Living like a Boss: Project-Managing your life

Like a bossWhen I was first asked to participate in a joint effort of PM bloggers to simultaneously publish a series of posts about their field, I asked myself a very simple question: what would be the single most basic thing about Project Management that I would consider critical for everyone to know? Continue reading

Working patterns: Why do we constantly create new problems by trying to solve the existing ones? Part 2

dangerous patternThis week we continue to discuss the reasons for why do we make our own life harder by creating new problems when solving the existing ones. Here is what you should be aware of: 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

5 Managers’ Mistakes No One Talks About (Part 1)

Portrait of man with mouth covered with tapeIn my previous post I mentioned that the issue of mistakes, especially in the field of Management, has become pretty popular recently. There are many sources, both written and online, where you can find more or less comprehensive lists of “mistakes managers make”, altogether with some recommendations about how to avoid them. Continue reading

The cost of our mistakes – can we really pay it?

Cost of our mistakesLately we hear a lot about all kinds of mistakes made by people around us: investment mistakes, foreign policy mistakes, personal relationships mistakes and so on. In many cases we find it very easy to identify ourselves with the heroes of the story because we made similar mistakes or were about to make them. Nevertheless, why did the subject of making mistakes become so popular? 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

Data vs. Information: Analysis vs. Speculation

Data vs Information1There are few people on the market today who don’t understand the importance of basing your decisions on solid data. Big Data and methods of its management and utilization are the talk of the town. Companies are building complex “client models” based on statistical analysis of client profiles; recruiters systematically analyze their pools of specialists in order to provide the best possible match for every position; and presentations during corporate meetings are full with tables and graphs.

However, does this make our decisions any better? Continue reading

What we can learn from the difference in perception of Strategic/ Tactical/Operational levels in Business and Military worlds?

Strategic Tactical OperationalI’ve already mentioned how Planning in Management is influenced by concepts devised in the Military. It’s natural, therefore, that today we usually divide Planning into three analytical levels with a strong military flavor: Operational, Tactical and Strategic (a clear example of a classical proverb that in the Military everything consists of three parts :-)). 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

8 Myths on Project Manager vs. the “Real” Manager, Part 2

Myth

5. “Soft skills are for goofs such as the Project Manager because he doesn’t know how it all works”

It’s not smart to allow your level of technical knowledge to cloud the perception of human relationships. Continue reading