Khalid's Blog

Teaching How to Understand

2011-12-05T17:44:00.001+03:00

At schools we teach our young knowledge but we don't teach them how to understand.

There are absolutes when trying to understand things. Islamic scholars taught the knowledge of roots or "Osoul" in jurisprudence, Quranic studies, and the sayings of the Prophet.

It would be nice to have something absolute when we try to convince someone or be convinced by someone.

In the Eye of the Storm

2011-10-29T14:35:00.001+03:00

It is difficult to reach the eye of a storm, but, once there, a person will find calm and tranquility even with chaos all around him.

After a life full of struggle and sacrifice, the great reformer Ibn Taymiyah was very tranquil and at peace especially in his last days. In the citadel where he was imprisoned, he used to say, "What can my enemies do with me? My paradise and garden is in my chest; wherever I go, it goes with me".

Humility

2011-10-17T09:28:00.000+03:00

Humility: the thing we are made up of, but don't want to be.

Humility: the scary thing we see when we stare long enough in the mirror.

Coffee Cup vs. Apple Inc.

2011-10-17T09:04:00.000+03:00

We sometimes fail to realize that completeness is the result.

We intuitively know and apply this on our daily matters, but fail to do so on bigger things; organizations, big and small, fail to act on this fact to various degrees.

Everyone intuitively knows that you can't have coffee without adding water or milk.This fails to become simple when applied in a context of an organization like a coffee shop or cafe for example.

The owner of the cafe makes the best coffee in town, but he is bewildered when customers are one-timers who leave to never return.

What he may not realize is that excellent coffee is only one part of the equation. The owner is not thinking in terms of completeness. In Addition to great coffee, location, effective marketing, proper management and leadership, excellent service, efficient operations, great value, lean operations, etc.. are all part of the equation. Failing on any point of the result chain will have repercussions.

Apple Inc. is a complete organization to a great extent. The term they use for completeness is "Great User Experience". Siri for example is not a new technology, in fact the underlying technology of Siri is licensed by Nuance. But what Apple did with Siri and its AI engine, and with all their products, is know what the complete result is and what it is not (right trade-offs), know how to implement it, and build an organization that can execute on that knowledge. They've nailed down the result chain from conception of a great idea all the way down to the actual realization of the dream experience, including all the enabling elements in between.

The end result is a consumer that knows that he has something special in his hands. Something that is more complete than any other product in the market.

This organization stuff is not supposed to be easy. That's way you have one Apple, one Google, and One Amazon.

No Way But Up

2011-07-31T06:08:00.000+03:00

Our very pursuit of what we want draws us into the things we don't want!

The more we walk into life, the closer we come to death. The more we seek pleasure the more discontent we find. The more we grow the the weaker we become.

This could have only been achieved by design and for a higher purpose. We are designed to remain weak and turn for strength to our creator. All else will fail us.

Mental Breath

2011-07-31T06:05:00.000+03:00

Sometimes we have to hold our mental breath to be able to dive and see what lies under the surface of our reality. We might see great things if only we suspend judgment for a short while.

Of course, this does not include truths passed to us from the Almighty.

We Are Our Habits

2011-07-31T05:52:00.001+03:00

It's not what you did, it's what you've been doing that defines you.

We are our habits... the lower part of the iceberg.

Care and Intelligence

2011-07-31T05:43:00.002+03:00

You are only as smart as the thing you care about.

Giving Away Ownership

2011-04-01T06:50:00.000+03:00

I have a few slips taped on my monitor that help me remember principles that I think are important. One of them says "THE ROLE OF THE LEADER IS TO MAKE OTHERS SUCCESSFUL". I don't know were I got that from, but it is an important insight.

I've noticed that once a leader makes it his job to make his employees successful (praising, appraising, publicizing, etc.) the leader's oversight is required to a much lesser degree because the employee becomes a "partner" and feels a sense of ownership to the project or task. It becomes his and he defines his success with its success.

The hard part is that the leader Really has to give away his "shares" of the project to a new "partner". He will no longer be alone in the spotlight. The success will be be attributed to others with him.

More and more I've come to see that much of leadership depends on character strengths or faults. Much of leadership breakdown could be lack of character disguised to hide our greed and pursuit of our own self interest.

The Result Chain

2011-04-01T06:43:00.003+03:00

One of the interesting things about management is that you have to get the whole process right or it doesn't count. Very much like building a machine.

You have to choose your focus correctly, recruit the right people, and execute well. All of these main steps require internal steps that have to be done correctly also. Any major mistakes will mean you fail to diliver results.

When feeding your child, even if you prepare everything, but don't take that final step of putting the spoon in her mouth, she will remain hungry. The Score is still zero.

I don't think this is a bad thing. If mass leadership or management of human potential were easy, there is no telling what could happen to the world. There are lots of things that are difficult or complex by design.

Playing by The Rules... As Long As You Make Them

2011-04-01T06:14:00.002+03:00

Dictators, Imperial nations, corrupt managers all use the system to control the people.

They play by the rules, but they make sure that they always make them or tweak them to their advantage. It's an art that requires a great deal of creativity. In the end, the good guy has to either play their game or break the rules of game, which makes him a bad guy. He could always go back and try to change the rules, but they have that covered, too.

The best way to control the future... is to make it. The best way to prevent that is to think far enough ahead to realize what kind of future the bad guys want to create.. you have to be preemptive.

The Missing Side of Elegance

2011-04-01T06:03:00.005+03:00

In the physical world, elegant furniture or attire is that which is beautiful, yet has no excess. It is elegant not just because of the beauty of what it includes, but also the beauty of what it excludes.

Similarly, elegant leadership is knowing what to do and what to stop doing. Elegant knowledge is knowing what something is and what it is not. An elegant doctor is one who knows when to intervene and when not to.

You get the idea...

The moon has two sides; the bright side and the dark. The reason that true elegance is hard to come by is the fact that its dark side is so hard to see by most. Only few prominent practitioners of a given field can have enough encompassing knowledge to say what something is not.

Elegant practitioners act seemingly effortlessly where in reality it's because they know what matters and what doesn't.

Executing only on the things that matter is at the heart of effectiveness.

Beige People

2011-04-01T05:54:00.001+03:00

There are many great qualities in so called "average" people; the ones that don't stack up to social standards; the ones that don't sparkle; the beige.

In many of them, their decency is so ingrained that no one sees it in them and they don't see in themselves.

Real goodness is something that has become part of your DNA. It becomes so innate that, sometimes, you fail to realize its existence.

That is why I admire the average person. The man that people don't take into consideration because he isn't impressionable, shiny, or attractive. I look at these people sometimes and admire them and the
silent world they live in.

Piety, Prevention, And Preemptiveness

2011-04-01T02:00:00.002+03:00

Piety is pinnacle to the sustainability of results or long term achievement. This is because the most important actions are those that are unseen: the preemptive and preventive. These have no bang and might very well go unnoticed and therefore unrewarded.

This is at the heart of Islamic leadership and management. This is an important reason why our forefathers were able to rule and conquer much more powerful nations.

This is much more important in the infancy of an organization where much of foundational work has to be performed. If the leadership is not willing to go unnoticed by putting what is important for the organization foremost, not was is important for the individual, the organization will not grow to be enduring and great.

A Spoon & A Keyboard

2011-01-21T11:15:00.002+03:00

Their is no simplicity. Thing are just deceivingly simple to use or acquire.

I eat with a simple spoon for which if I were required to produce, starting from digging up the ore, separating the material, heating the
steel, forging the mold, finishing the product, transferring it my part of the world, would require substantial effort and time.

I type on this "simple" keyboard on my smartphone for which the
accumulated hardware and software engineering spanning many fields of
science and generations of scientists would require me more than a life time to comprehend.

This is a mere keyboard or a spoon. It is a great gift that our minds deal withs as a whole and don't see lots of the details. People who are actually like this, such as savants, are socially crippled and have hard time dealing with people among other things.

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My First iPhone Post

2010-11-10T05:48:00.001+03:00

This is my first post using my new iPhone. The device is great and I hope I use it well.

There are still lots of things I want to do and learn. Alhamdu lilah, it's a great device that needs to be exploited and used to it's fullest.

Sent from my iPhone

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Presenting Controversial Ideas

2010-10-16T08:48:00.001+03:00

I've noted that cutting edge thought is controversial by definition. In fact, if it isn't, could it be considered "cutting edge"? This is because it goes against conventional wisdom and/or set boundaries. But this doesn't mean that it should not be presented or discussed.

Information is a lagging indicator of reality. To produce Information, it must be registered, gathered as data, analysed, and tested. Some people, for various reasons and circumstances, register reality before it is has been "formalized" or even registered by others. When they present their ideas, these ideas seem controversial and contrary to common belief, but, with time, they become the norm.

In fact, the above is just stating the obvious because much of we consider facts today in many faculties of life were, at their infancy, considered very controversial or impossible. Imagine saying to a person ages ago that we can communicate visually and orally with a person thousands of kilometers away?

What ideas can be told today that would give you and others the same reaction as that of the person above?

Why is it even possible to be so sure of things that are not real?

Maybe this is why individuality is so important; it gives us new perspective. Maybe this is why Allah make new generations; so they can start with a new clean slate and not be bound by ideas can be improved upon and transcended.

At the same time, we have to be wary of delusions put forth by ourselves and others. These tend to pose little proof and cannot withstand the test inquiry. And most importantly, they contradict Allah's guidance.

A Muslim uses Allah's guidance to navigate through what he reads and learns. I think Muslims are in a great position to present new and innovative ideas if they actively use their religious foundation and apply it to current knowledge and science. A very important part of this foundation is that not only restricts, but it also liberates which is vital to creativity and the establishment of fresh perspectives.

Just keep on listening to yourself, others, and most importantly to Allah, and don't be afraid to present your ideas if you believe that you are really right.

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Turn 90 Degrees

2010-10-15T17:06:00.001+03:00

A person that focuses on his weaknesses is much like a knife that is being used by it's broadside. If turned only 90 degrees and used by its sharp edge, the situation changes completely, and it becomes a much more potent tool.

In many cases, we have strengths within that require only a minor adjustment to surface and be utilized.

In many cases, our weaknesses are necessary for our strengths to exist; the sharp side would not exist if not for the broad side. Weakness in many cases is necessary.

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Holding A Grudge

2010-10-13T18:00:00.001+03:00

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A Closed Frame of Thought

2010-10-08T18:49:00.001+03:00

These ants will rotate like this until they die. Each one will follow the one ahead until they parish.

Some people's frame of thought is like this. Their frame of thought doesn't allow any new stream of contrary notions to penetrate ... by design.

We would do well to listen to others and most importantly to the feeble voice within. Sometimes, that is the only way to breaks the cycle.

I wonder if one those ants was saying to itself, "Hey, this can't be right". :)

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Nice Quote

2010-09-11T20:47:00.001+03:00

"Getting lost will help you find yourself".

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What The Hell is This America!

2010-04-07T00:47:00.001+03:00

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Class Management

2010-04-07T00:23:00.002+03:00

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On the IPad

2010-04-06T11:24:00.001+03:00

As a result of introducing the IPad, there is a debate going on in the inner web about the pros and cons of open vs. closed platforms. You can read more on this here and here.

