Mr. Rod Welch
rowelch@attglobal.net
The Welch Company
440 Davis Court #1602
San Francisco, CA 94111 2496
..
Subject:
HTML in SDS records
Rod,
I said I would try to get specific recommendations for fixes to the HTML
generated for SDS records, and I finally got to it.
.. Here is a cut.
The 100915_01.htm file is a raw SDS record, and formats incorrectly in Opera.
The 100915_01_out.htm
file has the changes noted below, and formats correctly
in Opera. Line numbers refer to this file, but I don't think I changed that
at least not much.
.. I haven't been as picky as the HTML standard, since I am looking for the
smallest set of changes that will add Opera to the list of browsers that are
usable with the SDS record.
It turns out that there aren't all that many problems. Style sheets could
possibly improve some of the formatting issues, but that is for another time.
My program to fix font tags
.. Friday, August 23, 2002
A DocType is usual, but the note says that most browsers ignore it. Line 1.
..
Unopened font tag closed throughout document. Removed those before validating.
..
Empty font tags (open, close with nothing between) aren't harmful, just
superfluous.
.. Paragraph tags inside font and bold tags not legal in latest HTML.
..
Align attribute misspelled as 'aligh' -- Line 25
..
Font, bold tags not legal inside 'A' tag. Line 43, 44
..
Ampersand, less than and greater than should be character entities.
& - &
< - <
> - >
..
Lone close bold tag after TOC -- need bold before it. Line 42. Close bold
before close font.
..
Font tag to set size in another font tag. Line 29.
.. Bold set before 'A' tag and closed inside it. Appears to be SDS Ref entries.
Line 335.
..
Close open font tag before closing pre tag, Line 501.
..
6. Warning in line 17 at character 1: [28] The = "p" tag is contained in a "B"
tag (which was opened in line 16). This = may be acceptable for some browsers
(such as Internet Explorer and Netscape), = but HTML 4.01 does not allow this.
It may also cause problems or unexpected page rendering for more compliant
browsers such as Opera. Possible solutions: 1. Close the "B" tag before =
using the "p" tag. Depending on the correct usage of the closed tag, you may
be able to reopen it after using the "p" tag; 2. Eliminate = the "p" tag; or 3.
Reorder the "p" and "B" = tags.
.. There are similar warnings about "p" tags in "font" tags.
CONTACTS
0201 - Chips & Tech. 408 434 0600
020101 - Mr. Morris E. Jones
020102 - Vice President =Ext. 4283 car: 408 398 6004
020103 - Advanced Products =fax 434 0765
.. SUBJECTS
SDS Improvements to Medit
F11 and F12 Function Keys
0404 - ..
0405 - Summary/Objective
0406 -
040601 - This is still pending.
040602 -
040603 - We thought we could test this matter with Terry's keyboard, but it
040604 - only has 10 function keys on the left end also. He is going out with
040605 - the family later today; so I suggested they swing by his office to
040606 - pick up his office keyboard. He feels this could cause havoc at home;
040607 - and so he will try to go by the office sometime this weekend on his
040608 - own.
040609 -
040610 -
040611 -
0407 -
SUBJECTS
SDS Improvements to Medit
Wordwrap on SDS margins automatically,
0505 -
050501 - We eliminated the requirement for wordwrap to call macro 610 only
050502 - when wrapflag 1 is active. Then we added the code that calls macro
050503 - 611.
050504 -
050505 - I tested this and found that this works fine.
050506 - ..
050507 -
050508 - Is Macro 611 Necessary
050509 -
050510 - Now I am wondering whether macro 611 is really necessary. This
050511 - matter came to me in writing up the explanation in the Wrapon
050512 - description in the Medit Command file, ref OF 2 0000.
050513 -
050514 - Macro 611, only removes the duplicated outline indicator on the
050515 - second line. But this only occurs because of wrapflag 1. If
050516 - Wrapflag 1 is off, then macro 611 is not needed. Actually we do
050517 - need it, because wrapflag is active in SDS in order to duplicate
050518 - the line numbers. So we need macro 611 in SDS and do not need it
050519 - in the editor. Since it does not slow us down to use in the Editor
050520 - it does not hurt to have it active all the time.
050521 -
050522 -
0506 -
0507 -
0508 - ww.asm
0509 - ..
050901 - Line 32 - commented out the call of macro 610 only when wrapflag
050902 - 1 is pending. This is just lines 32 and 33.
