Rotten Carrots
In a recent TED Talk, Dan Pink waxed eloquently about the ‘surprising science of motivation‘, describing the problems with how we run our businesses. I agree with what he has to say, and would take it even one step further. Read more
Training for Value
It would be naive to suggest that I don’t generate a good percentage of revenue from training engagements. Unfortunately, it would also be naive to suggest that these engagements consistently provide the most value for my clients. In fact, the opposite is true in many cases. Not because the training provided is bad (as there is plenty of objective evidence to the contrary), but because most organizations bring in training for the wrong reasons. Read more
An Outdated Investment Model
For a number of reasons, I believe that the model used by many venture capital firms is in dire need of a retread. While the model has shown to be profitable in the past, this appears to be more a lucky, accidental result of circumstances rather than through proactive application of sound business principles. These thoughts here are based on my somewhat limited exposure to working with venture capital firms, certainly talking to others and following the news, but also sitting down with a couple of VC’s and walking through this. Read more
Off the Beaten Path
Any project manager that has managed (or worked on) even a single project knows that every project will veer off of the planned route in some way. For many projects, this initial deviation is the start of a cascading effect of chaos and reactive decisions that results in delays, dropped scope or reduced quality. Rather than fight it, we should be preparing ourselves to deal with the inevitable unplanned events as best as possible. Read more
Administrative Reporting
I’m just finishing my first round facilitating an intensive project management program with a local university. If there is one thing to distill out as a common challenge among the teams is that there isn’t nearly enough depth of reflection as we move through the project phases. There is a lot of administrative reporting. Read more
Refine the Messaging Platform
There are a lot of things that I like about the agile movement, many of the things I have been doing myself or recommending to clients for years. Short iterations, plenty of interaction, early value and strong leverage of change. A critical new improvement is that it is now OK to talk about how you are going to approach a problem, to talk about process without thinking that the whole thing is a waste of time and money: a nasty stigma has been removed. One thing that is still holding us back, though, is the argument by many agilistas that you have to jump on the bandwagon or you won’t be successful. Read more
Is It Worth Not Doing It?
Usually, when I’m talking about different requirements practices, I use traceability as a practice that adds quite a bit of value for things like impact analysis. In most shops, though, the cost of developing and maintaining exhaustive traceability, whether real or perceived, far exceeds any potential value. That’s not always the case, though, and sometimes it takes a different approach, risk analysis, to understand how that value reaches the tipping point. Read more
What To Do…
Once in a great while, I find myself in a position where I wonder what to do next. This is rare, of course, as usually there are more than enough things to keep me occupied. With technology companies, it is almost always the case that there is way too much to do, and even worse, it is almost always someone else that seems to be calling the shots. From what I have seen, there is a better way. Read more
Labour Shortage, or Underfostered Talent?
In what seems to be a vicious cycle, the local tech community is currently expressing a dramatic need for more talent. There is a huge number of job postings that remain unfilled, and upswing in placement activity for the local recruiting community. At a personal level, far more people are asking me if I know someone that can fill a role, rather than asking if I know anyone that might need their services. Read more
