40 years ago today, as a member of my local Boy Scout troop, I was at Cape Kennedy (Canaveral) in Florida to witness the launch of Apollo 11.
What a project that must have been to work on!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Collaborate = Conflict?
When people collaborate there will sometimes be disagreement. Disagreement doesn't have to be a bad thing, and in many instances constructive disagreement can lead to a better solution. With that in mind, it is important for all participants in the conversation to recoginize when productive disagreement becomes destructive. When collaborating with others, a project manager has to be an expert negotiator to ensure that project communications are kept open, civil, and productive. While comprimising isn't the right answer when collaboarting, sometimes it is the only answer when consensus can't be reached.
Don't allow your project communications to deteriorate into pitty bickering and fighting. As the project manager it is up to you to keep project communications civil and productive. Be respectful of others and demand respect in return.
When managing conflict remember to:
Understand when a conflict is out of hand
Help to defuse emotions
Focus on questions that ask why, how, and what
Search for solutions together
Evalutate solutions that make sense and are agreeable
Don't allow your project communications to deteriorate into pitty bickering and fighting. As the project manager it is up to you to keep project communications civil and productive. Be respectful of others and demand respect in return.
When managing conflict remember to:
Understand when a conflict is out of hand
Help to defuse emotions
Focus on questions that ask why, how, and what
Search for solutions together
Evalutate solutions that make sense and are agreeable
Friday, July 10, 2009
Monday, July 06, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
My Project is Late Again!
Is is late because of...
Design Changes – Design changes during project execution almost always cause delays and impacts to your budget. Once the Scope document has been signed, any changes to the design need to go through your Scope Change Request Process.
Skill Sets – When planning, assumptions are made regarding people's skills. Sometimes these assumptions turn out to be wrong. Also, you will usually have people on your team who are new or are less experienced. These new or lower skilled workers won't be as productive or effective as higher skilled workers. Make sure your project plan has accounted for skill levels.
Unplanned Work or Workarounds – Many times changes must be made to the sequence of planned work. These changes can impact time, cost, budget, and quality. Think about these risks up front and discuss what if any workarounds will be used.
Rework – Rework happens; it is part of project management. Ensure your project plan accounts for rework.
Team Morale – Turnover, project conflict, sick time, vacations all can wreak havoc with your schedule and budget; plan for these things. A happy team is a productive team. Ensure your team is working towards a common goal and not working against each other. Remove disruptive team members from your project if their behavior can't be changed.
Schedules – Trying to do too much in too little time will result in delays. Once you get behind it is very difficult to catch up. Your project will have delays. You need to have contingency plans to get back on track quickly.
Work Environment – Ensure that your team has a proper workspace. Cramming people into poorly designed work spaces will lower productivity.
Tools – Ensure your team has the right tools to do the job. Having the right tool, but not getting into the teams hands at the right time will cause delays in your schedule.
Project Manager Overload – Too many people on a project team without the proper management oversight can cause major problems for the project manager.
Overtime – Adding hours to people's schedules in order to make a deadline will usually do nothing but increase your budget. Adding overtime rarely results in getting a late project back on track.
Executive – Executive apathy can kill your project. People are usually not going to make your project a priority if their boss isn't willing to tell them it is important. Deadbeat executives kill team morale and project momentum.
Plan for the above "risks" and you will start to bring your projects in faster, cheaper, and with higher quality.
Design Changes – Design changes during project execution almost always cause delays and impacts to your budget. Once the Scope document has been signed, any changes to the design need to go through your Scope Change Request Process.
Skill Sets – When planning, assumptions are made regarding people's skills. Sometimes these assumptions turn out to be wrong. Also, you will usually have people on your team who are new or are less experienced. These new or lower skilled workers won't be as productive or effective as higher skilled workers. Make sure your project plan has accounted for skill levels.
Unplanned Work or Workarounds – Many times changes must be made to the sequence of planned work. These changes can impact time, cost, budget, and quality. Think about these risks up front and discuss what if any workarounds will be used.
Rework – Rework happens; it is part of project management. Ensure your project plan accounts for rework.
Team Morale – Turnover, project conflict, sick time, vacations all can wreak havoc with your schedule and budget; plan for these things. A happy team is a productive team. Ensure your team is working towards a common goal and not working against each other. Remove disruptive team members from your project if their behavior can't be changed.
Schedules – Trying to do too much in too little time will result in delays. Once you get behind it is very difficult to catch up. Your project will have delays. You need to have contingency plans to get back on track quickly.
Work Environment – Ensure that your team has a proper workspace. Cramming people into poorly designed work spaces will lower productivity.
Tools – Ensure your team has the right tools to do the job. Having the right tool, but not getting into the teams hands at the right time will cause delays in your schedule.
Project Manager Overload – Too many people on a project team without the proper management oversight can cause major problems for the project manager.
Overtime – Adding hours to people's schedules in order to make a deadline will usually do nothing but increase your budget. Adding overtime rarely results in getting a late project back on track.
Executive – Executive apathy can kill your project. People are usually not going to make your project a priority if their boss isn't willing to tell them it is important. Deadbeat executives kill team morale and project momentum.
Plan for the above "risks" and you will start to bring your projects in faster, cheaper, and with higher quality.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
What Is Not in Writing Has Not Been Said
While the title of this message may seem extreme, there are many times when it is relevant in project management. One example is in the area of requirements. Project requirements are always in written form. In the field of project management there is no such thing as a verbal project requirement.
The following text was taken from Chapter Twenty in the “Field Guide to Project Management”. The authors Francis M Webster, Jr. and Stephen D. Owens state, "the written document provides instructions, restates previous instructions, conveys importance to the message, and helps the project manager to cover their tracks".
The authors also make the point that that "e-mail isn't always enough and can get you in trouble faster and with more people". As we all know from experience, e-mail usually isn't given enough thought before it is sent which can lead to messages being misinterpreted and having unintended consequences.
A project manager that is doing his or her job will formally document all items that are important and relevant to supporting a project's objectives.
The following text was taken from Chapter Twenty in the “Field Guide to Project Management”. The authors Francis M Webster, Jr. and Stephen D. Owens state, "the written document provides instructions, restates previous instructions, conveys importance to the message, and helps the project manager to cover their tracks".
The authors also make the point that that "e-mail isn't always enough and can get you in trouble faster and with more people". As we all know from experience, e-mail usually isn't given enough thought before it is sent which can lead to messages being misinterpreted and having unintended consequences.
A project manager that is doing his or her job will formally document all items that are important and relevant to supporting a project's objectives.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Twenty Good Life Tips
Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.
Do not believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.
When you say, "I love you", mean it.
When you say, "I'm sorry", look the person in the eye.
Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
Believe in love at first sight.
Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who do not have dreams do not have much.
Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it is the only way to live life completely.
In disagreements, fight fairly. No name-calling.
Do not judge people by their relatives.
Talk slowly but think quickly.
When someone asks you a question you do not want to answer, smile and ask, "Why do you want to know?"
Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
Say, "Bless You" when you hear someone sneeze.
When you lose, do not lose the lesson.
Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; Responsibility for all your actions.
Do not let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
When you realize you have made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.
Do not believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.
When you say, "I love you", mean it.
When you say, "I'm sorry", look the person in the eye.
Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
Believe in love at first sight.
Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who do not have dreams do not have much.
Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it is the only way to live life completely.
In disagreements, fight fairly. No name-calling.
Do not judge people by their relatives.
Talk slowly but think quickly.
When someone asks you a question you do not want to answer, smile and ask, "Why do you want to know?"
Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
Say, "Bless You" when you hear someone sneeze.
When you lose, do not lose the lesson.
Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; Responsibility for all your actions.
Do not let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
When you realize you have made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Snakes on a Project
Project managers must manage team dysfunction. Sometimes the dysfunction comes from the top (Sponsor, Steering Committee, Senior Management) and sometimes it comes from the project stakeholders and core team members (or the project manager). The project manager must be a motivator, and additionally must keep the team focused on the project’s objectives. Most importantly, the project manager must do all they can to ensure that negative or destructive elements are kept clear of their projects. Sometimes these negative elements (people) are called “project snakes”.
