Monday, December 14, 2009
A Leadership Void
"What creates trust, in the end, is the leader's manifest respect for the followers" - Jim O'Toole, Leadership Change.
A leadership void exists when the goals of the leaders aren't embraced by the followers. Respect, or lack of it plays a big part in helping to create this void.
Some leadership principles I have come to believe are:
Be consistent in what you say and do. Inconsistency shows a lack of focus. Being inconsistent will undermine your credibility with others.
As a leader you will need to provide focus, constancy of purpose, and clear direction to your team. The problem with many leaders isn't a lack of personality or charisma, it is a lack of focus and follow-through.
When leading remember "beware of no man more than thyself" - Thomas Fuller. Ask for feedback from others. Remember the higher the leader is in an organization the more blind spots he or she will experience.
A good leader is a master of the big picture and is knowledgeable of the details. A leader that isn't willing to get involved in the details is just plain lazy and won't have the respect of the team they are leading.
Be careful about negative assumptions. Leaders that are high achievers know their behavior tells the truth about their assumptions.
Leaders ensure that their followers know where they fit into the big picture.
Leaders who underestimate the intellect of others tend to overestimate their own.
Other things that are always displayed by a leader are the ability to:
Create and nurture a vision
Laugh!
Leave your ego at the door
Think before acting (not quick to criticize)
Be a risk taker
State and meet commitments
Be a role model
Have a can do attitude
Encourage success
and finally...BE VISIBLE
A leadership void exists when the goals of the leaders aren't embraced by the followers. Respect, or lack of it plays a big part in helping to create this void.
Some leadership principles I have come to believe are:
Be consistent in what you say and do. Inconsistency shows a lack of focus. Being inconsistent will undermine your credibility with others.
As a leader you will need to provide focus, constancy of purpose, and clear direction to your team. The problem with many leaders isn't a lack of personality or charisma, it is a lack of focus and follow-through.
When leading remember "beware of no man more than thyself" - Thomas Fuller. Ask for feedback from others. Remember the higher the leader is in an organization the more blind spots he or she will experience.
A good leader is a master of the big picture and is knowledgeable of the details. A leader that isn't willing to get involved in the details is just plain lazy and won't have the respect of the team they are leading.
Be careful about negative assumptions. Leaders that are high achievers know their behavior tells the truth about their assumptions.
Leaders ensure that their followers know where they fit into the big picture.
Leaders who underestimate the intellect of others tend to overestimate their own.
Other things that are always displayed by a leader are the ability to:
Create and nurture a vision
Laugh!
Leave your ego at the door
Think before acting (not quick to criticize)
Be a risk taker
State and meet commitments
Be a role model
Have a can do attitude
Encourage success
and finally...BE VISIBLE
Thursday, December 10, 2009
10 Most Important Things
Florida Power and Light management came up with the list below of the ten most important things they think helped them complete the St. Lucie 2 Nuclear Power Plant on schedule, within cost, and without major quality issues.
- Management Commitment
- A realistic and firm schedule
- Clear decision-making authority
- Flexible project control tools
- Teamwork
- Maintaining engineering before construction (design before build)
- Earlsy start-up involvement
- Organizational flexibility
- Ongoing critique of the project
- Close coordination with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (strong, fair oversight)
This is an awesome list that can be adapted to any environment and project. Do you have a top ten list of things you need for your project to be successful?
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Keep IT Simple! - Redesigned
There was a popular survey some time ago that asked leaders in several mid-sized companies about their success. One of the main reasons that many were successful is they focused on simplicity in everything they did. The study concluded that simple, focused companies were more profitable.
The Pareto or 80/20 Principle can help us realize the power of keeping things simple.
Some popular statistics that relate to the Pareto Principle are below:
80% of beer is consumed by 20% of the beer drinkers
80% of classroom participation comes from 20% of the students
80% of traffic jams occur on 20% of roads
20% of your clothes will be worn 80% of the time
80% of sales are generated by 20% of the sales staff
80% of problems are generated by 20% of the employees
80% of problems come from 20% of the customer base
Now that we know this, how do we make things simpler? Try looking at your business processes to eliminate waste and complexity.
Questions to ask yourself and your organization when seeking to simplify your business processes:
What are our processes?
Who are our customers?
What systems do we use? Do we have the right systems in place to support our business?
What services do we offer internally and externally? Are they still valuable today?
Look for the 20% that adds value and eliminate or redesign the rest.
