Why it’s so hard to follow schedules?

ScheduleThere is nothing new in the fact that timelines established for the projects are rarely met. Actually, we got so used to this part of workplace reality that we consider it a problem only in the most outrageous cases – when the project’s cost exceeded every budgeting expectation or when it outlived its usefulness by becoming irrelevant.

Is there a way to improve this situation? Before we are able to answer this question, we need to understand what prevents us from following the schedule in the first place. Continue reading

The Other Top Ten posts of AnyaWorkSmart

another top ten After the warm reception that my previous Top Ten post received, I decided to add another one, but this time a little different. As most people do not have the patience to look through archives of the blog for posts that do not contain the easily recognizable keywords for topics of interest, I thought to remind my readers of several posts I published in the past that to my opinion are very important for everyone to know. Continue reading

Working patterns: Why do we constantly create new problems by trying to solve the existing ones? Part 1.

tom and jerryIf you’re reading this blog, it means you’re spending some time on the Internet. It may also mean that while browsing you’ve encountered at least one of the endless variations of the “Doing it wrong” or “You had one job” memes.

If not, these memes make a laugh of exactly what their titles describe –   how the simplest tasks performed by others could go completely and ridiculously wrong. Continue reading

Risk Management to the rescue – control your Biases by proper Risk Responses

Bias on ofWhen previously discussing Risk Management  I already mentioned that the possibility of being biased while making a critical decision or engaging in important activity is a risk in its own right, that should be managed along with other risks. What are the peculiarities of managing your biases as risks in regard to what we know about the known types of Risk Responses in Management? Continue reading

Emotional Decision-Making: is there such a thing?

Emotional Decision MakingI’m completely sure that everyone reading this article had a following frustrating experience at least once in their life: during an argument you present the other side with all the possible rational pros and cons of your respective positions, and your own position appears much more advantageous. However the other side doesn’t seem to care about you being objectively right, keeping on saying that “It still doesn’t feel right!” Continue reading

Risk Assessment model – watch out for Biases!

riskIn my post on Risk Awareness  I promised to provide you with a comprehensive model for managing your risks, so here I am, fulfilling my promise 🙂

Successful managing of risks is based on their proper assessment, because the main decisions you’ll be making here would mostly be about dedicating resources for dealing with the risks. Knowing to assess the risks correctly will help you prioritize the investment of resources for each and every one of them. The model will help you Continue reading

Raising awareness of Risk Awareness

managing_risksLiving in an uncertain world makes proper Risk Management critical for survival. In our age of frequent natural and man-made disasters, volatile markets and economic meltdowns, recognizing and targeting of possible risks is of Manager’s highest priorities. Continue reading

Disaster Management – when Bias strikes

Disaster Management – when Bias strikes 1Disaster Management has one trait that distinguishes it from other fields of Management – its effectiveness is MEASURED IN HUMAN LIVES. Though many of us do not frequently have to provide decisions of the same significance, it’s interesting Continue reading

Disaster Management – something to learn from

Disaster ManagementLet’s admit it: the crisis is no longer at our doorstep, it’s already making havoc inside the house. It’s not a question of falling or not falling from a “fiscal cliff”, it’s a question of having just further cliffs before you instead of straight road.

This may well mean that ALL MANAGERS IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS ARE GONNA BECOME CRISIS MANAGERS. Continue reading