The Midas Noogie

It was a typical project management training exercise:  get the participants to understand the importance of defining requirements in order that they will eventually be able to turn it into tasks and activities.  Hence, I divided my class into four teams.  Two of the teams had to plan a wedding for Bridezilla (yeah, yeah, I know pretty typical), and the other two teams had to design the ultimate "man room" (now we're talkin').

Then I threw the curve ball.  For one of the wedding teams, the budget was limitless; for the other only had $10K for the whole shooting match.  For one of the "man room" teams, the sky was also the limit; the other team had to design a man room which was "wife approved."  I gave them the standard amount of time to complete the assignment, and when we started to debrief, there were two teams who were begging for more time.  Can you guess which ones?

If you guessed that the teams with no boundaries had a harder time with the exercise, you would be correct.  In project management, we like to blame our short-comings on the triple constraint (good-fast-cheap... choose two).  In reality, the constraints more often lie within us.  King Midas found that out the hard way when everything he touched turned to gold.  Those project teams that have unlimited constraints generally have the hardest time getting any traction; they zip right past the "Midas touch" and wind up with a Midas "noogie" (for those of you who do not know what a "noogie" is, borrow somebody's older brother to demonstrate the process).

Roger von Oech had an interesting post a few weeks ago about the Planet-formerly-known-as-Pluto.  He then posed an interesting question of his readers:  Since we do not appear to be missing Pluto all that much, what other things can we eliminate?  What are the essentials vs. the nice-to-have's?  Where can you eliminate the fluff that is preventing you from Carpe Factum?

The Nights of Cram-A-Lot

The Creativity for Business class began last week at Drake.  The class load is a little larger than planned, but first impressions bare favorably on this group.  It would appear as though I have the bell curve that one would expect in a class such as this:  a smattering of those who are very highly creative and those who do not perceive themselves as being creative at all... and then the masses in the middle.

I'm amused by the "student mentality" of procrastination.  They had two assignments coming out of last week:  1)  fill out a questionnaire/survey; and 2) set up a blog for their personal journals (and then email me the link).  Our second class meets tonight, and I'm not surprised by the number of emails I've received in the last 24 hours about blogs and blog links.  Why do we perpetuate a mentality of procrastination?

Something my students should learn this semester (at least I hope they do) is that procrastination is the enemy of both creativity and accomplishment.  The fallacy that "I think best when I'm under pressure" is a short-term solution, but it really doesn't lead to long-term success.  This cartoon by Dave Walker made me chuckle; even I can get distracted by the internet's siren call when there's critical work to be done.

This year, I've been attempting something a little different with my task list, and it appears to be working.  Instead of creating a daily task list, which I can easily procrastinate from one day to the next, I've been making a weekly task list with no more than 25 items on it.  These are things I know I have to get done this week.  Either I need to do them, or somebody else is counting on me.  Once the list has been made, I've been trying to "front load" the activity, so by the end of the week, the list is virtually empty.  I've been feeling a lot better about my personal and professional accomplishments because of it.

Creating this list has also helped me with one other area of my life:  learning to say "no" to the non-critical things.  I take my weekly list pretty seriously, and I try to place only the most important things there... those that have an impact on the various roles I play.  (Yes, you caught me... I've been re-reading Stephen Covey's 7 Habits again.)  However, there's a lot of validity to centering our tasks around our most critical roles.

College students will probably never change.  If cramming the night before the test ever became passe, too many coffee houses would go out of business.  So now I'm curious.  To all of you accomplishment-mongers out there, what have been your best tricks for battling procrastination?

Dividing By Zorro

Casey, our beloved dachshund-cocker mix, was attitude with fur.  We had raised her from a pup after adopting her from a local shelter.  She was a fixture in our household (literally, since she shed her own body weight in fur each day).  She was always there for us.  So it was a pretty sad day when she passed away suddenly at the tender age of nine.

I'm a dog person.  I crave canine companionship.  Being without a pooch around the house was unthinkable, so we immediately adopted a "rebound dog" named Murphy.  Big mistake to rush into an adoption while grieving for a pet.  Murphy turned out to be a biter.  (My hand still bears the scars to remind me.)  Murphy was later re-adopted to a person who was not as fond of all of his digits as I was.  My wife made it very clear after that incident that she was in no big hurry for another dog.