We are looking to automate, minimize, isolate, reduce, redesign, throw away, reinvent, rejuvenate, refresh, retire, or reallocate those things that are not helping us to achieve simplicity. Achieving simplicity can be hard, but the rewards are worth the effort.
Keep it Simple!!!
Free Christmas Music
Want some free Christmas music? Head over to this page on Amazon.com and download 29 free holiday songs.
Sunday, December 06, 2009
Doing Things!
Another short, excellent Tom Peters Video - Click Here
Tom is one of my heros. I have posted several of his videos here in the past. Check out his website at Tompeters.com for more stuff
Monday, November 30, 2009
Good Project Estimating is an Art and a Science
I have been burned more times than I can count by bad estimates. What can a project manager do to help ensure the accuracy of estimates? First we should understand the basics behind the estimating process (there are many more than I have listed here). Some items to consider are:
The more unique the project, the more of a challenge it will be to get good estimates
Estimates are only as good as the estimator is at predicting the future
Padded" estimates are not always bad as long as the padding is communicated (... and as long as the Project Manager is the one doing the "padding")
An estimate is not a bid
Estimates using sound estimating practices, performed by experienced estimators from clear specifications should never be negotiated
Ballpark estimates are guesses and should be treated as much by the project team, management, and the project sponsor
Other items to consider when estimating are:
Ensure the statement of work or contract is clear and understood by the person(s) doing the estimates
Ensure that a schedule or mandated date doesn't drive the estimating thought process
Include Risk Management in the estimating process
Ensure that estimates take into account the skill level(s) of the person(s) that will do the work
If your work breakdown structure (WBS) is flawed, your estimates will be inaccurate
Accurate estimating is an art and a science. The estimator (or team) must take into account historical data from past projects, the team's knowledge and experience, the project risks, the statement of work and other project information to make the best estimate possible.
Keep in mind when planning your project that estimates aren't hard and fast numbers. They are guesses, however they should be very good guesses if you have good estimators and are following tried and true estimating practices.
The more unique the project, the more of a challenge it will be to get good estimates
Estimates are only as good as the estimator is at predicting the future
Padded" estimates are not always bad as long as the padding is communicated (... and as long as the Project Manager is the one doing the "padding")
An estimate is not a bid
Estimates using sound estimating practices, performed by experienced estimators from clear specifications should never be negotiated
Ballpark estimates are guesses and should be treated as much by the project team, management, and the project sponsor
Other items to consider when estimating are:
Ensure the statement of work or contract is clear and understood by the person(s) doing the estimates
Ensure that a schedule or mandated date doesn't drive the estimating thought process
Include Risk Management in the estimating process
Ensure that estimates take into account the skill level(s) of the person(s) that will do the work
If your work breakdown structure (WBS) is flawed, your estimates will be inaccurate
Accurate estimating is an art and a science. The estimator (or team) must take into account historical data from past projects, the team's knowledge and experience, the project risks, the statement of work and other project information to make the best estimate possible.
Keep in mind when planning your project that estimates aren't hard and fast numbers. They are guesses, however they should be very good guesses if you have good estimators and are following tried and true estimating practices.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Deming and Project Management
Continuous Improvement is the output of a good Quality Management process, and Continuous Improvement requires the proper application of quality tools and techniques. One of the most recognizable Quality Tools is the "Deming Wheel". The Deming Wheel is a simple diagram that focuses efforts around four processes: PLAN, DO, CHECK, and ACT (PDCA Cycle). While this diagram may seem simplistic at first sight, it is a very powerful tool when applied to projects. In fact, Project Management is dependent upon the PDCA Cycle to deliver effective results.
A quick summary of the PDCA Cycle follows.
Plan is the initial phase of the PDCA Cycle. High levels goals and objectives are agreed upon and resources are acquired. In this phase we are identifying a particular problem or problems and breaking them down into manageable tasks. We want to decide specifically how we will solve the problem and establish metrics to measure progress.
Do is executing the Plan. Also, reporting is done in this phase to check progress. Do can be prototyping in the IT world, designing experiments, constructing a building, building a model, etc.
Check is the evaluation phase. Did we do what we said we were going to do? Did we meet the project's objectives? What does the data tell us? This is where are metrics are analyzed. We are looking at our KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and making recommendations for action.
Act is the adjustment phase. What are we going to do to get back on track or to make improvements? Should we continue or cancel the project? Do we need to re-plan and start the cycle over again? Here we are acting on our findings from the Check phase. We want to make sure we are acting on the right information at the right time.
