In a press release from Harris Interactive and 360 Youth “Technology use remains a vital part of college students’ daily lives and continues to show significant growth. Ninety-five percent (95%) of college students are online. Sixty-five percent (65%) of online college students use broadband Internet access compared to 37% in the general online population(1), reinforcing that college students are the most connected demographic to date.”

Wow, we all know that our youth are quicker than ever to adapt to technology, but this is beyond amazing. What dramatic shifts in business, education, government will be wrought by this shift? Who will be able to mobilize this demographic to wield the power they don’t even know they have?

I went to some preliminary meetings for the project yesterday. Every occasion like this so far has been a dramatic demonstration of the reality of what’s happening. As things go, it was a fairly exciting task. I met with the purchasing department and with a potential vendor. Both these encounters turned out to be very cool. Through the purchasing department I met a potential student software engineer. He was asking a lot of questions, and seemed very interested. You could almost see the spark of hope spring to life within him. I tell you, that spark quickly consumed his mind, and he almost had smoke coming out of his ears. I could tell that the thought of someone building a software development laboratory on campus using Linux and all open source software was blowing his mind.

My next meeting was with the local Sun Microsystems representative. Although we originally planned on getting SunFire servers, we are reconsidering. A 64-bit architecture looks like the way to go. Sun should have a lot of interest in our project, and yesterday’s meeting hinted at that interest. I look forward to negotiating with them in the future…

All in all, it was a very intense experience sharing the project with some new people. I was proud to hear about what we are planning to accomplish, and even more excited seeing them respond with interest. We are breaking ground here, and I hope that everyday makes me feel like I did yesterday.

In a recent SlashDot story was about an article Eric Sink posted in MSDN. All rhetoric and dogma aside, I found the article interesting and inwardly stimulating. Repeating what many are now saying, including Tom Peters, the article is entitled “Make More Mistakes”. A slogan I have adopted recently is “NO FEAR!” However empowering this all may seem, Eric does drop one jewel among his valuable anecdotes. A demanding introspective caution: “There is no substitute for knowing your own abilities and limitations.”

A most valuable reminder, indeed. Me being the reflective person that I am, I could not resist taking a shot at reminding myself of my limitations. I’ve already been through my strengths, skills and abilities quite a few times since After Corporate America’s Death (ACAD). Although probably a revealing and potentially compromising confession, I feel by sharing these limitations I now know where I have to focus my continuing education program. In no particular order:

1. too trusting
2. dislike relationship politics
3. believe in fairness
4. lack organization
5. weak finishing or delivering projects
6. pride, arrogance
7. dislike administrivia
8. lack experience in building empowering relationships.

When I make mistakes on this project, I’m sure they are going to be in one or more of these areas. However, I believe there is another disclaimer that must accompany the “Fail Faster, Succeed Sooner” mentality, which is the unbreakable rule: “Never make the same mistake twice!” Yes we should learn valuable lessons from making mistakes, but more than anything we should learn never to make the same ones again. 03

One of the principles for extreme programming is metaphor. As a way to simplify how your team visualizes the project, you need a metaphor. This is a real tricky one, I’ve heard of teams using sandwich, assembly lines, containers or whatever as metaphors. What I can’t understand is how a metaphor or analogy helps a team latch onto a common solution.

In my experiences I like to refer to creating a common story as a vision. For me, vision is a good metaphor (ha, I couldn’t resist) because it describes the actual process I use to keep everyone straight. I keep everyone straight by keeping myself straight. I do this through a model of the solution I build in my mind, a vision of the solution or execution plan. Whenever I meet with my development team, I consistently refer to my mental vision to orient my agenda, my answers, and my requests. This consistency provides the anchor for the team to innovate around. All innovation is good as long as we can tie it into the vision.

This vision becomes even more powerful if I can recreate this model in the teams minds. If they share the model, then we can truly unleash our collective creative forces. This challenge is the role I believe the metaphor must fulfill. It is a tool to help me transfer my mental model of the solution to my entire team. If I can effective complete this transfer, then I feel confident that the team will deliver the solution needed.