As summer drew to a close, my wife and daughters went to Indiana for a couple of weeks to visit the in-laws.  As fortune would have it, a couple at our church was trying to find a home for their Shih-Tzu named Zorro.  He was very affectionate and his hobbies included napping, snoozing, sleeping, and dozing.  While the family was away, I agreed to keep Zorro for a few days... you know, just to take him for a "test drive."  We hit it off famously.  Zorro became "my little man" around the house.

Suffice it to say, my wife was not as amused by the new family addition.  Casey had been her dog.  This little furry intruder smelled funny.  He could also be somewhat demanding and would bark at my wife when he wanted something, even when I was in the same room (oh great, a sexist dog... what do the HR manuals say about that?).  Then he committed the ultimate sin, involving one of my wife's shoes and a somewhat private act that was made very public.  But by then, Zorro and I had built a solid relationship.  So now my wife tolerates Zorro.  (We'll leave terms such as love, like, enjoy, amused, and "not repulsed by" alone for now.)  He's the big elephant in the room that fits conveniently into the Shih-Tzu body packaging.

I was reading David Maister's blog (thanks to Bob McIlree for recommending it to me).  In his recent post, he talks about how, as a consultant, he's brought in to a client for occasionally ulterior motives.  He also shares how his very presence as a new team member, while welcomed by some, threatens others.  I can definitely relate to that.  As the outsider, it's virtually impossible to avoid office politics.  On a project a few months ago, it took me three weeks and considerable executive interjection just to publish a project organizational chart (usually a one-day no-brainer task in every other client).

My point is that one cannot afford to be an "ostrich" when it comes to office politics.  Avoidance strategies generally make things worse, whether you are a consultant, cubicle-dweller, or executive.  The answer is intelligent engagement in office politics.  David quoted Ben Franklin, saying, "you don't persuade by appealing to people's sense of reason, but to their interests."  Sage advice.  Everyone is motivated by something, and often it's a simple acknowledgment of another's point of view that can diffuse a difficult situation.  There's a time and a place for avoidance, but those situations tend to be temporary.

Now... I wonder if I should get Valentine's Day flowers for my wife in Zorro's name.

Muy Logo

Those who have exchanged emails with me recently have noticed a different look and feel to my tag line.  Yes, I have a new company name, new logo, and new title.  We'll get to those in a second.  First, let's back up.  I have a little story to share.

Almost four years ago, one of my former students approached me with an opportunity to do some leadership training at her company.  While I'm an independent consultant, I had been subcontracting to the same company almost exclusively for a couple of years.  However, I had not given much thought to branding my own consulting.  With this opportunity to do something on my own, I figured I'd better get a logo.  After all, that's all brands are, right?  Just find a cool logo.  (Boy, did I have a lot to learn.)  Anyway, Delta Project Solutions was born.

Fast forward a couple of years.  I had the opportunity to meet Mike Wagner.  We were both friends with Delaney Kirk, and she just knew the two of us would hit it off.  She (as always) was right.  One day, after Mike and I had become better acquainted, he asked me about how I had arrived at Delta Project Solutions.  I sort of hummed and hawed and wasn't really able to articulate a solid answer about it.  He then challenged me about some of my passions... what really made me tick as a consultant?  That I was able to answer quite easily.  I enjoy project management because of the thrill of completing something big and complex.  I'm passionate about creativity because of the excitement of seeing somebody create something new and fun and innovative.  I'm fascinated by office politics because of their impacts in helping (or hindering) people who are seeking to reach a goal.  And I love systems thinking and process improvement because it's rewarding to see my clients evolve into something better, using all the "parts and pieces" at their disposal.

Mike scrutinized me for a minute, as if he were a doctor trying to diagnose a patient.  Then he said one of the most profound things I've ever heard in my career, "Tim, you are wasting your time marketing yourself as a project manager."  At first I was offended.  After all, I'd been consulting in project management for ages.  I'd served on the local PMI board.  I was certified in project management.  Who was this guy to tell me I wasn't a project manager?  Before I had a chance to argue with him, he finished his thought, "You're an accomplishment manager.  You love accomplishing things and helping other people accomplish things.  Sometimes those accomplishments are projects, but not always.  Now go think about your story in the context of accomplishment."

