Does management reject your ideas? A typical cause for rejection is a failure to frame the idea effectively. Frame your idea effectively and it becomes a proposal, which will demand consideration by management. What is the recipe and key ingredients for an effective proposal? The key ingredients are X (the idea), Y (the benefits), and Z (the … [Read more...]
We Know Best
"We know better than they do about what's needed." Whenever you hear an influential member of your team utter those words, fasten your safety belt. The team is nearing the Twilight Zone. The person saying, "We know better than they do about what's needed," is referring to the customer. When decision-makers say "We don't have time for their … [Read more...]
Ingredients for Successful Teamwork
I have had the good fortune to be a member of many successful teams during my career: But my career hasn't been all bliss—I have also been a member of unsuccessful teams. In my experience, the recipe for the most successful and satisfying team experiences contained ingredients that were ignored by the unsuccessful teams. What ingredients … [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...]
Critical Lesson in Estimation
What critical lesson have I learned about the process of making an estimate? Have your most pragmatic, experienced people do the estimate. Minimize the number of people who are members of the estimating team. A team size of three, in my experience, is ideal. That's enough members to trigger divergent estimates, which creates arguments, which … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- …
- 12
- Next Page »