I have learned that one of the most effective tools in transferring complex models is through the use of stories or story boards. In fact if you recall, user stories is the tool XP uses to capture the interaction between the user and the solution we will build. So why shouldn’t we also use a type of story for the project lead to communicate the process and intracies of building that solution to the project team?

I’ve never tried to identify a metaphor for the systems where I have lead the development, but I have used my internal vision and the storied I relate to communicate that vision. My challenge now is to do what I have always done, but to add on the final act of condensing my vision into a metaphor. In fact, I already have most of my internal model built, just now I need to write the stories to bring that model to life and finish with a summary of those stories in the form of a metaphor.

Well, that resolved itself pretty quickly. One of the hardest lessons we can learn is to pay attention to our gut. Those gut level feelings that keep bugging you. They won’t let you stop thinking about something, it just keeps nagging, Nagging, NAgging, NAGging, NAGGing, NAGGIng, NAGGINg, NAGGING, NAGGING. Somewhere along the line, we’ve learned to tune that nagging out. I have learned that tuning out those nagging feelings is a bad idea. A VERY BAD IDEA!

So with more thought about our little content management system dilemma. I stumbled over an awesome hack for our project. I’m positive that this strategy will get us ranked among the most active projects in sourceFORGE. I’m so confident, that I’m going to throw out some predictions. These are really off the cuff, so you can bite me if they’re wrong:

1. Greater than 0.10% activity – 02.17.04
2. Top 10,000 – 03.31.04
3. Top 5,000 – 05.12.04
4. Top 2,500 – 06.03.04
5. Top 1,000 – 06.25.04
6. Top 500 – 07.16.04
7. Top 100 - 07.25.04

The moral of this is that we are smarter than we give ourselves credit. When we listen to our inner guidance, inner voice, intuition, Holy Spirit, or whoever might speak to you through hints, notions, or silent nagging. I believe this is your smarter self trying to tell you that something is either very wrong or that you are getter nearer to a breakthrough. So the next time you feel that gentle nagging, pay attention; you might be ready to bust out and innovate your way to success.21

The transition from the warmth and comfort of COTS to open source has had it’s ups and downs. You certainly get a chilling experience from most projects. I spent almost a week now trying to get a content management system running for SNAP. We’ve had limited experience. Using our temporary hosting service is not making things any easier. But the bottom line is that I’m wondering what I’m doing. Should I be spending my time writing and planning? Is it too soon to begin developing relationships? Should I be finishing my reading backlog instead?

Certainly, if the project installs had went flawless. If administering the sites would be simple. If, if, and more if’s. I believe this is important. It is all the more important coming from the corporate IT world, where there is always a posse in one form or another to back you up. Open source is mostly a different experience. I need to live that experience. I need to witness how bad is bad. Only then will I know firsthand, what I don’t want to create with SNAP. I’ve lived the traditional experience for 17 years. Now it is time to live the open source experience and live to tell about it.

I squirm impatiently, day by day waiting for the signed contracts. That’s when the real “fun” starts. So much to remember, so much to share.

I’m currently doing research for a presentation proposal for O’Reilly’s Open Source Conference 2004. I came up with a strategy to get us into the show. Based on our experience, we want to illustrate to other open source project leads, that there was, is, and will be funds available to run their projects.

The good news, is I was right. Recently, there have been several large grants made to open source projects and universities building open source software. Many might be familiar with the famous Open Source Application Foundation and their recent grant. However, I found several other grants to Indiana University (Yeah, go Hoosiers!) and the University of Michigan.

With the recent announcement by President George W. Bush and his “Jobs for the 21st Century” there is likely to be much more money available for creative open source project leads.

Let’s face it all computers crash. There are so many points of failure, that there is not one computer, which will not crash. Sure, we can get close, triple 9’s, maybe even quadruples, but not 100.00%. However, are there any mechanical devices we have that wonÂ’t eventually fail?

The difference is, that you and I can’t afford to keep our computers even in the high 90%. Once again, there are many points of failure, and many of them open for our manipulation. Imagine if we tinkered with out stoves as much as do our computers. You see, I want to install a super toaster attachment to my stove, and its stove plug and play compatible. Then I’ll probably burn down the house after I choose the wrong cable or driver, One of the main powerful features of computers are their flexibility, but it is also perhaps one of its main sources of trouble.

