I Couldn't Have Said It Better Myself, Oh Wait I Did

Have you ever sat in a meeting and heard someone say something you said as if it was their own idea? Or have you ever watched someone else get credit for your hardwork? While most of us have probably had this occur at some point, how many of us actually do something about it? How many of us stand up and say something? Or take action so that it doesn't occur again? Today's blog is about making your voice heard, whoever you are, wherever you are.

So what can we do?

Documentation, Documentation, Documentation
As mentioned in some of my previous entries, documentation is incredibly important to the success of your professional career. What documentation does is put a stake in the ground, it creates a record, an account of your activity, your thoughts, your ideas in a form that can be retrieved and undisputed at a later date. While documentation does not provide any guarantees, it does allow you to depend on something more than memory and hearsay.

Say It Loud, Say It Proud
We all have a voice, so why not let people hear it? Whether you are the CEO or the summer intern, we all have our own unique experiences and knowledge to bring. Sharing your ideas is what distinguishes you from everyone else, its what sets you apart. On the flip side, asking someone for their opinion is probably one of the greatest gifts you can give them, it shows that you value them and what they can bring to the table. As Winston Churchill said, "No idea is so outlandish that it should not be considered."

Do Onto Others, As You Would Have Them Do Onto You
This final concept is something that I like to practice in my own life and it is about treating people the way that I would want to be treated. In reference to the subject of this blog, just as I would want to be valued and credited for my thoughts and contributions, so too, I try and make sure that I always appreciate everyone around me. Whether you stayed late, came up with a solution, reviewed my work...if you were involved in any way, I try and make sure that not only you, but that everyone involved, knows.

This blog discusses the concept of intellectual property and ensuring that your contributions are noticed and in turn that you notice the contribution of others. The importance of this concept is incredibly significant. Recognition, if done correctly results in a sense of appreciation and self worth, while lack of acknowledgment can lead to low self-esteem and accelerated employee turnover. As we move into 2008, my resolution is to neither fear nor apologize for who I am, to be true to myself. After reading through this entry, my hope is that we can all recognize our own self worth and the value that we can bring to the table.

"If you do not express your own original ideas, if you do not listen to your own being, you will have betrayed yourself." ~ Rollo May

My Privacy, Like Ontario, Is Yours To Discover

A colleague of mine recently sent me a link to a report on privacy, or the lack of privacy in today's world of social networking Can Privacy Exist on the Internet. In watching the report, it discusses how now more than ever people are sharing vasts amounts of information on the Internet and whether or not having the information in a public forum such as the Internet, removes the user's claim to privacy. Specifically, the report focuses on the boom of Facebook and whether or not employers have the right to screen candidates via Facebook.

Today's entry is not about the pros or cons of Facebook, which I've already spoken about in my entry To Facebook Or Not To Facebook, That Is The Question?. But rather, today's entry is about privacy, and how much of it we actually have in today's world of information.

Recently Facebook has taken a lot of heat about the amount of information it collects and who has access to this information. How Facebook has more data on the individual than the Government, and that they are selling it off to the highest bidder....But before we all jump on this George Orwell 1984 bandwagon about "Big Brother", let's take a step back. All of the information collected through Facebook, is user generated. Not only is it user generated, but it is willingly user generated. Which means if you don't want Facebook, the Government, or anyone else for that matter, knowing your personal information, don't give it. User's need to take some responsibility for the information that is out there.

Personally, I have never had a problem with Facebook, my bigger issues are with our email and instant messenger applications. Everyone is up in arms about the data that is transferred through social networking, but what about our everyday email? How many of us read the fine print when signing up for an email account? All the data that is transferred in private emails and instant message conversations can be read by the owners of the email client (i.e. google or yahoo).

Now I know what your thinking, that it's all just fine print that the companies don't actually read through your personal communications. This is what I thought too, until one of my professors at Humber had us sign up for a gmail account. What I discovered, blew me away. With gmail, there are advertisements along the side of all of your email communication, and if you look closely, they are all focused on the contents of your email. For example, you send your friend Bob an email about going up to the cottage for the weekend to do some fishing, you'll see that the advertisements on the page are all about fishing, cottage rentals, weekend retreats.... To my knowledge, gmail is the first email application to blatantly read the contents of your emails, but that isn't to say that the other ones don't.

Issues of privacy infringement aren't restricted to social networking and email communications, but can be seen through the use of cellphones as well. I'm sure you've all seen some spy movie where the Government taps into a conversation due to the use of some code word, or that the police locate the bad guy by tracking the location of the cell tower being used. These concepts aren't science fiction, but are in fact a very true reality. There are various companies out there, that can pull up a report on anyone of us at the drop of a hat, where we grew up, went to school, who we were friends with....

We can all be tracked, we can all have our privacy infringed on, the question is how much can we control it? Do the negatives of technological advancement outweigh the positives and therefore prevent us from engaging in them? These are all questions to be answered on a personal case by case level, but here's my thoughts...

Technology has always shown us two sides, a good and a bad. Those of us who choose not to advance, to play it safe, will lose out on all the amazing opportunities that technology has brought us. Those who are willing to take the risk, should do so cautiously. Information that you want to remain private, keep to yourself, or share the old fashioned way through face to face communication. Before sharing any information, you should always take a second and think about the consequences of people finding out...if the consequences are really bad then maybe think twice about sharing in the first place.