050903 -
050904 - I wonder though where the code is the routine that seems to be
050905 - called by line 33. Seems like this must be a subroutine, and if
050906 - we comment out the call, do we still need the subroutine?
050907 -
050908 -
050909 - Line 34 - 51 - this is the routine that calls macro 610, so we copied
050910 - this to line 152 where the wrap code ends, and changed the macro call
050911 - from 610 to 611.
050912 -
050913 -
0510 -
0511 -
0512 - 000001
0513 - ..
051301 - Line 1000 - unplugged the temporary code created to call macro
051302 - 611. Now that we have 611 called by wordwrap, this is not necessary.
051303 -
051304 - Do we still need code for setting counter 19 611? Yes, it is in 00002
051305 - to set the condition for an outline level to wrapon code.
051306 -
051307 -
051308 -
0514 -
.. SUBJECTS
SDS Marketing
Notepad, replace, 910425
SDS Management Theory
Too busy to manage effectively
Learning time, Create SI, Contacts DB
Technology, Leadership Ally
Consistent Use of Good Practice Needs
Budget to Succeed, Empower to be Cost
Budgeting to Fail
1312 -
131201 - ..
131202 - Downsizing Executives Too Busy to Learn SDS for Saving Time, Money
131203 -
131204 - Morris is doing budget evaluation meetings for downsizing Chips,
131205 - similar to efforts at Ford, Chrysler and other US companies, which he
131206 - mentioned previously on 911221, when it was discovered that people
131207 - "cooked the books," to make bad management look good. ref SDS 9 6632
131208 -
131209 - The budgeting process is "top down" rather than "needs" based. Top
131210 - down budgeting funds departments and projects according to obligations
131211 - and opportunities.
131212 - ..
131213 - Where is the record of analysis to defer obligations in order to
131214 - allocate limited resources for opportunities that can grow income
131215 - rapidly enough to meet compounding obligations?
131216 -
131217 - Morris explained Chips' process of determining obligations and
131218 - opportunities by interviewing project managers and engineers.
131219 -
131220 - There isn't enough time to review company records, and most of
131221 - them are incomplete for the reasons on 890809, ref SDS 2 SI4K, a
131222 - lot of the record has been destroyed, as discussed on 911123,
131223 - ref SDS 8 8934 Therefore, organizational memory can only be
131224 - assembled by conducting a series of meetings to interview people
131225 - and gather what they remember.
131226 -
131227 - [On 921127 Morris reported this method is not very effective.
131228 - ref SDS 21 0674
131229 -
131230 - [On 950228 concern was cited that meetings are frustrating and
131231 - waste time arguing to resolve conflicting memory. ref SDS 24
131232 - 1994
131233 -
131234 - [On 950301 there was difficulty remembering critical details
131235 - for a trip to Paris. ref SDS 25 3333
131236 -
131237 - [On 960205 AP reports study managers waste 70% of day in
131238 - unproductive meetings. ref SDS 29 5222
131239 -
131240 - [On 970110 similar experience at USACE, managers and engineers
131241 - reported Com Metrics was more effective than relying on
131242 - personal memory, because nobody could remember critical
131243 - details from a few weeks earlier. ref SDS 33 2487
131244 - ..
131245 - We recalled on 890809 there was concern that organizational
131246 - memory was better suited for external management. ref SDS 2 0880
131247 - This recent experience related today indicates that organizational
131248 - memory is, also, helpful for internal management.
131249 -
131250 - I asked if SDS could help with this task, since Morris noted on
131251 - 890809 meetings need people to listen better, and on 991123 he
131252 - noted that SDS is more effective than other methods? ref SDS 8
131253 - 0477
131254 -
131255 - Morris feels there isn't enough time.
131256 -
131257 - Under the circumstances, we did not review analysis on 890809
131258 - showing that failure to invest time for understanding the past
131259 - leads to further problems in the future. ref SDS 2 T56J and
131260 - ref SDS 2 0070
131261 - ..
131262 - I asked if Chips is using the AI software program that
131263 - supports automated management, cited on 911121, ref SDS 7 5609, in
131264 - order to get the record of performance to manage downsizing at
131265 - Chips?
