Quotes for Project Managers

1. If you want to hear new things, you’d better spend time with people who are very different from you. – Lynda Gratton
2. Predicting the future is easy.  It’s trying to figure out what’s going on now that’s hard.  – Fritz Dressler
3. In business, you don’t get what you deserve, you get waht you negotiate. – Chester Karrass.
4. The right information cannot be extracted from the wrong data. – Russell Ackoff
5. Honesty is the best policy. – Anonymous
6. You can’t do without a “can do” attitude. – William Kane
7. If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else. – Yogi Berra

15 Ground Rules for Project Team Management

People with diverse professional experiences and background have totally unique perspective on any issue.  When a new team is assembled for any project, its vital for the success of that project that all team member are aware of  the ground-rules for the project; similar to any sport.  You may have to read it to team and give a copy for reference.

Here is an example list that I have used for a project to keep team aligned.    Such ground-rules certainly eliminate unnecessary confusion and your business customer and team members like it defined beforehand.  Make sure, you also follow it and implement it.

1. Project manager is the primary contact for any project related communication.
2. All team members maintain their contact info on the team contact list with contact preference.
3. All members attend required meetings and conference calls; if unable to attend, meeting organizer to be notified.  If key contributor is unable to attend, request to reschedule the meeting.
4. Any planned day off or vacation must be communicated in advance to project manager so that project plan can be updated and impact to work, if any, can be analyzed.
5. All project team members have access to project plan and  project logs (in a standard document format) and are aware of the assigned tasks and due dates.
6. All team members are to be consulted about the reasonableness of the plan prior to management approval.
7. All team members are required to validate their assignments and time allocated prior to the plan is baselined.
8. All project team members have the responsibility to proactively notify the project manager about tasks, duration or dependencies they believe are missing (or any other needed changes to the plan) and confront issues directly and promptly.
9. Project team members have the responsibility to notify any potential difficulties in meeting the schedule for any assigned tasks as soon as it is known by the team member.
10. Each project team member is responsible for ensuring anticipated workload conflicts with other assignments are brought to the attention of the project manager.  Team members should ask for help if feeling “stuck” or falling behind the schedule instead of waiting for miracle.
11. All team members are responsible to own, follow-up and provide updates on the assigned task (including but not limited to any identified risks, issues, changes, approvals, clarification from customer).  If any delay is observed, escalate to project manager.
12. All  meeting minutes, key decisions, assumptions and business rules must be documented and all action items must be followed up and assigned to a resource with expected completion date. These items are usually mentioned in casual conversation.
13. All project team members understand the scope of work.  Any work performed must be in the project plan and is in the project scope.  Anything that is absolutely needed but not part of the project plan, must be brought into project manager’s attention.
14. All project team members confront issues directly and promptly.
15. Only project manager submits all final deliverables to business customer for sign-off or approval.

What are other key things that you have found useful and we can add to this list?

Thank you for your visit and have a great day!

Community Leadership – Lessons Learned

How do you play shows some of your character, how do you win or lose shows all of it. – Anonymous

For last couple of months, I have been quite busy with community leadership related work.  I had an opportunity to mentor and advise leadership team on the issue that was dividing the community. I  also had to stand up against the group of people whom I found was neither acting fairly nor was impartial. Per my research, it was abuse of power and leadership role.

It is now over and resolved satisfactorily, but it was a learning experience for me and I would like to share my lessons that I have gathered from both sides, without referencing to any incident.  One side was new and young group of individuals who was selected to lead the community and other group had been in control for over 16 years was not giving up the power and resisting the change.

When I reflect on my decision to support the new and young group get their right, I feel great that I could serve the community. 