This isn't a blog on how to become technologically paranoid, but rather how to use common sense. We can't place all the blame on the medium, but rather we need to share in the onus ourselves. And after reading this blog, if you are really concerned about your privacy, google yourself and see what comes up?!

A Game of Spin The Bottle

Today's entry, takes a look at my own experiences, with regard to project accountability, specifically when dealing with failures, opposed to successes of a project. What I have found, is that the idea of project accountability is often a game of spin the bottle, where one closes their eyes and chooses at random who is to blame for the latest hiccup in the success of a project.

Is it the Account Manager for not communicating the proper client needs at the start of the project? Is it the Information Designer for not detailing the proper structure for the project? Is it the Creative Designer for not designing according to the specified technical requirements? Is it the Technical Developer for not properly coding? Is the Quality Control for not testing correctly? Is it the Project Manager for not managing successfully?

As you can see the blame can fall on anyone who is involved in the project, from the very beginning of the RFP stage, all the way through to the final delivery of the project. The question I have, is does it really matter? When working on a project, you are not representing yourself, but rather you are a component of a greater team, like the cliché tells us "there's no I in TEAM". When I deliver a successful project, I never think "WOW, I'm a great PM, look at what I did", but rather I turn to my team and thank them for a job well done. Why? Because it was the team as a whole, that delivered the success. So too, when there is a failure, it is a reflection of the whole team.

So we've determined that failure, like success, is team dependent, opposed to individually specific, which means that the question of whose responsible is really irrelevant. What is important however, is what we do about it?

From my own experiences, I have found that the most common reaction to failure is to have meetings and discussions about process, communication, and documentation. What this does, is create an organized and rational approach to failure, it provides a paper trail as to what caused the failure and more importantly who to blame for it! Now if you've read today's entry you can see the dilemma, in that the solution to our problem is to point out an irrelevant fact, that provides no solution at all.

Do not misinterpret this blog, I believe that process, communication, and documentation are all very important factors in having a successful team and delivering successful projects, what I don't believe, is that these things will help when trying to address failure. These things identify responsibility, but do not address accountability. It is my opinion that the only true way to address accountability is through action. For whatever reason, we often jump at rewarding success, but are nervous or hesitant about addressing failure. But let's be honest, if there is never any repercussion for failure, what is there to prevent it from happening again?

If A Tree Falls In A Forest And No One Is Around To Hear It, Does It Make A Sound?

The philosophical question "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?", is a question that I'm sure we've all heard before... it is the idea of whether or not something can exist without being perceived. However, for today's entry, I would like to put my own spin on this age old question, and ask "If a person communicates and no one is around to see it, did the communication really occur?"

This entry isn't about the importance of communication or best practices on how to communicate (to find out more about communication read What We Have Hear Is A Failure To Communicate) ...but rather it is assuming that you already know this and our practicing the art of communication on a daily basis. No, today's entry is about how to "appear" to be communicating.

Frankly speaking, one of my greatest struggles both personally and professionally has always been communication. In working on trying to improve my ability to communicate, I have found that perception is often as important as reality (if not more so). That being said, the following are a few tips on how to create the "perception" of communication:

• Document, Document, Document ~ I cannot emphasize enough, how important documentation is. Without documentation of communication you are left with an endless battle of He Said She Said. What did you agree to? When did you say it would be delivered? Who is responsible for delivering it?...There's a famous quote which says that "a verbal contract isn't worth the paper it's written on", meaning that words are just words, without documentation you have nothing. That being said, the practice that I've taken on lately is to send a follow-up email after a call or a meeting, in which I always start with the following words "As discussed...", this not only provides physical documentation about what you communicated about, but also establishes that there was both an oral and documented form of communication.
  
• The Loop Is A Good Place To Be ~ I know that when I first started working, I worked on a very "need to know" basis. If I thought you needed to know something or be involved, I would tell you, otherwise, I would handle everything on my own. I thought that cc'ing people on emails or doing daily status reports, showed a lack of trust or ability. But I've come to learn that keeping people in the loop is a result of working in a team, it doesn't mean that you can't succeed on your own, it means that people want to be involved and share in your experiences. That being said, I've taken on a new outlook, which is to share everything! If people don't want to be cc'd on something they can delete your email. If they don't want to come to a meeting, they can decline your request. Basically, put the onus of being involved on someone else, plus by keeping everyone in the loop, they can see when, how, and with whom your communicating, so really it's a Win Win situation.
  
• Get Physical ~ This tactic of creating the perception of communication, is by far my favourite, and is one that I have just recently adapted into my own personal practice. It is the idea of creating a physical appearance of communication. For example, it is very easy when you have a question to pick up a phone, send an email, shoot over an instant message...but what does this do? It gets you your answer, it fulfills your need of communicating, but it is very private. It is a practice of communication only apparent to yourself and the other party involved. But what happens, when you physically get up and go sit at someones desk? All of a sudden, everyone around you sees that you're communicating and after all, that is the key focus of today's entry.
  

Hopefully, the above tips will help guide you in your own personal journey of communication... and remember we live in a world where we judge based on appearances and therefore if a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, we know that it still makes a sound, we just have to work extra hard in proving that to everyone else.

