final result/approval should be available early May-25, we will see.
When you had the chance to look at the Jurgen Appelo video from my 08-Apr-25 post, you might remember his part about teams. What are the pros and cons of Ad-Hoc versus long-term established teams? A really interesting perspective, below what OpenAI writes about it:
Ad-hoc teams are assembled quickly for specific projects, drawing on available skills. They offer flexibility and diverse perspectives. However, team members may lack cohesion due to unfamiliarity, potentially impacting productivity and morale. Ad-hoc teams excel in solving urgent tasks but may struggle in long-term projects.
In contrast, long-term team development fosters strong relationships and cooperation among members over time. This approach enhances synergy but may be less adaptable to sudden changes. Long-term teams benefit from shared values and routines, enabling efficient collaboration. However, they could face challenges in adapting to new scenarios quickly.
Our upcoming Operating Model change will also lead to a mixed environment. Some teams will just proceed as they did so far, other teams will be put together on a more ad-hoc basis to solve specific topics. We will see in the end, which approach might be more successful?
Free Certification Courses from Google!
Fluent in AI or Clueless About People? A CEO, a Memo, and the Sound of Screaming Creatives by Jurgen Appelo
The most essential skills for 2030?
The best investment you’ll ever make? Not stocks. Not property. Not crypto. It’s you.
Every kid in China is now required to learn AI
ChatGPT can now recreate the legendary studio’s hand-drawn feel in a matter of seconds
[10-Apr-25] My action figure
Deep focus and a Human Robot Agent
Leaders who practice Radical Candor help their teams navigate chaos with courage, adapt quickly, and maintain human connection by Tanmay Vora
Video: 5 Steps to Achieve Deep Focus (On Demand) - 9:30 minutes
The QUANTIC admission interview was today and the main focus was around my motivation as expected. Not sure if it was sufficient, but authenticity goes first. I will see in some weeks from now.
People Are Now Using ChatGPT To Create Action Figures, Here's How You Can Do The Same - it works fine ...
81 mph speeding: World-first autonomous flying taxis to soar in China’s skies
Video: Jurgen Appelo - Human Robot Agent: Scouting AI Beyond Hype and Doom - 53:09 minutes
Hard truth: You can’t lead, build, or grow if your bandwidth is always maxed out
The two pictures fit pretty well together today. It is no problem to say "NO" sometimes and to ask for help when you are not sure. Just give it a try and ask the right people. Offering help when you are asked for is not a lot of effort and mostly very much appreciated by the people you ask.
Tomorrow is the application interview for the Quantic EMBA program. I think I am well prepared and even have some answers for my motivation to apply being 62 years old:
Why not? We will see how it goes.
15 In-Demand Skills to Keep on Your Radar for 2025
LLMs Are Like Politicians—Confidently Wrong
Unlock Deep Learning with Python—Transform Your AI Game Now!
Command and control versus a "Gardener" approach
I do not have a "green thumb", but I believe in the Gardener = Servant Leadership principles. I did this already during my 18 years in management roles and still do it in my agile role in the moment. But there is also a strong community that believes in the top-down control and more pressure to deliver results.
We will see in the future, what the more successful model will be, as a relatively high turnover of employees might impact the outcome in the end. Every time somebody is leaving, you lose expertise, experience and knowledge, a GAP that you cannot fill as fast as it is required.
“People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care.” - John Maxwell
7 Ways Thinking Like a Philosopher Will Make You a Better Leader. Critical thinking: Your competitive advantage in the age of AI by Gustavo Razzetti
Team autonomy only works when leadership shows trust
3 positive examples and one rug pull by Willem-Jan Ageling
[05-Apr-25] Soft skills get you promoted
[06-Apr-25] Coaching isn’t about advice
7 free online MBA-like courses that will accelerate your career
“Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients”. ― Richard Branson, CEO and founder of Virgin Group
Do You Have 8 Minutes? The Cure for Loneliness You Don't Know About. Author Wisdom Made Easy
Ranked: The World’s 10 Happiest Countries (2019–2024)
What if you could study at Harvard, Yale, or MIT - for free? Now you can. No tuition fees.
Explaining Risk: Likeliness vs. Impact
First-ever clinical trial of Therabot, Dartmouth's AI-powered therapy chatbot, delivers remarkable outcomes.
5 animals, 5 Personality Traits and a book
A quick reference to the Deal Maker post from 03-Apr-25 and why Lesotho ended up with the highest US tariffs:
How tiny Lesotho ended up with the highest US tariffs in the world
United States-Lesotho Trade: In 2023
Trump Tariffs Show Signs of Being Written by AI
"Exactly what the dumbest kid in the class would do."
Trump's Tariffs Are a Bruising Defeat for the AI Industry
The term “Big Five” originally referred to the five most difficult and dangerous animals in Africa to hunt on foot. This term was coined by big-game hunters and included the lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and buffalo.
It is also a Personality test:
Big Five Personality Traits: The 5-Factor Model of Personality
What Are the Big 5 Personality Traits? Where do you fall in the OCEAN of personality?
Discover who you are with the BIG 5 personality test
Big Five Personality Test
This self-report inventory measures the big five personality traits using the IPIP Big-Five Factor Markers.
And it is a book from John Strelecky - The Big Five For Life
Now we know the USA perspective, a deal is urgently required - for the whole World economy
As the answer will take several days maybe weeks, some interesting links below:
Visualized: Where Automakers Build Cars Sold in America
An AI Model Has Officially Passed the Turing Test
More human than humans?
Large Language Models Pass the Turing Test
Boeing's Starliner Disaster Was Even Worse Than We Thought, Astronaut Reveals "I don't know that we can come back to Earth at that point."
The PI Planning is SAFe's best idea. But it can work so much better by Willem-Jan Ageling
5 Ways Mindfulness Will Transform You by Travis Bradberry
99% of jobs can be taught (if you give people a chance). Your education doesn't define you.
Mind-blowing engineering feat! The Huajiang Canyon Bridge in Guizhou, set to become the world’s tallest bridge & the longest span bridge ...
Humans orbit Earth over north, south poles for first time with SpaceX Fram2 mission
Trust isn’t something that happens by chance.
As nobody did participate in the survey I started in Jan-25, I stopped it end of March as mentioned earlier. No problem so the selection of topics will be my choice.
Just today I did get a positive message from QUANTIC about their
Executive MBA application process.I am invited to the next stage of Admissions where I will meet virtually with one of their Admissions Counselors for a 15 to 20-minute interview. Will be next week Tuesday.
Today we had our internal yearly Data & Analytics day, for all Germany based employees in this area. Was 180+ people together at our event location. A great day with a great agenda. More presentations in the morning and activities in the afternoon after lunch. 1st a market place setup where all new departments did an introduction of their responsibilities that started 01-Apr-25. Afterwards a team-building or team-challenge activity, the well known Spaghetti and Marshmallow Tower.
Marshmallow challenge with debriefing
How to Build a Tall Spaghetti and Marshmallow Tower
In 14 Cool Hand Drawn Steps
Tom Wujec: Use the Marshmallow Challenge to get your team to work together better to build rapid prototype solutions
All 14 teams did get 20 Spaghetti, a one meter long cord, 10 Marshmallows, a pair of scissors and adhesive tape to build the tallest tower in 20 minutes. The definition of tower was possibly not strict enough, what did lead to a lot of very creative solutions. A lesson learned for the next time :-)
Change Your Habits By ‘Pre-Experiencing’ the Future – The Leadership That Works Newsletter (31-Mar-25)
Anticipate it !!
One additional comment about the Isar Aerospace rocket start I mentioned yesterday. It sounded like a fail, but it was a 20+ second opportunity to learn and gather a lot of helpful data for the next attempt. SpaceX is using the same approach with their rocket starts:
How SpaceX's Iterative Approach Helped It Succeed Against All Odds
Every SpaceX Starship explosion and what Elon Musk and his team learned from them (video)
SpaceX is targeting Monday, March 31 at 9:46 p.m. ET for Falcon 9’s launch of Fram2 to a polar orbit from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The 1st mission ever with a female astronaut from Germany -
Rabea Rogge is a robotics researcher from Berlin, currently pursuing her PhD in Norway. She has always been fascinated by extreme environments, studying them to understand the limits of our world — and to push beyond them. Her work includes leading a satellite mission and researching ocean robotics in the Arctic, reflecting her commitment to advancing technology in both polar regions and space. - Good luck and flight ...
How to Be an Essentialist. Essentialism enables you to prioritize things that create most value. Goal setting translates these priorities into commitments. This edition looks at both. By Tanmay Vora
The Red Queen Says No to AI Agents. The paradox is that AI increases uncertainty, which breaks autonomous AI agents. By Jurgen Appelo
What’s running the show when you’re not paying attention?
11 Proven Ways To Beat Procrastination by Travis Bradberry
SWOT ANALYSIS MADE SIMPLE, Credit to Sergio
Key Quotes from the Summary of Hyperfocus by Chris Bailey
“Whenever we switch between tasks, it rewards us with dopamine—that amazing pleasure chemical that rushes through our brain whenever we devour a medium‐sized pizza, accomplish something awesome, or have a drink or two after work.”
“Becoming aware of what you’re thinking about is one of the best practices for managing your attention. The more you notice what’s occupying your attentional space, the faster you can get back on track when your mind begins to wander, which it does a remarkable 47 percent of the time."
"Focus on what you can control ..."
The first step of our two year transformation program will start on 01-Apr-25. Due to the included headcount reduction a lot of colleagues did leave the company in the last weeks. People leaving is knowledge, experience and expertise leaving that you have to compensate.
Either by a just-in-time knowledge transfer to the community staying, or with a decision to just drop things that cannot be covered going forward anymore. A change is always an opportunity to do something different - e.g. cut the past, start a new future, or just focus on what you can still control and influence. Your choice ...
One of the colleagues, who did leave as well after parental leave and because he moved to southern Germany, will be working as a freelancer in the future. To consult small- and mid-size companies with easy to handle AI solutions, to reduce the time for high effort and low value recurring tasks. I proposed him to look at ILI Digital, an already established company with the same idea - learn from others and maybe copy & transfer some ideas, why not?
Another company was not so lucky this weekend - "Isar Aerospace was founded in 2018 to lower the entry barriers to space. By pushing the boundaries we are opening space as a platform for future technologies and competitiveness. As a launch service provider for small and medium-sized satellites we create easy access to space for global customers. Offering the first fully privately funded European solution to meet the growing global demand, Isar Aerospace is driving commercial space across all continents." - see for example their Livestream: First test flight of Isar Aerospace
The Must-Read Articles for Talent Professionals This Week (28-Mar-25)
Feedback Isn’t About Your Ego – It’s About Being Helpful
Five ways to give feedback that’s useful, not self-serving by Gustavo Razzetti
Audi integrates Walker S1 robot for smarter, safer quality inspections in China plant
By 2030, we’ll see 170 million jobs created — and 92 million jobs lost. 39% of current skills will be outdated. And 59% of workers will need reskilling — but 1 in 5 may not get it.
12 Free AI Courses. That could change your life...
Today AI Agents and Chatbots ...
Google Gemini collects the most data, but also offers a lot of insights via their Dashboard when you have an account there. It is always a balancing act between the data you are willing to share and the services you get for free. Has to be decided on an individual basis and is not always related to age, more to your adoption speed of new technologies - see The Diffusion Of Innovation Theory
Next topic is Internships.