Wow.  My company was barely two years old, and already it was having an identity crisis.  So I played with the idea.  I got out my scented markers.  I did some mind-mapping.  I toyed around with some concepts.  Mike's words played around in my head, haunting and taunting me.  What was my story?!?!  Who said I needed to have a story?  I just wanted a cool logo and some customers that could help me earn a living.  However, in my gut and in my soul, I knew Mike was right.  After all, the projects on which I'd been working up to that point had mostly been cubicle-dwelling.  The few projects which had really excited and energized me had encompassed all of my passions... all of which culminated in... well... ACCOMPLISHMENT.

That's when the concept of "Carpe Factum" was born.  I was having a conversation with friends about the idea of accomplishment.  How it brought life and energy to people.  Then somebody made an interesting comment about something in Latin, which another person jumped on to tease him about using a "dead language."  As you've read before in this blog, my synapses connected in an odd and unusual way.  Living concept.  Dead language.  What an amazing paradox.  To express the idea of pouncing upon an accomplishment in Latin.

Quite a few months have passed.  The blog began.  My first book was published.  My second book is on the way.  It became time to let Carpe Factum become the identify of the company.  It was time to really give it the overhaul it deserved.  After going through all of the paperwork with the state, I worked with a wonderful design company who really gave visual life to my story.  As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.   You'll be seeing a few changes to this site over the coming weeks, but I wanted to give you all a glimpse of the story behind the changes.  A brand isn't about a logo (if you think it is, then you are "muy logo").  It's about a story.  More specifically, your brand is about your story.  You're the story-teller, and your customers are your audience.  The logo is merely a backdrop.  I owe Mike a lot more than he knows in helping me discover my brand.  If you find that your career, your professional life, your company, and your brand are lacking something, you might want to attend Mike's workshop on the Branding Imperative this Saturday.  Who knows?  You might find you have a really cool story to tell as well.

What Does A Good Evangelist Go For These Days?

I read one of Mike Sansone's recent posts with keen interest.  It seems his love affair with Panera is coming to a rocky end.  Of course, I could have told him that they were all a bunch of WUHOTs, but it's an unspoken rule around guys that you don't diss another guy's "significant other" to his face... even if that significant other is an underperforming restaurant that doesn't care about its customers.

It's still shocking that Panera would treat someone like Mike so poorly, though.  Don't they realize who he is?  The King of Conversation.  The Lord of Links.  The Duke of Dialogue.  The Prince of Pings.  The Baron of Blogs.  And more importantly, he's been one of their chief evangelists for many months.  He's been the pulpit-pounding preacher of the Panera gospel.

This reminds me of a past situation with one of my Drake MBA classes.  We had the opportunity to pilot some new whiz-bang software.  The owner of the company was anxious to break into the educational market, and the software had some functionality that my students could leverage, so it seemed like the perfect fit.  I worked with the owner directly for weeks prior to class.  We communicated expectations to the students, and all of the stakeholders were excited about the possibilities.

Then disaster struck.  On the first day of class, the software company owner decided he was only going to support one of the project teams, instead of the entire class.  Hence, 80% of my students would be without technical support on new and unfamiliar software (which turned out to be not nearly as intuitive as originally claimed).  When I communicated workarounds to this issue for my students, he flew off the handle (publicly), accusing me of undermining the integrity of the pilot and his own credibility.  His unprofessional communications soon became evident to the students (by his doing, not by mine), and all of the students quickly ceased using his software and also ceased all conversation with him.  That's when it got really interesting.  He started name calling, accusing Midwesterners of being stuck in their ways and not willing to embrace change.  Over all, he just left a bad taste in everybody's mouth.

