teamwork
The Emperor’s New Clothes
My friend Amy was telling me about a project she was on. Being new to the industry, she had asked her project manager (PM) for more information on a term. The PM blustered through an … Read more
Who Needs to Know?
Have you ever had someone say, “You don’t need to know that; leave that part to me,” when working on a project? After your first reaction (“Huh?”), if you are like me, you would be … Read more
Why Record Lessons Learned?
In projects, it is a good practice to document ‘lessons learned’. These are things we have discovered to do – or not do – to make our projects stronger. For example, we may have learned … Read more
Projects: Helping Others Become Successful
I just read an article by Ross Simmonds on creating blogs. Most of it was about technical aspects of blogging – distribution and the like. But the last point struck me. It was general good … Read more
In “the Biz”
Recently, I fell into a new project – getting a TV series produced. It’s amazing how much project management is involved in the entertainment industry. When I was in St. John’s last month, my friend … Read more
Contract Improvements
This week I had some contract issues to look at regarding an agreement with a supplier. Several areas concerning deliverables needed to be examined. I called the supplier to get more insight on what had … Read more
Who is a Successful Project Manager?
My manager at Motorola, Jim, was one of the most successful project managers I have known. His projects completed as planned, but he was successful because his team got the work done happily. He hired … Read more
Bravery and Vulnerability
At a business meeting I was in recently, a senior manager asked the facilitator if he should follow his instincts to make a decision, even if people didn’t agree with him. I thought, “Isn’t that … Read more
The Project Tribe
I listened to a fascinating interview of Sebastian Junger on CBC Radio the other week. Mr. Junger is an award-winning journalist and author. His most recent book – Tribe – talks about the war veterans … Read more
Project Management: How to Implement Trust
The basis for a good team is trust. Team members who trust each other have positive expectations of each other. This is a great underpinning for resolving conflicts and discussing problems. Simon Sinek talks about … Read more