The PDCA Cycle is a great tool to help us be successful in Project Management. Using proven Quality Management tools that support Continuous Improvement will help project managers to do a better job managing their projects.
Remember the Four Principles of Quality Management are:
Customer Satisfaction
Plan Do, Check, Act (PDCA) Cycle
Management by Fact
Respect for People
Combining these Quality Principles with your Project Management Processes will lead to powerful results for your customers.
A quick summary of the PDCA Cycle follows.
Plan is the initial phase of the PDCA Cycle. High levels goals and objectives are agreed upon and resources are acquired. In this phase we are identifying a particular problem or problems and breaking them down into manageable tasks. We want to decide specifically how we will solve the problem and establish metrics to measure progress.
Do is executing the Plan. Also, reporting is done in this phase to check progress. Do can be prototyping in the IT world, designing experiments, constructing a building, building a model, etc.
Check is the evaluation phase. Did we do what we said we were going to do? Did we meet the project's objectives? What does the data tell us? This is where are metrics are analyzed. We are looking at our KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and making recommendations for action.
Act is the adjustment phase. What are we going to do to get back on track or to make improvements? Should we continue or cancel the project? Do we need to re-plan and start the cycle over again? Here we are acting on our findings from the Check phase. We want to make sure we are acting on the right information at the right time.
The PDCA Cycle is a great tool to help us be successful in Project Management. Using proven Quality Management tools that support Continuous Improvement will help project managers to do a better job managing their projects.
Remember the Four Principles of Quality Management are:
Customer Satisfaction
Plan Do, Check, Act (PDCA) Cycle
Management by Fact
Respect for People
Combining these Quality Principles with your Project Management Processes will lead to powerful results for your customers.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Hope and the Project Manager
Hope is important in project management because it helps us keep our commitments, and also helps us put our faith in others . Don’t get me wrong. Hope won’t make you successful; however, hope can guide us to change the unchangeable and gives us courage to do the right things.
Hope gets us ready to fight the good fight. Hope helps us survive the storms that always come. Hope can dispel fear and give us the strength to carry on. To be good project managers (and leaders) we must always realize (and hope) that our best days are ahead of us.
Hope inspires confidence. Hope is contagious. Hope helps us keep commitments.
Hope gets us ready to fight the good fight. Hope helps us survive the storms that always come. Hope can dispel fear and give us the strength to carry on. To be good project managers (and leaders) we must always realize (and hope) that our best days are ahead of us.
Hope inspires confidence. Hope is contagious. Hope helps us keep commitments.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Project Management Culture
Moving your organization to embrace a “project management culture” takes time and patience. A great first step an organization can take is to ensure that their project leaders are trained and fluent in the discipline of Project Management. Also, and most importantly, senior management must understand and embrace the value of project management, and commit to support the process of implementing project management throughout all levels of the organization.
To help change the organizational culture to one that embraces and values project management, it should fund and support the development of a project office, which can help facilitate rolling out this “project management culture”.
Some first steps that should be taken:
To help change the organizational culture to one that embraces and values project management, it should fund and support the development of a project office, which can help facilitate rolling out this “project management culture”.
Some first steps that should be taken:
- Clearly define the roles and responsibilities of existing project managers and project support personnel
- Develop a basic project management training plan for the entire organization to familiarize all with the project management verbiage and practices
- Identify and provide specialized advanced training for all project leaders and functional managers
- Develop a project management office (PMO) to provide enterprise coaching, and to develop and manage your organization’s project management methodology
- In addition to the methodology, the PMO should develop and maintain standard project management templates for the organization to use
- Ensure that existing projects are audited and meet your organization’s minimum project management standards
- Setup a program where your PMO provides coaching to less experienced project managers and oversight of all enterprise projects
- Ensure all projects have Lessons Learned captured
There are many more things that can be added to the list above, but the intent of this posting was to get people thinking about ways to change the Project Management Culture where they work.
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Theory Z 2.0
Free advice to help you keep your job (or get through life with a smile):
- Trust and be trustworthy
- Recognize changing conditions and relationships, and adapt quickly
- Commit to doing your best in everything you do
Do you have a Theory Z?
Stephen Seay, PMP
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
How to Lead Geeks
Ralph Nader once said, "I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers". In the IT world it is hard to produce leaders, and it is doubly hard to produce and keep followers.
