Philosophy - Improving Self (to Better All)

This isn't specific to technology or programming, but in general.

Essentially, the growth mindset (by Dr. Carol Dweck) is built on the will to always learn. But aren't we taught how to learn even through observation within our environment?

This presentation delivered by Andreas Schleicher is the beginning of understanding the constant change of learning and its impact on our future. The beginning of our learning begins in the society we live in.



There is a difference between those who leverage data to predict the next steps in life and those who leverage data to predict the next changes (to apply when taking the next steps) in life. Both focus on "why". But, one is focused on "where" to step. The other is focused on "how" to step.

"How" vs "Where"

The separation of software development from all other developments is the focus on "how". Hence, why many processes will push the "how" answers to the software development team. Even with engineering functions, such teams also rely heavily on software. If we improve the "how", then we have improved the next step we take. By improving the next step, usually we also reach the "where" quicker and can aim for the next "where".

If there are many "how"s (processes) that influence my next step, then which process do I focus on improving? All of them.

Sounds unrealistic at first until given more thought. If many processes apply a similar process (which many do), then find the pattern in these processes and improve the pattern which impacts all processes. This "improve the pattern of all processes" is in itself another process. It's a process of constant change. The quicker we learn "how" we adapt to change, the quicker we learn and the quicker we adopt new processes to produce better results.

On an individual practice, this process is translated into "habit". Many might remember Stephen Covey's best-selling book on "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People".
  1. Be Proactive
  2. Begin with the End in Mind
  3. Put First Things First
  4. Think Win-Win
  5. Seek first to Understand, then to be Understood
  6. Synergize
  7. Sharpen the Saw
However, in a world that's more digitize and global there are a few habits that need to be updated. For starters, do we still need all seven?

My Habits

I would update these seven into the following habits:
  1. Always Improve - this includes Be Proactive, Seek first to Understand then to be Understood, and Sharpen the Saw
  2. Put First Things First
  3. Go Together - from the famous African proverb, this includes Begin with the End in Mind, Think Win-Win, Synergize
Applying three habits is better than applying seven. Besides, less is more.

Consider Five Things

Here are the five things learned from Andreas Schleicher's study. In my opinion, these are not just applicable to the education sector, but all sectors and even individual learning.

Andreas Schleicher's 5 Things Learned
  1. In the global economy, the benchmark for educational success is...the best performing education systems internationally.
  2. The skills that are easiest to teach and test...are easiest to digitize.
  3. Equity in education is...key to social mobility and democratizing knowledge.
  4. Modern education is about enabling professional autonomy within a collaborative culture.
  5. There is no future without investment in education.
Most of these things can be summed up in Global Inclusion by UC Berkeley.

Things Impact Effectiveness

When a person is trying to know how to best apply his/herself in life, it usually boils down to their purpose and if they are "effective" with their purpose. There are close ties between education and the economy which both rely on a person's effectiveness. A great book making this point is "The Effective Executive" by Peter Drucker.


To learn more of an overview, here's a nice brief article by Tanmay Vora.

In Practice

Never Stop Learning. Leverage Clean Data. Focus on Process than Results. Be Effective.

 I don't know about you, but I'm taking notes and I'm making this a personal goal - to apply new ways of learning, investing in my future, and enjoying differences across the world.

God speed.


Additional References




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