Raven's Brain v2.0

Your Brain On Multi-tasking

noreply@blogger.com (Raven Young) — Thu, 14 May 2009 11:33:00 PDT

We've been hearing/reading more and more about how multi-tasking actually reduces productivity. This is counter intuitive to what we've been told in the past as project managers, or general managers in business for that matter - the more you can get done, the more you can juggle at any given time, the better equipped you are to handle the job, right? Mmm.. wrong! At least according to a host of research (read here, here, and here for starters).

Don't get me wrong - I'm not saying PMs shouldn't be able to walk and talk at the same time or do more than two things at once. I just think at some point we as a general society became intensely focused on doing SO much that we are no longer paying attention to the details and things are falling through the cracks in this multi-tasking focused society.

Check out the 2.09 minute video below from http://www.brainrules.net/. It's a humorous look at how too many tasks can overwork your brain into an unproductive state. Ok, so let's hope you're not as bad as the guy in the video, but it IS supposed to be funny!

Did you learn anything, dog? anyone going to buy the Dander500?

From an article titled "The Myth of Multitasking":

In one of the many letters he wrote to his son in the 1740s, Lord Chesterfield offered the following advice: “There is time enough for everything in the course of the day, if you do but one thing at once, but there is not time enough in the year, if you will do two things at a time.” To Chesterfield, singular focus was not merely a practical way to structure one’s time; it was a mark of intelligence. “This steady and undissipated attention to one object, is a sure mark of a superior genius; as hurry, bustle, and agitation, are the never-failing symptoms of a weak and frivolous mind.”

I do hurry, hustle and bustle - agitation is something I try very hard to avoid these days (thank ye maturity!) though if I'm in my vehicle... I'm still working on finding my patience <>

As always - Enjoy!

8 Tips For Saving Your Next IT Project

noreply@blogger.com (Raven Young) — Tue, 12 May 2009 09:02:00 PDT

As project managers we're all looking for ways to help increase efficiency on our next project. I'm constantly clicking links - looking for that special tip or trick that will will save me or my team time by shaving off minutes here or there, sreamlining that process, or perhaps helping the team communicate better..

I just finished an article by Elizabeth Bennett over at Baseline with eight great tips in one spot: 8 Ways To Save Your Next Project.

This piece is focused on tech projects and their trend of being delivered late and over budget. Bennett actually cites "49 percent of organizations have suffered from budget overruns on IT projects and 62 percent have experienced schedule delays". Sad numbers - and another interesting quote reads"47 percent of respondents have experienced higher-than-expected maintenance costs and 41 percent said IT projects failed to deliver the expected business value and ROI."

What does that say about IT projects? Well, if you read the next line in the article, you'll find they don't have a very high success rate:

"In short, IT projects are a chronic disappointment."

Fear not PMs! Bennett put together a helpful article with a few other industry experts, and that means you'll find eight solid ways to save your next IT project. Realistic tips, sound advice and a good start on keeping yout IT projects on track.

Note that items below are truncated. Go to the article for complete detail! Emphasis mine

1. Get your head out of the software
Most project managers spend too much time in their project-planning applications and not enough time doing the briefing and communicating for which they are solely responsible. You should be spending the bulk of your time talking to and corresponding with project constituents – your team, the stakeholders, vendors, consultants and key end-users. The "soft" skill of communication is integral to project success.

2. Plan and define as much as possible—but don't go overboard
A key component of project management is the thorough and meticulous planning of every aspect of a project, but a perfectionist could spend all his or her time in the planning stage. There's no way to anticipate every variable so at some point, you have to pull the trigger...

3. Manage scope creep—for real
Like a turkey on Thanksgiving, you can rely on the fact that the project you think you're heading for may bare only a passing resemblance to the one you end up with. With the increasing complexity of data centers and the Pandora's box of surprises once you get under the hood, it's advisable to game out and document the potential sources of scope creep...

4. Don't be lazy with risk management
If you need 200 servers delivered at the same time for a worldwide mail server upgrade, it's not enough to know what the risk is if the vendor doesn't deliver. It's time to manage the risk by deciding ahead of time that, as reliable as your vendor has been in the past, there's little margin for error...

5. Get a grip on expectations
Ask vendors and consultants for the best, most likely and worst-case scenarios and then use your own resources to calculate the aggregated risk so you can determine the probable outcome.

6. Govern with strength
Even with all the good work you did up front, problems and roadblocks will surely arise. Don't blow it when it comes to actually addressing the problems. To the degree you can, refer to the approaches you documented and discussed with your team. If planned properly, your team should be able to tackle the problems early on before they become major hindrances.

7. Prepare for intervention
If your approaches are better in theory than in practice, it might be time to intervene with the project plan. Create an intervention plan before the project starts and communicate the plan to everyone directly and indirectly involved. The plan may include steps to take when adding resources, for assessing project-management and even changing the project leader.

8. Drive behavior to use the technology
Whatever you do, don't rest on your laurels when the technical aspects of the project are completed. Creating a plan to ensure that people actually use the technology you just spent 18 months implementing will serve you well. If you and your organization want to see your expected return on investment, make sure you have a hand in educating and training users.

Read more here: http://www.baselinemag.com/c/a/Projects-Enterprise-Planning/8-Ways-To-Save-Your-Next-Project/

As far as tips for working on projects in the real world, these are some pretty good ones. Yes yes, you can always add more - please do in the comments section. I love hearing from you!

image courtesy: www.secretsofsuccess.com

Can Your Project Make It to The Finish Line?

noreply@blogger.com (Raven Young) — Fri, 08 May 2009 08:17:00 PDT

I read an interesting article from Michelle LaBrosse over at ComputerWorld titled Get ready, get set, go! Getting to the project finish line. It's a good piece outlining what you need to do to be prepared for the last stretch of your project. Here's the intro:

Every race to the finish line begins with similar instructions: “Get ready, get set, go!” Every race, that is, except the race to the deadline assigned at work. In business, the starting gun is sometimes shot without any heads up ("get ready" or any project planning ("get set"). People seem to run with it, but not successfully.