Project Snake Facts
Project snakes aren’t interested in you, your team, or your project’s success
Project snakes won’t confront you with an issue or problem
Project snakes are interested in feeding (their own needs and ego)
Project snakes operate one way – surprise attack!
Project snakes strike when you least expect it
Project snakes (almost always) operate alone
Project snakes have few if any real friends (except other snakes)
Project snakes wear pants and skirts
When you find out there is a snake present, ensure you expose him or her for what they are. When exposing the snake, make sure you do this in a way that won’t cost you or another person on your team their job.
Snakes are devious, sneaky, and often powerful. Remember, the snake is all about feeding their own appetite (ego). Hopefully, if you and your team continue to do the right things the snake will slither off to feed somewhere else.
Project teams are most productive when they have fun, trust each other, have commitment to the project’s objectives, embrace open communications, and are working in a culture where their opinion is appreciated and they are creating value.
Project snakes don’t care about people, teams, and most of all projects that don’t serve their narrow agenda. Project snakes are sneaky predators that feed on the weak. Beware of the snake!
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Plan Backwards
I came across this article several years ago and thought it made some very good points.
1. RESULTS – Try planning backwards - Start with the results in mind. Most mid-level managers plan around their schedule in an effort to “fill the calendar.” If your group’s goal is to stay active and keep everyone busy this is a great idea. But if your goal is to accomplish something like, oh I don’t know, let’s say your organization’s mission or turn a profit, this is the dumbest way to start out. Really, what are you in business to do? Move the sand pile left then move it back right the next quarter?
Smart planners begin with the results they want to achieve. They ruthlessly eliminate everything that doesn’t support this goal. They never hesitate to say, “No, that’s not what we are about.” Great leaders stay focused on the main thing they and never deter from it. What do you want to see occur next year? Where do you want to be? Set that as your planning goal and let everything fall in to place around it. Guard this and don’t let any other activity or program get in the way.
2. ACTIVITIES – Next plan the activities it will take to accomplish your goal(s). Don’t schedule them yet. Just sit down and determine what it will take to get to the destination you have set. Some activities may be impossible to pull off, but this will give you a good idea of what you need to be doing and how you need to distribute resources to get things done. Planning activities will help you determine the Big Three questions that need to be answered in planning guidelines:
(A) What do you think you are doing?
(B) What ought you to be doing?
(C) What are you actually doing?
Examining all three perspectives will give you valuable insight into your job and time problems.
Activities that don’t meet these criteria or don’t support the mission of your company, corporation or mission should be eliminated, no matter how sacred they are. How many exercises do you do for no other reason than, we’ve always done them? Read Sacred Cows Make Great Burgers. Yes, it is risky to ask “Why?” but you’ve got to take a few risks to venture into new territory. Have some fun. Go around and ask people how certain historical practices originated and why they continue to schedule them every year. You’ll be surprised at how many people are clueless, but continue to perform them like mindless sheep.
3. PRIORITIES – The next step will happen almost automatically. You and your staff will begin to re-evaluate your priorities and find out what you need to be about in the year ahead. You’ll be surprised to find consensus when you have eliminated useless activities that don’t accomplish your mission or goals. Determining your goals and activities will help you establish clear priorities for the time period you are planning. It will help you enforce the “If it doesn’t support or goals, we’re not doing it” rule.
Use the Paretto Principle to establish priorities: “Eighty percent of our activities produce 20 percent of the results, while only 20 percent of our activities produce 80 percent of the results.” Vilifredo Paretto was a 19th Century Italian economist who established a rule for economics that works in almost every realm of planning. It is simple: List your top ten priorities in order, then circle the top two. Concentrate planning on those two and the other eight will take care of themselves. More organizations waste time on useless trivial activities that produce almost no results. The wisdom of life consists of eliminating the non-essentials.
4. TIME ESTIMATES – How long will it take? How much time will each activity require to get you closer to your annual goals? The key to successful planning is to plan both work and time. Start to determine what will take big blocks of time, how many people will be required to get it done and where will the resources be needed to accomplish each task. Next look at the smaller blocks of time and find out how they can be batched together to eliminate waste in funding and time. Where are the wasted time slots? How can they be reduced or wiped away completely?
Determine what time of the year is the peak performance time to get each task accomplished. Where are the slow periods annually that you can get more “behind the scenes” work done? When is your “showtime,” when visible tasks are best accomplished? Remember these are only estimates but they will give you a good idea as to when you need to be concentrating on the right tasks at the right time.
5. SCHEDULING - Now look at your actual calendar. Things that are scheduled tend to happen on time. Things that are not scheduled may never happen. As I said earlier, most managers tend to schedule first in an effort to fill the calendar and eliminate gaps. Knowing what you are about, why you are about it, and how long it will take will be the greatest ally you have in putting things on in ink.
Use this guideline for scheduling: Flexibility in time: Start early on major efforts, Big blocks come first; smaller jobs/activities come second; and group items that are similar in nature. Scheduling along these lines will do more to eliminate wasted time in your calendar. It will allow for the time estimates to become realities and your people to know what they are doing, why they are doing it and how it fits into your overall mission/goals.
6. FLEXIBILITY – Allow time for error and the uncertainty. This can only be done if you have set out to allow the proper amount of time for big projects. No one can predict the future (although we seem to have an abundance of philosophers, pundits and fanatics who attempt to do it every day). A well-known television economist spent the first two months of his new program telling everyone not to buy home improvement company stocks (Lowe’s, Home Depot, etc.) then was forced to retract every prediction when they soared following the devastating hurricanes in the Gulf Coast areas. One good rule: Don’t take advice from anyone who isn’t personally invested in the suggestions they are giving. You probably have example in your own life of people who said to do one thing only to change when things weren’t as certain as they assured you. Don’t get stuck paying the bill for their mistakes.
Planning flexibility allows you to adjust your schedule as needed. It allows you to drop back and re-evaluate your intentions and redistribute resources and personnel in key areas as are required. Be flexible about your schedule, but not your results or goals. Times change and although you can’t predict the future, the great leaders are able to see through the present times and prepare for both good and bad events. Those with the best outlook on life are always expecting the best, but prepared for the worst, just in case. To deny that problems will arise is foolishness. In summary, our ability to control our time is directly related to our attitude toward controlling our environment. Now you are in control of your schedule. You determine what to do and when to do it based on a simple rule: What results do we want? Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can or you can’t, you are right.”A year from today, evaluate the tasks you accomplished. How did your employees, support staff come together to meet your goals? How long did it take for everyone to get in step with the master plan and find ways to cut wasted time and reallocate resources? How prepared were you for unforeseen events in the market and society? How much more can you accomplish next year? Try “Backwards Planning” and see how everything fits better into place.
Permission is granted to reproduce this article in whole or in part provided the following byline below appears along with the article and that a copy is sent to me after publication. Thank you: JIM MATHIS is an International Speaking Professional and Trainer.
To subscribe to his FREE personal and professional development newsletter, please send an email to subscribe@jimmathis.com with the word SUBSCRIBE. An electronic copy will be sent out to you every month. For more information on how JIM and his programs can benefit your organization or group, please call 888-688-0220, or visit his website: www.jimmathis.com
1. RESULTS – Try planning backwards - Start with the results in mind. Most mid-level managers plan around their schedule in an effort to “fill the calendar.” If your group’s goal is to stay active and keep everyone busy this is a great idea. But if your goal is to accomplish something like, oh I don’t know, let’s say your organization’s mission or turn a profit, this is the dumbest way to start out. Really, what are you in business to do? Move the sand pile left then move it back right the next quarter?
Smart planners begin with the results they want to achieve. They ruthlessly eliminate everything that doesn’t support this goal. They never hesitate to say, “No, that’s not what we are about.” Great leaders stay focused on the main thing they and never deter from it. What do you want to see occur next year? Where do you want to be? Set that as your planning goal and let everything fall in to place around it. Guard this and don’t let any other activity or program get in the way.