Do You Trust Me?

“Trust is to human relationships what faith is to gospel living. It is the beginning place, the foundation upon which more can be built. Where trust is, love can flourish.” (Barbara Smith)

Today's blog entry is about trust and how, just as it is crucial to the foundation of a good relationship, so to, is it crucial to good Project Management. In my experience as a Project Manager, I have come to realize how critical trust is, to delivering a successful project, not only with regard to your client relationships, but in respect to your internal relationships as well.

Looking first at the relationship between you and your client, we see that the component of trust is apparent from beginning to end. In fact, by your initial meeting, your client has already taken that first leap, in that they are trusting you to develop a successful solution that will not only answer their immediate needs, but that will benefit their company in the long run as well. That trust then continues to grow through the life cycle of the project, in that both parties trust each other to work in an open and honest manner, with respect to communication and deliverables. And finally, the project comes full circle with your client trusting you to deliver on what you initially promised, and in turn you trusting your client to be appreciative of your final deliverable.

And then there is the aspect of trust and the internal relationship. Now, it is in my opinion, that it is this trust that is ultimately the more important of the two relationships, since it is this internal trust which can affect how one perceives themselves and without self-trust, all other types of trust are unattainable. So how do we see trust in internal relationships? Easy...between you and your superiors, there is the trust that you will successfully sustain your relationships with your clients. Between you and your colleagues...there is the trust that you can depend on one another to be supportive and help guide and answer questions that you may face on your corporate journey. Between you and your team...that they trust you to successfully manage and lead the project from start to finish and that in turn you trust them to work together and deliver a final product that not only meets the original goal but if possible exceeds the client's expectations.

So how do we develop this trust? How do we get to a point where we trust others, that others trust us, and that most importantly we trust ourselves? The answer as I'm sure you've heard before, is that trust isn't just given, but rather it is earned. So in order to earn our trust, I've listed below a few helpful hints...

• Do Your Homework ~ True to any relationship, you need to do your homework before jumping in. In a personal relationship, it might be the type of music that she likes? In an internal relationship, it could be what type of personalities are going to clash when working together? In a client relationship the questions are deeper, what is the client's background, what are their needs, who are their competition... Doing this type of research shows that you are not in the relationship for a quick win, but rather that you truly care and are in it for the long run.
• Pay Your Dues ~ As mentioned previously, trust is not given, it is earned. Don't expect to gain someones trust right off the bat, but rather put in the work, make the effort, and over time you will see the trust begin to develop. Keep in mind, that earning someones trust is a long and often uphill battle, but one that is well worth it in the end.
• Communicate, Communicate, Communicate ~ If trust is the foundation to a relationship, then communication is the foundation to trust. When trying to gain someones trust, good communication is the best way to go. Be honest in your relationship, come clean if you are at fault and stand your ground if your not. Share your opinion, let the other people involved know that you bring value to this relationship, that you are here to listen as well as provide insight. (For more on communication please read my entry "What We Have Here Is A Failure To Communicate")
• Follow-up ~ I just attended a networking event a couple of weeks ago, which was being run by a group called "Follow-up Systems" and basically what they spoke up about was the importance of following-up and how a simple phone call or email can make a huge impact and that it is often all it takes to set you apart from your competition. This point goes back to what I previously mentioned about doing your homework, in that it reinstates the fact that you care. Taking time to follow-up shows the other party that not only do you value the relationship, but that you are invested in it as well.
• Walking The Walk ~ All of the other tips mentioned are great in building up a sense of trust, but the the true test isn't whether you can "talk the talk" but whether you can "walk the walk". Do you deliver on your promises? Do your end results equal or surpass your original goals? No matter how great your PR is, if you can't deliver, that sense of trust disappears quickly. As they say, "the proof is in the pudding"!

My hope is that wherever you are working, and whomever you are working with, that you have already established a sense of trust and that this entry was nothing more than a light read to help pass the time. But if you are still searching for that trust factor, than I hope that the above tips will help guide you in your quest. And remember...

"Self-trust is the first secret of success." (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

What Exactly Is It That You Do?

For better or for worse, it's been over a month since I last posted a submission and I decided that today was the day to change that, as a colleague of mine often says "new day, new attitude". To help me get back on track with my "weekly" submissions, I decided to take a step back and address the simple question "what does a Project Manager do?"

Whether in jest or in true sincerity, I have often been asked "what exactly do you do?" as if the computer and phone in front of me are just a facade, to cover up my 24 hour ceiling tile counting addiction. So before we delve into anymore blog topics, I felt a necessity to explain what exactly Project Management is.

But first, lets take a look at what a project is...

A project is a plan, proposal, or scheme with a specific goal or outcome, to be accomplished within a set amount of time and within a predetermined budget. While this definition can apply to many everyday tasks (i.e. paint the house, plan a wedding, setup a school fundraiser...), the projects that I often come in contact with are those which involve the interactive world wide web, such as developing websites, deploying email communication pieces, and creating online marketing strategies.

So now that we understand what a project is, we need to figure out what exactly is a Project Manger...

A Project Manager is the person assigned to pulling together all the various players and pieces, which if done successfully, will bring your project in on time and on budget. A good Project Manager has the ability to stand back and see the whole picture, to not only see what needs to be done but how it needs to be done in order to attain the agreed upon end goal. They must be able to master the art of communication, to create a sense of order in a time of chaos, and to maintain a sense of levelheadedness when it appears as though all hope is lost.