I kind of think that with the introduction of the IPhone and the IPad, a seismic shift has occurred. What is happening is normal; people are just trading off what they just want for what they really need to gain significant value.

I buy a Camry not a BMW because, although I like all the amenities of the BMW, I've got other things I want to spend my money on that are more important to me than the leather seats of the BMW. I like those 360 feature in the MS Word, but I can do with just the 20 features that I use the most in Google Docs if you give it to me for free.

Life is really about trade-offs. That's why products and services just tend to branch out to deliver the best value possible for each customer category. PCs are going to start to trade-off the trivial for the important to deliver more value. It happened with the laptop and IPhone and it is happening with the IPad right now.

The advantages of closed system for the average consumer are clear; he gets a superior experience by forsaking some openness that really doesn't matter that much to the average user. Think about it, why do I have to deal with behind the scenes processes that hog resources, viruses & spyware, file systems, installations, etc. when I can allow - by my own free will- Apple to enforce more control and just forget about all that to focus on what matters to me. It's like saying I want to be able to hack a calculator so I can have the ability to multi-task, create applications that work on the calculator, over-clock it's CPU, etc. Not everybody wants or needs that. Many people are not geeks and don't what to be held to geek standards.

The majority of the world wants something that works and gives an extraordinary experience to achieve what matters most to them. It's been happening since the beginning of time, but geeks just haven't realized it yet. Apple has created a device that is really media consumption and that's what most consumers want as will be demonstrated by IPad's sales.

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Untitled

2010-04-06T09:51:00.001+03:00

“You can't just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they'll want something new.”

Steve Jobs

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Leveraging the Virtual Classroom for Effective Learning with

2010-03-18T08:44:00.001+03:00

This is the title of a video from the UMBC Youtube channel which is basically about research on what works and what doesn't in eLearning.

Here are some of the most important points:

Visuals

=Learning is almost the same regardless of medium (computers, print, instructor-led) ; the only increase occurs when using appropriate techniques (demos, practice, examples, etc.) and aids (visuals, audio, images, etc.).

=Much of our long term memory depends on our knowledge. With knowledge, our short term memory can make use of patterns that we have stored in our ling term memory (knowledge), so it can process information in chunks in the short term memory. People with little knowledge in an area will tend to handle each detail by itself as they don't see the relationships yet.

=Using visuals + text very much improve learning when compared by using only text. With visuals, the learner will tend more channels to understand the content (text+visual) and (from me) graphics usually tend to hold much more info in condensed form which helps in seeing the relationships and digest the info in chunks.

=Visuals (images, videos) can be hinder learning and be distracting if not used properly. Visuals have to serve the learning objective as is the case with techniques. 80% of visuals in highschool textbooks serve no educational purpose, as per one study.

=Explaining visuals through audio alone is better than audio+text as it overloads the learner.

=Visuals can be categorized into 3 main typs:

Decorative: visuals that are added for aesthetic/ humorous purposes. These are ok if used sparingly.
Representational: visuals that are used to show who something looks like, for example a kind of tree or engine.
Explanatory: this is the most important and is used to explain and idea by showing relationships. It can be divided into 3 types:

   =organizational (qualitative relationships): like concept charts
   =relational (quantitative summarization): like pie/bar charts or histograms
   =transformation (change in time or space): anything that shows something changing in time or space.
   =interpretive (make invisible visible): like the inside of a motor or a molecule

Practice

=You should keep learners engaged. Spread out practice in more effective long term. Short term there is little difference between condensed practice and spread out practice. An example is 6 practice exercises 3 per day for 2 days vs. 2 per day for 3 days.

=(example, practice , example, practice, example, practice) is a more effective pattern than (example, practice, practice, practice) because in the first the learner has time to learn by reviewing the example. In the second pattern, the learning will not be learning and reflecting. Usually, the first pattern results in better learning in a shorter time.

=Keep practice relevant to how it will be applied in the real world.

=Practice has a diminishing rate of returns aspect: most of the learning occurs in the first practices. After that learning will be incremental and very small in comparison to the first practice sessions. So, you have to gauge your how much time you have and the importance for the learning outcome.

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Change Something

2010-02-20T08:05:00.001+03:00

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Spelling It Out

2010-02-19T14:36:00.001+03:00

Sometimes there is a certain idea lingering in my mind that is still not well defined; it is still far way and vague to my mind's eye. I've noticed when I write or talk about it, starts to come closer and become more vivid. Believe it or not, this article was vague before I started to write it a few moments ago, but now it becoming more vivid.

The reason, I guess, is when you say something or express it, you are forced to give it form. It seems that there is a rift between our thoughts and our words; while it is acceptable that our thoughts remain vague and mostly open-ended, our words are to be clear and meaningful.

I guess the lesson learned is that in many cases we might harbour ideas that are all but ready for definition and expression, but we tend to procrastinate and never give them final form. Forcing ourselves to express them in speech or writing can be a useful strategy, that might only take moments. And even if they are 100%, someone might read or hear them, and create something wonderful out of them.

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Why Islam Works Across Cultures

2010-01-22T11:18:00.001+03:00

Islam has spread in all continents and many, many cultures. By some accounts, it is the fastest growing religion in the world and particularly in the USA. It is doing especially well in Texas! Think about that for a minute. An area known for its religious conservatism in a country that was struck by 9/11 is adopting Islam notably! I've even read some title about a family that was a victim of 9/11 that has become muslim!

The same can't be said about many dogmas or systems which continue to face resistance and declining numbers of people adopting them.

I believe this is because we, as humans, pursue in the same thing regardless of our cultures or values. We are all in pursuit of happiness.

Many earthly systems or doctrines miss this point; for example, some emphasize individual unrestrained pleasure as in the case of capitalism. They equate pleasure with happiness and come to the conclusion that peoples or cultures that don't have the amenities that they do are unhappy. Islam focuses on that common beacon that draws us all, the pursuit of happiness while not neglecting our needs as humans. It promotes balance with very strong emphasis on the soul.

In my earlier post (the one just before this), I mentioned that many cultures suffer pain as a result of adopting systems, traditions, and values that don't fit into there cultural DNA. This was provoked by a documentary I saw some time back about a this westerner (maybe a scientist or businessman) who was visiting this Mongolian tribe in the central plains of Asia. They seemed very happy to me; they were poor, but they were very close to each other and just seemed happy living the way they did. Then this westerner said, "These people don't know what they are missing. They could be making millions by investing more time in these crafts and marketing them better..", or something along those lines.

In effect, he was asking them to substitute the happiness that their current culture provided with the pleasure that the western culture offered. I personally found the assumption that he based this comment on to be morally very very wrong. Proof? Just look at the cultures that adopted the western system and lifestyle. Are they happy?

Islam doesn't accept traditions or practices that go against Allah's rulings, but, overwhelmingly, it lets people live, love, and learn, while encouraging them to worship their Creator and leaves the rest alone. That is is the meaning of happiness that people should adopt.

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A Peek Behind The Curtain

2010-01-22T09:35:00.003+03:00

Although we live together, we belong to different dimensions of the physical or virtual world.

Stature, beauty, wealth, significance, service could all be central values that groups of people and silent systems revolve around. What buys distinction in one world, might go unnoticed in another. They have distinct currencies, laws, peoples, hierarchies, cultures, and values.

If only we could use a dye to color these worlds to start to see how people interact, which person is living in what world, the laws they live by, what each world values...get a peek behind the curtain so to speak.

It is wrong to transpose my definition of happiness on someone who lives in a different world than mine. Much of the pain we see in cultures today is because they have adopted happiness that doesn't belong and, as a result, doesn't work in their worlds.

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Knowing It All!

2010-01-22T09:26:00.001+03:00

Some supervisors think they know it all. This is a problem at two levels: the macro and the micro.

At the macro level, they fail to realize that everyone has a tendency to build self-containing systems and theories. They build a theory that works well enough and which they think represents reality. The problem is that in many cases it really doesn't represent the entire picture. I’ve noted that we tend to force facts that don’t mesh with our representation of reality to comply with our theory while it should be the way round. It is much easier that way! What ends up happening is lack of communication with your people because you insist on your theory instead of the reality that they know to be true. A leader has to be teachable. The prophet was so humble that he didn’t mind learning from people of other faiths, subordinates, or admitting the truth even if it came from the devil! Learn to admit to yourself and others that you don’t know everything, learn, and be teachable. But also have the courage to know when you are right and act upon what you know. I know what you're thinking! And yes, it is never easy! Just keep listening to everybody, including to yourself, to try to understand the complete picture as best as possible. And always ask Allah's guidance.

From the micro level, they fail to realize that any employee has more insight and knowledge of the day-to-day details. These details dictate how he reacts and adjusts his tactics to achieve the overarching strategy or goal that the organization has set. When a leader starts micro managing his people by telling them what they should and shouldn't do, they will tend do what he wants regardless of the facts on the ground and as a consequence, results will suffer. Remember, people are intelligent and even if they make a mistake, they are smart enough to correct it themselves even they don't tell you about it. Micro managing people deprives the organization from this. So, give feedback, but also give your people space to breathe, think, and adjust for them selves.

A few years ago I read a book called Why Smart Executives Fail. It was enlightening in so much as it highlighted how intelligent execs with strong track records didn’t do well in their new jobs. I can’t remember the details of the book, but what stuck with me is the fact that any leader has to be humble and willing to learn. He has to realize that he is just one person with very limited powers. His real strength lies in his people and their collective knowledge and strength. Of course, a leader also has to have knowledge; that is pivotal. But that knowledge is only a flashlight, he needs the collective light of all his people to see the whole picture.

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Jeddeh Flash Flood

2009-12-21T21:30:00.001+03:00

A short time into the video, you will start to see the cars passing by like logs in a river. Unbelievable!

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Encoding Issue with Python 3.1 cp720 with Arabic Enabled Windows OS

2009-12-14T05:01:00.001+03:00

Click here to download:

cp720.py (13 KB)

I'm running windows vista (Arabic Enabled) and have python 3.1 installed.

When I try to run python form the command line by typing

python

to whichever path I have there (in my case:C:\users\KE>) or I when change the path to the directory that contains python 31 and enter

python (c:\python31>), it just crashes and gives me the following message:

fatal python error: Py_Initialize: can't initialize sys standard streams

LookupError: unknown encoding: cp720

This application has requested the Runtime to terminate it in an unusual way.

Please contact teh application's support team for more Information.

To fix this copy the attached file to C:\Python31\Lib\encodings and keep the name cp720.py.

I found the original solution here with the actual patch on this page. But For some reason, running the patch "as is" (with python 3.1) gave the following me a syntax error.

Fatal Python error: Py_Initialize: can't initialize sys standard streams

Traceback (most recent call last):

File "c:\python31\lib\encodings\__init__.py", line 98, in search_function

level=0)

File "c:\python31\lib\encodings\cp720.py", line 54

u'\x00' # 0x00 -> CONTROL CHARACTER

SyntaxError: invalid syntax

This turns out to be because Python 3.0 changes the way Python handles Unicode. You can no longer put a 'u' in front of a string.