2. ACTIVITIES – Next plan the activities it will take to accomplish your goal(s). Don’t schedule them yet. Just sit down and determine what it will take to get to the destination you have set. Some activities may be impossible to pull off, but this will give you a good idea of what you need to be doing and how you need to distribute resources to get things done. Planning activities will help you determine the Big Three questions that need to be answered in planning guidelines:
(A) What do you think you are doing?
(B) What ought you to be doing?
(C) What are you actually doing?
Examining all three perspectives will give you valuable insight into your job and time problems.
Activities that don’t meet these criteria or don’t support the mission of your company, corporation or mission should be eliminated, no matter how sacred they are. How many exercises do you do for no other reason than, we’ve always done them? Read Sacred Cows Make Great Burgers. Yes, it is risky to ask “Why?” but you’ve got to take a few risks to venture into new territory. Have some fun. Go around and ask people how certain historical practices originated and why they continue to schedule them every year. You’ll be surprised at how many people are clueless, but continue to perform them like mindless sheep.
3. PRIORITIES – The next step will happen almost automatically. You and your staff will begin to re-evaluate your priorities and find out what you need to be about in the year ahead. You’ll be surprised to find consensus when you have eliminated useless activities that don’t accomplish your mission or goals. Determining your goals and activities will help you establish clear priorities for the time period you are planning. It will help you enforce the “If it doesn’t support or goals, we’re not doing it” rule.
Use the Paretto Principle to establish priorities: “Eighty percent of our activities produce 20 percent of the results, while only 20 percent of our activities produce 80 percent of the results.” Vilifredo Paretto was a 19th Century Italian economist who established a rule for economics that works in almost every realm of planning. It is simple: List your top ten priorities in order, then circle the top two. Concentrate planning on those two and the other eight will take care of themselves. More organizations waste time on useless trivial activities that produce almost no results. The wisdom of life consists of eliminating the non-essentials.
4. TIME ESTIMATES – How long will it take? How much time will each activity require to get you closer to your annual goals? The key to successful planning is to plan both work and time. Start to determine what will take big blocks of time, how many people will be required to get it done and where will the resources be needed to accomplish each task. Next look at the smaller blocks of time and find out how they can be batched together to eliminate waste in funding and time. Where are the wasted time slots? How can they be reduced or wiped away completely?
Determine what time of the year is the peak performance time to get each task accomplished. Where are the slow periods annually that you can get more “behind the scenes” work done? When is your “showtime,” when visible tasks are best accomplished? Remember these are only estimates but they will give you a good idea as to when you need to be concentrating on the right tasks at the right time.
5. SCHEDULING - Now look at your actual calendar. Things that are scheduled tend to happen on time. Things that are not scheduled may never happen. As I said earlier, most managers tend to schedule first in an effort to fill the calendar and eliminate gaps. Knowing what you are about, why you are about it, and how long it will take will be the greatest ally you have in putting things on in ink.
Use this guideline for scheduling: Flexibility in time: Start early on major efforts, Big blocks come first; smaller jobs/activities come second; and group items that are similar in nature. Scheduling along these lines will do more to eliminate wasted time in your calendar. It will allow for the time estimates to become realities and your people to know what they are doing, why they are doing it and how it fits into your overall mission/goals.
6. FLEXIBILITY – Allow time for error and the uncertainty. This can only be done if you have set out to allow the proper amount of time for big projects. No one can predict the future (although we seem to have an abundance of philosophers, pundits and fanatics who attempt to do it every day). A well-known television economist spent the first two months of his new program telling everyone not to buy home improvement company stocks (Lowe’s, Home Depot, etc.) then was forced to retract every prediction when they soared following the devastating hurricanes in the Gulf Coast areas. One good rule: Don’t take advice from anyone who isn’t personally invested in the suggestions they are giving. You probably have example in your own life of people who said to do one thing only to change when things weren’t as certain as they assured you. Don’t get stuck paying the bill for their mistakes.
Planning flexibility allows you to adjust your schedule as needed. It allows you to drop back and re-evaluate your intentions and redistribute resources and personnel in key areas as are required. Be flexible about your schedule, but not your results or goals. Times change and although you can’t predict the future, the great leaders are able to see through the present times and prepare for both good and bad events. Those with the best outlook on life are always expecting the best, but prepared for the worst, just in case. To deny that problems will arise is foolishness. In summary, our ability to control our time is directly related to our attitude toward controlling our environment. Now you are in control of your schedule. You determine what to do and when to do it based on a simple rule: What results do we want? Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can or you can’t, you are right.”A year from today, evaluate the tasks you accomplished. How did your employees, support staff come together to meet your goals? How long did it take for everyone to get in step with the master plan and find ways to cut wasted time and reallocate resources? How prepared were you for unforeseen events in the market and society? How much more can you accomplish next year? Try “Backwards Planning” and see how everything fits better into place.
Permission is granted to reproduce this article in whole or in part provided the following byline below appears along with the article and that a copy is sent to me after publication. Thank you: JIM MATHIS is an International Speaking Professional and Trainer.
To subscribe to his FREE personal and professional development newsletter, please send an email to subscribe@jimmathis.com with the word SUBSCRIBE. An electronic copy will be sent out to you every month. For more information on how JIM and his programs can benefit your organization or group, please call 888-688-0220, or visit his website: www.jimmathis.com
Monday, June 01, 2009
Your Health is a Project
DISCLAIMER - Please check with your doctor before beginning any exercise program.
Quick Introduction
Our health is important, I think we can all agree on that. If we want to improve our health and fitness we really need a plan. Part of our plan needs to include exercise. The exercise that delivers the best fitness and weight loss results while using the least amount of your time is jogging/running. Many people begin a jogging/running routine, but quit due to fatigue, soreness, or injury. Why do they get injured or lose interest? They do too much without getting their body in shape first. The plan I use starts with only walking at first. Also, in the plan I use no workout is longer than 30 minutes.
How I Got Started
Back in March I found a document online entitled "From Couch to 5-K in 9 weeks". Since I am 51 years old and wasn't in very good shape I modified the document for my needs and included a link to it here. I added a few weeks to help me get in shape (15 weeks instead of nine), and modified some of the distances and times (started slower). I'm currently using the plan and am in week 11. So far so good. I have lost weight and I feel good.
In closing, If I can follow this plan anybody can. Especially when doing jogging in the Florida heat! The trick is to go slow, listen to your body, and keep following the plan.
If you are interested in the plan I use you can get a copy of the document here
If you want a MS Word version of the document e-mail me at sfseay(at)yahoo.com
DISCLAIMER - Please check with your doctor before beginning any exercise program.
Quick Introduction
Our health is important, I think we can all agree on that. If we want to improve our health and fitness we really need a plan. Part of our plan needs to include exercise. The exercise that delivers the best fitness and weight loss results while using the least amount of your time is jogging/running. Many people begin a jogging/running routine, but quit due to fatigue, soreness, or injury. Why do they get injured or lose interest? They do too much without getting their body in shape first. The plan I use starts with only walking at first. Also, in the plan I use no workout is longer than 30 minutes.
How I Got Started
Back in March I found a document online entitled "From Couch to 5-K in 9 weeks". Since I am 51 years old and wasn't in very good shape I modified the document for my needs and included a link to it here. I added a few weeks to help me get in shape (15 weeks instead of nine), and modified some of the distances and times (started slower). I'm currently using the plan and am in week 11. So far so good. I have lost weight and I feel good.
In closing, If I can follow this plan anybody can. Especially when doing jogging in the Florida heat! The trick is to go slow, listen to your body, and keep following the plan.
