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 Top2June 2011

 

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Project Management Fundamentals     Simulation Workshop  August 16-18

 

Advanced Project Management Simulation workshop September 13-15

 

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A Few Words from Jesse - Recognition and Rewards

 

Dear Fissure Friends, 

Jesse pic

 

I'm writing this on a 747 flying between Minneapolis and Singapore. It is my first trip to Asia and I am very excited. I will be in Singapore providing project management training for one of our long-standing clients. I don't often get a chance to fly outside the US. When these opportunities have come up in the past I have elected to have one of our highly qualified instructors take advantage of going someplace new and exciting. As the leader I have thought it would be bad form to cherry-pick the trips. I didn't want to send the message that I would take all the exotic trips and leave the mundane trips to the other instructors. In thinking about this I realize that I started this practice many years ago when I was managing my very first project at a large computer company. 

  

To read full article, click here 

 

Check out  "Recognition and Rewards Example" for an additional short story on rewards and recognition.


In his article, "Agile Parenting: Purpose Over Process", Geof Lory talks about how projects and families today are constantly changing and moving. With that much change and speed you need to have a common purpose and common goals to guide both projects and families in the same direction, but not necessarily down the same path. If rules and processes are intended to keep us on the same path, but the path has to change, what gives? I think you know, but read Geof's article to find out.

 

Our upcoming public workshops and webinars
can be found on our website.

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AND EARN PDUs.  

 

Make sure you also check out what's happening at Fissure (Fissure News).  

 

Thanks for reading and enjoy the summer.

 

Jesse signature

 

 

 

 

Jesse Freese

Fissure, President 

 

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 RewardRecognition and Reward Example

 

Smiley FaceRelated to rewards and recognition, I received the following email from a participant in a recent workshop. It is not often that we instructors receive feedback from students after they have returned to the office and this feedback is what we hope for from a learning experience - I know most of you will be able to relate to his situation and you can also see how rewarding it was for me to receive:

 

Jesse,

 

I just wanted to tell you about the latest project Mark L. and I have been working on. Unfortunately the simulation your company runs in the project Management class is coming true for Mark and me. 

 

It started with the executives receiving complaints from the field concerning this project. This resulted in our immediate boss being called into the executive's office. Remember the term that stuff floats downstream, Mark and I are treading water. We also ran into the personnel issue with people not getting along with each other.

  

The simulation is coming true but with our great instruction, Mark and I will prevail!!

 

Take Care,

 

Paul V.

Program Manager   

 

 

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Geof
PROJECT PARENTHOOD

Agile Parenting: Purpose over Process

by Geof Lory, PMP 
Geof-Frame

In preparation for this series of articles on Agile Parenting and the creation of an

Agile Parent's Manifesto, I thought about the many conversations I have had with seasoned project managers. Many have asked me, "What's the big deal with the eXtreme/Agile movement?" I think what they are really asking is, "Why do we need it, and is it really that different from what I've been doing for years?"

 

I've also talked with business analysts, developers and managers who look at highly disciplined and effective project managers with distain, rebelling against what they claim is an overly onerous planning and documentation project structure. They seem to see the traditional skills and practices of formal project management as out-dated and useless in this modern day project environment.

 

With a deep sigh, I encourage each to see the merit in the other, as I do with parenting. We can all learn from those who do differently, even if it is what NOT to do.

   

To read full article, click here  

   

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fissureNews Fissure News

June 2011


   

WashingtonMonumentWe have two public registration workshops 

scheduled for Washington DC. We are offering our Project Management Fundamentals Simulation workshop August 16-18  and our Advanced Project Management Simulation workshop September 13-15. They will be held in downtown DC on G Street. More details on location and cost are available here. Please forward this opportunity to anyone you think might be interested and working in the DC area. Or plan a training trip to DC and take in the sights during the evenings. Either way use the promotion code "30OFF" to receive 30% off.  

 

Project Management Fundamentals Simulation Workshop August 16-18Registration Button

 

Advanced Project Management Simulation Workshop
September 13-15
Registration Button

 

 

 PMI MEGA SEMINARSWORLD

Our Ultimate
Advanced Project Management Simulation Workshop was selected for delivery at 4 of the 2011 PMI SeminarsWorld
; we will be in Orlando, June 27-30, Annapolis, MD, and San Diego, CA. Check out the description at the SeminarsWorld web site



We are currently offering three  

Agile/Scrum workshops: 

AgileScrum

The workshops were developed and are delivered by our own Agile/Scrum guru, Geof Lory.  