Here are some of the common sense lessons I learned from both sides of the issue -

1. As with each problem, understand the issue; background of politics & people involved and their agendas;
2. Always be fair, remain truthful and act impartial towards all – if you want to be really helpful;
3. Read any relevant document being referred; do not just believe what is being told;
4. Don’t sit on the fence and enjoy conflict, become active if you are passionate about the issue and can contribute;
5. Talk to leaders and offer your help to mediate; negotiate with win-win mental model;
6. Not every effort to resolve issue will be welcomed, negotiations will fail miserably, stay hopeful – any conflict has its own life cycle as well;
7. Expect rumors, allegations and indirect threats – do not waste all of your energy on addressing these;
8. Talk to community members, educate about the issue, tell the truth and share the facts;
9. Keep all doors open for compromise; find out what price are you willing to pay to keep community together;
10. Find influencers in the community, get them on your side and ask for help, validate your interpretation of the issue;
11. Do not quit or bend against pressure if you know you are standing for the truth and justice, you will face lots of pressure and many curve balls;
12. Whatever you negotiate, offer or communicate, make in writing;
13. Do not go negative; don’t get involved with personal attacks on opposite group;
14. Deliver response to any negative propaganda with facts and positive tone – remember truth is like the Sun and false propaganda as clouds, the Sun will eventually shine, the truth will always prevail;
15. Do not get into reactive mode, expect urge to say negative – but control it;
16. Remember truth has to go through tough test before it wins;
17. Keep your head high, keep thinking positive and stay visible in community or group;
18. Always remember that difference of opinion is natural human behavior, other people might be thinking you are wrong;
19. Seek lawyer’s help if needed, you need to get involved in fund-raising, planning course of action is key to success;
20. Do not twist the facts, do not talk out of context, do not exhibit attitude towards people who aren’t agreeing with your opinion;
21. Always seek advice of people who can tell the truth and fact of the matter, not your supporters only who speak your mind and tell you one-sided story;
22. If what you hear is truth and is contrary to your belief, consult and reflect that you are not manipulating the situation;
23. Establish a core group who offers views of issues without any prejudice;
24. Listen to truth and act upon it, keep your mind open to everything but attached to nothing;
25. Do your best in every circumstance even if no one is watching you, do not do things to impress others;
26. Expect victory if you are truthful, impartial, positive, open and just towards all;
27. Do not give advice to score point or take credit, keep it simple and make it team effort;
28. Expect confusion in your group, keep all informed and motivated;
29. Once you get what you want, do not demean other group but let it go;
30. It will take some time to heal the divide, but keep focused on delivering value to community;
31. Do not cling to power but work on empowering others to lead;
32. Power is to serve community not to rule, you may have to make tough decisions;
33. When you are serving as a leader, it’s not walking on red carpet – you are there to take on challenges; and
34. Any choice or decision should be based on good for all not only for you.

When I talked about the issue in my community with friends in other communities, all told me one or other kind of similar story in their community or organization.  I hope my lessons will help or guide someone someday.

Thanks for your visit and comments on the post.

5 Quotes for Leaders

 

  

1. Leadership is a matter of having people look at you and gain confidence, seeing how you react. If you’re in control, they’re in control.  – Tom Landry
2. People ask the difference between a leader and a boss . . . The leader leads, and the boss drives. -Theodore Roosevelt
3. Leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or concluded you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership. – Karl Popper
4. Leadership is a combination of strategy and character. If you must be without one, be without the strategy. – H. Norman Schwarzkopf
5. The man whose authority is recent is always stern. – Aeschylus

  

 

 

Quotes from Twitter

I am on Twitter (follow me) and its very useful tool.  I review tweets on my Nokia E71 Smartphone during my lunch break and keep myself updated.

I get to read very interesting and inspiring quotes along with information that people share on Twitter; and I also thought of sharing some quotes with my readers.  Here they are:

1. You have three choices 1) complain 2) walk the extra mile or 3) create your own highway. – Rajesh Setty/@UpbeatNow
2. When tempted to fight fire with fire, remember that the fire department generally uses water. @mlomb
3. If God didn’t want us to smile, he would have given us black teeth. @NarinderSingh
4. Countless studies suggest that much more often than not, people reciprocate. So give, smile, love and help. @sanderssays
5. Have courage. It permits you to accomplish things even when they take longer than you thought. That’s what life is all about. @kenblanchard

Let me know what your thoughts are and if you are on Twitter.  Thanks.