This page tells you more
http://docs.python.org/3.1/whatsnew/3.0.html#text-vs-data-instead-of-unicode-vs-8-bit

Anyway, the attached file has been fixed and doesn't have this issue and should work fine.

Wa Asslam!

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Posion

2009-12-07T18:28:00.001+03:00

We will do well to learn from doctors that even poison can be used as medicine if applied to the right ailment.

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Registering Reality

2009-11-21T16:53:00.002+03:00

I've noticed that sometimes I deny certain aspects of reality because it doesn't fit with my mental model of reality or as certain part of it. This is, of course, wrong. A person should be able register all aspects of reality wither he understands it or not. It seems to me that this is a natural tendency as it sometimes requires rethinking they way you understand things.

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A Leader is Like Air

2009-11-18T21:51:00.001+03:00

A leader should be like air: transparent and unseen, yet a vital source for other's success and an organization's life.

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Real & Organic Administration

2009-11-17T13:01:00.003+03:00

I’ve been thinking about two concepts related to leadership and management: Real and Organic. I’ve noticed that effective leadership and management have a real and organic nature to them; but I write this entry to note that both elements correspond well with established aspects of management (and life, for that matter); those aspects are Focus and Execution.

“Real” management has to do with results and their influence on the momentum of your people. When people see something real, they believe and, as a result, start to volunteer their ability and potential, thereby producing more and better results in an continuous cycle of achievement.

To achieve this, a leader has to be real in his Focusing process (goals & action plans), and ultimately in delivering results. This requires conceptual objectivity, lots of listening, and suspension of judgment for you to develop your Focus. Once you state your plan, if it is real, your people will react positively as they see that it highlights the really important issues.

Real Focus is both the “what” (or the right goals) and the “how” (or the right action plan). Once a leader defines his goals, he has to make sure his action plan is also Real. It has to take into consideration all the constraints of reality and all the needs of the stakeholders as part of his plan. If a leader starts to focus on being theoretically correct at this stage (the meas opposed to us), then he will remain theoretically correct , but not “Really” effective. Results most probably won’t materialize.

“Organic” leadership steps in at the execution stage. The basic concept here is that momentum is more important than being 100% right or even right at all. The premise is that, as humans, we are the only ones that have power over our minds and hearts, and as a leader, you have to ensure as much as possible that your people continue to want to achieve and volunteer their hearts and minds. Otherwise, especially in a the knowledge intensive age we live in, they will start to feed you excuses and misinformation that will hinder the execution of your plan and stifle the effort of other team members.

There will always be mistakes, but what is important is that the team generally executes effectively and, like all things living and “organic" (as apposed to machines), our momentum and morale is more important than correctness.And let's not forget that humans, if a leader takes care to maintain their momentum, will self-correct themselves by learning from their mistakes and modifying their action accordingly, which is a very important trait that leaders, who treat their people like machines, tend to neglect. An important note is that emotional intelligence is very important at this stage. A leader has to be able to accept people for what they are and give them room to think for themselves and choose the best means for achieving their objectives; all organic creatures have to breathe!

I would also to note that Real is closely related to management and “asking the right questions”, and “Organic” is closely associated with leadership and “listening to your people”.

All of the above has to work for results to be delivered. As such, I like to refer to them as the Result-Chain; breaking the chain at any point will hinder or severely compromise your results.

Too Many Directives

2009-11-17T09:46:00.003+03:00

One of the problems that I notice with managers is that they issue too many directives. This tendency is simply too much to contain or maintain. This approach has several negative side effects:

· It deteriorates an administrators influence over time because he won’t be able to follow-up on everything.

· It disempowers his subordinates as they will have no time to focus on their objectives

· It distracts from the strategically important goals and objectives

General managers should save their power to focus and follow-up on the WIGs (Wildly Important Goals). If a subordinate is consistently not effective on the other issues and can’t improve, then he should be relieved in favor of someone who can.

Posted via email from Khalid's Stream

Identfying the Few Key Objectives

2009-11-17T09:46:00.001+03:00

In a complex organization it is considered quite enough for a manager to identify the few key objectives, formulate and good plan, and execute it. Otherwise, more would be less.

Posted via email from Khalid's Stream

Disfunctional Management

2009-11-15T22:45:00.001+03:00

I've attended lots of meetings and worked with several managers, I've noticed that there is lots of motion, but little progress. This applies to individual managers (me included) as well to whole administrative entities.

By motion I mean such things as meetings, projects, targets, visions, committees, plans, etc. And by progress I mean actual results. Sometimes, I see managers trying to be "technically' correct; you can't "legally" say they are wrong, but when you go down and see the actual real-life results on the ground, you see lack of quality of service, lack of satisfaction of internal and external customers, little innovation, etc. As much as we argue that we are doing our job, real life results are damning proof of the harsh reality of our performance.

Imagine a chef that says that he is doing his job perfectly because he going through the "correct steps" flawlessly all the while knowing his food tastes terrible!

I think part of our problem is our narrow perception of a manager's role. I notice that we equate it with a series of mechanical actions or rituals, that as long as we do, no one has anything on us. I suggest that upper management shouldn't waste time on holding people accountable on means. It should hold people accountable against meaningful and strategically sound objectives that move the organization in the right direction.

Posted via email from Khalid's Stream

The Dilemma of the Knowledge Worker

2009-11-15T22:00:00.002+03:00

When working with the knowledge worker (who gets more specialized as we get deeper into the knowledge age by the way) you are faced with a dilemma as a supervisor or manager. He knows more than you do! In other words, you can’t tell:

If he’s doing the right thing.
If he has done the right thing correctly or not.
If there is a better way for doing the right thing.
If he is doing the right thing efficiently, or he is just wasting time and/or other resources.
If he’s answering your questions truthfully, or he’s just feeding you a complicated WRONG answer.

Basically, you are blind, and he is leading you by the hand to where ever he wants.

There are a few ideas that you can use to deal with this dilemma:

Learn:

Consider it a an opportunity to get to know new stuff. Read up and learn. The insight that you gain cannot be substituted by anything.

Ask the customer:

Generally speaking, the output of the process can be very telling of how effect the process itself is. Keep in mind that if you are speaking to non-paying customers that really doesn't have an incentive to want quality product/service, you might not find what you are looking for unless you ask the right questions.

Benchmark/ set quality standards:

Find a way to establish transparent quality standards that set a common reference.

Hire a supervisor or leader that is knowledgeable:

Outsource it! If you don’t have a high enough structure, choose one of the employees as a group leader

All of the above if possible!

Google: A Company that is Doing It Right

2009-11-15T21:58:00.000+03:00

Google keeps generating great new stuff in a consistent flow of innovation and value. I was just looking into one of its latest services, its new navigation system and it has so many great features for FREE.

The fact of the matter is that Google is outperforming companies with its non-core business in their core business. For example, in my opinion, Chrome is better than IE or FF, Android (and probably Chrome OS) are on trajectory to be the best mobile OSs out there, and Google Docs is getting better than Office. It's almost like they can be the best at what they wish.

Part of their success is that they have accepted human way of achievement: let pure talent try out lots of stuff freely, and paradigms and norms will be broken and great value will ensue; the perfect organization!. Its a catalyst for releasing and liberating human potential. I know they still have to organize, but it seems that they have an effective balance where everything is unified but in a way that is kind of big and broad and inspiring and at the same time produces wealth (effective business model).

But this level of success is a DNA thing. It was built in from the beginning which means they had to get it right from the beginning in many different ways and several different levels; any slight deviation would have been evident and detrimental in the long run. In other words,they constructed their DNA correctly from the beginning.

I don't know if it is sustainable cause these kind of things usually aren't because lots of things have to be right and stay right for this kind of success to continue. Any kind of relaxation of standards will result in lower performance and disruption. This is usually caused by a natural human tendency called.... complacency.

Knowledge vs. the Conceptual

2009-11-15T21:56:00.001+03:00

Sometimes raw brain power or theorizing is no substitute for knowledge and experience. In theory, lots of scenarios are possible, but in reality, either they simply don't exist, or only few are feasible. Flying polka-dot elephants are theoretically possible, but they don't exist!

The fact of the matter is that experience and knowledge anchor you in reality and acquaint you with the constraints which limit an otherwise limitless, boundless mind. It also sheds light on areas that a mind's eye doesn't see where even a intelligent person's mind has not yet registered.

As of late, I've found myself breaking some management rules, that in theory I shouldn't generally break, but I did it for the right reason. It is important to know the rules, but it is more important to know why they exist in the first place. If a rule defies its purpose, then it should be reconsidered. Sometimes, it causes more harm than good, so it shouldn't be applied. A case of theory versus reality.

This is also applied in Islam. For example, lying is not permitted, but there are well known exceptions where not lying defies the purpose (reason) for not permitting it in the first place. It is in areas such as this that only great scholars can pass judgement. It is an area where great knowledge coupled with great understanding mesh to produce what few great scholars throughout the centuries have been able to impart.

Both knowledge and conceptual ability (which leads to understanding) are important, but you have to see the dots before you attempt to draw the lines that connect them.

Posted via email from Khalid's Stream

Let Go

2009-10-11T06:52:00.001+03:00

You can achieve so much more when you let go. Let go of your presumptions, weakness, limitations. Live in the zero gravity plain.

Posted via email from Khalid's Stream

Adolf Hitler's Oratory Ability

2009-10-02T08:56:00.001+03:00

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I’m not much for Adolf Hitler or what he stood for, but I post this video to note his great oratory ability. I mean you get excited just by listening to him without knowing what he is saying. Try listening without reading the subtitles.

Many criminals have great abilities and are brilliant in their own right If only it were used constructively.

Posted via email from Khalid's Stream

And

2009-08-14T07:17:00.005+03:00

Thinking in terms of the AND not the OR opens up many avenues for growth and inclusion. We tend to think of the Or and neglect the power of the And both on an intellectual level and on a physical level:

"Either I'm right Or you are" vs. "I am right And you are right. We just need to put both our sketches together to reveal the whole picture". In fact, there is nothing wrong with: "I am wrong And you are wrong"!
"Either I'm right Or wrong" vs. "I can be right in one respect And wrong in an other"
"I am either brave/smart or a coward/stupid" vs. "I am strong in one area And weak in another"
"Our product can be of superior quality, or it can be cheap" vs. "We can be like Apple which was able to bring the price of the iPhone to an accessible point for many and deliver superior qulity"
"Either I win Or he does" vs. "I can win And he can win, too".

The list can go on, but I'll leave that to you.

The original idea was ignited by reading Built to Last.

If you've never listened to the Holy Quran, then here is you chance

2009-05-28T09:31:00.000+03:00

Pain is Important

2009-05-23T07:36:00.003+03:00

I wrote a blog lately about the jungle and the flower and how everything, regarding the trial of one’s faith, is in equilibrium and only his independent choice will move him in either direction.

I’ve noticed whatever path you choose, you will experience both pain and pleasure to varying degrees. The pain diminishes over time as the person morphs on his path to goodness or evil. In other words, on the one hand, with time the person changes from the inside and ceases to feel remorse for his sins if he is evil. On the other hand, he ceases to feel temptation to material trials if he is pure and righteous. This morphosis requires consistency and insistence on doing good or evil for extended periods of time.

