I can speak for myself that I know I come across as… how can I put it…. abrupt or even mean.  But in my defense I would much rather people be that way with me. My directness has intimidated many people, including my own family. Ironically, they were always intimidated by my directness, but how can people work out their differences if only one person puts it out on the table and for doing so is seen as aggressive?

So here I am planning a surprise party for someone just like me, and I see what is it is like from the other side. Comments like “she is difficult”, “she is picky”, “what are you going to serve for food because she is very particular”, “what can I get her for a gift because she won’t like anything”. I think because she is vocal about her likes and dislikes she has a label of ‘difficult person’. Would it be like this for the person who plans things for me?

When did being focused, driven, independent and always trying to look for a better way to do things become bad? Aren’t these the qualities you would list on a resume? If you truly possess these traits, you can’t just be that way at work and turn it off when someone walks into your cube and jump from an A personality type to a D one. Is it ok to be direct, upfront, and aggressive in business deals but not in “real life”?

Don’t we all have likes and dislikes?

Here is an example:  When my husband and I go out with my brother and his wife, we have the “where do you want to go?… I don’t care… where do you want to go?” conversation. I am vocal about my opinion and come across as pushy, but my sister in law never speaks up. As a result, she’s often dissatisfied with the choice. Wouldn’t it have been easier for her just to speak up in the planning phase so she could avoid being somewhere she does not want to be? Communication is necessary in personal life as well as any business project planning to make sure all stakeholders’ objectives are met.

I can say it does take a certain type of person not to take it personally when I am upfront and don’t hide my feelings. There is a difference between being direct and starting conflict that can often be understood through communication and interpersonal skill development both in our personal lives and our business relationships.

Meanwhile I will keep planning my friend’s party while knowing that people have labeled her as difficult. I wonder if this is why no one throws parties for me — no one is brave enough to!

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1. Confirm that the project or phase has met all the requirements of the customer or sponsor.
2. Close procurements.
3. Verify that all deliverables have been validated and accepted.
4. Collect project or phase records.

The correct answer is 2.

Close procurements is the only answer that is not part of the Close Project or Phase process. The remaining answers are components of this process.

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Saying no stinks. When you have to make a decision on a project that stops a stakeholder from seeing their new requirement from happening it is hard to do. It is even harder when you have to end a project because it is a bad business decision.

The hardest project I have ever had to manage, and end, was the acquisition and integration of a new company. I worked at a large insurance company, and we acquired a group who had been subcontracting work for us. The work that they were doing was at a much lower cost than what we were able to deliver, and we wanted to capitalize on that. However, we also wanted to bring them into our corporate infrastructure, back office systems, and operational procedures.

As I scoped the project with the new company, we realized that we couldn’t see the efficiencies if we moved them onto our architecture as it was the systems they used that gave the cost benefit. After weeks of trying different ways with the team from the smaller company to calculate a solution that didn’t mean stopping work, we came to the realization that it just wasn’t possible. The numbers didn’t lie and there was no profit.

Telling senior management that there was no way to make that integration profitable was the hardest job I have ever done. Saying no meant that people were out of work, and we had to go an entirely different direction for the service solution. Saying no STUNK, but I knew that it was my job as a project manager to do that for the good of the company.

Oddly enough, it earned me the respect of the people in the organization who were let go. They knew that we had analyzed all of the opportunities, considered every alternative, and came to a conclusion that we didn’t like but had to admit. I don’t keep in touch with many people from the company who I was actually working for—I do keep in touch with the people who were in the acquired company because together we fought for a project that inevitably just couldn’t make it.

Sometimes the best teams you will ever have are the ones who fight the good fight but let go before achieving the goal. It is not a failure if a project never is completed if the right decision is to walk away. Finishing with no benefit is failure.

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In my last blog I suggested that it is okay to reinvent the wheel. After all, the wheel is not that difficult to invent; it’s the wheel and axle concept that provides the greatest challenge. But wait, I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s use our Second Life teleport and travel back to the Bronze Age and the invention of the wheel and axle.

The wheel was not a difficult thing to conceive; it’s just a round object that rolls in a given direction. The use of the wheel for practical purposes, however,  was the tricky and difficult part. The “stroke of brilliance was the wheel-and-axle concept”, says David Anthony, a professor of anthropology at Hartwick College. “But then making it was also difficult”.

There are several concepts to the wheel and axle that make it such a complex system: the ends of the axle have to be perfect, as do the holes in the center of the wheels; otherwise there will be too much friction to turn the wheels. Additionally, the axles have to fit to be free to rotate — it cannot fit too tightly or too loosely. Finally, the success of the entire structure is dependent on the size of the axle, or there will be too much friction to support the load. Because of these complexities, the wheel and axel system cannot be developed in phases. It is an all-or-nothing structure.