I propose a new style of system, the retro-system. The retro system is a limited functionality appliance that has superior network interoperability. These reduction function computers are engineered to have no moving parts. They come pre-installed with all of the functionality the need or ever expected to have. I imagine that 90% of Microsoft Word users ever need 40% of the functionality. There will floppy, no CD, and no DVD. With the exception of a data area for work, the OS will be completely protected. The user will not be able to configure anything other than minimal basic non-invasive options.

The retro-system will become the first true information appliance. You turn it on and it instantly is available for use. With no configurability, booting becomes elementary; you only need to have a limited OS kernel.

If we wanted hardware peripherals, then manufacturers would need to build to generic specifications, so that the generic support capable from the retro-appliance can be met. This is the only way to enable stereo-like functionality. The high-fidelity system can consist of many different peripherals, but they only require the proper connection in order for them to work. Tape player, no problem; reel to reel, no problem, VCR, also no problem. All of these devices may offer different functionality, but where they interconnect, there is no comprise.

Is this level of standardization possible? It is only possible, if the market drives the effort. As long as we continue to accept software and systems that are prone to failure, then we can never expect manufacturers to change. We provide the fuel to keep the cycle going: better hardware means better software; better software means better hardware, and so on. Sure no computer manufacturer wants to make an information appliance that lasts 5 to 10 years instead of 2, but IÂ’m sure my wife would want one. If IÂ’m not mistaken, I believe millions of other people would too.

It’s the people stupid! Business is about people. Success is about people. Happiness is about people. The more effective we are with people, the better we will do in all of those areas. Unless you have a goal that strictly relies on ourselves, like spirituality, physical fitness a we are linked to others. There is no avoiding the idiosyncrasies, the broken communication, or the thousands of different obstacles that limit our ability to communicate effectively, influence consistently, and behave congruently.

Therefore, there is no way to avoid people if we want to reach many of the goals we all set for ourselves. That means that of all the skills we desire, of all the technologies we need to master, and all the million excuses we use to explain our limited results, what we need first is master our inter-personal relations. This one focus will take us father towards our dreams than anything else.

Trust, is a delicate condition. How much are the engines of creation driven by trust? I would guess quite a lot. However, it is quite sad to contemplate, that many of those engines are powered by misplaced trust; or what you might say is one-sided trust. How many have heard your superiors say something along these lines “I’m not going to pay to train them, they’ll probably just leave once they have the training to get a better paying position. Does any part of that statement illustrate trust? I can’t begin to describe the many ways it is wrong, but since the topic is trust let’s stick to that one. Can you imagine what a front-line employee, who is trying to learn something newly assigned, would feel if they heard their superiors say that; wouldn’t they say their trust was broken? Hmm.

Just to remind myself I had to look it up. The interesting thing about trust is that it relates back to confidence and reliance. In my words, it is the confidence in someone that they always have your best interests foremost in your relationship. However, perhaps the greatest teacher I have ever had said “Never trust anyone!” Largely, I agree with that, I mean let’s not fool ourselves. In this me-first world that we live in, who can really comply with my or the dictionary’s definition of trust.

My point is not to judge the world, but to remind everyone that our perception of what true trust is, is hardly ever found in the business world. There will always be subtle nuances to relationships that we need to factor into our decisions. We also need to remember what business relationships are about, business. Business is about making money for you, your boss, the shareholders, but it is about making money. What I don’t understand is everyone seems to play his or her part. Employees know that management can’t tell them the truth, so management doesn’t. I guess that is a kind of trust.

For me, the problem with this situation is employees invest too much trust into the relationship. They subconsciously hope that corporations have their best interests at heart, but consciously know that they don’t. However, a great shift is coming. The shift will forever remove that hope from their subconscious. When employees finally understand they can’t trust corporations for their well being, then a new basis of trust will be formed. We will base the new trust on merit. We will base trust on the negotiated need within the relationship. When we mutually meet our needs, then trust will be possible. Until then, don’t give your trust away too easily.