Project Shrink

A project has its own culture. This culture can be very different from the organization it is operating in. How do you make sure the project culture isn’t crushed by the larger organizations’ culture? And how do you make sure that project team members are still welcome in the organization when the project is done? [...]

“All this talking about self-organization, complex systems and other fuzzy wuzzy stuff. HOW DO I USE THIS IN A REAL PROJECT?” Fair enough. It is the same question I have. In this post I will outline my idea for a technique that combines the notion of a project as human system working towards a desired [...]

Ever tried to have a conversation while your aunt Edna is yapping, loud, having a chat with someone else one feet away? It’s hard to concentrate when another conversation is interfering with yours. Your communication channel gets polluted. Aunty Edna isn’t aware of what see is doing. She didn’t intend to sabotage my conversation. I [...]

Aligning the means between individuals, project and organization is a Herculean task for any Project Leader. The means are the rules of the project. The way things are done. Following are two strategies that can be used to align means. To provide you with some ideas. To start the discussion. Patterning – Going Through The [...]

We are working with people from all over the world. Globalization goes together together with an increase in transparency of reputations. The Internet introduced deadly transparency. The flattened and connected world makes sure reputations spread faster than you can say “Slartibartfast”. With an increase in geographical and cultural distance the aspect of “trust” becomes all [...]

We all know that the key ingredient to successful outsourcing is frequent and fast feedback; keep your customer in the loop, let him know about your progress and problems and get him involved. Next to “communication” the keyword is “transparency”. What happens if you take this to the next level? What if the productivity of [...]