Most of us remain in that middle state where we just don’t commit and therefore experience pain and pleasure to varying degrees. But pain is not all bad. If not for pain much positive change would not occur in our lives. It is a natural indicator that something is wrong.

Additionally, it is a major source of growth and maturity. If everything is alright, why should I change. Even muscles, as we know, require resistance and pain to build extra tissue and become stronger to cope with the added strain.

A well known story tells of a lady walking in the forest and seeing a fledgling butterfly in a cocoon trying to emerge to life. It was having a difficult time getting out of the cocoon, so the lady, out of sympathy, cut open the cocoon to assist the poor butterfly. As the butterfly emerged, it fell to the ground and later died as it was unable to fly. The lady unintentionally deprived the butterfly of the chance to struggle out and pump important fluids to its wings that would enable it fly away.

Nice to Strangers

2009-04-10T06:27:00.003+03:00

Haven't you noticed how everybody is nice to strangers more so than to people we actually know? With strangers, for some reason, we assume the best intentions. But, because we think we know better, for our near and dear, we second guess their motives and intentions.

Maybe this sheds light to why the prophet (sala Allahu Alaihi Wa Salam) has told us to always assume the best in people. We are the first to benefit from the this action as we will act more civilly and kindly with the ones we care about the most. I've even read a hadeath where it says that if you are in doubt, don't check and investigate, just assume the best about the person.

Really, life is just too short to waste it on these petty things.

Important Knowledge is Everywhere

2009-03-18T07:30:00.004+03:00

Our ability to understand is innate and inborn, but gaining knowledge is something that we have to acquire and actively seek. The good news is we have all the important knowledge that we need around us if we look carefully and teach our children to do so.

A farmer learns the important law of the harvest which states that everything has a time and a process. He learns that you can’t rush things no matter how strong you are. Do what you may, a seed just won’t grow until the appropriate season arrives. He learns that you have to work and struggle to achieve results. Those who don’t plow, plant, irrigate, and tend their crop will have nothing at harvest time. He learns that, with cooperation, everyone gains more then by working alone; no man is an island.

A shepherd learns that the weak need protection and vigilance in light of predators that seek to overtake them. He learns that inaction is sometimes action. Leaving others alone to live and grow is an act of love. Leveling other alone to perish is an act of crime. He learns that when he sleeps others awake. He learns primitiveness and strategy. Perhaps what he learns most is to reflect, think, and have patience.

A fisherman learns that not everything is under your control. You are only a very small part of the equation. What you catch and how much you catch is ordained by fate. He learns that things can happen suddenly and ruin lives or livelihoods. He learns time depreciates everything; our lives as much as the food we eat. We have to make the best of what we have now.

The important lessons of life are around us in Allah’s creation, but we are too busy and it is too boring. Media is the fast-food of the mind. It is very tasty but bears little value.

Learning from the things around us gives more than knowledge or understanding. It gives us wisdom which the ultimate mixture of both.

People Have Different Buttons

2009-03-17T08:56:00.003+03:00

What most of us don’t register is how much people innately sense what benefits them and what doesn’t. When someone doesn’t react to what we are saying, we just try harder!

Sometimes, you think that someone is stupid or impassionate, so you try to explain/express even more thinking that you will make him understand. We act and say and whatever to try to influence people not knowing that most don’t react because they SENSE, intrinsically, that what we presenting doesn’t benefit them within their framework of priorities. Some are just not influenced by money or personal gain. Others are not moved by morals or vision.

For those who value money, go ahead and offer them 1,000,000; really, do you need to say or explain anything?

For those who value relationships, go ahead and offer them your friendship and service, does anything more need to be said?

What you want is not of substance. What they value is what is important. If these correspond than, well, things will go uphill. If not, sorry, but it is going to be a zero sum game.

The Flower or The Jungle... the Perfect Balance

2009-03-16T07:57:00.002+03:00

Islam is a beautiful radiant flower that has wondrous powers to heal and enlighten. It is fragile because the souls of men don’t readily carry its seed. To grow, it needs choice and purpose. To spread, it needs to be carried with commitment and sacrifice. Wholly accepting that flower leads to the eternal bliss of faith, yet is trying to the material body.

Lust, greed, and doubt are part of a vast jungle that is perpetual and ever-growing. It only needs to be left alone to expand in men’s souls. Satin minds and mends it. Temptation of entering that jungle leads to ecstasy and gratification that is immediate and now, yet is trying to the spirit and heart.

The first is right. The latter is wrong.

Your choice.

Your Potential

2009-03-07T08:13:00.002+03:00

Never let others limitations hinder your contribution or progress. Others obstruction can be on purpose, but in many cases it is not. Their limitations can be that of goal where they have different priorities than you based on their circumstances. Sometimes it’s because of their view or way of seeing things. And sometimes it’s just lack of knowledge.

It is similar to people on a journey. People will start trying to persuade you to stop your progress because they want to head in a different direction than where you are trying to take them (even though that’s where you agreed to go in the first place!). Sometimes they do that because they think they there is a better path. Other times it’s because they are too afraid to go along a path they have never treaded.

Whatever the reason for their limitations, don’t let that limit your potential and contribution to reach a worthy goal.

Tip of The Iceberg

2009-03-04T22:21:00.004+03:00

In several cases, I've noticed that a person would act very casually and with ease in situations that usually place strain on others. For example, he would be tempted by money, but would simply wave it away easily.

The reality of the matter is that what we see is, in a sense, only the tip of the iceberg. In other words, this person has been building his inner moral strength for, say, 15 or 20 years, so although his behavior might seem extraordinary, it makes perfect sense when you learn of his previous effort.

There are so many other things like this in life where we things just happen where in reality so many previous elements had actually factored in the final result.

The Blind Man and The Chicken Head

2009-03-04T14:03:00.004+03:00

There is this story of a blind man that, one day, all of a sudden started to see. In that narrow time of vision, he caught the sight of a chicken’s head that was walking nearby then he lost sight again. All he saw was that chicken; that was the only image he had in his mind. Later on every time someone tried to describe something to him he would say, “compare that to a chicken head for me.”

I’m sometimes overconfident and act like I understand a certain field based on too little input or knowledge. I’ve found out over the years that to be plain foolish and so arrogant.

I mean I’m a teacher by profession, an English teacher at that, and I started to visualize a person with no knowledge of English or English teaching speaking as though he knew everything based on his recent knowledge of the ABC. He would be so blindsided that you could expose him from every direction without him being able to respond.

I’ve written an article somewhere in this blog about seeing the dots and connecting them where I explain that many people have the ability to draw the lines connecting the dots; in other words they have intelligence and understanding, but the picture that would result would be wrong because they don’t have all the dots (knowledge). Intelligence is innate endowment that many have, but knowledge is something you have to seek.

Weakness is Strength

2009-02-17T21:43:00.004+03:00

I was lately listening to a radio show where the host said he found that most of the accomplished people in his particular feild were the ones with the most insecurities.

Prophet Mohammed was an orphan. Moses had a speaking disability...

I've found this theme to be consistent in other aspects of life too. Sleep is a weakness. When you sleep you are rendered vulnerable, yet the in the absence of this weakness, you are considered sick and seek medical intervention.

Love itself is a form of weakness. When you love something, you become needy to it and vulnerable.

A part of a woman's seduction is her weakness especially when she reveals it to her husband. He grows more attracted to her and exerts more effort to please her. His very masculinity and ego are fulfilled by that very fact. In fact, many woman, as we know, use that feminine trait to manipulate their husbands.

I think weakness is source of strength because it creates a void in a man's heart that he strives to fill. In that strife lies his strength.

Wahabi Gratitude to Parents

2009-02-17T07:02:00.007+03:00

Clicking on the title leads to a story in Al-Riyadh Newspaper. The only place you'll read this story in English will be here (I guess) , and I don't know if I'll ever take time to translate an other news story again.

It's a real story about someone called Hezan Al-Fihaidi and his brother Ghalib. They went to the Islamic court in Al-Assayah to resolove a serious dispute. The dispute was about which one of them would have honor of taking care of their aging mother...

Hezan, although the eldest, was poor but felt that he was providing for the needs of his mother all the same. Ghalib was better off and thought that his mother ought to stay with him because he was better able to provide for his aging mother.

They couldn't resolve the dispute, so they took the matter to the courts. The presiding judge tried to resolve the issue, but they both insisted on their request. So, the judge asked to speak with their mother and ask her to choose.

The two sons took turns carrying her to the court room as each wanted the honor of serving his mother for himself. She wasn't much of a burden to carry as she was very light and frail.

The judge posed the question to the poor old woman. "This is my right eye", she said pointing to Hezan. "And This is my left eye", she said pointing to Ghalib. Ultimately the judge had to make a decision since she refused to choose between her two sons. He decided that she is to live with Ghalib, the younger, since he was the more capable to take care of her.

Hazen broke into tears and cried until he wet his beard.

If Not for Burden...

2008-04-09T21:41:00.004+03:00

If not for burden, all people would excel
Generosity impoverishes and bravery kills!
Al-Mutanabi

Sometimes, we tend to think that our desire is enough proof for the legitimacy of our actions. If overeating is wrong, why does food taste so good? If having a relationship with the opposite sex is wrong, why are women/men so attractive? If perseverance is the right way to achieve success, why is it so hard?

Paradigm shift: We are here in life for precisely that purpose, to be tested and tempted. It's basically a huge test tube. The sooner we get a grip on that reality, the sooner the pieces of the puzzle start falling in place and making sense.

Ideology and Hellish Actions

2007-10-04T07:04:00.002+03:00

I've always asked why do some people perform atrocious and evil acts by any human standard and not feel guilt or remorse. Some even feel good about themselves. The things I'm talking about are hideous things like torturing children, for example, killing completely innocent people. I don't have a problem with psychopaths and madmen; but sane people performing these acts thinking it's OK makes me ask why? If the same were done to them or their loved ones, they wouldn't want to go to lunch as if nothing had happened; a Psycho on the other hand might want to participate.

The creature illustrated on the left was legally indited with numerous hellish offenses toward Muslims during the Serbian occupation of Bosnia, among them: many counts of murder, torture, and rape.

So, why does this occur? I think one reason lies in the effect of ideology on our perception of the world. Ideology changes the way we see the world. The creature above or any other cruel person don't see an image of an innocent human which triggers a feeling of compassion or sympathy; they see the image of someone bad, base, ugly, evil, etc. because of their demented ideology not their demented psyche (which is an important nuance).

But ideology is not all bad. Correct ideologies result in righteous actions. For example, Muslims perceive children of all faiths as heaven-dwellers; every children goes to heaven if they die before maturity. They are not to be harmed in any way, along with women and the elderly, during war, any other time for that matter.

Another problem with a faulty or flawed ideology is, sometimes, it makes its adherents view bad people, things, or events as good. A good example is the man mentioned above; he was sentenced to 23 years in prison. This person should be executed, but because the judicial system he was tried by perceives, because of its ideology, that you can't punish killing by killing then he was imprisoned. In Islam this guy would have been killed because killing itself is not judged as good or bad, but rather the reason of killing is judged whether right or wrong. If you kill someone because he was trying to kill you or your loved one, you did the right thing. If you kill someone because he is a mass murderer to prohibit others form doing the same, then you are doing the right thing. If you kill because you don't like someone or because you are angry, you have done the wrong thing.

