Last year we watched the new Mulan after watching the original animated Mulan a year before that. Accented Cinema did an excellent comparison on these movies. Everyone else also properly panned the new show as well.
The live-action film movie has stunning locations marred by ridiculously outlandish characters. I understand why the actors would take the gig, but I don’t see why any self-respecting Asian would pay money to watch this new movie.
It’s a mish-mash of exotic Asian-ness, as respectful of the culture as the cheesy dub on a bad kung fu flick.
Then again, as an Asian American, I’ve always had a tortured relationship with Asia on the big screen. I’ve avoided movies like Lost in Translation or Last Samurai because I am particularly uninterested in a film centered on a white protagonist in an Asian setting. But as an American, a truly Asian film is too foreign to be relatable.
When I studied abroad in Paris, I met an Algerian who dropped the perfect line about immigrant life, “living with your ass on two seats.”
To be honest, life as an Asian American is pretty good. Things are a bit crazy at the moment and I’m well aware that things could turn much worse. But generally, the worst I have to deal with is being constantly aware of my otherness. Then again, I presume white kids have plenty of hang-ups from their adolescence that they have to deal with.
Even so, it does suck to never see yourself well portrayed on the big screen. However, I’m not a big fan of movies, so maybe it’s my lack of interest to blame? Maybe it’s a chicken and egg problem?
I’ve heard of some recent offerings that I should most likely watch at some point, but I keep going back to that exchange at the end of Chan is Missing. It perfectly captures the tension of being Asian American – life as an immigrant and a native and always an other in both worlds.
Mulan has only diminished further in my mind’s eye as time passes. I’ve heard good things about the new Shang Chi movie, though Accented Cinema did a pointed critique, “Shang Chi and the Perpetual Foreigners” that has cooled my interest in film as well, not that I’m going to a movie theater any time soon.
Things have been a little hectic. I’m going to try a simplified letter for a month and see how this works.
As always, thanks for reading. Please subscribe if you’d like the next letter in your inbox.
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Highlighting Thoroughly
It feels like the dumbest hack to remind yourself to highlight text while reading document. However, it is invaluable for reviewing plans and specifications as an Owner’s PM.
When I started as a draftsman, I didn’t need to highlight things during my drawing reviews, because I drew every line and wrote every letter by hand. I’d highlight my boss’ redlines as I picked them up.
However, I picked up the habit at my last job in private practice. At first, it felt strange because I never highlighted books in school, but I quickly realized it was essential for keeping me focused on the work of my team.
More so for an OPM. We are a further step away from from the production, so it is easy to mentally overlook the details – especially the wall of text called a spec book.
Highlighting, what a basic idea! But if it maintains focus, that’s everything for a knowledge worker.
When I was in private practice, I used three highlighters. Yellow for reading and verifying coordination in the plan set. Green for redlines that have been picked up (to be applied by the draftsman doing the work). Orange for questions that need further discussion. Orange is the most neglected color, but it is critical because this third color lets the intern take notes and batch them into a single review with the supervisor when she is available.
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One Question
Do you have any critical hacks for your job? Are any of them specific to OPMing?
Hit reply and let’s chat!
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Thanks for reading the OPM letter! I’d love to have a conversation if you have any feedback. I hope you found some prompts to stretch your craft and relationships as a curious Owner PM. See you next week!
Stay humble, be kind, and keep experimenting! Justus Pang, RA
Growing up conservative Christian, divination carried an illicit edge.
But a Tarot deck is just a normal deck of cards with a fifth all-trump suit. Still spooky?
A while back, my daughter and I messed around with a tarot deck to create a variant on War that improves upon the original (the big change was that we evened out the players’ decks after each round; whoever won more cards banked the extras).
With the Tarot deck in hand, I also played around with a card reading after the kids went to sleep.
The booklet that came with this deck was very specific. The cups = love, coins = money, etc. Each card had specific effects in its orientation and place within the tableaux.
Now, this is where the religious folks have it right. This is not good entertainment. Such a practice with specific prompts will put things in the head that don’t need to be there.
However, that’s not an issue with divination in general.
I also played with the Decktet, a modern deck designed in 2008. The creator has published suggestions for using his cards for readings with an open interpretive system. Instead of relying upon concrete predictive functions for each card, a Decktet reading creates a network of relationships between the cards. This method is much more suggestive and might be a great way to unearth the unconscious.