Power of Social Media and Customer Service

You might have heard that someone got very bad customer service one day and no one would resolve the complaint at this company.  This person gets upset by the treatment received and decides to write a complaint letter to the president of the company.  In few weeks he receives a note and the issue is resolved by president’s interference.  Everyone gets back to business and few people in the town heard of the story and thats it.

Now go to Web 2.0, someone got bad customer service and received no reasonable response  to the complaint.  This consumer feels mis-treated as his complaint is not treated fairly.  This person sings a complaint song, and shares it on YouTube.   Word about this customer service story circulates the internet through the song shared on YouTube, people in millions watch it and it hurts the organization’s bottom line (over $100 millions) and the brand.  And then this individual gets an apology from the company and complain finally gets  resolved.

This is the power of social media if used correctly. It works both ways.

Here is the complete story  about singer Dave Carroll incident and whose guitar was broken by United Airlines (Link to Huffington Post story) . Watch the  song. 

Here are some key points (and some Customer Service/Help Desk experts can add more) -

1. Consumer expects good service all the time, although doesn’t give reward or recognize it publically, but indirectly rewards by doing business again and again.
2. Consumer is generally prepared to handle good and bad customer service; in case of bad service, do not expect more business.
3. Consumer is wowed by exceptional service only and you can find 5-star reviews online and strong brand following is built/maintained. Facebook Fan page and twitter following of brand can tell something.
4. Consumer is offended by horrible customer service.  You can find 1-star reviews online and some dedicated websites to complain about product, brand or service can be found.  Some may get creative like David Carroll and make a dent on your brand.
5. If not sure how to handle the complaint or issue, do not just say No.  Let your boss help you.
6. If you face customers, genuine attitude determines consumer behaviour to a bigger extent.

I have noticed that consumer tolerance to bad service is inversely proportional to size of brand or organization.  Bigger the brand or name of the organization, higher the expectation of consumer in terms of service.

 Here is another blogger with the same story- http://adgablog.wordpress.com/2009/11/06/how-to-ruin-a-reputation-in-4-days-on-youtube/

What are your thoughts, please share.  Have a great day.

Twitter for Managers and Leaders

Early this month, I spoke about PMI-GLC’s Social Media Initiatives at PMI Leadership Institute Meeting @ Region 4 (at Orlando, Florida).  I found out that majority of project managers and leaders are aware of the social media in some way but not utilizing that much. LinkedIn for networking and Facebook were two tools that most of the PMs knew and had profiles active. I am using Twitter of some time now and finding it very useful and informative.  Here is my Twitter page or follow me @kulveervirk.

In this post I would like to give my readers quick info on Twitter and how it can be used by project/program managers and leaders effectively to advance the profession, help the stakeholders and grow their personal network while learning new stuff.  Next you develop strategy to use Twitter effectively.

Some Basics:
It is evident that more and more professionals are interacting through social media tools and technologies to share the ideas and spread the word.  Social media includes blogs, LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace, Orkut, Twitter, and many more. There are millions of people using Twitter all across the globe.

Half the world is composed of people who have something to say and can’t, and the other half who have nothing to say but keep on saying it.  – Robert Frost

Twitter is very innovative way of communicating with people you choose to communicate with.  It is inexpensive and effective way to distribute information on the Internet. Twitter allows you to communicate in 140 characters.  These 140 character messages you send or choose to read are called tweets.  In this message (aka tweet) you can include a link to any article, post, or blog.  Once you are on Twitter you will choose to follow some of the folks tweeting and you will also have some followers who are interested to read your tweets.  You can choose whom to follow or if you want to block someone from following you.  You can create lists (similar to groups).

First step after setting up your account  for a professional is to search for fellow professionals in similar profession and start following them.  There is minimal lingo involved that you can find it here to get started. Once you start following people and communicating, you are already on your way create, share and discover ideas on project management and leadership.

For Managers and Leaders:
 Twitter is excellent tool to connect to your stakeholders (provided your stakeholders are on Twitter and following you).  You can provide quick info or update about your project, product, service or initiative to your stakeholders.

For example, you have a product that tracks helpdesk tickets and you have new exciting feature that you have incorporated into the beta release, you can keep updating your followers about the progress and also provide the link to your blog when you provide some update.