"Be" to Be Happy

2007-09-30T16:03:00.001+03:00

I've always admired people who were spontaneous; you sense when speaking with them that they are real. How can you realize change within yourself to the degree that that change becomes “you”? In other words, how can I be good enough from the inside that I earn the liberty to speak what's on my mind without shame of what I am or fear of what I might say?

Let's look at anyone that does an activity that requires spontaneity, such as soldiers and athletes. These people have made a commitment to action and to a certain outcome; such people have to have free flow of thought and motion; they can't hesitate; they just act and therein lies the key I think. Such people have already decided to really be something, on a physical level, in order to be able to act without hesitation. The athlete has already decided to do whatever it takes to win, so his decisions are split-second.

Their commitment to deliver or attain an outcome without hesitation forces them to "be", and therein lies satisfaction and happiness if applied on a emotional and spiritual level.

This continuum (be-do-have) is the basic alchemy of greatness. True and eternal greatness and happiness, which transcends the boundaries of this mortal world, require shifting the have from worldly positions to divine submission.

Be good, and the more spontaneous your, the better.

To the Millions of Readers of This Humble Blog

2007-09-30T13:07:00.001+03:00

The prophet- may the peace and blessing of Allah be upon him- said that the deeds that are the most pleasing to Allah are those that are the most consistent, even if few.

One of the millions of readers of this humble blog was kind enough to leave a comment encouraging me to write more often saying that even if no comments are left that doesn't mean that no one reads the blog. I managed to slip in a few entries as a result of the encouragement.

It's true I should write more often, but the fact of the matter is very few people stumble upon this humble, and I mean humble, blog and read it. I took the courtesy of adding a site counter to this blog, which I later dropped because it was embarrassing, not to mention down right depressing. Very few had the honor of reading this humble, and I say again humble, blog. In fact, every time I visited my own blog, the counter increased by one. In other words, I was the only person in the entire world fortunate enough to visit my blog. I thought of committing suicide, but back off at the last minute.

So, why do I continue to write? First, it's a place to archive ideas. I've written stuff in this blog that I've since forgotten. When I happen to pass by them again, I say, "When the heck did I write that."

Second, I always hope that someone, somewhere might stumble upon it and benefit from it someway or other.

Third, it improves my writing in some odd way.

I write this blog for you, the multitudes upon multitudes of eager fans, so get the heck to work and start reading!

Mother Teresa's Crisis of Faith

2007-09-25T14:28:00.003+03:00

The link above leads to an article by Time about Mother Teresa's crisis of faith. Below are some quotes from her letters:

Jesus has a very special love for you. As for me, the silence and the emptiness is so great that I look and do not see, listen and do not hear.
— Mother Teresa to the Rev. Michael Van Der Peet, September 1979

Lord, my God, who am I that You should forsake me? The Child of your Love — and now become as the most hated one — the one — You have thrown away as unwanted — unloved. I call, I cling, I want — and there is no One to answer — no One on Whom I can cling — no, No One. — Alone ... Where is my Faith — even deep down right in there is nothing, but emptiness & darkness — My God — how painful is this unknown pain — I have no Faith — I dare not utter the words & thoughts that crowd in my heart — & make me suffer untold agony.

So many unanswered questions live within me afraid to uncover them — because of the blasphemy — If there be God — please forgive me — When I try to raise my thoughts to Heaven — there is such convicting emptiness that those very thoughts return like sharp knives & hurt my very soul. — I am told God loves me — and yet the reality of darkness & coldness & emptiness is so great that nothing touches my soul. Did I make a mistake in surrendering blindly to the Call of the Sacred Heart?

— addressed to Jesus, at the suggestion of a confessor, undated

Tell me, Father, why is there so much pain and darkness in my soul?
— to the Rev. Lawrence Picachy, August 1959

Hurts doesn't it?

I don't believe in Christianity, but her spiritual pain hurts me all the same.

What hurts me most is her sincerity in wanting and longing for the bliss and joy of faith that she used to feel, but doesn't anymore. Getting lost and going astray especially with people who want to please the Almighty, but not knowing how or whether what they are doing is right is very painful.

From what I read about her, I now think, from a view point of a Muslim, that there might be people who can be sincere and really want to please God (according to their definition of God), but go astray.

Maybe their system of thinking is such that it can't allow any contrary information to their faith to pass no matter how many times the plain truth passes their path. I've certainly met people who manage to create a system of thought the cuts out outside thought, no matter how right, from penetrating or getting in.

In Islam, we are encouraged to think and to accept knowledge even from the devil himself if it is true. But aside from faith, I wonder if I've cocooned myself in other aspects of life and denied myself knowledge that can be very beneficial.

The question is can a person's strife to understand by creating a system that attempts to pull together different aspects of reality be his very enemy to seeing reality completely in the first place!

How weak we are if our stride for perfection can be the basis of our weakness!

We are Always Perfectly Aligned

2007-09-24T23:36:00.001+03:00

There's this famous saying in management that goes like this, "You are perfectly aligned to get the results you are getting". This basically means that your current state is a natural and inevitable outcome of your previous decisions and circumstances. In other words, it couldn't have happened in any other way. For it be any different, the precursors would have to have been different. This saying addresses organizations mainly, but also applies to individuals.

This is similar to the concept that negative outcomes stemming from what we do are merely consequences of our actions and shouldn't be viewed as bad, but rather natural (when you pick up on end of a stick, you pick up the other); you should not be surprised.

Additionally, Covey promotes a similar idea which deals with the events that we don't have influence on, like our daughter spilling coffee on our clothes. He says that only 10% of the negative results that happen from these events are linked to the event itself; the other 90% of the results are from our response to that event (your daughter didn't fail the exam that morning because she spilt the coffee, she failed because you scolded her and couldn't think properly on the test as a result).

What this boils down to is that the majority of results in our lives are directly linked to our actions and reactions; how we act to get the results we want, and how we react to things we have no power over and can't change.

The results that we get in life are natural outcomes of our actions and reactions. The implications of this simple concept are profound. The profoundness doesn't stem from its inherent complexity, but from the fact that it shatters the artificial complexity that we bestow on life to justify our actions and reactions.

We are Only as Important as the Thing we are Willing to Sacrifice For

2007-09-24T23:32:00.000+03:00

Hmmm.

Celebrating Happy People

2007-09-24T23:07:00.001+03:00

Most of the time, we celebrate people who have acquired sensual pleasure, namely the rich and famous. The people we should really be focusing on are the truly happy, don't you think?

I mean if you ask anybody about what he is searching for in this life, he would answer "Happiness!" Ok… so, why are after fame and fortune. I mean you know that they don't necessarily lead to happiness. I guess it's probably due to social conditioning and our own innate lust for pleasure.

But again, how would we identify happy people? Fame and wealth have clear benchmarks by which we can judge, but happiness… that's tough.

But for the sake of argument, say we could find a way to identify happy and content people, who would they be. I think the result would be very reveling and perhaps hard for us to accept.

What if we found that the happy person we are looking for was that janitor working in the office? Would we really be willing to undertake the necessary change to be as happy as he is? This wouldn't necessarily mean that we become poor or we change our occupation, but it would mean that we would have change the things we want and the way we see the world, which could or could not make us as poor as he is, but would make us as happy. So, would we do it?

What I want to say is there is so much of life out there that we just don't register; that we don't see because our focus is on other aspects of life that really don't matter. We are functionally blind to what really makes us happy. In the end it's a choice; do you choose happiness regardless of sensual pleasure or not, or do you choose pleasure regardless of happiness or not.

New Laptop

2007-05-19T06:33:00.000+03:00

I've bought a new laptop. The experience turned out better than I thought. I guess this is because of the introduction of the new duo core processors in addition to Windows Vista, which came pre-intalled on the PC. The conversion of these new technologies has made for a much better experience.

Another thing that I didn't think I would appreciate as much as I did was mobility. It's really nice that you can work on your PC anywhere you like. I'm not just talking about moving to and from major places, but also the fact that inside your home you are not binded to a desk. For certain reasons, It's not possible for me to move inside my home easily, so it's turns out to be a much appreciated feature which I didn't realize.

Anyhow, I expect to be blogging more often since I can now start using my PC from the comfort of my bathroom!

A Story to Share

2007-04-30T11:48:00.001+03:00

A telling story that I want to share with you:

A group of graduates, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the simple and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee.

In most cases, it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups... Then you began eyeing each other's cups. Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of Life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us. Enjoy your coffee!."

The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything."

Is He For Real?

2007-04-23T11:18:00.000+03:00

I was trying to use my JasJam as a book by downloading some of those digital novels and stories; one of them was Appointment by Agatha Christy. One of the main characters of the story is the cruel mother who tries to influence her children’s actions by manipulating their thoughts using her domineering personality.

What I found striking was that there were several people around me using essentially the same method. Although they aren’t as extreme as her, they use the same principle: willing others to believe in you and in what you are saying despite the fact that that you lack in integrity, knowledge and are basically not fitting. These people sometimes use intimidation, and sometimes try to act in a way they think will impress respect, reverence, maybe even awe and on the “subject”.

One of the methods that one of my relatives uses to create this aura around his unfathomable character and wisdom is that of overgeneralization. Real people, with certain favorable characteristics, tend to act in a certain way, even sometimes ware certain cloths, speak in a certain fashion, etc. In many cases, we assume, when we experience a person that does these things, that he is real; in other words, we overgeneralize. Although stereotyping is very efficient, sometimes it’s not very effective.

Additionally, I guess we have an internal need to believe in something or someone, so when someone comes along and starts acting in a bigger-than-life fashion some start to think, “Maybe he’s the real thing”.

A more cunning method is, what I call, synthesized knowledge. The guy knows stuff, but lots of what he is saying isn’t something he really “knows”. He’ll be blending his opinions, judgment, and sometimes his emotions with all the real stuff. Some consultants are like that. Some people start to feel insecure and submit their souls, but remember Allah has given us the most valuable gift “an inquisitive mind”, so just ask about the inconsistencies of their statements.

Despite our insecurities, we have to use our minds and simply ask ourselves if we have enough real evidence to conclude if this person is for real. We, also, have to have the courage to ask any person to answer our inquiries; if he’s for real, he won’t mind.

Seeing the Dots and Drawing the Lines

2007-04-14T08:59:00.003+03:00

At last, I have been freed from coordinating tests at the institute. It was a great experience, but a stressful one. Lots of mistakes were made, and as a result many great lessons were learned.

One of the most important lessons I learned was the difference between our perception of how things are running or should run at a given organization and how they are actually running.

Perceiving things as they really are is very important. When that is not the case, we don't get the results that we expected, which should be a strong indication that there is something wrong in our perception.

But knowing is not the only important cognitive faculty; the ability to connect the dots is also very important. Connecting between the dots is understanding; the dots themselves are the things we know which truly reflect reality.

The problems is sometimes we try to "understand" something that we either don't know it well enough or something we have a wrong perception of. So, in this case, the lines connect alright, but to illusionary dots.