While the above gives us a general idea of who a Project Manager is, below is a look at some of tasks a Project Manager does:

• Project Plan ~ elaborating on the original project goal, and breaking out into detail how this goal will be accomplished, tested, and delivered
  
• Project Budget ~ looking at the scope of the project as set by the various project stakeholders and determining a set budget to work within
  
• Project Timeline ~ deciding on a delivery date with the various stakeholders, ensuring that the final date works for both your client as well as your internal team
  
• Project Status ~ ensuring that your team is staying on scope and on budget throughout the entire project life cycle
  
• Team Morale ~ often one of the more difficult tasks of Project Management, wherein you are assigned the task of managing people, insuring that your team stays united towards a common goal throughout the entire duration of your project
  
• Assessing Risk ~ watching the progress of your project and your production team and forecasting any possible complications that might arise and how to solve them before they occur
  
• Stakeholders ~ keeping the lines of communication open amongst the various project stakeholders, ensuring that everyone is continuously working towards the same common goal
  
• Project Delivery ~ delivering the final project, ensuring that it is on time, budget, and scope as originally determined at the beginning of the project life cycle
  

Hopefully, through this blog, I have demystified the world of Project Management, and if nothing else, I have given you reason to think twice the next time you see a Project Manager sitting at their desk, before asking "What exactly is it that you do?"

Just Say "No", Empowering The PM

"Sure We Can Do It", "It'll Be Ready First Thing In The Morning", "That's No Problem", "Stats? Of Course We Can Get Those For You", "Go Ahead, Take An Extra Day", "More Options? Not A Problem", "Sure, That's Just a Small Change", "We'll Have It Out By End of Day"... Sound familiar? Have you heard this before? Have you said it yourself? This week's entry is about Just Saying No and how sometimes it's not only okay to say "no", but it's actually the right thing to do.

As a Project Manager, your primary goal, as indicated by your title, is to manage the project, meaning that at the end of the day, you've not only brought your project in on time, but on budget as well. One of the keys to accomplishing this task, is knowing how and when to say "NO".

Good Reasons To Say No ~ While there is often a lot of negative connotation around the word "no", the truth is that saying no can often be the right thing to say. Often the questions that you'll face as a Project Manager, are related to time or scope. Can we complete this project a week earlier than originally anticipated? Can we add functionality x, y, z, for the the same cost and within the same time frame? The number one reason to say "no", is when you start to jeopardize the quality of your project, whether it is by cutting process due to tight timelines, or overworking your teammates due to lack of resource availability, saying "no" is the only correct response. And while we are often trained that saying "no" is bad, when done properly, it can be admired by your client in that it creates a sense of authority, and admired by your internal team in that it connects you and your team by displaying a united front.

The Possible Bad Affects Of Saying No ~ While I stand firmly behind the idea of saying "no", there are two very real risks that you should keep in mind before coming to this decision, your relationship with your client and the eagerness of your competitors. If not done correctly, or if done too often, saying "no" can damage your relationship with your client, in that it can make you come across as self serving opposed to being there for your client. Instead of displaying a tone of authority with your client, what you can end up displaying is an inability to meet your client's needs or work together with your client. As for the eagerness of your competitors, for every time you say "no", there are three people out there who are willing to say "yes", which is why saying "no" is something that should be said few and far between, and only when you are secure enough in your relationship, that you know that losing the business is not a possibility.

The Possible Bad Affects of Saying Yes ~ So if saying "no" could have such strong risks, why bother, why not always say "yes"? Besides for the reason mentioned above with regard to jeopardizing the quality of a project, my number one fear when saying "yes", is the possibility of setting a bad precedent. In my experience, I have learnt that people tend to stop listening after you say the word "yes", specifically when you list the conditions of the "yes". For example, your client will hear "...we can add functionality a,b,c for the same cost as previously quoted" and then completely miss "since we were able to save money by repurposing x,y,z", meaning that next time they want to add "a,b,c" they will expect the same deal. What I've found to be the best method to preventing this occurrence, is to document everything! Any time there is a discussion about time, scope, or budget, remember to document it for later reference, and if possible it is good practice to ensure that there is at least one additional person, besides for you and your client, to witness these types of agreements.

The Internal Struggle ~ Often it is more difficult to say "NO" to your internal team, then it is to your client. This is due to the fact that as a functional member of a team, your instinct is to run to the aide of your fellow teammates, regardless of the consequences. Now by no means am I saying that this is a bad thing, in fact the more supportive you are to your fellow coworkers, the more power to you. The key is to remember that we are all human and therefore we all have our limitations. As beneficial as it is to provide support, it is equally if not more destructive to offer that help and then not be able to follow through on it. So remember, when working with your teammates, be conscious of your timelines and workload, be honest as to whether or not you will be able to deliver on their request, and if you can't or you get stuck, don't forget to ask for help, after all it worked for The Beatles!