If you are interested in the plan I use you can get a copy of the document here
If you want a MS Word version of the document e-mail me at sfseay(at)yahoo.com
DISCLAIMER - Please check with your doctor before beginning any exercise program.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Free Project Management Planning Tips
Most projects that fail, were failures before they started
Your project stakeholders are your best allies or your worst enemies – you decide
If your project plan hasn’t changed – be afraid
Ask for help, advice, assistance...from everyone! – early and often
Focus first on delivering the benefits then focus on costs
Don’t own the project, own the process
Document all valid assumptions
Don't allow jerks to work on your project....ever
Make friends not war
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Weekend Break - Kayaking on the Braden River
Some bird photos I took earlier today
Click photos to enlarge
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
E-mail Rules for Project Managers
High volumes of e-mail can be overwhelming. In the course of managing a long project a project manager can receive thousands of e-mails. To manage this level of e-mails we need some rules.
If you have time, there is a great video on this subject by Merlin Mann entitled "Inbox Zero". I have created a link to Merlin's video at the end of this posting.
___________________________________________
E-mail rules for Project Managers
1) Ensure your inbox messages are viewable in one screen. This means you should not have to scroll your Inbox window to see all your messages. To clean up your current inbox you may need a few hours (or a few days if you have thousands of e-mails in your inbox), but the effort is worth it in the long run.
2) Scrub your e-mail inbox using some of the same rules that exist for cleaning up the paper on your desk. These rules are simple: Act on It, File It, or Throw it Away.
a.) Act on it - Act on the individual e-mail now or if there is not time then schedule the time on your calendar to review it later. Also, you can create a “Pending” folder for e-mails you can’t act on because you are waiting on more information. Schedule time regularly to review your "Pending" e-mail folder. Lastly, delegate the message and ensure you set a date to follow-up
b.) File It - Decide if you need to keep it. If so, ensure you have setup a logical e-mail folder structure so you can find your e-mails quickly in the future
c.) Throw It Away – If the e-mail is not needed then hit “Delete”. The "delete" key can be very liberating
3.) Decide on a schedule to check your e-mail and stick to it (twice a day, every three hours, etc.). Be willing to adjust the schedule as you find what works for you. Don’t be one of those dorks that checks their e-mail device every time it vibrates. You probably aren't that important and neither is the e-mail you might be receiving
4.) For all important communications call the person(s), don’t send an e-mail.
5.) Don’t reply to the same e-mail more than twice. Pick up the phone or go talk to person face-to-face
6.) Setup time on your calendar each week to manage your e-mail
Finally, check out Merlin Mann's great video about managing your e-mail entitled "Inbox Zero" by clicking here
If you have time, there is a great video on this subject by Merlin Mann entitled "Inbox Zero". I have created a link to Merlin's video at the end of this posting.
___________________________________________
E-mail rules for Project Managers
1) Ensure your inbox messages are viewable in one screen. This means you should not have to scroll your Inbox window to see all your messages. To clean up your current inbox you may need a few hours (or a few days if you have thousands of e-mails in your inbox), but the effort is worth it in the long run.
2) Scrub your e-mail inbox using some of the same rules that exist for cleaning up the paper on your desk. These rules are simple: Act on It, File It, or Throw it Away.
a.) Act on it - Act on the individual e-mail now or if there is not time then schedule the time on your calendar to review it later. Also, you can create a “Pending” folder for e-mails you can’t act on because you are waiting on more information. Schedule time regularly to review your "Pending" e-mail folder. Lastly, delegate the message and ensure you set a date to follow-up
b.) File It - Decide if you need to keep it. If so, ensure you have setup a logical e-mail folder structure so you can find your e-mails quickly in the future
c.) Throw It Away – If the e-mail is not needed then hit “Delete”. The "delete" key can be very liberating
3.) Decide on a schedule to check your e-mail and stick to it (twice a day, every three hours, etc.). Be willing to adjust the schedule as you find what works for you. Don’t be one of those dorks that checks their e-mail device every time it vibrates. You probably aren't that important and neither is the e-mail you might be receiving
4.) For all important communications call the person(s), don’t send an e-mail.
5.) Don’t reply to the same e-mail more than twice. Pick up the phone or go talk to person face-to-face
6.) Setup time on your calendar each week to manage your e-mail
Finally, check out Merlin Mann's great video about managing your e-mail entitled "Inbox Zero" by clicking here
End of Project Survey Template - Repaired Link
Click here for a direct link to the document that was discussed in last week's post. Some people had problems viewing the document because of permissions.
Steve
Steve
Friday, May 15, 2009
End of Project Surveys are Important
Measuring customer satisfaction at the end of the project is critical. I recently started using a new Post Implementation Project Survey document. I send the document to all key stakeholders just after the project's completion.
Is the document useful to you? Is it too long? Is there questions you would ask that aren't listed?
Click here to review the document, and please take the time to leave me some feedback.
Is the document useful to you? Is it too long? Is there questions you would ask that aren't listed?
Click here to review the document, and please take the time to leave me some feedback.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Corporate Purpose and Core Values
I came across this last year on the Internet. I thought it was worth sharing. I changed the company name to XYZ.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Purpose and Core Values
Building a Better World: We better the lives of those we touch and improve communities around the world through our personal and professional contributions.
Our employees are our greatest assets and we will grow, inspire and protect them.
XYZ is committed to actively encouraging diversity through our people and our activities, as we truly believe in the value of a diverse workforce to both inspire our people and grow our business.
We will be uncompromising in our determination to achieve product excellence and, in turn, improve the world's quality of life. Our everyday work is focused on reducing impacts to the environment and improving focus on reducing impacts to the environment and improving society, while meeting client needs with superior project design and delivery.
We are committed to being involved citizens, both as a business and as individuals, in improving the communities where we reside and work. We want to leave a positive legacy in the communities we work in.
Our reputation as a trustworthy business partner is critical to our business success. Honesty, professionalism, ethical behavior, and integrity with our staff and clients. Our reputation with them is paramount to our success as is our technical leadership reputation.
Our business goals are only met when mutually we make our clients successful and we are fairly rewarded. By getting all these right, delivered through our project management, quality, safety, health and environmental management systems, we serve our clients' needs successfully.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WOW, this sounds like an organization that is focused on the right things.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Building a Better World: We better the lives of those we touch and improve communities around the world through our personal and professional contributions.
Our employees are our greatest assets and we will grow, inspire and protect them.
XYZ is committed to actively encouraging diversity through our people and our activities, as we truly believe in the value of a diverse workforce to both inspire our people and grow our business.
We will be uncompromising in our determination to achieve product excellence and, in turn, improve the world's quality of life. Our everyday work is focused on reducing impacts to the environment and improving focus on reducing impacts to the environment and improving society, while meeting client needs with superior project design and delivery.
We are committed to being involved citizens, both as a business and as individuals, in improving the communities where we reside and work. We want to leave a positive legacy in the communities we work in.
Our reputation as a trustworthy business partner is critical to our business success. Honesty, professionalism, ethical behavior, and integrity with our staff and clients. Our reputation with them is paramount to our success as is our technical leadership reputation.
Our business goals are only met when mutually we make our clients successful and we are fairly rewarded. By getting all these right, delivered through our project management, quality, safety, health and environmental management systems, we serve our clients' needs successfully.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WOW, this sounds like an organization that is focused on the right things.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Competency and the Project Manager
Competency can also be called - Ability, Capableness, Ableness, Capacity, etc...
Knowledge + Skills + Attitude = Competency
Knowledge - Awareness or comprehension acquired by study or experience
Skills - Ability to apply knowledge
Attitude - State of mind or feeling
One of my favorite formulas is: Knowledge + Experience = Wisdom
What is your Competency Rating?
Knowledge + Skills + Attitude = Competency
Knowledge - Awareness or comprehension acquired by study or experience
Skills - Ability to apply knowledge
Attitude - State of mind or feeling
One of my favorite formulas is: Knowledge + Experience = Wisdom
What is your Competency Rating?
Monday, May 11, 2009
Don't Follow a Bad Leader
Leadership = Purpose + Direction + Motivation + Coaching + Passion + Character + Trustworthiness + Discipline + Communication
I witness poor leadership behaviors all the time. It amazes me that these scoundrels have followers. People that follow bad leaders are a lot like sheep following a shepard. Don't follow a bad leader. Break out from the flock and look for a leader that wants you to succeed.
