I like Jim Cramer, and he certainly is a smart guy. But I wonder if we were/are in a depression? If so, is it really over?
Sunday, April 05, 2009
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Project Management Paradox
In Tom Peter's book "Liberation Management", (Peters, Tom. Liberation Management. New York: Alfred Knopf, 1992) he talks about the paradoxes of project management. In the book Tom outlines a few things we need to keep in mind when managing our projects.
Total Ego versus No Ego - On the one hand, project managers must be consumed by the project before them. On the other hand, they must have almost no ego. They deal with many outsiders and insiders whom they can hardly command. This means the project manager must take a smaller share of the credit for accomplishments and give a larger share of the credit to other participants.
Autocrat versus Delegator - When the chips are down, the project manager must issue orders fast. At the same time, the project managers must turn ownership over to the contributors.
Leader versus Manager - Effective project managers must match their passion for inspiring others with a passion for the grubby nuts and bolts of doing the job.
Oral versus Written Communication - Communicating orally and on the run comes easily to effective project managers. But, the must also be masters of the detailed plan and the daily checklist.
Complexity versus Simplicity - Nothing is more complex than dealing with a sophisticated, multi-organization project. The effective project manager must juggle, sometimes for years, hundreds of balls of differing and ever-changing shapes, sizes, and colors. On the other hand, the project manager must be adept at keeping it simple.
Big versus Small - Project managers must appreciate forests and trees equally. They must be able to see the relationship of the small to the big and the big to the small, and do so at every moment simultaneously.
Patience versus impatience - Smart, independent leaders spend lots of time on relationship building and networking. This is a s important as pushing project participants for action.
As long-time readers of this blog know, I value the insight of Tom Peters. I believe he hit the nail right on the head in regard to a Project Manager's behavior when managing projects.
Total Ego versus No Ego - On the one hand, project managers must be consumed by the project before them. On the other hand, they must have almost no ego. They deal with many outsiders and insiders whom they can hardly command. This means the project manager must take a smaller share of the credit for accomplishments and give a larger share of the credit to other participants.
Autocrat versus Delegator - When the chips are down, the project manager must issue orders fast. At the same time, the project managers must turn ownership over to the contributors.
Leader versus Manager - Effective project managers must match their passion for inspiring others with a passion for the grubby nuts and bolts of doing the job.
Oral versus Written Communication - Communicating orally and on the run comes easily to effective project managers. But, the must also be masters of the detailed plan and the daily checklist.
Complexity versus Simplicity - Nothing is more complex than dealing with a sophisticated, multi-organization project. The effective project manager must juggle, sometimes for years, hundreds of balls of differing and ever-changing shapes, sizes, and colors. On the other hand, the project manager must be adept at keeping it simple.
Big versus Small - Project managers must appreciate forests and trees equally. They must be able to see the relationship of the small to the big and the big to the small, and do so at every moment simultaneously.
Patience versus impatience - Smart, independent leaders spend lots of time on relationship building and networking. This is a s important as pushing project participants for action.
As long-time readers of this blog know, I value the insight of Tom Peters. I believe he hit the nail right on the head in regard to a Project Manager's behavior when managing projects.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Free Project Software
In case you didn’t know, there are a couple of free software packages available that fit nicely into the Project Managers tool box. The first is Control CE 6.3. The vendor states that this free program can be used for Process Mapping, Business Improvement, Business Reengineering, Software Package Implementation, and Quality Management.
The vendor goes on to say “Whatever the project, it all starts with an understanding of the business from a process and metrics perspective. That means mapping processes, and identifying KPIs. To get REAL ownership and buy-in they need to be developed in LIVE workshops. Control-CE was designed to be used confidently by consultants with little training, in live workshops where people have a short interest span.
Whilst control-CE has some great process mapping functionality, it extends beyond simply creating hierarchies of diagrams”.
I have reviewed and used the Control CE software and find that it is quite powerful and worth a look.
The other free software program is Open Workbench. According to the vendor, “Open Workbench is an open source desktop application that provides robust project scheduling and management functionality. Already the scheduling standard for more than 100,000 project managers worldwide, Open Workbench is a free and powerful alternative to Microsoft Project.
Open Workbench provides all the functionality and benefits that project managers expect in a world-class scheduling application:
• Open Workbench can be used and distributed free of charge throughout an enterprise.
• Open Workbench is a stand-alone desktop application that provides robust project scheduling functionality.
• Open Workbench provides the unique ability to generate project schedules based on resource constraints.
• Open source developers will find a ready-made community of business users interested in their enhancements and extensions.
The source code and other developer information are available on SourceForge.
The open source distribution and community development model will now bring quality, innovation and cost advantages to the project management world. Open Workbench can also be used in a fully integrated fashion with CA's Clarity solution. Please visit www.niku.com/go/owb for more details.
I have found Open Workbench to be a powerful standalone project management scheduling software package. Again, you will have to determine if Open Workbench's features and functions can work for you.
Hopefully some of you will find one or both of the above software packages useful. Your comments are always welcome.
The vendor goes on to say “Whatever the project, it all starts with an understanding of the business from a process and metrics perspective. That means mapping processes, and identifying KPIs. To get REAL ownership and buy-in they need to be developed in LIVE workshops. Control-CE was designed to be used confidently by consultants with little training, in live workshops where people have a short interest span.
Whilst control-CE has some great process mapping functionality, it extends beyond simply creating hierarchies of diagrams”.
I have reviewed and used the Control CE software and find that it is quite powerful and worth a look.
The other free software program is Open Workbench. According to the vendor, “Open Workbench is an open source desktop application that provides robust project scheduling and management functionality. Already the scheduling standard for more than 100,000 project managers worldwide, Open Workbench is a free and powerful alternative to Microsoft Project.
Open Workbench provides all the functionality and benefits that project managers expect in a world-class scheduling application:
• Open Workbench can be used and distributed free of charge throughout an enterprise.
• Open Workbench is a stand-alone desktop application that provides robust project scheduling functionality.
• Open Workbench provides the unique ability to generate project schedules based on resource constraints.
• Open source developers will find a ready-made community of business users interested in their enhancements and extensions.
The source code and other developer information are available on SourceForge.
The open source distribution and community development model will now bring quality, innovation and cost advantages to the project management world. Open Workbench can also be used in a fully integrated fashion with CA's Clarity solution. Please visit www.niku.com/go/owb for more details.
I have found Open Workbench to be a powerful standalone project management scheduling software package. Again, you will have to determine if Open Workbench's features and functions can work for you.
Hopefully some of you will find one or both of the above software packages useful. Your comments are always welcome.