When I talk about planning work, no matter what it is, (strategy, OKRs, user stories, jobs-to-be-done, goals, *whatever*) I always get questions about "altitude" or "grain-size." And, because I write about Outcomes, and my book is called "Outcomes Over Output", people assume that I think that all of these statements should be based around an outcome of some sort.

Let's talk about what McConnell said yesterday. In the narrowest sense, he's right: 45 does have the right to see this process through, and he is within his rights to seek the protection of the courts. But... Just because he has the right to do something, doesn't mean he should. This is called forbearance, and it is critical to a functioning government.

I can’t be the only person who thinks that WestWorld has lost it’s way in Season 3, right?

(A thread about @WestworldHBO. No spoilers.) I think it’s because they fundementally changed the storytelling logic of the show.

In Season 1, they established clear, easy-to-understand game rules. Hosts behave like this. Humans behave like that.

So I had to renew my driver's lic and get an enhanced ID. I've heard horror stories:

NY Times: nytimes.com/2020/02/18/nyr…

Wife: took me 5.5 hrs.

So... here's what happened: I made a reservation, and though it took me a few minutes to check in, when I got to the counter, the woman checked me in, handed me a numbered ticket, then the looked around for a security guard!

I work with technology and digital product teams who create and roll out apps, very much like what the state party in Iowa just very publicly failed to do. Here's my take. /1 First, the NY Times reported that, in some precincts, as many as 7 of 10 target users didn't even download the app. In other words, the basic problem here was that people didn't use the system. /2

Last year, @Boogie and I began teaching a new class:

jeffgothelf.com/event/live-onl…

I was reminded of the first time we taught together, and how we've learned, both as teachers, and about the material itself. /1 @Boogie I think our first class together was in 2011. (Let's say +/- 1 year.) We were luck to land a 12-class gig to teach #leanUX to a client with offices around the world. The gig went well and was expanded. We probably taught that 2-day class 20+ times over the next year or so. /2

This morning my next-door neighbor came rushing over to my door. “Josh! I need your help!” She sounded agitated, and as I opened the door she told me, “there’s a squirrel stuck in the fence between our back yards. I need you to hit the fence with this hammer to release him” I took the hammer from her, though I was dubious.

Our houses are attached row houses, so I went back through my house to my yard, and she went back through to hers.

Sure enough, there was a squirrel whose hind leg had somehow gotten wedged between two fence pickets.

The healthcare insurance system in the US amounts to a criminal conspiracy to defraud the American people. It is state-sanctioned robbery on an enormous scale.

#wenowreturntoourregularprogamming. OK, your likes and retweets have inspired me to turn this into a thread:

I am fortunate to be able to pay $30k/yr in healtcare premiums.

@miniver @lissijean One of the challenges here is that context matters. It is possible to design the bulk of a system in advance. In some cases , that makes a ton of sense. In others cases, the same approach makes very little sense. So.... @miniver @lissijean ... designers (& teams generally) would do well to understand the nature of the domain, and select their design approach intentionally. Sometimes you have to set the system in motion to understand the behaviors that will emerge. Sometimes, you have more predictable contexts...

I'm going to tell you about a method called "All Roads Lead To Rome."

Startup founders, pay attention. /1 As a founder, you have an idea for a product or service that does so many wonderful things. The possibilities are endless, and you can see them all.

That's your your vision. Your bright, shiny city on the hill. Your vision. Let's call that city "Rome." /2

This pair of tweets neatly capture the conflicted feelings in the design community about #agile.

On the one hand, designers embrace emergence. On the other, we are hostile to agile, a system created to handle emergence. /2

On Monday, I discovered I had a torn retina. I was told I needed immediate laser treatment. Without this treatment, the tear would get worse, and I would risk losing all sight in my left eye. /1 A technician asked if I would consent to the treatment. He told me that because of my insurance, I would owe "10%" of the cost. /2