1-1 Leadership

By Laura Rose • March 13th, 2012

We’ve all heard the phrase “Live it up!” in regards to a particular event or party. But what I am suggesting here is to LIVE UP — take your life to your next higher self or level. Gracefully clear away anything or one that is slowing you down.

Many of us feel overloaded and overwhelmed with aggressive schedules and never-ending todo tasks. Often we wish for more time, or more hours in a day. What we don’t often realize is that it’s sometimes as easy as turning the hour glass upside down; emphasis on the phrase is “upside down”.

This series cover three methods of charting and logging your work product estimations:

Iterative charting to improve accuracy
Charting for effective communications
Charting for a streamlining process example

Time is just a form of measurement. It’s a tool for our convenience. One of the uses for “time” is to synchronize pieces of a project: to schedule the various work products and integrate into a quality product, service or event. Inaccurate estimating skills slow down the entire team and builds resentment in those required to pick-up the slack.

Time is just a form of measurement. It’s a tool for our convenience. One of the uses for “time” is to synchronize pieces of a project: to schedule the various work products and integrate into a quality product, service or event. Inaccurate estimating skills slow down the entire team and builds resentment in those required to pick-up the slack.

When things are not going our way, we need to stop and evaluate; because things are supposed to work smoothly together. So, when we find any type of resistance, chances are something isn’t matching. Either the rules or the people involved are not aligned. Once again – no one is doing anything wrong. It’s just not a perfect match, yet.

This is the second part of a three part article discussing “how does a project manager intelligently handle delays?”

Last article we focused on acknowledging the natural flow of a project which includes periodic speed bumps and roadblocks. In today’s article we’ll focus on using critical path analysis to assist with project management. Diagramming the critical paths of a project accomplishes several things:

Last week I was taping a series of lectures for the Sequel Server World Wide User Group (SSWUG.org), and I was asked “how does a project manager handle items that causes us to miss deadlines?”

This is an interesting question, because every project will have speed bumps. A good project manager expects speed-bumps and actually plans for the unexpected. So – how does one do this intelligently to synchronize with the final delivery dates?

This is the second part of a three part article discussing “how does a project manager intelligently handle delays in a project?”

Last article we focused on acknowledging the natual flow of a project which includes periodic speed bumps and roadblocks. In today’s article we’ll focus on using recovery protocol plans to assist with project management.

Many of us like to think of ourselves are multi-tasking experts.  But in reality, multi-tasking is an euphemism for “interruption” and  “distractions”.    You feel busy and much in demand.  But at the end of the day we feel exhausted with not much to show for the churn. Below are some simple tips to increase your [...]

One of your responsibilities as Project Manager is to ensure project milestones are being met, and that everyone is on task and on track. One way of doing that is by holding status meetings with your teams. However, as you may have experienced, sometimes those meetings can go awry – and most of the time [...]

So many projects depend on IT and business alignment, and so many fail because that alignment is often like a Platonic ideal unrealizable in the real world. The question is:

why projects fail,
who’s to blame,
and how to fix the problem.

I was speaking to a fellow speaker (who was a developer from Germany). He was sharing that his company will be sending him to 15 conferences this year. I was amazed and impressed at the expense his company was investing in him. “Wow! Share with me what you are bringing back to them, that makes it worth their investment to continue to fund all these trips for you?” He looked confused. “I mean, what is there ‘return on investment’. What are they getting out of these funded trips. How are your trips accomplishing their business goals?”

Many wise people will advise: Slow down to speed up Pausing to be creative Take a break to stay energized To assist with this advice, here are three T’s to remember: 1) Time a. Take control over your calendar b. Just because it’s “happening now” doesn’t make it urgent c. Expect the unexpected with sprints [...]

Someone recently asked me “If I see a peer doing something wrong, how can I gently correct them so that they will change their behavior, and how can I do it without giving offense?”Unsolicited advice is a tricky business because it includes at least three faulty premises.

Most of us associate being compassionate, nonjudgmental, and allowing the other to be and do as they please — as laying the foundation to “being taken advantage of”. It’s very natural to assume this. But, I’m suggesting, to allow the steam roller to be the steam roller – doesn’t mean to place oneself in its path.

I was speaking with a project manager the other day who complained that his boss was always telling him to just get to the point. Translating complex issues down to a single point proved difficult for this person and the situation frustrated both the boss and the project manager. What makes one person comfortable focusing [...]

How might we apply the observations Richard Nisbett made in his book Geography of Thought to the project-driven workplace? Is there a Workplace of Thought? And, if so, can our understanding of the Workplace of Thought help us manage our project stakeholders more effectively? During my career, I made the transition from engineer to project [...]

Let’s get out of the dark ages and admit what we know. Project manager is a misnomer. We don’t manage projects, we drive change. Set aside the process and tactics associated with projects and you will easily separate those who manage projects versus those who lead. Leadership is not about your credentials or accomplishments; it’s [...]

Did you know Project Management is having a birthday? Well, sort of a birthday. It was 100  years ago, in 1911, that Frederick W. Taylor published Principles of Scientific Management. Early pioneers of project management, such as Henry Gantt, were followers of Dr. Taylor. Now, for historical accuracy, it should be noted that Dartmouth College [...]

I was recently asked what is the best morning ritual to save time for busy singles and parents. How to get dressed and out the door without misplacing and redoing things. And for those with children: How to get your kids from forgetting 2,591 things back in their bedrooms. How to NOT have a
last-minute scramble for sports equipment or library books.