Want to have better project meetings? Check your tech at the door
Posted by lward on Apr 22, 2013 in PMChat Bloggers, Uncategorized | Comments Off
The next time you’re in a meeting look around and notice how many people are either blatantly, or surreptitiously, checking their smart phones, tablets, or laptops rather than paying attention to what’s going on around them. Chances are it’ll be about 50% or more. Now, some people pride themselves on their ability to multitask. But we know that’s hogwash. The brain is a linear machine; it can only do one thing at a time. If it’s doing X it can’t be doing Y.
Read MoreThe Pied Piper of Leadership
Posted by on Apr 22, 2013 in PMChat Bloggers | Comments Off
On a recent trip to NZ I finally had time to visit the Hard to Find (but worth the effort) Book Shop in Auckland. It’s actually quite easy to find if you know where to look and once you’re in there very easy to get lost amongst the huge and eclectic collection of books. I was on the hunt for a birthday gift and once I found what I wanted hidden in English History amongst a host of fascinating titles, I was distracted by the business section. As I looked up and down the shelves Amanda Sinclair’s Leadership for the Disillusioned caught my eye. It was the word disillusioned that got me and my interest increased as I scanned the Introduction where the first 2 sentences read: “This leadership book is not about how to run a company. It is for those who are disillusioned by their encounters with leaders and leadership: with idealised heroic performances, impoverished theories and oversimplified templates.” I bought the book and this post expands one particular gem that when read made me exclaim ‘Yes, that’s exactly what it is!’ Leadership is generally understood as the art of motivating a group of people to act towards achieving a common goal.
Read MoreWant your team to know you fast? Write your own “User Manual”
Posted by lward on Apr 8, 2013 in PMChat Bloggers, Uncategorized | Comments Off
Ivar Kroghrud of QuestBack I just read an interesting article in the New York Times Sunday Business section dated March 30, 2013. It was an interview with an executive who has a very interesting, and seemingly effective, way for his employees to get to know and interact with him without the need to “figure him out.” We all know how that goes don’t we? We start a new job, or are assigned to a new team, and then we spend a lot of time trying to figure out who the new boss or project manager is and how we should deal with her. What are her likes, dislikes, quirks, and so forth. What type of communications style does she have? Can I be honest, or do I have to tip toe around issues as if I’m walking on egg shells or dancing on pins and needles? Well, Ivar Kroghrud , the lead strategist QuestBack , thinks that’s a waste of time.
Read MoreDoes your project team know how the project aligns to organizational strategy? Does it really matter?
Posted by lward on Apr 1, 2013 in PMChat Bloggers, Uncategorized | Comments Off
There’s an old story that goes like this. A man was walking through a stone yard where three men were hammering and breaking large stones into certain shapes. When he asked the first stone cutter what he was doing he replied “I’m busting rocks.” When he asked the second, he said “I’m creating a stone block.” And, when he asked the third, the man said “I’m building a cathedral.” (By the way, if you were to ask members of your project team, or other key stakeholders, what the purpose of the project was, what would be their reply? I bet you’d receive a range along the lines of the three stone cutters above.) Here, we have three different perspectives of the same job. Is the third man better off? Is the organization better off because he sees the “bigger picture”?
Read MoreExcel: The Agile Project Manager’s Duct Tape
Posted by lward on Mar 25, 2013 in PMChat Bloggers, Uncategorized | Comments Off
Duct tape–good in a pinch! I just read one of the many surveys conducted on the state of Agile development. In this particular study, the respondents were asked about the specific agile tools they used. The number one tool used by the more than 4,000 respondents was, you guessed it, Microsoft Excel . 69% of the participants reported it was their tool of choice followed by Microsoft Project which came in at 48%. Way behind these two Microsoft products were some of the newer suite of tools developed specifically for the Agile development environment. Seems like old habits die hard. Excel has been around a long time.
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