# Welcome to Don't Overthink This We explore and connect ideas about work, philosophy, and analytics without overthinking it. [[Don't Overthink This|More About Us]] >[!summary] Check out our book >Want to improve your analytical thinking skills? [Thinking Analytically: Five-Minute Reflections on Data, Analysis, and Organization](https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Analytically-Five-Minute-Reflections-Organization/dp/B0C9SF26CK/ref=asc_df_B0C9SF26CK/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=663385636736&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7901942609251486504&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9005959&hvtargid=pla-2188523740513&psc=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwvfmoBhAwEiwAG2tqzHZlSFp6nDoUoop61c9VHNgufiTxPBvFXojccgxhwdmw6ysbCFxa5xoCUgoQAvD_BwEL) > [!question] Have a question? > Ask our new AI Chatbot, [[Dott]] --- > [!tip] Checkout our podcast > Episode 29: [[Cake Day and Other Superficialities]] > Episode 28: [[Management Is Every Bit As Bad As It Was Designed To Be]] > Episode 27: [[Fish-Birds and Organizational Change]] > Episode 26: [[Analysis as Reflective Art]] > Episode 25: [[Hierarchies of Power and Knowledge]] > Episode 24: [[The Pros and Cons of Asking How Things are Going]] > Episode 23: [[The Podcast About the Book Informed by the Blog that Inspired the Podcast]] --- ### Recent Posts ### [[Word Selection]] *Ross Jackson - December 4, 2023* >The words we use can sometimes be revealing. This is particularly the case when somebody is talking about their future. Some people refer to “finding” their way. Other people discuss their future in terms of “making” their way... [[Word Selection|Read More]] ### [[Escaping from Drudgery]] *Ross Jackson - December 3, 2023* >Work consists of two primary components: the work and how we experience it. Both aspects can be changed, but neither is “easy” to change. The work itself is dictated, at least partially, by the “what” the work is essentially... [[Escaping from Drudgery|Read More]] ### [[Cake Day and Other Jokes]] *Brian Heath - December 3, 2023* >Many well-intentioned individuals want to build a strong culture of organizational comradery. Typically, these individuals work within Human Resources, but this only sometimes holds. These individuals could be the CEO, administrative assistant, project manager, or anyone with... [[Cake Day and Other Jokes|Read More]] ### [[Working for the Betterment of Others]] *Ross Jackson - December 2, 2023* >Often in childhood, parents will tell their children that they shouldn’t talk to strangers. This is perplexing advice. If a stranger is anybody that one doesn’t know, if one never talks to strangers, one will never meet anybody new. Maybe this is close to what parents want... [[Working for the Betterment of Others|Read More]] ### [[The Organizational Must-Have]] *Brian Heath - December 2, 2023* >If asked to reduce spending, how does one decide the difference between the must-haves and the nice-to-haves? Many can do it without much thought. For example, food is a must-have, but video games are a nice-to-have... [[The Organizational Must-Have|Read More]] ### [[The Myth of the Individual]] *Ross Jackson - December 1, 2023* >The individual looms large in America. Individualism is part of our national mythology. There are certain benefits that are derived through a focus on individualism. Among these benefits are the notions of personal responsibility and self-reliance... [[The Myth of the Individual|Read More]] ### [[Dollars Per Existence]] *Brian Heath - November 28, 2023* >Many can easily recite or at least calculate their hourly wage. Either one is paid hourly for one's time, or one can calculate it from one's salary and total hours worked. We utilize this dollar-per-hour figure to represent all kinds of things, including whether a job or activity is worth it... [[Dollars Per Existence|Read More]] ### [[Don't Talk with Strangers]] *Ross Jackson - November 28, 2023* >Often in childhood, parents will tell their children that they shouldn’t talk to strangers. This is perplexing advice. If a stranger is anybody that one doesn’t know, if one never talks to strangers, one will never meet anybody new. Maybe this is close to what parents want... [[Don't Talk with Strangers|Read More]] ### [[Perseverance and Stillness]] *Brian Heath - November 27, 2023* >Humans will go to extreme lengths for things that seem meaningless. Some