In the last few weeks I’ve started to design a project management operating system for the team I work with. It is not reinventing the wheel but rather evolving on the practices we’ve had in place for the last 2 years. But what I can see is that in a business environment is not easy to implement best practices that rely on documentation of processes, lessons learned and a focus on analysis and planning. It is far more easy to encounter such practices on engineering areas within a company where they count on many well established processes to ensure the end product will meet the customer/market’s requirements.

But what about our internal requirements? Isn’t the business a customer of its own? If I have to respond to someone in regards to the results of the projects I have on my plate it is certain the business itself will be among the stakeholders. And so it is very difficult in a lot of situations to make sure once a project is green-lighted that the appropriate steps to understand the end result and to define the tasks that will culminate in a successful execution will be taken.

So, what can we do? Truly tested solutions include:

• Promoting of Project Management practices by the PMs themselves.
• Educate your leadership members to understand the basis of PM-ship.
• Educate your project managers on the bases of PM-ship (yeah, PMs have a lot of guilt too).
• Promote the usage of collaboration tools that enable to sharing of information between projects.
• Enforce (yep, sometimes you have to use some of that authority you were granted) lessons learned documentation.
• Communicate, communicate, communicate – The more team members, sponsors, stakeholders know what is going on the better they will feel the success chances are and the easier it will be for them to adopt future PM best-practices.

Now keep in mind that driving to a correct mindset related to project management is not about implementing 25 new processes and techniques overnight, is about improving on what is already present. The best way for a function, company, organization, or team to get better is by evolving in small steps and taking them one at a time. That way the chances of making it stick to everyone increase and, more importantly, they’ll take it with them wherever they go.

I say, if your knees aren’t green by the end of the day, you ought to seriously re-examine your life.  ~Bill Watterson

For reasons not related to this topic I found myself this morning waiting for a local bank to open after spending over 12 hours in a cold hard night out in the open of an old road (time in which I made new unexpected friends and had a chance to play cards on top of a bucket — I mean, seriously, how can life not be great?)

Waiting in line I was preceded by an old lady. It would have been easy for me to ignore the lady but she made a comment that caught my attention, she said “Its a really cold morning, uh?”. Now, having spent over 12 hours out in the open facing the cold it was my opportunity to say “heck yeah!, and you should have seen at around 3 am, it was cold as hell (frozen hell that is)”.

Now, most small talk would end just there, but she went on to say that when it is cold in the city it means up on the hills is snowing, she justified her knowledge by mentioning that she has a small house up on the hills (there is a small town up there). She went onto mention that when it is cold up there she comes to the city where she has a small house as well.

Before I continue I have to say that this old lady would be easy to dismiss if you were to encounter her on the street, I mean, is not like she was pretty common but she had a very humble looking to herself, being about 80-ish and using a cane was not a particular identifying sign, but her clothing would make you think this old lady had a very hard living making ends meet. I know: “you shall not judge a book by its cover”, but that could be the first impression you would get.

So, here I am with an old lady that has 2 small houses she uses to escape heat in summer and cold in winter, nothing fancy so far, specially if you think that those 2 houses are probably no bigger than 1 or 2 rooms (again, based on the impression you get at looking her).  She then mentioned that her sons constantly urge her to sell her stuff up on the hill and move permanently in to the city to which she replies with a simple “they have no idea what they are talking”. All this time I am starting to enjoy her comments as I see a person that enjoys her few belongings. Notice I said few, not small, for she said that her small house up on the hills is placed inside a piece of land she owns with an area of about 245 acres.

If you are someone of age and you own a house, even a big house, 245 acres of land is pretty much out of reach for most earthlings in the present.

So conditions change, I am standing next to someone with a wealth in real-state (considering land up on the hills is quite valuable nowadays) , but still her sense of humbleness is only enhanced by this revelation. She continued talking and I see that here is a woman who has worked her whole life and continues to do so. She mentions she doesn’t understand how women with 1 or 2 children suffer from not being able to control them or even work and she says: “I had 25 children”…. Now my jaw drops

25 children! and she worked all her life to support them? Me and my wife we have one daughter and I have to confess sometimes it looks like it’ll never end. It blows my mind to think of someone with 25 children, working and having fun all the while.