In the extended management meeting yesterday I gave a short overview about the Internship application process I am handling. In the last 5 month I had 125 applications, what is 25/month. 80% are immediately rejected out of several reasons:
The rest is invited to answer some clarifying questions about logistics, motivation and expectation. After this I do a 1st interview with the candidates to discuss open topics and answer any question about the process. When they make it to the 2nd round they can ask specific questions about their position, mentor and department. Technical capabilities will be checked in parallel, because it is easy to write it down in the CV, but not to proof the required understanding. When both sides agree to do the Internship together HR gets involved.
A mindset issue have people with completed studies who are just applying for an Internship and not a Junior entry position. Because they want to gather some experience in the German job market first, or they are not confident enough to apply for a real entry position, or other excuses. The employers are also not innocent of this behavior, because a lot promote this approach and even do not pay for the work provided. In the current "war for talent" employers should look for talents and secure them in attractive paid entry positions. Skills and experience GAPs can be closed on the way, nobody is perfect. And the job market is a give and take with partners at eye level. Applicants should be confident about their value add and should not work for free after several years of studies, time and money investment.
Employers must understand What motivates Gen Z in the workplace?
Move towards each other and not away from each other!!
Embrace the Power to Shape Your Life
I Thought I Knew How to Listen—Then I Learned Radical Listening
Why Trust Is The Missing Ingredient In Your AI Strategy
Revolution in aviation: Airbus’ hydrogen-powered jet to feature 4 electric engines
Most Popular AI Tools by Monthly Site Visits
As already mentioned earlier, our new Operating Model will be used on 06-May-25 for the first time. To properly celebrate the outcome of the last 14 three month project periods together with the whole team, I started to prepare a Thank You and Good Bye celebration event for 08 or 09-May-25. Besides a short summary of the 14 kick-off presentations and team building slides, I wanted to provide a short overview of the main International events between 2022 and 2025 as well.
As the only accessible AI agent in our company is Microsoft Copilot, I asked my questions there. I quickly got a good list of political, sports, entertainment and other events from the last 3.5 years. Even with further references for much more details. A really helpful feature.
Our new organization, a result from the latest transformation, will go live with the start of the next fiscal year on 01-Apr-25. One day later we will have our 2nd Data & Analytics day, to bring all Germany based employees together, who are working in this area. A full day of information sharing and team building - together we can ...
Today I volunteered as a supported for this event, to help guaranteeing a smooth process for all participants. Looking forward to it.
The Emotional Impact of Empowerment
AI Wrecks the Corporate Career Ladder. Give Juniors the Steering Wheel!
Unconscious Bias at Work: How to Recognize, Challenge, and Overcome It
Skills on the Rise in 2025
AI Leadership Assistants
"Free tools powered by Gen-AI and designed by THNK to support you in your everyday leadership challenges." Just have a look and give it a try.
[24-Mar-25] Public speaking consistently ranks as people’s #1 fear
VUCA, BANI, and FLUX—What’s the Best Lens for the AI Era?
What if, instead of chasing endless growth, we optimized for well-being, fulfillment, and sustainability?
I finished my 6 Business Foundation courses ...
The word geek derives from a word meaning fool or freak as if it's foolish to devote so much attention and time to one area. But the truth is, as the physicist Richard Feynman says: "Nearly everything is really interesting if you go into it deeply enough."
In the picture gallery below this post some pictures from a Cologne visit yesterday. After an investment fair in the morning we decided to walk back to the main station to take our regional train home. We have seen the famous flying car from HA Schult and a lot of tourists. Besides that several Persian families in traditional dresses celebrating
Nowruz (Norooz) – Persian New Year.
Today afternoon I finished the last of the six courses that are available for applicants of the QUANTIC Executive MBA. Will be interesting to see how this process proceeds in the coming days.
Next week we will be starting to prepare for the new operating model that will be going live with the next 3-month project phase starting 06-May-25. Everything, what can be improved in the coming weeks will be beneficial for the future ways-of-working. Will be a psychological challenge for some team members, who are asking why we want to make a small change before the big change in May-25. Why should we waste 6-weeks when we already know the areas for improvement? So let's go.
"No longer is a geek identifiable by a pale complexion, black-rimmed glasses, a bowling shirt that says 'Nerd World Order.' No, geeks are everywhere. And they're cool!" -- Faith Salie, American - Journalist Born: April 14, 1971
The Must-Read Articles for Talent Professionals This Week (21-Mar-25)
DEI Is Dead: Long Live an Open-Minded Culture Inclusion without division – rethinking diversity in a polarized workplace by Gustavo Razzetti
9 Ways to Undermine Team Autonomy. Many teams are self-managing in name only by Willem-Jan Ageling
5 Fatal GenAI Mistakes That Could Destroy Your Business In 2025 by Bernard Marr
AI's Competitive Edge: Turning Data Challenges Into Business Success by Bernard Marr
Taking care of yourself doesn't have to be complicated. These tiny habits deliver massive results: The busier we get, the harder it is to prioritize physical and mental health.
World Water Day and Earth Hour today
"World Water Day 2025: Glaciers are melting faster than ever. As the planet gets hotter due to climate change, our frozen world is shrinking, making the water cycle more unpredictable and extreme."
"Earth Hour 2025: Whether you’re into food, fitness, the arts, or the outdoors, anyone, anywhere can Give an hour to care for our planet. Last year, the world gave more than 1.4 million hours."
Below, what OpenAI knows about both topics:
World Water Day (March 22) is a time to raise awareness about the importance of freshwater and advocate for sustainable management of this precious resource. Understanding the water crisis, including scarcity, pollution, and inequitable access, is crucial. Knowing how individuals can make a difference through water conservation and advocacy is key.
The Earth Hour (last Saturday of March) is a global movement that encourages people to switch off non-essential lights for one hour to show support for environmental action. By participating, individuals can demonstrate their commitment to fighting climate change and reducing energy consumption. Knowing why Earth Hour is important and how to get involved can inspire positive change for the planet.
This One Thing Changes How People See You. The secrets of top performers to being heard... Author Justin Mecham
You Need to Stop Using These Labels. How You Talk to Yourself Matters, Author Wisdom Made Easy
[22-Mar-25] Ikigai is your reason to wake up excited
"Heroes always have their scars. Some you can see, some you read about later on." -- George Foreman, died yesterday with age 76.
... and treat them with kindness ...
Several small topics today. Let's start with the 2025 World Happiness Report (WHR). Finland once again on the 1st place and Germany 22nd, see page 19 for the picture I used.
I had my year-end review today and got a really helpful feedback from my boss. For some assignments I am falling behind the expectations, as the common role definition and my personality type do not match enough. In other areas I am a high performer and achieve much more than expected. The success factor is to assign people to the right roles, give them some room for improvement and to leave their comfort zone. To strengthen their strength and to work a little bit on known weaknesses - lifelong learning.
Some feelings related topics:
Numbers are everywhere. But that doesn’t mean numbers are everything. Rethink The Data That Drive Us
Sabrina Gonzalez Pasterski: The Next Einstein in the Making
Then I got a call from a colleague today who wanted to say thank you for the support, coaching and open ear, I provided to him during the last years. He finally made a decision about his future that he did work on for a long time already. Well done and patience pays off in the end.
Next was a really unexpected situation in the afternoon. After my last car inspection I had two open issues to take care of. I did contact my preferred garage by email some days ago and did ask for a day to take care. No answer so far. Today I did forward this email to another garage and got a call back 5-minutes later. Both issues could be directly fixed when I am at the garage in the next 30 minutes. What a great service and customer focus, I was impressed and surprised. Germany is not really known for a customer service orientation, but this was great. When the right mindset and culture meet employees who embody these values, you can be happy. I was happy today!!
Some more content:
Meet the 2025 class of TED Fellows
‘Scrum is an awful project management methodology’
A tale with a twist by Willem-Jan Ageling
8 Ways High EQ People Use Failure To Their Advantage by Travis Bradberry
Ten Times the Impact with One-Tenth the People by Jurgen Appelo
[21-Mar-25] The Fishbone Diagram helps you find the true source of any issue
AI is your 24/7 free analytics assistant. Use these 6 tools to get more done and save time
Busy times, so just a quick post today ...
The astronauts are back on earth - Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore land on Earth after 9-months as space ordeal ends
Some more interesting links below:
Video: Affordable, DIY smart robot made from salvaged e-waste for teaching kids
ChatGPT is already better than most consultants, coaches, and managers - we're f*****
What’s the Lesson? By Frank Sonnenberg
How to Overcome Public Speaking Anxiety: Tips for a Confident Delivery
Great leaders don't make excuses. They make things happen. Credit to Eric Partaker
Expert Tips on Leadership Development, Mentorship, and Showcasing L&D's ROI
Finally the two members of the Boeing Starliner spacecraft crew can go home next week Wednesday. One week became 9 month on the ISS for them.
I used the ISS crew picture and the Einstein style to come to an adjusted crew picture on starryai today. Funny and creative ...
One week full of learning ...
Tuesday and Wednesday with the offsite workshop, what was lot of learning about team dynamics and that a proper preparation and enough flexibility is a prerequisite to deliver a good result in the end.
Then the last two days I did take two of the six courses that are available during the QUANTIC application process. Interesting material and a nice way of training/sharing knowledge online. Each course is one hour with a quiz at the end. So far I did pretty well.
The Must-Read Articles for Talent Professionals This Week (14-Mar-25)
Stay Calm, Stay Powerful. Master your emotions To master your life
How Not to Sink Your Ship (or Your Next Big Idea)
A Tool to Spot Harmful Beliefs and Behaviors in Your Team or Projects by Gustavo Razzetti
Psychological safety isn't about comfort—It's about trust.
The AI Code Tsunami by Jurgen Appelo
Ready for some marketing today?
I was contacted by The AI Surf Team last Friday with the question for a
backlink exchange with my BLOG. For today I selected their AI Coach Solutions post as one example.
One day later QUANTIC did invite me to apply with their Germany Leadership Scholarship. This partial tuition award blends their mission of access in education with a commitment to empower leaders from specific talent-rich countries in their selective US-accredited MBA programs. I followed the invitation and finished the application process yesterday. Their feedback is expected by the end of Mar-25. Will be interesting to see how the process proceeds and what will be coming next. I keep you posted. Interested in more details, see their Quick Facts?
Use the four reasons rule to decide if a meeting is worthwhile. The dimmer switch mentality. Notes on China by Roberto Ferraro
10 blind spots that push your best talent away
True problem-solving is not about avoiding challenges or taking shortcuts; it’s about shifting perspectives and embracing creativity as a tool for transformation
Save this post to learn the top 30 Strategy Frameworks
"Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop" -- Ovid
Still no participant in the small questionnaire that I started on 19-Jan-25, see the header for more details. I plan to keep it open until the end of Mar-25, so still some days left for your voluntary participation and opinion sharing. Will be very much appreciated, thanks in advance.
Fun fact: Using the OVID quote today, I still remember "AUREA PRIMA SATA EST AETAS, QUAE VINDICE NULLO" from his Metamorphoses book that we did read during the Latin class in school, just 50 years ago. Means "GOLDEN WAS THE FIRST AGE, WHICH WITH NO POLICE* OR LAWS" by the way. Thanks to the online translation, I have no clue anymore.
