The quotes from Tom Peters below are very relevant in today's world. I have bolded the ones I like, and feel are the most important. Tom is one of my personal heroes, and I can't wait to read his new book.
Check out his website for free copies of some great documentation and for more information about all his books.
In any public-sector business, you must become an avid student of "the politics," the incentives and constraints, mostly non-economic, facing all of the players. Politicians are usually incredibly logical if you (deeply!) understand the matrix in which they exist.
Risk Assessment & Risk Management is more about stories than advanced math i.e., brilliant scenario construction.
Don't waste your time on jerks, it'll rarely work out in the mid- to long-term.
Under promise (i.e., don't over-promise; i.e., cut yourself a little slack) even if it costs you business; winning is a long-term affair. Over-promising is Sign #1 of a lack of integrity. You will pay the piper.
There is such a thing as a "good loss", if you have tested something new and developed good relationships. A half-dozen honorable, ingenious losses over a two-year period can pave the way for a Big Victory in a New Space in year 3.
Keep it simple! (Damn it!) No matter how "sophisticated" the product. If you can't explain it in a phrase, a page, or to your 14-year-old ... you haven't got it right yet.
Don't hold grudges. (It is the ultimate in small mindedness, and incredibly wasteful and ineffective. There is always tomorrow.)
Little People often have Big Friends!
Work hard beats work smart. (Mostly)
Phones beat email.
Obsess on ROIR (Return On Investment In Relationships).
Scoring off other people is stupid. Winners are always in the business of creating the maximum # of winners among adversaries at least as much as among partners.
Your colleagues' successes are your successes. Period.
Lend a helping hand, especially when you don't have the time.
Don't get too hung up on "systems integration", first & foremost, the individual bits have got to work.
For Gods sake don't over promise on systems integration it's nigh on impossible to deliver.
It's Relationships, Stupid; Deep and from multiple functions.
Don't over-schedule. Running late is inexcusable at any level of seniority; it is the ultimate mark of self-importance mixed with contempt.
"Preparing the soil" is the first 98 percent. (Or more.)
Be kind. It works.
Opportunism (with a little forethought) mostly wins.
"Reward excellent failures. Punish mediocre successes."
Integrity. Credibility. Humanity. Grace.
Strategic planning is the last refuge of scoundrels
Focus groups are counter-productive
All information making it to the top is filtered to the point of danger and hilarity
"Success stories are the illusions of egomaniacs (and "gurus")
If you believe the "cause & effect" memoirs of CEOs, you should be institutionalized
"Top teams" are "Dittoheads"
"Expert" prediction is rarely better than rolling the dice
Statistically, CEOs have little effect on performance
Success kills
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Monday, March 09, 2009
Important Words
Important Words for the Workplace
The six most important words: "I admit I made a mistake"
The five most important words: "You did a great job."
The four most important words: "What is your opinion?
The three most important words: "If you please"
The two most important words: "Thank You"
The one most important word: "We"
The least important word: "I"
_____________________________________________
Important Words for Relationships
The six most important words: "I admit I made a mistake"
The five most important words: "You are everything to me"
The four most important words: "How can I help?"
The three most important words: "I love you"
The two most important words: "I'm sorry"
The one most important word: "Us"
The least important word: "I"
The six most important words: "I admit I made a mistake"
The five most important words: "You did a great job."
The four most important words: "What is your opinion?
The three most important words: "If you please"
The two most important words: "Thank You"
The one most important word: "We"
The least important word: "I"
_____________________________________________
Important Words for Relationships
The six most important words: "I admit I made a mistake"
The five most important words: "You are everything to me"
The four most important words: "How can I help?"
The three most important words: "I love you"
The two most important words: "I'm sorry"
The one most important word: "Us"
The least important word: "I"
Friday, March 06, 2009
Commitment, Not Authority Gets Results
While getting ready to leave for the day I was reminded of a quote by Tom Peters, "Commitment, not authority produces results". All project stakeholders need to be committed to seeing that a project's objectives are met, but more importantly they need to be open, effective, and honest when it comes to their communications with the other team members and management.
To support the project team and ensure their success, management must provide the best people to participate on project teams, and have a deep seated belief that the people on the team are intelligent, creative, and have the capability to succeed.
The entire project team and all levels of management involved must have the attitude that they will do everything possible to ensure that the customer (end user) is satisfied with the product of the project.
