If you’re finding a job hard to do maybe the problem is a failing system.
Does each step flow seamlessly and inevitably into the next one?
I see this all the time with data flows.
Information is messy and fragmented, and we try to fix it with one-off interventions.
But those on-off tasks become repeated obligations and before you know it we’re working on a complicated monster of a system that’s almost certainly wrong.
That’s why I love the “small programs” idea that you get with Unix systems.
Build small tools that do one job well and connect them together to do complicated things.
It’s a philosophy that you see in organisations that have lean approaches – they focus on flow and better communication as a way to do things better.
And if you get this right, it’s as easy as going down a slide.
Wouldn’t it be nice if work were more like that?
Handcrafted insight 