I had great fun with my Devopsdays Amsterdam talk and the video is now online, joining the slides that I posted previously.
The last time I spoke at a Devopsdays was London 2013 (video here). That was another fun talk, and had some overlap in content, but I did feel that I tried to put too many concepts in a single 30 minute talk. My goal this time was to be much more deliberate and leave enough time for each concept. Where I ended up is a talk in three parts. Part one is cognitive psychology, how our mind generates an illusion of certainty where we don’t deserve it. Part two is Action Science and the Mutual Learning Model as a set of behaviours that appropriate for an uncertain world. Part three is the need for practice. This section uses the piano analogy and then — my big risk! — a live demonstration. A brave member of the audience joined me on stage to try applying the concepts I’d just discussed.
As you sit and watch this video I hope it is the final of section of the talk that makes the biggest impression. All the video watching, all the reading, all the learning will mean nothing if you don’t act, if you don’t practice and find the limits of your current abilities and then learn to move beyond them. And I’ll make the first step easy: Download the slides and try the exercise in the video. What would you say to Ted? Write it out and read it aloud. How did you do? Maybe you want to try again…
(Lots more great talks online at the devopsdays vimeo account.)
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[…] (As much as I embrace that message for myself, I’d warn non-managers from seeking solace in the article, from using it as a shield to deny their own accountability. Yes, the article says that it is an “insane employee” who will work to fix important but unglamorous problems, and that “the average person cannot comprehend the motivation of someone attempting such a feat”. Do you find solace in being average? In being powerless? I don’t. I think it is worth always seeking to improve, and to improve the organization I’m part of. I believe someone out there could improve the situation I’m in, so if I’m frustrated it is probably my fault.) […]
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