Praveen Puri: April 2025

Tuesday, April 29, 2025

Simplicity and Minimalism Info Quote

“There’s a tremendous power in using the least amount of information to get the point across,” - Rick Rubin

Thursday, April 24, 2025

Happy Birthday to You Tube and Me!

Besides my birthday, yesterday was the 20th birthday of You Tube, which was founded by two guys from my college (computer science at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign).

Here is the first video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw

Wednesday, April 23, 2025

Great example of iteration and simplification

Space X followed Musk's design philosophy: "The best part is no part."

AI Vibe Coding Tips

(These tips, interpreted generally, also help out with non-coding AI uses):

Sunday, April 20, 2025

Cats and Projects

"Successfully pulling off a complex, high-stakes IT project is like herding cats who speak different languages." - Praveen Puri

Thursday, April 17, 2025

Why Your Project Needs a Fresh Set of Eyes

The overlooked power of having someone outside the system

Sometimes you're too close to the problem to see the solution. That’s not a weakness—it’s normal. But staying stuck isn’t.

Internal teams get caught in politics, assumptions, and inertia.

A trusted outside advisor brings objectivity, challenge, and clarity.

I help you cut through complexity and focus on what matters.

Example: Navigating vendor negotiations, stakeholder friction, or changing course mid-project.

Feeling stuck or second-guessing the path forward? I can help you regain clarity and momentum.

When Your Project Feels Stuck, Start with Clarity

Why most transformations stall—and how to get back on track:

Executives rarely struggle with a lack of ideas. The real problem? Too many competing priorities and too little clarity.

Whether it’s a tech transformation, a product launch, or a major system upgrade, progress often grinds to a halt because no one agrees on what “done” looks like.

The biggest barrier isn’t tech—it’s misaligned vision.

Strategic Simplicity® helps untangle the noise and identify what actually matters.

Clarity isn’t a luxury—it’s a prerequisite for traction.

Real-world example: A foreign-exchange project at a major bank stalled due to misunderstandings between the UI team in Toronto, and the back-end team in Chicago. The project shifted gears, and became successful, once everyone got on the same page about goals and success metrics.

If your initiative is drifting or overloaded with opinions, clarity is step one. Let’s talk.

What Does a Strategic Advisor Actually Do?

Hint: It’s not implementation—and that’s a good thing

If you're hiring someone to “do the work,” you’re looking for a contractor or implementer. But if you're looking for clarity, guidance, and a better path forward—you’re looking for a strategic advisor.

I advise, co-create, and facilitate—not configure systems or write code.

My role: advisor to executives, facilitator for teams, strategist for complex decisions.

I stay high-level so you can stay focused.

Need an experienced partner to help you think through your toughest projects? That’s what I do.

Scientific "Proof"

Proof that light is faster than sound: some people appear bright until they open their mouths.

-Phyllis Diller

Wednesday, April 9, 2025

Direwolves are Back!

George RR Martin, the creator of “Game of Thrones”, got to hold one of the first dire wolves in 10,000 years.

Fictional dire wolves were in Game of thrones, but in real life they went extinct 10,000 years ago. But scientists used gene editing to create new ones.

Sunday, April 6, 2025

Junior Bridgman

In this weekend's WSJ, I read about the death of Junior Bridgeman, an ex-NBA player from the 70’s and 80’s, Junior Bridgeman. He was very good, a sixth man whose number was retired by the Milwaukee Bucks.

Back then they didn’t make the money they make now, yet, he’s one of only 3 NBA players (the other two being Le Bron James and Michael Jordan) to be a billionaire. And he made it all in retirement.

He retired in 1987 with about $750,000 and he used the money to buy 5 Wendy’s restaurants.

By 2016, he owned 500 Wendy's restaurants, 100 Chilis, plus Golden Corrals, etc. Then, he bought a Coca Cola bottling plant

Saturday, April 5, 2025

Backfiring Tariffs

Two Tips to Be More Innovative

1. Get Bored Easily

As a management consultant, I have found that my most innovative clients get bored quickly, and seek to continually reinvent themselves. They test out new products / services, and drop old ones when they get bored.

2. Turn Problems into Opportunities

The best example of this tip is the famous 1930's jazz pianist Art Tatum. When he would travel for performances, he would often find that the piano at the night club or venue would have broken keys, or be out of tune.

Rather than get upset, Tatum would get excited! He would spend the day incorporating the flaws into his music, and would end up giving an improvised, one of a kind performance.

This is a must-have skill for innovation! Problems are always occurring. Instead of simply fixing them, and getting back to the status quo, recognize them as an opportunity for innovation, and improve the product or service beyond the old normal.

Friday, April 4, 2025

How The Economist Sees Trump's Tariffs

The editor-in-chief of The Economist didn’t mince words about Trump's tariffs: “The question for countries reeling from the president’s vandalism is how to limit the damage.”

She also referred to "Liberation Day" as "Ruination Day" :-)

Trump's Tariffs vs. Small Business

New Tariffs Create New Business Needs

Beyond price, Trump's new tariffs will create new issues for businesses, who are suddenly going to find themselves in need of trade lawyers and experts.

They will have to modify their processes to include more customs procedures and documentation. To the extent that customs coding is like medical coding, it will be an area ripe for AI/automation.

From a strategy / negotiation perspective, they'll have to think about how much they would be willing to absorb, how much to pass on to customers, and how much they can get others in the supply chain to absorb.