Easily achievable goals are often a self-justifying prediction. We shield ourselves from failure, don’t work as intense, look for what’s not good and often get it.

Unachievable goals, on the flip side, will unavoidably lead to discontent. Keep hovering what you expect and sooner or later such goals won’t be achieved. A good result that’s less than what you were hoping feels like a flop-show.

Perhaps it’s worth considering no goals. Just concentrated effort. What you get in return is pure outcome that you deserve.

Maybe, the time spent worrying about unachievable goals if used in doing your best might result into achieving the goals that were once unachievable.

See Also:

1. Write Your Goals Today And Achieve Them
2. Are You Heading Towards Ending-up At A Known Exit Point?
3. How To Derive Major Goals of The Project
4. A Better Way to Deal with Situations Worth Complaining About

1. Write Your Goals Today And Achieve Them
2. Are You Heading Towards Ending-up At A Known Exit Point?
3. How To Derive Major Goals of The Project
4. A Better Way to Deal with Situations Worth Complaining About

Typically a middle manager would have quite a big responsibility for making it happen. It depends upon the type of organization and the way top management expects the results.

So how to rock as a middle manager? Well, Here are some tips:

1. Demand clear, specific goals from your boss.
2. Pull the work that matters.
3. Ask your boss tough questions which challenge dominating premises.
4. Do your best to fulfill those goals.
5. If your boss guides you about ‘how’ to achieve the goal but you have a different idea, insist. Brainstorm and conclude. But once concluded, commit to it.
6. Define clear, specific goals for your subordinates.
7. Demand excellence. Convey that anything less than excellence will not be tolerated.
8. Ask your subordinates tough questions, which make them discover new ways of achieving the goals.
9. Inspire your subordinates to ask you tough questions.
10. Inspire your subordinates to pull the work that matters.

See Also:

1. I’m not a project manager. Why do I need to learn project management?
2. Which Leadership Flavor Do You Deploy As A Dependable Project Manager?
3. On Personal Betterment 33
4. Project Manager Who Loves Chatting with the Client At Her Convenient Time
5. Eight Practices To Convert Ineffective Project Sponsor Into Effective One

1. I’m not a project manager. Why do I need to learn project management?
2. Which Leadership Flavor Do You Deploy As A Dependable Project Manager?
3. On Personal Betterment 33
4. Project Manager Who Loves Chatting with the Client At Her Convenient Time
5. Eight Practices To Convert Ineffective Project Sponsor Into Effective One

What should our software application offer?

How can we provide that amazing experience to our customers?

It’s about creating that awesome user experience.

Actually, It’s about creating value, isn’t it?

Oh.. and ROI too.

Need to do something that we haven’t offered, let’s make an iPhone app!

What do customers want?

…but, do they know?

…perhaps not, did anybody know how would an iPhone work?

Why outperform competition, can we NOT make it irrelevant?

How about a offering huge discounts this summer? It should work.

What about attending that trade show?

Let’s serve better coffee to our employees, they will love to work more.

…but actually, it was about doing less, more powerfully isn’t it?

Yes, it was but will try it next year maybe.

Shall I submit our software application for that award? Shall we make it?

Too much hard work is responsible for this crappy feature.

Let’s build limited, great software application. Well, it’s good to have few more features developed faster. Seems I miss the point.

Oh Gosh…Customers would have accepted our software if we haven’t offered those features. Let’s try once more.

See Also:

1. Two Approaches to Building a Software Product
2. Five Random Thoughts On Organizational Leadership
3. 30 Random Things About Software Project Estimates
4. Twenty Traits Of Software Project Sponsors Who Have The Power To Screw-up An Offshore Outsourcing Engagement
5. Trouble Ticket Software

1. Two Approaches to Building a Software Product
2. Five Random Thoughts On Organizational Leadership
3. 30 Random Things About Software Project Estimates
4. Twenty Traits Of Software Project Sponsors Who Have The Power To Screw-up An Offshore Outsourcing Engagement
5. Trouble Ticket Software

1. Understand and leverage the constraints that apply to your work.
2. Know that pragmatism is nourishing; Negativism is exhaustive.
3. Even if you’re a part of a cost centre, ensure that you’re a wise investment.
4. Don’t talk how much time it will take, show the value it will create.
5. Over-communicate – priorities change, decision makers expect something totally different than what they were expecting a week ago, be on the same page.
6. Don’t make promises that you cannot keep.
7. Don’t do different work, do work differently.

