How Not to Design Directions

Here's a poorly designed information board from the National Park's Department.  Clearly displayed content, but unfortunately it's all behind the roped off area.

6 Lessons from Playing Yahtzee!

Last night was game night at our house. Each family member got to pick a game. I was last, and when I went to the game closet to find one we hadn't yet played, I spotted an oldie but a goodie back in the corner collecting dust, and Yahtzee was introduced to a new generation.


I like Yahtzee, but I had no idea how much it had to teach me about life. Here are 6 life lessons I learned from playing Yahzee!

**WARNING -- I felt compelled to come up with 6 to match the numbers on the dice, so some are a little lame**

1. When in doubt, go for Yahztee > at one point Henry (12-years-old) was going for a Full House. On his first role, he had 2 fives and 2 ones, so he was only re-rolling one die. I paused the game, pulled out my soap box, and proceeded to lecture him on the benefits of going for a Yahztee instead of a Full House. Yahztees are worth more points, and you have more safety nets if you don't get it - your fives or ones, Three of Kind, Four of Kind, and even your Chance. Full House is something you take when it happens, but you don't chase it. Okay, so it wasn't my finest parenting hour, but the strategy is spot on. Go big or go home. Go for Yahztee!
2. Stay on schedule > the upper section of the scorecard is cleverly called, "UPPER SECTION." Here you record your Aces, Twos, Threes and so on. If you get a total score of 63 points for that section, you earn a 35 point bonus. That happens when you get at least 3 of every number. It's important to stay on schedule, but obstacles get in the way. When that happens you have to make up for lost time and role 4 of a larger number to make up for any deficits. Know where you are at all times, and work to stay on schedule.
   
3. The obvious answer isn't always best > I was behind on the Upper Section when I roled a Yahztee of 5 sixes. The obvious answer was to mark my score in Yahztee because it's worth 50 points. It wasn't until my next turn that I realized I could have scored more points by recording my 5 sixes in the Upper Section. It would have only been 30 points for the 5 sixes, but I would also earn the bonus of 35 points since that would put me "back on schedule." I could have earned 65 points instead of the 50.
   
4. Balance is important > a good score on all the boxes is worth more than a great score on some boxes and bad score on most boxes. Remember the balance of the die; both sides add up to seven. I know. It's lame, but I did warn you, and it is true - balance is important!
   
5. Minimize your loses > when the bad rolls happen, and they will, cut your loses and move on. A zero in your Aces box does less damage than 2 fours in your Fours box. Missing three Aces only puts you three points behind schedule, while only missing one four puts you four points behind schedule.
   
6. It's a game of luck and strategy > the tag line on the box serves as a good motto for life. My grandfather used to say, "Life is a series of near misses" which roughly translates to life is a game of luck and strategy.
   

Next time some asks you for advice, pause dramatically, give them a reassuring smile, and state with confidence, "Go for Yahtzee!" What life lessons have you learned from Yahtzee or other board games? Share your lessons in the comments.

Remember, You Asked for This

At the end of last week, I was talking to a C-level executive who has been in his position about 18 months. I asked how he was liking his relatively new role.

He said he was enjoying it, but that there were many challenges he hadn't anticipated. Then he went on to say, "When I first got the job, I wrote myself a note that said, 'Remember, you asked for this.' Every now and then when things get frustrating, I pull it out and reread it."

When I get back to my office on Wednesday, one of the first things I'm going to do is write myself a little note.

There's Two Sides to every Assumption

Several of the people I knew from high went to the same college as me. One day I was talking to a friend about another friend of ours from high school.

I said, "I know Jill and I were never really close in high school, but here at college she doesn't want to have anything to do with me. Everytime I see her, she totally blows me off." At this, my friend started laughing uncontrollably. "What?" I asked.

"Todd, she says exactly the same thing about you."

So the next several times I saw Jill on campus, I made sure to be extra friendly. Sure enough she returned the friendliness in kind. Whenever I catch myself making negative assumptions about someone else, I remind myself how wrong I was about Jill.

Being Accountable Part 2

Being Accountable - Courtney Paris vs. AIG

Courtney Paris, the senior starting center on the University of Oklahoma women's basketball team, has committed to win the NCAA Championship with strong personal accountability by pledging:

If we don't, which is not even an option, just to put something on the line -- and it might take me the rest of my life -- I will pay back my scholarship because I didn't do what I said I was going to.

One way to view this public declaration is as a publicity stunt. Austin Murphy starts his article "The $64,000 question: Will Courtney Paris' big bet pay off?" by comparing her to Bill Veeck. But he comes to the same conclusion that Mechelle Voepel does in her excellent blog post "Paying it Forward" where she states:

Courtney Paris is a terrific person, the epitome of what people hope their school’s student-athletes will be. I don’t believe it ever crossed her mind that she might be sending out some kind of “message” to UConn or any other team. Her message was intended for the Oklahoma fans and the program to which she feels indebted.

See for yourself with the video below. Paris makes her bold statement in the last minute of this clip, but it's the 9 minutes leading up to it that truly demonstrate her level of indebtedness.

It may be an odd comparison, but I couldn't help but seeing Paris' sense of ownership in direct contrast to the victim language displayed in the resignation letter from AIG executive Jake DeSantis.

As most of us have done nothing wrong, guilt is not a motivation to surrender our earnings. We have worked 12 long months under these contracts and now deserve to be paid as promised. None of us should be cheated of our payments any more than a plumber should be cheated after he has fixed the pipes but a careless electrician causes a fire that burns down the house.

In fairness to DeSantis, he is pledging to donate all of his bonus after taxes to charity. Both these examples are extreme. DeSantis shows no accountability, and Paris takes on too much. Voepel sums it up best:

I also think she’s looked at this in too narrow a way. What both Courtney and Ashley Paris have brought to their university, the Big 12 and the women’s basketball community long ago exceeded the value of their scholarships.

Actions speak louder than words, and if the Sooners don't win, some tough choices will have to play out.

• If given an easy way out, will Paris insist on paying it back?
• If so, how and when?
• Would the school or the basketball program accept the money?
• If so, what would they do with it?
  

I'm glad to see a young leader take such strong accountability for results. I also hope time and maturity will help her learn to measure results more broadly. Either way this ends, executives everywhere could learn a lesson from Courtney Paris.

Good luck Sooners! Although, if it's not you all the way, I hope my Boilers take you out in the final four (I guess we all have our tough choices to make).

When You Pay a Compliment