People, Projects, and Organizations
Four Functional Disciplines Needed on All Projects
All projects have a set of common characteristic by definition: they are temporary endeavors undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. Because of this, they also have some common activities that must be executed. Such things as: developing the project plan, schedule, and budget . . . executing, controlling, and pre-planning the project...
The Best Organizations Market, Sell, and Deliver
We all have had to deal with them many times in our life: organizations that deliver sub-par products or services. They were either companies you conducted businesses with or internal departments and groups in your company you needed something from. Regardless, they were devoid of enthusiasm with little interest in engaging you as a customer....
How to Help Yourself Get Help From Others
Did you know that when you need help the most you might actually be sabotaging your efforts to get it? It doesn’t make sense; but it’s true. This applies when you are both, physically or situationaly in need. The primary reason of sabotage is due to our resistance to being vulnerable. When we are vulnerable...
Yes – TEAM Has an I in It
For decades coaches have told their players there is no I in TEAM. The point they’re trying to make is that the interest of the players should be the team first and themselves second. Players that put themselves first ahead of the team are often called prima donna or selfish. It is true that for...
Serve Your Customers Not Your Processes
Most organizations are service oriented. Either they are serving external customers or internal customers. Serving customers involves lots of interactions in a variety of circumstances and situations. Individuals who are customer facing and handle customer issues need to be engaging and empathetic to do their job well. This is the first rule of customer service....
Too Many Projects on Your Plate?
It used to be that we would hear of people managing three or four projects at a time. Now we are hearing of people who are managing 10 to 15 at a time. Chances are, others might have even more. Sure it is a sign of the times; organizations having to do more with less....
Why are our Calendars so Full of Meetings?
We all have been in the position of trying to schedule a meeting with someone and because of their unviability can’t meet with them any sooner than four weeks out. Sure, people are busy with lots of added responsibility but meetings are a necessity as they are an effective tool for communication. However, they can...
Four Crucial Factors for Schedule Integrity
Receiving project schedules is nothing new to us. We get them all the time. They can be for a project we are dependent on, have a casual interest in, or are a part of our organizational portfolio of projects. We often take them at face value but should we? Some schedules can be as sound...
There is no Learning Without Reflection
We all know it’s important to learn and grow at work so that we perform better in our roles and responsibilities. When we first began our careers all we did was learn. We had very little work experience and needed to learn the basics of how to work in our new professions. Learning never stopped...
What Prevents You From Sticking With It?
We all have times in our lives when we want to achieve or get certain things done and find ourselves unable to follow through with our desires. We then compare ourselves to friends and peers and wonder why we can’t replicate their successful behavior. While this comparison may be reasonable it is not really fair....
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