A few months later, I started messing around with the I Ching. Maybe I’ll revisit the Tarot one day, but it’s hard to beat several thousand years of Chinese divination.
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Transformational Transactions
My first two jobs after college were strict hourly – no benefits, PTO, or any other perks. By any metric, these were purely transactional arrangements. There were also the two most influential jobs in my career.
The first gig was as a laborer moving dirt in a landscape crew. This job taught me more about teamwork than any time spent at a desk.
The second was a draftsman in a sole proprietorship. Even though the terms of employment was a straight exchange of time for money, I continue to have a rich relationship with my old boss.
The trappings of transformational leadership and a cool culture pale against the simple act of caring deeply.
I wonder if trying to create a “transformational” work environment hinders our ability to fully live out our daily relationships. Maybe it would better to manage a company with simple “transactional” rules, respecting the fundamentally raw exchange of time for money that makes up our paid endeavors.
Strip away all the fluff and maybe we’ll be free to enjoy each other’s company.
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One Question
What was the most influential job in your career? Who was the catalyst?
Hit reply and let’s chat!
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Three Links
Seth Godin about how to attract more customers, a longer post compared to his pithy missives, but well worth the read.
Matthew Schnipper wrote an amusing essay for the New York Times about dressing our babies to impress others – of the parent’s fine taste!
Thanks for reading the OPM letter! I’d love to have a conversation if you have any feedback. I hope you found some prompts to stretch your craft and relationships as a curious Owner PM. See you next week!
Stay humble, be kind, and keep experimenting! Justus Pang, RA
Do not ask your children to strive for extraordinary lives. Such striving may seem admirable, but it is the way of foolishness. Help them instead to find the wonder and the marvel of an ordinary life. Show them the joy of tasting tomatoes, apples and pears. Show them how to cry when pets and people die. Show them the infinite pleasure in the touch of a hand. And make the ordinary come alive for them. The extraordinary will take care of itself.
I came across this quote during the pandemic. I immediately put it at the top of my personal core values document.
Naturally, I was eager to read the entire book, but the library does not have a copy. Fortunately, I found a free loaner at archive.org.
The book is great.
Admittedly, its appeal is limited to the already persuaded. But if you are sympathetic to woo eastern philosophy and a permissive parental style, this book is for you.
Parenting is stressful at times, worrying at others. Especially during a pandemic when all choices are lackluster (at best). One is haunted by a nagging sense of opportunity cost as the kids lose years of their childhood, trapped at home.
This book is a salve for such concerns. The basic message is to take your foot off the gas. Let the kids grow up and grow up with them.
It is also an insightful approach towards the Tao De Ching. In the past, I’ve had difficulty reading through the original. It’s heavy dense stuff that is purposely impenetrable to the uninitiated.
This parenting version focuses only upon this facet of humanity, making it much easier to read. I’ve read the original enough to feel comfortable claiming that this version reflects the spirit of Laozi. Indeed, it can be a lens to help you navigate the original work.
Of course, this book is watered down compared to the original. But if it resonates, what more do you want?
While writing my first draft, I had every intention to purchase my own copy. Since then my ardor has cooled. This is no fault of this book; I’m buried in too many great books and classics! As I read more, the backlog increases.
One day I’ll figure out how to control my reading appetite. Maybe I’ll pick up this book then.
Even so, this book is highly recommended. Plus you should check out William Martin’s blog; he posts regularly.
A few months ago, I was on a web panel with four architects and an HR professional to discuss the changing relationship between employers and employees.
In preparation, I wrote responses to questions that were sent to us before the event. The conversation turned out to be more collegial than one might assume from the contents of this post. For better or worse, the written word is a sharp instrument.
I feel some trepidation in publishing this post because I’m contradicting statements I’ve heard from past principals I’ve met. However, I believe this alternate viewpoint should be given voice.
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Is it management’s job to make the relationship work no matter what?
As business partners, the different parties play separate roles in the organization and have different responsibilites towards each other. That said, the employee is transient compared to management, so the incentives and the stakes will diverge. Management needs to juggle multiple relationships and competing interests within the firm while trying to maintain a harmonious environment. Conversely, an employee only has one job, so they are more dependent upon the whims of management than the firm’s dependency upon any specific employee.
