You have what you believe is an important thought to share with management. You're concerned though that management may dislike your message. How do you assess how safe it is to share your thought with management? It's certainly perilous if management regularly scowls, aims their finger at you and fires words such as: "You have no right to … [Read more...]
But Is It Possible?
Your manager, Ellsworth, asks you, "But is it possible?" He wants you to tell him that it is possible for you to satisfy a project milestone despite the argument you presented him for the past five minutes that the milestone was unrealistic. You feel like you are on the witness stand. Jack McCoy, the character from the Law and Order television … [Read more...]
An Impact of Corporate Culture
Project Managers from ABC and XYZ, which are located on the opposite side of the same street, differ in how they report project status: The PMs from ABC are forthright with their sponsors, and the PMs from XYZ are evasive. Why do the PMs at ABC and XYZ have opposite approaches to reporting status? Their very survival depends on providing … [Read more...]
Clarify the Story
Jake tossed and turned. He looked at the bedside clock. 3 AM. "I need sleep," he thought to himself. But sleep would not come. Only worry about tomorrow's meeting. Edmund, Jake's manager's manager, enjoyed probing managers in his organization to discover how well they were doing. He expected his managers to lead people so they wanted to follow. … [Read more...]
Sales Project Management
I manage projects as an engineer. There are other people in my office that are sales people. They manage projects much differently. Truly managing a project as an engineer requires identifying risks. That assessment isn't for the faint of heart. You must find things that could go wrong. Sales people are often distressed by this search. One sales … [Read more...]