How To Say No ~ "No, Your Joking Right?", "Nope, Not Going To Happen", "When Hell Freezes Over"... these are all BAD ways of saying "no". Having seen why and when we need to say "no", the trick is to now learn how to say it. The number one trick to saying "no", is to remember that nobody likes a problem, but everyone likes a solution. So, when you come across a situation where you need to tell someone "no", be prepared with one or two alternative solutions, this way instead of focusing on not being able to do something your attention is now focused on choosing the best path to move forward with. Another important tip to remember, is that "it takes two to tango" as the Project Manager, it isn't your job to throw in the towel, but rather to negotiate with your client to see how compromises can be made on both sides, so that you arrive at a solution that meets everyone's needs.

Having read this post, I am hoping that you are now feeling empowered and ready to face the world, knowing your self worth and no longer fearing the dreaded "NO". As a Project Manager, your primary role is to act as a bridge between your client and your internal team and therefore must always be cognoscente of both sides when making decisions. The trick, is to remember that at the end of the day we all have the same goal, and that is to deliver a final product as quickly and as painlessly as possible that meets or exceeds all of our wildest expectations!

It's All About The Details

Growing up, I can recall numerous times where I would get into a disagreement with some authority figure over whether or not I was listening to what they were saying. Regardless of the scenario, it would always conclude with the following dialogue...

THEM: "...Are you listening?"
ME: "I heard you"
THEM: "I didn't ask if you heard me, I asked if you were listening!..."

So...what is the difference between hearing and listening?! The answer is in the details!

When trying to think of a topic for today's entry, I recalled a recent lecture that I attended, in which the speaker was discussing relationships and how the key to a successful relationship is in the details. The speaker gave off various examples of details, such as the outfit she wore the first time you met or what her favourite flower is... but basically, the message that he was trying to get across was, that it's the little details that reveal the true nature of a person and that keep a relationship going strong.

While listening to this lecture, I began to think about work (as has become a habit of mine) and it dawned on me that this little nugget of information is not only the key to a successful relationship, but it is the key to a successful Project Manager as well. Attention to details, can impact on every aspect of a Project Manager's role from start to finish, such as initial planning and scoping, project production, and overall client relationships.

Scoping ~ Over the past few weeks, it seems that every day has been comprised of scoping and planning various projects, and while it tends to be a very time consuming task it's one of the more exciting aspects of project management. As a Project Manager, my typical day is made up of running from one task to the next making sure that everything is moving along on time and on budget, without ever really taking a step back to look at the overall picture. However, when you're scoping a project, you have that opportunity to really focus in on the details, removing yourself from the craziness around you and focusing in on every aspect of the project. What does the client need? What does the client want? What kind of budget do we have? How quickly can we get it done? Will we have the right resources available?... Taking account of all of the details at the beginning, prevents the occurrence of surprises at the end, and is what can differentiate a successful project, from a disastrous one.

Production ~ The importance of details in the production of a project is what stands you out from your competitors. Whether it's spending that extra time when writing the copy to make sure that all the commas are in place, adding that drop shadow around your graphic to give it that extra polished look, or making sure that you project looks good on both a PC and a MAC? All these extra little steps, these little details, shows your client that you are truly invested in the project, that it is not just a paycheck or a job, but rather that you genuinely care about the end product, which is what can change a one-off project to a ongoing work relationship.

Relationships ~ Attention to details, as explained in the lecture, is such a key component to a successful relationship, it is what tells the other person, that you acknowledge that the relationship is not just about you, but rather it is about two people. In business, this attention to detail is just as important. When dealing with a client, you want to create a bond, a trust, an overall sense of concern for the client's well-being. Working with a client isn't just about completing a project and getting paid, but rather it is finding out about your client, their needs, their desires, making yourself an extension of them and their business. By paying attention to the little details, it shows your client that you are really listening (not just hearing) to what they are saying and that you genuinely care about delivering a top quality product that will fulfill their needs.

So whether you're looking at personal relationships or project management, remember...

"Excellence is in the details. Give attention to the details and excellence will come." (Perry Paxton)

With A Little Help From My Friends

Driving around this long weekend, taking in the beautiful weather, and enjoying a much needed rest from work, Joe Cocker's cover of The Beatles hit, "With A Little Help From My Friends" comes on the radio, and while my first thought was of the television show "The Wonder Years", my second thought was , I wonder if they were thinking about Project Management when they wrote this song. Let me explain...

Lately I've been finding work to be extremely stressful, with high client demands, short timelines, and simply not enough time in the day to accomplish all the tasks at hand. And while this all sounds like a typical day in the life of a Project Manager, lately, I've been finding it particularly difficult to get through while continuing to maintain some level of sanity. In fact, these past couple of weeks, the stress has gotten so great, that I've been questioned by friends, as to why I don't simply quit, to which I look at them with a smile and simply say "because of my coworkers".

I've worked in many different types of positions, industries, places... all of them with a great group of people, but never have I worked somewhere with such a strong support group as the one I feel in my current company, which has led me to discover a key component of Project Management, your support group. While knowledge and experience are certainly important factors in being a good Project Manager, I feel that a solid support team is that third piece, the one that makes you a great Project Manager. As mentioned earlier, Project Management, in it's very nature is an extremely stressful job, one filled with irritable clients, tight deadlines, and large deliverables (sounds great, I know!), which is why finding a group of people that support you and truly care for you, is so important. Having a team of people ready to stay a little later to fix up a graphic or tweak a database, to take a final look at a project before it goes to the client, or simply to act as a sounding board when you just need a break, is what changes the life expectancy of a Project Manager from 1 year to 5 or 10 years.

