Started in 2011 as my outlet to share my experiences on personal life and work topics. My handle is khanmjk. My friends & colleagues call me "Mo". This blog is an experiment, work-in-progress. Life: Self-awareness, personal development, growth hacking (quantified self). Work: Software and Systems Engineering, Leadership, Management, New Ideas and OpEds.
Wednesday 1 May 2024
Experimenting with my own chatbot
Wednesday 10 January 2024
Personametry 2023 - Wheel of life streams, hours logged
It's that time of the year when I sit down and review my time tracking data for the year. This time round, playing around with ChatGPT (whilst still maintaining my AWS Quicksight dashboards). I was quite looking forward to continuing to use Noteable's AI/Data tools, sadly the service shut down :-(
- Rest and Sleep (Individual): A substantial 2,856.11 hours, akin to the restorative power of a long, rejuvenating sleep every night.
- Professional Work: Impressively, 2,051.20 hours were dedicated to your professional life, showing a solid commitment to career growth and achievements.
- Family Time (Family-Man): A heartwarming 1,398.79 hours spent with family, which is like embarking on a year-long road trip with your loved ones, filled with bonding and cherished memories.
- Spirituality (Individual): A profound 1,106.44 hours in spiritual pursuits, reflecting a journey akin to a spiritual retreat, deepening your inner peace and understanding.
- Personal Time (Individual): 467.55 hours of 'Me Time', ensuring a healthy balance of personal space and activities, like taking a short, refreshing break each day.
- Marital/Wife (Husband): 451.91 hours dedicated to marital life, resonating with the quality time spent in building a strong, supportive partnership.
- Knowledge and Learning (Individual): 202.88 hours of enriching your mind, like attending a series of insightful lectures throughout the year.
- Health and Fitness (Individual): 145.07 hours, a commitment to staying active and healthy, similar to a consistent routine of short, daily workouts.
- Social (Friend): 117.06 hours, akin to enjoying meaningful social gatherings, reinforcing bonds and making memories.
Tuesday 19 December 2023
Wrap up '23 with my Personal Scorecard RAGE / Wheel of Life review
My RAGE model compared to The Wheel of Life
Comparative Report: Meyer's Wheel of Life vs. Mo Khan's RAGE Model
Introduction
This report provides a comparative analysis of two influential personal development tools: Meyer's Wheel of Life and Mo Khan's RAGE Model. Both models are designed to enhance self-awareness and personal growth, yet they differ significantly in their approach and methodology.
Meyer's Wheel of Life
- Overview: The Wheel of Life is a holistic self-assessment tool designed by Paul J. Meyer, a pioneer in the field of motivational thinking and self-improvement.
- Components: It typically includes segments such as Career, Personal Growth, Health, Family & Friends, Finances, Spirituality, Recreation, and Physical Environment.
- Function: Users rate their satisfaction in each area, visually representing life balance and identifying areas for improvement.
- Application: Widely used in coaching and self-help, it guides personal development and goal setting.
- Learn More: Success Motivation Institute
Mo Khan's RAGE Model
- Overview: The RAGE Model, an acronym for Reality, Aspirations, Goals, Expectations, is a framework for personal development conceptualized by Mo Khan.
- Components: It involves introspection across various life 'personas', assessing the current reality, setting aspirations, establishing goals, and managing expectations for each persona.
- Function: The model uses agile management techniques and a detailed scoring system for prioritization and tracking progress.
- Application: Khan’s approach is detailed and systematic, suitable for those who prefer an analytical approach to personal development.
- Learn More: Mo Khan’s Blog
Similarities
- Holistic Approach: Both models provide a comprehensive view of personal life, emphasizing multiple areas or aspects.
- Self-Reflection: They encourage self-assessment as a means of identifying areas of focus.
- Goal-Oriented: Each model promotes setting and pursuing personal goals.
- Personal Development: They are tools for enhancing self-awareness and guiding growth.
Differences
- Complexity: The Wheel of Life is simpler and more visual, while the RAGE Model is more complex and analytical.
