# 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) --- > [!tip] Checkout our podcast > Episode 35: [[Sabbatical, Conferences, and Existential Inertia]] > Episode 34: [[Surviving the Organizational Politics of Now]] > Episode 33: [[Analytics Fools' Day]] > Episode 32: [[The Daylight Savings Narrative]] > Episode 31: [[Caesar and the Society of Brutuses]] > Episode 30: [[Getting Over the Monday Blues]] > Episode 29: [[Cake Day and Other Superficialities]] --- ### Recent Posts ### [[Examining What Was Understood]] *Ross Jackson - May 3, 2024* >In childhood, there was a question that children would ask that went like this, “Pete and Repeat were sitting on a bench. Pete fell off. Who is left?” When the child would respond “Repeat,” the other would go through the entire thing again... [[Examining What Was Understood|Read More]] ### [[The Modern and Postmodern Nonprofit Dilemma]] *Brian Heath - May 3, 2024* >The challenge for many nonprofits with an ideological perspective on the future of society is how to balance that ideology with the pragmatic operational reality. For example, say an organization aspires to feed everyone who is hungry and believes food is a fundamental right... [[The Modern and Postmodern Nonprofit Dilemma|Read More]] ### [[Customer Feedback]] *Ross Jackson - May 2, 2024* >There is a story regarding Henry Ford that concludes with him saying something to the effect that had he asked customers what they wanted, they would have told him faster horses. The advent of the mass-produced, affordable automobile didn’t come about due to customer feedback... [[Customer Feedback|Read More]] ### [[The Faith Required to Put it Out There]] *Brian Heath - May 2, 2024* >Putting something "out there" is often a necessary danger if one wants to climb the ladder or stand out. One will likely become alienated if one ventures too far outside the status quo at the wrong time. But, if one only ever follows the crowd... [[The Faith Required to Put it Out There|Read More]] ### [[Where is Freedom Least]] *Ross Jackson - May 1, 2024* >If people break up where they spend their time, the categories are at home, socially with friends, and at work. There are other categories, but this likely captures most of one’s time. If freedom is not experienced equally among these categories... [[Where is Freedom Least|Read More]] ### [[Beyond the Masks]] *Brian Heath - April 29, 2024* >What happens when an old mask is no longer valid? Will one refuse to remove it and pretend that nothing has changed? Will one quickly switch it out for a similar one as soon as possible? Or will one remove it to reveal one's self? Many will fall into the first two categories... [[Beyond the Masks|Read More]] ### [[Time, Place, and Manner Restrictions]] *Ross Jackson - April 29, 2024* >Protests serve a vital social function. They bring attention to issues of concern. Prolonged protest and conveyed sustained interest in addressing a problem. Protests matter. Whereas protests are socially important, for them to be effective... [[Time, Place, and Manner Restrictions|Read More]] ### [[The Unintentional Sabbatical]] *Brian Heath - April 28, 2024* >I know of a person who was laid off from their job. But, the organization needed to be more convinced that laying this person off was the right decision. So, in a rare moment of authentic engagement, the organization asked the person if they wanted to stay or not... [[The Unintentional Sabbatical|Read More]] ### [[A Footnote on Power in Organizations]] *Ross Jackson - April 27, 2024* >Power is essential to organizational dynamics, yet it is frequently ignored or marginalized as a topic of focus. Such a treatment should immediately raise suspicion. When something important is omitted, there is a reason. In the case of power in organizations... [[A Footnote on Power in Organizations|Read More]] ### [[The Mechanics of Organizational Analysis]] *Brian Heath - April 27, 2024* >If one is observant, reflective, and aware of organizational and human systems, one will eventually see patterns and become adept at predicting likely outcomes. Within the popular treatment of analytics, this is called predictive analytics and often takes... [[The Mechanics of Organizational Analysis|Read More]] ### [[A New Fanfare for American Workers]] *Ross Jackson - April 26, 2024* >In 1942, Aaron Copland wrote _Fanfare for the Common Man_ for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Listening to the piece might be beneficial if one is unfamiliar with it. It provides for “the common man,” a piece of music of triumphant majesty... [[A New Fanfare for American Workers|Read More]] ### [[An Emerging Generational Work Identity]] *Brian Heath - April 26, 2024* >I've seen several news articles lately highlighting the new perspective the next generation brings to work. One article called them the Toolbelt Generation because they reject college and white-collar jobs. Another discussed the trend of people applying to jobs without... [[An Emerging Generational Work Identity|Read More]] ### [[Incentives