If I could give one piece of advice to any new Project Managers out there, it would be to choose your environment carefully, as it has the ability to make the next couple of years in your career either a curse or a blessing. And as I approach my 2-year anniversary at my current company (this Friday!), I've realized how important the people around you can be. So to all of you out there reading this blog....

THANK YOU!

The Word On The Street

"...Buzzwords are typically intended to impress one's audience with the pretense of knowledge. For this reason, they are often universal. They typically make sentences difficult to dispute, on account of their cloudy meaning..." (Wikipedia)

Over the past couple of days, I have found myself explaining various "buzzwords", whether it be to a client, colleague, or some random stranger, it seems like everywhere I go, some new buzzword is being used. What's interesting, is that it doesn't matter who is asking the question, or which buzzword is being used, the conversation has an underlying tone of confusion and always starts in one of two ways:

"...I was in this meeting/read this email/heard this person use the word [insert buzzword here] and I have absolutely no idea what they are talking about, please help..."

or

"...I read in the news/heard on the radio/saw on TV that all the big companies are starting to [insert buzzword here] so let's do it too...".

Now, while I have absolutely no problem being the designated buzzword guru (in fact I rather enjoy it), I feel that there might be some people out there too afraid to ask the questions. And so, today's entry, is a small compilation of words that I've put together over time based on the "buzzwords" that I've come across.

• AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) - A programming language used for creating more dynamic and interactive web applications. It differs from other languages in that it communicates with the server through the exchange of small amounts of data behind the scenes, thus removing the need for slow page reloads caused by user interaction.
• Blogs (weB LOG) - A website containing an individual's chronological accounts (using text, images, multimedia...) on a specific subject (i.e. Interactive Project Management, The Business of Technology As I See It...). Most blogs increase their sense of interaction through the use of user comments.
  
• CMS (Content Management System) - A software system used to easily manage content (i.e. documents, images, multimedia...) production, organization, and archiving.
• CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) - A stylesheet language used to indicate the layout (i.e. margins, font type, colours...) of a document written in markup language (i.e. a web page, email, blog...).
  
• RSS (Really Simple Syndication) - A web feed format used for automatically publishing content (i.e. news highlights, podcasts, news groups...) to your website/blog/email, based on your specific subscription.
• SEO (Search Engine Optimization) - A process or service offered to improve the natural search ranking of a website within various search engines, thus leading to an increase in the quality and quantity of hits.
• SMS (Short Message Service) - Refers to the sending of short messages to and from cell phones. Typically, used when referencing mobile-to-mobile text messages.
• Social Networks - Social structures setup on the Internet to connect like minded groups or individuals (i.e. facebook.com, myspace.com, linkedin.com...). To find out more about social networks, read my entry To Facebook Or Not To Facebook, That Is The Question?
  
• Viral Marketing - A marketing technique used to increase brand awareness by leveraging pre-existing social networks and encouraging it's users to voluntarily pass along a specific message to other people within their networks.
  
• Widget - A self standing chunk of code that can be implemented into any basic HTML page for added functionality (i.e. printing, font control, bookmarking...).
  
• Wiki (What I Know Is) - A collaborative technology used to easily organize information on the Internet (i.e. wikipedia.com).

So remember, the next time you start to ramble on about some new buzzword, that there is probably someone in the room who has absolutely no idea what you're talking about.

To Facebook Or Not To Facebook, That Is The Question?

Today's million dollar question...To Facebook, Or Not To Facebook?

So, unless you have been living under a rock for the past 3 years (and if you are kudos for setting up your wireless Internet enabling you to read this), I'm sure you have heard about Facebook. I know that in my own life, Facebook seems to come up on a daily basis, either at work, with friends, even the hairdresser (believe it or not), so what's the big deal? What is Facebook? And why is everyone talking about it?

Facebook is the latest in Internet Social Networking, the next big thing in a long line of social networks (i.e. classmates.com, friendster, myspace...). It is a community setup on the Internet, where people can come together to connect, to share pictures and links, to discuss similar interests, or just a place to meet other people. That being said, what is it about Facebook that differentiates it from all the others?

My best guess regarding Facebook's fame, would be it's targeted audience and therefore almost by default, it's sense of legitimacy. Unlike some of it's predecessors, Facebook originally (at it's conception in 2004) went out and focused it's attention on targeting college and university students. In fact, it wasn't until 2006 that it decided to became public and open it's doors to everyone. That being said, I think that it's original sense of exclusivity and academia, created a perception of trust, which therefore provided that extra bit of motivation for people to join, people who might typically be weary of these types of initiatives.

So Facebook is fun, legitimate, adult skewed...then why isn't everyone on it? I believe George Orwell, said it best in his novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, with the words "Big Brother is watching you". While Facebook acts as a great medium for networking, it is also a great place to gather millions and millions of data. Everything you could ever want to know about a person, from their favourite movie through to who their friends are, or where they work. Now while people might be okay with sharing this information with their friends or even random strangers, concerns begin to develop when third party corporations start to get involved.