And I say that she had fun because right then she revealed that on her small house (inside a humongous land) she has a small fire-place where she cooks very basic stuff that she enjoys while having a cup of coffee. Now, body language can’t lie, and her way to say that and her face made me feel certain that she truly enjoys the small pleasures in life (not like most of us who only say we do… but we don’t a lot of times). In other words, this old lady is the kind of people who when say ‘have a nice day’, they mean it.

She had about 900 animals (cows, hens, pigs, turkeys, sheep) on her land at one point in time, she sells ‘nopalitos’ (a commonly used vegetable in Mexico) on the street and that she can knit 8 hours a day if she needed money (she mentioned the amount of money she can make this way and all I can say is that it is about 80% of what I make a day… and she is only knitting).

She has over 100 grandchildren and great-grandchildren (combined of course) and has vegetable crops on her house and still a number of livestock so she can make anything she wants to eat without the need to go to a supermarket. She lives from the earth.

Our conversation was abruptly cut by the opening of the bank. The 15 or so minutes felt like 5 and I was left with a feeling of wanting to continue the conversation over a cup of coffee but I had to be somewhere else so I said to her in the most sincere way possible “It’s been a pleasure meeting you”. I had just met a person that enjoys life.

She shook my hand and went on to check something with a bank executive that gladly received her just as if he was receiving some oil-magnate up in Texas.

I finished at the bank and left. On my way I started to really digest the whole thing, I had a feeling of joy that stuck with me for the rest of the day. When I saw my wife afterward I told her the whole thing and I saw her eyes swell at the knowledge of such a person. I know there are a lot of examples of people like this old lady, but having the opportunity to meet her was a blessing.

I realized that even though I don’t place a lot of value in money, I am a money-pig compared to this woman, and that made me feel I can fix a few things in my life, which is a great feeling when you think that learning in life is one of the sweetest opportunities. Being a Buddhist-enthusiast I know I had just met a person with a wonderful Buddha-hood on her. I might even go on to say that I met an enlightened human being.

Now, some lessons:

• Life is about work, work is about life – When you work in your life and feel productive you can be sure life will be good.
• Enjoying life is about the small pleasures – Everyone knows this but is a truth that should be repeated more often
• If you want to work on a project in life make your family be that project – This lady repeated once and again that she worked for her family, she was blessed with a very large family
• Money is not everything – Again, a truth that needs more promotion (specially in this age). She had everything and money was not part of it

Later in the day some people felt like it had been a burden to spend the entire night awoke and on the cold, but, had I not do it I would not have been in the bank, and I would not have known this wonderful person. I feel glad I did.

A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him or her.  ~David Brinkley

Being a geek defines a couple of things for me: I like new and different and I keep the ability to marvel at things.

For life I have seen myself with a glitter in my eyes as I am about to open a new gadget (whether its xmas or my bday), I particularly enjoy extending the moment right before opening/switching on/activating a new gadget/app/thingamageek. To me those seconds last longer than to the people around me (although sometimes it is the other way around as they expect me to rip the freaking wrapping already), but I enjoy those moments and I savor the feeling of excitement as I am about to experience something new.

However, the life of a geek is not easy sometimes, specially when you have a new toy, you want to share its marvelousness with the rest of the world (or at least anyone surrounding you at that moment) and turns out you are the only level 7 geek in miles (kilometers for us metric-based earthlings). Is not that everyone should be a geek, but it is definitely nice when you get to showcase a new thingy with a fellow “nerd” and share the excitement (I guess is the same with people who loves NFL games or politics).

Another characteristic on a geek is the tendency to adopt new technologies, even when such technologies are still in diapers. I like to think it is us that raise these “techno-babies” into maturity and then we get to share them with the rest of the world and enjoy as we see them become the new standard (whatever it might be).