Related to the pictures today, some Bansky details from Google Gemini. I did ask for - Please quickly summarize the known facts about the artist Bansky. What are his activities in the last 5 years, thanks for sharing some references as well. - some highlights below, the full answer with references here:
Banksy remains one of the most enigmatic and influential street artists of our time. Here's a summary of known facts and recent activities
Recent Activities (Last 5 Years):
It's important to remember that due to Banksy's anonymity, much of the information available is based on observation and speculation.
The Story Behind Banksy - On his way to becoming an international icon, the subversive and secretive street artist turned the art world upside-down by Will Ellsworth-Jones from February 2013
Back at work after two days offsite workshop
The bridge on the picture is the winner of our team icebreaker, to build the longest Da Vinci’s Self Supporting Bridge in 15 minutes. The "Green" team had the best strategy and did win against four other teams by a large margin. Well done.
For most of the teams this was a new topic, far out of their comfort zone and with some time and competition pressure in the back. Big fun, a great learning, and a good start for a 2 hour session of two different teams that are supposed to be working closely and smoothly together starting Apr-25.
In summary the workshop did go really well. Good preparation, time management, enough room and flexibility to adjust the agenda to short-term needs and change requests. The most interesting part is always, how random teams are coming together and which topics they are supposed to be working on. The initial list of topics proposed by all team members had to be discussed by using the 6 Thinking Hats Method. The assignment of the hat to a team member did happen on a random basis. Everybody had to select one number between 1 and 12 after a break. I had a list prepared to match the numbers and the Thinking hat colors, always two people for one color.
Was really hard for some, as their color was far away from their standard behavior, but we had also three cases where the color did 100% match their well known characters. And some participants had good acting skills and could easily adjust to their hat color. Overall a great method that should be used more often, as it triggers a discussion that not always happens, but is really valuable to get clarity.
I did summarize the workshop results today and shared the package with the participants. Now the challenge/opportunity is to make the best out of the outcome and let it flow into the goal setting process for the next fiscal year starting 01-Apr-25. Let's go for it ...
"To be successful at anything, the truth is you don’t have to be special. You just have to be what most people aren’t. Consistent, determined, and willing to work for it. No shortcuts." -- Tom Brady
To support Eve Simon's idea, I did start two discussions with Gemini and Claude today, see below the results based on my initial question -
In order to help AI learn the richness of feminine perspectives, what would be the top ten prompts to ask for?
Good results and interesting insights. When you like the idea, just support the initiative and ask AI some questions. Thanks a lot in advance for your support, very much appreciated.
Here are a few prompts to help AI learn the richness of feminine perspectives
Picking up the great idea from Eve Simon again, as already mentioned yesterday:
"This March, I’m calling on women (and men!) to join me in a powerful experiment. Let’s spend at least 30min each day feeding AI tools like ChatGPT or DeepSeek with our female thoughts, experiences, and perspectives. Why? Because AI learns from us. And right now, it’s learning from a world that’s still overwhelmingly shaped by a male perspective. Let’s change that."
Here some prompts proposed by her today:
Imagine the Future
1. "Create a model for ethical AI that prioritizes human connection, sustainability, and equity."
2. "Design a futuristic city where innovation, community, and nature coexist in harmony."
Challenging Stereotypes and Biases
3. “List 10 common stereotypes about women in leadership and refute each one with data, examples, and a narrative that highlights the strengths of feminine leadership.”
4. “Write a dialogue where a woman confidently challenges a biased assumption in a male-dominated space, using logic, empathy, and grace.”
Teaching AI Feminine Values
5. “Explain to AI why intuition and emotional intelligence is just as important as logical intelligence in solving global challenges. Use examples from history, nature, and personal stories.”
6. “Teach AI how to respond to questions about leadership, innovation, and success in a way that values collaboration, empathy, and inclusivity over competition and dominance.”
Celebrating Women’s Contributions
7. “Write a tribute to an unsung woman in history whose contributions were overlooked because of her gender. Highlight her impact and the lessons we can learn from her story.”
8. “Create a list of 50 women who changed the world in quiet, transformative ways—through kindness, creativity, and community-building.”
Empowering the Next Generation
9. “Write a bed-time story for my daughter where the heroine saves the day using her intelligence, empathy, and ability to bring people together—not just brute strength.”
10. “Create a ‘power playlist’ of songs that celebrate feminine strength, resilience, and joy. Include a description of why each song was chosen.”
Storytelling & Wisdom Sharing
11. "Tell me a story about a wise and compassionate female leader who changed the world in unexpected ways."
12. "Reframe history by telling me about famous innovations from the perspective of the women behind them."
Work, Business & Leadership
13. "Rewrite traditional leadership advice with a feminine, intuitive, and holistic perspective."
14. "Simulate a business negotiation where I lead with emotional intelligence and achieve a powerful outcome."
Music, Poetry & Art
15. "Write a heartfelt poem that empowers my daughter to be fearless and creative."
16. "Create a song about the love between a mother and daughter, inspired by [a specific memory]."
Leadership & Personal Development
17. "Give me decision-making techniques that blend logic with intuition and emotional intelligence."
18. "Help me to reframe ‘imposter syndrome’. Does loud mean confidence or observant belonging? And who says that women only feel this way?"
Manage your changes better, here some examples
Quick summary of my highlights this week:
According to the previous BLOG platform counter, the daily number of readers was 1,400 per day on average. On the new platform it is around 200 per day, a 7 to 1 ratio. To stay consistent I am still adjusting the counter to the old measurement, why we passed the 2,000k number now. :-)
As the topic is CHANGE today, here a great idea from Eve Simon:
"This March, I’m calling on women (and men!) to join me in a powerful experiment. Let’s spend at least 30min each day feeding AI tools like ChatGPT or DeepSeek with our female thoughts, experiences, and perspectives. Why? Because AI learns from us. And right now, it’s learning from a world that’s still overwhelmingly shaped by a male perspective. Let’s change that."
You are more than welcome to join the tribe!!
The Must-Read Articles for Talent Professionals This Week (07-Mar-25)
How to Support Your Team When Anxiety Is High
Five actionable strategies to lead through ambiguity – because the world won’t stop surprising us -- Gustavo Razzetti
In 1887, these visionary engineers took their cantilever bridge design to the next level by turning themselves into a physical model.
The Rise Of AI Scientists: Is Agentic AI The Future Of R&D
9 visuals that will change how you think: (Reminders we all needed yesterday) Visuals by Hannah Wilson
Some more not directly related links below:
The Secret Skill Everyone Needs. Most people miss this one skill...
Author Justin Mecham
X-37B: US military’s mini space shuttle lands after record 434-day secret mission
You don't need U.S. citizenship for remote jobs. Here are 20 sites that offer remote jobs paying in USD
20 Life-Changing Sentences I Wish I'd Read Sooner - Credit to Ben Meer
“The success of every woman should be the inspiration to another. We should raise each other up. Make sure you’re very courageous: be strong, be extremely kind, and above all be humble.” – Serena Williams
“When we exclude half of humanity from the data, we lose out on the opportunity to build a world that works for everyone.” -- Caroline Criado Perez
Some more links related to the International Women's Day today:
40 Greatest Engineers Who Made Enormous Impacts on the World (on this selection only 20% are women)
Below a short Google Gemini summary of the improvements over time (link):
It's important to recognize that "accomplishments" can be measured in many ways, and their impact is often complex. However, here are 10 significant areas where women have made substantial strides in the last decade:
Political Representation:
Activism and Social Change:
Education:
Business and Leadership:
Science and Technology:
Rights and Legal Changes:
Sports:
Philanthropy:
Global Health:
It's important to remember that these are just a few highlights, and women are making significant contributions in countless other fields.
How to best master your time? 15 methods ...
[07-Mar-25] "Women in Germany have effectively worked unpaid for the first 66 days of 2025, with Equal Pay Day highlighting the persistent gender pay gap."
[08-May-25] "International Women's Day (IWD) has been around for over a hundred years, as have many of the issues still impacting women's advancement. Since 1911, IWD belongs to all who care about women's equality. Celebrate women's achievement. Raise awareness about discrimination. Take action to forge gender parity. All IWD activity is valid, that's what makes IWD so inclusive."
AAUW = American Association of University Women -- "Our advocacy efforts have propelled countless new laws, including the Equal Pay Act, first proposed in 1945 and finally passed in 1963"
Both topics are in discussion around ~100 years and still not solved. So much more work to be done. Maybe we should change the awareness from 1 day per year to several days per year, e.g. 1 day per month or even a dedicated month as a starting point? See
Women's Health Month – May 2025
Women’s History Month
And some more links for the weekend, will be sunny and warm here:
Charted: Which Jobs Are Using AI the Most?
“Cool” years are now hotter than the “warm” years of the past: tracking global temperatures through El Niño and La Niña
Beyond income: understanding poverty through the Multidimensional Poverty Index
Pain of Adaptation. Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better. (Samuel Beckett) by Marcus Raitner
How To Instantly Connect With Anyone by Dr. Travis Bradberry
These 12 daily practices take minimal time but deliver exponential returns
10 skills that will pay you back forever. Credit to Benjamin B. Bargetzi
5 Advanced Problem-Solving Frameworks to Keep Up with the Pace of Change
Expanding Leadership Awareness: The Johari Window in Coaching
100 AI tools to finish years of work in minutes. Credit to Awa K. Penn
"Success doesn’t start with others believing in you, it starts with YOU believing in yourself." -- Daymond John
What matters most to you? It’s a simple yet profound question that prompts us to reflect on the things that hold the most significance in our lives, helping us understand our fundamental priorities and values. However, that’s not always easy. As Albert Einstein said, “Many of the things you can count, don’t count. Many of the things you can’t count, really count.” by Frank Sonnenberg
I am going back to work tomorrow. Three more working days to prepare the offsite workshop on 11/12-Mar-25. The basic concept, the icebreakers and slides are ready. Now I just need to do the fine tuning and update my comments/notes. Plus a proper and flexible time concept, it is always good to have some space to maneuver during two days. As a lot of the parts in the workshop are new, it will be interesting to see how it works with the participants next week.
15 Free Project-Based Courses to Translate Employee Learning Into Action
Unveiling the Potent Anticancer Arsenal of Honey Bee Venom
These 12 daily practices take minimal time but
deliver exponential returns
10 skills that will pay you back forever. Credit to Benjamin B. Bargetzi
12 Ways To Motivate Your Team Credits to Dr. Miro Bada
We are going back home tomorrow ...
The picture has been taken yesterday in Harderwijk. As you can see the formatting is working again, the same applies for the external links in the meantime. The final proposal from the support team was to use another browser, as they could not reproduce my error description.
A standard answer of support teams, I did do the same in the early 90's when I worked in an IT support.team. It is either start the system again, or let me do the commands for you or ask the customers to repeat the commands in front of you that did not work before. The
demonstration effect will do the trick, no worries.
Your Strategy Is Failing Without This. Most strategic plans fail—here’s the missing piece... by Justin Mecham
[04-Mar-25] The World’s Top 20 Economies by GDP Growth (2015-2025)
How to Retain Talent for the Future – The Leadership That Works Newsletter
AI is moving faster than most companies can keep up. Sharing 6 AI frameworks for smarter adoption
Dr. Travis Bradberry: What people say to you goes way beyond their words. I'll show you how to read anyone like a pro.
Due to the ongoing issue, a creative idea today.