On his blog, Alexander Kjerulf talks about How Not to Lead Geeks and mentions that "the main reason IT people are unhappy at work is bad relations with management". He goes on to say that "the fact is that IT people hate bad management and have even less tolerance for it than most other kinds of employees".
Wow, I couldn't agree more. I see the mistakes listed below happen every day. I can only wonder how much more productive "geeks" would be if these mistakes weren't repeated on a regular basis.
Here are Alex's thoughts on the top 10 mistakes he has seen managers make when leading geeks:
1) Downplay training
I had a boss once who said that “training is a waste of money, just teach yourself”. That company tanked 2 years later. Training matters, especially in IT, and managers must realize that and budget for it. Sometimes you get the argument that “if I give them training a competitor will hire them away.” That may be true, but the alternative is to only have employees who are too unskilled to work anywhere else.
2) Give no recognition
Since managers may not understand the work geeks do very well, it’s hard for them to recognize and reward a job well done, which hurts motivation. The solution is to work together to define a set of goals that both parties agree on. When these goals are met the geeks are doing a great job.
3) Plan too much overtime
“Let’s wring the most work out of our geeks, they don’t have lives anyway,” seems to the approach of some managers. That’s a huge mistake and overworked geeks burn out or simply quit. In one famous case, a young IT-worker had a stress-induced stroke on the job, was hospitalized, returned to work soon after and promptly had another stroke. This post further examines the myth that long work hours are good for business.
4) Use management-speak
Geeks hate management-speak and see it as superficial and dishonest. Managers shouldn’t learn to speak tech, but they should drop the biz-buzzwords. A manager can say “We need to proactively impact our time-to-market” or simply use english and stick to “We gotta be on time with this project”.
5) Try to be smarter than the geeks
When managers don’t know anything about a technical question, they should simply admit it. Geeks respect them for that, but not for pretending to know. And they will catch it - geeks are smart.
6) Act inconsistently
Geeks have an ingrained sense of fairness, probably related to the fact that in IT, structure and consistency is critical. The documentation can’t say one thing while the code does something else, and similarly, managers can’t say one thing and then do something else.
7) Ignore the geeks
Because managers and geeks are different types of people, managers may end up leaving the geeks alone. This makes leading them difficult, and geeks need good leadership the same as all other personnel groups.
8) Make decisions without consulting them
Geeks usually know the technical side of the business better than the manager, so making a technical decision without consulting them is the biggest mistake a leader can make.
9) Don’t give them tools
A fast computer may cost more money than an older one and it may not be corporate standard, but geeks use computers differently. A slow computer lowers productivity and is a daily annoyance. So is outdated software. Give them the tools they need.
10: Forget that geeks are creative workers
Programming and most IT work is a creative process, not an industrial one. Geeks must constantly come up with solutions to new problems and rarely ever solve the same problem twice. Therefore they need leeway and flexibility. Strict dress codes and too much red tape kill all inovation. They also need creative surroundings to avoid “death by cubicle”.
Making one or more of these 10 mistakes (and I’ve seen managers who make all 10) has serious consequences, including:
Low motivation
, high employee turnover,
increased absenteeism,
lower productivity,
lower quality
, and bad customer service
Happy geeks are productive geeks!
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
From Ordinary to Great
What common behaviors or attributes turn ordinary people into great people? Here are a few I have assembled from various sources, including Tom Peter’s book "Reinventing Work, The Project 50" .
Great people almost always have had some of the traits below:
They are Risk Takers
They often don’t appear rational
They are obsessed with success (success is clearly defined up front)
Their ideas are often ahead of their time
They can be peculiar, creative, off-the-wall
They are often described as irreverent
They have a burning passion to make their dreams come true
They are determined to make a difference
They have little tolerance for the “the way it has always been done” crowd
They LOVE to go against the grain
They have thick skin
They have charisma
They thrive on chaos and often love to generate chaos
They are great at what they do
They hate J.A.M.S – Just Another Mediocre Success (Tom Peters)
They have a positive influence on the lives of others (not everyone, all the time)
They make lots of mistakes and are quick to admit they made them
They often ask forgiveness vs. permission
They hate, hate, hate politics and petty people. (They will occasionally play the “political” game to get what they want, but they know most career politicians are disingenuous, self-centered, and are only interested in furthering their own careers.)
