Belief Systems, Projects And A Guy With A Hammer
December 1, 2009 @ Project Shrink from Bas de Baar
Cliche alert. To a guy with a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
Or, perhaps more appropriate: to a shrink every problem is psychological.
I view projects as a set of social interactions. And because we all define problems, solutions and things in general from our belief system, I see most project events in terms of communication, culture and behavior.
If I read Standish Chaos Reports about the causes of project failure, I read “80% are communication / people problems”. Others might read “lack of certain process components”, and others might see faulty research.
Eliminating The Bottleneck
In my very early experiences with off shoring (eons ago), I saw a “problem”. A communication bottleneck. A very small offshore team had a Project Manager through whom all information flowed. I saw that as an unnecessary step. From a “communication” perspective I was right. However, the team needed on site hierarchy to be grounded in their organization. From a “cultural” perspective I was wrong.
Holding Similar Views
If you hold an identical perspective, have a similar belief system, it is easier to understand my opinion and writing. That’s is one of the main points in “Should A Project Manager Have A Duck?”
If you have an idea about my thinking, it is easier to understand my point of view, and it’s easier to talk about it. If you have read my blog (or the convenient collection of articles in my free ebook), if you have seen my about page, you have some understanding of where I am coming from.
My reputation space helps me to improve our communication.
This is only 50% of the story.
Creating the opportunity for the other person to see your mental background, is just the first part. Being able to “read” the other persons background and actually using it, is the more difficult, second part.
It’s hard. But worth the trouble.
Dialogue helps. That’s why I interview people about their thing.
That’s why I am starting two podcast with other people (more about this awesomeness later this week 
).
Subscribe with iTunes to "The Project Shrink" video podcast.
Belief Systems, Projects And A Guy With A Hammer
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