But if you take just an hour out of your schedule to "get ready" and "set," you'll get to the finish line faster and without stumbling. Before starting a project, you must first gather all of the information so you can assess what needs to take place.

LaBrosse even includes a nice timeline broken into a one-hour chunk that you can follow to help keep you on track during this planning process:

An hour of your time
30 minutes — Identify deliverables and acceptance criteria
10 minutes — identify processes
10 minutes — identify conflicts
10 minutes — tree diagram
20 minutes — milestone reviews

I liked this article because it talks about an often neglected area of project management - the end game. We focus on planning, kicking off the project and post mortems - how often we forget that final stretch of making it to the finish line. Get more prepared - check out the article!

If you liked what you read, you should check our Michelle's blog: http://www.everydaypm.com/ or follow her on twitter @michellecheetah.

It's time for a Project Management Linkfest!

noreply@blogger.com (Raven Young) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 18:52:00 PDT

I'm digging out from my recent braincation. I had an awesome time relaxing but I'm still working my way through a t-o-n of email. There's also a backlog of interesting pm & related articles to be read. Since I'm short on time, I thought I'd share some of them with you and have a Project Management Linkfest!

Positive Leadership in Project Management – Leading Through Difficult Times - By Frank P. Saladis, PMP
Risk Doctor: Keeping “Business–as–Usual” Risks out of the Project Risk Register - By Dr. David Hillson, PMP, FAPM
Championship Teams Don't Waste Time! Fear of Conflict - By Tom Sheives, PhD, PMP
The Future Of Knowledge Technologies - Elizabeth Harrin
Why You Should Use Twitter Style Communication In Your Project - Bas de Baar
Early stakeholder involvement in projects - By ing. M.D. Tammer
Rescuing Failed Projects - By Greg T. Rogers, PMP
Project Management Career Path and Technical Skills - PM Student
Project Portfolio Management - The Art of Saying "No" - By Jeff Oltmann , PMP
No PM, No Strategy - Bruce McGraw
PMO 101: Getting Started - George Hunte
Risk Analysis Basics - Johanna Rothman, via StickyMinds
Scope Keep, Not Scope Creep - Ellen Gottesdiener
The Wisdom of Deming - Bob Tarne
The importance of project failure - Ron Rosenhead
Managing Stakeholders: The Myth and the Reality - Mark Mullaly, PMP
Looking into the brain of a Project Manager - Soma
Back To Basics: Increasing the Probability of Project Success - Glen Alleman
Chaos Report 2009 - Pawel Brodzinski
Does Reliability Matter in Project Planning? - Hal Macomber
The Virtual Project Management Office (PMO) Webinar (Archived) - From Jerry Manas

Leadership/Personal growth / Professional development

10 No Bull Tips on How to Lead a Team Meeting - Dan McCarthy
Dynamics of Decision Making - from MindTools
How I learned about Feedback - Ola Ellnestam
Leadership Skills: A Quick Primer on Conducting Effective Performance Discussions - Marian Cook, via WITI
Being a Boss is Two Jobs in One - Wally Bock
Ignite Your Energy of Success - Prasanna Gunturi, via WITI
Self confidence built through action - Bud Bilanich
What, Really, Is Employee Engagement? - Steve Roesler
Be a Deskless Manager: Ho‘o! - Rosa Say
No Communication = No Leadership - George Ambler

I had a bunch of folks follow me on twitter while I was offline - thanks!! - and now I must get back to tweeting to catch up on things in twitterland. Life, work and the kitchen sink should be back on track by Monday. Until then - enjoy the linkfest!

It's time for a Braincation!

noreply@blogger.com (Raven Young) — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 12:22:00 PDT

My apologies for not posting regularly this month, I've been busy juggling elephants. When I mentioned this on twitter last night, @skipangel, a wondeful Agile evangelist in the Seattle area, asked how one actually "juggled" an elephant. I quipped something about it being easier than managing stakeholders and he replied with a thoughtful tweet - yes, in under 140 characters! Who says twitter isn't useful to project managers??

@ravenyoung I would rather give stakeholders a chance at early feedback of something working than a signoff of something not yet built.

Well said Skip - and I did quote you on it!

But before *I* can be useful, I need to recharge. I feel like a literal bird brain, beyond baked or fried - perhaps mashed potatoes. It's time for some rest and relaxation - and so I am going on a much needed braincation until next week. I'm about to load up the SUV, pack up the pups, pick up my partner from work and hit the road. Got my motor running, heading for the highway..

We all need downtime - are you taking care of your mind, body and soul? It's important to give yourself time to chill, think about nothing - or let your mind wander where it wants - brainstorm, get creative, read a book, listen to music or pick up a neglected hobby that brings you enjoyment. When you're driving pedal to the metal ALL the time you WILL crash and burn if you don't call a time out. If you're heading for the exploding head zone, please be sure to pull over and take a break before you have a dangerous accident!

I'll be back next week and update everyone on things then.

It's Here - The Big Agile Practices Survey!

noreply@blogger.com (Raven Young) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 16:36:00 PDT

Are you an "Agile Practioner?" (Hint: if you have no idea what that phrase in quotes means, you can probably safely say No..). If so, take a look at The Big Agile Practices Survey Jurgen Appelo is running. He needs mass participation to get the best results. Here's a clip from the post:

There are several agile surveys, most notably those of VersionOne and Scott Ambler.
However, while those surveys are very useful, neither of them has given me an answer to some very important questions.
Questions that I care deeply about...
Which practices are the most important for agile projects?
Which practices are most often linked to agile development?
Which practices are most widely applied in agile projects?
Those are the questions I want to find an answer to. Some practices are considered "agile" by everyone, but nobody is applying them. While other practices are not really considered "agile", yet most people seem to be using them. Things like that are what we all want to know, right?

