People, Projects, and Organizations
Shape Your Organization for Effective Change
No organization is ever where a leader wants it; there is always something that needs to be different. In fact, this is a very healthy perspective. First of all, an organization needs to be different just to stay relevant. Secondly, all organizations have weaknesses; identifying and dealing with them is like working with fractals. Fractal:...
You Can’t Manage a Project While Working in it
No person starts their professional career in the role of project manager. Project managers usually have spent years as a member of project teams, contributing directly to the end product. As they gained experience and mastered their skills in multiple areas, they one day got the chance to manage a project. If they didn’t crash...
Three Traits of People Who Make Things Happen
There is this notion that exists out there in companies that everyone should be treated the same. No one should receive preferential treatment or have an advantage. It should be fist come first serve with no short cuts allowed. Processes, rules, and conventions should be followed by everyone at all times. Some people believe this...
Become a Value Driven Organization
Work sure has changed over the years. Technology has given us more access to information and faster ways to analyze, design, and develop that information. It has also blurred the lines between personal and work time. Our work environment has become much more casual too, from dress to business protocol. One thing that has not...
Do Your Project Stakeholders Resemble Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?
Most projects start off with low levels of stress and lots of congeniality. Meetings are filled with give-and-take where people are amenable to differing views and approaches. How nice. But when the project gets underway and things don’t progress exactly as planned, stress levels start to increase and meeting become confrontational. Stakeholders become much less...
To Confront or Not Confront
We all have found ourselves in one or more situations where we had to decide whether or not to confront someone. It could have been at the store when someone cut in line ahead of you, on a flight when someone was mistreating the flight attendant, or at the office when an employee’s work was...
If You Want to be Efficient You Need Routine
In the corporate world, efficiency is a hot topic. Organizations are always striving to produce the most value for the least amount of effort. They attempt to embed it in their business models, strategy, and day-to-day operations. Unfortunately, they do not always succeed. The major reason for this is that organizations don’t instill routine in...
You Need a Translator on Your Project Team
All projects have one thing in common, a communication gap between the visionary and the creator. Visionaries come in many forms. They may be an innovator, a department head, or a line of business. They are the ones who determine the scope of a project. Creators come in many forms too: small teams, whole organizations,...
So, You Can’t Get People to Use the Software Tool
You hear about it all the time. Organizations invest in a software tool and then struggle with its adoption. It could be project management, customer relationship management (CRM), requirements management, or any other type of software tool. What started with high hopes of efficiency and value ends up being a cost burden. But, there are...
Stop Parenting Your Staff and Start Coaching Them
It is very natural for parents to take responsibility for their children. At a young age kids don’t know how to be responsible for themselves, but the goal of every parent is to slowly show and allow their children to be responsible for themselves. Certainly, after one becomes 18 they should be mostly responsible for...
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