Ask, don’t tell

Saying “I’m doing a couple of projects on Content, L&D, and Knowledge Management consulting now” is less effective than “do let me know if you knew anyone who needs help with their content strategy, L&D, onboarding, training, and enablement”. Be more direct. even if you think it’s obvious, even when you knew they do have…

The power of saying something out loud

At the risk of sounding socially inept and imperceptive, until very recently I’ve underestimated the magic and power of the act of 1) saying something out loud, 2) being witnessed, and 3) witnessing others in relationships. “If you put shame in a petri dish, it needs three ingredients to grow exponentially: secrecy, silence, and judgment.…

[30hbc] Paying for conversations and miscellaneous

idk what it is about conversations that allow them to draw insight out of you with ease. Looking at prompts and exercises in workbooks, I don’t feel motivated to work on them. It’s different than if I imagined someone asking me those Qs. The latter feels more effortless and engaging. I guess this is what…

Get back into the habit of writing (yet again)

So. As part of my latest attempt in untangling this writing paralysis, last Tuesday I promised my therapist to publish two posts to Substack by the end of today. I had one full week but only started dusting off my writing environment on Saturday. Tinkered with some drafts, captured new ideas, but unable to fully…

What are people trying to do with data? JTBD and DMCA

Why do people want data? What do people use it for? What are they trying to do, really? Put simply, four verbs: Decide, Monitor, Create, and Automate. Let’s first look at something called the JTBD framework. JB.. what? Jobs-to-be-done. Here’s a good description: https://www.productplan.com/glossary/jobs-to-be-done-framework/ The jobs-to-be-done framework is an approach to developing products based on…

Different levels of readiness when embarking on web data projects

I know I said we will look at different ways people use web data this week, but I realised there’s one other thing related to the six challenges worth discussing before moving on. It is the different levels of readiness / maturity when people embark on web data projects. I call it: “data-needs journey”. By…

The curse of freedom

Unbounded freedom, infinite possibilities, and illusive empowerment can make the best prison. What do I mean by that? One example: The things I’m currently insecure about are things I think I can change: thinning hair, protruding belly, and verbal communication skill, to name a few. While my flat-bridged nose or square jaw feel more “it…

Scaling: The Third Challenge in Web Data Acquisition Project

Sometimes you find that your current setup doesn’t give you the sufficient data to achieve your business goals. You might feel the need to increase the frequency, add the breadth of the data collection parameters for example keywords, zipcodes, categories, or add new data sources. You need to scale the project. What do you need…