Let’s take a closer look:

The basic principle to understand the operation of the wheel and axle is work and tension. Let’s see how this fits into our business model with the wheel being business units and the axle representing business processes. We have a clearly defined set of business goals, and we want to complete these goals using the least amount of energy necessary.

When energy is changed from one form to another we say we are doing work.

The actual equation is:

Change in potential energy = Work done = (mass) x (change in height) x (gravity)

The change in energy (work done) relies only on mass (the object), height (the distance accelerated against gravity) and gravity (the strength of the gravity). If we eliminate the change in height, in principle, no work needs to be done to move forward.

Note to self: Don’t carry projects forward by lifting them to great heights against gravity. If I move them in the same direction as the motion, the gravity of the project won’t be working against me.

Oh, but wait… It can’t be that simple. Won’t that create friction, and won’t that friction act horizontally, opposing the motion? True enough, the wheel won’t get rid of friction, but it will reduce it.

Work = force x distance

Reducing the distance will reduce the work. The smaller the axle, the smaller the distance moved by the wheel against the axle, and so the less the work.

Note to self:  the smaller the axle (i.e. the more refined the business process) between the wheels (business units) the less work required to meet my objectives.

So far this all sounds great but won’t the wheel and axle create tension if I continue to move an object forward in the same direction horizontally? Yes, the wheel and axle was really not intended to be used to roll things, but to work like a pulley: to change the direction of the tension. With the pulley system, the force of one section is redirected and the opposite force is applied to the other section.

Note to self: I cannot ignore tension that is created by the forward movement of a business objective. Instead, by redirecting the tension created when moving an object (business goal) by creating an opposing tension (solution), the amount of work is reduced; thereby getting me to my objectives without extending as much energy.

Time to teleport back to this century and learn from our Bronze Age ancestors. Changing the wheel is not difficult. I can continually refine and improve my wheel; however even the best wheel cannot move my business objective forward without a well designed wheel-and-axle concept. It’s a complex concept that cannot be developed in phases as this might create more work and tension. If my business processes are not working, I think that I won’t try to fix them one spoke or principle at a time. I’m going to take the time to look at the overall wheel-and-spoke structure.

So, go ahead and change your wheel all you want, but please leave my axle alone.

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Doesn’t the company Christmas party sometimes come off more like a pep rally? Do you ever catch yourself ducking the executive suite like it’s the principal’s office? Do you have this inherent department pride when compared to some other random department—like it’s seniors versus juniors?

I was lucky. I attended a tiny high school in rural NC that doesn’t even exist anymore. My high school actually included grades 7–12. That’s right. I essentially had six years of high school. I graduated with 84 other teenagers and, for the most part, had a great experience.

But as a seventh grader, it was kind of harrowing that I went to school, ate lunch, and rode the bus with young adults who could drive, shave, and possibly vote. Despite a six-year age range, there was little strife at my school. We always saved it for the opposing teams during Friday football games.

In the years since, after graduating from college and spending time at both large and small companies, I’m still amazed at how much the workplace can be like high school. Whether you are a new graduate entering the workforce or a seasoned member of the employed, you can apply these high school lessons to be successful in the workplace:

It’s Who You Know

Obviously, a small rural high school is going to be located in a small rural area. If you’re not familiar, folks in a small rural town know everybody and everything about everybody. I have to admit though having my mom’s best friend from church behind the lunch counter was fairly beneficial. We won’t talk about the algebra teacher my dad used to date since I’m trying to keep this positive. Identifying the influencers in your company may be much tougher than picking out your parent’s friends in the cafeteria. The influencers aren’t necessarily the top executives. Sometimes their assistants hold that honor. And don’t underestimate the value of a good relationship with the receptionist. I’ve had the privilege of working side-by-side with top executives over the years. Having a communications background has its advantages. Getting to the busiest of execs means knowing their schedules, and usually assistants know executives’ schedules and habits better than the bosses do. After all, you don’t want to spend half the day waiting around for an exec whose return flight was delayed. Or, possibly worse, you don’t want to try to pitch your brilliant money-saving idea to an exec who is 15 minutes away from leaving for an important trip.

