My Daily Thoughts
This life principle is about being honest in what we say, what we do, and who we are. When most people think about being honest
My view is that your life purpose is how you best use your uniqueness to create value in the world. Based on your DNA there
Life is a journey of discovery both looking inwards and the world at large. The first life principle is about approaching life with a spirit
June is the last month of the second quarter. The main focus of planning for the last month in a quarter is to complete the
A great free tool for online collaboration is IdeaBoardz.com It is simple a tool that allows multiple people to post sticky notes on different boards.
Attaining peace is simply letting go of all the thoughts that bind us. Simple, yet I am a long way from achieving it. For me,
Everyone has stress in their lives. As a person that ponders and overthinks, I sometimes make stressful situations more stressful. I find the best approach
The role of a business analyst is to understand the big picture as well as all the details. The big picture is what drives the
What went well? Consistent blogging for personal blog Business Analyst contract going well Created long-form blogging process in Obsidian Received my COVID vaccine What didn’t
A business analyst’s role is to facilitate a change in an organization that creates value. To facilitate that change you need to lead the affected
On any business analysis project, there are a half dozen high-level business requirements. These are the big business goals you are trying to achieve with
The importance of structure for requirements cannot be understated. The requirements are the building blocks of the change you are trying to make in an
An important part of your personal body of knowledge (PBOK) is to separate your notes into facts and interpretations. Facts are those understandings that you
Personal Knowledge Management Principle: Keep notes focused on one idea Your personal book of knowledge or PBOK is a collection of all your ideas. The
Nothing is ever black and white. There are always two sides to a story. There are no right answers so take the time to consider
Excitement and fear are the same When you feel one try to interchange it with the other. I have a set of workshops coming up
If I could send a message back to myself 25 years ago what would it be? I would tell myself to build many strong habits
The problem with many gurus is that they have a very specific path to get you from A to B. As soon as you deviate
When solving problems you don’t need to solve the whole problem at once. Take what you know and understand and see what you can figure
A business analyst needs to be aware of limiting their thinking based on understanding the current state. Initially, on most projects, the first task is
Determining the level of detail for requirements is an art. There are many factors that influence the answer. Who is using the requirements? What is
It is May 18th, 2021 and it is snowing. This happens every year. As soon as you think that winter is completely over we have
Ignore the title. Business analysis is all about problem-solving and creating value. That mindset, that experience, that focus will not help as a parent, especially
A key principle in business analysis is traceability. All the requirements that are gathered related to each other. Part of the reason that requirements are
Internal values define who you are as a person. They are the traits and attributes that you feel are important for you as an individual
The hardest step in creating the life you want is creating the discipline to work for that life. Creating discipline without a plan makes it
Everything a business analyst does comes down to creating value. The same way requirements are traced back to business outcomes, the business outcomes should be
Every business analysis engagement revolves around change that creates value. The value is going to be gained by the organization. The people and processes within
Value is exponentially rewarded. You will pay 10 for a mediocre meal You will pay 40 for a four-star meal You will pay $100 for
In designing a life there are two types of activities that you need to take into account; core activities and other activities. Core activities are
Here is a simple three-step process for living your ideal life. Contrary to what all the gurus say, this is a long, lifetime process. One
You are who you are not You are not your past … that is a different person You are not your future … that person
Now that I have my Life Design Planner in Obsidian another distinction I have made is my to-do list and the list of things I
Today at 4:51 PM I received my first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. I am now protecting myself, my family, my community, and the rest
Perspective without context is meaningless. Imagine you are lost and you call a friend. You: Hi, I am lost Friend: Just go straight ahead. Your
Strategy and planning are top-down activities. Creating and building are bottom-up activities. You can’t build without a plan. You can’t plan without knowing how to
One of the best pieces of advice I have read is that your morning routine starts the night before. Figuring out your day the night
I have noticed a few examples of where structure creates freedom in the last little while. A project manager who puts the right processes in
Plans are created top-down and future backwards. The creation of a plan starts with where you want to end up and works backward from there.