If you have a flagship software or hardware product and you may have loyal following (as in case of Apple and Microsoft), you can provide info and also read what others are talking about your product and support/service.

One practical use of Twitter is by Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to spread the word on health and safety; now a days on H1N1

Other best use is when you are following other professionals in your field, you can find out industry trends, what are they working on, what new things have they discovered.  If can respond to the questions that are being asked or you may have some ask for advice.

You will find and follow many industry leaders and experts are constantly tweeting and you can learn a lot from them.  For example, I follow @kenblanchard, @jack_welch, @tom_peters, @tom_peters, @Padmasree and many more whom I admire.  You may find that your boss or your CEO/CIO is also tweeting, follow him and find out what he says and asks.  Twitter also gives you opportunity to ask direct questions or share ideas.

You can use Twitter to promote your brand.  People from different walk of life might be interested in what you are sharing via tweets and learn from your experience; its nice way to give back to community as well.

There are some drawbacks as well that come with any tool or technologies.  You must be very clear about your objective while tweeting.  Always stay professional and tweet only when you have something useful to share or ask.  A nice motivational or inspiring quote is always better than saying “I am baselining my project plan 7th time in a month.”

Whatever you say (or tweet), represents you and builds your image.  You are building your network and you will get some loyal followers on the way. If you are tweeting about your organization or corporate product, make sure you are authorized to say something. 

You can receive and communicate on Twitter using your smartphone.  If you have Twitter account, you can follow me using @kulveervirk and find out whom am I following.

Thank you for reading and hope that this info will help you in some way.  Let me know what other creative ways you are using Twitter as a professional or project manager.

Useful links:
Why Project Managers Should Twitter
Twitter 101 for Business
Shorten and track your URLs

How does it go up the communication chain?

In the beginning was the plan, and then the specification.

And the plan was without form, and the specification was void.

And the darkness was upon the faces of the implementors;
And they spoke unto their managers, saying: “It is a crock of cow manure, and it stinketh.“

And their manager went to the second level manager, and he spake unto him, saying: “It is a crock of excrement, and none may abide the odor thereof.“

And the second level manager went to the third level, and he spake unto him saying: “It is a container of excrement, and it is very strong, such that none may abide before it.“

And the third level went to the division manager, and he spake unto him, saying: “It is a vessel of fertilizer, and none may abide its strength.“

And the division manager went to the assistant vice-president, and he spake unto him, saying: “It contains that which aids plant growth, and it is very strong.“

And the assistant vice-president went to the vice-president, and he spake unto him, saying: “It promoteth growth and it is very powerful.“

And the vice-president went before the president and spake unto him, saying: “This powerful new product will promote growth of the company.“

And the president looked upon the product and saw that “It was good!“

What lessons can we draw from this funny tale?  I am interested to know.

Thanks for reading and have a great day.

Reference- ‘Project Planning, Scheduling & Control’ by James P Lewis, Irwin Professional Publishing, Burr Ridge, IL.

Quotes for Managers

1. Star performers are never expensive, but mediocre performers are unaffordable – Georges Doriot
2. It is a bad plan that admits of no modification. – Publilius Syrus
3. A ship in a harbor is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for. – William Shedd
4. We tell our young managers, ” Don’t be afraid to make a mistake.  But please don’t make the same mistake twice.” – Akio Morita
5. The best motivation consists of getting a player to understand that his self-interest and the team’s are inextricably bound up. – Walter Kiechel III

Thank you and have a great day.

Got 10 minute to speak with executive?

When you got 10 minutes or less to talk to your executive manager, you are well aware of the fact that you do not have enough time to give background of the issue or request and he/she isn’t interested in nitty-gritty detail.

Instead of giving your jargon loaded intellectual talk, paint the picture with words. Try to make it little striking with some recent example. Tell how it’s going to impact him, positively or negatively (again painting a picture with words), and what you need from him.

If you are telling about a problem, tell what solutions you propose.  Watch your gesture and prepare to answer the question with some facts; do not let it come to the point where you say ‘I will get back to you on this.”