The best part about participating in the survey is that you'll be helping the agile comunity better understand the questions Jurgen asks above and the information will be shared and distributed. The more people that take the survey the better the results - please help spread the within your agile network!

Project Management and Twitter: A quiet roar

noreply@blogger.com (Raven Young) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 18:12:00 PDT

Twitter has been around for a few years now, but only recently have the words "twitter" and "tweets" crept (taken over) into mainstream media. Now I can't get away from them. Even my morning news anchors are telling me to "follow them", as if I should join their morning news show cult, and it seems everyone is rushing to twitter to find out what all the buzz is about - And project managers are joining like crazy. Run PM Run!

What IS all the buzz about? It depends on who you ask at this point because feelings are still mixed on it's usefulness to project managers. Some feel it will find its place, other's seem to think it's lacking a real connection.

Personally I'm finding it quite rewarding. I've connected with amazing authors, bloggers, industry leaders and gurus - amazing people I never would have thought I'd have this level of connection with. I send updates out - thoughts, links, responses to people I've met all over the world. I will say that you do need to manage your time or you'll spend your days lost in all the great stuff you'll inevitably find!

PMs are writing about twitter:

Dave Garrett Why Project Managers Should Twitter
Bob Tarne Twitter Me This
Jerry Manas Twitter for Project Managers: What's the Buzz?
Sreejith Kesavan Is Twitter doing any value addition to you?
Trevor Roberts The Social Media Project Manager - A slide show

My recent post Project Management Hash Tags On Twitter needs an update, but I am waiting for a bit of wiki work before I publish it. I'm learning the PM community on twitter is self organizing. We're reaching out and trying to build it and I believe the "quiet roar" will become the run of the bulls (a stampede perhaps?) at some point, though who am I to predict?

Are you a PM using twitter - What are your thoughts? Are you a PM not using twitter for a particular reason - please share. Also, if you've seen any numbers, stats on twitter usage and project management - I'd love to hear from you!

Image via: brycej

Recent Clippings

noreply@blogger.com (Raven Young) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 16:34:00 PDT

I feel so guilty clearing my cache of links to good articles, blog posts and podcasts each day. Here are some good ones I saved before I send to recycle:

Project Managers: Study for PMP with Easy Crosswords, over 30!
For PMs Free Webinar: The Virtual Project Management Office (PMO) from Jerry Manas
Project Management Slideshow:10 Brutal Realities of Project Management
Is Project Management a Profession? - Not Again!
Prepare for PMI certifications with slides

For Techies: 10 things you can do as a developer to make yourself more visibly valuable, which may keep you off the RIF list. From Esther Derby
For Techies: Career Development for Computing Nerds
Things not to say - “We don’t have time” from Scott Berkun
Hey IT - Forget ITIL, Say Hello To BDIM!

Professional Development: How do you find a mentor?
Detoxing Your Team
Is Leadership a Calling? - Fabulous post, passionate comment from Rosa Say
Accountability Begins at the Top
The Ethics of Work-Life Balance
Three Leadership Career Killer Personality Traits

My Article "Four Keys To Successful Project Management" posted at PM Bistro

noreply@blogger.com (Raven Young) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 18:34:00 PDT

My article Four Keys To Successful Project Management has been posted at PM Boulevard's new blog PM Bistro.

Here's an excerpt:

One question I get asked a lot is, “what does it take to be a successful project manager?” It’s as if there’s a secret recipe for being successful in the field of project management. Some would argue that nothing but experience counts; others favor formal training and certifications. Perhaps the best answer is to have a balance of both real-world experience and training.

But still—what does it take to make it in the world of project management? Why do some folks fall right into the groove where others struggle and gasp for air? Though there are a whole host of skills, knowledge areas, methodologies, etc. to consider, I think being a successful PM comes down to your ability to do a few key things really, really well:
Communicate
Organize
Solve Problems/Make Decisions
Build Good Teams
Communicate Effectively
Communication is critical to project management and a skill any successful project manager has mastered. It’s important to note that communication doesn’t mean “talking” or even “presenting.” Communication is about transferring knowledge, sharing ideas, solving problems and providing new or updated information. Yes, we speak (and write) in order to communicate, but to master this skill we need to look deeper.

A PM should be able to communicate effectively in written form whether writing emails or producing project documentation, plans, specifications, reports, agendas, status updates and such. Equally important is the ability to verbalize your thoughts and get important points across clearly. Whether your audience is your project team, executive staff, external customers, etc., you need to be able to communicate your ideas and ensure they are understood, rather than simply heard.

The bottom line is this: If you can’t get your project team to buy into your ideas, if you can’t produce high quality written documentation and get the right information to the right people at the right time, you probably aren’t as successful as you could be. Take note and work on your communication skills—it’s arguably the most important skill needed as a Project Manager!

Read the rest of the article here: http://projectmanagementonline.blogspot.com/2009/04/four-keys-to-successful-project.html

Project Management Hash Tags On Twitter

noreply@blogger.com (Raven Young) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 15:20:00 PDT

I've been bugging Alec from Making Project Management Better ever since I joined twitter and he's been kind enough to help me out time and again. Today we scrounged the depths of twitter (ok, really, we just used the search functionality) for common project management hash tags in order to better categorize our PM tweets - there are more than I thought!

I'm writing this post in hopes of spreading the word and getting some feedback, either here or within twitter, on how we can keep this list updated (or stored somewhere else) so that PMs can have access to the list of hash tags and know how to better tag their tweets to make them more searchable.

