Recently, a project management colleague was expressing frustration with her inability to get a project moving in a constructive direction. She commented that she knew the success of the project was her responsibility, but she felt hamstrung in her ability … Continue reading
My son’s hockey team won their last tournament of the summer season this past weekend. As the athletes came into the lobby from the locker room, everyone cheered, recognizing each individual contribution. Another mom made a comment out loud that … Continue reading
I recently heard on NPR a doctor named David Loxtercamp, author of “A Measure of Days: The Journal of a Country Doctor.” He described his views of the medical profession, and sounded like a wise and thoughtful physician. During his … Continue reading
Do you remember the last time something bothered you so much that you couldn’t get it out of your head? A troublesome thought can consume you and preclude you from thinking of anything else. It becomes paralyzing. One way to … Continue reading
I heard this from a project team member in a training class recently. He was referring to the schedules for the projects he works on. What he was getting at was that the team really doesn’t have a chance from … Continue reading
The ability to influence without authority is a skill coveted by any project manager. Even if a project manager has complete authority over project team members (which is seldom the case), there are still other stakeholders over whom they have … Continue reading
Of all the things that threaten project success, poor or non-existent sponsorship is at or near the top of the list. No sponsor? No project. Below are three keys for increasing chances for sponsorship success in your organization: 1. Show small … Continue reading
In the popular children’s book A Mother for Choco, a baby bird goes looking for its mother. He stops and asks Mrs. Giraffe, Mrs. Walrus, and others “Are you my mommy?” But to no avail. None of these potential mommies … Continue reading
In a recent project management class, we were discussing meeting effectiveness, and a student asked if it was ever appropriate to flat out excuse someone from a meeting for being rude or obnoxious? Fortunately, I have not been in a … Continue reading
During a recent client visit I encouraged the use of modeling as a way to uncover hidden requirements and expectations. One of my clients expressed her rather strong opinion that modeling requirements was not and should not be a part … Continue reading
