Blog: Running the 2 Second Lean™ Experiment

Upcoming Events

Tech Trek - October 2nd

Join us for Tech Trek and experience the energy of Ann Arbor’s tech community! Explore companies, emerging technology, hands-on demos, local food vendors, and more throughout downtown Ann Arbor from 1pm - 5pm on October 2nd.  

We'll have a booth right outside our office and be opening our doors for mini tours throughout the afternoon. Whether you’re a job seeker, student, tech professional, or someone who is curious about the Ann Arbor tech community, we'd love to see you there!

Register for free here!

Make Feedback Count!
How three C’s can turn feedback into growth

Feedback is one of the pillars of how we work at Menlo. We are intentional about setting aside time to give and receive it, and everyone participates, from senior team members to someone on their first day. But feedback is only valuable when it actually helps someone grow. If we only give praise and avoid constructive feedback, we’re missing an important opportunity for growth.

In her TED Talk, executive coach Dr. Renee St. Jacques explores how to deliver constructive feedback more effectively. She shares the story of a manager and employee whose perceptions of performance were completely misaligned. The employee expected to be promoted soon, while the manager had no plans to promote her. Part of the disconnect came from the manager’s reliance on the “sandwich” method: praise, followed by criticism, followed by more praise. Rather than creating clarity, the approach left the employee with false expectations.

This is where St. Jacques introduces the three C’s: Connect, Correct, and Cultivate. Build trust and connection, address behaviors that need to change, and cultivate a culture where feedback is welcomed and used for growth. Having a balance of all three ensures that employees will continue to grow. While her talk may be geared toward leaders, we think the lessons around feedback can be beneficial to everyone!

Watch the video here!

This month, we're sharing some thoughts around AI from Menlo's friend, Martha Roden. Martha sent us her thoughts after reading the July Menlo Bits blog post, AI at Menlo: We're Still Figuring It Out. As we're continuing to experiment with AI, Martha's thoughts are a good thing for us to consider:

"There's a certain mental satisfaction that comes from building something yourself. You don't quite get that same feeling when you’re reviewing an agent’s work. Some days that’s okay, but other days I miss it. It is this very change that makes me wonder why we are using AI.”

I totally get it. After all, machine learning was initially focused on data acquisition, analysis, and modeling. It was meant to do those things that humans cannot do, or cannot do well, or do not like to do.

So how or why has AI shifted to doing the very things that we are good at and actually enjoy doing?

We humans love to create. We love to ponder. We love to figure things out.

As a technical writer, I don’t appreciate a stupid AI prompt asking me if I need help writing, or getting started, or putting together a presentation. I actually enjoy sitting with a project, thinking about it, and coming up with ideas. I don’t need a program to do that for me. I want to be the creator. If the program wants to review my spelling, that’s fine. But I do not need it doing for me what I can do for myself and what I actually enjoy doing.

I recently read an article by L.M. Sacasas, who has a blog and a substack on the subject of technology, culture, and ethics. I have to agree whole-heartedly with a quote from one of his articles: “The arc of AI bends toward demoralization.” 

He argues that this demoralization shows up in a lot of people as sadness more than anything else. We feel sad because we are increasingly being invited to outsource a group of activities that grant us satisfaction, accomplishment, and purpose. He further asks why any of us want to use a tool that we are constantly told will deprive us of our livelihood. We are being marketed to as if AI is the best thing in the world and simultaneously losing our jobs or our sense of job satisfaction because of it. Talk about cognitive dissonance!

I agree with Sacasas all the way. AI is forcing us to stop doing things that make us happy because we are “not efficient” or we “take too much time.” But that is NOT a reason to stop doing those things. Why should we not think for ourselves, get the answer wrong and then figure out why, ponder things, do things badly until we get good at them, and explore possibilities?"
 

Share your own Menlo Bits submission here!

Chatter: The Voice In Our Head, Why It Matters, and How to Harness it

Author: Ethan Kross

Recommended by: Roger Barber, High-Tech Anthropologist®

As someone who thinks for a living, I spend a lot of time with my inner voice. Chatter is an excellent book that details exactly how the tone and content of your inner voice influences your day-to-day life. "Chatter," in this context, is when that inner voice becomes negative, repetitive, and heavy with worry and rumination. The book introduces great ways to identify chatter, along with strategies for mitigating and reducing the amount of chatter filling your brain.

If you’re looking to build confidence, quiet self-doubt, or simply develop a healthier relationship with your inner voice, I’d highly recommend adding this book to your reading list. It has a good mixture of practical examples, psychology, and a narrative that really helped me ground the book's message in my own life. These tools have helped me improve my own ability to perform under pressure and change my outlook when going through challenging things.

Grab a copy here!

Lean into Process When in Chaos

By: Silas Talley, Menlo Software Consultant

Last year, my wife and I began remodeling the second floor of our 1860s Victorian home. Doing most of the work ourselves, we learned to sand floors, repair lathe-and-plaster, demolish drywall, and paint ceilings.

Ten months in, working full-time while living in a crowded, messy house made us feel overwhelmed. Progress was slow, and because we were rarely home together to coordinate, several issues arose:

1. Endless scope: Finishing one task immediately revealed new ones, like installing baseboards or hiring an electrician.

2. Unpredictable priorities: Keeping to-do lists in our heads meant urgent tasks were easily missed.

We had previously tried using digital Kanban boards, but quickly abandoned them when they were difficult to access and easy to forget about. We turned things around last month by adopting a Menlo concept: physical work authorization boards.

Using a $5 corkboard, index cards, and yard-sale pricing stickers, we pinned tasks in priority order and tracked status with colored dots: yellow (in progress), orange (review needed), green (done), and pink (blocked).

Since placing the board in our dining room, we update it regularly, move faster, and no longer feel overwhelmed now that our project steps are clear.

Have an experiment you'd like featured in the Menlo Bits?
Submit one here!