and Office Work]] *Ross Jackson - April 25, 2024* >What types of incentives exist for office work? Whereas the actual incentive can vary, only a handful of incentive types are available. One might get a promotion, raise, time off, public recognition, or a simple thank you. This means that incentives fall into power, money... [[Incentives and Office Work|Read More]] ### [[Turning Predictability into a Revolution]] *Brian Heath - April 25, 2024* >If one has used an AI Large Language Model (LLM) like ChatGPT, one will likely be very impressed initially and then find areas where it struggles. This is normal with most new technologies. There is the hype, and then reality sets in. Once one has seen the reality of the technology... [[Turning Predictability into a Revolution|Read More]] ### [[Why Analytics Must Ultimately Be Subjective]] *Ross Jackson - April 23, 2024* >A great deal of attention is given to the objectivity of analysis. Analytics, as popularly understood, is expected to be objective. This typically means that the analysis is free from bias. However, as a human, evaluative endeavor, it is difficult to imagine how analysis... [[Why Analytics Must Ultimately Be Subjective|Read More]] ### [[A Better Way to Work with AI Agents]] *Brian Heath - April 23, 2024* >To utilize AI agents better, one must consider them incapable of performing many tasks in one fluid motion. In other words, one needs to not think of them as human. When one speaks with a human customer service representative... [[A Better Way to Work with AI Agents|Read More]] ### [[A Game of Problems and Solutions]] *Ross Jackson - April 22, 2024* >A fun party game is entitled Problems and Solutions. In this game, there are two bags. One bag is labeled “Problems,” and the other is labeled “Solutions.” People write out various problems and solutions on slips of paper and put them in their respective bags... [[A Game of Problems and Solutions|Read More]] ### [[Finding Joy in the Imperfect]] *Brian Heath - April 22, 2024* >When listening closely to a person playing an instrument, one will often hear things not part of the song. Examples include the movement of the fingers over the strings of a guitar, the deep breath of a trumpet player, the turning of a page, and the occasional cough... [[Finding Joy in the Imperfect|Read More]] ### [[Solidarity and Selfishness]] *Ross Jackson - April 21, 2024* >Solidarity understood as the awareness of shared interests resulting in unity within a class of people, is difficult to achieve and maintain. When thinking about solidarity, examining how selfishness can foster and hinder it is beneficial... [[Solidarity and Selfishness|Read More]] ### [[The Hubris of Creation]] *Brian Heath - April 21, 2024* >Humans are incapable of creation. The act of making something out of nothing is universally beyond us. Everything we have 'created' is the synthesizing of things together into a newly recognized entity. This applies to works of art, theories, and children... [[The Hubris of Creation|Read More]] ### [[A Lack of Working Class Solidarity is THE Problem]] *Ross Jackson - April 20, 2024* >As defined by Marx, a class is a group that shares a common economic interest, is conscious of those interests, and engages in collective action to advance those interests. Most Americans are working class, meaning they derive most of their income from direct labor... [[A Lack of Working Class Solidarity is THE Problem|Read More]] ### [[Beyond Recall and Pattern Recognition]] *Brian Heath - April 20, 2024* >Many observations about human behavior exist, but the mechanisms behind these behaviors are primarily unknown. We can easily observe and document behavior actions, but we often lack the methodologies to identify how a stimulus transformed into a particular response... [[Beyond Recall and Pattern Recognition|Read More]] ### [[Lost Opportunities]] *Brian Heath - April 19, 2024* >Where do the best and brightest of one's generation focus? Is it politics, physics, education, diplomacy, philosophy, social justice, and the arts? Or is it business enterprises? There is certainly an overlap between all of these, but where a generation focuses... [[Lost Opportunities|Read More]] --- ### Some Older Posts * [[Taking Breaks]] by *Ross Jackson - April 17, 2024* * [[Beyond Scientific Methods]] by *Brian Heath - April 17, 2024* * [[Ignorance and Creativity]] by *Ross Jackson - April 16, 2024* * [[The Real-Imaginary Future]] by *Brian Heath - April 15, 2024* * [[Following the Crowd versus Rebelling]] by *Brian Heath - April 14, 2024* * [[Continuously Reducing Effort]] by *Ross Jackson - April 13, 2024* * [[The Human Source Code]] by *Brian Heath - April 12, 2024* * [[A Potent Mixture]] by *Ross Jackson - April 12, 2024* * [[The Personality Test with the Highest Business ROI]] by *Brian Heath - April 11, 2024* * [[What Does It Take to Succeed]] by *Ross Jackson - April 10, 2024* * [[The Infusion of Thinking into Organizations]] by *Brian Heath - April 10, 2024* * [[Story Time]] by *Ross Jackson - April 9, 2024*