- Approach: Meyer’s model is qualitative, focusing on self-rated satisfaction, whereas Khan’s model is quantitative, employing a scoring system.
- Focus Areas: The Wheel of Life has predefined life segments; the RAGE Model allows for personalized 'personas'.
- Tracking: The RAGE Model includes rigorous tracking mechanisms, unlike the Wheel of Life.
- Background: Meyer's model stems from motivational training, while Khan’s is influenced by agile product management.
Conclusion
Meyer's Wheel of Life and Mo Khan's RAGE Model, while sharing the goal of fostering personal growth, differ in structure, complexity, and application. The Wheel of Life is a straightforward tool for periodic self-assessment, ideal for a broad audience. In contrast, the RAGE Model offers a detailed framework for systematically setting, prioritizing, and tracking personal development goals, appealing to those who prefer a more structured approach. Both models provide valuable insights into personal development, and the choice between them depends on individual preferences and the desired level of detail and structure in personal growth planning.
Tuesday 29 August 2023
Be the leader you wish you had
<quote> No one goes to the gym to willingly get punched in the face by the senior vice president of boxing. But some folks eagerly pay for a sparring partner when it's time to get better. The difference is obvious, but we've forgotten to say it out aloud. No grades, no check marks, no badges. I'm not in charge of you, and I'm not manipulating you. I'm simply establishing the conditions for you to get to where you said you wanted to go. You tell me where you're going and what you need. You make promises about your commitment and skills development. I'll show up to illuminate, question, answer, spar with, and challenge you. I'll make sure you're part of a team of people who are ready to care as much as you do. We can get real. Or let's not play. </quote>
Monday 3 July 2023
Personametry + ChatGPT = personametry.ai (a truly personalised AI)
Lessons Learnt - Still early days but very hopeful
- The tools are still early days, but still nevertheless very powerful and will definitely improve my productivity in future.
- It takes a few attempts to load data files with the plugin, CSV seems to cope much better than XLS files.
- ChatGPT/Noteable uses different methods each time for approaching the data analysis - some coaxing on the nature of the dataset produces better insights.
- I didn't need to edit any code myself so there's an immediate empowerment driver right there.
- Don't trust every output though, as the AI can get things wrong
- Double check calculations, ChatGPT still doesn't seem to get some simple math right the first time round
- It is amazing what one can accomplish with simple, clear prompting
- I am definitely going to learn more
- I had so much fun learning, I was in a state of flow for 10 hours and couldn't stop thinking about the world of possibilities of this technology!
Here's a video of ChatGPT prompts - Play at fastest speed (sorry, no time to edit)
Here's the conversation history with ChatGPT
Here's the Noteable project that I've released publicly
Here's a screen grab of the visuals in a nice slide view
Here's all the questions ChatGPT answered in various sessions
Wednesday 29 March 2023
ChatGPT as my new research assistant
Saturday 11 March 2023
My first 100 days as CTO: Resetting the Mental Model
The Situation - VUCA !
My 100 day plan
Fri 11-May: Morning Paper
This DDM role is seemingly chaotic, need to find a balance and a way of prioritising and managing my work in progress. I can't be working every day long hours, need to find the balance and time for my other interests. Officially my days start from Monday, of which I will enter a countdown from 90 days! I must set myself something to achieve in the first 90 days.
First stab: By the end of 90 days, we should have:
- settled with product management on a common backlog that drives the work
- delivered at least one release of DStv Now
- kicked off a stream and have a concrete plan of action for a Platform SDK API
- have a realistic plan for the platforms improvements
- agreed on roles and responsibilities between the various customers and my teams
Within the first 30 days, I need to:
- workshops with product & planning team
- complete handover with R (1st week of june)
- complete a 360 review based on feedback from DDM & External customers
- complete view of all the people in the division
- a full view of people by skills, competency and career aspirations
- a view of the vision and strategy for the group - Why do we exist, What are our outputs, how we go about it?
