“A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in.” – Robert Orben Many of the world’s most successful and productive people who see the value of taking a break from the chaos of everyday life so they can think and be creative are scheduling time to do absolutely nothing into their calendars. Microsoft founder Bill Gates has a long-standing habit of taking breaks called Think Weeks to slow down, recalibrate and gain clarity on his best way to move forward. You don’t have to be an entrepreneur like Bill Gates to make slowing down a part of your life or restrict it to several weeks a year. Try taking a cue from other cultures: One of my favorite Italian sayings is "Dolce far Niente", which means "the sweetness of doing nothing." It does not mean being lazy, it is referring to the pleasure one gets from being idle. The ability to completely enjoy and savor a moment. For Italians this concept is a part of everyday life; spending time with friends at a café, sipping wine at Continue Reading
So you are the new manager? Cool, what now!
If you’ve been promoted to management for the first time, you’re probably stoked about your new gig, ready to take charge, and, let's be honest, contemplating how to spend your first new salary. But, if you’re like most, you’re also feeling pretty terrified. While graduating to management is a huge accomplishment, it's also the beginning of a pretty serious challenge. Not quite sure where to start? Get off on the right foot with these steps for a smooth transition. Get Smart: First off, make it your personal mission to learn everything you can—believe me, this is the big key to success as a new manager. Seek out the management tools, resources, and classes that your company offers. Some organizations have formal supervisor training, and nearly all have manuals and Human Resources policies. Read them, digest them, and keep them on your bookshelf. You should also do some digging and learn more about each of the people you'll be managing. Review their personnel files, their Continue Reading
Project Managers: high performers and what they do differently
I have already written articles about what it is to be a good project manager. Yes, and I am not referring to myself. I am still somewhat surprised – though I probably shouldn’t be— that the behavioral characteristics of a good project manager are still the same, but what attributes makes a great project manager? High performers actively and regularly seek out reviews and feedback How do project managers perceive their performance? In general, we project managers tend to view our own performances very positively, and this becomes even more pronounced when we compare our performance against our fellow project managers. The truth is that most of us have a terrible ability to self-assess. We simply don’t see ourselves or our performance the way our stakeholders do. The most common way this manifests is that we overestimate how well we do common tasks. Sanity check: We can begin by realizing that the way others experience us is different than how we perceive ourselves, and the Continue Reading
My Dirty Little Secret of Project Management!
Why don’t more project managers sound an alarm when they’re going to blow past their deadlines? Because most of them have no earthly idea when they’ll finish the job. They don’t even think it’s possible to know. Too many variables. Too much that’s out of their control. That’s the dirty little secret of project management. As the lead developer on one big software project put it: “Everybody knows the schedule is a joke, and we pay no attention to it. It will be done when it’s done.” It’s funny, though. Big, successful companies that manage huge projects like highways and dams and office parks have to deal with many more variables than a software development team. Yet they usually know how far along they are at any given time, and they keep their customers in the loop. That’s how they get to be big, successful companies. Granted, they have fancy project management software to help them stay on top of the schedule. But a good project management system — one that can tell you Continue Reading
My totally incomplete but hopefully useful guide to disasters in project management
In your role as project manager, you’ll be dealing with all manner of projects, some small, some enormous, some simple, some complex. All have specific demands and challenges that will test your skills and help to shape you into a real project management professional. But even the best-planned projects can run into disasters. What makes a good project manager is not the fact that you’ve never had a project go wrong (because if you haven’t, trust me that one day your record will be smashed) but how you handle disasters when they happen. Of course, in an ideal world we would avoid disasters altogether, so in each of the potential problems listed below, I’ve included a section on helping you avoid them. Disaster 1: You Didn’t Understand the Risks … and Now You’re Caught Every project manager knows that appropriate risk assessment is an important part of the preparation process for any project. Qualitative and quantitative data will help you understand what could potentially go Continue Reading
No Silver Bullet: building and managing virtual teams
I constantly get the same question, “How do you manage a virtual team and actually get stuff done.” In my current assignment each of the team members work from home or a coworking environment. We’re spread out across 35 countries and many time zones. With such separation, we still manage to get a lot done and enjoy our work! Before writing this article, I had not given much thought to exactly how we work in a virtual environment. My first answer was simply practice and many mistakes. Although, the knowledge gained from those mistakes can be narrowed down to three main ingredients: The people on the team, the process that drives the team, and clear communication. People "My model for business is the Beatles. They were four guys who kept each other's kind of negative tendencies in check. They balanced each other, and the total was greater than the sum of the parts. That's how I see business: Great things in business are never done by one person. They're done by a team of Continue Reading
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