Continuing our dive into project estimating, let’s talk about two more problem areas: dependencies and project creep. These two can turn your pristine project plan into a tangled mess. No matter the size or scope of your project – whether you have just a few dependencies or tight integration with multiple systems – you’ll be […]
Blogs from this Author
Sandbagging & Lowballing : Project Estimating (Part 1)
Estimating is a precarious business – part science, a lot of guesswork, and a bit of psychic magic! The goal is to forecast the effort, time, and cost of a project with enough accuracy to avoid disaster. Project managers use some go-to methods to estimate projects. Some approaches are scientific while others are based on […]
The Curse of Perfection – Toil and Trouble
“Double, double toil and trouble,” is a line repeated by the witches in Macbeth as they lay out the ominous prophecies of greatness and dire consequences for the titular character. Macbeth’s ambition envisions a perfect ending though desperate actions and moral weakness ruin it. So too are the misguided actions in pursuit of perfection which […]
Hero, Villain, or Victim? Stories that Sabotage
In 1968, psychiatrist Stephen Karpman modeled what he called the Drama Triangle. With this, he illustrated dysfunctional mindsets that can derail social interactions. The three roles defined in this model are the rescuer (hero), persecutor (villain), and victim. This is another view of the lies we tell ourselves. Since the dawn of history, we’ve loved […]
Your Idea Factory – Quality Innovation from Quantity
Quality innovation is not for the weak at heart! Innovation myths may have you thinking it is for the lucky or the extremely talented – that’s not true. Pablo Picasso said, “Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.” Thomas Edison quipped, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls […]
5 Obtrusive Blockers to Avoid as a Servant Leader
We’ve all heard of servant leadership. The concept of “being a servant” to your teams and treating employees as critical individuals to be cultivated and empowered, has strong merit. However, many organizations fall short, with those at the top of the hierarchy viewing employees as interchangeable cogs in the corporate machine. Instead of diving deep […]
We’re All Outraged! Turning Passion into Results.
If you were to pop open any social media platform or news app right now and scroll through a couple dozen posts, you’ll easily get the feeling that everything is #%&$ falling apart. Everyone is mad at something. We now use the term “doomscrolling.” In the past we had Yellow Journalism and we are there […]
Zigs & Zags – The Opposite of a Great Idea Can Also be a Great Idea
I get a lot of enjoyment from the creative and innovative side of the work I do. Helping clients or my teams break out of the day-to-day and explore the unexpected. I’ve discussed innovation myths before and how to use lateral thinking to expand your pool of ideas in unexpected ways. One of my favorite […]
The Lies We Tell Ourselves – Why Transparency is Key
We like being lied to. If you don’t believe that, then you’re not being honest with yourself! In this article I’ll cover some of the common self-deceptions, biases, and societal pleasantries we entertain. Then, I’ll cover why transparency, even when uncomfortable, is always the better option. Self-Deception: We Lie to Ourselves From ancient society working […]
Suspend Reality – 6 Steps to Move from Fantasy to Execution
We’re just now finishing up the holiday season. At this time of year, I’m always intrigued by the magic of the holidays we celebrate, and the optimistic goals we set for the new year. Even the lies we tell ourselves. It amazes me how we collectively like to suspend reality for a bit, reflect, and […]
Consensus – The Slippery Slope of Success
Consensus is most simply defined as a general agreement. Some definitions may include the phrases “broad agreement” or “unanimous”, but a tempered meaning is the acceptance of an idea. There are very few things in life that have a single right answer. And with such diversity in the world, you’ll almost never end up with […]
Fail Like a Pro – How to Plan for and Recover from Failure
Success and failure – just like hot and cold, light and darkness, love and hate, or good and evil – these represent the ends of a familiar spectrum. Countless philosophical works have pondered these seemingly opposing concepts. My favorite view for all such opposites is that you cannot understand one without the other. They are […]