How transactional is the relationship?
How transactional is any business relationship? Someone is hired to do work. They do it. They get paid.
What moderates the raw exchange is the context. A career is an “infinite game”. The definition of “winning” an infinite game is to keep playing. A small victory isn’t worth losing a seat at the table. Reputation and relationships are critical in this tight-knit industry.
Personal pride, firm reputation, employee retention, keeping your job, and company culture are all aspects of the infinite game that breathes life into the day-to-day grind.
How much commitment do staff owe management, and why?
How much commitment does a firm owe its client? Standard of care. As an architect, the life safety of the public is non-negotiable. Everything else should be discussed upfront.
Here is a juicy question. Youtuber CGP Grey worked several side hustles before settling into his current career. He is very open that he did his best work early in the morning before going to work as a teacher before going full time as a content creator. As long as they discharging their duties properly, do employees owe their employer their “holistically best” effort?
My answer is maybe. If architecting is just a job, then the standard of care is fair. If architecture is our profession, then coming to work at less than best is shortchanging ourselves in the long run.
Of course, there are shades of grey. After I had children, I chose to limit myself to a 40-hour workweek. I knew it would affect my market rate and possibilities for promotion, but I discussed it upfront in my job interviews and this request was respected by my employers.
What level of sacrifice should management make to accommodate a staff member’s preferences or weaknesses?
What level of sacrifice is management willing to make to retain that staff member’s services (or maintain an overall culture to support the morale of the wider team)?
Additional thoughts on this unequal relationship.
The employee gives 8 hours out of 24 every day, half of their waking day. That’s a pretty big ratio. Within the company, this employee’s salary is only a small percentage of their budget.
Would a firm look kindly on an employee who repaid two months of 50 hour weeks with eight weeks of 30 hour work weeks?
Between the Dotcom Bust and the Great Recession, we’ve lived through a couple of moments of sudden mass layoffs. Why do employers believe that calls for loyalty still have resonance?
The analogy of the firm as a family is tenuous at best. What do people do with their family members when funds run tight?
Employees aren’t owners. They don’t get a cut of the pie. They have minimal say in how the business is run. (Admittedly, employees also don’t live with sleepless nights worrying about how to make payroll.) Why should they be expected to act like it?
Summary
Management needs to get work done and turn a profit. The employees need to get work done and keep their jobs.
Getting work done is the basis of the relationship, but life is complicated. It takes earnest effort to keep the two parties in alignment.
The employee-employer relationship is best served with a cold understanding of the nature of this business arrangement, tempered by the infinite nature of this game.
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One Question
Is this perspective on employment too transactional? Is there a better mental framework for these relationships?
Hit reply and let’s chat!
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Three Links
Jeff Eaker points out the future of the office is outside the office. And we’ve been living it for the past year and a half.
Congrats to the Journey to the West Podcast! Every week, Richard Tseng and James Young discussed the Chinese novel, Journey to the West. 100 chapters and two years later, they’ve completed the project. In the era of dystopic social media, this project is a reminder of the decentralized internet at its best.
Thanks for reading the OPM letter! I’d love to have a conversation if you have any feedback. I hope you found some prompts to stretch your craft and relationships as a curious Owner PM. See you next week!
Stay humble, be kind, and keep experimenting! Justus Pang, RA
Thanks for reading. Please subscribe if you’d like the next letter in your inbox.
(notes on) The Leadership Pipeline
Despite its title, this book did not improve my leadership skills.
It was more valuable than a collection of tips and tricks. This book helped me plan my career path by forecasting the unique pressures that confront leaders in each level of the hierarchy.
The key premise is simple. There are seven different layers of leadership, and they are fundamentally different from each other. Success after a promotion does not merely require more from one’s previous position. Each step requires a qualitatively different type of work.
The book describes the responsibilities from (1) leading oneself (2) leading others (3) leading leaders … all the way to (7) the top of a global mega-corp. In my career, I’ve had few opportunities to manage staff. By becoming an OPM, I suddenly skipped a whole level, jumping from leading myself to leading leaders, without the intermediate step of leading others.
