Hilarious experience last week and it shows why I place so much value in the 4 eyes approach to work. I reviewed a piece of data from a colleague regarding some quotes, made a number of adjustments and updates to the Excel and shared it back with the small team involved in the task at the end of the day. I get an email back from him overnight (paraphrased except for the key sentence): You are wrong, there is a mistake in here. I have waited 11 years to be able to say this to you. I read it, laughed as I knew I had rushed the end of the task myself and he was correct, I had linked a formula to the wrong cell. I did notice something looked slightly "off" with the answer but it was not so bad that it made me go back & look at the data before sending it out, I had planned to take another look in the morning to satisfy my curiosity. Saw him later that day, he looked me in the eye, smiled and said, you are usually telling me where I have an error, it took 11 years for me to find yours, I am going to enjoy my day today. I told him he should, he found the error I made, I was glad he found it and thank you for doing that. (while smiling) I have been a strong proponent of the 4 eyes approach for a long time and this is a perfect example of how it works. Sometimes the answer looks plausible enough that you just go with it, but when it is checked, the error is found. We all make mistakes, finding, correcting & learning from them is key. Which is why I am sharing a, fortunately non critical, error and what can be learned from it.
Andrew Haig, PMP, M.Sc.’s Post
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𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐈𝐭 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐚 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥? "𝐵𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑘 𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑗𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑒𝑦, 𝑖𝑡'𝑠 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑦𝑧𝑒 ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑖𝑡 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒. 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑎𝑣𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛." - 𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑜𝑛, 𝑎𝑢𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑜𝑛'𝑠 𝐿𝑎𝑤. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐭? The answer to this question depends on many factors, such as your experience, education, skills, and dedication. 𝟏. 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐬: The first step is to estimate the time needed to master the skills listed in the previous post. 𝟐. 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: Create a timeline that will be convenient to use: ⦾ Study plan: ◦ Break down the learning of each skill into stages (e.g., theory, practice, application). ◦ Determine the time for each stage. ⦾ Reading plan: ◦ Select books and articles that will help you develop the necessary skills. ◦ Make a list and distribute them by days/weeks. ⦾ Video watching plan: ◦ Find educational videos on topics that interest you. ◦ Make a list and distribute them by days/weeks. ⦾ Audio listening plan: ◦ Choose podcasts that will help you grow in your profession. ◦ Make a list and distribute them by days/weeks. 𝟑. 𝐑𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: ⦾ Five-hour rule: ◦ Allocate at least 5 hours per week to self-education. ◦ Use this time for learning, reflection, and experimentation. ⦾ 10,000-hour rule: ◦ Remember that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to achieve mastery in any field. ◦ Don't be afraid to try new things and make mistakes. 𝟒. 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: ⦾ Reduce the time planned for skill learning by 10%. ⦾ This will create a "sense of urgency" in your brain, and you will be more motivated to learn. 𝟓. 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲: ⦾ The key to success is consistency. ⦾ Follow your plan and don't procrastinate. 𝟔. 𝐄𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬: ⦾ Learning new things is not just work, but also pleasure. ⦾ Find ways to make learning interesting for you. 𝑅𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟: ⦾ 𝐸𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑠 𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑒. ⦾ 𝐷𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑡𝑜 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑠. ⦾ 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑟𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤𝑙𝑒𝑑𝑔𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓-𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡. 𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 for more tips on becoming a successful financial analyst!