Several PMs have asked about hash tags - what they are, how/when to use them, etc. Here are a few links to hopefully answer those questions, and also a list of what I believe is a start at some popular PM hash tags currently being used now by project managers on twitter:

About Hash tags:

What are Twitter Hashtags (#)
Hashtags Introduction
Twitter Hashtags: A Quickie

Popular PM hash tags
#agile
#aopm
#gepm (for German project management links and discussions, requested by @projektlotse)
#lastplanner
#lean
#leanproject
#metrics
#opm3
#pm
#pmot (project managers on twitter)
#pmi
#pmiagile (for the agile community being formed at PMI)
#pmo (usage rare)
#pmp (project management professional)
#pmv
#project
#projects
#project-management
#projectmanagement (usage rare)
#projektmanagement
#report
#risk
#scrum
#webpm

Other business/tech related tags:

#business
#budget
#developer
#development
#leadership
#management
#prodmgmt
#requirements
#socnet
#software
#tech
#technology

Have info on one of the tags above? Better yet - have one to add to the list? Leave a comment or send me a tweet and I'll update this post: @ravenyoung.

If anyone has a suggestion for a better place to store this info for easier access to the PM community on twitter - let me know!

Monday Linkfest - it's a grab-bag!

noreply@blogger.com (Raven Young) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 10:29:00 PDT

Feedburner and Google seem to be dropping subscribers from my blog everyday. 2 Weeks ago I was close to topping 1,700 and today I'm under 1k - what up with that, yo? I hear FB is having trouble keeping up with the Jones's again - maybe they need a bigger boat?

Speaking of which - I'm having trouble keeping up myself. Whats new?? Here's a list of links.. what's left of 'em. I never remember to save the good ones before I clear my cache - So uhm, here's a good sampling. I don't think many folks dig through lists 'o links anyway except me when I'm looking for that "one thing" from whenever ago..

Webcast - How to Get Started as a Project Manager
Does Transparency Lead To More Ethical Behavior?
Leading Virtual Teams - Managing when people are at a distance
Strategy in Four Words or Less
5 editor’s secrets to help you write like a pro
Dear Job Seeker - a FABULOUS post for recently unemployed! Be sure to check out the comments as they include excellent thoughts
The Leading Virtually Digest, April 5, 2009
Crucial conversations: where are you stuck? That's where a crucial conversation is waiting - A great piece for managers putting off difficult conversations
Seven Communication Mistakes Managers Make
The Top Five Innovation Killers
SMART Goals does not equal Smart Management
New Stats On Women And IT Make Old News
Tell the Truth - Part 1
Need work? How to find your next job with social media
Things not to say - “We don’t have time”
Does the Project Manager Know Better?
Project Communication
A Resource For PM Materials
For many agile means "We've stopped writing documents," which ... means you're good at justifying bad behavior.' http://is.gd/r1Rm
Attitudes Drive Behavior

As always - Enjoy!

Celebrate Project Success

noreply@blogger.com (Raven Young) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 13:52:00 PDT

Amy Alberg runs a PM blog called Making Things Happen and I don't know why I haven't seen the her blog before - it's great! A recent post How To Celebrate Success Throughout Your Projects is a fabulous one for PMs - we just don't take the time out to ackowledge our wins. Our tendency is to jump in to the next project (to get a headstart, we tell ourselves) instead of recognizing all the hardwork that was just accomplished (or the the small wins along the way). But, as you will note in the post, it is more than simply recognizing folks - you need to set the tone as a project leader and be a champion in acknowledging folks on the project team for their work. Here's an excerpt:

The next principle is Champion Success of Team Members. It is all too often the harsh reality that when something great happens, and you turn to share the news others are not supportive and the shock of nobody sharing my excitement is a surprise. It is deflating emotionally. It is important to take the moments to privately and in public to recognize and congratulate small wins, steps along the way. Many programs and projects can be a year or longer so keeping the momentum is critical with frequent celebrations along the way.

Not everyone views accomplishment and successes the same way. As a leader, you need to be willing to take different perspective and view success the way others do and not just the way you do. Be especially careful, when someone achieves something important to them even if you have done it before. Be sure to celebrate and recognize accomplishments with enthusiasm and don’t steal their thunder.

Alberg includes tips for celebrating success and closes with a few more thoughts. It's a very important and under appreciated area of project management. People refer to this as "cheer leading" and will often try to underscore it's importance, but never underestimate the value people place on be acknowledged for doing a good job, for going the extra mile, and all the things people to do bring a project in on time, under budget and built to spec.

Do you have any tips to share for celebrating your project's delivery or small win's along the way? I'd love to hear from you!

image: manuel kiem

Curt Asks: What Makes a Project Executor?

noreply@blogger.com (Raven Young) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 13:59:00 PDT

Earlier this month I wrote a post which kicked off an excellent discussion in the comments: Reader Question: Why Are YOU A PMP? The question in the post was actually posed by Curt Finch from Journyx, you can read his comment following the post above, and he was actually moved enough by the commentary to write a post of his own to try and clarify his question: What Makes a Project Executor?. (He also points to an interesting post that discusses the PMP/certification question.)

The "to be/not to be PMP" debate is nothing new, and I think the roar will only increase as the need to be certified is growing rapidly here in the U.S. I do think this is an interesting take and I'd love to get folks thoughts on it.

Here's an excerpt:

I recently asked a question at Raven’s Brain, a popular project management blog, and Raven posted it for her readers to respond to. Her readers perceived my question as “Why are you a PMP?” but what I was really asking was this: “Is it the case that some project managers are dramatically better executors than others, and if so, what are the characteristics one would look for to find them?”

A typical answer to this question can be found at a post on the Eight to Late blog entitled, “Certifiably Mistaken: Two Wrong Reasons For Pursuing Project Management Certification.”

