Disobedient Talk

It may involve a few people or an entire organization. It might be a minor adjustment to respond to a change in customer support. Or it could be a full-scale “bet the business” initiative to leapfrog your competitors. No matter what the scale, there are…

Agile involves deep interaction between team members. When a team is distributed over multiple locations, extra care is needed to ensure things go well. Let’s look at activities to ensure your agile project delivers on its promise. The initial planning or Envision stage of the…

Larry Senn, a pioneer in corporate culture, concluded, ‘Culture is not an initiative. Culture is the enabler of all initiatives.’ Agile approaches require a culture shift from traditional project management.  So, how do you know if your corporate culture inhibits your organization from adopting agile…

A key to a long, successful career in project management is to not worry about stuff you can’t control. But that doesn’t mean you should do nothing about them! While I can’t give you a magic potion to help you manage things you can’t influence,…

So, when was the last time you, as a project manager, believed you had too much authority? I suspect that hasn’t happened often, if at all. Believe it or not, as a project manager, expanding your authority is possible with the right approach. Here’s how…

You can’t always count on key stakeholders to make decisions that are in the project’s best interest. In some cases, those decisions are appropriate, keeping the big picture of the overall business in mind. When that isn’t the case, the project manager must push back…

Are your employees showing up as their authentic selves at work? Many people feel compelled to wear a “game face” in the office – essentially putting on a mask that hides their authentic personality. When employees feel they can’t bring their whole selves to work,…

Projects solicit many opinions and viewpoints. Good project managers seek these viewpoints and use them to evaluate alternatives and make clear decisions. However, this can get tricky when your preferred approach to addressing an issue conflicts with the approach of a respected team member. Here…

Fairness is one of the values cited in the Project Management Institute’s (PMI) Code of Ethics. To satisfy this requirement, perspective-taking is necessary. Fairness is not something you can judge for yourself. What you believe to be fair may not seem fair to someone else….

A key to a long, successful career in project management is to, as the saying goes, not worry about stuff you can’t control. But that doesn’t mean you should do nothing about those things! While I can’t give you a magic potion to help you…

Product serviceability is a quality aspect of project deliverables that isn’t discussed frequently enough.Serviceability means that access to help, repairs, and maintenance of the project’s products is easy to obtain and efficiently executed. Here are tips to ensure your project’s products are serviceable. Produce diagnostic…

I enjoy watching the power of innovation in project management. Innovation-focused project managers are better equipped to navigate challenges, drive success, and deliver exceptional results. Here are a few key strategies that help project managers foster innovation while managing projects. Treat projects like growth opportunities….