Tom Peters on Social Media

An Amateur's View of Social Media Circa May 2010 Disorganized Musings

Tom writes - "On the evening of May 26, I made my first "presentation" (an informal talk) on social media. The affair, called "Sweets & Tweets," was held in Georgetown and hosted by corporate social media consultant Debbie Weil. I participate in social media somewhat myself, but in no way, shape, or form am an expert. Moreover, I did not spend an enormous amount of time preparing—the talk was intended to be "off the cuff." But with my obsessive penchant for lists (ah, engineers), I did jot a few things down which I shall simply call "musings from an incredibly old guy and unadulterated amateur" on social media:"

  Click here to read the rest on Tom's Website

Thick Skinned Project Managers

Many people have fallen into a bad habit of taking things too personally because they want to protect the smaller picture (self) instead of the big picture (other people, relationships, the situation, and sometimes the truth). How do we get through the times where having a positive attitude seems impossible? Well, we can always choose to act as if the positive feelings/attitudes are still there. It is that simple, and it is always our choice.


We choose all of our feelings and actions. No one else is at fault for what we think, what we feel, and how we act. As Project Managers we can't let others dictate how we feel about ourselves. Project Managers by nature need to have thick skin and can't let the opinions of a few dictate how we feel and act.


It isn't a radical idea to believe that we can choose how to behave, regardless of how we feel. Additionally, by changing our behavior we might just discover that behaving differently can change how we feel. This changing of behavior knocks aside the notion that feelings help us find truth, especially when we are trying to assess an important business or life situation.


I feel that the old saying "Perception is Reality" is destructive. Many people act solely on what they perceive. Perception is only Perception. We can argue about what Reality is, or is not, but basing Reality on what we perceive can really screw up Reality for us and everybody else.


Mental Note for Slow Learners: Sometimes it seems like you can't change anything. Sometimes by changing yourself you change everything.

The Project Manager as Planner (Revisited)

I think everyone agrees that one of the primary responsibilities of the project manager is planning.  As part of the planning process, the project manager's main responsibility is to build the high-level plan.  However, it is the responsibility of the line/functional managers to build in or provide the details of the plan.  We know that the project manager does not or should not control the resources that will ultimately do the work, but the project manager is responsible to see that that work is done right, on time, and on budget with expected quality....and the customer is satisfied with the project results.  

Some items to consider when starting the planning process are:

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  Define your tasks using non-technical language, and include descriptions or notes detailing the work involved
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  Create milestones in your schedule to help track progress and use them as quality gates
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  Ensure you have agreement with the line managers about the skill sets required of his or her resources
  Ensure that key stakeholders assisted in building the Scope Statement, Project Objectives and the Project Plan.
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  Define up front how you will measure performance
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  Define up front how you will measure quality
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  Ensure you have a strong project sponsor that is engaged and supportive
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  Use Communication plans to keep everyone informed
  
  
  While there are many other things that will go into the planning process, I believe the above list is a good start.  
  
  
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