- agree reporting from all lines - Architecture / Dev / Platforms
- set clear objectives on delivery
- agree a way of working/transitioning VOD Wars program
Within the second 30 days:
- town hall with full tech team
- objectives, pds, measurements of performance clearly defined and agreed by all
Within the third 30 days:
- publish approved strategy & objectives
- must have delivered some feature increment
- reporting & dashboards in place
- improved working relationships with customers
- platform network optimisation plan executing in full swing
- vod wars program transitioned out
Tuesday, 2 May 2017
Ideas for DDM-GM role
Here's some topics to note if you take the GM role:
- Workshop retrospective - aim is to get people to understand the current reality. Timeline of company showing where they started, turning points and current period
- Map out worlds of interaction of teams - micro and macro worlds. Showing customer relationships and where DDM teams fit within this world.
- Talk through the trust curve and get people to vote into areas of the curve. Where do they think they sit? Need to draw quadrant map.
- Talk about RAGE model. Do a workshop mapping out current reality, aspirations, goals n expectations.
- For each line manager, draw a job card mapped to rage, split by work worlds (DDM, VET, customers, etc.) career and personal categories. For each apply the RAGE model
- Self Assessment. Create survey based on Agile Good Ugly book. Get leaders to rate themselves according to criteria of systems engineering practices.
- Workshop with team to define what "world class" means
- Develop vision and mission for group. Tie back to company objectives. The Why golden circle. Why, How, What. Why does DDM exists? How do we behave to reach the Why? What actions or results to we produce that speaks to the Why?
- Get to know everyone. Radical candor. Review CV, skills and experience. Growth/Performance matrix - who are the rockstars? Who are the superstars? Who likes stability? Who wants to grow fast?
- Discuss the Cynefin model.
- Teach the Dreyfus model.
- Team self-assessment down to each last person (identify gaps, growth, training, etc.)
- Career Ladder - does DDM have one?
- Build authentic relationships
- Build trust from outset
- Do not dictate - listen, embrace collaboration & welcome criticism
- Implement Personal Kanban - time management - teach it?
My first All Hands / Townhall - Reset Mental Model of 150+ People
More Flux thrown into the mix for fun
Did I deliver on my 90 day plan then?
Sunday 5 March 2023
How I switched from Program Manager to CTO
Prior to VOD Wars, I'd further strengthened my exposure to all domains of the media Video Entertainment business, by being the chief program director for launching a new video streaming business "Showmax" to Africa, in 2015. This too, was a wonderful experience, launching a business start-up from zero to launch in under ten months, co-ordinating every business (legal, finance, marketing, strategy), technology (buying a new tech stack, integrating new offshore development team, building & customising product features, integrating payment vendors, 3rd party integrators, etc.) and operations (content workflows, infrastructure & customer support).
And before Showmax, I'd been leading major group-wide initiatives for advanced and internet-connected devices (I was lead end-to-end program manager for DStv Explora, for a small stint delved with the then nascent DStv Mobile), and before that, spent my time as technical program & product manager for advanced set top box middleware software, NDS Mediahighway/Videoguard platforms.
In fact, the last time I was engineering-focused, strictly speaking was in 2010 - when I'd taken up the role of Principal Engineer after inventing a Speaking TV/EPG - a role change, after being involved in project, program and product management before then. And the years 2011-2013, when I'd helped transform the consumer devices division of Multichoice, to use modern software engineering methods of planning, product development and end-to-end systems integration, in getting them to launch their first version of DStv Explora.
Being a rock-star program manager consultant in a niche industry in Africa, did come with its perks! I billed by the hour, and was mostly in control of my time. I had back then in 2014-2017, experimented with 4-day work-weeks, I took personal time off (PTO) for long periods of time (sometimes 2 months unpaid or more). It was around this time that I had started working on my RAGE model for personal development. As I dived deeper into my professional self-reflections, the following realisations about my aspirations started to really gnaw at me:
- I was getting bored of being a program manager, I felt there was no challenge left and I was no learning anything new any more. I'd been reading, studying, applying and mastering the many forms of project & program management since 2008 and by 2017, I think I'd arrived and was feeling satisfied with my craft, as an expert program manager, a project leader at the top of PM hierarchy as explained here.