The opposite is also a problem, namely having correct knowledge, but not being able to draw proper connections. In this case, trying to get results by trying to have the dots work together will not produce results because in reality they either are not connected or are connected in ways you haven't realized, or maybe you are missing important connection to dots you know. Getting the right results in many cases is dependant on getting several things to work together correctly, so you have to at least see the critical dots and be able to draw the critical correct connections (kinda sounds nice!).

Reformer Vs. Leader or Manager

2007-04-11T14:46:00.000+03:00

One of the main issues regarding leadership and management, at least with me, is that I had a problem with all the discrepancies that I saw in my company as compared to what I was reading in all those leadership books. For example, where I work, there is little listening to the customer. As odd as it may sound, believe me, it makes sense if you look at it in light of one of my favorite saying, “every organization is perfectly aligned to get the results that it is getting.”

Anyway, I was raising hell in all the meetings that I attended and causing stress to everyone with such comments as, “We are not customer focused” and “There is little accountability being practiced in this department”, and my all time favorite, “Our managers incompetent”. Of course, not all of them were in formal meetings, but I had no problem keeping my mouth shut.

Then I remembered one of Covey’s remarks which was somewhere along the line of “All companies, even the best of them, have many problems, some even deep”, so, I thought, it is inevitable; there will always be problems. I started to realize that a person has to work with what he’s got, and not compare his reality to abstract thoughts that are basically meant as guidelines. Being a teacher, I know that a great teacher is not one that has students that get As or Bs (cause they could be A or B students from the very beginning), but rather the he is the one that improves his students to the best of their potential and get the best possible results from what he has to work with.

Hence, I started to think that the term Reformer is better than leader in the sense that it highlights the importance of amendment and improvement as it relates your current situation not to an abstract reference like the one that I read in those management books.

Of course, this is not to say that these books are in anyway useless, on the contrary, they are essential as they guide you through your reformation of your organization; it only underscores the importance of realizing that it’s not a perfect world out there.

One of the books that I recommend, is Execution which highlights the importance of realizing that things don’t get done by themselves (delegation is not enough); you have to effect the discipline of execution for things to materialize; like I said, it's not a perfect world out there.

Culture and Alignment

2007-02-19T21:03:00.000+03:00

Culture and the aligning elements dictate what we can and cannot do in an organization.

Culture is the unwritten law, the expectations, standards, the self-policing imperatives that everyone holds himself and others to. It's the verbal and non-verbal message that you receive in a thousand ways that a certain action is expected and another action is unacceptable. It's the collective heart of an organization; heart in the sense that it's what an organization wants, likes, and expects of itself and what it dislikes.

Aligning elements are the formal systems, procedures, incentives, structures, etc. that facilitate, guide, and point to the achievement of an organizations goals. They are the body and mind of an organization.

An organization's culture is stronger than its aligning elements. And, usually, no single person can go against an organization's culture or formal systems unless he exhibits exceptional selflessness in order to gain the trust of others and, subsequently, moral authority. If he can achieve that, perhaps he might receive formal authority and then he has potential to powerfully influence both an organization's culture and systems.

One more difference between the two: both are contracts in a sense, a mutual understanding... but culture is a system comprised of moral contracts and expectations while, on the other hand, systems are formal contracts. Allah the all mighty comands us to fulfil our contracts in every sense of the word.

Execution Gap

2007-02-06T16:29:00.000+03:00

I noticed that I had ideas, but I kept on forgetting them, and never remembered to use them at the crucial moment when it was time for them to be applied.

The reason, I later realized, was that there is a vast difference between learning and thinking for the sake merely producing thoughts, and between thinking and learning for the sake of applying.

Knowing something without realizing it in your life, internally or externally or both, is like not knowing it at all.

The Almighty likened those who were given the Torah but didn‘t embrace it to a dog that keeps patting whether it has something on it‘s back or not.

You are one, and you are Real. For thoughts and knowledge to become real, they have to become one with action.

Predictable Khalid

2007-02-06T15:47:00.000+03:00

A very interesting thing just happened!

I uploaded a design of mine which I unknowingly had uploaded before. I decided to write a note. When I checked the previous upload, it turns out I wrote all but the same words. Its not just the words, the strange thing is how I chose to talk about the same things (you didn't see the child-the translation is...)

How predictable can you get!

Choose the label "design" and see the two identical designs; see how far apart the updates are!

Pictures of Desert Trip

2007-02-03T12:49:00.000+03:00

Latest eddition to Family, Rakan.

Goldy Locks... just out of prison!

This was before I beat him up...

Panoramic picture of location taken by my mobile. Oh, the wonders of modern technology.

My first mobile entry

2007-02-01T07:16:00.001+03:00

I have just changed to mobily and I am trying out mobile blogging.

bear with me, world.

Major Hassle

2007-01-09T16:40:00.001+03:00

After a long struggle with the so called Axiom dealership, I have finally replaced my device. I thank Allah. It was a major major (yes, two) hassle to get them to change it.

After going through their standard KC Loop (kill the customer loop) which involved six or seven visits, two soft resests, changning the screen, and finally changing the mother board, the technician said that all the above was not the real source of the problem, the source he said was the software.

So, why the elaborate act. Good question. I posed it to the technician. He said just to please the customer!

Paradigm shift everyone! KC customer service introduces the latest new thing:
Please the customer to death!

Lesson learned:
A fancy dealership, company, person, whatever... is just that, fancy. Don't overgeneralize. Fancy doesn't mean effective or professional.

Our minds tend to associate things. Yes, most professional places are fancy, but be careful not do it the other way round!

My New JasJam

2006-12-06T16:31:00.000+03:00

I just purchased my new PDA and am planning to use it for blogging. Of course, it has many other ways of use, but one of my ideas is to use it as a blogging tool.

It is very beneficial. You can view PowerPoint presentations on it, prep Excel sheets, I‘ve made my home balance sheet using it! You can also take notes with it, too.

Ok, enough gaga!

I did face some problems with it, nonetheless. It seems it has an issue with aligning the screen. After aligning the screen, it starts drifting to the left a bit, so when you press on ok it presses the clock, for example. I googled the issue and found that lots of people have the same problem, well not lots, but, still, it is a well documented problem.

Oh, the PDA is an I-Mate JasJam. To be honest, I don‘t know the meaning of the word.

I don't know why I still blog. I guess it‘s for two reasons. The first is because I have ideas I want to record and share. The other, which is slowly diminishing, is to improve my writing. Not diminishing because my spelling is getting better, but because I guess if I continue to blog continuously, then I guess It would take care of itself. I mean now I can blog anywhere anytime (not sure if that is a good thing). Take now, for example, I‘m in furniture store with my mom and sisters sitting on a (kind of) comfortable sofa worth 14000 riyals.

I don‘t know if anyone is ever going to read this, but hey, I'm expressing myself, recording my ideas, solving my embarrassing problem.

Who Cares?

2006-11-19T07:17:00.000+03:00

Yesterday, I was speaking with one of my colleagues.

In my opinion, he has always had a problem that I could just not put my finger on.

Now I think his problem, in my opinion, is that he thinks what he is saying is important. It is smart, no doubt, but not important. In other words, it means nothing to me or, I guess, the others listening.

Because he knows that he is smart and what he is saying/generating is intelligent, he continuous to speak. We try to be polite by trying to understand how what he is saying has to do with what is important. We can't sometimes, so we just smile. But, unfortunately, it shows. He gets annoyed, and figures that we are in some way impolite.

Smart yet unimportant to thoughts is what powerful yet inaccurate is to guns! It really doesn't matter to people how smart you are if you don't benefit them in a way or other; unless smart people themselves are considered a benefit to certain people. But usually, in a hectic world, where everybody is busy and trying to pull his life together, most people don't care about how smart you are; they care about what you can provide.

I mean think about it. How much smart technology do see every day; do you really care who created it, or how it was created, despite the fact that your that much genues was poored into it to make it work?

Design: Masking Fears

2006-08-29T08:10:00.000+03:00

This pictures reads, "Even if I yell, there is a frightened child within me."

Many don't see the child in the man's mouth.

The Benefits of Reinventing the Wheel!

2006-08-29T08:07:00.000+03:00

Lately, I've been reviewing a certain subject and trying to find a concept or framework that encompasses its various elements. A thought came to me that maybe I was trying to reinvent the wheel; maybe what I was doing has been done by somebody else. Maybe what I was trying to formulate is basically common knowledge to specialists of the field.

True, but I was adding value in two ways:

I'm not a specialist on the subject; I'm just an interested reader of the subject. As such, reinventing the wheel is very useful to me as it grants me something more important than basic knowledge, it grants me insight and understanding. The word "understand" itself, to me, is very reveling once you try to break it up. Understanding something is to stand under it, like a car, for example. Looking at a car from outside is one thing, but lifting it and taking a look under it from the bottom is much more reveling; it gives you much more insight on how it works. So, deconstructing information and constructing it again, maybe in different ways, gives you insight on the various relationship between its elements, how they interact, and their relative importance in the grand scheme of things. It's like... you get the idea.

By internalizing the information through deconstructing and reconstructing the information, I'm also adding value by adding my own connections to the subject. This is related to something being real or not. If something is big and real (truly part of reality), it usually has lots of connections to things all around us. Scholars just prove something is real and follow the leads that are beneficial to them. There could be many more connections and applications in reality that they don't touch upon either because they don't know about them or because they don't care about them; but you can highlight those connections because you know and care about those other aspects of life. For example, the topic I've been reading about is leadership; and I've found so many strong connections to it's principles in Islamic teachings. I've never read any discussion about these connection between Islam and leadership principles in western leadership literature (of course) or in scholarly works by Muslim Scholars. The only value I'm adding here is connecting the dots; there's nothing new on either side, except introducing them to each other (in a sense), but nonetheless, highlighting these connections is valuable.

In addition to understanding it better, you tend not to forget it because you internalize it by anchoring it to lots of other information you know. Information that is connected to many pieces of already-internalized-information in your brain tends not to be forgotten easily, like a building that is at the intersection of many streets, you pass by it many times a day regardless of where you are going, so you never forget where it is.

Design: Facing Your Problems

2006-08-21T19:50:00.000+03:00

I know I'm over doning it, but I just found a way to upload my designs, so bare with me here. This reads, "Face Your Problems Before they...," of course, fall on your head.

I sure wish I practiced what I preached!

Design: The American Invasion of Iraq

2006-08-21T19:43:00.000+03:00

Another design at the beginning of the American invasion of Iraq. At the time they were having trouble occupying Baghdad and the south and were eyeing Syria (little did they know!)

Design: Depiction of Prophetic Saying

2006-08-21T19:37:00.000+03:00

This is a design I made depicting a prophetic saying that nations of the world will invite themselves to feast on us as a result of our disobedience to Allah.

The Prophet and the Flat Organization

2006-08-21T12:46:00.000+03:00

It was just the Prophet (PBUH) and his companions that constituted the Muslim Organization. You can't get a flatter hierarchy than that!

But how could he get anything done? How was he able to manage all these people with any degree of effectiveness?

He didn't have to; they managed themselves.

Having the right people in the right places reduces the need for formal management and overseeing. The right people do their work because they want to, not because you are looking over their shoulder.