131266 -
131267 - Morris said the AI program Chips purchased is not practical for
131268 - implementing the Welch Management method of obtaining an accurate
131269 - record on what has been done, pending action items, lessons
131270 - learned, and progress to assess prospects for improving earnings,
131271 - which Morris cited on 911123, ref SDS 8 0477, contrary to hopes on
131272 - 911121. ref SDS 7 5609
131273 -
131274 -
131275 - ..
131276 - Too Busy Being Busy to Use SDS
131277 -
131278 - Morris, also, said he is "too busy" to use SDS.
131279 -
131280 - His secretary, Marily, is keeping his schedule, but not his
131281 - project work. The latter is not being done and there is no time
131282 - to decide about having someone else do things. This is the
131283 - "management by 30 second byte" paradigm.
131284 -
131285 - [On 951228 Morris was using 20% of his 3rd or 4th computer
131286 - support software for management. He felt it was not a good
131287 - time to consider using a Communication Manager to ensure that
131288 - the full capability of management support tools is achieved.
131289 - ref SDS 27 8804]
131290 -
131291 - [On 971105 Internet presents possibility of helping busy
131292 - managers benefit from technology that delivers business
131293 - intelligence anytime, anywhere. ref SDS 37 1459]
131294 -
131295 -
131296 -
131297 -
131298 -
131299 -
131300 -
1314 -
.. SUBJECTS
Learning period/difficulty
Convert Schedule to Diary, 910523
Product definition, Difficult to Understand
Evaluation, Intuitive, Ignorance, Fear, Denial
Disallusioned by Technology
Intuitive, Alphabet is Hard to Learn but is
Difficult to Learn, Linking & Citations
New Realities Information Overload Overwhelms Span of Attention by Co
20-60 Min Pilot Test, Conflicts Knowledge Pays Off Days, Weeks, Month
SDS Difficult to Learn Gave Up Could Not Figure Out Links Converting
Links SDS Gave Up Not Enough Time to Learn
Anger Denial SDS Aids Memory Frustrating Rod Remembers Every Little T
20 Minutes Not Enough Time to Learn SDS Intuitively Reverting to Conv
3516 -
351601 - ..
351602 - Imploding Management: Loss Conflict Crisis Calamity
351603 - Intuitive Tools for Productivity Must be Learned in 20 Minutes
351604 -
351605 - Because of the downsizing at Chips, per above, ref SDS 0 HJ8G, Morris'
351606 - main focus since the first of the year has been evaluating projects at
351607 - Chips to produce marketable products.
351608 -
351609 - He feels software that cannot be grasped quickly and intuitively,
351610 - cannot be successful in the marketplace, because executives do not
351611 - have time to think about improving management to save time and money.
351612 - They have to get things done with what they already know how to do.
351613 -
351614 - [...strong cultural forces prevent executives from improving
351615 - management to improve earnings. ref SDS 42 1233
351616 -
351617 - [On 980905 Morris wants self-evident benefits to accrue quickly.
351618 - ref SDS 40 TM9L
351619 -
351620 - [On 990527 discussed disruptive technologies that are not
351621 - initually intuitive, because people do not have experiece from
351622 - which to intuit benefits. ref SDS 42 5258
351623 - ..
351624 - We reviewed our discussion on 890809 that SDS has a critical
351625 - mass of functions necessary for technology to improve management and
351626 - increase earnings. If people do not invest time for improving
351627 - management, then boom and bust scenarios will occur with increased
351628 - regularity due to a faster paced work environment caused by
351629 - information technology (IT). ref SDS 2 2079
351630 -
351631 - Morris cited discussions he has had with people at Lotus on developing
351632 - a user interface. They spent 2 years in focus groups getting ideas
351633 - for creating a simple, intuitive menu system that people can learn in
351634 - 20 minutes, because that is about the amount of time available for
351635 - learning new methods. He feels research could improve SDS, because it
351636 - has a lot of functions other programs don't have, so they are not
351637 - intuitive because nobody has ever thought of it before.
351638 - ..
351639 - Ross a similar point on 890809. ref SDS 1 QY6L
351640 -
351641 - [On 010916 intuitive user interface critical marketing to people
351642 - for entertainment; intelligence is more important to people for
351643 - productivity and national security. ref SDS 46 O14M
351644 -
351645 - This aligns with the past two years trying to get people to use SDS in
351646 - order to discover the power of technology to integrate time and
351647 - information. There has to be some initial investment (time) to create
351648 - a record and link things up in order for the value of intelligence to
351649 - become evident, as Morris is discovering in his budget review process,
351650 - per above. ref SDS 0 NB4F Yesterday, is an example. On 920214 made
351651 - progress getting Wayne Wetzel at DNRC to use SDS. ref SDS 18 0001 This
351652 - provides an opportunity to get user experience for shaping SDS to meet
351653 - the needs of the market.
