Doug's Blog Archives – Page 24 of 58

3 Jun 2011

Achieving Your Full Potential Starts With Health

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:45:29-06:00June 3rd, 2011|Categories: Current Events, Doug's Blog, Mindset and Motivation|

I just went through one of those smack in the side the head reminders. Actually I am still going through it.

Like many busy professionals and business owners, I was finding myself grabbing lunch and/or dinner out. In this section of downtown, there don't seem to be a lot of healthy choices for food. I made the mistake of stopping at Tim Horton's for their chili combo.

I ended up spending the night regretting that decision immensely. The regret continued into the following day and well into the next. I still regret it. I won't get graphic so let's leave it at bad chili.

I really feel sorry […]

26 May 2011

The Slippery Slope of Being a Horse Trader

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:45:45-06:00May 26th, 2011|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog, Leadership|

Back in the old days, horse traders were the equivalent of used car salesmen today.

Their business model was to buy horses cheap and sell them high. Reputable horse traders dealing with knowledgeable buyers were as close to a fair transaction as you could get. But in reality there were many not so reputable sellers and often buyers didn't have all of the skills or knowledge to price a horse correctly; buyer beware. As the saying goes, "a fool and his money are soon parted."

When you start or buy a business there are two ways of making money when you sell it.

Type […]

24 May 2011

The “Real” World Doesn’t Exist

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:45:51-06:00May 24th, 2011|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog, Mindset and Motivation|

Ok, the real world does exist… sort of.

The problem is that there is no truly objective way for people to observe it.

We all see the world through our senses which are interpreted by our brains and rationalized through our view of the world.

My reality is different than your reality. Nothing is real and everything is real. If your brain says it is real, for you it is real.

Say I'm riding public transit and see some drunk men acting obnoxiously and see them as slightly dangerous. My interpretation. The person sitting beside me sees the same men out having fun and […]

19 May 2011

Getting Better, Every Day

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:45:57-06:00May 19th, 2011|Categories: Doug's Blog, Leadership, Mindset and Motivation|

Imagine if everyone in your organization got a little better everyday. If you learned something or practiced something to make you a little smarter or faster or more efficient or… better.

In a business with 10 people, that would amount to 3650 steps to a better team every year.

Imagine if everyone in the business did something to make the business a little better everyday. Improved a process, went out of their way to connect with a customer, worked on building a stronger team, found a way to save a bit of money, found a better tool…

In the same sized business (working a […]

5 May 2011

Flow – The Ultimate State of Effectiveness

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:46:03-06:00May 5th, 2011|Categories: Doug's Blog, Leadership, Mindset and Motivation|

I just spent some time reflecting on the last 12 months of running and working in Sunwapta Solutions. This wasn't just daydreaming. My goal was to look at:

Where I spent my time versus where I should have spent my time?
When I was the most effective (getting results on important outcomes) versus just being really busy?
What can I stop doing or delegate?
Where can I focus my effort to get maximum results in the future?
What did I do well and what could I do more of?
What can I do better?
How can I remove any obstacles to getting results?

This is the process of […]

20 Apr 2011

You Gotta Want It: New Skill Mastery

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:46:09-06:00April 20th, 2011|Categories: Doug's Blog, Mindset and Motivation|

Apparently, when you start off to learn a new skill, your commitment level determines your chances of success more than the time spent practicing ("The Talent Code" by Daniel Coyle).

If you are passionately committed to becoming good at something over the long-term, you will likely do better at it than less committed people (or short-term committed people), even with less practicing.

This has to do with the urgency your brain associates with paving the superhighways that connect the neurons in your grey matter… something called myelin. That commitment plus the practicing ends up generating more and better superhighways than […]

18 Apr 2011

Run Like a Gazelle – Agile for Small Business

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:46:13-06:00April 18th, 2011|Categories: Doug's Blog, Leadership, Mindset and Motivation|

Most software developers have heard of agile development. Scrum, Extreme Programming (XP), Test Driven Development (TDD), etc.

Other business books such as "The E-Myth" talk about working "on" the business versus working "in" the business; and treating your business as a franchise prototype.

As a small or mid-sized business owner, you need to balance off:

Finding and servicing your customers,
Planning and executing your strategy,
Working on your business (making it better),
Working in the business (keeping it all running).

The problem is, every day you have a gazillion things to take care of. The world is getting more complex and faster paced by the minute. Your world is getting […]

14 Apr 2011

The Gap Between Intention and Reality

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:46:17-06:00April 14th, 2011|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog, Mindset and Motivation|

Most business owners see a gap between what they intend and where they really are.

You may have an intention to have a certain culture and live by certain values.

You may have an intention to follow a certain higher mission.

You may have an intention to implement a new vision and achieve certain goals.

This is all fine.

The gap between intention and reality creates movement; hopefully towards your ideal state. The larger the gap, the more movement (or change) required.

The Problems Start When…

The problems start when you sell the intent and not the reality.

You sell the intent to your customers but that is not what […]

7 Apr 2011

Did God Give Developers Brains?

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:46:27-06:00April 7th, 2011|Categories: Doug's Blog, Leadership, Software Development|

I just saw a tweet from @UncleBobMartin

"If programmers were meant to test everything, God would have given them brains."

Perhaps a little non-diplomatic. Maybe evoking religion into development discussions. Funny and thought provoking though.

Another person I know is facing the task of moving his organization to agile and meeting some resistance from the fabled "crusty old C++ developer".

How do you get others to move to what you consider is a better method of programming?

Persistence? Wear them down over time? The best religion wins?

The problem is developers tend to form camps, often with religious overtones. It is very hard […]

1 Apr 2011

Science Proves It – Calgarians Are More “Manly”

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:46:37-06:00April 1st, 2011|Categories: Books and Courses, Current Events, Doug's Blog|

Fishing 20921941_m
I was recently reading an article in the Okotoks Western Wheel titled "Alberta's fish are on drugs". When put together with other information I have come across I came to a startling realization.

Calgarians (actually western Albertans) are manlier for a scientific reason; and it has nothing to do with the Calgary Stampede.

The Facts About Fish

People take birth control pills and other medications in large quantities. Our kidneys are very efficient at removing these chemicals from our bodies. People then use the um, ah, well facilities and […]

Doug’s Blog

The Problems Start When…

The Facts About Fish