The weather is still great, cold in the night, blue sky and sunny during the day. You cannot expect more in early March.
As formatting text and using external URLs is still not working for text, just images today. Have fun ...
I still cannot add external links and use all formatting features, sorry for that
According to the official support page all issues on the Website Builder page should be fixed, but I am still having problems as mentioned above.
Anyway I wanted to write a longer text about our holiday in the Netherlands, so no issue for now. We did book the lodge on short notice via the Internet and I did not select the bed linen and towel option, my fault.
The vacation resort has two entries and I did select the wrong one, how could I know? The map of the area and our assumed position did not match, so we did search for our lodge too long to reach the reception in time. No real issue as they are working with License plate recognition at the gates and the lodge doors are opening via the resort owned phone app.
The reception closed at 05:00 PM and you have Whatsapp support until 08:00 PM. I wanted to order the missing linen and towels when we arrived, what took some time as payment goes before service. But in the end I got the required number to open the linen box. I also got a rough location of the box, but no real description what to look for. With all the technology available in the resort I was assuming a higher technology solution and in the dark it was not really easy to search and find something. In the end we had to sleep the 1st night without linen, no issue with some creativity and flexibility.
Next morning when the reception opened I did ask for the linen and was shown the simple box solution in front of the door. The 3-digit code was for an easy padlock at the front. A huge gap between my expectation/perception and the reality.
Our lodge has a private sauna barrel that was offering the next surprise to me. When I was reading the manual how to use it, I did realize that the stove is working with wood. I had to light a fire and to keep it burning during the time I used the sauna. Took some more time than normal when you just flip the switch on the sauna system. Back to basics and the real stuff was no issue for me after I got used to it. But smelling like a barbecue sausage in the end was the main difference to the sauna systems I was used to so far.
The last time I was in a sauna with a real wood stove was back in the 80's when I was on holiday with my family in Finland. Our rented lodge had a sauna as well, but the stove was outside of the sauna and just heated the water inside the sauna room. So high temperature and humidity, but no smelling.
Encourage open communication ...
"Create an environment where people feel comfortable asking for help, expressing concerns, or renegotiating commitments when necessary."
The quote above from the Frank Sonnenberg article fits well to the CmUn (Communication) from the EI periodic table.
Due to a technical issue on the BLOG platform some formatting and adding links is not possible. Hopefully this will be fixed tomorrow? For now I will just finish the post and add details and links later. Sorry ...
Today, we’re announcing Claude 3.7 Sonnet1, our most intelligent model to date and the first hybrid reasoning model on the market. Claude 3.7 Sonnet can produce near-instant responses or extended, step-by-step thinking that is made visible to the user. API users also have fine-grained control over how long the model can think for.
As Claude 3.7 Sonnet, I'm the newest model in the Claude 3 family. Compared to previous versions, my key improvements include:
While I don't have specific metrics on my performance compared to earlier models, these improvements should be noticeable in my responses, especially for complex tasks.
If you're interested in more detailed information about my capabilities or how I compare to previous Claude versions, I'd recommend checking Anthropic's website, as they typically publish more specific information about model improvements upon release.
Would you like to try out any specific task to see these improvements in action?
1st day of my holidays and Murphy time again
After breakfast I was ready for a sunny day, but then one electric shutter in the living room did not function anymore. I had no idea why, maybe due to a planned power outage of 5 hours on the day before? As the power was back and the up-down switch signal working properly, it looked like a shutter drive issue. In order to change the drive you need to know the type and serial number, what is only possible to see when you disassemble the whole thing.
Exactly the work for a free day, but it had to be done anyway. When I reached the point to read the identification sign on the drive, I just wanted to check how the drive reacts in a disassembled state? All was working fine again in both directions, no issue at all.
As I am a positive guy with a lot of trust in the environment and circumstances, I did assemble all parts again and tried the shutter several times up and down. All was working smoothly, no idea why, but who cares tomorrow.
Now I know how to come to the drive quickly, just in case I have to do it again. The only open point is how to disconnect the drive from the power cable, it did not work today and I could not find a description in the Internet. Hopefully I do not need to find this out anytime soon.
Some Spring days in the middle of Winter ...
February 2025 was on a good way to become one of the coldest month on average in the past years, but the last two and coming days will drive it in the opposite direction. We will see.
Today was the long awaited Germany election. A participation rate of 84%, what is really great and the highest number since the 90's. To come to the final result and to get a first perspective which coalitions are possible and necessary, will take some more hours. Hard times for the people in charge and on the way to take responsibility in the future. We will hopefully see tomorrow morning?
And with the final result the negotiations for the new government, that will be a coalition of 2 or 3 parties, has to start and needs to be finished as quickly as possible, because the world politics is not waiting for Germany, for sure.
The Must-Read Articles for Talent Professionals This Week (21-Feb-25)
Why soft skills are the future of work. The most important conversations you’ll ever have
Every Great Story Has This. 3 Tips to Step Out of Your Comfort Zone
Success comes from doing what most won’t.
A bird-watching engineer was able to fix the problem after he was inspired by a kingfisher
You can do a lot in 10 minutes or less
10-minutes for kindness and just 6-seconds to take a small break.
"Anybody can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not within everybody's power and is not easy." -- Aristotle
As we have the micromanagement topic as well, a short OpenAI summary for you:
Micromanagement can be beneficial in several ways: it ensures close monitoring of tasks, maintains high quality standards, boosts efficiency, enables quick decision-making, and provides clear guidance to employees. However, there are downsides to micromanagement as well: it can stifle creativity, decrease employee morale, hinder innovation, create a sense of mistrust, and lead to employee burnout.
Pros of micromanagement:
1. Close task monitoring
2. High quality standards
3. Increased efficiency
4. Quick decision-making
5. Clear guidance for employees
Cons of micromanagement:
1. Stifles creativity
2. Decreases employee morale
3. Hinders innovation
4. Creates mistrust
5. Leads to employee burnout
When you want to experiment and learn fast, fearing mistakes is not helping a lot or at all. So be careful with micromanagement !!
Meet The Newest Forbes 30 Under 30
Here are 10 best YouTube Channels on AI
60% of leaders think introverts aren’t suited for leadership
Scrum Created the Product Owner and Spawned a Myriad of Conflicting Functions
A good approach in the mindset of lifelong learning
For me personally my BLOG is my journaling tool. It helps me to reflect & learn AND to collect ideas/insights for future use, already since 2016.
Journaling for Beginners: How to Get Started in 10 Steps
The Ultimate Guide to Journaling
5 Benefits of Journaling for Mental Health
As I just mentioned the start of my BLOG on 04-Jul-2016, the counter of readers accessing the BLOG since then will be passing the 2,000,000 figure in the next two weeks. What a ride so far ..., once again thank you to all my readers!!
As I am doing the BLOG not only for me, but for you as well I did create a small questionnaire some weeks ago:
Thanks a lot in advance for your voluntary participation, very much appreciated. Please use https://ahaslides.com/RETHINK25 to access it. So far nobody did use the opportunity to share an opinion. Three easy questions to answer:
How often do you read my BLOG?
Which topics from my BLOG do you like most?
What would you like to read about during 2025?
Besides the above some interesting links, for me to add in my insights portfolio and for you as possible information:
Charted: When Every Continent’s Population Will Peak This Century
Visualizing Global Coffee Production in 2024
Rethinking Our Tech Mythology
Leadership Transitions and Identity Change
How do great leaders inspire action? Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle Model can explain
What’s missing between all your effort and the results you want?
How to make better strategy—strategy that actually works? Embrace these 8 Shifts to Make Better Strategy.
Have you ever come across the MOA Model?
Reimagining Agile (an update): Back to the Basics, Forward to the Future
60% of leaders think introverts aren’t suited for leadership.
But Harvard studies show the opposite is true.
The more you talk about topics, the more you find supporting references for it
Some links related to the topics of my last three posts, have a look:
Building a Learn-It-All Organization
AI and creative teams form a powerful partnership for delivering value. Using AI to increase agility by Willem-Jan Ageling
Be the One Who Stands Out - Learn AI Now!
Women as change agents are vital to ensuring that innovation benefits society, not just the bottom line. See
The Johari Window is a powerful tool for improving self-awareness, communication, and team dynamics.
Coaching vs. Mentorship: Understanding the Differences and Why Leaders Need Both
The Agile world is evolving fast, and so is the Dolphin Agile Project Management Approach Overview
As mentioned earlier, today was the 1st of four Spirit Days in 2025. One day full of learning in the mindset of our Spirit beliefs:
Earn customer loyalty
Create the future
Experiment and learn fast
Get it done together
I joined a session about Happiness at work and shared a link to
The World Happiness Foundation with the audience. I met Luis Gallardo in 2019 for the 1st time during the Future of Leadership Salon. A great guy full of passion for the topic.
For the rest of the day I finished the 1st version of the concept, agenda and slides for my offsite workshop in March. Now I am waiting for feedback, to see if my direction meets the expectation.
Video: Stop Avoiding Mistakes & Start Learning from Them: BLACK BOX THINKING by Matthew Syed | Core Message
Interesting insights with all the discussion about USA import duties for Europe lately.
One more picture - Visualizing Global IPOs in 2024, by Country
“The world needs new lenses to understand growth and how humans and societies can thrive.” -- Luis Gallardo -- Founder & President of the World Happiness Foundation and World Happiness Fest. Author of Happytalism and The Exponentials of Happiness. Director of the Gross Global Happiness program at the United Nations University for Peace.
What are the skills you need?
Besides the skills on the picture, some more insights below:
Bosch Tech Compass 2025: Do we have the AI skills we need for the future?
A mindset of lifelong learning is a prerequisite and the right priority setting the key to get started. YES we are all busy and time is rare, but you have to take your time for learning, most preferably on a regular basis. Next Tuesday we have the 1st of four Spirit or Learning days for the whole company. When everybody is taking time for learning, nobody will miss you in a meeting - you just have to make the decision.
The Must-Read Articles for Talent Professionals This Week (14-Feb-25)
Never Say This In An Interview. Want to stand out in an interview? Never say this... Author Justin Mecham
AI and creative teams form a powerful partnership for delivering value. Using AI to increase agility by Willem-Jan Ageling
Still figuring out how to use AI in your work? Here are 50 use cases
You didn’t fail. You just had another lesson.
AI/ML Wheel: Technology Ecosystem Overview
The CLEAR coaching model is coaching 101
Working out the strategy for our new department
My boss asked me to host the next offsite workshop on 11/12-Mar-25 some weeks ago. The idea is to work out the strategy of the new department with all direct reports and one additional representative per team. I started with the initial concept and agenda for these two days yesterday.
We will start Day-1 with a short icebreaker - how much can the people remember about their team members from the introduction workshop on 29-Jan-25? Everybody had 15 minutes for a professional and personal introduction. I came up with this idea last week and quickly summarized the main topics that I could remember about the participants. I will show three symbols for each team member and the people will have to guess, who is who? Like an adjusted BINGO game.
As the main theme of the workshop will be "building bridges", I will use a bridge as analogy to collect ideas for the strategy. What is the foundation, the basis above, support and ground level below the main (street) level. Plus we have an Input and Output, assuming the department is a black box, like the cars or people driving/going over the bridge. This is the rough idea for my approach:
We will finish Day-1 with a speed feedback round. With teams of two sitting opposite, both give each other feedback for a minute. Then everybody moves to the next seat on the left. It is better to have an
odd number of participants, because then just moving on for one seat covers all possible teams in the end. One team member has always to wait on an additional chair for two minutes.