In the end, is Facebook good, is it bad? Only time will tell. My guess is that it probably has another 6 - 12 months before something bigger and better comes out, until then, I say go out there and meet some new people, just remember to be cautious when posting personal information.

Oh...and in case you were wondering...YES I am on Facebook!

Pay It Forward

Today's entry is based on a little experiment that I've been running now for just over 2 months, which I like to call the Sugar Challenge. Based on a concept from the book "Pay It Forward" written by Catherine Ryan Hyde, I started an experiment at my office to test the impact of attitude in the work environment.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Pay It Forward concept, here's a quick recap. In the book, Reuben St. Clair, a seventh grade teacher, creates an extra-credit assignment in which the kids in his class must think of an idea to change the world and then put that idea into action. One of his students, a boy by the name of Trevor, comes up with an idea to do something good for 3 people and then when they ask how to pay you back, you tell them that they have to pay the good deed forward to 3 more people. And so the good deeds begin to exponentially grow and incorporate more and more people.

So how does this relate to me?

Back in early March, I started to put out candy or treats in a little basket on my desk at the office. Instantaneously, people appeared for a tasty little snack, said thank you, and walked away with a big sugary grin on their faces. But what did this show, besides for the fact that a little bit of free sugar in the middle of the afternoon is enough to make anybody happy!? Dissatisfied with my findings, I continued to put out sugar and observe some more. My first observation, was that I started to notice less and less work conflicts. All of a sudden, there was less backlash from internal resources when I needed them to redo work, or that there was more patience from people when I delayed on providing a deliverable. I concluded from this that the candy was basically acting as a form of payment or a bribe, wherein I'll give you a little sugar and then, out of guilt you do me a little favour. This realization troubled me and so I put a hold on the candy distribution, but I didn't receive the outcome that I had expected...

With the lack of sugar, people didn't stop being easygoing, but their attitude did begin to change, reverting to an all work, all stress attitude. Once again intrigued, I put out the candy and really watched people's behaviour. What I discovered, is that the candy wasn't acting as a bribe, but rather it was acting as a conduit to the past, inducing a youthful lightheartedness among my coworkers. All of a sudden, I started to see a sense of fun being incorporated back into their daily work routine, a feeling which due to an unfortunate series of circumstances had disappeared. Work was still being done, stress was still being had, but all of a sudden there seemed to be this mass epiphany that we are all in this together, so let's get our work done, but let's make sure to have fun doing it.

Now for the Pay It Forward part, the sugar wasn't just altering their behaviour towards me, but their behaviour towards each other and even more intriguing it was altering their behaviour towards clients! It was amazing to watch my coworkers go from one end of the spectrum, where they are at their wit's end over a client, eat a jelly bean, and then all of a sudden jump to the other end of the spectrum, re-energized to take on the world.

So, in the end, maybe I'm just being naive and forcing my perception of reality into a concept created by a fictional novel. But, if for a second I'm right about this, how amazing is it that a little bit of sugar can make such a drastic change!

What We Have Here, Is A Failure To Communicate

Today's entry is not merely a reference to the classic film Cool Hand Luke, but rather a stumbling block that occurs in every aspect of our lives, from personal relationships through to work relationships, with Project Management being no exception. I cannot recall how many times I've personally received the "communication" speech, let alone delivered it to someone else. So what is the problem? Why is communication so difficult to master? While I'm sure that there are a lot of possible reasons, below are my thoughts on this age old dilemma.

Vulnerability ~ As human beings, I think that we all tend to be vulnerable on some level. Nobody wants to open themselves up, for the fear of getting hurt and therefore we go out of our way to put up a shield of protection, to close ourselves off from the rest of the world. So how does this tie into communication? By talking out loud and sharing your concerns or your need for help, you have now opened yourself up, allowing people to see your weaknesses. The key to overcoming this, is to recognize that we are ALL vulnerable and that opening yourself up to others is simply another progression in life and that sometimes it will be hard and sometimes it will be easy, but in the end we exist stronger as individuals when we open ourselves up to being part of something greater.

Hero Complex ~ Continuing on the same train of thought as the issue of vulnerability, though from a completely different angle, there is the hero complex. Not only do you not want to open yourself up, but you don't want to be dependent on anyone else either, you want to do it all yourself. Now the reasoning behind this could either be as I just mentioned, the idea of not wanting to be dependent on anyone else for fear that they might not always be there, or it could be that you want to claim all the fame and glory for yourself and therefore don't want anyone else involved to share in it. Looking at the first possibility, where you are scared of being dependent on others for fear that they might not support you continuously, I think that this is a valid concern, but a risk that should be taken, for even the smallest amount of support is often better than no support at all. As for the second possibility, of wanting all the fame and glory for yourself, I think that this is a very dangerous type of attitude and one that will end up limiting your growth in any type of relationship, both personal and work related. The amount of knowledge that we can attain ourselves is in no way comparable to what we can learn from others and shutting yourself off and choosing that path of solitude, is choosing a static lonely life in a world of endless possibilities.