True empowerment and enjoying the luxury of a functional flat organization can't be realized without the right people in place; the problems it would cause would outweigh the benefits.

Some people try to implement some of these management concepts without realizing that before you actually build, you have to establish the right infrastructure first. A great organization is like an iceberg; you see the outstanding results without realizing that 3/4 of its being is submerged underwater.

You know, in a way the difference between a great organization and a mediocre one is like the difference between someone who uses his conscience mind to perform a task and someone who uses his subconscience mind. The first has to think everything out first, restrain from action until he is confident, and, finally, execute with attention to detail; so much energy is being used up just to get one little action right. The latter on the other hand, just does it! All his limbs know what they have to do; all he does is will it. In fact, he could be multitasking several things at a time.

I don't know if the analogy is accurate, but it's similar to how a leader in an effective organization produces results through empowerment, and how a leader in ineffective organization has to oversee and manage everything himself because he doesn't trust his subordinates to get things done.

Real

2006-08-20T14:17:00.000+03:00

A few months back I was reading Execution by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan. It explains the importance of actually executing the plans and strategies you set forth and highlights the steps necessary to get things done. You can have the best plan ever, but if it's not executed well it's of little or no value.

Anyway, one of the important points they mention is that its not so much the values that need to be changed; its changing people's beliefs by changing the results and feedback they experience in your organization.

People are intelligent, and they only change their values if they believe that something is really valuable. That is done by creating formal and informal systems that reward/ discourage wanted/ unwanted behavior. In other words, you have to make it real. But this only deals with the physical, external aspect of performance.

But, for them to willingly follow you and voluntarily pour their minds, and hearts to achieve a common goal, you, as the leader, have to be real; you have to be about more than money for your followers to give more than what you paid them for.

You can get people to physically perform what you want through formal & informal incentive schemes, but for you to get them to tap their intellectual and emotional potential, you have to provide inspiration. And for you to be inspirational, you have to conquer yourself.

I mean you can set broad job descriptions/ portfolios, stretch goals, or whatever you want, but if they don't want to volunteer there creativity, you will never find out. In the knowledge worker age, the leader seldom knows more than the knowledge worker under him. If the worker is not inspired to work, he will feed you all the necessary bull to justify his current state, and you can't do anything about it.

In addition, to high ethical standards, you need competency (know-how) and capacity (raw intellect) to achiever the right results and gain trust; you can love them and want to serve them all you want, but if you don't know how to produce results and overcome obstacles, they'd love you dearly, but won't follow you! You have to be real from perspective, too.

Bottom line, people might not show it, but they now real stuff from fake. So, leaders have to get real by aligning all systems in the organization to elicit and reinforce the behavior they want (real physical reward). But more importantly, in the knowledge worker age, as Druker and Covey explain, you have to compel the knowledge worker to volunteer his heart and mind through being really about more than financial gain.

It is through this principle that the prophet produced the greatest organization of all time. It was So effective that it conquered two of the most powerful empires of its time, the Persian empire and the Roman empire.

But then again, the Prophet tapped a fourth dimension that most organizations just can't; the spiritual.

Islam from a leadership perspective, is topic that I have to touch upon in later entries, in sha' allah.

Happiness Vs. Pleasure

2006-08-16T19:21:00.000+03:00

Why is it that Bangladesh has less suicides rates than the more developed Switzerland? Why are many westerners abandoning the comfort of urban life in search of happiness and inner peace in rural areas, away from city life and all its pleasures.

Islam instills happiness, capitalism, on the other hand, tries to provide sensual pleasure. There is, no doubt, some overlap between the two (happiness & pleasure), but they do diverge at a certain point. You can be happy without being sensually gratified, and you can be sensually gratified, without really being happy.

Take wealth as an example. Wealth is seen by capitalism as a goal in itself because it is a major facilitator of pleasure, whereas, in Islam, it is a means because it's not a major contributor to happiness (to be happy, you should give). The Prophet, peace be upon him, did not spend much time on the topic of how to get rich and become a millionaire.

Islam has aligned itself to provide happiness to the individual and to society. This is not to say that it shuns worldly pleasures. On the contrary, the All Mighty says in the Quran, “Say who has forbidden the beauty that Allah has created for his servants”. This is to say it places more emphasis and instruction on things that provide happiness for its followers.

Ironically, people who are happy and are at peace usually are more productive and thus more financially well off than others who are stressed. The latter tend not to be able to deal the strain and pull of every day life.

It's Dead

2006-08-16T14:27:00.005+03:00

I've just killed my dark blog. It was painless I assure you.

I've had this other blog that I kept to myself that I was posting to. I kept it out of site because I used it to post things that were, well, more emotional. A vent blog, if you will; a place where I got some things out of my system. It's dead. I did it a few minutes ago.

My dilemma was that I started this blog with the intent of improving my writing skills. Khalid's blog took a life of its own. And I started to write some of the ideas that I was fiddling around with in a way that required time and effort to organize. In, other words, I got consumed with formulating and organizing my ideas, and this, of course, defeated the purpose of blog.

So, I deiced to create another one. A blog that was informal where I wrote about my daily events, and my feelings and frustrations. It was not a pretty site, err, blog, I mean.

I started to feel that I was two faced, on the one hand. On the other hand, I sort of liked my other blog; it had spunk, emotion, simply, feelings. You would feel that there was another person on the other side. The majority of the posts on this blog boarder on the abstract; that's if they don't cross the border. Although this blog was more nutritious, my journal was more tasty. A compromise was in order.

From hence forth, I will try to be myself, yet I'll try to present something worth your time.

I ask Allah's Help.

Defending Your Being

2006-06-17T22:07:00.000+03:00

You don't have to be angry to make your point.

Sometimes there are points of contention that might ignite a wholehearted discussion about certain topics, and you get as angry as hell about it. Why?

Why do I get irritated when a person says something that I feel is aggressive? The answer is just that. You feel that you are being aggressed upon, but how? I mean it's only words; he's not choking or pointing a gun at me, so why the defensiveness? I guess it's that not all aggression is physical. Everybody wants to protect himself, you know, the fight or flight reaction. It's a matter of protecting your being from destruction. When person says that what you're saying is worthless, then he is abolishing you; he is acting as though you don't exist. Thus, he is destroying your existence. And you have to protect yourself verbally, at least.

But there are two points. One is why do you define your existence by what others say or think? I agree a human being is a social animal, social needs. He needs to feel accepted, but still your can't make yourself vulnerable, and easily available for whomsoever wants to inflict damage to you and your beloved being. I guess it's a balance, and also people are not the same regarding their need for acceptance.

But still it is not logical, I mean, defining the safety of your being by what others think or say, but again it hurts. I mean, is it fair to say to a person do say ouch when person throws a rock at you? Yes, the rock is something physical, but your body is something physical. And since your being has metaphysical side to it, metaphysical rocks hurt it. I mean, it's almost as if it's built into a human's DNA to mind what others think or feel about him. You know, even when you look at people who try to be abstract (think Ahmed, Dr. Laura) you just sense they are not normal. Maybe they are tough, or will themselves to be so, or act so, but everyone has that special somebody that he is vulnerable to. I guess it's called being human. I mean praising or scolding children is one of the primary ways of raising them. It's how we are hardwired.

But, you just can't put yourself in that position, especially in stressful environments (read: work).

Maybe the answer is just that. Teach/ remind yourself that it is not about you or about them; it's about work; that's the reality. So, don't stress yourself out. You don't have to defend yourself because you are not what is being assaulted, work is. Even if it's not how they say it, that's don't make it personal at least on your side. So, just smile.

17/ 1/ 2007: But who did the work? it's you. In the end, it is you who produced the faulty results. I guess the real answer is you're going to be vulnerable to people, that you don't have a choice about. What you do have a choice about is which people you make yourself vulnerable to.

In other words, if someone that I absolutely don't know curses me, I don't care because what he thinks and says, in fact who he himself is, is not important to me.

The problem is usually when someone who is dear to you or someone who you respect hurts you; then it really hurts. So, choose wisely who you love and respect because in effect your handing them the only weapon anyone can use to harm you.

Actions Speak Louder than Words

2006-06-17T22:04:00.000+03:00

Actions truly speak louder than words. I was reflecting the just today or yesterday about how the prophet raised his children and family. It is the best family ever, yet I don't recall reading anything about complex psychological conditioning on the part of the prophet towards his family!

I mean, it was just loving them and caring for them and occasional instructions and teachings. In fact, the majority of the prophets style was just being nice to people to draw them, and being wise (remember to write about wisdom and how Allah "blessed" the prophet with it) to choose the right thing to do or say, and being honest, i.e. speaking from heart. That's it, basically. So, how did he have such a profound impact on his family, which mind you he didn't have a whole lot of time to spend with them?

The answer is being a model and amercing the family in good and decent society. Remember "Actions Speak Louder than Words". When people see how you behave and believe that you're honest because you yourself practice what you preach, than you will be effective in influencing them, especially your family.

The prophet said, "a sign of an imams wisdom is prolonging of his prayer, and the shortness of his speeches". There you have it.

So, a person has to defeat himself first before seeking to influence others. And that's why the companions of the prophet were so much better than those who came after them. And actions are an outgrowth of the heart. So, purifying your heart is correct first step.

Parents who don't practice what they preach feel they need to do a lot of talking, yet with no avail. Now, I guess I know why. I have same problem with my wife. I will become a better model for her, and my children. Ya rabb. Ameen.

Joke?

2006-06-17T22:00:00.000+03:00

There is a joke that goes like this:

There was a village somewhere that had a road with a big hole in it. Villagers and travels would always fall into that hole and be sent to the village hospital.The villagers gathered to find a solution to the problem...They tore down the old hospital and built a new one next to the hole.

Two lessons are learned from this tale:
1. Never build systems just to cope with a certain problem. Drop the problem and anyone enforcing it.
2. Never marry from that village.

Keeping Tabs on Leaders

2006-06-17T21:35:00.001+03:00

Contrary to what most people might think, the need to verify the realness and substance of formal/ moral leaders, such as political and religious leaders, on the one hand, and the correctness of ideas presented by leaders of thought such as scientists and scholars, on the other hand, becomes more imperative as their influence and social acknowledgement increases.

Not all moral and formal leaders are truly trustworthy. Some lack piety, or even basic human conscience contrary to the image they try to impress. It’s simply a case of abusing other’s trust.

The other day I was reading an article about how some doctors, here in Saudi, would tell certain ladies that female doctors would perform the operation on them, as requested by the patient. And after the lady is put under anesthesia, men would strip her naked of her clothes and perform the operation on her. They don’t rape them or anything, but they consider it inconvenient to comply with the frequent requests of ladies to be operated on by female doctors.

I once trusted a certain person who I considered religious, pious, and a model to me. He turned out to be a child molester and, most probably a rapist of children. What he was basically doing was herding young boys in the name of religion and guidance just to pick them off one by one.

I see this also at work. A certain person starts to build an image of dependability and honesty. And as soon as he feels he has become trusted, and he is awarded with formal positions, a new face emerges, especially in front of those who don’t really matter. The “new” face is not really new, of course; it was merely masked.

Second, leaders of thought can be simply wrong even if there intention is good, and that is very dangerous.