Point in case is Google Wave, I have been playing with it for a couple of weeks (sadly I was not part of the dev preview group) and I can say that I definitely like it, I love the possibilities and the potential of Wave as a protocol that defines a shift in the collaboration paradigm. In some “waves” I have expressed my true feelings for this tool, in order to avoid retyping, I am copying:

I don’t think wave is an alternative to email nor a killer to conventional communication methods, it is just a proposal (and in the best of cases: an evolution) to communication and collaboration. As with anything it will be ease of use, general adoption and the push of large enough “communities” that can drive the usage of Wave something common. I personally see it happening in the near future as it presents benefits that are not available on conventional tools today and being an early-adopter/techno-enthusiast I put my hopes in the evolution of technology rather than pure upgrading of current tools (ie. your conventional outlook vs gmail)

I think both email and wave will co-exist. Indeed it is hard to switch to this new model of collaboration where linear replies are not the norm but an option. It might be fair to say that it will take a whole generation (or probably half of it) for wave to become the standard (if it becomes a standard that replaces conventional email). Another option I can think of is that “carriers” (such as exchange or gmail) might have an option to send an email or a wave (or even convert an email to a wave when necessary -number of participants, type of collaboration). At the end of the day I think the beauty is in the availability of options, I don’t believe in one-size-fits-all type of solutions but I believe in flexibility as a key component in the design of solutions. I think wave has that flexibility as part of its foundation and that makes it (at least for me) a good candidate to succeed in its intent.

Now, I know that a tool as recent as wave will not appeal even to all early-adopters and as such I’ve seen people that disregard it because it does not provide value to their day to day routine (not that it should) and at first I thought, well, isn’t that the purpose of a preview/alpha/beta release?. I was at first set aback by the easiness with which people can come to criticize a new approach to an old need, however after some thinking I understood that it is that criticism that helps to drives the maturity of the new, it is through a thorough mindful analysis of the value added and the potential that you can help in driving the development of an innovative product. It can come from a harsh critic or a benevolent appraise of the good. In any case what is important is that it is expressed, that it is presented, evaluated and assimilated by those receiving it.

Unhappiness is best defined as the difference between our talents and our expectations.  ~Edward de Bono, Observer, 12 June 1977

Think of it as a scene with one of your friends who just got back from a trip to the Sahara dessert. Naturally you would ask ‘how did it go?’, your friend would say to you ‘pretty bad, the trip didn’t meet my expectations’, ‘why?’ you would ask to which your friend would reply ‘because there was no snow’.

Well, obviously your friend was up for dissapointment well before his trip began. Expectations come from the latin expectare which means to expect, to wait. Waiting inherently means inaction towards an end result. Therefore, to have expectations means to wait for something to just happen.

In most company’s interviewing sessions a question is asked: ‘what do you expect from this company?’, answers will vary: ‘growth’ some will say, ‘experience’ others will reply, ‘money’ would be a third option; and what happens if you get the job and you don’t see any growth? any experience to be had? no money raise after a while?. Well, you can say the company didn’t meet your expectations. But you have to think, all those ‘expectations’ were things you were waiting the company would provide. Instead ask yourself this question ‘what are you looking for in this company?’ and you’ll realize the importance of your role and your actions on actually getting that you so desire.

In buddhism the word expectation is used with caution, while it is natural to expect something in life, it is important to understand where the waiting ends and your own actions start so that you can reach the point where your expectation is met with actual results. As such I like to change the word expectation for desire, mainly because to expect is to place blame outside of you if it is not met, while desire is the feeling that can fuel your actions and make you get to that you wish for.

Buddhists try to live in the moment, the present, understand that life is as it is. They accept life as it comes, good or bad. But don’t get confused, it doesn’t mean being lazy or conformist, it means they do not expect life to give them anything they want, they take action to reach their goals, it is through those actions we will be able to harvest the good in life.

‘So, should I have expectations?’ – Yes!, it is a natural thing to wait, to expect something, however it is important to recognize that just to expect something to happen will not necessarily mean it will happen. Remember, an expectation is nothing more than the most likely thing to happen in cases on uncertainty. Key word: uncertainty. If you don’t have control over something, well, you can expect it to behave in one way or another (a flip coin), but if you have control over it or some degree of influence (getting a job) then you better take action to reduce the amount of uncertainty and tip the balance to your advantage.

Have expectations, just don’t expect them to just happen.

When I grow up I want to be a little boy.  ~Joseph Heller, Something Happened, 1974

It’s been about 6 months since the last time I updated this blog, mainly that has been because of the amount of work at my current job and the inherent requirements of a life married with children (lawsuits anyone?). It is however my nth attempt to continue this blog and in doing so I felt compelled to write about the most current item in my head.

