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Chicken Soup for the Yak Shaver

Chicken Soup for the Yak Shaver

Talk about Yak Shaving presented at Code Camp Wellington, 2018

Thong Kuah

April 14, 2018
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  1. Thong Kuah @kuahyeow
    Chicken Soup for the Yak
    Shaver
    thong.kuah@fluxfederation.com

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  2. Thong Kuah @kuahyeow
    Introductions
    My name is …
    My friends say I am …
    I am here to …

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  3. Thong Kuah @kuahyeow
    This is a start to a conversation

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  4. Thong Kuah @kuahyeow
    6 step programme
    1. Acknowledge the issue ✅
    2. Have a plan ✅
    3. Getting things done ✅
    4. Avoid the yak shave ✅
    5. Learn from the journey ✅
    6. Keep improving ✅

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  5. Thong Kuah @kuahyeow
    Yak Shaving ?
    https://pixabay.com/en/manali-himalayas-yak-cattle-horns-1941791/ CC0

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  6. Thong Kuah @kuahyeow
    1. Any apparently useless activity which, by allowing you to overcome
    intermediate difficulties, allows you to solve a larger problem
    2. A less useful activity done consciously or subconsciously to
    procrastinate about a larger but more useful task
    — Wiktionary “Yak Shaving” article, retrieved April 7th 2018

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  7. Thong Kuah @kuahyeow
    So, I need to wax the car
    http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2005/03/dont_shave_that.html
    https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Seth_Godin_in_2009.jpg Joi Ito, CC BY 2.0

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  8. Thong Kuah @kuahyeow
    You called ?
    https://pixabay.com/en/manali-himalayas-yak-cattle-horns-1941797/ CC0

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  9. Thong Kuah @kuahyeow
    6 step programme
    1. Acknowledge the issue ⭕
    2. Have a plan
    3. Getting things done
    4. Avoid the yak shave
    5. Learn from the journey
    6. Keep improving

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  10. Thong Kuah @kuahyeow
    Moving forward relies on you
    acknowledging there is a problem

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  11. Thong Kuah @kuahyeow
    Choosing Ubuntu
    https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Screenshot_of_Rotate_Cube_Compiz_plugin_on_Ubuntu_12.04.png MIT

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  12. Thong Kuah @kuahyeow
    What has worked… for me
    • Seek feedback
    • Think about what’s my goal

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  13. Thong Kuah @kuahyeow
    6 step programme
    1. Acknowledge the issue ✅
    2. Have a plan ⭕
    3. Getting things done
    4. Avoid the yak shave
    5. Learn from the journey
    6. Keep improving

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  14. Thong Kuah @kuahyeow
    …Planning is essential

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  15. Thong Kuah @kuahyeow
    The Giant Refactor
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/tmolini/2758231840 tmolini CC BY 2.0

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  16. Thong Kuah @kuahyeow
    What has worked… for me
    • Write down your steps
    • Write down your goal
    • Be ready to adjust

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  17. Thong Kuah @kuahyeow
    6 step programme
    1. Acknowledge the issue ✅
    2. Have a plan ✅
    3. Getting things done ⭕
    4. Avoid the yak shave
    5. Learn from the journey
    6. Keep improving

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  18. Thong Kuah @kuahyeow
    “Yak Shaving is the last step of
    series of steps ... when you find
    something you need to do.”
    — Seth Godin: Don't Shave That Yak!

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  19. Thong Kuah @kuahyeow
    Debugging an Incident
    Of the Email Variety
    https://xkcd.com/722/ CC BY NC 2.0

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  20. Thong Kuah @kuahyeow
    What has worked… for me
    • Find out all the steps
    • Compromise
    • One yak a day

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  21. Thong Kuah @kuahyeow
    6 step programme
    1. Acknowledge the issue ✅
    2. Have a plan ✅
    3. Getting things done ✅
    4. Avoid the yak shave ⭕
    5. Learn from the journey
    6. Keep improving

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  22. Thong Kuah @kuahyeow
    The best yak shave is… no yak
    shave
    * Easier said than done

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  23. Thong Kuah @kuahyeow
    Provision a demo
    site
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/wfryer/21612726330 Wesley Fryer CC BY 2.0

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  24. Thong Kuah @kuahyeow
    Heroku !

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  25. Thong Kuah @kuahyeow
    What has worked… for me
    • Remember your goal
    • Take the smallest direct step towards your goal
    • Experience is helpful

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  26. Thong Kuah @kuahyeow
    6 step programme
    1. Acknowledge the issue ✅
    2. Have a plan ✅
    3. Getting things done ✅
    4. Avoid the yak shave ✅
    5. Learn from the journey ⭕
    6. Keep improving

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  27. Thong Kuah @kuahyeow
    It’s the journey…not the
    destination
    Stop and smell the flowers along the way

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  28. Thong Kuah @kuahyeow
    Ubuntu
    Tinkering
    https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Screenshot_of_Rotate_Cube_Compiz_plugin_on_Ubuntu_12.04.png MIT

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  29. Thong Kuah @kuahyeow
    What has worked… for me
    • Learn from failing
    • Knowledge takes work and discipline
    • Be curious

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  30. Thong Kuah @kuahyeow
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/mandala_travel/7202418868/ Mandala Travel CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

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  31. Thong Kuah @kuahyeow
    6 step programme
    1. Acknowledge the issue ✅
    2. Have a plan ✅
    3. Getting things done ✅
    4. Avoid the yak shave ✅
    5. Learn from the journey ✅
    6. Keep improving ⭕

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  32. Thong Kuah @kuahyeow
    A problem worth solving… will
    always have obstacles

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  33. Thong Kuah @kuahyeow
    Linting
    After the fact
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/39908901@N06/10895634164 m01229 CC BY 2.0

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  34. Thong Kuah @kuahyeow
    What has worked… for me
    • Assess worthiness of change objectively
    • Develop awareness of things that can be improved

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  35. Thong Kuah @kuahyeow
    6 step programme.. Success ?
    1. Acknowledge the issue ✅
    2. Have a plan ✅
    3. Getting things done ✅
    4. Avoid the yak shave ✅
    5. Learn from the journey ✅
    6. Keep improving ✅

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  36. Thong Kuah @kuahyeow
    Takeaways
    • Yaks can be a source of growth. Yes it’s hard;
    • What a yak looks like
    • Different Strategies for All The Yaks

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  37. Thong Kuah @kuahyeow
    References
    • The term “Yak Shaving” was coined by Carlin Vieri in his time at the MIT AI Lab (1993-8) after
    viewing a 1991 episode of The Ren and Stimpy Show featuring "Yak Shaving Day," a Christmas-like
    Holiday where participants hang diapers instead of stockings, stuff rubber boots with coleslaw,
    and watch for the shaven yak to float by in his enchanted canoe. See https://projects.csail.mit.edu/
    gsb/old-archive/gsb-archive/gsb2000-02-11.html
    • http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2005/03/dont_shave_that.html
    • https://joi.ito.com/weblog/2005/03/05/yak-shaving.html
    • https://www.hanselman.com/blog/YakShavingDefinedIllGetThatDoneAsSoonAsIShaveThisYak.aspx
    • https://stories.buffer.com/how-to-stay-focused-on-your-goals-when-yak-shaving-takes-over-
    b58f4b56c463
    • https://the-composition.com/a-taxonomy-of-yak-shaving-102da591308b

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  38. Thong Kuah @kuahyeow
    Thank you
    https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bos_grunniens_at_Yundrok_Yumtso_Lake.jpg Dennis Jarvis CC BY-SA 3.0

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