Why is liberty important? Have you ever asked yourself this? It is right there in the Declaration of Independence; we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. I … Continue reading The Importance of Liberty
Project Management
The Personal Scorecard
In last week’s post, I presented a method for a more productive new year. Central to this process is what I referred to as the personal scorecard. In this week’s post, I would like to review the personal scorecard in more detail. The concept of a personal scorecard is not new. Benjamin Franklin used a … Continue reading The Personal Scorecard
Four Steps to a Better New Year
I am setting off on a new business venture!! I am opening a health club called Resolutions. It will have exercise equipment for the first two weeks of the year and then turn into a bar for the remaining fifty. A New Year’s tradition, as common as the Rose Bowl Parade or dropping the ball … Continue reading Four Steps to a Better New Year
The Eisenhower Box
There is a tile missing in our kids’ bathroom that my wife has been after me to repair. You see, it is about two inches wide and five inches tall, one of those molding tiles along the wall in a corner no one sees. Every time she goes in there it bothers her to see … Continue reading The Eisenhower Box
Donald Trump Junior’s Meeting Problems
In June of 2016, Donald Trump Junior had a meeting with Natalia Veselnitskaya. I think everyone agrees on that point. The lack of clarity on the meeting’s objective and attendees as well as the events that led up to it serve as an excellent case study for project managers. Now if you are interested in maintaining plausible deniability ambiguity is a wonderful thing. For project managers, however, nebulous communication is the enemy of a well-run project. Let me explain…
Leadership
As John Quincy Adams said “if your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more you are a leader”. Lincoln saw himself as a servant to a greater cause, something much larger than himself. This attitude inspired others, drawing them to his cause. As a result, we remember and love Lincoln as the indispensable man in the preservation of our country.
Project Management Dashboard
The definition of a dashboard is the panel facing a driver of a vehicle or the pilot of an aircraft containing instruments and controls. It’s the thing you look at when you are trying to drive a car or fly a plane. At a glance, you should be able to see the key pieces of … Continue reading Project Management Dashboard
Earned Value
Project management is both art and science. A large part of project management involves skills that are not analytical, such as leadership, conflict resolution, and communication. Quite often we focus on these aspects of project management because they are perhaps the most difficult to master. Plus, they are much more interesting to discuss than cold … Continue reading Earned Value
Manage Projects like a Roman Emperor
Our actions may be impeded but there can be no impeding our intentions or dispositions, because we can accommodate and adapt. The mind adapts and converts to its own purposes the obstacle to our action. The impediment to action advances action, what stands in the way becomes the way. Marcus Aurelius was the last of … Continue reading Manage Projects like a Roman Emperor
The Stoicism of Project Management
“What is quite unlooked for is more crushing in its effect, and unexpectedness adds to the weight of a disaster. The fact that it was unforeseen has never failed to intensify a person’s grief. This is a reason for ensuring that nothing ever takes us by surprise. We should project our thoughts ahead of us at every turn and have in mind every possible eventuality instead of only the usual course of events.”
Meditations on BI and Data Science 