During the final class debrief, we talked about how we had turned the pilot-gone-bad into some great teachable moments for the students.  We talked about how this owner could have turned things around by acting professionally, apologizing, and working collaboratively with me and the other stakeholders.  Moreover, many students commented what a lost opportunity this company had.  Some of them said they initially liked what the software had to offer, but the owner's behavior changed their minds.  This was a class of over 30 students who represented Des Moines' largest employers.  And many of them went back to their employers and communicated never to allow this software to ever darken their doorways.  One comment in class summed it up best, "(He) had the opportunity to make 35 evangelists; he did that but they're all communicating a different gospel."

One comment.  One screw-up.  One action.  One offense.  Credibility and customer commitment are delicate balancing acts.  We'll see if Panera can pull their collective heads out of their (ahem) ovens before the evangelical movement passes them by.

Carpe Factum: Advice Columnist?

As the process continues to release GUST - The "Tale" Wind of Office Politics during the spring of 2007, I had the opportunity to meet Franke James, who has created an amazing Office Politics site.  It's a great one-stop resource for those seeking assistance with office politics issues.  Ms. James has created a network of authors and consultants to address the emails that are sent into the site on various office politics issues.  Through out conversations about my book, Franke invited me to be a contributing author to respond to some of the letters that are sent in.  The first three letters have been added to the site.  Check 'em out and see if you agree with my assessments.  Her site is set up as a blog, so you can add your comments.

The Stepford Client

I've recently had a couple of clients that have been just too darned-near perfect.  No, I'm not being facetious nor sarcastic.  And no, I'm not talking perfect in the campy-horror-brainless-robot-bad-acting sort of facade.  And no, the projects have not been overly easy either.  For both clients, the projects entailed quite a bit of process reengineering as we threw out their old paradigms and rewrote their future; there was pain involved.  So that begs the question:  what sets these clients apart from the others?

1. They Gotta Wanna - Borrowing this phrase from Robert Kriegl, I'm referring to their passion and desire to change.  Both clients recognize that the status quo isn't working, and even though the change is difficult, they can see the "promised land" on the other side
2. Accomplishment Trumps Drama - They disagree agreeably.  They respect each other.  They see that they are all on the same team, and that the enemy isn't each other; it's the problem they are tackling.  Any political drama that may have existed was placed on the back burner to get things done.  They "get it" when it comes to Carpe Factum.
3. They Have Fun - In both client environments, they work their tails off.  They put in long hours.  They have potentially difficult customers.  But they enjoy their jobs, and they enjoy each other.  That comes through loud and clear in their approach toward daily situations and in their communication.
4. They Are Secure - Bringing in a consultant to shake things up scares some people.  I've had the "client from hell" - those who make sport out of tormenting the outsider.  These "Stepford Clients" view me as a tool to add value, not as a threat to be managed.  They have healthy self-esteems and high trust of each other.  That is reflected in all of their exchanges.

What about you?  Do you have a Stepford Client?  If so, what makes them so perfect? 

A Swing and A Prayer

When I studied in the Mexican Yucatan for a term as an undergrad, we had the opportunity to sleep in hammocks in our room.  (For those of you who have never taken a siesta on a hand-woven Mayan hammock, you don't know what you're missing.)  I shared a room with two other rambunctious students named Dan and Casey.  Our hammocks were arranged in a Z formation between two of the walls, and as luck would have it, I occupied the middle hammock.

Dan and Casey, while both wonderful guys, loved to play "pirate ship takeover" - a game where they would see if they could knock somebody out of their hammock by simply ramming them or jumping into another's hammock and forcibly throwing the occupant out.  Casey was the undisputed champion of our room, simply because of his size.  He was a big guy with a strong athletic build, so no matter how much resistance Dan and I put up, he could knock us out of our hammock in 2-3 attempts.

One evening we were all peacefully swinging in our hammocks, and I could see the look creeping onto Casey's face that said, "Avast ye matey, I'm gonna ram you starboard."  I thought quickly.  Resistance was futile; I always wound up kissing the concrete floor.  When takeover looked imminent, I quickly changed the rhythm of my swing as he was preparing to jump over in his attempt to knock me out.  By conforming to his swing pattern, I easily flipped a guy who had consistently won over my hammock multiple times, and he ended up kissing the concrete.  I smiled innocently at him and went back to reading my book.  That ended his hammock pirate career.