Types of Feedback in the Workplace: Your 2025 Guide
The Johari Window model: examples, exercises & self-development tips
What is radical candor? A management philosophy based on Caring Personally while Challenging Directly.
Day-2 will be about the new Operating Model and how to use it properly in our day-to-day work? Getting clearer about what are our roles & responsibilities and what is not in our scope?
In the afternoon we will be talking to another team at the same offsite location, to discuss in detail, how we will be workig together.
Confused roles are killing your team’s productivity. A RACI matrix can fix that in minutes!
The Fishbone Diagram, also called the Ishikawa or Cause-and-Effect Diagram, is a powerful tool for uncovering root causes. It helps visualize problems, brainstorm potential causes, and organize ideas effectively.
“To become more effective and fulfilled at work, people need a keen understanding of their impact on others and the extent to which they’re achieving their goals in their working relationships. Direct feedback is the most efficient way for them to gather this information and learn from it.” – Ed Batista from 49 Best Quotes on Feedback
It sometimes is just going wrong ...
Empathy is often depending on your perspective and intention like today when J.D. Vance was speaking in Munich:
Vance turns on European allies in blistering speech that downplayed threats from Russia and China
US Vice President JD Vance meets German far-right leader as he criticizes ‘firewalls’ in Europe
I do get the "America first" and "Make America great again" ideas, no problem. But you should put your own house in order first before you tell others, what to do and how to behave. Like on the iceberg picture - Imagining yourself in their situation. Will be interesting to see how this proceeds in the coming days and weeks. A lot of people did already talk about a turning point today. We will definitely see ...
LinkedIn Report: How AI Will Redefine Recruiting in 2025
Why do some strategies fail while others thrive? The answer lies in how organizations handle the seven deadly sins
Jurgen Appelo: The Four Moats Theory™
Don't be afraid to learn
The sectors adding the most AI!
Video: What Dance Would You Like to Perform with Unitree G1? Unitree Robotics
Please summarize 10 signs symbols hidden messages from the LIX super bowl halftime show
As mentioned two days ago - "But I possibly do not get all the hints or critics between the lines as foreigner. Anyway for me too much art and too less party, but you might see it differently?"
So I did ask "the experts" with very interesting results:
I want to be upfront that since my knowledge cutoff was in April 2024, I don't actually have information about the 2025 Super Bowl LVIII (58) halftime show. While I'd be happy to discuss halftime show analysis in general or past Super Bowl performances, I shouldn't speculate about or analyze a show that occurred after my last update. I'd encourage you to check reliable news sources or official NFL/Super Bowl coverage for accurate information about the most recent halftime show.
Would you like to discuss analysis of a different past Super Bowl halftime show instead?
Have fun
TED2018
Superagency: The transformative potential of AI
See also Visualizing Asia’s $40 Trillion Economy
Philly artist spray-paints 'Go Birds' mural on Broad Street
An interesting Super Bowl night last night and a well deserved winner, the Philadelphia Eagles. The family was watching with me and my youngest daughter even until the end. As you can see on the two pictures the Snack Stadium was well filled up and we had some side goodies as well.
A really bad night for the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes, after their great season before. But as one of the million statistics around football can proof, the best team of the season does not win the Super Bowl in the end.
Finally the 2025 Half time show, what was discussed afterwards with very diverse opinions. The expectation for a scandal or surprising activity during the show was high, but from my German perspective all fine. But I possibly do not get all the hints or critics between the lines as foreigner. Anyway for me too much art and too less party, but you might see it differently?
"Sometimes, you have to accept that you have to wait your turn. ... As great as the performance was, it wasn't enough to win. Going through those emotions and processing those things, that experience, lit a great flame in me and enhanced my desire to win." -- Jalen Hurts, QB • #1, Philadelphia Eagles
"[The interceptions are] why I take ownership of this loss more than probably any other loss in my career, because I put us in the bad spot. Any time you lose the Super Bowl, it’s just the worst feeling in the world. It’ll stick with you for the rest of your career. These will be the losses that motivate me to be better. … It hurts probably more than the wins feel good." -- Patrick Mahomes, QB • #15, Kansas City Chiefs
If You Want Results, Stop Ignoring This 1 Thing. The hardest truth about why teams fail – and how to fix it... Author Justin Mecham
The New Happy: Are you overwhelmed?
The Labor Market Is Broken. AI Can Help Fix It
7 Powerful Ways To Use Emotional Intelligence To Manage Stress
“We didn’t really ever care what anyone thought about how we won… all we wanted to do was win. These guys did not want to let each other down.” -- Nick Sirianni is head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles
Today is Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans
One hour to go before the TV broadcast is starting for the Super Bowl this year. My Snack Stadium is still empty, but the beer is already well temperatured and tasty.
Before we had the chancellor duel on TV - Scholz versus Merz - the two guys who will be potentially leading the next German government. In the worst or best case together in the same coalition, we will see in two weeks from now.
Tomorrow my working day will start after 12:00 PM, some sleep is required after the Super Bowl that will possibly go until 05:00 AM, assuming there is no overtime. After the planning last week some admin work is to be done to finish the current 3-month phase on Monday and start the new 3-month phase on Tuesday.
Even more time to prepare my next offsite workshop on 11/12-Mar-25 that will focus on the theme "Building bridges", to agree and describe the strategy of our new department that combines architecture and delivery content and personal. Looking forward to it, a new challange and opportunity at the same time. Have a great week.
The Must-Read Articles for Talent Professionals This Week (07-Feb-25)
The #1 Mistake That Shows You Don't Care. This one habit makes people feel unheard—here's how to fix it... Author Justin Mecham
McKinsey Quarterly: Achieving growth: Putting leadership mindsets and behaviors into action
Time management techniques that actually work. Which AI to use now. How we respond matters
There's a big difference between your strategy and your strategic plan. And you need both
An outstanding leader is a superb communicator and is aware that you have to be a great listener to be one
The power of GenAI is becoming unstoppable, as it continues to evolve, offering quicker, easier, and more powerful tools for various professions
About the beer:
First mention
The original building of the brewery in Goldgasse was first mentioned in a shrine book (no. 262) in 1442. It is recorded that, following the death of Heinrich Quaimoele and his wife Chatrine on April 27, 1455, four houses on Goldgasse were jointly transferred to their son Jakob and the baker Tuys van Brakel.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi & Flow: "The best moments usually occur if a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile."
Out of the top-left picture, the basic structure of my Snack-Stadium for the Super Bowl, I created the other two stadiums with the following prompt and a mixture of Dali and Warhol style with starryai.
"Please make the provided Snack stadium much more fancy for the upcoming Super Bowl LIX. I am looking for a sustainable solution with a broad variety of snacks, sweet and salty"
The football is taken from a series of pictures, the source for the Coloring page is here.
Tomorrow is Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans
Besides the pure Sports festival/event seeing the Kansas City Chiefs versus the Philadelphia Eagles, there are also some side stories in New Orleans.
There was the terror attack in Jan-25 for example and President Trump will visit the Super Bowl. What is even more interesting, as
Kendrick Lamar will do the half-time show, what was announced Sep-24. He is not a real fan of the new president, who was not elected last September. Anyway a lot of people are wondering, what will happen in the half-time show tomorrow?
Fun fact: I did ask OpenAI to summarize the Super Bowl history of both teams, but the freely available knowledge database does not cover 2023 yet :-) Here the Gemini results instead:
The Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles have a relatively short Super Bowl history, but it's been exciting! Here's a quick summary:
Super Bowl Matchups:
Super Bowl LVII (2023): Chiefs defeated the Eagles 38-35 in a thrilling, high-scoring game. This was their first Super Bowl meeting.
Overall Super Bowl History:
Kansas City Chiefs: 6 Super Bowl appearances, 4 wins (including Super Bowl LVII)
Philadelphia Eagles: 4 Super Bowl appearances, 1 win
Fun Facts:
Super Bowl LIX will be a rematch of Super Bowl LVII.
The Chiefs are aiming for an unprecedented third consecutive Super Bowl win. The Eagles are looking for their second Super Bowl title in franchise history.
Key Storylines for Super Bowl LIX:
This is sure to be an exciting Super Bowl!
"What we cannot control or influence we need to LET GO of!"
Two days ago when we had the Kick-off presentation for the upcoming 3-month project period, the new Operating Model was mentioned and caused some concerns and questions in the development community. What changes will be coming in May-25, how will the new teams look like, who will be doing what in which role, etc.?
I did see this coming and prepared one slide for the team, to be clear that their expertise will still be required after the CHANGE and the work is not going away. Let's just focus on what we can control and maybe influence, and let go of the rest!! Easier said than done and not everybody sees it in the same way, it is their personal perspective and mindset. Two helping ideas:
Carol Dweck: A Summary of Growth and Fixed Mindsets
[07-Feb-25] Your thinking is limiting your decisions (6 Thinking Hats)
Another idea could be a personal SWOT analysis, we just did one today in our regular Team Building session after the 2-day planning phase. The topic was our current working and development environment and how the team members see it. A strength can also be a weakness, same for opportunities and threats. Depends on your perspective and situation.
Two weeks ago I did a SWOT analysis for myself as introduction to the new team and mentioned "35+ years work experience" in all four areas of the SWOT template. Just a matter of the perspective and situation.
"The best thing parents can do is to teach their children to love challenges, be intrigued by mistakes, enjoy effort, and keep on learning." -- Carol S. Dweck
Flexis is revolutionising urban logistics
Ranked: How Much People Trust Institutions, by Country
8 Ways Organizational Culture Kills Agility
Designing & Leading Transformational Workshops
Continuous improvement is essential for efficiency, cost reduction, and quality enhancement
The Turing Test is so Last Century: Introducing the Barista Test for Artificial General Intelligence
Why do we mostly remember the positive things from the past?
Since yesterday the 1st 2025 eBOOK with posts until 03-Feb-25 is availabe for Download. Have a look ...
We remember only the positive things, as the perception about any bad experience is decreasing fast, see on the picture. A really useful
behavioral pattern, what do you think?
For the 100/1, text by Wolfram (The Dolphin) Müller:
Eliyahu Goldratt revealed that every system has one critical constraint—the single point that controls your entire operation. The more complex your organization becomes, the narrower (and more powerful) this constraint has to be. Yet, traditional management forces us into 100% utilization of everyone, endless multitasking, overloading that critical constraint and sacrificing real throughput.
Imagine a world where you stop wasting time on busywork and start focusing on what really drives results. With one simple adjustment, you can flip your system from 1 to 100—fast, free, and radically transformative - riskless.
Finally, also a good fit to the topic of today from the --> Top 5 Habit-Building Methods From 25+ Books on Habits video (11:30 minutes):
Habit‐Building Method #3: Use Old Habits to Jumpstart New Ones
In Tiny Habits, BJ Fogg explains that most people fail to build better habits because they don’t leverage the momentum of existing behaviors. Therefore, if you want a new habit to stick, do it immediately after a reliable behavior. Complete the statement: “After I [reliable behavior], I will [new habit].” For example, after I put my head on my pillow, I will think of one thing I'm grateful for.
My next two days will be to focus on our next 3-month planning phase, all activities prepared.
