Project Management and the Art of Confrontation

I have been brushing up on my negotiation skills to ensure my sanity lately, and came across a fantastic presentation deck about confrontation that I am sure every Project Manager on the planet can benefit from. I have summarized in my own words the highlights below, including some personal thoughts regarding the conclusions and comments made. If you would like to review the entire deck, please access the following link: http://www.pmipr.org/html/presentaciones/confrontation%20skills.pdf In terms of background on this “tool”, there are a few different confrontational types of behavior: Aggressive; Non-Assertive & Assertive – the “preferred” method. Assertive behavior involves face-to-face, respectful... Read More»

Do you want to be a Project Ninja?

I have been reviewing many Job Descriptions that are out there for Project Managers, and I realized the other day that if I was really graded solely on what was written in mine, I would really be failing in the eyes of the company. We are so much more than tasks, dates and Project Plans aren’t we? In many ways I am very lucky, the VP that I report to and I, see many things the same way and are more flexible in terms of allowing team members to bend the rules and do what makes sense, than to follow... Read More»

What Really Is A Project Manager?

The longer I work in some form of a Project related role within any organization, the more I realize that the skills required to manage a Project to a successful outcome requires so much more than is encompassed in the PMBOK. I have also found that there are many Project Managers that don’t share that philosophy, insisting to stay “inside the lines” of what is outlined in the PMBOK – a “that’s not part of a PM’s job” mentality. I have seen again and again that ideal increasing risk, reducing the quality of deliverables, and costing money. The big one... Read More»

Does Your Agile Organization Have Cancer?

Every (yes—EVERY!) organization that I’ve ever worked for or with has had cancer. Indeed, several of the projects I’m aware of have also had cancer. This has largely been true regardless of the methodology used. The specific stage of cancer has varied, as has each prognosis; however, all organizations I’ve encountered have been diseased with one type of particularly aggressive form of cancer. The specific type of organizational cancer I’m talking about is having an excessive amount of work in progress (WIP) at any given point in time. For organizations in general and agile organizations, in particular, the result can... Read More»

Black Friday the Project Management Way

Just like approximately 200+ million people each year, I am a Black Friday shopper. It has become a tradition. After the yearly Thanksgiving dinner with friends, a cross section of the women sit down with the flyers from the Thanksgiving edition of the paper, and map out the "plan of attack". This year we had a "Black Friday Virgin" decide to join the experience, and was stunned by the "Project Planning" process that I go through (once it was mentioned, it got everyone torturing me, as I apparently take Project Management to the extreme - is that even possible??). We’re... Read More»

Invisible Agile Leadership

"A leader is best When people barely know he exists Of a good leader, who talks little, When his work is done, his aim fulfilled, They will say, "We did this ourselves." - Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching Like many parents, my wife and I provide a weekly allowance to our sons for completing their family responsibilities (I think "responsibilities" sounds better than "chores"). Occasionally, their money collects to the point where it begins to burn sizeable holes in their banks. Yesterday my youngest son brought his money with him on a family shopping trip. He chose to buy a... Read More»

Project Management, Methodologies, and Organizational Maturity

In my last few positions, I have spent time setting up the Project Management discipline in the organization, and ultimately creating a "PMO" in each . Now, whether you would agree with me or not, I believe that PMO's are created and customized to meet the organization needs at the time that the department and processes are set up, in other words, there are no "cookie cutter" implementations. Looking at each Project Management Office, or function (or even the Methodology that was implemented) was directly linked to what that organization's culture could handle, and what could be implemented successfully. In... Read More»

What Do You Want?

Next time you're stuck in a meeting or conversation that seems to be going around and around (and around and around), stop and ask one simple question: "What do you want out of this?" Here's the catch: The person you're asking is you. Too often, we allow ourselves to get caught up in the adrenaline of proving our case. This is especially true in technical disciplines, where the drive to demonstrate the error -- whatever it is -- may overpower any thought of actually fixing the problem. I've been guilty of this time and again in every imaginable venue. It's... Read More»

The Power of Failing

I am a case study in failure. Sometimes it seems as if I’ve made every conceivable mistake one man could make, and I’m a better person because of it. I now have a higher degree of good judgment than I did when I started my career. Good judgment comes from experience. Unfortunately, sometimes experience comes from bad judgment. We’ve all failed; had bad judgment, and generally messed things up. Let yourself wallow in it—briefly. It’s important you experience the emotions that resonate within you when you experience a failure. But it’s even more important that we use these emotions as... Read More»

Deliverables as Interview Tools

Many of my associates spend a lot of time looking at new ways of getting the best tools for their projects, and one day a few weeks ago I was sent a link on a new way of interviewing for selecting team members "Projects Are the New Job Interviews” http://blogs.hbr.org/schrage/2012/05/projects-are-the-new-job-inter.html?awid=4711429804570248879-3271 by Michael Schrage. I read it and it gave me some food for thought. I do understand the need to be confident that the candidate can do the job, but is forcing work product the right way to do it? I personally don't think that for PM/BA work, that's necessarily... Read More»