June 23, 2008 - 10 Ways to Avoid Falkirk
June 23, 2008
The Falkirk battle scene in the movie Braveheart has William Wallace engaging the English army. At a crucial point in the fight, the Scottish nobles that were supposed to be his allies betrayed him and withdrew from the field, leaving him to be defeated.... Read more...
June 9, 2008 – Project Success…at What Cost?
June 9, 2008
Great things can be accomplished if Scope, Budget and Duration are no object. Here are some historical examples: Hoover Dam Scope: Stop a river and produce 2080 megawatts of power. Budget: $49M US cost (under budget) Duration: < 5 years (2 years... Read more...
June 2, 2008 - Under Construction
June 2, 2008
I am in the middle of multiple construction projects. Last week it was the guest bathroom. A trip to IKEA netted a new vanity, sink, faucet, medicine cabinet and wall shelves. For good measure I purchased a new light. Because nothing is ever simple, I... Read more...
May26, 2008 - Memorial Day
May 27, 2008
Take the time you would have spent reading this blog to honor those who have protected the innocent, preserved freedom and provided peace. Read More →
May 19, 2008 – Purpose Driven Projects
May 19, 2008
Last Friday I had the privilege of speaking at PMI-San Diego’s annual Project Management conference. There was a great turnout and several excellent key note speakers. Friday’s lunch time speaker was Karen McBride, NASA Mars Program Executive,... Read more...
May 12, 2008 – Stop Wasting My Time
May 12, 2008
My brother-in-law, Paul, tells a story about a boy, Theo, who wass afraid of clowns. The tale follows Theo’s life from childhood to teenager to young man through to his old age. At different stages in his life he attempts to survive a circus performance... Read more...
May 5, 2008 – Keeping Junk and Throwing Valuables
May 5, 2008
Value. It is a word that has come up several times over the last few weeks. My wife recently snagged me two Eisenhower dollar coins (1974 and 1978) she saw someone spending. We were also speaking to a realtor about possibly selling our house. Neither... Read more...
April 28, 2008 – Them’s Fightin’ Words!
April 28, 2008
Choosing the wrong words can start a fight. I vividly remember conducting a PMO status meeting with upper management in which I nearly started a brawl without meaning to. While reporting the results of a recent project audit, I made the observation that... Read more...
Volunteering: Good for Credibility, Bad for Blogging
April 21, 2008
Volunteering has been on my mind lately. This is partly because I am now a member of the Board of Directors for the Orange County Chapter of the Project Management Institute (www.PMI-OC.com). Volunteering is a great way to:Get involvedMeet people who... Read more...
April 14, 2008 – Surviving the Project Review Firing Squad
April 14, 2008
Companies have this crazy idea that they want their projects to be successful. To ensure this they modernized the firing squad and changed the name to “Project Review Meeting.” A recurring meeting is scheduled where the project managers stand up... Read more...