I have been working my arse off for several years, yet no matter what I do it seems I am only starting my career (is not that I want it to end, is just that sometimes it seems you have only advanced a few meters on a marathon and you are already sweating). In any case lately I have come to the realization that I am not built for a life in a cubicle (irony is I am writing this while in… you guessed it: a cubicle), such realization is an important one, as in Buddhist philosophy all pain and suffering has a cause, once the cause is removed you are enabled to move into a new level of consciousness. Well, I am probably not an enlightened person but I am certainly aware of the cause of my pain and no it does not have to do with my cubicle life. But there is a component to it, so lets hold on to that thought for a second. (Cubicle life- checked)

All my life I have been amazed at our existing universe, the depth of its secrets is no match to our wildest dreams and yet it is the human mind the one that has been able to unravel so many secrets so far. But no matter what we do, we cannot dominate this universe we live in, we can dominate this earth of ours, we can pollute it or make it an earthly Eden, but in any case just as Galileo Galilei said: “Eppur si muove” (and yet it moves), so is to our universe, we can conquer the solar system and still we will be nothing more than a single grain of sand in the beach. Now, believe me, I am not trying to sound depressed, what I am doing is trying to realize that we are small, that we have so much to learn, that there is so much we have yet to see that we should not be so immersed on those daily issues that plague our life so ferociously.

I have found myself wondering at my nervousness and restlessness when I am about to be asked something that will define the course of my career… for the next 3 months. It is a bit crazy to think that your career is your life, that you owe yourself to someone else, or to a company. We have seen that the brightest minds in our world are also capable of making mistakes and yet we are afraid of making some of our own. When I find myself in this position I tend to look up and think that it is not that important, that in the end I am here for something that makes sense, not something that makes money.

So, my life has passed as such for years, I always found refugee in the universe, in its vastness, its immense feeling of void and dream fulfillment that it represents. My cubicle life is nothing more than a phase, it is in the realization of the cause of my pain that I can see where I need to go or what I need to do to get rid of that pain, but the simple knowledge of it is so refreshing and inspiring. However you can only get so much inspiration from one source, the universe does not give me a whole lot of feedback, I can shout questions that will remain unanswered for ages to come; the universe in its cold love towards humanity you will find yourself wanting to stay, wanting to leave.

But not all is lost, oh no, for I have found another place where I can experience the same feeling, but I get something else now: reciprocation

So, what does my daughter and the man-known universe share in common?

They both make me feel so small

And so I look at my daughter, her smile, her eyes, here little arms reaching out for me. She teaches me every day how little I really am, how much there is left for me to see.

So, after about 6 months, welcome to regionativo.com, I promise this season will last longer.

All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.
~ Sun Tzu (Chinese General and Author, b.500 BC)

Can a project determine the success of its product?

When the Ford Taurus was introduced in the mid 80′s it became one of the most successful cars in the history of the automobile. What most people don’t know is that the project undertaken to develop the Taurus was finished over budget, and 3 months after its deadline and as a result of this the project manager was demoted.

I can hear some people say: well, the punishment is undeserved, the product was successful in the end; while others might think otherwise, that the project manager did not deliver on his goal: on-time, on-budget, etc.

Lets do a quick imagination exercise.

Imagine I am the owner of the company you work for; now imagine I come to your office and let you know you are the newly appointed Project Manager for a most spectacular project, one that is so important for the company every shareholder is looking for its result. The project can be conveniently called: A project to make this company successful and profitable.

Chances are you would crack a laugh, call me a nut and leave the office if not the company at all. Some other people (eager for a chance) might just go ahead, thank the opportunity and embark on a pretty risky journey.

But most people will be capable (hopefully) to make a quick analysis of the project at hand and determine its chances of success as minimal if not nonexistent.

When I presented the previous examples to a friend he told me: “well it will all depend on finding out who is driving the organization“. Now, the answer to that question is very important to determine the support for a project, but is it critical to understand the relationship between the success of a project and its product?

In war times the strategic planning and the tactical execution are two very distinct and separate things. The strategy is at the head of the campaign, it feeds on intelligence and surveillance activities, inner sources on the enemy side, a deep knowledge of tactics in the battlefield and a big load of leadership, motivation skills, influencing, etc.

