People, Persuasion and Negotiation

Hi everyone, this is the end of my tour of duty as guest blogger.  I wanted to end with some thoughts about the importance of the relationships we develop with peers, bosses, customers, vendors, team members and anyone else with whom we have contact.  It’s all about how people feel they are being treated by others. 

As a project manager, your responsibilites are vast, your authority limited.  You must use persuasion and negotiation to get what you want and need from others.  But (more…)

Six Thinking Hats

A short while ago, our fearless leader, Kimberly, wrote about the six hats.  I thought I’d add a little to her suggestions.  The technique, called “Six Thinking Hats”  comes from a book by the same name written by E. deBono. (Boston, Little, Brown & Company, 1985)

The beauty of the technique is that it helps participatns stay int he same frame of reference. (more…)

Drill Sgt. or Project Manager?

I had dinner tonight at the Cheesecake Factory.  I sat at the bar ’cause it was so crowded and next to me sat a very lovely lady who was obviously in distress.  We chatted.  Her Project Manager had yelled at her so rudely (in her opinion) that she was seriously considering quitting a job she loved. (more…)

Mordred

Mordred - the ultimate betrayer - like the serpent in the Garden of Eden, Mordred turned people against each other.  We were talking about Mordred, betrayal, and Camelot at a meeting tonight of the Silicon Valley Innovative Institute’s Society.  During the discussion, I realized that the two people I’ve caused to be fired in all the years of consulting were both Mordred’s.  Let me tell you what I mean: (more…)

Communication and Expectations

We tend to expect others to behave as we do and are either uncomfortable or punitive when they don’t.  We rarely take into account that people come from many backgrounds and cultures and the “social” behaviors they were taught at home are not necessarily the same as those you were taught. 

Realizing how this effects people in meetings insprired me to write the following article, which was published in Tech Week back in 2000.  I’m copying it here for your consideration.  ArLyne

“We decided to put a kitty in the room and fine anyone who didn’t speak out during meetings” said an acquaintance of mine who has a Ph.D. from MIT and is an executive in a national company.

I gulped!  As tactfully as I could, I told him how awful this suggestion was and how it would backfire.  You can’t force cultural or social changes with embarrassment and fines.
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Building Trust in Distant Teams

Hi everyone, this is my first actual blog on this website.  I wanted to talk with you about the issue of trust in distant teams.  Let me start by telling you that as a former psycho-therapist, I often dealt with the issues besetting people in relationships both at home and at work.  Trust - that is belief that people were who they said they were and would do what they said they would do - was one of the most critical issues - and remains one of the most critical issues in maintaining cooperation in business and personal relationships. (more…)

How to Control Project Chaos

If you’ve never played in a drum circle you really owe it to yourself to find one in your local area and check it out. It’s a fabulous metaphor for shared control in project management. You see, a drum circle is a self-organizing system and is usually without a recognized leader. I say “recognized” because there surely are people who try to lead, but . . . well, mostly people just keep on banging away as they wish, sometimes rolling their eyes that someone would have the nerve to try to control their rhythmic expression. (more…)