I witness poor leadership behaviors all the time. It amazes me that these scoundrels have followers. People that follow bad leaders are a lot like sheep following a shepard. Don't follow a bad leader. Break out from the flock and look for a leader that wants you to succeed.
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Characteristics of a Successful Organizational Culture - Part 2
Signs your organization's culture is healthy
Change is not seen as a goal but a journey
An individual’s status in the organization is gained because of their results ...and methods ...and communications, not their role or title
People have fun at work
People become more willing to speak their minds
All levels of the organization come together to solve problems
Risk taking is encouraged
Project management is taken seriously
Senior staff and executives are visible, available, and relevant
There are blurred lines between organizational groups and departments
External employee concerns (home, family, school) are part of the organization’s agenda
Teams evaluate themselves and other teams
Teams determine who is on or off “the team”
Executives and senior managers that show anti-social behavior or who are not team players are told to seek work elsewhere
People manage themselves
People doing the work are looked upon as experts on how the work should be done
Organizational decisions, rewards, and results are shared openly
There are formal and explicit links and work rules between internal groups
Managers are visible, informed, and accountable
Team assessments are used to measure a Team’s success
There is a new paradigm about what the organization owes the employee and what the employee owes the organization
The gap between potential and performance is reduced (must be measured by outsiders)
Teams replace supervisors
Information is shared about the organization’s failures, problems, successes, and opportunities
People smile more and like coming to work
People discuss then decide
Trust, Respect, Integrity, and Truthfulness are not an option
People are eager and willing to learn new things
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Characteristics of a Successful Organizational Culture
Culture can be described as a set of behaviors that are refined and are used or sought after by people in their group. Cultural behaviors are a set of shared ideas and beliefs that are associated with a way of life.
In highly effective enterprises, cultures tend to have the following characteristics. There are many more, but these are some that come to mind:
Leaders lead and teach others to be leaders
A positive attitude is displayed by key managers and leaders
The organization's plans, policies, procedures, rules, and strategic direction are well documented and discussed at all levels of the organization
The opinions of employees are valued and they believe they are key members of the larger enterprise team
Work teams are encouraged to develop solutions to organizational problems
Continuous improvement is a part of the way business is done
The organization believes in and practices a philosophy of creativity and innovation
Professional politicians are looked at as a liability
Interdependent relationships are numerous and exist at all levels of the organization
Employees are recognized for their achievements
Feedback is continuous and two-way
Senior managers are visible and available
Resourse planning is practiced continuously
There is "Systems Thinking"
There is a shrinking gap between organizatinal potential and performance (and it is measured)
Team members evaluate the performance of their team as a whole and eliminate unproductive members that are unwilling to perform at acceptable levels
Senior management understands that the people doing the work are the ones that know how the work should be done
Managers are facilitators and coaches
Moral is high and people are satisfied with their jobs
People are committed to the organization's goals and to their work groups success
In highly effective enterprises, cultures tend to have the following characteristics. There are many more, but these are some that come to mind:
Leaders lead and teach others to be leaders
A positive attitude is displayed by key managers and leaders
The organization's plans, policies, procedures, rules, and strategic direction are well documented and discussed at all levels of the organization
The opinions of employees are valued and they believe they are key members of the larger enterprise team
Work teams are encouraged to develop solutions to organizational problems
Continuous improvement is a part of the way business is done
The organization believes in and practices a philosophy of creativity and innovation
Professional politicians are looked at as a liability
Interdependent relationships are numerous and exist at all levels of the organization
Employees are recognized for their achievements
Feedback is continuous and two-way
Senior managers are visible and available
Resourse planning is practiced continuously
There is "Systems Thinking"
There is a shrinking gap between organizatinal potential and performance (and it is measured)
Team members evaluate the performance of their team as a whole and eliminate unproductive members that are unwilling to perform at acceptable levels
Senior management understands that the people doing the work are the ones that know how the work should be done
Managers are facilitators and coaches
Moral is high and people are satisfied with their jobs
People are committed to the organization's goals and to their work groups success
Sunday, May 03, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
Relationships in Project Management
“You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.” —Dale Carnegie
Friday, April 24, 2009
100ft. = 100 miles or 30.48 meters = 160.9 kilometers
In one of Tom Peter's many free presentations on his website he had the following quote from his book "In Search of Excellence".
I found the quote in regards to communication distances troubling, but true.
Tom's quote goes:
"It was the only chart we used in In Search of Excellence! It arrived courtesy of the research by Tom Allen and his colleagues at MIT. Studying communication patterns, they discovered that people more than a hundred feet apart might as well, in terms of communication frequency, be 100 miles apart!. Internet or no Internet (these days), that is nothing short of … stunning! And the implications are nothing short of profound!"
I found the quote in regards to communication distances troubling, but true.
Tom's quote goes:
"It was the only chart we used in In Search of Excellence! It arrived courtesy of the research by Tom Allen and his colleagues at MIT. Studying communication patterns, they discovered that people more than a hundred feet apart might as well, in terms of communication frequency, be 100 miles apart!. Internet or no Internet (these days), that is nothing short of … stunning! And the implications are nothing short of profound!"
Monday, April 20, 2009
The Heart of Business Strategy - Tom Peters
Tom's wisdom is awesome. Find lots more at his website
The post below was taken from a document Tom wrote called the Heart of Strategy.
Start Tom's Message below:
"We usually think of business strategy as some sort of aspirational market positioning statement. Doubtless that’s part of it. But I believe that the number one "strategic strength" is excellence in execution and systemic relationships (i.e., with everyone we come in contact with). Hence I offer the following 48 pieces of advice in creating a winning strategic that is inherently sustainable*:
"Thank you." Minimum several times a day. Measure it.
"Thank you" to everyone even peripherally involved in some activity—especially those
"deep in the hierarchy."
Smile. Work on it.
Apologize. Even if "they" are "mostly" to blame.
Jump all over those who play the "blame game."
Hire enthusiasm.
Low enthusiasm. No hire. Any job.
Hire optimists. Everywhere. ("Positive outlook on life," not mindless optimism.)
Hiring: Would you like to go to lunch with him-her. 100% of jobs.
Hire for good manners.
Do not reject "trouble makers"—that is those who are uncomfortable with the status quo.
Expose all would-be hires to something unexpected-weird. Observe their reaction.
Overwhelm response to even the smallest screw-ups.
Become a student of all you will meet with. Big time.
Hang out with interesting new people. Measure it.
Lunch with folks in other functions. Measure it.
Listen. Hear. Become a serious student of listening-hearing.
Work on everyone’s listening skills. Practice.
Become a student of information extraction-interviewing.
Become a student of presentation giving. Formal. Short and spontaneous.
Incredible care in 1st line supervisor selection.
World’s best training for 1st line supervisors.
Construct small leadership opportunities for junior people within days of starting on the job.
Insane care in all promotion decisions.
Promote "people people" for all managerial jobs. Finance-logistics-R and D as much as, say, sales.
Hire-promote for demonstrated curiosity. Check their past commitment to continuous
learning.
Small “d” diversity. Rich mixes for any and all teams.
Hire women. Roughly 50% women on exec team.
Exec team “looks like” customer population, actual and desired.
Focus on creating products for and selling to women.
Focus on creating products for and selling to boomers-geezers.
Work on first and last impressions.
Walls display tomorrow’s aspirations, not yesterday’s accomplishments.
Simplify systems. Constantly.
Insist that almost all material be covered by a 1-page summary. Absolutely no longer.
Practice decency.
Add “We are thoughtful in all we do” to corporate values list. Number 1 force for
customer loyalty, employee satisfaction.
Make some form of employee growth (for all) a formal part of values set.
Above
customer satisfaction. Steal from RE/MAX: “We are a life success company.”
Flowers.
Celebrate “small wins.” Often. Perhaps a “small win of the day.”
Manage your calendar religiously: Does it accurately reflect your espoused priorities?
