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Business tranquility

Business tranquility

By Daniel Wildt

A podcast by Daniel Wildt.

My process and journey on becoming more conscious, self-aware and value driven. Stories about life style design, product development, service design, side projects and problem solving.

Sometimes stoic, sometimes delivering a sermon about life. Always practical.
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#21: Agile Methodologies and eXtreme Programming

Business tranquilityMar 21, 2018

00:00
03:15
#86: Show Up

#86: Show Up

We need to show up. We need “courage over comfort”, like Brene Brown says. We need a safe space that can support our needs. We need people who can help and listen. But most of all, we need to show up.

May 29, 202105:31
#85: Zero expectation

#85: Zero expectation

I have zero expectations about myself.

Actually there are three things I truly expect daily about myself:

1. Journaling (~ 2-3 lines)
2. Blog (~ 1500 characters)
3. Walk at least 1km (146km so far in 2021)

And monthly I have only one expectation:
At least 2500 made shots recorded on HomeCourt (basketball).

All other things are projects and progress. Those above are foundations that help make everything else possible.
Apr 04, 202114:21
#84: Temperance
Feb 12, 202114:17
#83: The infinite game. Are you in?

#83: The infinite game. Are you in?

Make your life and projects a long term goal. Play the infinite game. Are you in?
Sep 03, 202008:37
#82: Emergent Learning
Aug 27, 202015:00
 #81: Journeys
Aug 14, 202004:42
#80: Try everything? Yeap.

#80: Try everything? Yeap.

This reflection came after listening to “try everything”. That’s episode 71 from rework podcast. They were talking to Mert Iseri about his process to learn something new every year or sort of.

I was thinking about my process and stuff I have learned through the years.

Table Tennis at 12
Keyboard / Piano at 15
Basketball at 15
Guitar at 16
Programming at 17
Technical Writing 20
Poetry at 21

Basketball at 27
Tennis at 28
Time Management at 28
Neurolinguistic Programming at 28

Dad at 29
Neurolinguistic Programming at 32

Drums at 35
Book published at 36
Poetry at 37
Basketball skills training at 39
Dad at 40
Technical Writing at 41

I see myself playing with subjects also creating side projects. Actually usually I do things thinking about how to apply.

One of my interests while learning how to play drums and getting back playing with my guitar is not having a band. Or have a one person band. I want to able to record a full song playing all instruments. Do not intend to sing too, but who knows.

Writing books, I want to make it become a routine. So I decided to publish 8 books during 2020. But it’s some crazy decision. I got my “productivity” writing and having reflections about different topics. And now I’m adding categories to those writings, and adding them to books. :)

What about you? Share with me what are you trying lately?

— Daniel Wildt
Jul 10, 202007:25
#79: Kindness and courage are close friends
May 28, 202004:58
#78: How might your life be better with less?
May 21, 202004:37
#77: Hell yeah or no

#77: Hell yeah or no

If you are not feeling amazing about something, say No.

Throw yourself into projects that resonate with your process. Say hell yeah when you feel like you need to start something and are willing to drop something else because of that.

I started to say No in 2006, when I was 27 years old. I thought I had to say yes to everything otherwise I was going to lose opportunities.

I had fear inside every possible no. What would they say if I can’t show up into that event? What people say if I say what I believe? If I don’t see that talk, how can I keep up with my colleagues? How can I find more ways to sleep less and produce more, so I can have more time available and so I don’t need to say no?

Wrong question.

The question, actually two questions… (1) what are my limits? And (2) what are my needs?

With question 1, about limits we can understand what will drop automatically when we think about yes/no decisions. With question 2, you understand what is the real need you have now. It’s not about desire. They will come and go. Think about needs.

You can create choices, always. If you miss an event, schedule a pair session with someone to share thoughts with you about the talk. If you miss a party, call the person scheduling the party and share how happy you are with the party and with the best.

Saying no is not the end of the world. It’s the start to feel present and feel JOY every time you say no.

Saying no is about saying yes to you, your needs and your limits.

And if you have people close to you saying something like “I can’t say no, I have a very difficult time doing that!”, remember them that they are able to say no to themselves every single time they say yes to someone else.

— Daniel Wildt

P.S.: I was listening Derek Sivers and his classic text Hell Yeah or No.
youtu.be/1ehWlVeMrqw
May 07, 202008:23
#76: Please stop, you have enough already
Apr 30, 202003:29
#75: In times like these, just let it flow

#75: In times like these, just let it flow

In times like these I will just stop. Just for a moment.