 

Please contact us for more information or to schedule a class. 952.882.0800 or toll free at 887.877.6333 

 

Webinars  WebinarCartoon

Be sure to check out our monthly, 1 hour webinars. We have had outstanding reviews and when you consider that they are free - they are hard to pass up.

 

 


Recognition and Rewards Singapore
Jesse pic

I'm writing this on a 747 flying between Minneapolis and Singapore. It is my first trip to Asia and I am very excited. I will be in Singapore providing project management training for one of our long-standing clients. I don't often get a chance to fly outside the US. When these opportunities have come up in the past I have elected to have one of our highly qualified instructors take advantage of going someplace new and exciting. As the leader I have thought it would be bad form to cherry-pick the trips. I didn't want to send the message that I would take all the exotic trips and leave the mundane trips to the other instructors. In thinking about this I realize that I started this practice many years ago when I was managing my very first project at a large computer company. It was a small software project (7 team members) developing the radar tracking capability (i.e., processing radar returns from aircraft and computing their direction and speed) for an Italian radar system. The project was complex and had a very challenging schedule. I knew I needed two or three key people if I was going to be successful managing this project. The key person I needed was Harry (not his real name); he was "Mr. Tracker" in our organization. Fortunately for me I was able to jump the many staffing obstacles put in front of me and Harry became the technical lead on the project.

 

Over the next year and a half I contributed technically in the development and actually became quite knowledgeable on radar tracking and knew the software almost as well as Harry. Towards the end of the project an opportunity came up for someone to go Italy for about three weeks to work onsite with the actual radar and our Italian counterparts. Even though this was a technical meeting, the Italians are very good hosts! Although I could easily do the work I sent Harry. What really surprised me was the fact that almost everyone in the organization was shocked that I was not going myself! Many people, including people I respected for their leadership abilities, asked why I wasn't taking the assignment myself. Even Harry was surprised and asked me why I wasn't taking the once-in-a-lifetime trip? It was just expected in the company at that time that "management" would take the choice assignments and I started to question my decision to not go myself.

 

I can't tell you exactly why I didn't take the trip myself, I can only say that something inside me said that it was the right and fair thing to do and I would do it again given the same decision. Giving Gary the trip was recognition of the value he brought to the team and a reward for all his hard and excellent work (many extra hours). The rest of the team had high respect for Harry, knew how critical he was to the team and was motivated by the fact that Gary was the right person to benefit from the opportunity. If I had taken the trip it would have been de-motivating to the team. One important lesson I learned is that it is important that whatever type of recognition program you use, it is critical that the team members feel that however gets the award really deserves it. If this is the case an award can be a motivator if not it tends to be a de-motivator.

 

In Fissure's leadership training we always have great discussions around individual recognition. What is the best way to recognize the contributions of the people on the team? Is it better to give money or a non-monetary award? Is it better to give the recognition in private or in front of the team? What works best for each person and each situation? Making consensus even more difficult on these questions is the fact that every organization has varying degrees of ability and options when it comes to recognition for teams and team members. Some organizations have extremely limited options, while others make it very easy. I really enjoy facilitating these discussions and you can imagine the amount of energy and emotion created when talking about recognition.

 

If you have your own answers or want to share your personal positive and negative experiences on team and team member recognition I will compile the responses and share them in the next newsletter.

 

Rewarding team members is critical to performance, but it doesn't mean you have to give away all the good trips - I'm looking forward to my time in Singapore.

 

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PROJECT PARENTHOOD

Agile Parenting: Purpose over Process

by Geof Lory, PMPPurpose 

Geof-Frame
Geof Lory

 

In preparation for this series of articles on Agile Parenting and the creation of an Agile Parent's Manifesto

, I thought about the many conversations I have had with seasoned project managers. Many have asked me, "What's the big deal with the eXtreme/Agile movement?" I think what they are really asking is, "Why do we need it, and is it really that different from what I've been doing for years?"

