Barry Flicker is the founder of Basic Training, a San Francisco Bay Area-based company that specializes in project management and offers a complete curriculum of courses in management and professional development to organizations intent on keeping pace with the rapid transformations of the global economy.
He has authored texts for courses on project management, collaborative negotiating, conflict resolution, nonlinear problem solving, meeting management, and effective communication. His work helps free people from the limiting assumptions and counter productive behavior blocking their success. The immediate applicability of this approach has made him one of the most sought after experts in Silicon Valley and throughout the country.
In addition to a “Who’s Who”list of corporate clients, his work has, for years, been utilized as part of the professional development curriculum of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). His Project Game has become part of one of the leading business incubation courses in the country taught at UC Berkeley.
His success as a trainer, consultant, writer and speaker, reflect a colorful personal history which has included: touring with a rock band, performing as a stage magician, working the comedy clubs of San Francisco, and serving as a white water river guide. His most recent book, Working at Warp Speed, published by Berrett-Koehler has become the must-read business book of today. Barry Flicker - UCSC Extension in Silicon Valley
Barry Flicker is the founder of Basic Training, a San Francisco Bay Area-based company that specializes in project management and offers a complete curriculum of courses in management and professional development to organizations intent on keeping pace with the rapid transformations of the global economy.
He has authored texts for courses on project management, collaborative negotiating, conflict resolution, nonlinear problem solving, meeting management, and effective communication. His work helps free people from the limiting assumptions and counter productive behavior blocking their success. The immediate applicability of this approach has made him one of the most sought after experts in Silicon Valley and throughout the country.
In addition to a “Who’s Who”list of corporate clients, his work has, for years, been utilized as part of the professional development curriculum of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). His Project Game has become part of one of the leading business incubation courses in the country taught at UC Berkeley.
His success as a trainer, consultant, writer and speaker, reflect a colorful personal history which has included: touring with a rock band, performing as a stage magician, working the comedy clubs of San Francisco, and serving as a white water river guide. His most recent book, Working at Warp Speed, published by Berrett-Koehler has become the must-read business book of today. Can Neuroscience Improve the Project Brain? 3 of 3
PART THREE: CULTIVATING “FLUID ATTENTION” “To improve is to change, to be perfect is to change often. “ Winston Churchill We began considering why people in project environments, who can clearly explain the best practices likely to resolve the problems they are facing, fail to act on those beliefs under “real world” conditions? The [...]
Can Neuroscience Improve the Project Brain? 2 of 3
PART TWO: THE FLEXIBLE BRAIN “From 60 to 80 percent of all energy used by the brain—occurs in circuits unrelated to any external event. “ Marcus E. Raichle In Part One, I made the case that “there is a profound and predictable disconnect between what we know, and what we actually do that is an [...]
Can Neuroscience Improve the Project Brain? 1 of 3
PART ONE: CHRONIC STRESS RESPONSE “I’ve experienced many terrible things in my life, a few of which actually happened.” Mark Twain Search “Project Failure” and you will get over 160,000,00 results. That’s a lot of bad outcomes. Poor communication and lack of planning continue to show up as top causes. We know that, and we’ve [...]
Fictional Fixes
I once had someone tell me that his company’s prescription for dealing with slipping project schedules was to “build airplanes while they were in the air.” I understand the virtuous, even heroic, aspect of this metaphor. This company would go to any length to keep their commitments and deliver on customer expectations. But, in [...]
Beliefs That Drive Projects …Crazy
Frustrated by her inability to get the cooperation she needed to meet her project schedules a project manager complained, “I can’t get people in other departments to deliver as promised. My projects are just not a priority for them.” “I understand your frustration,” a more seasoned project manager in the class responded. “When I [...]
The Three Myths of Project Breakdown
Myth One: We’re Unique Just like individuals, every company is unique, and every corporate culture has it’s own particular combination of strengths and weaknesses. This typically leads to the mistaken assumption that the issues sabotaging their projects are unique as well. When it comes to project breakdowns however, every organization predictably finds themselves in [...]