I will set the stage to come out again. Not stronger, better, nothing like that.

I just want to let it flow.

In times like these I will just let it flow. I always remember my friend David “The Dude” Hussman who passed away years ago. I remember his face looking after a set of rules and practices and tools and saying: let it flow dude, just let it flow. That sentence got a special place in my head since 2010, and I remember with a powerful advice. Keep the flow. Keep breathing. Keep listening.

Find people that can help you to keep your flow. And remember: I am here for you.

— Daniel Wildt

Cover: flow by Mike Maguire https://flic.kr/p/29C9TfL

Apr 24, 202003:17
#74: The minimalist and stoic life. Set!

#74: The minimalist and stoic life. Set!

Making life simpler. I live my professional life with a backpack since 2008.

Clothing, I’ve made my wardrobe filled with less stuff year over year. Books are becoming digital or I can choose a service with most of them available. Same with music. Same with movies. Same with on demand videos.

So in the end I can live my life with less possessions or at least I can be really focused on what’s real important to me, thinking about material stuff.

What about my mind? What are my needs? That’s where stoicism becomes real to me. Two principles from that:
* What happens, is only what happens.
* I can’t control what’s going to happen to me. I can control what I do after something happens to me.

I journal. I breathe. I write meetings notes so I can review my day and understand how can I be for self aware tomorrow.

But here’s the catch, considering current moment of covid-19.

There’s no more balance in life (we never had that ok). We may have a home. With a sort of work in place and no life, other than silence and being with who else lives together with us.

Become aware of you. And your needs. Be safe.

— Daniel Wildt
Apr 16, 202007:08
#73: Writing and space to better decisions

#73: Writing and space to better decisions

I write every single day. It can be a couple of book pages, a blog post or a base text for a podcast episode, like this one. If I write, I feel fine.

And the good thing about this is that sometimes I’m writing business stuff, to share with my colleagues. So I have added asynchronous communication to this equation.

I’m able to express ideas and document the discussion process. I’m now able to have less meetings and more question based discussions. I have short 1:1s to follow up, and a big focus on async work.

This space between answers is very important to create more knowledge. We have space to think and discover more about a subject. We can discover more questions. Better questions. And by doing that, we may have better decisions.

— Daniel Wildt
Apr 09, 202007:05
#72: Courage and offense

#72: Courage and offense

In this particular time where we are playing isolation mode, I believe courage is a good virtue to play along with us. When I think about courage it turn out to be a matter of having a set of things in place that makes us feel the confidence and force we need to make something happen.

When I play in crisis mode, I go defense and understand my constraints. As soon as I can, I move to atack. There I have the opportunity to create more space. Space to think, act and space to do nothing. Time is the most expense resource we have.

Make sure you are using it wisely.

— Daniel Wildt
Apr 02, 202005:08
#71: How many hours are enough?
Mar 26, 202006:52
#70: High, low and how do you move forward.

#70: High, low and how do you move forward.

Ups and downs, highs and lows... cycles, seasons, you name it.

The thing is that we can’t be happy all the time.

And we can’t feel awful because something happen more than the time we need to reflect and learn. Same happens when something good happens. We can’t be euphoric for a whole week and forget to do what we need to do.

As a stoic and a vulnerability practitioner, I want to understand my days and be present as much as I can.

It’s a very tough process. We live in auto pilot mode a lot... the process to bring down to earth is very strong and consumes a lot of energy.

We need to breath, we need to make sure we are doing what’s necessary. We need to be who we are. That’s even more important than anything.

Are you ready? Go.

— Daniel Wildt
Mar 19, 202006:25
#69: Inclusion and openness matters

#69: Inclusion and openness matters

If you have focus on safety, you need openness too, before you can consider inclusion.

Being able to listen, to have internal space to listen, is not something easy and available 100% of the time.

And being open to listen someone saying that “I can’t continue this conversation” without trying to go faster or trying to forget that we need presence is awesome.

If we want inclusion, we want people to be who they are. We want safety. We are not talking about employer branding. It comes from the inside.

How are you playing with the words need, belonging, internal space, listening, safety network, transparency, inclusion and openness? That’s my take on this episode.