Read the full meal deal here:http://www.project-management-blog.com/2009/03/16/what-makes-a-project-executor/ - Then either leave a comment here, or at Curt's site to continue the discussion. For reference, past comments on: Reader Question: Why Are YOU A PMP?

image courtesy of: Ask A Ninja

7 Solid Tips For Optimizing Your Optimism

noreply@blogger.com (Raven Young) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 20:07:00 PDT

Tom Terez has an excellent article at BetterWorkplaceNow with the catchy title of 7 Ways to Optimize Your Optimism. It's a tight piece listing seven tips you can apply to work and life to put a more optimistic perspective on things. We so often focus on the negative - why not seek out ways to strengthen the positive - root out the (possibly hidden) optimist in you? You might find the end results are more positive experiences, more enriching interactions and overall you are less stressful - who wouldn't want that?

Here are the tips from the article:

Appreciate and activate your strengths. You have real skills, rich life experiences, and areservoir of good intention. Put all of it to work every day.
Opt for a partial solution when perfection isn't possible. It's always better to make some progress than to endure life as a chronically frustrated perfectionist.
Imagine success before it unfolds. Follow the lead of successful athletes. Before you take on a challenging situation, picture yourself dealing with it in a winning way.
Act yourself into a new way of thinking. It sounds a bit backward, but it works. Pretend to be positive, carry yourself with confidence, communicate an upbeat message -- and those behaviors will start shaping your attitude.
Talk about what's going right. Even in the most dysfunctional environments, good things happen. Start spotting those success stories, and make them the focus of your conversations.
Put problems in perspective. Too much thinking can drag us down, especially when we generalize ("I'm no good with numbers"), catastrophize ("If I don't make this next sale, I'm going to lose my job"), or personalize ("It was all my fault"). Learn to recognize these distorted interpretations, and replace them with a view of the situation that's scaled down to fit reality.
Do what you can instead of dwelling on what you can't. There's so much to be concerned about these days. Try to accept what you can't change, but work like heck in those many situations where you can make a difference

Link: http://www.betterworkplacenow.com/optimism/index.html

My favorite tip was "Opt for a partial solution when perfection isn't possible." We in the business world need to remember this more and fight less. As a PM (read: control freak), I think I might like this slogan as a new tattoo. Somewhere prominent - where both myself *and* all stakeholders could read it. What do you think? Too extreme? Fuddy duddy's! I was going to go the t-shirt route, but Elizabeth already beat me too it..

image courtesy: Savage Chickens!

Link Mish Mash

noreply@blogger.com (Raven Young) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 17:54:00 PDT

I've been lost in the world of social media lately and am finding myself reading an incredible amount of articles & posts, watching videos & webinars, tweeting, etc. - there is sooo much good stuff to digest! Here's just some of the goodness I remembered to bookmark and share later:

Ahhh, that feels so much better! Hope you all enjoy these resources - I'm glad to have them stored here for later as these are some worthwhile reads from some fine bloggers, established websites and e-mags and uhm...yeah, you get the dealio. So.. what are you waiting for? Haven't you got some reading to do?

Techies - 17 ways You Undermine Your Own Career

noreply@blogger.com (Raven Young) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 10:03:00 PDT

I was browsing through old bookmarks and came across a nice little slideshow from Baseline: 17 ways You Undermine Your Own Career. The tips come from a book by Sandy Allgeier called The Personal Credibility Factor: How to Get It, Keep It, and Get It Back (If You’ve Lost It) and, though a slideshow isn't the *best* way to deliver career advice, you'll find this is a good enough list of things you should take a look at to be sure *you* aren't sabotaging your own career in these tough economic times. Granted, some of the items are no brainers, but others can be hidden items that you may not know that plague you.

Take a look at the first ten:

Not doing what you will say.
"If you're not sure you can follow through on your promises, don't make them"
Breaking or changing appointments.
"When you have to make an exception, it will be just that - an exception."
Chronic lateness.
"Plan ahead and arrive a little early" Bonus: You're less stressed.
Messiness and lack of organization.
"Important things will fall through the cracks. People assume you're equally sloppy in your work."
Bringing your personal life to work.
"Your boss notices when your friends, spouse and kids call ten times a day."
Overpromising and underdelivering.
"Always do your research before you make a promise. There's nothing wrong with saying 'Let me think about it and get back to you'".
Cutting people out of the loop.
"It really doesn't matter whether others have the authority to impact the final decision or not. Keep them informed of your thoughts as you work through the process."
Bending the truth.
"Little lies lead to bigger ones. 'Admitting to a mistake is is far better than being branded a backstabber and a liar'"
Jack of all trades, master of none.
"Overextend yourself and you're sure to make mistakes. It's far better to say no to some things than to do a poor job at everything."
Stepping on others to get to the top.
"With each put-down you are actually demonstrating your own lack of credibility. Everyone who hears you talk about this thinks 'hmm...sour grapes.'"

There are 7 more tips but I bet the book is full of excellent advice. If anyone's read it - I'd love to hear from you. Did you find anything on the list that you struggle with? Was there something you would have added? I need to say "no" more. I think that will be a life long journey for me..

If you have a more tips to share or related resources - why not leave a comment and get the discussion started? you know ya wanna!

How to Maximize Your Return on Investment from a Leadership Development Program

noreply@blogger.com (Raven Young) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 15:32:00 PDT

This is a guest post from Dan McCarthy - guest voice inside Raven’s Brain.

How to Maximize Your Return on Investment from a Leadership Development Program

Attendance at a leadership development program does not guarantee behavior change or improved results as a leader. An openness and willingness to new ideas and approaches is certainly important, combined with a lot of hard work during the program. But once the program ends, and participants all go their own ways and return to their real world work environments, unfortunately, many of them will soon forget what they learned and soon revert back to old familiar habits.

