Aligning people towards their objectives – The OAR principle

It is pretty obvious (though far from always being done) that individuals’ goals should be aligned with the organization’so objectives. But we also have to pay attention to ensuring they have the proper resources (including abilities, skills), and the proper authority to be effective when pursuing their goals. Just consider the cases when you lacked either or both authority and resources to achieve your objectives, and think how frustrated and helpless you felt.
So … We should design our organizations in a way that align folks’ “OAR”s :
– their Objectives
– their Authority
– their Resources
Of course I am assuming here that people who have control over their destiny will be more productive than if they are frustrated and helpless. Some leaders believe in politics and FUD instead, that is another problem altogether 🙂

Virtual Unreality by Charles Seife – your guide to the internet revolution

Just read “Virtual Unreality” by Charles Seife. Don’t be deceived by that book’s silly cover, the content is really solid, it’s a real “Guide to living in the Internet Era”!
There is too much great content to summarize, and the book reads very very well, so let me just list a few of the things that are covered :
– how the ability to copy information reliably, at no cost, and instantly, creates a new paradigm shift, equivalent to the Gutenberg printing press.
– how that allows fast the spreading, and persistence, of hoaxes, crazy theories, and generally false information
– the multiplication of fake identities, “sock-puppets”, and AIs pretending to be real humans
– the reinforcement of beliefs and increasing isolation of different groups, as their sources of informations becomes more and more focused towards catering to their particular credos
– gamification and social networks
In a world of massive data availability, we need help in finding the information that is relevant to us. But so far, real “curators” have lost to bots and money-driven schemes, which poses a real threat, as we become literally manipulated and end up wasting our time and intelligence to the profit of others. As a result, we better become aware of how information is being served to each of us, and learn how to control our destinies in this new world ! This will make the difference between the Internet spurring the birth of a new Age of Enlightenment, or our heading towards a true Idiocracy.

Amazon link

Words from my grand-father

His name was Charles Albert. He was a gentle, funny, loving man. He had an influence on the people around him that few famous people or big leaders have had. His “claim to fame” was his fight in the french resistance, and he jotted down a few pages on that after he retired, which my grand-mother (another amazing person), has kept very preciously.