Welcome to My Blog

Consultants Bore Quickly

t’s not that hard to figure out when you are working with a consultant who already has a preconceived model he or she thinks will solve your problems. Today in the software delivery world, it’s bound to involve agile, kanban, or design thinking. Not that any well researched and tested methodology or framework is bad, […]

Setting CLEAR Agile Goals

CLEAR goals encourage executives to work together with the development team to set the stage for successful large Agile projects.

Why All The PowerPoint?

After a big software project goes haywire, the CEO often gets involved. Usually somewhere around the 18-month mark.

Most good CEOs start their involvement with an apology: “I’m so sorry I haven’t been more involved up until now. I haven’t supported you.”

Less introspective CEOs start by firing people.

If you’re lucky enough to work for a good CEO, there will be a mixed reaction to the mea culpa nonetheless. There’s a new sheriff in town, but painful change is surely nigh. The appeal of finally having the CEO’s ear wears off in about a day–right after he or she asks for a PowerPoint deck that recaps the goals and leadership structure of the project.

That deck should be somewhere on the wiki, but isn’t. If it’s out there at all, it’s out of date.

Take the Blow

The Scene I turned, and wrote the number on the whiteboard. $1.5M In front of me in the small room was the SVP of a large Japanese auto company, his head of the PMO Jason, and all of Jason’s project managers. “Wait,” said the SVP. “$1.5m is the price for the entire project, correct?” I […]

Wherefore Art Thou Multimedia?

It probably sounds passé now, but there once was a technology we thought would be a new way for telling stories, and maybe even creating art.

People Do Change

I had a mentor who once said to me, “You can only change people this much.” And then he put his forefinger and thumb together to show it just wasn’t going to happen. Until recently, I believed him. People are pretty much made by their environments and don’t change much over time. But now, at my […]