So what separates those that attend leadership programs and actually become better leaders and those that don’t? Here are the differentiators that will produce a greater return on leadership development investment:

1. At the end of the program, and on the way home, create an individual development plan (IDP). Keep a journal throughout the week of key learnings, insights, and new ideas. Select 3-4 things that you’re going to improve about yourself or new ideas you’re going to try. Write them down – it’s important to actually take pen to hand (or whatever electronic gadget you’re using these days) and write them down. Then get specific – describe how you’re going to achieve your goals. Include what, how, who, and by when. There have been all kinds of research that shows significantly higher levels of achievement of those that have written specific goals vs. those that don’t, or had vaguely written goals.

2. Make a public commitment. Find a learning partner from the program and agree to contact each other in 30 days to review each other’s goals. Write a letter to someone important in your life sharing your goals. Review with your manager what you learned and your goals. Go back and share your commitments with your team. The idea is to announce to the world - or at least anyone willing to listen (other than your dog) - that you are committed to improving in specific areas. This public declaration and commitment will provide extra motivation as well as a support system to keep at it when the going gets tough.

3. Follow-up. Keep reviewing your goals every month for 12 months. Continuously ask for feedback from others on how you are doing. Marshall Goldsmith did extensive research on the effect of follow-up after leaders completed a 360 degree assessment. He found that simply by asking for feedback on a regular basis, leader scores improved on follow-up assessments.

Follow these three steps and you’ll get the biggest bang for your buck from your next leadership development program.

Dan writes the award-winning blog Great Leadership , all about leadership and leadership development. When he’s not blogging, he’s the Manager of Leadership and Management Development at a Fortune "Great Place to Work", "Training Top 125", and "High Impact Learning" (HILO 80) company.

Most importantly, Dan proudly includes Raven’s Brain on his blogroll. ☺

image courtesy RollingTalks

7 Solid Tips for Making Decisions Easier

noreply@blogger.com (Raven Young) — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 14:08:00 PDT

Monica Enand of Zapproved shares some great insights in a guest post over at zen habits: The Fine Art of Decision-Making – 7 Tips for Getting Decisions Made Easier. You'll wanna read the whole post for the complete lowdown. Here are the seven tips Enand shares - very worthwhile:

One Decision at a Time. Do not lump several decisions into one. Break them apart and isolate them so that the team can address them individually. This will narrow the focus of any objections raised so that the discussion is manageable and can be concluded quickly.
Be Transparent. Hold discussions in the open, either in person or virtually. Successful organizations put decisions in the sunlight. Closed-door agreements can fuel speculation and inhibits the group’s ability to buy-in to the agreed upon direction.
Give the Facts. Be proactive about gathering the required information in advance. Data-driven decisions go smoothly and avoid injecting emotion which will muddle the process. People need data, whether it’s research, budgets, timelines. Provide so they don’t have to come back and request it later.
Minimize Participants. Include people on the decision that need to be there. If others have an interest, you can copy them but don’t invite them. Ask yourself if a person’s objection would stop the project. If not, then don’t include them.
Subtract Words. Use the fewest words necessary to convey the proposal. Your team will absorb the scope, but extraneous details will dilute the message and might distract from your main objective.
Be Clear What “Yes” Means. It sounds obvious, but when creating a proposal, create a proposal. Request in a crisp way and use actionable language. This is a common mistake. Add focus and formality as needed in the Subject line and in the message itself. Don’t say “let me know what you think” when you mean “do you approve this project.”
Record the Decision. Seems simple but is hard to do, especially in email. There is a reason boards of directors keep minutes. People will take the decision seriously and will abide by it if they know it is saved in a place that is public. Think about a document or folder on an intranet or on the web where the agreement is recorded. Even if it is not referenced, the simple fact of know it exists will create peer pressure and accountability that is powerful.

Some really great tips - two that I tend to struggle with are "4. minimize participants" and "5. subtract words". I can get (way too) wordy so I often need several editing session to trim out extraneous text from docs and emails. I also try to be mindful to include people from other groups and teams, so I have to be judicious in not *over* inviting folks to meetings or tacking on addresses to threads, when folks would rather just be updated at the END of the decision making process.

Thanks to Monica Enand & zen habits for the great tips! What tips & techniques on decision making do you have to add or share?

image courtesy of: http://theyesyoucanshow.com/tag/confidence/

Updating The Business Acument List

noreply@blogger.com (Raven Young) — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 12:22:00 PDT

Lisa over at Management Craft is looking to update the list of areas that managers get trained in: The New Business Acumen?. If you compare the old list to the new, you will see that times, they are a changing:

Knowledge Areas that Make Up Business Acumen (Old):

Finance/P&L
Accounting
Marketing
Sales
Strategy and Planning
Decision Making
HR/People Matters
Operations/Throughput/Efficiencies
Knowledge Areas that Make Up Business Acumen (New):

ALL the areas above PLUS:
Complexity/Simplicity (how to manage in a more complex world and de-hassle
the org)
Online EVERYTHING (how to work and communicate online)
24/7/365 (how to deal with our always on world)
Outsourcing, In-sourcing, Intra-outsourcing (how to source work)
International/Virtual/Free agent teams
Ubiquity/Experts aren’t (that our competitive advantage is no longer
expertise, because anyone can find the knowledge quickly)
Four generations in the workplace

I like the new list - it includes all the items from the old as well as all the new areas we are struggling to contend with. Are managers being asked to take on more in the digital age? Everything IS online. We are a 24/7/365 society - we're plugged in, tweeting, texting, emailing - social media is here to stay! Suddenly the word "viral" is a good thing, anyone can search for a piece of knowledge, and we have a multi-generational work force with unique challenges like none seen before. I am sure managers at all levels are overloaded, but what do you think about the redefined list of business acumen? I'm curious to see what items other folks might add. Take a look at Lisa's post and join in on the discussion!