See Also:

1. Software Professional, Are You Developing Yourself As An Aspiring Mediocre?
2. How To Practice Dominance 10
3. Stop using Instant Messenger
4. Communicate Like a Genius
5. In Corporate, Non-communication Equates to Crime…

1. Software Professional, Are You Developing Yourself As An Aspiring Mediocre?
2. How To Practice Dominance 10
3. Stop using Instant Messenger
4. Communicate Like a Genius
5. In Corporate, Non-communication Equates to Crime…

Certainly it is not perfect. It can still be improved.

That’s an incorrect question. The correct question is: when can I ship it?

It can be shipped when it is adequate.

But it’s not perfect. We cannot…

Well, it is not. Actually, the efforts put in making it perfect beyond what’s adequate are waste.

It’s okay if you like to change the definition of what’s ‘adequate’ but that should be your goal.

If your goal is to ship your product after it’s perfect, then, one day you might reach the goal but there might not be any need for that product to be shipped.

See Also:

1. Two Approaches to Building a Software Product
2. Mini Saga – Decision Making
3. Project Management Isn’t 7

1. Two Approaches to Building a Software Product
2. Mini Saga – Decision Making
3. Project Management Isn’t 7

Answers like below may become key discriminator at the time of interview. However, it depends on the type of organization you’re facing:

Key Discriminator

Kate appeared for a software project manager interview.

Interviewer: “Tell me about one thing you are NOT very good at?”

Kate:  “Software Programming! – That’s the reason I could focus on getting it done from other most brilliant colleague!”

This answer became the key discriminator and easier for the interviewer.

See Also:

1. Mini Saga – Secured UnSuccess!
2. Mini Saga – Lights, Camera…Action!
3. Mini Saga – Reward (Or do you feel like being squeezed?)
4. Mini Saga – Focus
5. Mini Saga – Why Prove?

1. Mini Saga – Secured UnSuccess!
2. Mini Saga – Lights, Camera…Action!
3. Mini Saga – Reward (Or do you feel like being squeezed?)
4. Mini Saga – Focus
5. Mini Saga – Why Prove?

Approach #1: Offer many solutions. Get a mile wide but an inch deep. Provide tons of features that may (or may not) work, look forward to add more.

Approach #2: Offer one solution. Get an inch wide but a mile deep. Provide only a few features that will always work, look forward to make those features better. Feel the fear but eliminate a feature that doesn’t work anyways.

The problem most product development organizations run into is that they mystify them. Even if they think approach #2 is right for them, fear of losing a client by not offering certain features lets them enter the realm of mediocrity.

Or if they think that approach #1 is correct for them, they are touched by a recent lean software development conference they attended last week and want to eliminate the waste by trying lean techniques.

Lean Software Development is less about right techniques and more about right mindset.

Building a product by approach #2 sounds cool but requires a fundamental change in thinking – now that’s a cost, choose Lean Software Development only if you want to pay that cost.

Winning tough battles requires sacrifices, so does building a great software product.

See Also:

1. Some Random Thoughts on Software Application Development
2. Twenty Traits Of Software Project Sponsors Who Have The Power To Screw-up An Offshore Outsourcing Engagement
3. When do you know my product will be perfect?
4. How Much Do You Invest In Building Trust In Your Project Team?
5. 30 Random Things About Software Project Estimates

1. Some Random Thoughts on Software Application Development
2. Twenty Traits Of Software Project Sponsors Who Have The Power To Screw-up An Offshore Outsourcing Engagement
3. When do you know my product will be perfect?
4. How Much Do You Invest In Building Trust In Your Project Team?
5. 30 Random Things About Software Project Estimates