Never Run Away from Your Job

Posted on April 29, 2013 by sinyaw

I have fell into this trap several times, each time it took considerable effort to crawl out, with scars visible to date. Never run away from your current job, however intolerable it is. Always run toward a better opportunity, whatever your own definition of better.

Begin by listing what you want from the new job, not what you hate about this job and don’t list the lack of bad as good either. Start your search and reject those that do not meet your criteria. When you find one, go for it.

  • I never had enough resources or time to finish my job properly. I was always rushed. I am sick of this.

    Do you know the new company you are going to is any different than this one? By the way, if they are, you probably should not join that company.

  • Their stock went up a lot more than ours. Had I gone there, I would be a lot more richer by now.

    Stock’s past performance is a poor predictor. And an investment decision has nothing to do with jobs. If you believe their stock will go up, just buy some. Why would you change jobs for that?

  • It does not seem likely that I will get any promotion soon here.

    Career structure is like a pyramid, there are fewer jobs as you ascend. Each level also faces increasing tougher competition. Everyone eventually reached the ceiling. When you join the new company, not only you will face the same level of competition, you also get the handicap of not having the strong social network that you have built here. What make you think that you can get ahead faster there than here?

  • There is no challenging projects here for me.

    If you cannot find challenges with your current job, where you have vast knowledge and long experience, why would the new company be any different? What you really said is that you wish to play in a new sandbox. But this company does not box you in either. So, it is merely a fatigue of the same-old. Well, get it over with.

  • They gave me more money.

    Are you saying that you will stay if I match the money? (Readers, this is a trick question.)

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H20

Posted on April 24, 2013 by sinyaw

The sin of the $4 Fuji water is the carbon foot-print and the price tag, not the waste of water.

Charles Fishman, armed with excellent research, preached to change our behaviors. As I plowed through the pages, the conclusion became evident and, ironically, the opposite of his agenda: there is really nothing that I can do. There is no shortage of water in Fuji, unless you want it clean and cheap. But not buying or drinking that square bottle of Fuji water cannot quench the thirst of any one in Fuji. If I take a shorter shower in Seattle, the saved water cannot irrigate those Almond trees in California central valley, or to grow rice in China.

First some fun factoids:

  • There are more water trapped in the rocks, hundreds of miles underneath the surface, than all the oceans added together.
  • Water is not the most abundant substance on earth. In fact, by weight, it is less than a tiny fraction.
  • It is quite possible, although no one knew, that earth’s water all came from the outer space.

The book is a series of case studies on how societies, with rare exceptions, horrendously mismanaged their water. He shouted from his tome, “The hell is upon you! We are destroying our future by not investing and managing water properly.” Sigh. Fishman could very well be right. But there are a long list of things we human beings are doing to destroy ourselves, or the future of our kids: mismanaging education program, mismanaging health care, dietary habits, pollutant of the year (ozone, CO2, plastics, pharmaceutical, etc.), self chemical injection (nicotine, alcohol, botox, etc.). I have the crisis fatigue.

Of all the crisis in the world, water is actually definitively not one, agreed by Charles Fishman too. This earth has sufficient water for all of us, way into the future. There is no shortage of water on earth. There are absolutely shortages, at crisis level, of clean, drinkable, available, and free (or ridiculously cheap) water, for pockets of population around the world. This seems paradoxically absurd, that there is no global problem but many local crisis.

Since transporting water is very difficult, water problems are all regional. If someone in Seattle drink one less bottle water, that one liter of water cannot be use to irrigate the rice paddy in China, to quench the thirst for a kid in Africa, or to relieve the pollution of India’s rivers. Secondly, we have technologies to solve all water problems. There are desalination, water treatment, transportation, etc. If there are sufficient will and resources, no one person will die from dehydration and all farms can be irrigated. We can built a nuclear plant to power a desalination plant large enough for all farmers in California central valley, instead of them waiting for the opening of Lake Mead. The Los Angelesians can recycle their water like Orange County, instead of relying on the channels that crawl all the way from the north.

All water crisis rooted from the single matter: price. The dust bowl in California central valley exists only because no one is willing to pay for the irrigation water: not congress, not California state government, not Californians, and certainly not those farmers. If someone else will pay, no one would have any water problems.

Technically, no one can really waste water, you can only use it unwisely or uneconomically. Water never goes away and is nearly impossible to destroy. We are all drinking dinosaur pees, or to that matter, our own.

