Hayden Vink: Life In The Fast Lane

I have a 1st degree black belt in ITF Taekwon-Do, and occasionally get asked whether I’ve ever had to use it in real life. The answer is: everyday - but not in the sense that most people think.

So far - touch wood - I’ve never been in a situation where I’ve had to defend myself in a ‘real life’ situation (i.e. outside the dojang) using the physical techniques (punching, kicking etc.) I’ve learned.

I hope that remains the case.

But the true practice of Taekwon-Do requires students to embrace its philosophy, and observe its five fundamental tenets*:

• Courtesy - Showing courtesy to all, respecting others, having manners as well as maintaining the appropriate etiquette at all times, both within and outside the dojang (designated training area). 
• Integrity - Although may be similar, this form of integrity takes on a more wider role then defined in the common dictionary. In Taekwon-Do, integrity means not only to determine what is right or wrong but also having the conscience to feel guilt if one has done wrong and to have the integrity stand up for what is right. 
• Perseverance - One will persevere time and time again until they have achieved a result which is adequate towards what one was trying to achieve.
• Self-control - This means to not only have control over one physical acts but also their mental thoughts and actions.
• Indomitable spirit - To have indomitable spirit means to have the courage to stand up for what you believe in, no matter what odds you are up against and to always give 100% effort in whatever you do.

Every day, I try to observe these tenets, be a champion of freedom and justice, and do what I can to build a more peaceful world. In this sense, I practice Taekwon-Do every day.

The next question I’m usually asked after “have you ever used it?” is “why do you do it?”

This week has been particularly testing; there were a couple of work-related events that pushed me to the limits of my discipline. But I’m confident I did the right things, and that all will be resolved in the coming days and weeks.

Outcomes like this - and the resulting sense of satisfaction - is my answer to that second question.

* Descriptions from Wikipedia

Viewed two great presentations today.

Firstly, a fantastic presentation by Alan Cooper called “The Wisdom of Experience“. It clarifies his position on Agile programming, and the (still vital!) role of interaction designers. There are some excellent points about managing software projects, pitfalls etc. as well.

Next, an interesting presentation by Alex Osterwalder on “Business Model Innovation”. In it he provides some good examples of companies who have been particularly successful at redefining their business models, and then goes on to provide a method/tool (the “Business Model Canvas”) that can be used to help companies do this.

If you pay close attention to both presentations, you’ll see that both feature a smartly-dressed guy that Alex refers to as “Eric”. I’m guessing this may not be his real name, but based on today’s experience I’m starting to think he shows up in all the good presentations . .

UPDATE - 2/9/09 - After a few emails back and forth, my supplier asked me to return the unit and subsequently discovered a hardware fault. They sent me a new unit immediately, and it worked perfectly. In fact, it is currently vying with my iPhone for the illustrious title of “Hayden’s Gadget of the Year: 2008″. More on that later. I still think the software bundling idea I mention below is a good one.

- - -

My new scanner arrived yesterday; a Fujitsu ScanSnap that I bought to help me realise the paper-less home office dream.

I eagerly unpacked it, installed the software, plugged it in, put some documents in the feeder, hit the ’scan’ button, then . . received an error message stating that the scan had been unsuccessful, and suggesting my system was unstable and needed to be rebooted. 

To cut a long story short, I spent several hours trying to fix the problem. I tried every troubleshooting idea I can think of: different versions of Adobe Acrobat; installing latest scanner driver and management software; different computer etc.

But none of these worked, so I’ve given up and want to return the scanner. I’m waiting to hear from the supplier about this.

I suspect that the cause of the problem is most likely to be that the scanner management software is not compatible with the operating system version I’m using. Either that, or the version of Adobe Acrobat.

All of which makes me wonder: surely, there’s a better way to manage a product’s shelf life?

Here’s how I think it should be done:

• Products are packaged in such a way that the bundled software can easily be removed/replaced by the supplier/seller
• The manufacturer keeps a close eye on developments/events such as the release of a new operating system version, and alerts the supplier/seller immediately if any of the bundled software will no longer be appropriate*
• The supplier/seller removes the bundled software and stops selling and/or shipping products until the manufacturer supplies a new software bundle

I believe that if my supplier had adopted this system for managing shelf life, my experience with this scanner would have been entirely different - and considerably better.

* This includes ‘compatible’ but is not just that; for example, Adobe Acrobat 7 is ‘compatible’ with my operating system, but is now very out-of-date - Adobe Acrobat 8 was released in November 2006, and Adobe Acrobat 9 was released in July 2008.

. . patience for the hundred revisions you’ll need to do

This was the ‘Amen’ moment for me.

Better is best pursued by taking small, constant steps - not giant leaps.

Another great post from the oracle with the bald head.