Brain working modes, or how my tendency to focus only on one thing at a time impacts the things I do

 What do you know? Another 6 years have passed, and so much more has happened.

Today's post is an attempt to capture something I was thinking about yesterday.

I have 2 modes that my brain operates in (maybe more, but these 2 are what I thought about yesterday).

1. Analytical mode. In this mode, I see connections, patterns, inconsistencies, and how everything is put together. This is a good mode for evaluating essays and going over reports. Also good for generating reports and making sense of data, and for making broad plans and policies.

2. Operational mode. In this mode, I am focused on what needs to be done next in the plan to reach a particular end goal. Mostly, this means I am focused on the next step rather than the overall picture, as I assume that the bigger picture will take care of itself if I just take the next step as it comes. This is how I get through my tasks on a day to day basis. 

 I have realised that I can operate in either mode but not both at the same time. When in operational mode, my brain does not (cannot?) look at the bigger picture as it is hyperfocused on the next step. When in analytical mode, my brain dismisses operational details as unimportant as they do not materially impact the overall patterns and connections in the bigger plan. 

Perhaps the best leaders have the ability to quickly transition from one to the other, or to work in both modes at the same time. I can't do that, yet. And every time I switch from one mode to the other, some switching cost is involved and it is a (literally!) physical effort to reroute my brain from the operational lines to the analytical lines and vice versa.

Because these 2 modes are mutually exclusive for me, the resulting impact on my behaviour at work in different roles is likely to look like this :
a. I am a worker on a team. This puts me in operational mode. Therefore, I focus on the next step in the process. Where there is an explicit instruction to do a task, I do it. Where there isn't, I check against the stated plan, and if there is nothing else, I stop until my next scheduled step, since it is not for me to second-guess what the bosses want. 

And this means that I will not show any particular initiative because to do that I need to be in analytical mode, but my role requires me to be in operational mode. So you won't see any typical leadership-type activity from me.

b. I am a leader of a team. This puts me in analytical mode. Therefore, I look at where the team is going and whether or not things are on track to get there. I don't sweat the details, because I trust the team to do whatever it takes to get their job done. This means that sometimes things happen that I don't know the details to, and when asked I don't really have an answer. As I type this I realise that I could get reports, and question the team on the assumptions and thinking behind the actions, to check that the reasoning is sound (and therefore things will go as planned). I also realise that what takes me away from these discussions is that I am often caught in operational mode as there are other operational tasks at hand, and so my analytical mode is not fully engaged and I don't always ask the right questions.


So this is really me thinking through how I operate, and what the impact has been on my work and life. If you're reading this, and it resonates, well, good to know you're not alone, and if it doesn't, maybe it will help you understand some of your friends and colleagues who just can't seem to do what you expect of them.

Also I want to express my gratitude to all the people I've worked with, who have stepped up to help me out time and again over the years, and put up with all my failings. I hope I have in some way reciprocated, and to have the chance to do so in future if I haven't.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, the Hiatus is Over

And it's back to work at the old workplace. Much has happened since. Much has been learnt. And revisiting this blog I see some unfinished business, while some other things have been accomplished. Not a bad 6 years' work, I suppose. Anyway this is just a marker. I hope I have the time to continue this - there's so much more life to live.

I Am Not Brave

Following my decision this year to leave the teaching profession and join my friend in his startup, I have been receiving comments from people around me. Among the various comments, one phrase kept popping up – “You’re very brave to do this.” And that got me thinking as usual (or perhaps over-thinking, as someone might say).

After some soul-searching, I decided that I am actually not brave at all. I made this decision partly because I saw how the cost of living in my country was rising, and how my salary might not rise in proportion with it. I saw that salaried workers had little bargaining power over their pay, and that the ones making the greatest gain from their labour were commission-based workers, business owners, and political office holders. I balanced the relative risk and reward of each option, and in conclusion, the safer option was to take the risk of stepping out of the comfortable Civil Service, in the hope that at least I would have a bit more control over how I would keep up with inflation and manage the uncertain economic climate in the years to come.

At a deeper level, I am even less brave. In fact, I am scared. I am scared that one day I will find it hard to explain to my child why Daddy did not pursue his dreams while telling her to do so. I am scared that one day I will spend as little time with my child as some of my friends do, but earn much less for the sacrifice. I am scared that when it is my time to leave this world, I will look back with regret at the life I could have lived, and the lives I could have touched, if only I had stepped out of my comfort zone.

So I am not brave, because I am thoroughly afraid of all the things mentioned above. The ones who are truly brave are those who cling on to their jobs in the belief that things will be all right, that the current path they are on is good and true and will lead them to their reward, if not in Heaven, then at least here on Earth. I commend them, and wish them all the best, just as they have wished me all the best in my future endeavours.