may view this as a bug of humanity. Why waste energy doing something insignificant in the grand scheme of things? Why help someone else in need? Why not be entirely self-interested... [[Perseverance and Stillness|Read More]] ### [[Organized Labor]] *Ross Jackson - November 27, 2023* >Since labor relations within the United States of America are governed by law, reviewing those laws provides insight into the power structure among the key players. Through a review, one thing is certain: the law is designed to limit solidarity... [[Organized Labor|Read More]] ### [[Recognizing the Holiday Slow Down]] *Brian Heath - November 22, 2023* >Before a significant holiday, work tends to slow down. Some of the slowdown is due to early vacations. Many people take a few extra days before a holiday to travel or prepare. However, this hardly explains the slowdown, as most people still work until the holiday... [[Recognizing the Holiday Slow Down|Read More]] ### [[The Revision Loop]] *Ross Jackson - November 22, 2023* >Analysts collect and analyze data, generate reports and presentations, and make revisions. Making revisions is the least interesting and the most tedious. How much time an analyst spends making revisions likely depends on those in the organization’s upper echelon... [[The Revision Loop|Read More]] ### [[The Nature of Status and Progress]] *Brian Heath - November 21, 2023* >There is a belief that everyone would be happier if everyone had enough money. There would still be sadness and suffering, but it would be less. However, how much money would this be? Some studies say it is $70,000... [[The Nature of Status and Progress|Read More]] ### [[The Good Society]] *Ross Jackson - November 21, 2023* >Work is important. Doing something productive provides one with a sense of purpose. But work without leisure is fatiguing. Each generation should define for itself how “the good society” is to be structured. Being able to think and enjoy life is important... [[The Good Society|Read More]] ### [[Economics and Justice]] *Ross Jackson - November 20, 2023* >Justice demands that one is paid what they deserve. Capitalist economics pays one what they will take. A gap exists between the two. In that gap, what one is willing to take and what one deserves is the terrain on which capitalism and socialism fight... [[Economics and Justice|Read More]] ### [[Bring Me a Rock]] *Ross Jackson - November 19, 2023* >A unique form of frustration comes from working for another person. When a person in the upper echelon asks a subordinate to do a given task, what is provided doesn’t always satisfy the person’s request. That person will then redirect the person to do it again but slightly differently... [[Bring Me a Rock|Read More]] ### [[The Trap of Selling One's Labor]] *Ross Jackson - November 18, 2023* >Exploring what one is attempting to achieve through employment is potentially constructive and informative. Work can be ennobling and rewarding. Working for somebody else doesn’t tend to be. Going to work for another is an interesting model... [[The Trap of Selling One's Labor|Read More]] ### [[Why Analysts Operate in the Shadows]] *Brian Heath - November 18, 2023* >Some analysts are said to operate in the organizational shadows. They listen more and speak less than others, have the respect of senior leaders but do not advertise any particular agenda in public discussions, and seem to show up with something valuable at critical times... [[Why Analysts Operate in the Shadows|Read More]] --- ### Some Older Posts * [[Measuring Concepts]] by *Ross Jackson - November 17, 2023* * [[Dashboard Essentiality]] by *Brian Heath - November 17, 2023* * [[Working Through Systems of Oppression]] by *Ross Jackson - November 16, 2023* * [[The Difference Between Leadership and Management]] by *Brian Heath - November 16, 2023* * [[Research, Think, Do, Reflect]] by *Ross Jackson - November 15, 2023* * [[Universal Alignment]] by *Brian Heath - November 15, 2023* * [[Being Lost]] by *Ross Jackson - November 14, 2023* * [[First-time Damage Assessment]] by *Brian Heath - November 14, 2023* * [[A Structural Impediment to Revolutionary Analytics (Or Why Everything, Including Analytics, Seems to Support the Status Quo)]] by *Ross Jackson - November 13, 2023* * [[Modern Day Switchboard Operators]] by *Brian Heath - November 13, 2023* * [[The Main Event]] by *Ross Jackson - November 11, 2023* * [[The Fear Contagion]] by *Brian Heath - November 11, 2023*