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忧心

Posted on April 18, 2013 by sinyaw

去国后，几次几次的回北京，默默地看她变化。北京人都以北京为傲，但夸了门面后，也一定埋怨几句。热水煮青蛙，他们习惯了。我这不时的过客，看得忧心。

空气就别提了，朋友家三居室二百多米大，放了五个滤清器，没天没地的滤。停两天孩子就喘气又出疹子。滤网狠心买，有时还缺货，孩子的卧房一定开，客厅晚上就停了。出了城到河北，高速路边的广告牌，居然说“这里有呼吸的自由”。

朋友家的阿姨，住的地方传出禽流感。一下全家慌了，叫她别来家事没人干，来了又怕感染。说是这回不会人际传染，但是“我们能不小心点吗？”言下之意，把非典时代的记忆挖出来了，报纸电视说的，不一定。咱们小心点呗。

河北的农民，肥料政府给，不要钱。于是几十年来，土化验是强碱，废了。没肥料种不了任何东西。知道的人只买远地而来的“有机菜”，一周菜钱数千。没办法，要命还是要钱？

化学肥料养成强碱的土，成了工业废料，下雨全流进饮水源。我们人不敢喝，能给鸡鸭鱼猪牛喝瓶装水吗？有机饲料给它们吃吗？没事，给它们打针，猛打就不生病。怕了？你也可以只吃有机肉或进口肉。

全北京的人，都在隐隐的怕，默默的等，一天天的过日子。今天轮到不能开车挤地铁，明天注意不能吃鸡鸭，后天换空气滤网。放假敢紧跑去“自由呼吸”的地方。帮帮忙吧！

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Stable Marriage Algorithm

Posted on April 7, 2013 by sinyaw

March is the month that many families waited, anxiously, the result from NRMP, National Resident Matching Program. This centralized “exchange” determined the fate for almost every medical doctors in the US. Residency is the last stop of the long journey to become a real doctor. The program is pivotal to the career of the young graduates. “So, how do they (NRMP) do it?”, many asked this alleged computer software expert.

It is based on the, invented in 1962, Gale-Shapley algorithm. In 2012, Al Roth and Lloyd Shapley (namesake for the algorithm, picture from Economist.com) received Nobel prize for researches based on the this algorithm. It computes the stable matching: that the pairings are as good as they can possibly be.

The algorithm works quite simply: members from one side “propose” according to their preference. The other side will say “maybe” if the current proposal the best, otherwise reject. The subsequent rounds ensue with those yet to be “engaged.” Some of those “maybes” in the previous rounds can be broken when the proposed get a better choice in a later round. The algorithm ends when all proposers received an “engagement.” Supposedly, all pairs will then proceed to get married.

After NRMP, Al Roth and Lloyd Shapley moved on to solve kidney donation matching problem and saved many lives.

There are some well known “cheats” for this algorithm. One side can lock down a partner before the “settle date,” as in “early commitment” in college applications. Theoretically, both sides may lose: the student may miss out a better college and the college may not get the best students. The other cheat is to disguise the preference: rank the person differently than the true desirability. Or one can also reject certain candidates, forcing a no match even one should be possible. The kid ended up going stag because he/she will only go with her/him.

As long as people do not cheat, this algorithm gives the mathematically the best pairings. Sigh… How computers fail to solve the real life problems!?

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How to Command?

Posted on April 2, 2013 by sinyaw

New managers actually do not know how to “command and control.” Heck, many experienced ones don’t either. The class trap is to be explicit on the procedure and process. Do this, then do that, talk to that guy, then do that. They usually leave the intention ambiguous — too much explanation and not necessary. But the result is usually not satisfying: the subordinates felt they are mere robots carrying out mindless tasks; the manager is frustrated from the lack of innovation and motivation from the staff; the procedure and process become long and boring; people start to cut corners; worse, they do it only in form; management became tedious and tiring.

In modern “knowledge-based” world, the manager needs to communicate the “intention” of the decisions. There are several elements* in such communication:

What’s the purpose? Our troops need more supplies.
What’s the objective? We will secure the port so that supply ships can dock.
What is the processes, steps, tasks, that need to be accomplished in what sequence?
Why are we doing it this way?
The key points of the plan that would have force us to re-plan or abort. We suspect alternative sources of supply. In that case, we shall switch to plan B.
The things that should not happen, the goals that should not be reached. Civilians activities should be minimally impacted. The unloading equipment cannot be damaged.
The key constraints and conditions. Ships arrive in 18 hours. There will be no air-cover in this mission. Radio communications can only be done in these frequencies.

Memorize these points and make sure you cover them in your communication. In fact, the preparation for them will already make you a better manager.

*Gary Klein: the Sources of Power.

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One Country, One Marriage

Posted on March 30, 2013 by sinyaw

Years ago, I accepted a foreign assignment and convinced Kid and Wife to go with me. Unexpectedly, I needed to prove, to the other country, that this woman was indeed my wife. The destination country required a federal level document for such a proof. I was stumped. At the end, we had a State Department affidavit stating that US Federal Government recognizes my Californian marriage certificate. “How absurd,” I thought at the time. “How is it possible that Federal Government would not recognize that certificate!”

At a social event, I found myself talking to a judge (state level). I asked her, “If two people got married in the State of Washington, and one of them go to another state that does not recognize same-sex marriage, are they still married? For example, can one married again or, legally, evade child-support?”

She gave me a long explanation that my drunken brain stored as “It is messy.” And I realized that a same-sex couple wouldn’t be able to accept that foreign assignment, given DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act).

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They all come to Westlake Park

Posted on March 24, 2013 by sinyaw

Just after my bus was pulling out of the stop, two police motorcycles zipped in front and stopped all traffic. What’s going on? My fellow riders and I were expecting celebrity dignitaries. Then the protesters came. Worse. They took a turn into 4th Ave, exactly where the bus was supposed to go. There would be no hope, I got off and walked. Who protest on Friday evening, seriously!