Empower to transform - When undertaking systemic change or facing uncertainty, remember: your employees aren’t just along for the ride—they’re the engine of transformation.
Is AI coming for your job? Depends on who you ask by Rita McGrath
Positive Deviance and High-Performing Organizations
Leaders often focus on solving problems and bringing performance to "normal" levels. But what if we aimed higher—beyond the norm, beyond the average?
Import tariffs yes/no?
Just a quick reminder about the questionnaire I started on 19-Jan-25:
In order to gather some insights from your reader perspective and to collect new topics for the future, I did create a small questionnaire. The participation is voluntary, but so far nobody did use the opportunity to share an opinion. Three easy questions to answer:
How often do you read my BLOG?
Which topics from my BLOG do you like most?
What would you like to read about during 2025?
Just give it a try, thanks a lot in advance and very much appreciated.
The Top Import Partner picture is interesting to look at from a geographical as well as historical (where did immigrants initially come from) perspective. With the latest USA import tariffs announcement changes can be expected. Stock markets around the globe have been impacted by this today already, even in the USA.
Quick AI summary about pros and cons:
Import tariffs can potentially protect domestic industries by making foreign goods more expensive, thus encouraging consumers to buy local products, boosting the economy and creating jobs. They can also be used as leverage in international negotiations to address trade imbalances and unfair practices, safeguarding the country's interests.
On the flip side, import tariffs can lead to retaliatory measures from other countries, escalating trade tensions and potentially resulting in a trade war that harms all involved economies. They can also increase consumer prices, reduce choices for consumers, and disrupt global supply chains, impacting businesses and consumers alike.
We will see who wins in the end, if anybody?
Justin Mecham: 6 Secrets for AMAZING Cultures
AI Takes the Lead: The 25 Fastest-Growing Jobs in the U.S.
New Data: See What Your Candidates Want in 2025
25 most important mathematical definitions in data science in a single frame
Catch the Wave or Get Swept Away: Leadership in the Age of AI
Teams that grow together, win together. Here’s how to make daily improvement second nature
People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. Here’s what Simon Sinek taught us about leadership
The Power of Authentic Storytelling in Leadership
Starting with the two images, the Super Bowl Logo and the Bansky mouse picture, I used starryai and the following prompt - Please create a picture out of the inspiration image and update it with the Banksy: A Great British Spraycation picture, especially the Mouse in a deck chair with an umbrella - to create the lower image.
One week to go until Super Bowl LIX
After a lot of DeepSeek articles last week, I used another AI to adjust the Super Bowl logo a little bit. One week to go until next Sunday with Super Bowl LIX. Looking forward to the game.
Two more working days to prepare the next planning phase for the coming three month. Due to the upcoming change in the operating model, this might be the last planning according to the SAFe framework? We will go for least effort and maximum outcome this time, as the majority of the work to be done is clear already.
The Must-Read Articles for Talent Professionals This Week (31-Jan-25)
This work-life balance study reveals three major problems. The five stages of AI agent evolution. The surprising power of team rituals.
How to Make Culture Tangible and Actionable – the ABCs
The 8 Critical Energy Trends Defining 2025
Interesting how fast these comparisons come up
Final picture about this topic, next week we might have another one already?
$30 DeepSeek dupe? US scientists claim to duplicate AI model for peanuts
Data science interviews test technical skills, problem-solving, and business impact. Here are the key topics:
120+ AI Tools to Finish Hours of Work in Minutes
9 FREE AI Courses. That could change your life...
Stop searching for jobs only on Linkedin or Naukri! Here are 20 Sites to find Remote jobs that pay in USD
I did read an interesting Forbes article today - 90 days, dozens of interviews, billions on the line: Inside Blackstone’s CEO search process for its 250 companies by Ruth Umoh
Courtney della Cava has transformed Blackstone’s executive recruitment process from an art to a more precise science. “At Blackstone, we believe great investments begin with great talent and teams and that if you put people first, the numbers follow.”
Have a great weekend.
Pictures:
Videos:
The World by 2030: Gerd Leonhard's Riveting Presentation at GLMC 2025 in Riyadh
All the Official Big Game Super Bowl Commercials TEASERS - 2025
Roman Sculptures Animated With Al
Leonardo’s self-supporting bridge is one of the most famous inventions in history
The bridge on the picture was a test run today. For my next offsite workshop in March, I was looking for an icebreaker in the morning to get the brain cleared and kick off the day. As the topic will be "building bridges" a great analogy and out of the comfort zone activity. And you better test your ideas before, to get a rough idea about timing and the possible obstacles you could face during the session. It took some effort to finish the bridge and more than two hands by the way.
12 important concepts that can help you rewire your brain
7 Powerful Visuals to Reframe Your Mindset
Vulnerability Is a Strength, Beware the ‘Broken Feedback Loop’ & More – The Leadership That Works Newsletter
And surprise, surprise, some more AI and DeepSeek related topics:
Superagency in the workplace: Empowering people to unlock AI’s full potential
Jevons Paradox - Satya Nadella thinks Jevons Paradox has struck again with DeepSeek AI's release. Let's explore what's Jevons Paradox. By Tanmay Vora
I asked the AI who I am - that's what I got - by Holger Nauheimer
Everyone's freaking out about DeepSeek AI. Here's what you actually need to know about it
How did DeepSeek AI actually revolutionize AI? They solved 4 huge problems
Researchers Uncover Exposed DeepSeek Database Leaking Sensitive Data!
Are we seeing another Huawei ban or TikTok discussion shortly?
After two days DeepSeek is still in all posts and emails everywhere. Not to be used on business devices, due to the unclear usage of the data shared, but new interesting technology that people want to investigate. Below a collection of positive and negative perspectives:
Positive messages
What Makes DeepSeek So Much Better Than ChatGPT?
BREAKING: DeepSeek just released an image model. DeepSeek is becoming the ChatGPT killer
Let's break down DeepSeek AI's "Sputnik Moment" in a way that makes sense for non-tech folks out there
I tested DeepSeek for 72 hours. (It's free). It claims to be better, faster, and free
BREAKING: Alibaba just dropped Qwen2.5-Max—a cutting-edge AI model much better than the DeepSeek, it generates text, images, and videos, runs code, and even performs real-time web searches.
Negative messages
Trump Embraced AI and It Exploded Spectacularly in His Face
DeepSeek Starts to Explain Tiananmen Square Massacre, Then Gets Caught by Built-In Censorship System
Don’t fall for false DeepSeek R1 news! Deepseek R1 made it to mainstream, but there are so many wrong takes and false information
DeepSeek as a Trojan Horse Threat
DeepSeek’s Popular AI App Is Explicitly Sending US Data to China
Breaking News: OpenAI Accuses Chinese AI Startup DeepSeek of Using Its Models
... and there are many more news in the moment.
In the end it is great to see these kind of new disruptive developments, but you always have to balance your risk and value. And everybody wants to participate in the AI gold rush, but not everything what is technically possible makes sense in the end. Let's relax a little bit and build some bridges ...
What Is AI: The Pros and Cons of Artificial Intelligence, and What Its Future Holds
7 Simple Steps to Master Your SWOT Analysis
A mixture of related links to the DeepSeek topic:
Interview with Deepseek Founder: We’re Done Following. It’s Time to Lead
Who is Liang Wenfeng, the founder of DeepSeek, China's OpenAI rival?
How small Chinese AI start-up DeepSeek shocked Silicon Valley
Why China Startup DeepSeek Could Spell Trouble For Nvidia, AI Stocks
What is DeepSeek, and why is it causing Nvidia and other stocks to slump?
Disruptive innovation beats an Economic Moat
Interesting timing or just a coincidence?
Nokia, at one time the world’s leading mobile phone company, has made a huge archive of corporate assets available through a website curated by Finland’s Aalto University, the Nokia Design Archive. The fascinating collection provides deep insight into how the company operated; in particular, a 2007 Nokia Confidential report caught my eye, as it captures what the company thought when Apple introduced iPhone in 2007.
DeepSeek has now erased $2 trillion worth of market cap in US stocks. NVIDIA just lost $500B+ in market cap! All because a $6M Chinese AI startup just achieved what Silicon Valley claimed was impossible.
"Popularized by legendary investor Warren Buffett—it's perhaps his favorite metaphor, used in dozens of investor talks going back decades—the term "economic moat" draws an evocative parallel with the water-filled trenches that protected medieval castles. In the business world, these moats characterize sustainable competitive advantages that shield a company's profits from marauding competitors."
Was NVIDIA feeling too save and protected by the current AI trend and need for high-performance chips and data centers? Possibly yes, but this seems to be over now when you look at the reaction of the global stock markets today. We will find out shortly ...
#1 Skill That Protects Your Mental Health Every Day
Keeping an eye on the bigger picture ...
Even when you just have a small task, you are part of a larger activity and can help to enable the final result, go for it.
Same with my questionnaire that I started to share last week Sunday:
In order to gather some insights from your reader perspective and to collect new topics for the future, I did create a small questionnaire today. Thanks a lot in advance for your voluntary participation, very much appreciated. Please use https://ahaslides.com/RETHINK25
The participation is voluntary, but so far nobody did use the opportunity to share an opinion. Three easy questions to answer:
How often do you read my BLOG?
Which topics from my BLOG do you like most?
What would you like to read about during 2025?
Just give it a try, thanks a lot in advance and very much appreciated.
System demo tomorrow to finish the current 3-month period and the first workshop for the new team on Wednesday. Everybody has 15 minutes for a personal introduction, can be a very long time. I will start with a 3-picture introduction (3 typical pictures that describe you very well), then a personal map with business and private details and finally a personal SWOT analysis. Will be enough to fill the time.
In the NFL only 4 teams are left, the Conference finals today and tomorrow German time. At breakfast time it will already be clear, who plays in the Super Bowl LIX on 09-Feb-25 in New Orleans.
The Must-Read Articles for Talent Professionals This Week (24-Jan-25)
Why We Avoid Difficult Conversations – And How to Change That
Mastering the Balancing Act of Courageous Conversations by Gustavo Razzetti
Agile 2025 - 4 Threats and 4 Opportunities. The world needs Agile by Willem-Jan Ageling
How to Spot AI Deepfake Videos In An Era Of Digital Deception
AI's energy dilemma: Challenges, opportunities, and a path forward
Every "yes" to one thing is a "no" to something else
"According to Asana's research across 10,000 knowledge workers, a staggering 60% of work time is spent not on your actual job, but on "work about work" - the endless cycle of status updates, app switching, and hunting down information."
Let's check, what OpenAI knows about saying know?
Avoiding saying no can be a tricky skill to master, but there are common arguments that can help navigate difficult situations. Some serious arguments include redirecting the conversation, offering alternatives, or asking for more time to consider. On the lighter side, injecting humor, using positive language, or showing appreciation can soften the blow of saying no.
Top 10 arguments to avoid saying no:
1. "Let me check my schedule and get back to you."
2. "I appreciate the opportunity, but I'm currently unavailable."
3. "How about we explore other options?"
4. "I'm honored that you thought of me, but I have prior commitments."
5. "Can we revisit this at a later date?"
6. "I value your input, let me think about it."
7. "Let's brainstorm together for a better solution."
8. "I'm all ears for your ideas, what do you suggest?"
9. "Thank you for considering me, but I must decline."
10. "I wish I could help, but unfortunately, it's not possible at the moment."
