The Regenerate Web

I am training in Singapore  (which is why activity on the blog is a bit light). I thought I would share this post from the HR Capitalist called, Being Snarky With the CEO is Bad for Business...And That Fledgling Enterprise You Call a Career.

And for more perspective on the downside of snarkiness, check out this post I did a few years ago about bashing bosses.

When we bash, flame, or snark, no one wins. And for those of you who retort, "but it feels good to get it off my chest," I would like to challenge that. In my class yesterday we talked about the value of reducing drama - or the disproportionate meanings - we apply to situations. If you really want to feel great, reduce the unhelpful meanings you attach to situations. People are weird, they drive us crazy, and some people and downright irritating. I get it. Chill out. Live longer. Get promoted. Buy a Tesla.

The term Integrated Master Plan / Integrated Master Schedule is used a lot here at Herding Cats. It's the paradigm used to mange programs in the space and defense. But there is always a question - what does one look like? The problem of course is "real" IMP/IMS are simply too complex to show in a blog. As well all are classified in someway, so using "real" IMP/IMS is a non-starter.

Here's a "real" IMP/IMS from the now-canceled Constellation Program of flying to Space Station, then to the moon, and then on to Mars. This one if for landing on the moon (now canceled). The Crew Exploration Vehicle (now named Orion) is 3.0 in this IMP.

The IMP and the notional Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) show the increasing maturity of the program's deliverables moving from left to right. The CEV (Orion) moves from preliminary design status to critical design status (critical means we're almost ready to bend metal). From critical, CEV moves into the integration and testing processes, then to the cape for flight.

The same sequence occurs for the launch vehicle (the main reason the moon program was canceled, since it costs 2 to 3 times what was planned).

The Critical Concepts Applicable to All Project Success

1. Where are we going?
2. How are we going to get there?
3. Do we have enough time and money to make it?
4. What's going to prevent us from showing up on time, on budget, and on specification?
5. How are we going to measure physical progress to plan?

It’s been a few difficult weeks. First, I came down with a bad head cold. It’s almost funny, watching a person with vertigo and a head cold try to walk. Unless you are that person ;-) Then Daughter #2 contracted mono. Then the rains came and my office flooded–twice. I’ve spent a bunch of time the last few weeks camped out in the kitchen. Of course, my column deadlines don’t wait, so I managed to write them anyway. I hope you enjoy them.

My Stickyminds.com column, Are You Making Progress or Spinning Your Wheels? received no comments, which surprised me. Maybe because I didn’t know it had published?

My Gantthead.com column is titled, How to Say ‘No’ the Agile Way. (That wasn’t my title when I sent it in. I have to talk to the titlers!)

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When I get a phone call for help, before a word is spoken, I can lay money on one of three reasons.

1. Someone needs help with Time Management.
2. Someone has a personality conflict with someone else.
3. There has been a breakdown in communication that needs fixing.

And that's how my day begins.

We experience breakdowns in communication for a whole host of reasons.

• Difference in gender.
• Difference in experience.
• Difference in agenda.
• Difference in education.
• Difference in priorities.
• Difference in culture.
• Difference in values.
• Difference in (you fill in the blank).

I don't know if you detect a common theme.

The problem is NOT a breakdown in communication. That is only the symptom, the smokescreen that ignores the difference between two people.

To solve this problem, most people conduct a communications intervention, to examine the methods of communication to see where the problem is.

Methods of Communication

• Speaking
• Writing
• Reading

You will never resolve a breakdown in communication using any of these methods, because the problem is not communication. The problem is the difference between people. This difference can only be resolved by the communication method we seldom think about, seldom practice. Only resolved by listening.

There are nearly unlimited sources of information about managing software projects. Some good, some poor, some absolute crap, some exceptional.

If you want to start with the exceptional, start with The Data & Analysis Center for Software.

Here's why:

• The development and deployment of software intensive systems in the defense industry has many  problems. But the difference is, this domain actually spends millions of dollars and untold hours trying to figure out how to improve the situation. Not always with success, but there is a dedicated effort to make improvements.
•  The notion that simple and straight forward solutions to complex problems is naive at best.
• Data talks and BS walks, is the stand phrase in a military organization.

I love meeting new people on my journey through social media.  Many of them have the same drive for accomplishment I do, but they have a slightly different take on it.  One such individual is Jim Bouchard.

Jim's brand is about learning to "think like a Black Belt" - and no, I'm not talking the wimpy little Six Sigma type, either.  Jim is a real, honest-to-goodness martial arts stud, semi-pro-football player, and all-around leadership sherpa.  He applies his passions to business and helps other leaders learn to apply the principals of martial arts to their careers and organizations.

Jim and I had a chance to converse on his PowerPod - we talked about his book and about our philosophies of life and accomplishment.  Check it out.  But more importantly, check Jim out.  You won't be disappointed in the least.

By the way, Jim has a new book coming out soon.  I highly recommend you keep your radar up for it... promises to be every bit as amazing as Jim himself is.

Craig Brown (a must read Blog) posted a quote

The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. — Bertrand Russell.

This is a powerful concept. In our commercial practice, there is rarely a discussion of "probability," since commercial managers seem to seek certainty.

In the defense world, there is an official framework - Probability of Program Success (PoPS).

Search Google for "probability of program success." The majority are at the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) site. Read how statistical probability, stochastic processes for cost, schedule and technical performance measures are the semantics of normal programs.

Here's a direct link, answer yes to the certification warning. Many .mil sites do this if you're missing the cert.

• https://acc.dau.mil/CommunityBrowser.aspx?id=24415

Every conversation can be calibrated. Every conversation has a platform. These are the seven stages of listening.

1. Ignoring completely
2. Pretending to listen
3. Listening selectively
4. Listening to respond
5. Listening to understand
6. Listening to learn
7. Listening for the intersection where someone else's experience meets our experience on which we can build trust.

Thinking about your relationships, as a manager, as a friend, as a stranger, as a parent. Where is your intersection with reality?

I'm finishing off the "Beyond Bullets Points" content for an upcoming College of Performance Management class on Technical Performance Measures. There is a single picture that "connects the dots" between Cost, Schedule, and Technical Performance.

While checking around for some backup material I came across a long lost source of Performance Management.

Stacey Barr has what is probably one of the best blogs, sites, and content for "managing performance." It is a must read.

A new listing of the top Leadership and Management blogs came out and I am pleased to see Management Craft at #35 (especially since I have been so erratic with posting frequency lately, must be the six-year itch). And I was very pleased to see that fellow blogger pal Wally Bock, of Three Start Leadership was at #10, and one the highest ranked of what I will call the "real people" (along with pal Raj Setty at #8). (Real people meaning not the famous jet-setting guru types like Anthony Robbins or Tom Peters or Guy - you know you are a guru when you only need one name)

Check out the list and add a few new folks to your regular reading list. I also want to thank Wally for his thoughful review of my book, The High Impact Middle Manager.

These lists are not perfect, but they are great for finding good blogs. Unfortunately for the bloggers listed, it is also a source many PR agencies use to pitch their books, clients, and stories (I get a couple requests a day, most of which are not worth replying to - you send me a form letter, I will not respond). So let's use the list for GOOD and enrich our perspectives and broaden our exposures to great thinkers. Thanks, Jurgen, for putting together and sharing this list!