Getting Things Done
Training versus development
When it comes to leadership development, you can’t “train the leader.” Leadership requires too much contextual differentiation, innovation, and innate skill. These are qualities that can be developed, but not absorbed from a training session.
Thinking creatively by taking your ideas to trial
You can put your ideas to the test by putting them on trial. A very successful team building and idea vetting exercise is to literally organize a mock trail, with prosecuting and defending teams and even a jury. Not only is it fun, but it can be eye-opening: “It was one of the better things we’ve done in a long time,” says Richard D. Fain, chairman and C.E.O. of Royal Caribbean Cruises.
Successfully applying lessons learned
Capturing lessons learned at the end of a project sounds like a great idea. Who wouldn’t want to reflect on what was done right, what could be done better, and then apply those lessons to the next project? Unfortunately, few organizations take the time to build the right kind of lessons learned system, and that means critical information is being lost.
Fix your boss (or, reduce risk to quality using a matrix approach)
How do you ensure that one person doesn’t derail your entire project? Most of us have been there before. Maybe it’s a co-worker who doesn’t work well with the team. Maybe it’s your boss, who has to oversee every single decision even though he’s an overtasked bottleneck. Either problem poses a critical risk to your project: Delays, mistakes and rework because one person isn’t part of a streamlined effort. Learn how the situation can be improved, realizing positive gains in this habitually entrenched process.
Not a panacea, but trying: Comindwork is attractive
Management tools probably don’t bring to mind excitement and visions of “getting things done” the agile way. Nevertheless, it’s an important aspect of running any project — whether agile or not — and there are some tools, believe it or not, that are easy to use, hugely helpful in managing a project and sometimes even [...]
Software cost estimation: Where’s the silver bullet?
Recently Kirk Gray wrote a piece — more of a plea really — titled Software Estimation is Hard. The problem at hand is that there doesn’t seem to be a silver bullet that delivers accurate software project cost estimation. Software cost estimation (and here, I mean “cost” in the sense of effort, time and money) [...]
Mission impossible — the art of choosing the right project
How do you know when right is right? Being careful in choosing “what’s next” isn’t always easy… but it always has long-term consequences. (Reposted from my original article.)
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