Use a “calendar friend” who’s not very friendly to help you with this.
Review your calendar: Work assiduously and mercilessly on your “To don’ts.”—stuff
that distracts.
Bosses, especially near the top: Formally cultivate one advisor whose role is to tell you the truth.
Commit to Excellence.
Talk up Excellence.
Put “Excellence in all we do” in the values set.
Measure everyone on demonstrated commitment to Excellence.
The post below was taken from a document Tom wrote called the Heart of Strategy.
Start Tom's Message below:
"We usually think of business strategy as some sort of aspirational market positioning statement. Doubtless that’s part of it. But I believe that the number one "strategic strength" is excellence in execution and systemic relationships (i.e., with everyone we come in contact with). Hence I offer the following 48 pieces of advice in creating a winning strategic that is inherently sustainable*:
"Thank you." Minimum several times a day. Measure it.
"Thank you" to everyone even peripherally involved in some activity—especially those
"deep in the hierarchy."
Smile. Work on it.
Apologize. Even if "they" are "mostly" to blame.
Jump all over those who play the "blame game."
Hire enthusiasm.
Low enthusiasm. No hire. Any job.
Hire optimists. Everywhere. ("Positive outlook on life," not mindless optimism.)
Hiring: Would you like to go to lunch with him-her. 100% of jobs.
Hire for good manners.
Do not reject "trouble makers"—that is those who are uncomfortable with the status quo.
Expose all would-be hires to something unexpected-weird. Observe their reaction.
Overwhelm response to even the smallest screw-ups.
Become a student of all you will meet with. Big time.
Hang out with interesting new people. Measure it.
Lunch with folks in other functions. Measure it.
Listen. Hear. Become a serious student of listening-hearing.
Work on everyone’s listening skills. Practice.
Become a student of information extraction-interviewing.
Become a student of presentation giving. Formal. Short and spontaneous.
Incredible care in 1st line supervisor selection.
World’s best training for 1st line supervisors.
Construct small leadership opportunities for junior people within days of starting on the job.
Insane care in all promotion decisions.
Promote "people people" for all managerial jobs. Finance-logistics-R and D as much as, say, sales.
Hire-promote for demonstrated curiosity. Check their past commitment to continuous
learning.
Small “d” diversity. Rich mixes for any and all teams.
Hire women. Roughly 50% women on exec team.
Exec team “looks like” customer population, actual and desired.
Focus on creating products for and selling to women.
Focus on creating products for and selling to boomers-geezers.
Work on first and last impressions.
Walls display tomorrow’s aspirations, not yesterday’s accomplishments.
Simplify systems. Constantly.
Insist that almost all material be covered by a 1-page summary. Absolutely no longer.
Practice decency.
Add “We are thoughtful in all we do” to corporate values list. Number 1 force for
customer loyalty, employee satisfaction.
Make some form of employee growth (for all) a formal part of values set.
Above
customer satisfaction. Steal from RE/MAX: “We are a life success company.”
Flowers.
Celebrate “small wins.” Often. Perhaps a “small win of the day.”
Manage your calendar religiously: Does it accurately reflect your espoused priorities?
Use a “calendar friend” who’s not very friendly to help you with this.
Review your calendar: Work assiduously and mercilessly on your “To don’ts.”—stuff
that distracts.
Bosses, especially near the top: Formally cultivate one advisor whose role is to tell you the truth.
Commit to Excellence.
Talk up Excellence.
Put “Excellence in all we do” in the values set.
Measure everyone on demonstrated commitment to Excellence.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Friday, April 17, 2009
Stuff I Really Believe!
“The deepest human need is the need to be appreciated.” — William James
“What creates trust, in the end, is the leader’s manifest respect for the
followers.” — Jim O’Toole, Leading Change
“The most successful people are those who are good at plan B.” — James Yorke,
mathematician, on chaos theory in The New Scientist
“People want to be part of something larger than themselves. They want to be
part of something they’re really proud of, that they’ll fight for, sacrifice for, that they trust.” — Howard Schultz, Starbucks
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” — Charles Darwin
“If things seem under control, you’re just not going fast enough.” — Mario Andretti
“We have a ‘strategic’ plan. It’s called doing things.” — Herb Kelleher, founder, Southwest Airlines
“I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living, or get busy
dying.” — The Shawshank Redemption (Tim Robbins)
“Nothing is so contagious as enthusiasm.” — Samuel Taylor Coleridge
“A man without a smiling face must not open a shop.” — Chinese Proverb
---------------------------------------------------------------------
"Leadership is all about love...
and
Passion,
Enthusiasms,
Appetite for Life,
Engagement,
Great Causes & Determination to Make a Damn Difference,
Commitment to Excellence,
Shared Adventures,
Bizarre Failures,
Growth Beyond Measure,
Insatiable Appetite for Change" - Tom Peters
“What creates trust, in the end, is the leader’s manifest respect for the
followers.” — Jim O’Toole, Leading Change
“The most successful people are those who are good at plan B.” — James Yorke,
mathematician, on chaos theory in The New Scientist
“People want to be part of something larger than themselves. They want to be
part of something they’re really proud of, that they’ll fight for, sacrifice for, that they trust.” — Howard Schultz, Starbucks
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” — Charles Darwin
“If things seem under control, you’re just not going fast enough.” — Mario Andretti
“We have a ‘strategic’ plan. It’s called doing things.” — Herb Kelleher, founder, Southwest Airlines
“I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living, or get busy
dying.” — The Shawshank Redemption (Tim Robbins)
“Nothing is so contagious as enthusiasm.” — Samuel Taylor Coleridge
“A man without a smiling face must not open a shop.” — Chinese Proverb
---------------------------------------------------------------------
"Leadership is all about love...
and
Passion,
Enthusiasms,
Appetite for Life,
Engagement,
Great Causes & Determination to Make a Damn Difference,
Commitment to Excellence,
Shared Adventures,
Bizarre Failures,
Growth Beyond Measure,
Insatiable Appetite for Change" - Tom Peters
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Is Project Management a Profession? - Not Again!
What is your opinion? I believe that project management is a profession, however I have met many "project managers" that don't have a clue about project management and aren't very professional.
The following story comes from www.reformingprojectmanagement.com.
"Is project management a profession? The experts in the matter of establishing conditions for a profession say no. Why? Most of it has to do with the accumulation and study of theory. I've been on the fence about whether or not we should seek professional status for project managers. I'm married to a registered nurse. Her brother is a registered engineer. My cousin is a licensed physician. One son is finishing his law degree so he can sit for the Bar while the other is studying for the landscape architect's exam. I know what these people have done to become professionals. It's time that project managers do the same.
Click here for the rest of the story...
The following story comes from www.reformingprojectmanagement.com.
"Is project management a profession? The experts in the matter of establishing conditions for a profession say no. Why? Most of it has to do with the accumulation and study of theory. I've been on the fence about whether or not we should seek professional status for project managers. I'm married to a registered nurse. Her brother is a registered engineer. My cousin is a licensed physician. One son is finishing his law degree so he can sit for the Bar while the other is studying for the landscape architect's exam. I know what these people have done to become professionals. It's time that project managers do the same.
Click here for the rest of the story...
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Weekend News - 1.75 Trillion Dollar US Deficit for 2009
The Treasury Department said Friday that the budget deficit increased by $192.3 billion in March, and is near $1 trillion just halfway through the budget year, as costs of the financial bailout and recession mount.
Last month’s deficit, a record for March, was significantly higher than the $150 billion that economists expected.
The deficit already totals $956.8 billion for the first six months of the budget year, also a record for that period. The Obama administration projects the deficit for the entire year will hit $1.75 trillion.
A deficit at that level would nearly quadruple the previous annual record of $454.8 billion set last year. The March deficit was nearly four times the size of the imbalance in the same month last year.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated last month that President Barack Obama’s budget proposals would produce $9.3 trillion in deficits over the next decade, a figure $2.3 trillion higher than estimates made in February in the administration’s first budget proposal.
