For my first article summary, I chose Procrastination - A Four-Letter Word by Cindy Caldwell. In the article the author discusses the stages of and reasons for procrastination as well as providing some tips for dealing with it. Her stages of procrastination include:
Caldwell must think that procrastination is death because these are the stages of grief put forward by Kubler-Ross in Death and Dying (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%BCbler-Ross_model.)
Caldwell's reasons for procrastination are:
Indecision is a "biggie" for me. (Should I have chosen this article to summarize? Maybe there was a better one.) She suggests not dwelling on bad decisions of the past and just realizing that most decisions are not "life or death". Lack of a deadline is another issue for me. In fact one of the reasons I take these courses is to invent a deadline.
For my second article summary, I chose Fostering Innovation in an IT World by Linda Naiman. The article provides several strategies that companies can follow to encourage innovation. They include:
I have always been somewhat dismissive of the rah-rah mission cheerleaders. I would rather see the mission communicated through actions over words, but I need to come to terms with the importance of words. Eliminating bureaucracy is huge, I know how frustrated and discouraged I feel when I run up against it. Every year they seem to require more forms and reports -- and when they come back because of the slightest mistake or oversight, #$%^!!!!! I need to put some thought to whether I am creating any of the bureaucracy. I have found my work done in collaboration is much more effective. For instance, I am bad at finishing things, and with the right collaborator I can relax and let him or her take on that role. In academia we obsess on assessment, and whether it is a professor going up for tenure or a student being grading on a group project, there is too much concern about specifying and quantifying one's contributions.