351654 -
351655 -
351656 - ..
351657 - Counterintuitive Design Difficult to Learn Without Training
351658 - Linking, Integrated Scheduling and Reporting Not Intuitive
351659 -
351660 - Morris expressed strong disappointment in not be able to learn how to
351661 - link records, and so he has abandoned SDS, confirming indications on
351662 - 910523. ref SDS 4 2736, and later on 911121, ref SDS 7 7420, when he
351663 - stepped away from SDS. ref SDS 7 5699
351664 -
351665 - [On 930102 difficulty reviewing POIMS. ref SDS 23 0001
351666 -
351667 - [On 960628 reviewed "intuitive" issue. ref SDS 31 0001
351668 -
351669 - He feels the emergency at Chips to downsize means there is not enough
351670 - time to learn SDS in order to improve management for saving time and
351671 - money. ref SDS 0 HJ8G SDS makes it faster and easier to use good
351672 - management than other methods, but it turns out that nobody uses good
351673 - management practice, so it is easier to avoid learning SDS for doing
351674 - things nobody else is doing. as reported on 890809. ref SDS 1 5U6K
351675 -
351676 - [On 921021 NASA, JPL good practice "sore subject," ref SDS 20
351677 - 5692, bad management caused failure of Columbia Space Shuttle.
351678 - ref SDS 20 4499
351679 -
351680 - [On 921205 Covey says good management very hard for people to
351681 - learn. ref SDS 22 4803
351682 -
351683 - [On 011003 nobody uses good management. ref SDS 47 SP6G
351684 - ..
351685 - On 890809 Morris liked SDS design linking daily work to
351686 - organizational history, ref SDS 2 8211, and noted weaknesses of
351687 - "listening" that SDS improves. ref SDS 2 CJ9J At that time he worried
351688 - using SDS takes time to add intelligence to hand written notes, but,
351689 - also, recognized that handwritten notes are not an effective way to
351690 - capture organizational memory, ref SDS 2 SI4K, which is essential for
351691 - effective management, per Morris' report above. ref SDS 0 HJ8G On
351692 - 910810 he cited technical breakthroughs in SDS architecture.
351693 - ref SDS 6 7793. On 911123 he noted the Welch Management method
351694 - captures organizational memory, which nobody else can do consistently.
351695 - ref SDS 8 4930 However, he, also, worried on 890809 the critical mass
351696 - of tasks to improve management is too great a burden for executives to
351697 - learn in order to improve earnings. ref SDS 2 QF4O
351698 -
351699 - Cultural disconnect from conventional management practice makes SDS
351700 - design difficult to understand. The 20 minutes allocated for learning
351701 - technology to improve productivity, earnings and stock prices is
351702 - probably optimistic, for the reasons reported on 898089. ref SDS 2
351703 - 5U6K Intuition and common sense fail because people have no
351704 - experience from which to intuit SDS functions and processes.
351705 - ..
351706 - Tradtional management methods conflict, indeed are the opposite
351707 - from the way SDS is used. reported on 910529, ref SDS 5 9989
351708 -
351709 - [On 920402 culture at IBM encourages reliance on conversation
351710 - rather than technology that adds intelligence to management.
351711 - ref SDS 19 0344
351712 -
351713 - [On 970919 IT has reduced productivity because people have only
351714 - tried tools that take 20 minutes to learn, which doesn't
351715 - improve anything. ref SDS 36 4739
351716 -
351717 - [On 990527 strong cultural forces prevent executives from
351718 - improving management to improve earnings. ref SDS 42 1233
351719 -
351720 - [On 991021 experience is needed to understand how easy it is
351721 - for SDS to track alignment. ref SDS 45 7938]
351722 - ..
351723 - On 911123 he noticed SDS and Welch Management method is
351724 - different from conventional executive practice. ref SDS 8 0477
351725 -
351726 - [On 940915 discussed theory of faith that sustains efforts to
351727 - learn new methods, analogous to climbing an unknown mountain.