Hope this helps and have a nice day ahead.

11 Principles of Leadership

 I came across 11 leadership principles of Marine Corps in Guide Book for Marines on the Internet and here is my interpretation of 11 principles.  I am interested in hearing from Marines about their leadership experience. 

1. Take responsibility – we need to seek and take responsibilities if we need to grow; never shy away, whatever seems challenging will help you expand your perspective.
2. Know yourself – reflect upon your strengths and weaknesses; seek improvement and understand that you can achieve only those goals that you set.
3. Set an example- conduct your business in a professional manner; do not loose temper – small minds are bothered by small problems; not only work in your job but also work on your job as well.  Be a brand that people want to associate with.
4. Develop your subordinates- consider this as part of your job; learn to delegate; as Zig Ziglar said “You can have everything in life that you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want“; give them opportunities to learn & grow;  guide them if they fit somewhere else.
5. Be available – in every respect; be available to listen to problems and challenges people are facing; to motivate, to lead and to show right direction; to hear criticism; to take decisions and to act on time.
6. Look after the welfare of your employees - the way you want your boss to look after your welfare; develop emotional intelligence; connect with people and find out what motivates them; do something that touches their lives; help them when they are in need.  Arrogance and ignorance will not take you to the top or won’t keep you there for long.
7. Keep everyone well informed  – right communication is the key; make sure that the tasks are understood, supervised and accomplished on time and tell why you need all this done; do no assume -  aks and tell.
8. Set goals that are achievable – always set the goals – people need to know what they are expected to deliver and by when; let people figure out how;  goals should motivate teams to act; measure the results and reward people.
9. Make sound and timely decisions- that are aligned with the core principles of your organization and with your job descriptions; there will always be more than one right answer – choose the one that benefits the most and not only you; take decisions like a servant leader.
10. Know your job – be technically and tactically proficient in your job; know your people; know the processes and challenges; know how can you add value to the organization or your department.
11. Build teamwork- not all people can perform equally but they should complement each other while working towards a common goal; promote team work and diversity; shield your team from external pressure; be flexible with team.

“Leadership is intangible, hard to measure, and difficult to describe. It’s quality would seem to stem from many factors. But certainly they must include a measure of inherent ability to control and direct, self-confidence based on expert knowledge, initiative, loyalty, pride and sense of responsibility. Inherent ability cannot be instilled, but that which is latent or dormant can be developed. Other ingredients can be acquired. They are not easily learned. But leaders can be and are made.” – General C. B. Cates, 19th Commandant of the Marine Corps

Thanks for reading and welcome your input.  Have a great day.

Quotes for Managers

 

Here are 6 quotes for I.T. managers from Norman R. Augustine

1. Hardware works best when it matters the least.
2. A revised schedule is to business what a new season is to an athlete or a new canvas to an artist.
3. One of the most feared expressions in modern times is ”The computer is down”.
4. It has been wisely said that the world is not interested in the storms you encountered but in whether you brought the ship in safely.
5. If a sufficient number of management layers are superimposed on top of each other, it can be assured that disaster is not left to chance.
6. The last 10 percent of performance generates one-third of the cost and two-thirds of the problems.

Thank you for visiting and have a great day.

Time to Thank Entrepreneurs

July 30th is Mr. Henry Ford’s birthday.  He was born in 1863.  He was one of the great entrepreneurs America has produced.  He was leader of automobile industry and a great inventor.  His dream of gasoline engine was realized into industrial revolution and a company that is employing thousands globally and improving millions of lives for over hundred years.

“To create a new business that makes money, and more significantly, employs others, and more significantly, gives a product to a customer that improves their life, is our greatest challenge, our greatest opportunity, and the greatest gift, far greater than any charity that we can give our fellow person.”  – Paul Zane Pilzer

What a powerful statement it is!  Entrepreneurship is the backbone of social and industrial development.   There are thousands of entrepreneurs like Henry Ford, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Sergey Brin, Howard Schultz, Sam Walton, Jeff Bezos and Jeff Gitomer who continue to work hard to fulfil the dream of others while they achieve their own personal goals.