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A certain experience has forced me to meditate on a need for systems in doing everything. I've observed the following things when there is lack of a known system in doubt something. 1. Confusion; Everyone involved in the process even if it's a single individual will be confused and that confusion leads to the next thing. 2. Choas; Because of a lack of direction which causes confusion, chaos becomes inevitable. Things get unorganised and rowdy pretty quickly, more so when the scenario involves a group of people. 3. Fatigue; Confusion and chaos themselves are tiring coupled with the energy it actually takes to do what was originally trying to be done. 4 Frustration; Everything I've listed above leads to one thing frustration. And frustration causes a downward spiral of the above occurrences all over again getting worse with each spiral. The point of this gist? To build efficiency in every facet of our lives, systems must be built if it is a process then a system can be built around it, and life is a process. BUILD SYSTEMS (This is unrelated to my usual posts about my learning journey but I felt the need to branch out on this one)
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Oh! I made a mistake! You are required to solve problems in day to day working. You may make mistakes while attempting this. Mistakes means Rework and which means loss of time and resources. Mistakes in a situation of urgency and repeated mistakes may be irritating. You should strive to be an "Efficient Problem Solver". There are many approaches to how do we solve a problem and how do we see the mistakes done. 1. Mistakes are Learnings - Congratulations, you have made a mistake. If you don't make mistakes, how do you learn. Mistakes means that you tried to do something. "Girte hain Ghudsavaar hi Maidan-e-Jung mein, woh kya khak girenge jo ghutno ke Bal chalte hain" 2. Practice bring Perfection - Mistakes should not be repeated. If the process is well established, you must practice a lot to bring accuracy and zero mistake level. 3. Try alternate methods to get the desired result - Still not achieving desired results? Some problem in Process itself. "if we keep on doing a work in a particular way, we get the same results, so think of a different way (process) to get different (better) results. Plan, Do, Check and Act is based on assumption that we may not be accurate and hence checking in between is required to take corrective action. 4. Try alternate methods to get the desired results faster. In exams, Many times, we get the right answer, but it took most of the time and we couldn't attempt all the questions. Result is less marks. We need to look out for methods to do error free work faster and efficiently in day to day work. Senior needs to get a trust that there is no need to check your work. 5. Upgrade Skills - Sometimes, we learnt some skills 'later' to solve a problem faster and easily. We need to keep on looking for availability of such skills and keep on upgrading ourselves. Learn using latest technology such as AI. Continuous Learning. 6. First Time Right - If the time and resources are scarce and process is not evolved, you are expected to do it "First Time Right". There's no scope of PDCA. Use all experience ( of yours as well as others) and Anticipate the roadblocks. Plan your Process to avoid any chances of failure or shortcoming. We must PLAN to achieve the desired result in first attempt. Do You Agree?
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LI is platform for professional and full of competition. Have you ever asked yourself how you can remain the best in your field. Don't worry I got you covered 👇👇👇 Here are 3 ways you can remain the best and at the top in your field: >Never stop learning:The world of today is constantly evolving and if you don't keep up with it you will be left behind. Make it an habit to learn something new in your field daily.Knowledge is power, more you learn more you become powerful. If your not growing your dying ***************************************** >Practice consistently:This is the bridge between where you are now and where you want to be. Be consistent, deliberate and patience and results will follow you (success takes time) ***************************************** >Learn from the best:Identify the best in your field then study their journey and mindset how they approach life. Then take action. Remember Excellence is never an accident it's always the result of high intension, sincere efforts and intelligent exercusion. Am Washingtone Morey upcoming Data Analyst. Shall be processing, analyzing data to uncover insights, trends, and patterns that help you as an organization to make data driven decisions Hit follow button
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Here's another thing I have learned about working with complex systems My impression is that one ends at the realization that you actually "know" very little - but that little bit turns out to be quite valuable and maybe the best we can do. Why is that? I think it is because we often start with assumptions that help to reduce the complexity of a situation - that help us think it is understandable and that we have the right answer - so that we can take action. We have a static conception of the system and how it works which gives us enough security and certainty to act. After some time we see our model is too simplistic and unsustainable and it breaks down. After going through this a few times we are more open to the idea that we may not know the answer. However, if we have been reflecting and learning then we will have by that time started to discern some patterns. Even though these patterns may be quite few and relatively simple they turn out to be important because they are emerging from practice. With these, we can begin to develop some heuristics that start to aid us in working with the system. Although this doesn't sound or look very good to others - and you will have to give up the idea that you are an "expert" because you realize that you now know quite little - it turns out to be very useful in practice. The main reason for that is because you now start with a recognition of uncertainty, and recognize there is no right answer, there are multiple ways to do things. You start to hold what you say and know much more lightly and are more open to trying different things. We stop letting what we think we know get in the way of what is possible and things become more fluid and dynamic. We may even gain a sense of how fluid and dynamic things can become before they become chaotic and dysfunctional and learn to navigate that edge of chaos successfully. What are your thoughts, do you have any experience of this in your work that you could share?