Saying NO is very often the more difficult approach, requiring additional effort and motivation, plus the willingness to come into an uncomfortable situation. Easy is for everybody, difficult only for a few. BUT it is your time and you have to take responsibility for it, if you like it or not ... Have a great weekend.
Will AI Make Universal Basic Income Inevitable?
Here are 30 best sites for finding remote work online In 2025
Here are 10 essential soft skills to secure your career's future
Data Governance: Understand Key Focus Areas
How to get 8 hours of work finished in 4
"When you make a to-do list, you should also make a to-not-do list. Warren Buffet was asked about the secret to success, and he said that it was saying no to almost everything. Some of those little tasks won't matter as long as you get the big tasks done." -- Brian Tracy
AI, tech and more at Davos 2025: What to know
"For most of Artificial Intelligence’s (AI’s) history, many researchers expected that building truly capable systems would need a long series of scientific breakthroughs: revolutionary algorithms, deep insights into human cognition, or fundamental advances in our understanding of the brain. While scientific advances have played a role, recent AI progress has revealed an unexpected insight: a lot of the recent improvement in AI capabilities has come simply from scaling up existing AI systems."
“Success in creating AI would be the biggest event in human history. Unfortunately, it might also be the last, unless we learn how to avoid the risks.” – Stephen Hawking
AI is the topic of the moment, with the latest Stargate announcement even more, plus the reaction of Elon Musk about it.
More helpful links:
PwC’s 28th Annual Global CEO Survey: Reinvention on the edge of tomorrow
Trust and collaboration go a long way. Tear down the silos! by Willem-Jan Ageling
Stop Glamorizing the Pursuit of Excellence
Wisdom Adapts – Fools Persist
Data Cleaning Techniques: A Key to Data Science Success
Big Data Landscape: Key Categories
Top Generative AI Terms You Should Always Know
“I think what makes AI different from other technologies is that it’s going to bring humans and machines closer together. AI is sometimes incorrectly framed as machines replacing humans. It’s not about machines replacing humans, but machines augmenting humans. Humans and machines have different relative strengths and weaknesses, and it’s about the combination of these two that will allow human intents and business process to scale 10x, 100x, and beyond that in the coming years.” – Robin Bordoli taken from
80 Artificial Intelligence Quotes Shaping the Future
Today just a collection of interesting links, enjoy
15 Ways to Stop Holding Yourself Back. How to let go of the negativity that blocks your potential... Author Justin Mecham
MIRAI is redefining the future of breast cancer screening
Ranked: The Top 25 Countries With the Most Data Centers PLUS today Tech giants are putting $500bn into 'Stargate' to build up AI in US
7 Ways HR Will Look Different in 2025
The World’s Fastest-Growing Jobs in 2025
How to Improve Your Soft Skills—Anyone Can Do It!
Using the Flow Channel to Measure Team Effectiveness
The Humics: The Secret of Human Value in the Age of AI
Want smoother teamwork? Start with Kanban boards
Data Science Quick Reference: Data Preparation with SQL
Gantt Charts Are Great... and Have No Place in Agile
Gartner's recommended CIO business books blend hard and soft skills, focusing on effective communication and influence
"For anything worth having one must pay the price; and the price is always work, patience, love, self-sacrifice - no paper currency, no promises to pay, but the gold of real service." -- John Burroughs
The week starting with a Monday, no surprise
I was in the office yesterday, the least employees are there on Monday and Friday, and our department team area is in the Tower on the 14th floor. One hour into the working day the water pressure was 1st decreasing and then completely gone 30 minutes later. No drinking water, no hand washing and toilet usage. Root cause was a broken water pipe that was finally fixed at the end of the day. The few people in the office survived, I had to go down to the ground floor only once, to find a working toilet.
Next was the public transport on my way home. When I reached the underground station I have seen a note about an accident on the track. No underground going into my direction, so I decided to walk. Better than to wait in the cold temperature outside. After 6 stations the system was working again and I could catch an underground to the main railway station. My train is coming every 20 minutes, but 2 trains did not show up. No explanation why. In the end I took the 3rd train and reached home around 08:00 PM. A Murphy day ...
Today everything was smooth, the water pressure was fine and public transport did go as planned. Tomorrow is another day for surprises.
In Mar-25 we have the next offsite workshop, planned with our new team that will be officially in place with the start of the next fiscal year on 01-Apr-25. One of the topics will be to make our new operating model real and get a common understanding in the team, how to use it. I will be supporting my supervisor and host/moderate this workshop. One of my ideas today was to use process simulation and storytelling. More details in the near future ...
Just checked the participation in the voluntary questionnaire I shared last Sunday. So far nobody did use the opportunity to participate and share an opinion, what is interesting as the average number of readers per day is 193 in the last month. I am not looking for a 50+% participation rate, a start with 5%, what means nearly 10 readersper day, would be more than sufficient. So please don't be shy!!
Thanks a lot in advance for your voluntary participation, very much appreciated. Please use https://ahaslides.com/RETHINK25
Chibaru Shokudo is a restaurant that employs older people who have been diagnosed with dementia
120+ AI Tools to Finish Hours of Work in Minutes (find your own)
The term "skeuomorphism" combines the Greek word "skeuos," meaning vessel or container, with the English suffix "-morphism," indicating form or structure.
In order to gather some insights from your reader perspective and to collect new topics for the future, I did create a small questionnaire today. Thanks a lot in advance for your voluntary participation, very much appreciated. Please use https://ahaslides.com/RETHINK25
Two quotes from the 2 pictures today:
Why is the save icon in your software a floppy disk that no one has used for over 20 years? And that phone icon looks nothing like your mobile phone when making a call. These are both skeuomorphs.
What about Pilates? No one ever promised it’s fast or easy. It’s deliberate, difficult, and demands effort and commitment. But it’s also effective and sustainable because it builds mental and physical strength and flexibility over time. That’s the mindset shift required to make lasting change. Scrum is Pilates, not a chocolate shake.
The headhunter story is still proceeding. In the meantime I had four different people contacting me for jobs in the same company, two separate jobs as I realized lately, but both do not fit at all to my profile. I do get the feeling that the approach is somewhat AI driven, by using different LinkedIn profiles? Only one is related to a headhunter activity and company, the rest in different industries. They either do freelance work besides their official job or it might be fake profiles, who knows?
The coming week will be the last week before we finish the current 3-month project phase. After this week we will have our System Demo followed by 5-days of training, knowledge sharing and exploration tasks. Before we kick off the next 3-month phase with a 2-day planning ceremony. Maybe be the last time due to our operating model change, but this is not finalized yet. Anyway, changes come and go, we just have to handle each properly, be open for it and make the best out of the adjusted circumstances and environments.
Have a great week ...
The Must-Read Articles for Talent Professionals This Week (17-Jan-25)
Think Your Team Is Afraid of Feedback? Think Again.
Essential HR And Recruitment Trends For 2025
Learn the Difference Between Data Warehouses and Data Lakes!
The right TED Talk at the right time can genuinely change your life. Here are 7 examples
Forget "Strategic Planning". Strategy and Planning are very different things.
A once-in-144 years phenomenon
Imagine being part of something so rare that the last people to witness it were your great-great-grandparents. The Maha Kumbh 2025 at Prayagraj is not just an event; it’s a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle that occurs only after 144 long years... Now, would you want to miss something this rare?
It is said that the location of the Kumbh Mela is decided by specific celestial alignments. When Jupiter is in Taurus and the Sun and Moon align in Capricorn (Makar rashi), the Kumbh Mela takes place at Prayagraj, coinciding with the Makar Sankranti period.
Hosting 400+ million visitors in 45 days is a real challenge that can only be handled in a digital way. Here some Facts and Stats.
Just now the first Divisional Round Playoff in the NFL is starting. Have a great weekend.
World’s first 24/7 renewable energy gigascale project unveiled in Abu Dhabi
Unlocking human potential: Building a responsible AI-ready workforce for the future
Authentic Leadership, Credits to Justin Wright
How To Create Your Best Life In 2025. Steal this sheet to make 2025 your year
This post is permission to be YOU... Even though you don’t really need it...
Simplicity is much more difficult than complexity
BREVITY = a quality that speech or writing has when it is short and contains few words
In the moment you keep something simple and brief, you might be saving a lot of time that you had to invest before, to better understand the topic, as mentioned by Albert Einstein.
"If I am to speak ten minutes, I need a week for preparation; if an hour, I am ready now." -- Woodrow Wilson
Today I did get another headhunter email with an exciting opportunity - it did not fit at all!! But was a good relation to the James Clear article -
Why Trying to Be Perfect Won’t Help You Achieve Your Goals (And What Will). When you just try enough and contact as many people as possible, you might find a good candidate who is interested to change the job.
Visualizing the Global Population in 2035, by Generation
Communication gap (a classic infographic)
Achieving organisational excellence means mastering multiple dimensions that drive sustainable success
Make Lean Work for You
Drowning in ideas? Let affinity diagrams organize the chaos. Collaboration becomes effortless when you spot patterns fast
8 Game-Changing Manufacturing Trends That Will Define 2025
6 Free Leadership Courses: From Harvard, Yale and Dartmouth.
Another great infographic from Justin Mecham
Some stories just go on and on.
Today I was contacted by another headhunter with "an exciting career opportunity". I have seen the job description before from a different headhunter, and it did still not fit to my profile. I do not have any SAP skills, do not really like the tool and GUI. Must be a bad AI or bad reading and not doing the homeworks before. Anyway, I stick to my guardrails to give some feedback, hoping that it will improve the quality of the contacts over time. Possiby not for me, but for all the others out there.
And the MURPHY story with the starter battery did proceed as well. I was at the dealer in time on Monday, but the new battery was not delivered. Next day I was in the office and my wife had to go to the garage. All did work out fine, finally. Only the dealer had now four batteries of the same kind. Good for other customers.
Both stories are nothing that you would expect from a productive day, but it is not always only in your hand.
How to Ask Good Questions at Work—and Actually Get the Info You Need
Charted: AI’s Perceived Impact on Job Creation, by Country
Use STICC whenever you have to communicate fast and clearly
Master the art of Continuous Improvement to keep your business ahead in 2025.
The WEF report is offering a lot of interesting insights, details, data and infographics, as you can see today. Some more or less related links as well:
20 Skills you need to stay ahead by 2030
The Future of Jobs: AI, Skills, and the Transforming Workforce by 2030
Top 5 Project Management Trends Shaping up in 2025
We've curated an incredible lineup of free courses designed to help you master AI, no matter your experience level
The Insidious Poison of Excessive Regulation
Marketoonist by Tom Fishburne: How we Brief
The Future of Jobs Report 2025, World Economic Forum (WEF)
Technological change, geoeconomic fragmentation, economic uncertainty, demographic shifts and the green transition – individually and in combination are among the major drivers expected to shape and transform the global labour market by 2030.
It all started with a quote ...
I did ask Google Gemini the following question today - What were the top 20 most commonly used famous quotes in 2024? - and did get this answer: Unfortunately, there isn't a definitive, publicly available list of the top 20 most commonly used famous quotes in 2024. After one more question I did get some examples and the Nelson Mandela one was included.
Then I requested starryai to generate some pictures based on the Mandela quote. The first result is on the left side. After several iterations and with the help of Salvadore Dali and Andy Warhol Art style, I came to the one on the right side. Interesting evolution ...