Brainstorming & Creative Thinking: 5 Solid Tips For Boosting Creativity

noreply@blogger.com (Raven Young) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 11:58:00 PDT

I just read The Secrets of Creativity by Kerry Patterson - what a great article on creative thinking! I liked Kerry's writing style - he tells a story and it also made me think (and chuckle). Here's a clip:

....David was right. Creativity is an elusive, often discussed but rarely studied topic. And yes, there is a lot of stuff out there aimed at making us more creative; but most of it, as David suggested decades ago, is far more cute and clever than it is insightful or helpful. For instance, we’re routinely told that in order to be creative we need to “ask the right question.” Which leads me to wonder, who is currently committed to asking the wrong question?

This was part of a larger discussion on creativity, and I really wanted to get to Kerry's list of five tips for boosting creativity for this post:

Generate More Because Less Is Less.The best predictor of who is viewed by others as creative is the sheer volume of their output. Individuals who are dubbed creative, imaginative, original or inspired almost always come up with more material than their colleagues....
If It Ain’t Broke, Do Fix It. Each time I sit down with my partners to create a new training exercise or video clip I ask: “Is there a new and better way to do what is currently working for us?” I purposely look for different methods—even when what we are currently employing works well for us....
Seek the Common. Imagine that you’re brainstorming solutions to a problem (an important act of creativity) and you feel as if you’re in a rut. You want to think outside the box, but aren’t sure how to do so. First, identify the box by asking: “What do all of our current suggestions have in common?”....
Try, Try, Again. Yesterday, I went to a movie that turned out to be a real clunker. The sad truth is that far too many movies aren’t all that good because they have to be completely finished before they’re shown to the viewing public. Just think of the magnitude of this challenge....
Swallow Your Pride. This final idea springs out of the previous one. As much as most of us would love to produce a wonderfully novel and successful product all on our own, we’d do well to swallow our pride and quit trying to go it alone....

Great tips (truncated) - The article from Kerry Patterson is actually quite lengthy and I really enjoyed the disussion on brainstorming and creative thinking. My favorite part has to be from the closing. I believe the collaborative approach to brainstorming and creative thinking Patterson is describing is exactly what we need to be working towards:

The rest of us are not now nor will we ever be an Isaac Newton. We need to drop our standard—our work isn’t likely to be world-changing and we’re very unlikely to do it alone. So, when coming up with new ideas and methods, seek not solitude, but a crowd. Brainstorm with colleagues. Continually ask people for feedback along the way. Give up on the idea of surprising others with a blazing and unexpected flash of insight. Instead, clunk along, hammer away, talk with others, and continually reshape your work—with a little bit of help from your friends.

It's worth noting that this article is also available as MP3 and Apple podcast at the site, which I thought was a pretty cool feature. Thanks to Kerry Patterson and the folks at VitalSmarts for the excellent creativity resource!

Insights On The Evolution Of A PM

noreply@blogger.com (Raven Young) — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 16:53:00 PDT

Cinda Voegtli at ProjectConnections.com has an interesting article called Evolution of a Project Manager. It outlines her thoughts on project management and how her definition of a PMs role has changed over time. Here are a few of the thoughts discussed, as Cinda gained experience, expanded horizons and adjusted her view of what a project manager is/does in working in different environments and organizations:

PM = keeper of the schedules and reporter to the feared Customer.
PM = integrator of the schedule puzzle and sync-meister of a very complex set of stuff going on all over the place.
PM = just part of the management job to get things out the door.
PM = someone who makes us fill out paper we don't think we need.
PM = creative facilitator and solver of complex interdependencies through good working relationships with people.
PM = split personality: someone execs wanted to trust, someone workers didn't naturally trust.
PM = just overhead without value add?
PM = flexible enabler working with lots of individuals to get things done in spite of often hairy problems.
PM = facilitator of a team of people just trying to do their best towards an important project goal, creatively making PM tools work for very particular people and projects and their unique goals.
a PM is not just someone who makes us fill out all that paper in the dreaded "Big Process Binder.
PM = leader, and effective methodology-user, to help the team meet the business goals.
PM = goal champion and communication framework provider, no micro-management required or desired.

As you can see, quite a ride and the article isn't finished. It's good stuff. I really like the way Cinda writes, straightforward and insightful, and found a lot of interesting info in the article. It's an interesting story about her path down the road to project managment success and the thoughts, opinions and experiences shared are fabulous. Here's a bit from the summary:

To summarize a few personal conclusions from the path of my "PM perception evolution," that I think matter for all our careers:
Beware the perception of PM as paper-pusher. Schedules, status, coordination, all matter. But if this is what people think our job is, forget about being highly valued. Paper is a tool for, and can help with, analyzing, summarizing, communicating, and identifying goals, work, problems, etc. But the paper part of our jobs can't get us all the way to solutions for complex problems-and focusing too much on that aspect can turn people off. If that happens, they may never see the highest value we do have to offer.
Being genuine with people, treating them as the customer of whatever you as PM are doing, matters a huge amount. Do not spout the party line on what the PM job is. Ask questions, listen, demonstrate flexibility, and be willing to help people get their work done in a myriad of ways.
Even the scariest-sounding executives really just want a credible partner in getting things done, someone with the moxie and courage and persistence to tell it like it is and help wrestle problems to the ground. There is huge career value hiding here.
This seems very clear to me now! But I don't even like to think about how long I took to develop these perceptions. Don't we owe our new PMs a faster and more consistent understanding of what it means to be a great PM so they can pursue it from the beginning? How many different ideas about this are we fostering in different companies, or even different groups in the same company?

Sooo.. go read this article for some interesting thoughts on the PM dicipline. Also, as usual, the comments following the article are worth reading.