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I hate using the word Hack but I can’t really find a better word to describe what I’m about to share. So.. for anyone who’s always busy, here’s a time hack for you - Stop using time as a measurement of time. Start using time as a measurement of DISTANCE. I know, this will f*** with your mind. But stay with me here. Let’s say you want to go from 0 to 1 million in net worth, and the typical time to achieve that is 10 years, the “distance” between 0 to 1 million will equal 10 years. In other words, by moving at “normal speeds”, you will need 10 years to go from 0 to 1 MM. And if you operate linearly like 99% of the population do… aka, trade the same amount of time for the same amount of progress… the time required for you to cover that distance will be fixed. But according to Einstein’s model, time does not work the same way for everyone. Depending on your speed, time will slow down or speed up for you. That said, if you want to ‘compress’ your time to achievement, the focus should not be to get busier, because busyness is what causes time to achievement, the focus should not be to get busier, because busyness is what causes time to speed up. Instead, the focus should be to find an alternative pathway (think Wormholes), that will allow you to move faster and cause time to slow down for you. I.e. Instead of spending 20 hours per week on repetitive tasks, spend 2 hours per week training a VA to handle repetitive tasks for you. I.e. Instead of spending 10 hours to acquire 100 leads, create an alternative pathway that’ll allow you to acquire 1000 leads in the same amount of time. 0000 THIS is what will allow you to cover 10 years’ worth of distance in 1 year instead. And in turn 10x your progress (distance traveled) with the same time expenditure. To sum this up into a practical step – If you want to create progress faster, don’t increase work hours, increase speed instead. speed up. Instead, the focus should be to find an alternative pathway (think Wormholes), that will allow you to move faster and cause time to slow down for you. I.e. Instead of spending 20 hours per week on repetitive tasks, spend 2 hours per week training a VA to handle repetitive tasks for you. I.e. Instead of spending 10 hours to acquire 100 leads, create an alternative pathway that’ll allow you to acquire 1000 leads in the same amount of time. 0000 THIS is what will allow you to cover 10 years’ worth of distance in 1 year instead. And in turn 10x your progress (distance traveled) with the same time expenditure. To sum this up into a practical step – If you want to create progress faster, don’t increase work hours, increase speed instead. 😉
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Show your working. Not my favourite thing, but necessary. Being asked to step through every line of problem solving used to drive me NUTS at school. If you can see the solution, why do you have to show all the steps along the way? Just write the darned answer and be done with it, was my thinking circa 10 years old. I quickly learned the upsides. With an exam, there's a benefit if you get the answer wrong. The marker might be able to pinpoint where you went wrong and give you partial marks for the bits you got right. There's also a benefit for you learning. Someone can see where you went wrong and help you correct that little piece so you don't repeat your mistake. Much more time effective than teaching the whole concept from scratch. I am coming the conclusion that it's the same with language. I often leap two or three steps ahead in my conclusions. Not everyone gets my working intuitively, nor should they. Some of it's not as obvious as I think it is. Whether I'm right or wrong in my final answer doesn't really matter if I can't get people to see how I got here, so they can work out which bits work for them and which bits don't. So, I'm going to show my working more. Even with the character limit on here meaning I have to sacrifice more space on the conclusion 😆
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You are in a really difficult situation with a challenging customer. You are at the peak of your frustration and feel like giving up. We've all been in such situations. What do you do? I've gained my most valuable learnings from these situations. I often see people wanting to move away when such things happen. However, it's these high-pressure and tough scenarios with customers that teach you things you would've otherwise never learned. Next time you find yourself in such a challenge, hang in there! Remember that it’s a great opportunity for learning. And if you manage to turn a dissatisfied customer into a happy one, there's no better feeling. You'll look back and be proud of how you handled it. How did you handle such situations?
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