An example:

In the Battle of Gallipoli the allied forces tried to take this peninsula as a gate to enter Turkey and take them out of the war and secure a sea route to Russia. The attempt failed immobilizing thousands of soldiers in the coast of Gallipoli. An alternate solution was proposed, Sir Ian Hamilton (leading the campaign) decided to take Suvla (north of Gallipoli) as it was an easy access point and would force the Turkish to divide its forces unblocking Gallipoli. Hamilton had to take the man with the highest rank at his disposal; such person was the Lt. General Sir Frederick Stopford, a professor that never had any experience leading troops in battle. Anyway, the point here is that the taking of Suvla was a failure, mainly because Hamilton (being a gentleman) used to communicate his orders and leave the execution to the person in command of the operation. In this case the strategy and the execution were in charge of Stopford; his ideas were outdated and his approach was not the one Hamilton was expecting. Order did not flow in the proper way, vague understandings of the orders became the orders in the inferior ranks and the overall plan ended up as merely a warm attempt to take the city.

The strategic planning and execution in this case were part of the Stopford’s project, even when Hamilton had the detailed plan and he knew what was supposed to happen, he left his subordinates to understand at will, plan on what had to be done and execute. The entire campaign was a failure. In this case the strategy was part of the development and execution of the project and as such the expectations of the “company” were not met. Now, that is just one possible outing of such approach, even if the company wants the project to be the one responsible of the strategic planning there must be a clear communication of expectations and an outline of what the company is looking for.

When I mentioned the Taurus example I wanted to provide a clear case where the success of a project does not determine the success of its product. The product was successful because there was an intensive market analysis, enough customer data to support the idea (the notion) that a car such as the Taurus was a great candidate to be a success (did you notice that there was no assurance to the success of the Taurus in the last sentence?). No one can guarantee a product will be successful, but can the failure of the project have an impact on the failure of the product? Well you bet, the main reason to that can be a missed window of opportunity in the market, many more reasons are equally tangible.

So, if there is no way to determine the success of a product, is it fair (and not just fair, but practical) to transfer the strategic planning of the company as a responsibility of the project itself? Can a project be measured by the success of the product? If you are in such situation it means that even if the project was perfectly orchestrated and finished on-time, on-budget, meeting all expectations, etc; if the product is not a success (by whatever means success is defined as) you fail.

Unfair? Well if you want to take the best out of the example you can see that such approach places a great deal of responsibility on the PM and that will move him/her into making sure enough market data is available, the proper window of opportunity is leveraged, the right marketing campaign is included in the project, etc, etc. But then again, the success of a product cannot be pre-determined and so it would seem useless to move the strategic planning of a company as an activity inside a project.

But then, what can be the “hidden” benefit of such approach?

There is no conclusion to this topic yet, I plan on give it more thought, but I would like your opinion, comments and ideas.

Be safe!

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes.  Art is knowing which ones to keep.  ~Scott Adams

I am not an artist, at least not one that could live by it.

But I love art, specially for one reason, it liberates. You can take a look at a painting or sculpture and think: what am I supposed to understand from this? And that very thought causes a chain reaction that will send your mind in a journey of discovery.

I am not an artist, but that cannot stop me from trying.

I am a geek, a technological user, maybe I can mix both and something can come out of such hybrid creature.

In this world anyone can try and forget if they don’t like it. When it came to art that might have been a little too expensive since most art requires material. But thanks to Internet (and mostly flash) you can now release your inner Picasso and go about making some art.

Check out the new page, appropriately named art and give it a try. A try to yourself that is, you never know, it may turn out you are an artist after all.

Don’t think you’re on the right road just because it’s a well-beaten path.  ~Author Unknown

Ten years ago the belief was: a leader is born not made.  I can only imagine the type of careers that had a similar treatment in the past.

You don’t need to look too far in time though; we still have nations with kingdoms, kings and queens. But what is it these people did to deserve that ‘nomenclature’? Being born in a family that have held that position long enough for people to actually forget that the one they call king has done nothing before the fact of being called a king. I am not saying they are not worth of their status, but if they are is because of whatever they have done after the fact, that is after the were granted their nobility status.

Same seems to happen now in the business world, first with leadership, and now innovation is the one to suffer the same fate. As Scott Berkun mentions in his book The myths of innovation, people like to believe there is a magical moment where current innovators had a strike of sudden knowledge that resulted on whatever thing they created and for what we call them innovators.

