BACK TO SCHOOL (7 of 10)or… do we need to change project management practices in a big way

things that we need to learn, unlearn or re-learn as fast as we can

and one, more: do we need to go back to the school at all?

GREAT, SO… WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED SO FAR?

1. command authority naturallyin other words, they don’t need borrowed power to enlist the help of others – they just know how to do it. They are optimistic leaders who are viewed in a favorable light and are valued by the organization.

1a. no human resource managementleader is not a manager. there is a concept of holacracy – management without the managers. zappos, company of 2.000 ppl, just deleted all people management functions.

2. know what to note, what to ignorethe latter is more important since there’s almost always too much data, and rarely too little. Ignoring the right things is better than trying to master extraneous data.

2a. no formalized communication and data reportingif we don’t know the data, and there is no way we can predict the flow, how do we handle it? welcome to the world of data science where we propose, predict and model projects as we go

3. set, observe, re-evaluatethey focus and prioritize by handling fewer emails, attending fewer meetings, and generally limiting their data input.

3a. multiple roles, all the timewe will input more data, in more roles from multiple devices. heck, we will contribute even if we don’t know that we are contributing (see iot)

4. ask good questions and listen to stakeholdersgreat project managers don’t just go through the motions. They care about communication and the opinions of the parties involved. They are also sufficiently self-aware to know how their communication is received by those stakeholders.

0.84/100; This is an index measure that describes the extent to which your network spans different groups

0.70/100; This is a percentage that represents the number of ties between your contacts divided by the total number of possible ties (i.e. how 'dense' or closed your network is). As the number approaches 100, it means that all of your contacts know each other

0.37/100; This number is a concentration index that represents how dependent you are on a few focal contacts

121033.4; This number represents the number of structural holes, or bridging opportunities, to which you have exclusive access. You have exclusive access to a structural hole if you lie on the shortest path between two contacts in your network

4a. participatecrowd is clever enough to give you right answers, even if you don’t ask them. and it is not only about the stakeholders since you are not sure on the day 1 are they. fast fwd 100 days into the project, you are still surprised. project team is NOT a project team.

5. does not use information as a weapon or means of controlThey communicate clearly, completely, and concisely. All the while giving others real information without fear of what they’ll do with it.

5a. share information for validation and successsharing is great validation for ideas. keeping project info under control means lack of free external, expert consultation

execution is what differentiate you from others, not ideas. or plans. or reports.

6. adhere to the precise communication schedules…recognizing that it’s the only deliverable early in a project cycle. All this takes place after very thorough pre-execution planning to eliminate as many variables as possible.

6a. no schedules, no reportingsystems will allow you to communicate all the time. it is a question of “wanting to know more” that leads you to a success of the information delivery

but you need to be able to enable that type of communications

7. passes domain expertise in pm as applied to a particular field It’s not just that they have generic project management skills; they have a deep familiarity with one or multiple fields that gives them a natural authority and solid strategic insight

7a. particular field applied to project management maybe it is time to denominate role of project management and combine skills that are bound to a particular expert domain. we have project management for public sector. or for telecom. or for babysitting….

8. exercise independent and fair consensus-building skillsbut they embrace only as much conflict as is absolutely necessary, neither avoiding nor seeking grounds for control of a particular project segment.

8a. exercise limited and selected feedback/loop/action mechanismsbut they embrace only as much conflict as is absolutely necessary, neither avoiding nor seeking grounds for control of a particular project segment.

9. cultivate and rely on extensive informal networksthey identify any critical issues that threaten projects and handle them resolutely (vs. ignoring them)

9a. cultivate and rely on JIT expert informal networksbut solve everything just in time…

10. look forward to going to work!They believe that project management is an exciting challenge that’s critical to success. The truly great ones view project management as a career and not a job, and they treat it like so by seeking additional training and education

10a. look forward to going to work!They believe that project management is an exciting challenge that’s critical to success. The truly great ones view project management as a career and not a job, and they treat it like so by seeking additional training and education

NO CHANGE HERE,

PLEASE! ;)

well…it is easy to go back to the happy places where you feel safe…

PROJECT MANAGEMENT AS A SCIENCE

SCIENCE OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT

everyone counts (crowd science)everything counts (data science)everything you (education science)everything connected (social science)everything shared (sharing science)everything goes (information science)anytime goes (participation science) …fun is always welcome (having fun science)