Last month’s deficit, a record for March, was significantly higher than the $150 billion that economists expected.
The deficit already totals $956.8 billion for the first six months of the budget year, also a record for that period. The Obama administration projects the deficit for the entire year will hit $1.75 trillion.
A deficit at that level would nearly quadruple the previous annual record of $454.8 billion set last year. The March deficit was nearly four times the size of the imbalance in the same month last year.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated last month that President Barack Obama’s budget proposals would produce $9.3 trillion in deficits over the next decade, a figure $2.3 trillion higher than estimates made in February in the administration’s first budget proposal.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Ugly Power
Power changes people. It changes people’s attitudes about themselves, and how they feel about others. POWER CHANGES PEOPLE!
The ugly side of power gives the powerful a distorted opinion of themselves and contempt for others. The ugly (powerful) leader continually seeks and requires the approval of his/her subordinates, but over time the ugly leader finds flaws with these same people because they don’t share the same level of power.
The ugly leader likes to blur the line between their successes and the organization’s successes. They often take credit for successes that aren’t their own. They rarely give credit to others. They sometimes use the word “we”, but they find it tedious and annoying to do so. They find fault with the successes of others since they weren’t involved. They are masters are creating spin (positive for them, negative for others).
Great leaders love people and use things. Ugly leaders love things and use people. Ugly leaders are bad listeners, are intellectually dishonest, and often use their power for corrupt or unethical purposes. They love to communicate using jargon and techno-babble. They are rarely personally accountable for failure and almost always responsible for success. They have few close personal relationships (that last) and are usually held in low regard throughout the organizations they represent. They are often smart, but small minded. They are rarely available, often invisible, and pathologically self-centered.
Ugly leaders are everywhere, and they behavior is a cancer that can kill an organization’s/team’s spirit.
Ugly leaders surround themselves with yes men/women. These “supporters” love to reinforce the ugly leader’s self-delusionary perceptions. They filter out bad news which causes the ugly leader to lose touch with reality. Ugly leaders require praise from their followers, but over time the ugly leader devalues the feedback because it comes from people that are inferior. Over time they come to love the praise, but have contempt for the praise giver.
Ugly leaders are blinded by power and usually don’t realize they are caught in the throws of ugliness. Their egos, unethical behavior, and delusions are easy to spot by everyone but themselves. They are pathetic, but often a curiosity.
Ugliness can be overcome, but it takes the ugly leader to conduct an honest self-appraisal and seek out the opinions of those leaders that are held in high regard. They then must take this feedback and act on it. This rarely happens because of ego.
Power by itself is not good, bad, or ugly, but ugly power almost always corrupts. Remember Lord Acton’s quote, “All power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
The ugly side of power gives the powerful a distorted opinion of themselves and contempt for others. The ugly (powerful) leader continually seeks and requires the approval of his/her subordinates, but over time the ugly leader finds flaws with these same people because they don’t share the same level of power.
The ugly leader likes to blur the line between their successes and the organization’s successes. They often take credit for successes that aren’t their own. They rarely give credit to others. They sometimes use the word “we”, but they find it tedious and annoying to do so. They find fault with the successes of others since they weren’t involved. They are masters are creating spin (positive for them, negative for others).
Great leaders love people and use things. Ugly leaders love things and use people. Ugly leaders are bad listeners, are intellectually dishonest, and often use their power for corrupt or unethical purposes. They love to communicate using jargon and techno-babble. They are rarely personally accountable for failure and almost always responsible for success. They have few close personal relationships (that last) and are usually held in low regard throughout the organizations they represent. They are often smart, but small minded. They are rarely available, often invisible, and pathologically self-centered.
Ugly leaders are everywhere, and they behavior is a cancer that can kill an organization’s/team’s spirit.
Ugly leaders surround themselves with yes men/women. These “supporters” love to reinforce the ugly leader’s self-delusionary perceptions. They filter out bad news which causes the ugly leader to lose touch with reality. Ugly leaders require praise from their followers, but over time the ugly leader devalues the feedback because it comes from people that are inferior. Over time they come to love the praise, but have contempt for the praise giver.
Ugly leaders are blinded by power and usually don’t realize they are caught in the throws of ugliness. Their egos, unethical behavior, and delusions are easy to spot by everyone but themselves. They are pathetic, but often a curiosity.
Ugliness can be overcome, but it takes the ugly leader to conduct an honest self-appraisal and seek out the opinions of those leaders that are held in high regard. They then must take this feedback and act on it. This rarely happens because of ego.
Power by itself is not good, bad, or ugly, but ugly power almost always corrupts. Remember Lord Acton’s quote, “All power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Monday, April 06, 2009
Quotes to Ponder
In this economy we need to think differently. Here are some quotes to ponder.
Our business needs a massive transfusion of talent, and talent, I believe, is most likely to be found among non-conformists, dissenters and rebels.”—David Ogilvy
"The best ideas come as jokes. Make your thinking as funny as possible.”—David Ogilvy
“The Bottleneck Is at the Top of the Bottle” - “Where are you likely to find people with the least diversity of experience, the largest investment in the past, and the greatest reverence for industry dogma: At the top!” — Gary Hamel/Harvard Business Review
“Diverse groups of problem solvers—groups of people with diverse tools—consistently outperformed groups of the best and the brightest. If I formed two groups, one random (and therefore diverse) and one consisting of the best individual performers, the first group almost always did better. … Diversity trumped ability.” —Scott Page, The Difference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms, Schools, and Societies Diversity
The short road to ruin is to emulate the methods of your adversary.” — Winston Churchill
“Beware of the tyranny of making Small Changes to Small Things. Rather, make Big Changes to Big Things.” —Roger Enrico, former Chairman, PepsiCo
Kevin Roberts’ Credo
1. Ready. Fire! Aim.
2. If it ain’t broke ... Break it!
3. Hire crazies.
4. Ask dumb questions.
5. Pursue failure.
6. Lead, follow ... or get out of the way!
7. Spread confusion.
8. Ditch your office.
9. Read odd stuff.
10. Avoid moderation!
Sunday, April 05, 2009
Weekend Diversion - Is the "Depression" Over?
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?
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.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
My Rules for Project Management
Remove people from your team that don’t ask questions, don’t talk with other team members, won’t provide documentation, or won’t do analysis.
Only people that aren’t competent won’t show off their work
Question authority or live with the result
A sense of humor can help get teams through tough times. Keep in mind, some managers don’t appreciate humor unless they initiate it.
A working meeting should have no more than five people. Meetings with more than five should be reserved for providing updates or relaying information.
Paper status reports are worth what they are printed on.
Project failure is planned at the beginning of the project. Project initiation is the most important phase.
Be honest in all your dealings.
Project managers are expected to offer their opinions, but be accountable for your words.
When it comes to project scope, what is not in writing has not been said.
Have verifiable milestones
End of project surveys must be completed and the results distributed to the team
Bad conclusions lead to more bad conclusions
Documented assumptions are believed to be true for planning purposes
The best lessons learned come from failures
Without data you only have an opinion
Data doesn’t tell the whole story.
Bad data leads to bad decisions
Senior management is usually clueless when it comes to what your project is all about
A bad project team will never deliver good project results
If your project sponsor isn’t responsive you should put your project on-hold until such time they can become involved
The bottleneck is at the top of the bottle
A project manager’s main job is to keep the customer happy
At the end of a project if you have met all scope, quality, budget, and schedule objectives, but the customer isn’t happy your project is a failure
Documentation doesn’t replace knowledge
Most people want to do good work. Many times they don’t have the tools or information they need to perform well, or they aren’t managed properly
Project managers aren’t successful if their team members aren’t successful
Not all successful project managers are competent and not all unsuccessful project managers are incompetent. Sometimes you just have to be lucky
Good project managers are insecure by nature
An introvert can’t be a (successful) project manager
A project manager with lots of enemies won’t be able to be successful over the long run.
You must be a relationship guru and be ready to fall on the sword sometimes
A project manager must be a motivator
If you don’t listen, you can’t plan
Project managers deal with change. You must be the change agent for your project. Your project sponsor is the change salesman.