They are great at marketing
They are often (not always) great listeners
They are masters of the little (important) things
They know how to sell
They hate whiners, complainers, and corporate Dilberts
They aspire to something higher than themselves
They are concerned with doing the “right” thing
They often make lots of people mad (usually the politicians and career procrastinators)
They know how to laugh
They call others out for a lack of commitment or disingenuous behavior
They know that most of the “suits” are empty
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Should project managers adopt some/all of these behaviors? The great ones already have.
Stephen F. Seay, PMP
sfseay@yahoo.com
Great people almost always have had some of the traits below:
They are Risk Takers
They often don’t appear rational
They are obsessed with success (success is clearly defined up front)
Their ideas are often ahead of their time
They can be peculiar, creative, off-the-wall
They are often described as irreverent
They have a burning passion to make their dreams come true
They are determined to make a difference
They have little tolerance for the “the way it has always been done” crowd
They LOVE to go against the grain
They have thick skin
They have charisma
They thrive on chaos and often love to generate chaos
They are great at what they do
They hate J.A.M.S – Just Another Mediocre Success (Tom Peters)
They have a positive influence on the lives of others (not everyone, all the time)
They make lots of mistakes and are quick to admit they made them
They often ask forgiveness vs. permission
They hate, hate, hate politics and petty people. (They will occasionally play the “political” game to get what they want, but they know most career politicians are disingenuous, self-centered, and are only interested in furthering their own careers.)
They are great at marketing
They are often (not always) great listeners
They are masters of the little (important) things
They know how to sell
They hate whiners, complainers, and corporate Dilberts
They aspire to something higher than themselves
They are concerned with doing the “right” thing
They often make lots of people mad (usually the politicians and career procrastinators)
They know how to laugh
They call others out for a lack of commitment or disingenuous behavior
They know that most of the “suits” are empty
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Should project managers adopt some/all of these behaviors? The great ones already have.
Stephen F. Seay, PMP
sfseay@yahoo.com
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Future of Reading
I just bought a new Kindle and I have to say these things are really cool. I won't give a review here because there are tons of them online, however, I will say that the Kindle's screen is much better than I expected, and the ability to upload your own documents to the Kindle for viewing is also a great plus.
Read more about the Kindle below:
Kindle Wireless Reading Device (6" Display, U.S. & International Wireless, Latest Generation)
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Project Managers and Meeting Facilitation
I really do not like attending most meetings. I find my time would be better spent doing other things. One of the reasons I dislike most meetings is they are poorly facilitated.
A facilitator is: one who brings organization and process to the meeting so attendees are able to interact effectively and make sound business decisions. They enable good meeting habits and support the group to achieve exceptional outcomes.
A facilitator provides leadership without taking control. They get others to assume responsibility and help them to participate and lead effectively.
Facilitators should:
Assist the group to identify goals and objectives around the meeting topic
Help identify attendee needs
Guide discussions to keep them focused on the agenda
Ensure assumptions are brought out and discussed
Guide the group to consensus on issues by ensuring all attendees are heard
Use tools and processes to ensure the meeting is run efficiently and good decisions are made (action items, meeting minutes, parking lot, etc.)
Lead brainstorming sessions
Help attendees to assess their skills and assist them in building new skills to support the meeting's objectives
A good facilitator can bring clarity and focus to a meeting. There are many resources on the internet, and there are many good books on the subject of meeting facilitation. Effective meetings help to build effective outcomes. Ineffective meetings can be seen as time-wasters and can alienate some of the people you need the most. If you waste people's time they probably won't attend any of your meetings in the future.
A facilitator is: one who brings organization and process to the meeting so attendees are able to interact effectively and make sound business decisions. They enable good meeting habits and support the group to achieve exceptional outcomes.
A facilitator provides leadership without taking control. They get others to assume responsibility and help them to participate and lead effectively.
Facilitators should:
Assist the group to identify goals and objectives around the meeting topic
Help identify attendee needs
Guide discussions to keep them focused on the agenda
Ensure assumptions are brought out and discussed
Guide the group to consensus on issues by ensuring all attendees are heard
Use tools and processes to ensure the meeting is run efficiently and good decisions are made (action items, meeting minutes, parking lot, etc.)
Lead brainstorming sessions
Help attendees to assess their skills and assist them in building new skills to support the meeting's objectives
A good facilitator can bring clarity and focus to a meeting. There are many resources on the internet, and there are many good books on the subject of meeting facilitation. Effective meetings help to build effective outcomes. Ineffective meetings can be seen as time-wasters and can alienate some of the people you need the most. If you waste people's time they probably won't attend any of your meetings in the future.