Agile

I've also talked with business analysts, developers and managers who look at highly disciplined and effective project managers with distain, rebelling against what they claim is an overly onerous planning and documentation project structure. They seem to see the traditional skills and practices of formal project management as out-dated and useless in this modern day project environment.

 

With a deep sigh, I encourage each to see the merit in the other, as I do with parenting. We can all learn from those who do differently, even if it is what NOT to do.

 

Are projects really that different today? (In some ways yes, in some ways no.) Is there really a need for a different project management approach? (Possibly.) So, what has changed? (And why didn't I get the memo?)

 

We all got the memo, we just didn't take the time to read and understand it. In fact, that was the gist of the memo-the rules of engagement have changed and the pace of change leaves us with not enough time to create a new understanding. Things are different. The environment has changed. The pace is faster, change is the order of the day and the bedrock of social norms is as solid as the desert sands. This environment calls for nimble practices for this uncertain world, even if the underlying values remain the same.

 

As a project manager for more than 25 years, I am not quick to throw out everything that has worked for years to follow a fad. However, I do want to recognize that changing times and circumstances call for changing behaviors. Similarly, people have been parenting children for generations. I am hard pressed to say that parenting is that different today and that all the wisdom of generations before us should be thrown out-hardly the case at all.

 

In fact, what I do think is important is that we get back to what has worked for generations from a value and purpose perspective and apply those to the current day environment. This is not to say that rules or discipline should be stricter, or that they should be more lenient. It is to say they need to default to their goal and purpose base and then tailored to meet the needs of the new circumstances. Therefore, I believe that Agile Parents prefer to start with goals and purpose before instituting the rules and processes.

 

I suspect our parents and parents today would agree that things are different today. So I called my parents to ask them what they felt was different for today's parents and here are just a few items from their perspective to confirm that things have changed.

 

The circle of contact and influence for children and parents today goes way beyond the extended family and physical neighborhood. In fact, the definition of extended family and neighborhood isn't even the same. This dramatically increases their uncontrolled exposure to sociological differences as they establish their personal social and moral core. We are not alone in raising our children, (it takes more than a village) whether we like it or not. This is equivalent to the organizational shift from vertical to horizontal projects and the associated changes in project management in a cross-functional world.

 

The availability and breadth of information in this new world is almost mind-numbing. Combine this access to information with a general tolerance for beliefs and behaviors well beyond the traditional norms, and you have an environment of unlimited choices and little direction. It is no surprise that children need more guidance to sift through this morass. Heterogeneity has replaced homogeneity in all aspects of their life.

 

These two items alone create confusion around the role, responsibilities and relationship parents/project managers have with their children/teams. Corporal punishment (line authority) and a culture of fear (wait until your dad gets home) are no longer effective. It is not fair to leave them to sort this out alone, but we often feel ill-equipped to help them so we thoughtlessly default to familiar behaviors. We focus on telling them what to do instead of helping them develop the skills to sort through the confusion and own their success.

 

So, I'll start the Manifesto for Agile Parents with this:

 


What I also like about the Agile Manifesto is that it has an associated set of principles that support the core values. Values are the bedrock that underlies the principles. Principles as based on the values and in turn support the development of behavioral disciplines. The application of disciplines within a particular environment creates the practices that are the visible evidence of all the aforementioned. That is why a simple re-emphasis of the values tilts the pyramid, eventually resulting in substantially different observable practices.

 

So, along with the values, here are the first Principles behind the Agile Parents Manifesto.

 

 

This first value and associated two principles call out the fact that as parents today we function in a fluid environment where certainty is elusive. Process is the institutionalization of purpose. Rules establish the boundaries of behavior within the practice environment and are designed to achieve the goal. Institutionalizing purpose is not a bad thing, unless the practice environment changes, breaking the link between the rules, process and purpose.

 

Parenting today is like managing an agile project. The environment is uncertain and unstable. We do not have control over it and often aren't even aware or don't want to admit it has changed. This can be unsettling and even paralyzing if you don't buy into a common underlying set of values and principles.

 

At our house and on my teams these goals and purposes are explicit and public. Our family/team Shared Values are posted on the refrigerator/project site (right next to the family calendar/project plan and the grocery list/action item list). On projects, I formally include them in the Team Operating Agreement when we establish the project structure.   

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