Shipulski On Design

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What do you say when someone in power over you asks you to do something that violates your ethics?  Do you say yes because you know it’s that’s what they want and avoid conflict? Or do you say no because it’s unethical from your perspective?  Seems like a no-brainer, right?  A hard no, 100%.  And […]

If you try to change what you cannot, your trying will not bring about change. But it will bring about 100% frustration, 100% dissatisfaction, 100% missed expectations, 0% progress, and, maybe, 0% employment. Here’s a rule: If success demands you must change what you cannot, you will be unsuccessful. If you try to change something […]

When you do something for a long time, the physical and mental muscles you exercise get stronger and you get better at that activity.  But where the muscles you use get stronger, the ones you don’t use atrophy and you get worse at all the other things. When you do something for a long time, […]

With projects, there is no partial credit.  They’re done or they’re not. Solve the toughest problems first.  When do you want to learn the problem is not solvable? Sometimes slower is faster. Problems aren’t problems until you realize you have them.  Before that, they’re problematic. If you can’t put it on one page, you don’t […]

If you believe you can’t do something, you can’t. If you try something and it doesn’t work, you might be able to pull it off next time. If you believe you’re not good enough, you’re not. If you try something and it doesn’t work, you’re still good enough. If you believe someone’s opinion of you […]

If something’s in the way, call it by name and move it out of the way. If that something is a technical problem, figure out what’s blocking the solution and move it out of the way. If that something is a person, try to understand what’s motivating their blocking action.  Don’t call their behavior a […]

What happens when you bring your whole self to work?  Are you embraced, rejected, or ignored? If you’re not invited to meetings because you ask difficult questions, what does that say? When you call someone on their behavior, does that get you closer to a promotion? When you’ve done the work before but no one […]

X: When will you be done with the project? Me: This work has never been done before, so I don’t know.   X: But the Leadership Team just asked me when the project will be done. So, what should I say? Me: Since nothing has changed since the last time you asked me, I still […]

What does it mean to have enough? If you don’t want more, doesn’t that mean you have enough? And if you want what you have, doesn’t that mean you don’t want more? If you had more, would that make things better? If you had more, what would stop you from wanting more? What would it […]

I was invited to an important meeting.  Here’s how it went. I was invited to an important meeting.  I want you to attend with me. I was invited to an important meeting with my boss.  Will you join me? I was invited to an important meeting but I cannot attend.  Will you go in my […]

When you have something special but don’t know it, the Universe is there to take it away from you so you can appreciate what you no longer have.  Seems backward, but the Universe knows how to be a good teacher. When someone asks you to help them, but you know they are asking for the […]