Such belief is not just dangerous in that people what their ideas to propagate like the plague with millions adopting the wave of the new just because is chick. It is dangerous because millions don’t ride that wave based on the belief that innovation is for the chosen few. The myth of epiphany as Berkun calls it is a venom that will go deep in people’s mind and discourage them from trying. If they are not intelligent/smart/beautiful/noble, then they are not worthy of being the receptacle of creativity let alone innovation.

Fashion adds to that when innovators get that gloom all around them (specially contemporary ones) and their word becomes the ruling behind anyone else’s action. And is not that they do it on purpose (some might) but is the same society that provides in this sense. Fashion will take whatever is worthy and put in on a pedestal for anyone to see. And that is why people love stories of a guy that sacrificed all for his son and with hard work and a lot of pain he was able to reach that same spot: The cradle of all that everyone else wants.  People want to believe they are capable of the same feat, instead of realizing there is no such pedestal, it is not about reaching an invite-only club. It is about wanting and doing.

I got an email yesterday from Palm (NASDAQ: PALM) announcing the launching of the new Treo 800W. I have been a Palm user for years, I currently own a Palm TX and I pretty much use it all the time. The thing is so useful when you want to keep ideas, jot notes down, search for a movie via Wi-Fi, etc.

But then I read the following: Apple sells 1 million new iPhones and then an article on how Palm had unveiled their newest product under this kind of shadow (Palm unveils new Treo…)

The whole thing got me thinking and I tried to see the lesson here (beyond the obvious). The importance of understanding the timing on whatever you do is a key factor to your success or your demise. It sounds apocalyptic and it is to some extent, it rules your everyday actions: You don’t cross the street when in traffic, you don’t rush up to try to pass the train when driving (if you do please stop reading this post, go to the nearest hospital and ask for a CT scan, there is something wrong with your brain), you don’t buy the lotto ticket for the lotto that happened 2 weeks ago… see my point? You carry on with your life seeking the opportunity to do those things (except the one where you try to pass the train, are you still here? I think I said go to the hospital…)

I am not talking on an order here, nor that there is a preordained set of steps you must take to carry on with your life.

What I am talking here is that you do see the opportunity and take it, and also that you can recognize the impossibility of things on a specific scenario where you see success is non-existent. To be able to understand that on a project you don’t go asking for resources without a project plan is obvious, yet many people do it. In management is important to seek for opportunities just as you do on your daily life. The chances of success increase as you sharpen your senses to what is around you (both your and your project)

When managing a project look the chance to get to the right people at the right time, make sure you don’t ask for funds for your project AFTER management reads the latest financial report that says the company didn’t make the quarter.

The possibility of the right moment is smaller than the possibility of the wrong moment. That is why is important to know your business, the company, the industry you are working for, your team, the customer expectations, when is management going to meet with VP of finance, etc.

Chances do not fall from the sky (that often) and being in the right place at the right time is not a method for risk management.

A nice article that talks about this from a technology side is the Technologists Oath: Know Thy Business

Make sure you understand your plays, what you have on your hands and how far can you reach to play to your advantage. Do not EVER think what you have on hand is the ultimate thingamageek that everyone wants, that is also a precept of innovation: just because you think is innovative does not mean everyone will think the same.

Why do you think Apple sold 1 million iPhones in just the weekend? I am sure marketing had a lot to do, the fame of its founder and the attractiveness of their products played a role here, but they knew also that “the first to hit, hits twice”

This of course is not the rule, Nintendo unveiled their system one week after Sony’s Playstation 3 and 1 full year after Microsoft’s XBOX360 and to date it is the most successful of the 3 (defining success as number of units sold) but then what made their console so successful? well, innovation definitely was a factor, the approach on gaming they propose is something no other console could effectively portray and bring to the average living room. I can even conceive the idea that the actually waited for Sony and MS to unveil their product so they would not have a chance of “mimicking” their technology and gaming approach were they the first to launch their product.

They leveraged the right moment, the right approach, the innovation behind their concept, etc. So, you must understand where are you standing, where is everyone standing, what do you want, what they want, what are you willing to concede and what can you bring to the table, what drives them and what are they looking to get from you.