- I felt I reached my goals of understanding how to run a full blown video entertainment business as I had experienced by then, every single aspect of business, technology & operations of the Pay-TV value chain.
- I had my program management work mechanics down to an art form: I had a repeatable process, had built templates for structuring program charters, communicating progress, etc. There wasn't much more I could learn from the mechanisms needed in program management and was operating at the highest level of project leadership. A lot came naturally to me, operating on instinct most of the time.
- I felt could run a Project Management Office (PMO) with my eyes closed. I'd started mentoring and coaching other project & program managers but I was not interested in specialising in PMOs.
- I learnt the secrets of engaging and managing high-powered senior executives, I was confident in discussions, meetings, presentations and contractual negotiations.
- I was not sure I could continue being a consultant without having skin-in-the-game, or having a seat-at-the-table.
- I had failed to land other consulting engagements outside the scope of Video / Media - so my "business" AS3 (Africa Systems & Software Services) was a one-man show, tied to one big corporate without hope of branching out of video - so why remain a consultant when I could have a seat at the table if I wanted to?
- As a consultant, I'd developed my own prime directives of knowing when to offer advice, opinion or put a proposal together. Consultants serve a purpose, they can lead through indirect influence but also need to remain humble and fully aware, that they don't really have any clout or say in strategic decision making. Something, if I'm completely honest with myself, I wanted to influence directly, I wanted my ideas to be heard, I wanted to be directly responsible for change, and influence strategy and change the status quo, if given the chance. I could sit on the sides and offer advice and witness slower pace of change, or get in the ring, get my hands dirty and experience true ownership, accountability and responsibility. I yearned for an opportunity to experience being a senior executive, responsible for a big organisation.
- I felt I'd drifted too far from the technology domain - and needed to get back to the core. After all, I built software myself in the early days, and have degrees in Engineering and a masters in Computer Science. I wanted to get closer to the tech teams building modern apps, internet scale.
- I wondered if a Program Manager could switch back to being a Technology Leader - looking at people around me in executive roles, I felt I had more than the requisite experience and technical know-how to adapt and do the job.
- I needed to experience what it meant to be a manager with direct responsibility for people and bottom-line P&L. No more assisting from the sides.
Tuesday 10 January 2023
2022 Personametry Tracking - Work/Life Balance & Harmony Update
Courtesy |
I've been doing this exercise consistently over the last eight years! Am I crazy? Maybe?! I've become quite the data junkie, and I'm loving it!
I know that tracking every activity and accounting for every minute of one's life might seem like overkill to most people. I on the other hand, actually quite enjoy doing so! :-) Primarily because having insights into how I spend my time has really helped me be more conscious and intentional about my aspirations, goals and expectations covering all dimensions of my life, seeking balance and harmony in my personal and professional streams. My methods allow me to focus and maintain discipline with my time...
This is my value system that describes my streams:
Muslim | Individual | Professional (Work) | Husband | Family-Man | Social/Friend
When someone asks me the following: Mo, how's life? Mo, how are you doing work-wise? Mo, how's things? Are you happy? Are you meeting your aspirations? Mo, what consumes most of your time these days? I can have a sincere and authentic conversation about it.
In 2015, I researched productivity and personal development methods extensively, culminating to me creating my own frameworks:
- RAGE (Reality Aspirations Goals Expectations). Knowing yourself, i.e. what you stand for, your value system, by identifying Personas. For each Persona, define Aspirations/Goals that becomes your long term personal roadmap. What emerges from this is a scorecard that you can track your progress, see example from 2020.
- PERSONAMETRY is another concept I created that essentially captures key metrics about yourself, TIME being our most valuable resource. If time is our most valuable resource, do we not owe it to ourselves to account for it? For each Persona you identify with, Personametry is your personal telemetry. It can be extended to a variety of use cases, including overall happiness/stress sentiment analysis. If you're keen to learn more, check out this product specification document I created years ago, but alas, haven't developed the app for it as yet (alas, no time, wasn't a priority!)