The number one measure of project success is customer satisfaction. Having a set of "shared values" will help a project team increase customer satisfaction for every project they support.
(Replay)
To support the project team and ensure their success, management must provide the best people to participate on project teams, and have a deep seated belief that the people on the team are intelligent, creative, and have the capability to succeed.
The entire project team and all levels of management involved must have the attitude that they will do everything possible to ensure that the customer (end user) is satisfied with the product of the project.
The number one measure of project success is customer satisfaction. Having a set of "shared values" will help a project team increase customer satisfaction for every project they support.
(Replay)
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Project Managment 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:
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.
To learn more, you can review the book entitled “Advanced Project Portfolio Management and the PMO” on Amazon.com. There is a link to purchase the book on the left hand side of the blog.
(Replay)
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.
To learn more, you can review the book entitled “Advanced Project Portfolio Management and the PMO” on Amazon.com. There is a link to purchase the book on the left hand side of the blog.
(Replay)
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Simple Planning Steps
One of the biggest reasons projects fail is because groups/organizations use an adhoc or random non-repeatable method to plan the work. Minor issues and details are overlooked in the “planning” phase that can turn into major problems down the road. It happens all the time. Combine the normal corporate bad communication with worker incompetency, mix in some management apathy, and you are setting yourself for disaster.
Poor planning, organizational miscommunication, and employee/employer errors mixed with a lack of training can be expensive and sometimes catastrophic (Think NASA).
What can be done? How about applying some basic project management processes to the work? Below are some very simple steps to get started. There are many more to consider depending on the size of your project, but we must realize that some organizations need to move away from today’s chaos and get back to basics right away.
Four Simple Steps
STEP 1 - Divide the work down into tasks that must be completed. Then continue to break the tasks down into smaller tasks. No task should take more than a day (two at most).
One reason that projects are delivered late is because project managers aren’t breaking down the work into smaller and smaller tasks (decomposition). Small tasks are easier to estimate and manage. Remember, good estimates are the foundation of on-time, on-budget projects.
STEP 2 - Sequence your tasks by dependency
If you don’t establish your dependencies you don’t have a timeline since dependencies help establish duration.
STEP 3 - Verifiable Milestones
What pieces of the project will you deliver and when. Remember the old saying, “you can’t manage what you can’t measure”.
STEP 4 - Assign tasks to people not groups
Get everything on paper. Remember my favorite project management rule “what is not in writing has not been said”. Also, ensure everyone understands their role and responsibilities. No matter what you do there will always be somebody that can’t follow instructions or refuses to fall in line. These people need to be brought into line or moved off the project quickly.
Miscommunication is fatal to projects. Always communicate in multiple ways; – face-to-face, team meetings, status reports, e-mail (as a last resort). Monitor progress, give feedback continuously, and document, document, document.
Poor planning, organizational miscommunication, and employee/employer errors mixed with a lack of training can be expensive and sometimes catastrophic (Think NASA).
What can be done? How about applying some basic project management processes to the work? Below are some very simple steps to get started. There are many more to consider depending on the size of your project, but we must realize that some organizations need to move away from today’s chaos and get back to basics right away.
Four Simple Steps
STEP 1 - Divide the work down into tasks that must be completed. Then continue to break the tasks down into smaller tasks. No task should take more than a day (two at most).
One reason that projects are delivered late is because project managers aren’t breaking down the work into smaller and smaller tasks (decomposition). Small tasks are easier to estimate and manage. Remember, good estimates are the foundation of on-time, on-budget projects.
STEP 2 - Sequence your tasks by dependency
If you don’t establish your dependencies you don’t have a timeline since dependencies help establish duration.
STEP 3 - Verifiable Milestones
What pieces of the project will you deliver and when. Remember the old saying, “you can’t manage what you can’t measure”.
STEP 4 - Assign tasks to people not groups
Get everything on paper. Remember my favorite project management rule “what is not in writing has not been said”. Also, ensure everyone understands their role and responsibilities. No matter what you do there will always be somebody that can’t follow instructions or refuses to fall in line. These people need to be brought into line or moved off the project quickly.
Miscommunication is fatal to projects. Always communicate in multiple ways; – face-to-face, team meetings, status reports, e-mail (as a last resort). Monitor progress, give feedback continuously, and document, document, document.