The In-Crowd or Finding the BMOC

Like I said, I had it pretty good in high school. I wasn’t the best looking, most athletic, or even the most popular. My high school life was made better mostly because of my older brother. The coolest guy at my school? He was my older brother’s good friend. The prettiest girl at my school? She had a crush on my older brother. The toughest guy at my school? He played church softball with my brother. So, well, we were cool with each other. Knowing the in-crowd has its advantages, especially for a seventh grader. But it’s tougher in the workplace to identify the true influencers. More chances than not, there’s someone at your company you know outside of work. If you got the job because of someone you know, then you’re ahead of the game. Knowing them obviously didn’t hurt your chances. But, ask folks questions about where they’re from and where they live now. Notice what teams they root for and if you have children the same age. These common factors are more powerful than you think. I recently discovered that a woman I work with went to college with my wife and grew up 20 miles from me, so we’re cool with each other. The rural life wasn’t for us apparently. My newfound connection with her allows me access to a whole different set of folks in a different department. While she doesn’t run that department, she is well liked and seen as an asset to the company. You can’t have enough friends at work like that.

Save It for the Field

Every school has that standout athlete or overachieving team. At my school, it was the girl’s basketball team. They were state champions two years in a row. Interestingly, my friends on the boy’s basketball team at times were not the most supportive. In the workplace, you have to recognize when you’re the hated and when you’re simply the hater. Typically, sales teams get a lot of patting on the back. Pep rallies aside, they bring in the revenue, so props may be well deserved. I’ve worked on communications and marketing teams in support of sales teams, and that can be a minefield. Salespeople want to score, but they need help making that goal from other departments in the organization. Whether that means essentially being a water boy or team manager, do what you have to do to be as supportive as possible. It’s essential that, if it’s within your skill set and duties, you’re the one helping and not the one hating.

Beware the Mean Girls and the Bullies

If you’ve never noticed that the workplace has bullies and mean girls just like high school, then let this be your enlightening moment. Wait for it… there you go. So just like high school, it’s tough avoiding bullies and mean girls. They’re in finance, they’re in the mailroom, and they’re in the IT department. And just like high school, they exist to make your life as hellacious as possible. Hopefully they are not your boss. If so, that sucks for you. I’ve always tried the “kill ’em with kindness” stance, because bullies and mean girls don’t change. If they still have their job in this economy, they must bring some value to the table, and servicing your needs is not a priority they are judged on apparently. So identify these folks who potentially can and will make your life at work harder. Be cordial to them but beware. Bullies and mean girls can smell insincerity faster than anyone. Like most bullies and mean girls, they’re probably just misunderstood. Having a little more patience with them could pay dividends you never imagined. It won’t be easy, but just the fact of knowing who could possibly impede your success at work is more important than how many days ‘til summer vacation.

My presentation was at 7:30 AM on Thursday morning. I had low expectations for the number of attendees, but I was pleasantly surprised. The rather large room was mostly full. People are interested in hearing what cloud-related incidents other organizations see as well as how organizations are handling those incidents.

My presentation basically concluded with this: based on the data, organizations that address cloud issues with some kind of knowledge management game plan tend to see both a reduction in the number of incidents over time and a decrease in the level of support over time. This is for a couple of reasons. First, with effective knowledge management the user community is exposed to, users develop the ability to diagnose and correct their own cloud incidents. Second, with effective knowledge management the organization’s operational support teams are better able to find knowledge when it’s needed, thus reducing the load on the service desk and other support teams.

Organizations that choose to ignore this by not implementing some type of knowledge management run the risk that the prevalence of cloud incidents will increase over time, and the amount of support required to address those incidents over time will remain high.

It’s clear that as service providers we can’t simply throw money and resources at the incidents we face, regardless of the source. Many of us work in environments that increase in complexity, and, with increasing complexity, the absence of effective knowledge management leads to more incidents that require higher levels of support.

As a manager I am a straight shooter (please note that this may be an understatement to those who work with me). There is no question where you stand with me or what I am thinking. If I love you, then you know it. If I find you frustrating as all get out to deal with, then I spell that out as well. I do not believe in trying to dance around an issue but prefer to smash it head on. The good news is that I am never going to say anything about anyone behind their back that I would not (and probably have) told them directly so that we can honestly and openly deal with the issue. That being said, sometimes I am reminded that a bit more tact and diplomacy is a good thing to exercise.

As of late I have been blatantly honest about a challenged process at my organization (and what organization doesn’t have one or two of those?) It is one of those things that managers have to deal with. For example (and this is not a REAL example, so please, if someone reads this, don’t get mad at me!) maybe your finance department cannot provide you with accurate data for project spend on equipment because your company chooses not to track capital expenses against each project. It is a common thing that companies do not do (tracking project expenses such as % of utilization of equipment, employee hours, etc.) — and yet as a project manager you are expected to manage to a budget. What budget can you manage to if you can’t track and see actuals? Unfortunately the answer is that you have to construct the answer for yourself. Your team can give you effort estimates, and you can track against that. It is not as ideal as literal cost, but it at least gives you an ongoing idea of whether you are on, behind, or ahead of effort plan. You can do the same for external costs (such as equipment or vendor).

