UCSC Extension in Silicon Valley

The sales-oriented, over-use of ‘maxi-media’ (anything in excess of need) was first challenged by me in two columns (1970-71; 71-73) and my first book (1973). A worthwhile message will be listened to and needn’t be prettied-up. Just make it intelligible when heard. “You can put lipstick on a pig, but. . .” Complex messages can [...]

When first you heard of the PERT Diagram, it was probably in relation to engineering, architecture, or other construction or manufacturing tools. Have you thought of PERT as tool for controlling business meetings? Why not? Each meeting is a never-before event. US Navy’s motivation for developing PERT: controlling the development of the never-before Polaris submarine.
Every [...]

The much-debated ‘Lessons Learned’ process is worthy of a mention in this series. It is one of the most important aspects of project management and organization leadership in my opinion. A leader’s commitment to the success of projects, their people, and the company, is demonstrated to a large extent by their ability to learn from past [...]

My first post in this series described one of the most important leadership lesson I learned - to allow your team members to become better leaders themselves by simply getting out of their way.
One way to support that effort is, when there is a problem, to resist the urge to jump into the fray and come up [...]

Core competencies are the skills that enable the business to deliver a fundamental customer benefit. It is what causes customers to choose one product over the other. To identify core competencies in a particular company, ask questions such as “why is the customer willing to pay more or less for products or service from one [...]

I had one more opportunity to volunteer at PMI Silicon Valley chapter this week. During breakout session, one of the project managers described problems he was having with his team members. He was describing how team members are having conflicts during meetings and their impact on the project. After further discussions with this project [...]

It didn’t take long during my brief exchange with the DIVA to form a first impression; not long at all.  In fact, according to Malcolm Gladwell, whenever we meet someone for the first time, we are able to size someone up in just two seconds – it’s the power of our adaptive unconscious.  In recognition [...]

The Journey

This week I shared with you some quotes that have helped to inspire me through some tumultuous times.  I find they make me feel energized and able to inspire others and pave the forward when ‘things go wrong’.  And, things almost always go wrong in projects – don’t they?  So, in addition to [...]

Are you working with a ‘can do’ or ‘cant do’ project team?
We have all been in both kinds of teams.  The difference in potential energy is enormous.  And, what a difference that makes to team dynamics and project results!  ‘Can do’ teams seem invincible, welcome challenges and proudly talk about the battles fought and won.  [...]

Me – try to inspire – but why?
So, here we are – another Monday. Many of us traditionally start Monday on a low note. Back to the grind, back to the routine – same old. We will likely have the first of many project meetings on Mondays. Will you just go through the motions of [...]