351728 - ref SDS 26 4930]
351729 -
351730 - [On 980722 Morris cited frustrations of executives trying to
351731 - learn new methods. ref SDS 38 0834]
351732 -
351733 - [On 980722 he noted that SDS code is hard to understand and
351734 - create. ref SDS 39 3280]
351735 -
351736 - [On 990527 Com Metrics is a disruptive technology. ref SDS 42
351737 - 5258]
351738 -
351739 - [On 990625 Kaiser management guidelines require using Welch
351740 - Management method, ref SDS 43 0806, but don't have enough time
351741 - using conventional technology. ref SDS 43 1978]
351742 -
351743 - [On 990625 Fortune article says executives refuse to perform
351744 - work practices supported by SDS due to "psyche." ref SDS 44
351745 - 4914]
351746 - ..
351747 - I tried to explain that his real problem was not converting
351748 - scheduled tasks, that are performed, into diary records, since
351749 - that automatically creates links. He never created anything for
351750 - the program to link. Scheduled tasks can only arise from things
351751 - that have actually occurred, i.e. diary records.
351752 -
351753 - Progeny require a driving force, something that exists. SDS is a
351754 - schedule and diary system that integrates time and information,
351755 - so it has to be used according to this design, which Morris
351756 - complimented on 890809.
351757 -
351758 - [On 951208 follow up at ref SDS 28 8846; discussion at Stanford
351759 - on their "new" product, ref SDS 32 7777.]
351760 -
351761 - [On 970607 Morris changed from Ecco Pro to Lotus Organizer
351762 - because it is difficult to create useful management software.
351763 - ref SDS 35 5838
351764 -
351765 - [On 970525 executives need help learning how to use computers
351766 - for improving management; can be sponsored by Project Office,
351767 - ref SDS 34 1943
351768 - ..
351769 - I explained that everyone has this same trouble, because
351770 - linking records is not intuitive. It is a new concept and a
351771 - practice only available in SDS, as explained on 910529.
351772 - ref SDS 5 9989
351773 -
351774 - Mentioned explaining this point to Wayne the other evening at his
351775 - house, citing Morris (not by name), as one of the smartest people
351776 - in the world, and nearly the best computer person, and yet he
351777 - could not grasp the simplicity of the idea. This tells me that
351778 - the idea is seminal and therefore requires prior knowledge in
351779 - order to understand its application.
351780 -
351781 - [See, however, on 960518 that this cycle reflects innate mental
351782 - processes, ref SDS 30 0550.]
351783 -
351784 - [On 990303 SDS supports "intelligence" that organizes subjects,
351785 - overcomes limited span of attention, ref SDS 41 6120, segements
351786 - and recodes information into "chunks" that are easier to
351787 - manage. ref SDS 41 2838]
351788 - ..
351789 - Morris, also, cited difficulty printing reports. He said the
351790 - Help system was inadequate.
351791 -
351792 - I explained the improvements in SDS functionality to print
351793 - reports, and the work on Help to explain how to use it. This too
351794 - is derived from experience by Users like Morris to find out what
351795 - is wrong so we can fix it.
351796 -
351797 - [On 971105 began project to deliver intelligence on the Internet
351798 - that lets people print SDS records using web browsers. ref SDS 37
351799 - 3871]
351800 -
351801 -
351802 -
351803 -
351804 -
3519 -
.. SUBJECTS
Making more money
Strategies
3705 -
370501 - ..
370502 - Making Money
370503 -
370504 - I explained the report from the Broadwater Plant Superintendent on his
370505 - experience using SDS, ref SDS 14 0001, and indicating he finds SDS
370506 - helpful.
370507 -
370508 - Morris feels that a strategy to market SDS as a way to "make more
370509 - money," is not promising because most people even in business do not
370510 - associate their salary with their performance. This aligns with the
370511 - discussion on 901007. ref SDS 3 B4PE
370512 -
370513 - I dispute that there is not a very large number of people who believe
370514 - that if they were able to do a better job they could make more money
370515 - (note for example the political debate to improve "education" in order
370516 - to improve productivity), but even assuming that is true, do not at
370517 - least executives, like Morris, associate performance with income, if
370518 - not of individuals directly, then for the organization. An example is
370519 - the report the Director of DNRC has commissioned from the Deputy
370520 - Director on ways to improve DNRC management for the period following
370521 - the year 2000.
370522 -
370523 -
370524 -
370525 -
370526 -
370527 -
370528 -
370529 -
Distribution. . . . See "CONTACTS"