When you get frustrated at dealing with the same issue for what feels like the fiftieth time, sometimes it is easy to lose your temper and say things that are wrong. Finance is not being stubborn, ridiculous, or trying to really make your life difficult. They have their own set of policies and procedures and are probably trying their best to do what they can to help you—they just don’t do things the way that you do.

As a project manager, you are a leader. It is up to you to figure out how to get your work done within the constraints of your organization. Sometimes I forget that what seems like a broken process has people behind it and those people work just as hard as I do to make the entire engine run. As a project manager and a leader, it is important for me to be cognizant of how everyone contributes, and rather than spend energy complaining, spend that same energy coming up with a solution that is the best for the organization as a whole. Sometimes this means working to fix the process or find a workaround with the team in question that works for everyone. Sometimes this means doing things a different way. Whatever way, I can only hope that I remember that process and people are intertwined, and to complain about process can make people feel that they are unappreciated and unvalued, and that is not what I ever intend to do.

This is an apology to the people in a group of my organization who I owe one to (and I am pretty sure they know who they are). I will not apologize for being frustrated with process, as I think it is fair to be honest about the fact that I still believe that the processes are in need of improvement. However, to the people who work incredibly hard to make sure our products live up to our customer expectations I want you to know that I do appreciate your efforts, and I am sorry if anything I have said makes you think that I do not value the effort that you put forth.

I’m now going to pick feathers from my teeth and focus on a document that hopefully will help us all collaborate a bit better going forward.

1. Task 89 is riskiest.
2. Task 101 is riskiest.
3. Risk cannot be determined based on the given information.
4. Both are equally risky.

The correct answer is 2

One way to determine the riskiness of a task is to look at the float of the task. The formula for float is LST — EST (late start time minus early start time). Task 89 has 13 time units of positive float. Task 101 has 13 time units of negative float. Negative float means that the project is behind schedule, so task 101 is the riskier of the two tasks. If this task is not finished earlier, the project will finish late.

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Types of Wheels

Steering wheel – Controls direction of movement but does not contribute to the actual progression of movement. The steering wheel should be used with deliberate, strategic movement. Dry steering, the act of turning while stationary, should be avoided as it generally puts a strain on the steering mechanism and causes undue wear.

Hot wheel – A “tricked out” car and is only a functional version of the real thing. Its intended use is on a track going nowhere but around and around and around at a fast pace; sometimes flying off track, requiring a yellow flag while you get back on track.

Ferris wheel – Also known as an “Observation Wheel” or “Big Wheel”. The Ferris wheel is an impressive landmark that provides suitable entertainment for many. It’s a non-building structure – a system of connected parts used to support a load. The Ferris wheel is not designed for continuous occupancy; there is no forward motion, and it moves in a non-continuous circular movement with designated starts and stops.

Hamster wheel – Okay, maybe now I’m just having a little fun, but I think it’s worth including. The Hamster wheel allows rodents to run in confined space. The run can be so intense that it may result in foot lesions. But fear not, project manager: the lesions scab over quickly and do not prevent the hamster from continuing its run on the wheel.

Wire wheel – Employs the hub-and-spoke concept to provide a smooth rolling motion that reduces friction.

The hub-and-spoke wheel in project management has undergone changes through the years. Below is a list of hub-and-spoke concepts:

Organic – business units are inconsistent in size and may not be directly connected to others

Centralized – traditional organizational chart where business units funnel up to one group or individual

Central hub-and-spoke – multiple business units connect to a central hub through a series of connecting spokes

Multiple hub-and-spoke “Dandelion” – each business unit may have semi autonomy with an over arching tie back to a central group

Holistic Honeycomb – each individual in the organization is social enabled, yet in a consistent, organized pattern

Do you see your project management wheel listed above? Does your wheel roll smoothly reducing friction? If not, go ahead and reinvent the wheel.

After all, it’s not the wheel that is difficult to invent, it’s the wheel and axle concept that provides the greatest challenge…

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1. A means of delivering value to customers by facilitating outcomes that customers want to achieve without the ownership of specific costs and risks
2. A means of delivering costs to customers, by facilitating outcomes that customers have paid for without the ownership of specific value and risks
3. A means of nullifying risk to customers, by offering products that customers want without the ownership of specific infrastructure items
4. A means of delivering best practice to customers, by facilitating outcomes that customers want to achieve.

The correct answer is 1.

A service provides value while taking away the ownership of specific cost and specific risk.

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