How often in business do we attempt to fight against corporate systems in futility?  Ann Michael has an amazing post about our feeble attempts to fit everything into either-or categories.  Instead of swinging against your corporate adversaries, maybe the best way to "win" is to see where you can conform.  It doesn't have to be all-or-nothing.  Nobody has a rule that says that either-or is the only way to go.  I always enjoy the look on a colleague's face when I agree with them unexpectedly.  In looking for points of commonality, it sometimes makes it easier to win over on the points where we do differ, and it lends credibility to our arguments.  As Stephen Covey says, "Seek first to understand, then to be understood."

Where can you change your professional rhythm to unexpectedly flip your corporate pirates?  Ahoy!!

RSS vs. Bloglines: An Informal Survey

While my blog currently directs people to RSS for feeds (i.e., sending you an email when I post something new to my blog), I've been considering switching that over to Bloglines.  When I go to Feedburner to track my subscribers, it seems like the numbers are all over the board, and that I have very wild spikes and dips in the number of subscribers.  Therefore, I have a couple of questions:

1. For other bloggers, what are your preferences and why?  Do you choose one over the other or do you provide both options for your readers to subscribe to your blog?
2. For my readers, what has been your experience with RSS?  Have you experienced problems?  Do you find the feed is dropped unexpectedly and you have to re-subscribe?

I'm still learning the ins and outs of blogging technology, so your comment and input are appreciated.

Naming Conventions Gone Awry?

I recently watched the movie, Dances With Wolves, yet again as I was surfing through cable channels.  I've always been fascinated with the Native American ritual of assigning a descriptive name as part of the rite of passage.  What do you think would happen if we started doing the same thing to project managers when they earned their certification?  Then we could really get a good feel for those with whom we're dealing.

• The risk management meeting would be canceled because Runs With Scissors would get into an argument with Afraid of Germs.
• Another office politics situation blows up because somebody let Doesn't Play Well With Others design the motivational program.
• Rambles Incessantly would have a difficult time getting anybody to schedule a requirements conference call with him.
• Darts From Decision would annoy the entire project team because she would never sign off on a deliverable.
• Sleeps In Meetings probably would never be asked to facilitate the upcoming executive off-site.
• Driven By Data might put everybody to sleep with his 17-page daily status report.
• Don't even get me started about asking Paralyzed By The Status Quo to document the latest change request.

Hmmmm... maybe it's best to just leave things as they are.  Helps keep the mystery alive.  What "rite of passage" characters do you have to work with?

It Slices, It Dices, It Juliennes

Roger von Oech recently posed a question for me about thin-slicing office politics when I come into a new client environment.  The idea of thin-slicing comes from Malcolm Gladwell's book, Blink, and is about trusting your intuition to size up your surroundings to observe patterns.

So, what five things do I look for to quickly size up how political I think someone might be?

1. Body Language/Handshake - these are "high lobs."  I tend to look for extemes here:  slouched or closed posture OR overly straight and rigid posture; an extremely weak or very over aggressive handshake at least put something on the radar screen for me.
2. Facial Expression - again... go for the extremes.  Too much smiling or not enough smiling (in the appropriate context tells me that this person either has no sense of humor or they think they can cover something up with laughter
3. Word Choice - a consistently passive sentence structure ("the status report was written by Tom") as opposed to an active sentence structure ("Tom wrote the status report") makes me wonder if they're hiding other things in semantics
4. Cubicle - what artifacts are on display that can quickly tell me about this person's values?  Pictures?  Posters?  Awards?  Level of organization?  Positioning of desk?
5. General Interaction - how do they treat others (both present and absent); how engaged are they in meetings; and how do other people react to them when they walk into a room?

A few projects ago, I dealt with a guy who was very passive-aggressive and highly political.  He had all the "classic symptoms" listed above.

Now, before Mike Wagner tags everybody I know, I'll ask Rush Nigut and Brett Trout how they thin slice clients and cases.  Matt Owen can tell us how he thin slices a bull (or a bull-rider) before a ride.  Steve Farber can tell us how he thin slices somebody's LEAP potential.