There were about slightly more than two dozens protesters, many wore masks, two on bicycles, led a banner. About ten police motorcycles proceeded them to clear the traffic; a dozen or so more police on bicycles followed; another 10 or so, also on bicycles, flanked from the side to buffer the protesters from the by-standers on the sidewalk. Put it simply, there were more policemen than protesters.

Seattle Police has been known for their excessive use of force. There were several high-profile incidents, numerous TV and local news coverages, and a DoJ investigation that was not flattening. Seattlites also love to protest, sometime violently. Not a week will pass without some forms of picket lines on various causes. Most by-standers leave them alone. Shouting matches are not uncommon.

As I caught up with the protesters, I learned their cause: against police brutality. The chant was “peace and not police.” The spontaneous argument, passionately shouted out, were on the “facts” that Seattle is a police state that citizens are living in terror.

Now this is just ironic. Here we have a heavily protected protest against the protectors on the oppression and terrorization by the protectors. I chatted up with one of the police on bicycle. He took a political correct stance, “We protect everybody.”

The march ended, of course, at Westlake Park. Speakers, some in masks, took megaphones in turn, talked passionately, and demanded changes. Seattlites, as usual, gave them a glancing interest and kept on walking.

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Influence Everything

Posted on March 21, 2013 by sinyaw

Some defined “Management” as “to make changes happen effectively.” From there, many books and consultation practices flourished. One of them is VitalSmarts. They wrote several books and formed a consultancy to teach people exactly that: to influence changes on self, individuals, groups, the companies, or even the whole societies. For curiosity, mostly on the audacity of the claims, I checked out Influencer from the library.

The books, I think, can be summarized with this table. That people will change if two conditions are met: they have the motivation to change and the ability to do it. The book then broke these two factors into 3 levels: personal, social, and structural. It proceeded to give pointers on how to influence at each of the three levels for both motivation and ability.

Let’s see. I want to lose weight and I am capable of doing it. I have easy assess to a gym. Everyone in the whole world support me and believe in me. I have pretty much all the incentives. But I am not losing weight.

That’s pitfall #1: I was focusing on the result and not the behavior. I shall exercise more and eat sensibly. Again, let me check all 6 boxes: motivation & ability at all 3 levels: personal, social, and structural. Hmm… This is getting hard. Maybe I should sign up for a VitalSmarts seminar? Wait, what’s the point of reading this book if I cannot really influence a change on myself?

If changing the world is easy, as in we can learn it by reading a book, would there be more world changers by now? If an institute can teach people how to change the world, how come they are not doing it? This felt like a get-it-rich-quick book. The only person who’s getting rich is the seller of the book.

Good thing I got the book from the library.

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Myth on IP Theft and Offshoring

Posted on March 17, 2013 by sinyaw

Unlike many other crimes, Intellectual Property thefts are all premeditated, the perpetrators are usually well-educated and business savvy. Their goal is pure and simple: to make money fastest with minimal risks.

Since you are, too, well-educated and business savvy. How would you do it?

The best way is to do it legally. Identify a proven business model and copy that, not the technologies or implementations. Search, smart phone, internet auction, internet video, flat screen TVs, nuclear power plants, pharmaceutical, etc. Microsoft copied Lotus 123, Pepsi Coke. In fact, few businesses started without copying someone else.

Next attempt reverse engineering: get the product, take it apart, studied the hell out of it, and try to make one just like it. This defines the entire generic drug industry. It was pioneered by Americans and perfected by Japanese.

The last resort is to steal the IPs. Honestly, morality aside, stealing is simply less profitable. It is hard to make a billion dollars this way.

If someone holds you family hostage and forces you to steal IPs from a US company, how would you do it? If you want to steal a DVD, where would you get it? Of course you would just buy one from the any store in the US. What about the source code of some software? Think.

Go the target company’s R&D center, bribe an employee, done.

Would you wait for the company to set up a development center in the offshore country, work to become their head of operation, and disappearing over-night with all assets and employees. If you do that, you are too stupid to be a threat.

Managers who worry about IP theft from offshoring, get real. Those who wanted your source code have already got them, from your headquarters.

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The Case of Exploding Wine Bottle

Posted on March 12, 2013 by sinyaw

Sunday morning found a pool of sticky liquid on the floor, clear in color, no distinguishable aroma. It did not take long to trace it to bottle of dessert wine on the nearby wine shelf. The cork was hanging by a shred of the foil. After clean-up, we examined the bottle. The remaining wine was cloudy. It smelled alcoholic and sweet, quite normally. We used a coffee filter. The result was quite normal and drinkable.

I theorized that the fermentation was still going when we bought the wine, only slowly. The liquid in the bottle sealed it air-tight. The increased gas, from fermentation, pushed the cork, against only the foil and the friction. We knew which side won.

Normal dry wines, even Champagnes, left no sugar for fermentation. The system is stable if under reasonable ambient temperature. This is really only possible with sweet wines.

Lesson learned? Drink your dessert wine quickly, or store them vertically.

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