Fear ~ "There's no such thing as a stupid question..." a phrase I'm sure we've all heard at some point in our lives, but truthfully, how many of us actually believe it? I cannot count how many times I've personally witnessed a project blow up, simply because someone was too scared to admit that they needed help, that they didn't understand, that they couldn't do it alone... Playing again off the theme of vulnerability, people are afraid to show their weaknesses and therefore go out of their way, not necessarily to strengthen those weaknesses, but rather to strengthen the appearance of a lack of weakness. The downfall is that there is only so much you can do on your own, and no amount of pretending is going to change that. Asking for help doesn't show your weakness, but rather it shows your strength in accepting the fact that there is ALWAYS something to learn and someone out there to learn from!

Discomfort ~ This last possibility for lack of communication, I hope is a unique one, but I figured that I would mention it as I have personally come against this one in the workplace. So, discomfort, the idea that you can't talk to someone due to personal reasons. A simple solution would be to move to a different department or job thus avoiding any type of awkwardness or discomfort, but if you're like me, giving up and avoiding confrontation is rarely a solution that I am going to take. So, what can you do? Face the issue head on, work past your differences, and move forward together. While this is often easier said than done and will definitely take some time to accomplish, the outcome, tends to be well worth the effort.

Looking at the above reasons, while they are all completely valid, they do seem to share the same major flaw, and that is that they overlook the concept of a TEAM. What is a team? According to Wikipedia, a team is comprised of many people with complementary skills, which generate a synergy through a coordinated effort for a common purpose. So how does communication play into teamwork? Simple, communication is the glue that holds a team together, it is what keeps us all on the same page, moving in the same direction, towards the same end goal. Without communication, all is lost, and that end goal drifts further and further away from being a reality and becomes more and more some good idea that someone once had.

So in the end, my suggestion to all those out there who have trouble communicating, all I can say is make the effort, take the risk, the reward that comes from good communication, is priceless.

Quality Is The Differentiator, Or Is It?

In my time as a Project Manager, I have come across many obstacles, but the one that seems to constantly occur is the big QC, Quality Control. The debate? If quality isn't your differentiator, what is? The answer, nothing. In this day and age, knowledge is easy to come by, almost too easy. Anyone can sit down with a book, take a class, or surf the web and come out an expert in whatever they desire. The Question: What makes you stand out from the crowd? The Answer: Quality.

So what is quality? According to Wikipedia, it is "the achievement or excellence of an object". The excellence of an object, something so basic, yet at the same time is so often overlooked. The question is why? In my experience, lack of quality is never associated with lack of knowledge or skill set. So what is it? Ownership.

Ownership ~ The word ownership is really synonymous with the word accountability, it is the idea of being responsible for your work. I cannot emphasize enough how critical ownership is to the quality of a project. From my experience, one of the main downfalls in quality, is the disconnect between one's self and one's work. If there is no ownership, then what you end up with is a robotic production line, where the key goal is to produce as much as you can, as quickly as you can, for as cheap as you can. The problem? As the saying goes "fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me". The mistake of buying a substandard product, only occurs once and in most businesses, the goal is to keep selling. See the problem?!

Now that we have an understanding of quality, and where we are going wrong, the question is how do we fix this? While I'm sure that every person has their own patented approach, let's look at two basic concepts...

Process ~ You are not the first person to ever create a product and you will by no means be the last, so why waste time in trying to recreate the wheel? Process is essential to creating a quality product. From the first point of meeting your client, all the way through to your final product delivery, you should have a consistent process in place. Having standard steps through a project's life cycle will allow you to stay on track and ensure that everything is moving along as it should. Now the key to a good process, is that it is organic, that it is constantly changing to keep up with new successes and to rid itself of past failures.

Confidence ~ The concept of confidence, is a self enhancing system, the better the quality of the product, the more confidence you'll have, the more confidence you have, the better the quality of the product. Be confident in yourself, in your knowledge, in your skills, and a quality product will surely follow. On the flip side, if you are not confident, seek guidance. In most scenarios you are not working alone, but rather you have a team to support you, look to others to provide the answers you need. And if all else fails? Find a blog that has the answers!

So what does this all mean? At the end of the day, whether you are the Project Manager, the Developer, the Designer, the Sales Manager... you are the Company. When you deliver a product to a client you are representing not only yourself, but your company as a whole, and in that sense, to deliver something below standard, reflects negatively on everyone and is therefore unacceptable.

Now, to overcome this is simple. Before handing your product over, you must think to yourself, is this something that I would be happy with? If the answer is no, then you go back and work on it. If the answer is yes, well then, you've just produced something of quality and in the end, quality is the differentiator.

Taking The Plunge...

So a friend of mine, suggested that I start a blog... I'm not sure if it was to educate me or to keep me busy, either way I figured I'd take a stab at it. The problem? The two T's, finding a Topic and finding the Time. As I procrastinated with this project, my friend beat me to the punch and started her own blog, thus igniting the competitive spirit in me and leading me to this very moment, my first blog entry.

So what about the T's? Finding a Topic. With so much information out there, trying to pick one topic that would entice me enough to keep writing (or in your case, keep coming back and reading), proved to be difficult. But then it hit me, why limit myself? Why should I focus on one topic when there is so much out there to learn and share? And so... the topic of my blog is technology, but not just in it's traditional sense referring to physical objects or software, but rather in the more broader sense referring to systems, methods, techniques... in other words, knowledge.

As for Time? Well, this one is going to be a little trickier... I've committed myself to a weekly post, which should guarantee some sense of consistency.

But who knows, the world is full of information just waiting to be discovered!