Just because there was a good outcome does not mean you made a good decision. Don’t evaluate decisions based on the outcomes, evaluate the process
Personality tests are a method of eliciting the current state of a person. Current state is a key strategy in business analysis even if the
Your audience is a reflection of your purpose. If you don’t like or respect your audience it could be that your purpose is out of
One of Ray Dalio’s principles is “Remember that people are built very differently and that different ways of seeing and thinking make people suitable for different jobs.” As a business
What does it mean to have a meaningful life? A meaningful life is a life with a purpose. A life with a purpose is aligned
As I said yesterday, I am in the process of moving my goals and objectives into Obsidian, so I thought I would share what I
I am in the process of moving my goals and objectives into Obsidian, so I thought I would share what I am learning. According to
According to JournaledLife there are ten life areas. A balanced life is when the appropriate amount of effort is put into each life area. For
For me, the gamification of activities I need to do on a regular basis works very well. Having streaks for the number of days that
The role of a business analyst is to facilitate change the results in an increase in value. According to IIBA The Business Analyst is an
As a business analyst, one question you should always be asking is WHY? Why is this requirement needed? Why is this feature needed? Why is
Who would you want as a guide if you were going on a 5-day backpacking trip? A world-class guide Someone who backpacked once overnight Someone
There is a span of time between an occurrence in your life and your automatic response to the occurrence. When we are present and are
What are your life values, those values that reflect what you most want to get out of life? Most people when they contemplate values, pick
Your brain is a pattern-matching machine. It will use whatever information it has available to help predict an outcome. The lack of information will not
Your vision for your life is what focuses what you do on a day-to-day basis. Everything you do either moves you closer to your vision
Yesterday I spoke about assets, the things you have. Today I am I want to talk about what you do. As a business analyst, I
One of the best pieces of entrepreneurial advice I have received is to build assets. While you are on your life journey, regardless of what
Limiting beliefs come from fear. Any time you have a limiting belief ask yourself the question; What am I afraid of? When you have the
Many people say they can’t come up with a life vision. Those same people, on the other hand, can tell you things they want in
Starting April 10th I am going to execute a 30-day experiment on meditation. I have a muse meditation band that measures my brainwaves as I
As a business analyst, one of the most important traits of a successful project is quality communication. Communication covers not just meetings and conversations but
Do you have a clear mission or life plan that you are executing? Without a plan, you are just living by random chance. One common
Dream Big with Your Goal! And … Take Action with Your Objectives A little bit of wisdom from JournaledLife.com Goals are the primary, broad outcomes
There is a lot to complain about in the world today, the pandemic, finances, politics, crime, the list can go on and on. But, if
Here is the list of books I am currently reading. So far “The Practice” by Seth Godin has been excellent. The Practice by Seth Godin
It has been a long year! It was more than a year ago the last time I was at Chapters having a coffee – one
We have been dealing with COVID for over a year now. It has forced many companies to handle their business remotely and has forced many
When management styles change or methodologies evolve we cannot forget where the methodologies or management styles came from. The old styles and methodologies worked, we
Today is the first day of the second quarter of 2021 Three questions to keep you focused this quarter 1. Do my goals still inspire
What went well? Consistent blogging JournaledLife course released Started new Business Analysis contract What didn’t go well? COVID restrictions fatigue What the plan for next
When you are driving someplace you have the belief that you will get there safely. An effective driving strategy is contemplating the things that prevent
Now that I have found Obsidian, am I going to throw OneNote away? The answer is …… No. I have too much in OneNote to
Started using Obsidian for my journaling and it has many advantages over OneNote. For me, I can use Obsidian the way that I think. I
Networking and relationship building has always been a core activity for business. It is still important but is now quite different. With the internet, you
One way to look at change management is as a series of mini-projects for each stakeholder that is going through the change. You need to
Roles are a way of grouping activities that you do, The grouping helps to give meaning and purpose to those activities. Cleaning up after your
I heard a quote along time ago and have never been able to find who first said it. This is a quote that is very
One of my favorite shows is Gold Rush. The sluice box that gold miners use to extract gold is a great metaphor for the type
Business process reengineering (BPR) is the practice of rethinking and redesigning the way work is done to better support an organization’s mission and reduce costs. – Business process
Today is the first day of spring, and with spring comes change. I took a look at the Obsidian note-taking app today and it has
One of my values is creativity. To make this value meaningful, I need to understand what the word creativity means to me and how it
There are three main questions you need to answer in your prospective client’s mind. Expertise: Do you have the expertise for what they need? Authority:
Question Type Description Business Analysis Use Closed Questions Questions where the answer is a Yes/No or a short fact. These questions are useful when confirming
Everyone is on a journey through life. Our role as entrepreneurs is to be a guide for some part of other people’s journies. There are
Systems thinking is thinking in an ecological way. Systems thinking shows how parts of an organization are interconnected. The interconnected parts have feedback loops that
One of my favorite metaphors for maximizing productivity is filling a bucket with water, sand, gravel, and rocks. You can get the most in the
The high business analysis approach on any new engagement is similar. The approach follows the 5 main steps 1. Understand the situation During this step,
The decision to create requirements with Use Cases or User Stories are based on four things Stakeholders Involved Developers Involved The complexity of the System
In the business sector, business architecture is a discipline[] that “represents holistic, multidimensional business views of: capabilities, end‐to‐end value delivery, information, and organizational structure; and
One excellent mindset for determining what are the most valuable tasks to be doing is the idea that you work for your future self. If
The internet has changed the world and still continues to change the world. One key activity for anyone in this online, connected world is publishing,
It is easy to understand how a specific, detailed life vision can help drive you forward to creating that vision. A mistake that many people
I believe everyone should have a vision for their lives. What I don’t believe is that the vision is the final, perfect, ideal, set in
How are happiness and fulfillment related? Happiness Fulfillment In the moment Long-lasting Temporary Lasting Provides motivation short term Provides motivation long term Day to day
What are the top three pieces of advice I wish I had 10 years ago? Create and publish content Creating and publishing content, like I
So much is published on the web with the purpose of making a sale. There are more and more videos, and pages written that start
If you are lost in the forest there are two types of guides that can help you find your way out. One type of guide
The “Straw that broke the camel’s back” idiom refers to a small change that has a big outcome. Usually, this idiom is interpreted for negative
People sometimes get the idea mixed up with their voice when they are putting themselves out there. There are far less ideas than there are
An effective mindset for entrepreneurship is that everything you do is a system. As a Business Analyst, I define a system of a collection of
What went well? Consistent blogging Course units for JournaledLife course nearing completion Investing returns still paying the bills What didn’t go well? COVID restrictions What
When people imagine the future, they do so by projecting who they are today into that future. Similarly, when they remember the past, they do
Everyone has biases, not everyone knows what their biases are. Biases have a direct effect on making decisions. There is the example of the world-famous
Making a good decision is not the same as picking a good outcome. It is possible to make a great decision that has a poor
One thing that COVID has taught us is another way of comprehending exponential growth. Instead of a rate of return, there is the R0 value
I believe that the core of marketing is helping your clients make an informed buying decision. Your marketing helps to educate your clients so they
Actually, Gandhi didn’t say this quote it is an interpretation of one of his quotes. That being said it is a great piece of advice.