— Daniel Wildt
Mar 12, 202010:46
#68: Choose your skills and how good you want to be

#68: Choose your skills and how good you want to be

I want to play basketball. How good I want to be? I want to be a three point shooter. I want to read the game and read defense better.

Can I play in a competition team? No. I need much more than I want at this moment. My body can’t handle the training process needed.

So I need to stop to play basketball? No.

I need to understand my limitations and find ways to improve my game. A weak side will always exist, and there I will be to receive the ball and shoot a three pointer. :)

The same happens when I hear someone saying: “I want to know how to develop software”. There are many options / answers available to this question. But the process is like the same.

Do you want to be good in what aspects? You want to build what? Do you want to help your current process, do you want just for fun, do you look for performance and have a role inside a software development team? Like... do you want software development as a living?

Depending on what you want... the process and the journey are totally different.

The only certainty in this process is this: choose your skills and how good you want to be!

— Daniel Wildt
Mar 05, 202009:01
#67: Is this necessary?

#67: Is this necessary?

What do you really need?
Why do you need to run?

Patience can help you.
Calm can become a routine.

Are you ready?
Feb 27, 202004:49
#66: What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate

#66: What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate

Planning poker as a metaphor to say you don’t know. Safety environment. Being who you are and find spaces to communicate what you need. Non violent communication. I will discuss all of that in this episode. Let’s go!
Feb 20, 202011:57
#65: Make sure you care about your journeys

#65: Make sure you care about your journeys

That’s it. Make sure you care about your journeys. A victory or a defeat means just a step, a result, but it can’t define your journey. Make sure you understand the importance of living the process and learning during every experience.
Feb 13, 202005:56
#64: Patience and persistence for your side projects!

#64: Patience and persistence for your side projects!

The two aspects to have success running your side projects. Patience and persistence!
Feb 07, 202002:47
#63: How do you manage your legacy?

#63: How do you manage your legacy?

Don’t know about you but I believe we can’t plan our legacy. It’s about making sure we are doing things we believe. And making sure we are on track about things we care. Someday you will look back and see what you have done so far.
Jan 27, 202006:25
#62: Consciousness more than balance

#62: Consciousness more than balance

I talk a lot about work life balance, but here I am to tell you to take another look into that concept.

I came to understand that my life is always forcing me to one side.
I can't be balanced 100% of the time. Sometimes I need to work more than I wanted. Sometimes I'm tired, and I just can't do anything than doing nothing. And that's ok.

So I'm looking at this process as something more daily. I would like to practice programming every day. But I can't, because of other tasks I have to get done. So I'm getting conscious about what I am doing with my time during the day. And understanding how can I add programming practice as something important without sleeping less, without missing a meal and other things that are not negotiable.

So I'm not sad that I can't practice programming every day. It's a current fact, as of Jan 2020. I'm not going to solve that issue balancing my life, cause the balance never happens.

At this moment, I'm seeking to work less hours in clients to be able to research more and have more innovative / creativity time available. It's a process, not something I can balance.

Make sure you get more conscious about your day and your time. Start from that spot.

-- Daniel Wildt
Jan 23, 202004:42
#61: Get back to the fundamentals

#61: Get back to the fundamentals

I’m learning again to play the drums, and using more of the process I’m using to practice basketball. I’m giving a lot of importance to fundamentals. Accourding to the dictionary, fundamentals: it’s a basic principle, rule, law, or the like, that serves as the groundwork of a system; essential part. Make sure you are giving enough attention to fundamentals!
Jan 16, 202004:27
#60: Create explicit knowledge

#60: Create explicit knowledge

Make sure that you are able to teach people about stuff you know and that you are able to find people to teach about what you want to know. Creating knowledge is a continuous process and it’s pure joy. Make knowledge explicit!
Jan 09, 202004:21
#59: Keep a sustainable pace

#59: Keep a sustainable pace

Making sure you are able to delivery quality work is key when thinking about sustainable pace. It’s not about doing less hours than needed. It’s about understanding your process and your team process, to execute, plan, reflect, improve and learn.
Jan 02, 202005:11
#58: Document until you make it.

#58: Document until you make it.

Don’t fake til you make it. That’s not fair to your story. Document and share your process. Don’t be aspirational. Be who you are. Be true to you.
Dec 26, 201903:21
#57: Learn by doing is great. Understanding by context, awesome!

#57: Learn by doing is great. Understanding by context, awesome!