The Path Forks

I had a choice to make earlier this year (about 8 months ago), and I made a decision which I am still slowly easing into.

That decision was to resign from the Education Service and pursue a different career.

It is still too early to tell how it will turn out, of course. But I am thankful that I made the decision, and am excited about the future.

Before we jump to any conclusions, let me say that I have found satisfaction in the Education Service. It has been my pleasure and honour to have had a hand in educating the youth of my country.

However, I have also reached a point from which I could see with better clarity and understanding, the path ahead of me if I were to continue in the Education Service, and pursue advancement along the civil servant's track. I have also had the benefit of having friends who have pursued other paths, and therefore I have had the luxury of comparing the path of inertia against the alternatives available.

It boils down to which path offers me the most efficient use of my time. Given that I have a limited number of years to contribute to this world, which path offers me the greatest output (multiplying the chance of success by the potential gain of each path)? The answer I came to in March, which I then agonized over and re-analyzed several times, was one that lay away from the Education Service.

And so I tendered my resignation. Of course, there will be the usual speculation about my unhappiness with my current workplace, but that is hardly the issue here. The issue is really about something which HR professionals and economists should be looking at in greater detail, which is the idea of people as independent suppliers of labour, rather than just employees.

I will deal with the re-conceptualization of work and employment in a separate post. Now I just need to pack and tie up loose ends.

It's almost as bad as moving house.

On Literacy in the 21st Century

I was trawling the net for passages to use in school for comprehension when I saw (on Facebook via Leonard via Kok Hoe) David Harvey’s lecture on the Crisis of Capitalism. I thought it was a great lecture and started looking around for the text version, only to realize that there wasn’t one (horrors!).

This got me thinking about how our access to media is changing the way we acquire knowledge. Whereas in the past, the most effective way to transfer knowledge was through the printed word, technology has now enabled us to watch live renderings of the words actually being produced by the original speaker. We are able to capture speech (and video!) and record it in an easily reproducible form which is easily transmitted and played across geographical boundaries.

I find this profoundly amazing. It validates the idea that our basic human instinct is to communicate via speech. Text and writing came about because we needed a medium that could store speech and allow it to be reproduced across time and space. This idea is supported by the fact that before the Middle Ages, reading meant vocalizing words - the idea of silent reading with its implicit emphasis on knowledge acquisition versus social interaction had not quite evolved prior to then.

Today we have the technology to store and reproduce speech in its original form as perceived by the listener. It has been said that perhaps two thirds of communication is body language, so video is actually a more accurate capture of the communicative act than text.

While textual literacy is still useful and valuable (not least because of the number of texts that we still rely on for knowledge), I believe we are starting to move back towards the spoken word as the primary communicative method, especially now that we can speak across time and space through video. This means that literacy needs to move back towards an appreciation of the spoken word (and body language) rather than the primarily textual basis it currently rests on.

This also means a whole new (old?) paradigm shift in teaching and learning again. Wonderful times, these.

Fast Slow Fast

Dean Kamen, father of the Segway, is the inspiration for today's post. (link here)

There are 3 steps in new technology being taken up by the masses.

First, the technology has to be invented and developed to a working and stable state. This is where the inventors, engineers, etc. come in. Usually, this happens pretty quickly because we are all so good at Math and Science and whatnot.

Next, people need to overcome their resistance to technology and start using it. This is where the early adopters come in. The rest of the people don't get it, though, and are slow to react. Some are not even aware that the technology exists.

Finally, the technology hits the mass market and everyone gets one, even if they don't quite "get it". This is where the businessmen come in. Usually, at this stage, the market is rapidly flooded with copies of the technology. If you haven't got your distribution networks in place already, you're going to lose a big piece of the pie. This also means distribution is even more important in a world that is probably inventing many more things faster than ever before.

Dean Kamen says that "the rate of emotional, intellectual, cultural, and regulatory inertia of the world is very high." What it means is that of the 3 steps mentioned above, overcoming resistance to technology is the part that takes the longest. Hence, we see that technological advancement moves in a Fast, Slow, Fast rhythm.

This explains why there are so many inventions lying around out there waiting for us to chance upon them.

This also means that there is a place in the value chain for people to pick up existing technology and convince the masses that it is good and necessary for them to use the technology.

The people who would fulfill this role best would be those whose skill set enables them to 1) understand how people behave and what people want, and 2) understand technology and how it can be used to meet those wants.

That's all for today. Hope you got a few good thoughts out of this.

Thinker's Block

Stuck on my paper on luxury brands. Going over my old blog posts, I think I was more articulate back then. Grown rusty from lack of use, and facebooking doesn't help.

Oh well, at least I'm back. Finally reconnected after a long hiatus.

Blogging is therapeutic. Somebody should do research on the health benefits of blogging and diary keeping.

That's all for now. Stay in touch. I mean me, not you.