Tomorrow we already have the Sprint-4 demo for this 3-month project period and in the afternoon the car finally gets a new battery, will improve the reliability a lot. Have a great start into your week 03-2025.
The Must-Read Articles for Talent Professionals This Week (10-Jan-25)
How you lead, connect, and empower your team every single day. Here’s how to spark motivation (without spending a dime)
The Eisenhower Matrix is your shortcut to clarity
70,000 AI tools exist, but 90% of them overpromise and underdeliver. 12 AI Tools That Will Change How You Work in 2025
Dr. Carol Dweck, a noted psychologist from Stanford, conducted research to understand why some people are more successful than others
4 Effective Methods to Manage through Change Credits to Vince Jeong
The 5 Whys method is a simple yet powerful tool to uncover what’s really going on.
More about AGILE and the Headhunter topic
I am still keeping an eye on the AGILE and Headhunter topics after my previous posts, either on Substack or here [date], see:
Are you ready for an adventure or safety? What is going on in the Agile world right now? [05-Jan-24]
Better use of AI? The good, the bad, and the ugly headhunters ... [07-Jan-25]
Below some more links, I even did find a "good" headhunter article, not everything is bad, it is just a matter of priorities:
To all my fellow recruiters: How do you handle the dreaded “No”? And to job seekers: What’s the most memorable way a recruiter has turned rejection into an opportunity for you?
From PMO to Agile VMO: Customer-Centric Flow and Strategic Agility
How Many Story Points Are In One Day?
Then three articles from Scott Ambler about Applying AI in Agile Software Development:
Part 1: What I Would and Wouldn’t Do
Part 2: Valid Use Cases for AI-Augmentation in Software Development
Part 3: AI Augmentation of Agile Software Development
And some CES 2025 highlights:
AI in the Seas: Marine Monitoring Turtle Robot
NVIDIA Cosmos and Omniverse: Simulating The World For AI Brains
China’s firm beats Apple Vision Pro with world’s fastest augmented reality glasses
Plus several AI topics:
How AI Is Transforming The Ancient Art Of Fine Winemaking
Top 21 Tools to Boost Your Workflow in 2025
Finally some diverse content:
9 New Books on the Science of Reaching Your Goals
Tanmay Vora: How I Discovered Visual Thinking. A few experiences that led me to visual thinking
How Canada Would Rank as the 51st State
"The IT department of every company is going to be the HR department of AI agents in the future." -- Jensen Huang (CEO of NVIDIA)
Yesterday was the day ...
My sisters and I agreed to take my parents out for a visit to a Gospel Choir concert as Christmas present. We planned to go together with them to make it a family event. Yesterday morning the first message from one of my sisters, as she was ill, her ticket became available. We could not find a replacement, so decided to just go with two kids and the parents.
Due to potential traffic jams in the evening I planned to leave at 06:00 PM, the concert started at 08:00 PM. My wife used our car before with no issue. I did go into the car, wanted to set the target address in the navigation system and needed to switch on the interior lighting, to read the information from the ticket. Suddenly a humming noise for some seconds, two warnings on the screen and everything switched off. We tried a lot to get the car back to life, but nothing worked out in the end. Finally I had to call my sister to tell her that I will not be joining as well - MURPHY's LAW. What a bad day!!
Today I found out that the starter battery was dead, happens on average every 3 years, and has to be replaced. The battery has a very special design to fit in the space in the trunk and two different size connectors to avoid a mis-connection of the cables. Really difficult to get a new one. The dealer got one in 3 hours, but it was not 100% correct. The right one will arrive next week Monday. More MURPHY today.
"Airplane Law, The: When the plane you are on is late, the plane you want to transfer to is on time." -- Paul Dickson
34 Life Lessons from 34 Years written by Sahil Bloom
Top Startups of 2025: Leading the way in 10 trending industries
The Value of Values By Frank Sonnenberg
The 5 Hiring Trends You Need to Know for 2025
[09-Jan-25] Why Most Feedback Fails (And How to Fix It)
AI Won't Replace Humans – Here's The Surprising Reason Why
Bridging the Divide: Integrating Agile and Project Management by Jim Highsmith
How Successful People Make Smart Decisions by Dr. Travis Bradberry
Spotify’s CHRO Hits All the Right Notes, Adapting to Change and Creating an Inclusive Culture
The Value of the Global Semiconductor Industry, in One Giant Chart
What Indicators Should We Watch to Disambiguate AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) Timelines?
Personality Types (Know Your Team Better to Lead Them Better)
Credit to Eric Partaker
Buy less. Choose well. Make it last. Quality, not quantity. Everybody’s buying far too many clothes. I mean, I know I’m lucky, I can just take things and borrow them and I’m just okay, but I hate having too many clothes. And I think that poor people should be even more careful. It doesn't mean therefore you have to just buy anything cheap. Instead of buying six things, buy one thing that you really like. Don't keep buying just for the sake of it. -- Vivienne Westwood
The good, the bad, and the ugly headhunters ...
Since last weekend the NFL playoff picture is ready for Super Bowl LIX on 09-Feb-25, see the picture.
In the mindset of a selective awareness, some more AGILE status links. Might also be depending on who I follow:
Agile: Less Is More But More Is Less
The Agile Training Industrial Complex: Why Certified Scrum Masters Are Set Up to Fail
21 Things Declared "Dead" by LinkedIn Pundits (That Aren’t Dead)
There Are No 'Best Practices' in Agile (There Can't Be)
The Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) stirs up, shall we say... strong emotions.
Coming to the headhunter topic. I am 62 years old now and have 34+ years of experience in different job positions so far, when you read my LinkedIn profile. I am very well established in my current role and happy in my daily work. So no need to think about a change, even with the restructuring that is currently ongoing. Anyway, I do get regular emails and LinkedIn messages about "dream" jobs and great companies waiting for me.
Between 2017 and 2019 I did work 2 years as self-employed headhunter, so I know a little bit about the industry, customers and the daily ways of working with potential candidates. You need to find the right balance between quantity (to find as much as possible new potential profiles every day) and quality (you need to contact the right people, who might be of interest for your customer, not waisting anybodys time).
Using AI should be very helpful was my assumption today? I did export the experience in my visible LinkedIn profile to a PDF file and asked Anthropic Claude 3.5 to propose some great jobs for me. Here the results, just the name of the position, I skip the arguments why - shared from Claude as well:
Chief Technology Officer (CTO) or IT Director
Global Program Director
Digital Transformation Leader
Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) Consultant
Agile Practice Leader / Enterprise Agile Coach
Engineering Systems Architect
Not so bad for 5 minutes effort in total, including the PDF file export. When I still would be looking for a new position, the 6 examples above would be of interest for me. BUT the requests/proposals I get are different:
Just by reading my profile it would be clear that I am not a fit for these positions, but people are not reading and their search algorithms seem to be really bad. Only focus on quantity and NO quality, what a waste of time for all involved parties. As I believe in the general learning interest and capabilities of people, I always share a small feedback to all these crazy requests. Surprise, surprise, I did not get a thank you note so far.
Anyway, I keep going ...
Are you ready for an adventure or safety?
There are good arguments for both and in the end it is your personal choice. In the Agile world a similar discussion is ongoing in the moment. From "Agile is Dead" to "Just use it the right way" you can basically find all variations. I did already share two links yesterday, some more examples below:
Agile Mindset: The Hardest Part and the Last to Change
The Agile Community has lost it's way
Agile Alliance Joins Project Management Institute (PMI)
Developing a resilient, adaptable workforce for an uncertain future
NEVER TRUST YOUR LLM - it's much too much human ...
Struggling with recurring problems? The 8D method ends the cycle. Learn how to solve problems for good with this proven framework
17 Subtle Rules of Software Engineering
How to Sabotage an Agile Implementation (So You Can Say Agile Doesn't Work and Have Everyone Think You're Awesome)
Say Goodbye to These Five 'Harmless' Team Habits in 2025
I am going back to work tomorrow and the Agile yes/no topic will be there waiting for me as well. As mentioned earlier, we are preparing a new Operating Model that is potentially going live in May-25. It will be less SAFe, but still making use of an Agile mindset and ways of working - maybe Scrum, Kanban, ScrumBan or anything else ...
The Best 6 Agile Methodologies: Which Type Fits Best Your Needs
Top 7 Agile Frameworks
300+ Agile & Scrum Statistics
The challenge and opportunity will be, to select an approach that is not too far away from the status quo, but still adds some value due to streamlining the process or less administration effort for agile ceremonies. Maybe let the teams decide separately, what works for them, and just agree a common ground and timing for planning and dependency discussion/alignment. Our next three month phase starts in Feb-25, could be a good possibility to do some trials? We will see ...
Data Governance, Catalog, and Quality Tools: How Are They Different?
The 10 New Books to Feed Your Mind in 2025 by Adam Grant
The Must-Read Articles for Talent Professionals This Week (03-Jan-25)
“Visualization is daydreaming with a purpose.” – Bo Bennett
Teenage sensation Littler storms to historic World Darts Championship title
My wife and daugther were right and I was wrong with the prediction for the final outcome of the World Darts Championship yesterday evening. Much faster than expected OR at the earliest possible time, Luke Littler became the World Darts Champion for the 1st time with the age of 17. A historical day in the world of Darts.
Combining any of the 12 Goal Methods with the idea to get just 1% better every day in the the next 365 days could bring a lot of positive change, what do you think? Have fun and a little bit Luke spirit and confidence ...
35 year old Michael vs. 17 year old Luke
King Michael, the three times crowned World Darts Champion against Prince Luke, the last year finalist who did win 10 titles between then and today. I am for Michael, because Luke still has a lot of years coming. BUT we will see shortly ...
The 25 Best Nonfiction Books of 2024
7 Myths of Artificial Intelligence: How Generative AI is Changing the Game
The most powerful leadership tool costs $0. And you already have it.
Some interesting material for the rest of this week:
The Blueprint for a Happy, Engaged Team in 2025
12 months of ideas to make 2025 your best year yet...
Author Justin Mecham
The Foresight of Charles Handy by Tanmay Vora
This Is the Year for HR Leaders to Become Chief Disruption Officers
The most successful people decide 3x faster.
Getting ready for the New Year
I did check my 2024 JAR this morning, to review the positive and negative notes I collected over the last year. To be honest, I did not noe down a lot this time. Highlights were:
The positive feedback about the 4th Data & Analytics Meetup (the LinkedIn post has 3,028 impressions in the meantime)
As I finished my 7th eBOOK for 2024, I was looking for a smart way to get a quick summary of the main topics. Here what I found:
AI PDF Summarizer - Top 15 best tools to try in 2025 (Free and Paid)
10 Best PDF Summarizers
AI PDF Summarizer: Turn Any Document into Clear Summary
I personally prefer FREE tools during the initial testing phase that do not require a lot of effort to start with, even without a login. I like TLDR This a lot, because you can reference a URL or TEXT to begin with and then start a Chat with the AI to get details, see:
What are the top 10 topics covered on this URL?
Based on the conversational summary provided, the top 10 topics covered on this URL seem to be:
The summary covers a wide range of professional, personal, and technology-related themes in a conversational manner.
Not so bad, but you can double check with the 7th eBOOK :-) and do your own summary ...
Some housekeeping to be done for my BLOG ...
2025 will be the year of the SNAKE, to explain the picture a little bit more.
I wish you all a great start into an interesting, surprising and successful year 2025.