By naming the hierarchies and their specific pressures, the book gave foresight into this unique position. It also prepared me for navigating the hierarchical governmental organization, quite a change from my time in small firms. It made me aware of the challenges that confront our client agencies and my own management team.
The greater empathy for my supervisors has framed my internal dialogue concerning what I want to with my career. Going from architect to OPM was an obvious paradigm shift. However, I couldn’t have guessed that paradigm shifts of similar magnitude accompany each step up within the division.
Promotions obviously come with greater stress and commitments. Less obviously, promotions include a sacrifice of enjoyable work tasks.
In private practice, such tradeoffs are cushioned by financial compensation, but pay grades in the public sector is constrained. Is the extra stress worth just a nominal bump? The higher status is nice, but is it worth giving up pleasurable tasks at work?
The Leadership Pipeline is highly recommended for someone who has recently entered management. The practices that helped us reach the next level won’t automatically translate to success. Excellence in management is achieved by adjusting properly to these new realities. This book gives fair warning that each step up the ladder involves a paradigm shift of fundamental responsibilities.
There is another concept from the book that I’ve often pondered. It recommends that companies develop a parallel technical track for promoting individuals who don’t want to join the ranks of management. I’m happy that I hopped into management, but architecture would be greatly served by developing clearer career paths for technical folks who have no interest in managing other humans. In private practice, it often feels that technical proficiency is merely optional. Architects are devalued within our own profession, and I have no idea how to fix this problem.
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One Question
How do you manage the tradeoffs of changing responsibilities as you’ve earned promotions up the leadership pipeline? Have you ever turned down a promotion?
Hit reply and let’s chat!
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Three Links
The Growth EQ has a good post about using Science, History, and Practical experience to evaluate the suggestions of others.
Five questions from Seth Godin to knock you out of the comfort zone, especially if you’re in a rut tackling little tasks with raw efficiency.
Loes Heerink has a stunning photo series of merchants with bicycles overloaded with produce and flowers.
… and a photo.
Sewage Pump, Dunedin City, New Zealand, November 1904
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Thanks for reading the OPM letter! I’d love to have a conversation if you have any feedback. I hope you found some prompts to stretch your craft and relationships as a curious Owner PM. See you next week!
Stay humble, be kind, and keep experimenting! Justus Pang, RA
Yes, there’s the fan service with the ladies at Boobies and lingering shots of Scarlet.
But mainly it’s a rollicking romp through the wacky profundities of space.
The show is a visual feast. Each episode director was given total artistic freedom, featuring a multiplicity of art styles.
And as always for a Watanabe project, excellent music.
It definitely belongs in the top tier of Watanabe’s catalog with Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo. It feels sacrilegious, but I wonder if it surpasses its two companions.
I hesitate to proclaim as to which one is “best”.
But would I rewatch Space Dandy before the others?
Yes.
A few months after this initial draft, my opinion of this anime has only increased. Bebop is still a must-watch for its style and its place in its canon. Samurai Champloo is Watanabe’s most coherent story. However Space Dandy has cemented itself in my favorite work. This show is certainly the first one I’d rewatch.
After scanning the web, I find myself aligned with the consensus about this show. As such, I’ll leave the deep thoughts to the folks with domain expertise and just post a couple (spoiler-free) comments.
First, the most appealing aspect of non-American cinema is that we can never be confident that things will end well for the protagonists. American films might kill a secondary character, but it rarely ends badly for the headliner. Asian films don’t show such mercy, so the anticipation of potential doom hangs over the entire series. It might not be noticeable for a single feature-length film, however, such uncertainty is almost unbearable when the experience is extended over 11 days (watching only one episode a night).
Second, this show has a moment that is a gorgeous combo of narrative, graphics, and music to create a mid-story climax. The movie Whisper of the Heart and the show Kids on the Slope have similar climatic scenes that absolutely capture the moment with imagery and music. This alone makes it worth your time to watch the first half of Terror in Resonance. Unfortunately, it is no shame to leave Terror after the singular moment (unlike the other two works).
My opinion of the show has only diminished over time. I occasionally revisit the aforementioned moment on youtube, but this show is in the bottom tier of the Shinichiro Watanabe catalog, slightly better than Carole and Tuesday. While the show was good enough that I don’t regret the time, I won’t rewatch it.