Find people that can help you along the way. Those people will be mentors. They have real life experiences. Learning by doing is great but understanding by context is awesome!
Nov 30, 201903:26
#56: My thinking brain and my anxiety

#56: My thinking brain and my anxiety

Back in 2001 the 22 years old Daniel felt a great amount of anxiety every Sunday night, around 7pm. So I wanna tell you how that became my engine to start side projects.
Oct 21, 201906:29
#55: Building a network or a community?

#55: Building a network or a community?

There’s a difference when you are building a network or a community. Check it!
Sep 26, 201902:55
#54: Doing nothing is ok. Breathing is not optional.

#54: Doing nothing is ok. Breathing is not optional.

If you could transform breathing into something you do, what is it? I’m playing with minimalism a lot, and making sure I’m doing what really matters to me.
Sep 16, 201903:57
#53: How do I play with inner space

#53: How do I play with inner space

I’m sharing my process to create inner space. How do I manage to be able to listen to people. Who takes care of me? How can I be present and focused?
Aug 30, 201908:55
#52: Share content thinking about one person only

#52: Share content thinking about one person only

Dont’t look for likes. Look for impact.
Aug 18, 201907:28
#51: Have a system to build emotional intelligence

#51: Have a system to build emotional intelligence

Most people think about rules and goals and tasks, but that’s not “the thing”. We need self awareness and we need to become more conscious about how we work.
Aug 14, 201908:32
#50: Keep it simple. Make it simple.

#50: Keep it simple. Make it simple.

If you can make something easier, do it.
Aug 13, 201904:30
#49: Hiring process. What’s yours?

#49: Hiring process. What’s yours?

Things I think about if I’m about to build a new hiring process. Whole team
Patience / email / references / sample code (unit testing)
Money is about budget and boundaries. Make them clear.
Create a relationship. You can get a new finder and follower.
Hiring is a conversation with no end.
Hiring is networking.
Jul 18, 201911:46
#48: Putting ideas to work

#48: Putting ideas to work

Ideas worth nothing IMHO... make sure you can execute them. How much do you value your ideas?
Jul 04, 201907:17
#47: Find your metaphors

#47: Find your metaphors

Find your metaphors. A rant about manifestos after the agile manifesto, spotify model. Also some thoughts about ego and silos.
Jun 03, 201908:39
#46: I choose to... and why? Clarity about decisions and paths.

#46: I choose to... and why? Clarity about decisions and paths.

I was thinking about choices and decision making process. And during this process I reference a podcast from basecamp (rework.fm ep 4) and also a podcast from Tim Ferriss and Greg McKeown (tim.blog ep 355).
May 24, 201905:34
#45: Commitments or moving a hobby into a new business.

#45: Commitments or moving a hobby into a new business.

Commitments or moving a hobby into a new business. You have stuff you like to do, you have stuff you wanna learn and new stuff you wanna excel. I’m going for moving writing from a hobby to a new revenue stream. Let’s see how it goes.
May 21, 201906:33
#44: Don’t ask why. Look for different approaches.

#44: Don’t ask why. Look for different approaches.

Don’t ask why. Look for different approaches.
May 14, 201904:21
#43: Metrics? Start limiting work in progress.

#43: Metrics? Start limiting work in progress.

Metrics? Start limiting work in progress.
Apr 25, 201907:01
#42: Emotional Intelligence, or, how do you live inside yourself?

#42: Emotional Intelligence, or, how do you live inside yourself?

Some people want to control emotions. We need more connection.
Apr 01, 201905:22
#41: My perspective on (agile) certifications

#41: My perspective on (agile) certifications

My perspective on (agile) certifications
Feb 06, 201903:57
#40: Creating time to new projects!

#40: Creating time to new projects!

Creating time to new projects! Find your community, talk to people and go for your first step. Learn from it, and get the next step. Iterate from that!
Jan 06, 201907:26
#39: Be yourself

#39: Be yourself

The best thing we can do is to be ourselves. Be yourself! Find what you are good at. Find people to partner with in stuff you don’t wanna be good at.
Dec 30, 201805:47
#38: Building flow. Current state, find bottlenecks and improve!

#38: Building flow. Current state, find bottlenecks and improve!

Building flow. Current state, find bottlenecks and improve!
Oct 04, 201805:19
#37: The employee pyramid

#37: The employee pyramid

The employee pyramid
Aug 15, 201808:40