The reason is that such people usually have broad and penetrating influence, which means that the damage resulting if they were wrong would be far-reaching. Furthermore, mistakes by such people are usually difficult to spot either because it’s difficult to doubt them in the first place because of their impressive track-record, or because the sort of mistakes that they might make would be at a level so high that most can’t detect. I once read that the difference between Newtonian physics and Einsteinium physics only appeared in very complex and complicated calculations.

Of course, we don’t want to hinder creativity and positive change. In the end, it is such thinkers who initiate paradigm shifts that uplift whole societies. But again, communism didn’t exactly turn out to be a good idea.

I suggest your read Why Smart Executives Fail. It highlights the many reasons why well-intentioned and competent executives of multimillion dollar companies made mistakes that caused serious damage, even destruction, to their companies. They just didn’t get it right when the stakes were high, and the gravitational pull of reality drew them to the bottom.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, our complex reality plays no favors. If the leader’s idea is wrong, sooner or later, it’ll burst. And as we know, the bigger they are; the harder they fall (with all their followers with them!)

The solution?

Free your mind, and speak your mind. If the leader is for real, he won’t mind answering your questions!

Heart is King

2006-02-07T18:42:00.000+03:00

Our hearts rule.

Although we are given many faculties, none of them rules; they are only servants of the heart. Therefore, goodness of the heart is what really matters since it dictates what is to be done.

Let's take a look at some of our loyal servants.

Take the mind, for example. Although it understands good and bad, it can't dictate to you what to do. Our minds' role is to make sense of reality and find ways for us to use it. It finds ways to attain what our heart considers pleasure or avoid what our heart deems painful. Indeed, it sometimes blocks certain memories, rationalizes certain decisions, and avoids certain topics just because our heart finds them too painful.

Another example of a servant is our traits and qualities. They, too, are a double edged sword at the hand of the heart. Good hearts can use their courage, for example, to deter evil people. Bad hearts use it to steal and kill.

Yet another example is our possessions such as money, beauty, and strength. All of which are, like the examples above, neither good nor bad. Money can be used to help the needy, or finance drug trafficking.

A person who seeks to purify himself and focuses on strengthening these tools without realizing the importance of the heart is like one how works to sharpen the sword, but neglects to strengthen the arm that strikes with it.

Someone might ask, "If what you say is true, then why do I know so many people that have good hearts but haven't had much impact on life or have been successful?"

Our actions are dictated by how good our hearts are. The effectiveness of these actions is affected by how intensive (deep) and extensive (broad) the goodness of our hearts is on the one hand, and how much faculties (ability/ strength) we are endowed with to carry out our missions.

One of the important traits of the heart is love, and I'll use it to illustrate.

True love means sacrifice. Many people love, but few love so intensely (deeply) as to sacrifice their time, effort, and their welfare for the sake of a loved one.

Extensive (broad) love is caring not just for wife, children, and the people in your immediate circle. It's transcending your immediate circle to care about the welfare of all humanity, even all living creatures. Allah says about the prophet Mohammed, "We have sent you but as a mercy to the worlds." The prophet was compassionate towards all humans, regardless of creed, and he was compassionate even to animals. Not every one has extensive (broad) love.

And finally, no matter how good your heart is, if you don't have the faculties necessary to carry out your vision, it will be very difficult to have a far reaching and strong impact. Note that none of the prophets was mentally ill, or crippled, for example. A person can have a strong impact, but it is very difficult to imagine success that affects nations and history without having strong mental and physical capacities. Incapacitated people can have a great rank with Allah, but may not be able to have far-reaching physical impact.

Sacrifice, limitless care, and strength are the make-up of great people with great hearts.

Poem

2006-02-06T16:00:00.000+03:00

I decided to share this design because of the poem on the sidebar (not necessarily because of the design!).

It says:

My beloved friend asked me when I visited him, "Who is at the door?",
I said, "At the door, is me!"
He said, "You erred in defining love, as you differentiated between us!"
A year passed, and when I knocked again gently at his door,
He said, "Who is it?",
I said, "Take a look! There is but you behind the door!"
He said, "You did well in defining love and have understood the meaning of affection...
Enter Me!"

Design

2006-02-06T15:56:00.000+03:00

In Arabic, the word "eye" and the word "person" are prononced the same, thus the man and eye.

Another Design

2006-02-06T15:44:00.000+03:00

The banner, which is in Arabic, reads, "Even if I yell, within me is a frightened child." By the way, many don't see the boy inside the guys mouth.

The Interactive Whiteboard Experiment

2005-12-14T08:55:00.000+03:00

The Interactive Whiteboard Challenge

Today the manager is coming over to attend a demo of the Interactive Whiteboard, which is basically a whiteboard that permits the instructor to control his PC right of the board. Additionally, it enable markup of the different elements of the board.

This is all part of my sinister scheme to rule the worl.. oh, sorry, I mean to convert the traditional classroom environment to a digital classroom environment.

There are several challenges. The first and easiest is that of digital content. If you don't have content, you can't deliver quality presentations. But that is hopefully solved because there are many companies providing stock digital video and images, which is the backbone of the content we need.

The second challenge is that of the traditional instructor. Although the shape and feel of the IWB is very similar to that of a traditional whiteboard, some getting used to is necessary. Furthermore, instructors will have to be proficient in at least MS Word and MS PowerPoint, especially the latter. Not to mention the basic application that comes with the board. A few of our instructors struggle with the basics of the PC and would prefer to stick to the old chalk and talk approach. Quite a few are very close to retirement and might not have the desire to change, and understandably so. They are transitioning into a different stage in life, and are preoccupied with their immediate future.

The third challenge is that of the system. Instructors have an average of 22 teaching hours a week, they cover for sick and absent instructors, they prepare their lessons, they mark homework and quizzes, and sometimes they are part of various teams. Also, they are bound by a tight pacing schedule that in some cases doesn't leave any room for creativity.

The solution is to tackle all these issues wisely.

We will have to make the content readily available before we start the project to give the instructors something to work with and not make their lives harder. And encourage collaborative efforts at the right moment.

We will have to train the instructors gradually, starting with high potentials, and using them to train other instructors.

And finally, we will have give instructors more freedom by creative by building a constructive dialogue with Training Services.

I hope I'm doing the right thing.

An Effective Reading Technique

2005-12-13T10:46:00.000+03:00

Lately, I've been using a reading technique that I didn't before. It involves reading a little and reflecting a lot.

I would go to a café, especially on the weekends right after dawn, and read small portions of a book (20-30 pages) in an extended period of time. I've found that this helps me make sense of things and understand how things come together.

Some People I've Met in My Company

2005-12-12T13:39:00.000+03:00

I've met some employees in our company that have little trust in the system they use.

They try to feed off your lack of knowledge of your rights. They don't want you to know what your rights are because they think that you're going to misuse them and twist the rules to steel something that's not yours. They can't trust anybody or anything not even the system because they think it is all a fallacy. They know that their superiors don't care about the system, and if they don't get things done the way their superiors want, they will find someone else.

In my opinion, it all boils down to character and faith. There will always be cracks in systems, you can't control that. Oddly enough, systems where made to mend cracks, which in many cases they do, but in many other case they expose other cracks.

Mend people then the crack won't matter.

Communication Inaccuracies

2005-12-12T13:30:00.000+03:00

In many cases, we cause problems that can sever relationships that could have otherwise endured, just because of a lack of accuracy in our expressions, which I prefer to call lies.

Here is something we might say if someone can't understand a point we are trying to make, "Are you a donkey?" which implies that the addressee has done something that made you reassess the nature of his existence, man or donkey!

Now let's look at the situation that initiated this expression. It might have been merely a misunderstanding on either side; or he might have been really wrong, and let's say he was. Does that really make him a full blown DONKEY (ears and all)?

When you imply that a person, in his entirety, is stupid, you are conveying a fallacy. What you know for a fact is that this person has (perhaps) misunderstood a specific point. You must portray the incident the way it really happened and not exaggerate (lie) because you are angry or frustrated at him or her.

"It seems that you have misunderstood this point," is how we should express what happened.

"You are so stupid",

"You are a coward",

"You are ugly",

"You have absolutely no taste when it comes to choosing ...,"

With such blanket statements, we demean the entirety of another person's being because we are just saying something about them that is just not true. No wonder people get angry.

In the Holy Quran, Allah tells us to go a step further than just being accurate.

He orders to say what is "best." In other words, the accurate facts that we convey should not be conveyed harshly, but rather in the "best" manner possible by choosing kind expressions rather then rough words. The Almighty explains that Satin always tries to stir disagreement between us.

This might mean that by saying things that are inaccurate or things that are accurate but that don't take into consideration the other person's feelings, with deviating from the hard truth, mind you, is a tool Satin uses to start disputes and arguments.

Lessons I Learned from Testing Week

2005-12-11T14:50:00.000+03:00

Last week, I was responsible for coordinating a labor intensive effort related with testing a few hundred trainees. At times, I lost my temper, but I learned a few lessons.

1.Gauge your words wisely.
You can be as mad as hell inside, but don't show it unless it might help to solve the problem (which is not often). Getting angry complicates issues and creates resistance within other people who you might be dependant on whether you like or not. Unfortunately, many people take things personally and don't think in terms of doing what's right regardless if they like you or not. Right, to some, is their ego. So, like my brother says, don't go against the tide; make the tide work for you.

Additionally, I have to remind myself also that it's not about how I feel; it's about a responsibility to a job that I have to complete in the best way I can. If venting my frustration doesn't help, then I would not be upholding my responsibility. Leaders give others; they don't take for themselves.

Related to the point of carefully calculating your words, I've noticed that when a person is emotional he tends to exaggerate, which doesn't fair well with others, EVEN IF THEY ARE WRONG. When someone makes a mistake and you respond harshly, you give that person an excuse for continuing to do wrong. He will start thinking of the hundreds of reasons why he isn't "a donkey", starting with fact that he walks on two and has no long ears, and ending with all the intelligent things he has achieved. A wiser approach would have been to be as specific as possible. It is much more useful to a person since it gives him something concrete to work with and because it is in fact an objective assessement of what happened.

2.Think of the outcomes

In some cases, it is just not worth it to change and improve something. Yes it is wonderful to put hope in achieving audacious goals and solving complex problems, but face the brutal reality as it is; haveing to much hoping in a sinking ship can cause you to drown with it.

3.Wisdom, in many cases, involves the ability of choosing the better of two good things and the less harmful of two bad things.

It's not always black or white; especially when you have more complex responsibilities and you can see the broader picture. It becomes more of a trade-off of relative than a choice between absolutes.

4.Emotional intelligence is very important.

People tend to rationalize what they WANT to do. This can work for you and it can work against you. Treat the wrong people badly, and they will find (consciously or subconsciously) a way to help you (like sending you on a very important and charcter-development assignment in SIBERIA ). In other words, all systems can be abused and there are all sorts of ways TO punish you. And you won't be able to do anything about it. Always respect others and think win-win. Accept that some people have limitations in Will and Competence (including yourself), but always question your assumptions about others. It might well turn out that you were wrong.

Always be humble is probably the most important lesson of last week. Think of others, and do not forget how weak and ignorant you essentially are.