Category Archives: Management Thoughts

Managing Creativity

Posted on September 16, 2016 by sinyaw

As I mature into management, I read less and less books about them. Most discuss a vigorous process which requires a transformation of the whole company. I don’t know any CEO who has such conviction; I am not one anyway. … Continue reading →

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Development Methodologies

Posted on June 27, 2016 by sinyaw

Modern software is a very unique art form that is similar to creative writing, yet different in scale, volume, and the number of people that must work together to produce it. Imagine a fiction 100 times larger than the encyclopedia … Continue reading →

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A Chef’s Decision

Posted on June 2, 2016 by sinyaw

There are many ways for restaurants to succeed, having a good chef is not really a necessity. The point is serving a well defined clientele what they want at a profit margin. In some cases, the restauranteur will be wise … Continue reading →

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(Pretend to) Learn Cooking

Posted on November 6, 2015 by sinyaw

Among corporate team building themes, cooking is a popular one: everyone must eat (and drink) anyway, the skills involved are manageable, everyone can contribute and must collaborate, and it is not really work related. There are also many professionally trained … Continue reading →

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The Lenovo Screw-up

Posted on October 30, 2015 by sinyaw

Someone recommended “Losing the Signal” for me to read. Put simply, it chronicled the Blackberry screw-up. I am witnessing the same for Lenovo now. It has been the workhorse laptop of corporations for decades. IBM made the most reliable and … Continue reading →

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The Cost of Knowing

Posted on October 3, 2015 by sinyaw

You came down with a headache and a fever. You took a couple of Tylenol, drank a big glass of water, went to bed, and the headache and fever were gone when you woke up. Are we done? Some have … Continue reading →

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Musician and Butcher

Posted on June 21, 2015 by sinyaw

He loves music since childhood. He went through vigorous trainings and entered a renowned music academia. Upon graduation, as life had it, he became a butcher. Decades ensued. Now he is a middle-aged and successful butcher. He has a happy … Continue reading →

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How to do Beta?

Posted on May 20, 2015 by sinyaw

To have high enough confidence that the product will be good enough. When company thinks they are done with the development of a new product, be it a new car, kitchen detergent, lipstick, or a piece of software. They would … Continue reading →

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Should I try to become a CS major?

Posted on May 4, 2015 by sinyaw

Got a question from a frosh in UCLA. It turned into an email conversation. Q: As of right now, I am studying Math/Econ, but I was also considering pursuing Computer Science along with math because I feel like it is … Continue reading →

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Vaccination Decision

Posted on February 8, 2015 by sinyaw

I have a very strong position on this question. But this blog is not about the medical merits of vaccination. It is about risk assessment and decision making. We human beings are not capable of evaluating very small probabilities. For … Continue reading →

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