I see the potential for a future where there is an all-in-one app for every niche no matter how small. For smaller organizations, the number
FOPYOT – Fear of putting yourself out there. Many of us, myself included have a fear of putting our thoughts and ideas out there. The
Finding your voice is not something that happens overnight. Finding your voice is not something that you stumble upon, it is something that you create
Business Analyst Principle: Questions are a key part of business analysis. The general framework I use for business analysis is Discover, Analyze, Innovate, Communicate. Questions
Decision-based marketing is a marketing approach based on the needs of the client. Decision-based marketing is creating awareness for potential clients to allow them to
One way to look at life is that it contains many puzzles that people are trying to solve. Each puzzle that we solve creates value
Business Analyst Principle: A picture is worth a thousand words. When it comes to communicating to clients what you have understood, analyzed, or innovated, a
There is an app called flow that I play with my son. We race to see who can get the puzzles finished first. The game
BA Principle: Meet stakeholders where they are. Business analysts are sometimes called change agents. As a change agent, your role is to help lead the
BA principle: To be effective a business analyst needs a deep domain understanding. The role of a business analyst is to facilitate change where the
One of my life values is fairness. I realize that life is not fair, luck and happenstance make it that way. Fairness, on the other
Life Design Principle: You are responsible for your life. The first step to creating a great life is to understand that you are responsible for
Business Analyst Principle: Understand how your stakeholders learn. The key to effective communication is understanding how the other person learns. Once you understand how they
A budget has dual purposes. The first is to track what money has been spent. It is a perspective of the past, of what has
Business Analyst Principle #1: Focus on value The main focus of a business analyst is to create value for the client. This is more difficult
I still have the first computer I ever bought. I keep it frame on my wall as a reminder of much things change. The computer
At times the line between process and tactics becomes blurred. Keeping these two concepts distinct will add value whether you are looking at it from
Fake news is a big issue on the internet. Facts are misquoted and used out of context. Opinions are stated as facts. Made up facts
The “Live the Adventure” logo I also created back in the ’90s It was first created as part of a group ski trip I was
The “Live the Adventure” tagline I created back in the mid-’90s as a personal affirmation that encapsulated my approach to life. I ended my journal
When designing a productized service define the deliverables at the beginning before you even have your first client for the productized service. If you have
What went well? Consistent blogging Road to Thrive website build product is days away from being complete What didn’t go well? COVID restrictions are still
There is a toothpaste commercial where it is stated that 4 out of 5 dentists recommend Colgate toothpaste. What people don’t get is that the
It amazes me how empowered individuals are these days. A person can publish a blog and have people all over the world read it. A
I have been providing business analyst services through my company White Pine Software Ltd since 1988. In 2011 I went through a corporate branding exercise
As a business analyst, I have always strived to create value. In the entrepreneur world, I am inundated with information about sales. Different ways of
As a Business Analyst, I have a biased perspective. There are three areas of the business analyst role that are ideally suited to innovation Understanding
There is a lot written in the media about the vaccine for COVID. Most of it is irrelevant to the decision to get vaccinated or
The 5-Why’s technique is business analysis technique for getting at the root cause of issues. You start by asking why in relation to the issue.
A key thinking style for business analysts is what I call opposite thinking. It’s is also called being a Devil’s advocate, but sometimes that role
First-principles is one of my favorite thinking styles. Consists of looking at whatever understanding you have and determining what are the underlying facts and principles
I read an article about Warren Buffet’s son that resonated with my current journey. Warren Buffett’s son ‘doesn’t regret’ spending $90,000 of Berkshire stock he
After creating the first 60 posts on this site I started to see my perfectionism creep in. These posts are for me to put my
There is an archetypal life journey for a service-based business that we call the I call the Road to Thrive. It is the journey we
The process that starts with a potential customer searching for an outcome The concept of searching for an outcome is especially prevalent for a psychologist.
One of my favorite shows is Gold Rush. It is a great metaphor for working through something to glean the nuggets of value within. The
If you get irritated or upset with feedback it is an indication that you are not taking responsibility. You are pushing off the change you