Having spent some years working on project implementations, I’ve seen everything….the good, the bad, and the ugly. Projects which aren’t going well are the worst…everyone is exhausted, demoralized, either running or blaming. In my experience, here are the top reasons why projects fail….
I remember working with a group of people on a project which was not going well. One of my directs looked at me and said “Happiness is a low base”. I started laughing because I understood what she meant. Continue reading
I’ve started an assignment and it’s an interesting one where I’m coaching/advising and explaining best practices based on my experience as a COO. In those situations, it’s sometimes hard to tell whether or not your audience is 1) being polite, 2) secretly bored and planning what they’re going to eat for dinner, or 3) quietly resentful because they have lots of other things they could be doing. Continue reading
It’s been a long time….but this article caught my eye. The article, written by Stephen Day for Entrepreneur is: “Stop Using ‘Digital Transformation’ to Describe Your Business. This Meaningless Buzzword Fails To Spotlight Your Company’s Biggest Asset.”
So one of my big pet peeves is when it’s hard to understand what something means. I am not the most patient person in the world, so if I see something, I want to understand the meaning right away. So one phrase that I dislike is “digital transformation”. Continue reading
The reality is that once you’ve created a standard template, which is well thought out and constructed, you probably don’t need to do much more to it.
The problem comes up when you don’t have a standard…and you’re reinventing the wheel every time you sit down to do the task…which repeats itself over and over again. Think about things like a new project funding request, a post mortem on a problem, a monthly update you know you need to do to present to your boss/seniors.
While no one likes doing these types of tasks, a couple of lessons learned which really helped me….
So I recently met up with an old mentor….and he had in his wallet the top tips I gave him….a laminated card! I was really surprised and thought I’d share….this is more than 20 years ago!
This sounds so basic….I mean, isn’t the truth about something self-evident? Often in business we have so many metrics, so many smart people’s opinions, so much expertise and openness….how can we not know the truth?
Well, the reality is that the truth isn’t always so obvious…. especially when things aren’t going well. It could be a project that’s falling behind, a surge in attrition…the problem is that there can be many reasons, but how do you actually get to the truth of the matter and what should be fixed first?
One technique I find myself using more and more is the following….
I recently read this …Tom Holland’s piece of advice he got from Elizabeth Olsen….and I can wholeheartedly attest to the power of this…. it was…. Continue reading
I saw an article where someone was talking about the key math calculations you need to be able to do in order to plan for retirement….but they were about things like being able to calculate interest on loans, credit card balances, etc. It got me to thinking about what calculations I do as a “sanity check”.
Full disclaimer…I cannot do math to save my life. I almost had to take accounting again in B-school but passed by 2 points. I need a calculator always. But having said that, I absolutely rely on numbers to tell me how I’m doing. The key is…what numbers? Continue reading
It’s been awhile since I’ve posted because I’ve been taking care of someone who is recovering from surgery. As we get older, the people we love are getting older too and needing medical care…particularly people with underlying conditions. So here’s my lessons learned for those of you in those situations…. Continue reading