I tried to get around it. I tried to avoid it. But in this case I can run, but I am surely unable to hide. So I decided to face it head on, get it out in the open. I just have to make the connection between training your mind for adaption, as suggested in earlier posts, and meditation. There, I said it. Now I probably get haunted by metric fetishist and named Project Swami. I will be strong.

Read more

Of all the discussions I write about on this site, there is one dilemma that I think is the most fundamental of all; one essential choice for managers to make: are you going to use a directive top-down leadership style, or are you more leaning towards a bottom-up facilitating kind of attitude? I know, this is not specific for Project Management, but for management and leadership in general.

Photography by Suneko.
Read more

We are currently in the era of agile methodologies. Before that we had our plan driven approaches. Software development had its structured design and its object oriented design. I am not suggesting that they are all the identical, this is not an post about how we recycle the same ideas again and again in different packages. I am not even saying that they are all bad, or even all good. As our profession progresses and matures we can just add more tools to our project management toolbox for software development and implementations. We are all waiting for what the next big thing will be. Read more

Earlier this month Ted.com published a presentation by Howard Rheingold called "Way-New Collaboration". He talks about how the old paradigm of command-control is being replaced by Way-New Collaboration. He connects his story with social dilemma's like Prisoners Dilemma and Tragedy of the Commons. This is the best presentation I've seen that is telling the story I am trying to tell!" Why didn't I come up with this

Read more

This is a guest post by Craig Brown. He usually writes in a more serious tone about project management, requirements management and business analysts at www.betterprojects.net.

Are they really? Probably not everywhere and probably not all the time but there are force at work that keep our project mangers scowling.

• Other peoples money: Dealing with that responsibility can be stressful for many people. Its good practice to treat your clients money as if it were yours, but really, if you have $5 million, would you waste it on a software project? No wonder our PMs feel the pressure to perform.

Read more

No comments

This month my Featured Paper at PM World Today is titled "Why do Developers contribute to Open Source?"

"Why do developers contribute to free open source software? They are not paid for their effort. However the products produced have a remarkable quality. It would be instructive to see, what happens if we leave money out of the equation."