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Wired to Answer Easy Questions
Mental Effort Archive

Wired to Answer Easy Questions

When faced with a difficult question, like the task of measuring your arbitrary happiness, your brain will substitute an easier question to answer.
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James LaPlaine
Now Read This: Omaha Edition.
Mental Effort Archive

Now Read This: Omaha Edition.

Unlike most annual reports, the opening 30 pages of Berkshire Hathaway's report amount to a refreshing and honest letter from the Chairman, none other than Warren Buffett. He offers his investment philosophy, opines about prudent leadership, and shares some of his evaluation of corporate America.
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James LaPlaine
My Problem with "r"
Mental Effort Archive

My Problem with "r"

Somewhere along the way I lost all confidence in writing the lower case "r". To mask the trepidation I would feel as I approached a word with an "r", I began to replace a lower case "r" with a smaller version of an upper case "R".
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James LaPlaine
Squandering Good Intentions - A Tale
Mental Effort Archive

Squandering Good Intentions - A Tale

Event + Reaction = Outcome Maybe the intentions you associate to your boss or co-workers aren't based on fact, maybe you've created them to justify your reactions.
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James LaPlaine
Sustainable Performance Plans
Mental Effort Archive

Sustainable Performance Plans

We need performance sustaining plans for the best of workers, not only performance improvement plans for those failing to live up to expectations.
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James LaPlaine
Cheer For or Cheer Against, You Decide
Mental Effort Archive

Cheer For or Cheer Against, You Decide

We can choose to root against someone hoping to get the desired outcome or we can choose to cheer for our team letting our experience, expertise, and preparedness achieve success.
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James LaPlaine
An Uncomfortable Privilege Walk
Mental Effort Archive

An Uncomfortable Privilege Walk

Our facilitators read questions out loud to the participants. After each question, you either step forward, representing a positive merit, or backwards, representing a disadvantage. "Take a step back if you have ever been sexually harassed". All 34 women took a step back, and I stood still.
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James LaPlaine
Be Mindful of the Turtle's Shell
AOL

Be Mindful of the Turtle's Shell

We need to take a lesson from the turtle. Not everyone is going to be as supportive as we'd want. Not everyone is going to recognize the value of the long term vision we have. Some might sling some arrows, and having a hard exterior shell to protect us will be paramount.
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James LaPlaine
Mental Effort Archive

Christmas Routine (A Pseudocode Poem)

A pseudocode code representation of our Christmas day routine
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James LaPlaine
Technical Debt

Security through Immutable Infrastructure

Rather than the traditional approach of upgrading code on existing systems, with immutable infrastructure new code is deployed to a new set of servers. As teams adopt this approach, automation will improve, code coverage will increase, and your plan for business continuity will receive an uplift.
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James LaPlaine
Be Curious - A Statement of Culture: TBM Part 12
Mental Effort Archive

Be Curious - A Statement of Culture: TBM Part 12

There is an essential element of culture that aligns with IT transformation; creates happier, engaged employees; and establishes a sense of purpose. This element is the willingness and drive to Be Curious.
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James LaPlaine
Climbing a Tree, and Finding a Whole World
Reading

Climbing a Tree, and Finding a Whole World

Around the age of 10 or 11 I lived in a home
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James LaPlaine
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