Only people that aren’t competent won’t show off their work
Question authority or live with the result
A sense of humor can help get teams through tough times. Keep in mind, some managers don’t appreciate humor unless they initiate it.
A working meeting should have no more than five people. Meetings with more than five should be reserved for providing updates or relaying information.
Paper status reports are worth what they are printed on.
Project failure is planned at the beginning of the project. Project initiation is the most important phase.
Be honest in all your dealings.
Project managers are expected to offer their opinions, but be accountable for your words.
When it comes to project scope, what is not in writing has not been said.
Have verifiable milestones
End of project surveys must be completed and the results distributed to the team
Bad conclusions lead to more bad conclusions
Documented assumptions are believed to be true for planning purposes
The best lessons learned come from failures
Without data you only have an opinion
Data doesn’t tell the whole story.
Bad data leads to bad decisions
Senior management is usually clueless when it comes to what your project is all about
A bad project team will never deliver good project results
If your project sponsor isn’t responsive you should put your project on-hold until such time they can become involved
The bottleneck is at the top of the bottle
A project manager’s main job is to keep the customer happy
At the end of a project if you have met all scope, quality, budget, and schedule objectives, but the customer isn’t happy your project is a failure
Documentation doesn’t replace knowledge
Most people want to do good work. Many times they don’t have the tools or information they need to perform well, or they aren’t managed properly
Project managers aren’t successful if their team members aren’t successful
Not all successful project managers are competent and not all unsuccessful project managers are incompetent. Sometimes you just have to be lucky
Good project managers are insecure by nature
An introvert can’t be a (successful) project manager
A project manager with lots of enemies won’t be able to be successful over the long run.
You must be a relationship guru and be ready to fall on the sword sometimes
A project manager must be a motivator
If you don’t listen, you can’t plan
Project managers deal with change. You must be the change agent for your project. Your project sponsor is the change salesman.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Business Process Basics
Project managers need to ensure that customer's are satisfied with a project's deliverables. Part of this process is ensuring that the customer's business processes are optimized. You can't provide the best possible project results if your customer's processes aren't efficient. Improving processes is about improving quality while reducing costs and waste.
Processes need measures. If you don't have measures then your processes aren't worth the paper they are printed on. Processes have to meet the needs of the organization, business unit that executes them, and the customer's requirements. Measures also help to identify and solve process problems, and help to ensure they are meeting the customer's requirements.
When it comes to process improvement, a good project manager understands:
How to develop team skills
How to break down work into processes
How to solve problems and to find the root cause of the problems
How to recommend solutions to problems that are acceptable to the majority
How to lead a team and when to let the team lead
Measure the effectiveness of a process by:
Looking at the cycle times between process steps
Identifying bottlenecks that cause unnecessary delays
Identify problems that cause defects to occur
In order to help develop good business processes, a project manager must have the knowledge, skills, and experience to ensure that the right people are doing the right things at the right time, using the right tools and delivering the results that are expected.
Processes need measures. If you don't have measures then your processes aren't worth the paper they are printed on. Processes have to meet the needs of the organization, business unit that executes them, and the customer's requirements. Measures also help to identify and solve process problems, and help to ensure they are meeting the customer's requirements.
When it comes to process improvement, a good project manager understands:
How to develop team skills
How to break down work into processes
How to solve problems and to find the root cause of the problems
How to recommend solutions to problems that are acceptable to the majority
How to lead a team and when to let the team lead
Measure the effectiveness of a process by:
Looking at the cycle times between process steps
Identifying bottlenecks that cause unnecessary delays
Identify problems that cause defects to occur
In order to help develop good business processes, a project manager must have the knowledge, skills, and experience to ensure that the right people are doing the right things at the right time, using the right tools and delivering the results that are expected.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Use a Process to Manage Big Changes
Good steps to consider when making major changes in your organization. It was taken from the book "Leading Change" by John P. Kotter (see source information at the end of the posting).
1. Establishing a Sense of Urgency
a. Examining the market and competitive realities
b. Identifying and discussing crises, potential crises, or major opportunities
2. Creating the Guiding Coalition
a. Putting together a group with enough power to lead the change
b. Getting the group to work together as a team
3. Developing a Vision and Strategy
a. Creating a vision to help direct the change effort
b. Developing strategies for achieving that vision
4. Communicating the Change Vision
a. Using every vehicle possible to constantly communicate the new vision and strategies
b. Having the guiding coalition role model the behavior expected of employees
5. Empowering Broad-Based Action
a. Getting rid of obstacles
b. Changing systems or structures that undermine the change vision
c. Encouraging risk taking and non-traditional ideas, activities, and actions
6. Generating Short-Term Wins
a. Planning for visible improvements in performance, or “wins”
b. Creating those wins
c. Visibly recognizing and rewarding people who made the wins possible
7. Consolidating Gains and Producing More Change
a. Using increased credibility to change all systems, structures, and policies that don’t fit together and don’t fit the transformation vision
b. Hiring, promoting, and developing people who can implement the change vision
c. Reinvigorating the process with new projects, themes, and change agents
8. Anchoring New Approaches in the Culture
a. Creating better performance through customer and productivity-oriented behavior, more an better leadership, and more effective management
b. Articulating the connections between new behaviors and organizational success
c. Developing means to ensure leadership development and succession
SOURCE: Adapted from John P. Kotter, “Leading Change,” Harvard Business School Press 1996
1. Establishing a Sense of Urgency
a. Examining the market and competitive realities
b. Identifying and discussing crises, potential crises, or major opportunities
2. Creating the Guiding Coalition
a. Putting together a group with enough power to lead the change
b. Getting the group to work together as a team
3. Developing a Vision and Strategy
a. Creating a vision to help direct the change effort
b. Developing strategies for achieving that vision
4. Communicating the Change Vision
a. Using every vehicle possible to constantly communicate the new vision and strategies
b. Having the guiding coalition role model the behavior expected of employees
5. Empowering Broad-Based Action
a. Getting rid of obstacles
b. Changing systems or structures that undermine the change vision
c. Encouraging risk taking and non-traditional ideas, activities, and actions
6. Generating Short-Term Wins
a. Planning for visible improvements in performance, or “wins”
b. Creating those wins
c. Visibly recognizing and rewarding people who made the wins possible
7. Consolidating Gains and Producing More Change
a. Using increased credibility to change all systems, structures, and policies that don’t fit together and don’t fit the transformation vision
b. Hiring, promoting, and developing people who can implement the change vision
c. Reinvigorating the process with new projects, themes, and change agents
8. Anchoring New Approaches in the Culture
a. Creating better performance through customer and productivity-oriented behavior, more an better leadership, and more effective management
b. Articulating the connections between new behaviors and organizational success
c. Developing means to ensure leadership development and succession
SOURCE: Adapted from John P. Kotter, “Leading Change,” Harvard Business School Press 1996
Friday, March 13, 2009
Office Politics and Gossip
- This Soviet war poster conveys the message: "Don't chatter! Gossiping borders on treason" (1941).
According to Marilyn Haight, at BigBadBoss.com Office Politics “is the use of one's individual or assigned power within an employing organization for the purpose of obtaining advantages beyond one's legitimate authority.” Those advantages may include access to tangible assets, or intangible benefits such as status or pseudo-authority that influences the behavior of others. Both individuals and groups may engage in Office Politics."
I think most people would agree that those participating in office politics seek to gain an advantage. Being a skillful office politician may get you recognized or promoted, but it may also come at the expense of your or another’s integrity.
Remember, gossip is usually destructive (at a minimum unfair) to somebody, and should be discouraged whenever possible. If we are honest, we would all admit that we participate in office gossip. We need to limit office gossip to be the exception, not the norm in our daily conversations with others.
Be accountable for your words in the workplace. Work should be fun and our work relationships should be positive and healthy. Healthy work relationships are dependent on gossip being kept to a minimum.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
These Tips are Essential Right Now!
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
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
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.