Central Iowa Blogging Community

Last Friday, the Central Iowa Bloggers connected at the Panera on University.  For those who think blogging is just a way for people to connect online without building any real relationships, check out these pictures.

The community continues to grow, and leading the charge is Mike Sansone (blogging evangelist extraordinaire).  The following people were able to make it:

Drew McLellan

Adam Steen

Hannah Steen

Rush Nigut

Brett Trout

Tim Johnson

Mark True

Cory Garrison

Sherry Borzo

Doug Mitchell

Michael Libbie

Brett Rogers

Andy Brudtkuhl

Matt Owen

Sandy Renshaw

Check out the new site that Andy set up for us.  The community being formed through blogs is very powerful, and I never cease to be amazed at the relationships being formed across industries.

Born To Be Filed

We've all been there.  You're in a meeting where a critical piece of information is called into question.  You know you've seen that email/PowerPoint slide/Word Document somewhere, but you couldn't put your fingers on it now to save your own hide... which is what it may very well do.

Knowing how to archive critical documentation is more than just good CYA tactic; it just makes good business sense.  After all, if your only job function is to constantly cover your tail all the time, then you are probably in the wrong job/organization.

A few years back, I served in a leadership role on a multi-billion dollar class action lawsuit settlement project.  Besides learning that class action attorneys make the worst project stakeholders known to humankind, I also learned that constantly having timely and accurate project documentation on hand is crucial.  A few tips:

• Folders - create email folders to better organize electronic communication.  Some people create folders by topic, phase, or time frame.  My personal preference is by individual.  I can generally pinpoint who said what, and then finding the communication is relatively simple.  (NOTE:  this principle goes for both sent and received emails.)
• Critical - save anything that contains a commitment (i.e., agreement to follow through), an action item assigned, a risk or issue that's been raised, or a decision that's been made.  Most other emails that are informational can be printed and filed in paper form.
• Lock It - protect your files, both electronic and paper.  There's a reason why many organizations have opted for strict security measures.  Also, be very careful about loaning out originals of documents to people.  It may take you longer, but make the copies yourself to give those to the requestor.  If somebody does ask you for documentation, don't be afraid to question their motives.
• History - when a project is done, archive the information.  Send paper files off to be scanned, or put them in a secure offsite storage facility.  You may never need them again... but about the time you toss them is when you will certainly be called upon to produce them.  Flash drives and external hard drives are great tools.  If you are saving confidential or sensitive information, be sure to comply with your company's security standards to avoid the information falling into the wrong hands (and potentially being sued/fined).
• Tools - There are many great online collaboration and document retrieval tools like Sharepoint and Base Camp that are on the market these days.  Check into what these tools can do to facilitate you and your organization.

These are just a few simple tips.  Of course, there's always a balance to be struck between being a good document saver and just being the office packrat.  Still, I found that class action attorneys really hated having their own words used against them in meetings.

The End Is Mightier Than The Ford

A nation watched President Ford's funeral today.  I was about the same age as my older daughter when he took office in the midst of the Watergate scandal.  During the two years of his presidency, I didn't recall a lot of nice things being said about him.  The fact that he was never elected president and the issue that he pardoned Nixon hung heavily over his short term.  Historians pretty much agree that the cloud of doubt cost him re-election in 1976.

It's been interesting to hear the comments about his contributions to history over the past week.  How those same actions that cost him the election are now being viewed as "healing" and "good for the country."  Hindsight has a quirky way of acknowledging our past actions.  I'm not disagreeing with any of the comments made about President Ford... then or now.  I'm just fascinated by the impact time has on perception.

Recently, I've run into students and colleagues from the past... people with whom I've had virtually no contact for years.  The messages from them have talked about contributions I made in helping them shape their future.  Seemingly obscure comments or actions from my past made a profound impact on somebody else.  A couple of the instances they brought up were not popular decisions at the time.  Popularity, it would seem, is a rather fickle friend.  Significance, while a more subdued and behind-the-scenes presence, is a better friend to have around.  President Ford, in his death, probably reinforced one of the greatest lessons of all:

Doing what's right is always better than doing what's popular.