What Is A Program Manager?

noreply@blogger.com (Raven Young) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 08:43:00 PDT

Joel of Joel on Software wrote another interesting post - How to be a program manager. He outlines the history of program management from a software development perspective, discusses the first "known" program managers, outlines what they do (#5 on the list? Wear Banana Republic chinos!), and talks about how you can learn to be a program manager. It's good read because many folks, even in the PM arena, continue to be confused by Program versus Project manager, and I enjoyed reading Joel's thoughts on the subject, from the perspective of someone working in the software industry. He talks about vision statements, functional specs vs. technical specs, how a program manager works with the dev team, how to manage conflict and more.

My favorite part was under this heading Specs? Really? That’s so unagile:

There are so many development organizations where specs are a monument to mindless bureaucratic paperwork that entire movements sprung up organized around the idea of not writing specs. These people are misguided. Writing a functional specification is at the very heart of agile development, because it lets you
iterate rapidly over many possible designs before you write code. Compared to code, a written spec is trivial to change. The very act of writing a specification forces you to think through the design you thought you had in your head, and helps you see the flaws in it quickly so that you can iterate and try more designs. Teams that use functional specifications have better designed products, because they had the opportunity to explore more possible solutions quickly. They also write code faster, because they have a clearer picture when they start of what’s going to be needed.

Another excellent part of the post is written from the perspective of an IT program manager but is applicable to any manager/leader so heads up if you manage people (note: emphasis mine):

The other way to earn the programming team’s respect is to demonstrate intelligence, open-mindedness, and fairness in any debates that come up. If a program manager says dumb things, the programmer might flip the bozo bit on them. If a program manager becomes personally or emotionally attached to a certain way of doing things, to the point at which they’re being unreasonable, they’re going to lose a lot of credibility… both sides, but especially the program manager, need to be emotionally detached from the debate and willing to consider new evidence and change their opinions when the facts merit it. Finally, if a program manager is seen as playing politics, having private meetings with the boss or trying to divide-and-conquer to win a debate instead of debating on the merits, they’re going to lose a lot of trust of the programmers.

I couldn't agree more. There is nothing worse than not having your project team's respect, except maybe losing it by saying something dumb..

Do check out Joel's post for the complete low down on How To Be A Program Manager, including links to resources and more interesting stuff to read.

This is just one take on what a program manager is - what do you think?

Good Question: What If There was No Project Management?

noreply@blogger.com (Raven Young) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 09:51:00 PDT

Brad Egeland over at Project Management Tips asks a great question in a recent post What if…There was No Project Management? There is already a great discussion started in the comments and the link was shared throughout the PM community on twitter on Friday, so the piece is getting good circulation.

Have you thought about what a day (week? month?) without a project manager, or the PM methodologies and processes that the keep work flowing, "Project Management", would be like? Here's an excerpt from Brad's post where he looks at how things would be handled in the IT world sans project management:

IT Responsibilities
I’m not saying that IT technical professionals are disorganized individuals. Not at all. I’ve worked with them all of my professional life…I am one. They’re very intelligent. It’s just that they have their own things to worry about. Design, Development, Software and Data Integration, Testing, System Testing, Deployment, etc. And I’m not really talking about what if there were no Project Managers. The question is, what if there was no Project Management?
I believe that on small engagements, it is possible – and I’ve seen it done – that an organized and talented Business Analyst can handle many if not all of the Project Management-related tasks. And perform them well enough to keep the customer and project delivery team informed and satisfied. But what if there was no Project Management at all? That’s what I want to examine.
No Project Management?!
What are the primary Project Management tasks? Let’s examine those first. I believe that the key tasks are:
Project status reporting
Project schedule management
Conducting regular project status meetings
Project budget and resource management
Coordinating all project communications

The piece of the post I really like is on communications. PMs spend a lot of time getting the right people together, leading, facilitating, presenting, pulling info out, putting the pieces together, keeping everyone informed, and so much more. Communication is just so darn important to our roles.

No Formal Meetings
Let’s also look at formal communication. I’ve already covered project status reporting, which is a major form of formal project communications. But the PM is also the leader of ongoing, regularly scheduled project status meetings. Without a PM, those could still happen. But without Project Management, that concept is gone. No formal meetings means no formal communication. Thus, we rely on adhoc communication and sometimes that will be enough. However, I think all PMs can attest to the fact that without regular, formal status meetings most team members on both sides would be horribly under-informed and nobody would be on the same page at any given time.

It is a good question - What if there was no project management? Would things slow to a halt at your org? Are there processes in place where others could pick up and perhaps limp things along at a less productive level, or would those processes not work with a PM MIA? Have thoughts to share? Check out Brad's post and add to the growing discussion!

Project Management and Crucial Conversations

noreply@blogger.com (Raven Young) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 11:47:00 PDT

David shared this great video so I *had* to pass it on as it's a simply awesome (read: humorous) take on Project Management and Crucial Conversations

By the way do you Tweet? You can now follow me on twitter at the very creative username of: ravenyoung

How do you build trust as a leader?

noreply@blogger.com (Raven Young) — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 08:37:00 PDT

I posted this over at the gannthead leadership discussions but wanted to post to my regular audience as well.

I read an article titled How the Best Leaders Build Trust that had some interesting insights for project leaders on the fuzzy subject of trust.

The article lists 13 common characteristics of leaders:

Talk Straight
Demonstrate Respect
Create Transparency
Right Wrongs
Show Loyalty
Deliver Results
Get Better
Confront Reality
Clarify Expectation
Practice Accountability
Listen First
Keep Commitments
Extend Trust

These traits would make up an honest, ethical, reliable leader - one that is trustworthy. This is such an interesting subject for the project management world as we work within a team environment which requires a high level of trust in order to be the most productive. I am sure there are more characteristics, behaviors or other things we can do as individuals or leaders to develop trust.

How do you build trust as a leader?

If you're a member of gannthead, you can read more answers to this question here.

*image from icanhascheezburger.com & http://www.getelastic.com/why-ecommerce-is-a-lot-like-icanhascheezburger/