Change

By Daisie Hobson • May 20th, 2013

In keeping with the topic of back to the basics, lets talk about Communication.  In my previous post I mentioned implementing weekly status meetings at my research center.  I bet as you read that you cringed a little.  No one likes more meetings…especially me!  In my case though it wasn’t “more” meetings…they didn’t have ANY! [...]

I just returned from Mexico where I was a “Project Management Specialist Volunteer” for the Peace Corps. I was assigned to a Mexican government research center and my assignment was to help implement project management systems and processes.  Ten people had received PMI training and certification but no one had any practical experience.  They were [...]

Exhausted by being connected 24/7? Worried you’ll be seen as a slacker if you don’t answer every email within 14 minutes? Tweeting, liking and pinning multiple times a day because you don’t want to miss anything? One ‘yes’ = this message is for you. (If someone hands you this column, thank them, then read it. [...]

Managing Projects Overseas – Part III – Simplify the Process We just spoke of global perspective of managing projects overseas, followed with how PMs can minimize culture gaps in these situations. We now conclude with a value-based sequel relating to simplifying the process as we successfully manage our project (s) overseas. Meeting Your Timeline Objective: [...]

Managing Overseas Projects – Part I – A Global Perspective All of us have had a fair share of success in managing projects either in our own cities and/or across our country. While some of us on a few occasions have had the fortune of also engaging in projects that are overseas (the meaning of [...]

(This article is part of a series originally published in Japan by ALC Press English Journal, and is written in “Global English”. CLICK HERE to see the accompanying video, spoken in “Global English”.) QUESTION:  “My biggest problem is I lack the confidence to take on more responsibility at work. Now I’m watching less qualified people get promoted, and [...]

It’s impossible not to judge. Telling someone else “not to judge” — shows you have made the judgment that they are judging. Most opinions, descriptions, decisions, views, rulings, and critiques are judgments.

I received the below great question a few days after my Art of War for Product Managers and High-Performing Professionals.  I thought you might be interested in the answer as well. Q: Many senior employees work under my lead. In this case, many other senior employees think that what a lucky me. Jealousy is coming [...]

Most everyone is familiar with Pro and Con lists to help make a decision. Often times the Pro and Con List does very little to clarify the decision – because – well – the reason you are creating the Pro/Con list is because it was a ‘close call’ to begin with. We don’t go to the trouble of making a Pro and Con list on ‘no-brainers’. Often times the pro and cons are pretty equal – making the decision still difficult. Our mistake is that we stop at this point. We don’t take the next step to reduce the impact of the “Cons”.

In a recent discussion about additional costs being added to my home build project, I made a comment to our builder that “I don’t want to play that game.”  He took offense at that comment.  I believe he thought I was trivializing the situation and not honoring standard industry practices.  The conversation did not go [...]

(This article is part of a series originally published in Japan by ALC Press English Journal, and is written in “Global English”. CLICK HERE to see the accompanying video, spoken in “Global English”.) QUESTION: “After working for 20 years in the same kinds of jobs I realize that I don’t enjoy my work, but it’s all I know. How [...]

(This article is part of a series originally published in Japan by ALC Press English Journal, and is written in “Global English”. CLICK HERE to see the accompanying video, spoken in “Global English”.) QUESTION: “I’ve just been promoted to leading a new team and don’t know where to start. What should I do first?” ANSWER: Congratulations on [...]

Programming managers have typically had years of training in programming… And no training in management. I’ve been taking a fascinating census of programming managers this fall that has shown me just how true that is. As I talk about our book Managing the Unmanageable: Rules, Tools, and Insights for Managing Software People and Teams to [...]

For years, I’ve been pointing development and project managers to the full-length documentary, Tom Dowd & the Language of Music. (It’s rentable via Netflix, purchasable via Amazon.) Every time I watch Tom Dowd, I’m struck by how closely producing music resembles leading software development. Tom Dowd, an innovative music producer and recording engineer for over [...]

As a Business Process Consultant and Efficiency Coach, I am a subject matter expert in the field of Process Improvement. I work closely with the client to analyze both operational processes and financial metrics to assess project opportunities that positively impact the financial performance of the client business. In that role, I see a few misconceptions in how to make office changes (or any change for that matter). The most prevalent false premise is to “start where you are and take small steps”. That may be the resulting action – but I don’t recommend we start there.

This is Laura Lee Rose, a business and life coach that specializes in professional development, time management, project management and work-life balance strategies. In my GoTo Academy: Soft Skill Tools for the GoTo Professional continuous online coaching series, I go into office etiquette on various real-world IT topics in detail. If you are interested in [...]

  In my previous blog Are You Masking Your Heart’s Passion?,  I talked about how people sometimes wear a mask to hide their “true self” at home or at work. Today, I’ll share some observations about what happens when a person decides to take off their mask, follow their heart’s passion, and take a giant [...]

In the realm of following your heart’s passion, I’ve noticed that when people do not feel safe to be themselves, they start to wear a mask. This mask can be worn at home or at work, and may even morph into many “masks” for those who tend to compartmentalize their lives.  Wearing a mask is tiring; and [...]

In the first blog of this series I mentioned the possibility that storytelling began as a response to our conscious awareness of unavoidable death. Some scholars suggest that this gave rise to three major forms of stories or myths – nationalistic (us and them), religious (us and Him) and ideological (why and what). Perhaps after [...]

This week I posted several blogs focusing on the complete project manager. This is a concept covered in our new book of the same title whose premise is:  successful projects are done by skilled project managers and teams, supported by effective project sponsors; it is the integration of a spectrum of skills that enables certain [...]

This is the first in a triad of blogs on the art of storytelling in projects. In the foreword of an excellent book by Sonia Arrison on longevity called ‘100+’ Peter Thiel of PayPal speculates that the origins of storytelling originated when our ancestors first acquired the knowledge of our inevitable death, a sombre birth [...]