Time to thank all the global entrepreneurs who dedicated their lives for the growth of their organizations which in turn support the communities and nations; and are innovating to get the economy out of recession.

Thank you for reading and have a great day.

7 Blunders of the world

Mahatma Gandhi (1869 – 1948) was a great leader, lived his life for others and his words of wisdom have given direction to many.  Doesn’t matter what we do or where we stand in life, these 7 mistakes, if committed will result in ruined life or career.  These 7 mistakes are called 7 blunders of the world.

1. Wealth without work
2. Pleasure without conscience
3. Knowledge without character
4. Commerce without morality
5. Science without humanity
6. Worship without sacrifice
7. Politics without principle

For more info on Mahatma Gandhi, please visit http://www.mkgandhi.org/

Thank you and have a wonderful day!

Happy 4th July

Happy independence day to all of my friends and visitors. 

On July 4th, 1776 US got independence from Britain and a democracy was born.  This is the land of opportunity and freedom.  This is the time of barbecue, picnics, and a bit relaxing.

Click here for some facts on July 4th ( USA.gov)

Here is a short quote from the address of President Obama on 4th July, 2009.

“We are not a people who fear the future. We are a people who make it. And on this July 4th, we need to summon that spirit once more. We need to summon the same spirit that inhabited Independence Hall two hundred and thirty-three years ago today.

That is how this generation of Americans will make its mark on history. That is how we will make the most of this extraordinary moment. And that is how we will write the next chapter in the great American story. Thank you, and Happy Fourth of July.”

 

Anais Nin on Change

1. There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.
2. Life is a process of becoming, a combination of states we have to go through. Where people fail is that they wish to elect a state and remain in it. This is a kind of death.
3. We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.

Happy Canada Day!

Wishing all my Canadian friends a happy Canada day!  July 1st is Canada’s birth date and it was originally known as Dominion Day.  Later in 1982, it was changed to Canada day.  Its 142nd birthday of Canada.  Here is the small list of Canadian Inventions (source – www,publicboard.ca booklet)

• 5 Pin Bowling – 1909 – T.E. Ryan
• Basketball – 1891 – James Naismith
• Chocolate Bar – 1910 – Arthur Ganong
• Electric Light Bult – 1874 – Henry Woodward (later sold patent to Thomas Edison)
• Electric Organ – 1928 – Morse Robb
• Goalie Mask – 1960 – Jaques Plante
• McIntosh Apple  – 1796 – John McIntosh
• Paint Roller  – 1940 – Norman Breakey
• Snowblower – 1925 – Arthur Sicard
• Television Camera – 1934 – FCP Henroteau
• Telephone – 1876 – Alexander G Bell
• Walkie-Talkie – 1942 – Donald L Hings
• Zipper – 1913 – Gideon Sunback

Have a happy Canada day!

Don’t Settle – Stay Hungry – Stay Foolish

Who does not know Steve Jobs? His vision and life has made a huge impact on our generation. I came across this post. He shares his life lessons with students at Stanford in 2005. No doubt he is wonderful person around and I wish him good health.

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

Text of Steve Jobs’ Commencement address (2005)Posted using ShareThis

Changepoint and PPM

Last week I completed Compuware Changepoint training. I had read earlier that Changepoint is in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant (leaders) for PPM tools.

Changepoint is a web based tool for project and portfolio management.  The tool enables leadership make right decisions based on dynamic metrics of various initiatives and what value these initiatives add; and realignment of IT efforts with business strategy and vision.  Tool is very intuitive and scalable. 

In Project and Portfolio management, complexity is the key factor that makes changes difficult and time consuming. Just imagine multiple projects going on in  your organization with resources scattered around the teams (or Globe) and you are tracking the progress and reporting the metrics to the upper management.  Management wants to see  report on  status of all the projects underway, return on investment for each project, supply and demand, resource utilization, change management, issues and risks to the projects, etc. to make informed decision on project priorities, strategic planning and funding.

Changepoint makes all the aspect of program management easier by effectively managing your projects and applications, resources and client relationships.  You can find out more at Compuware website.

Disclaimer – I am a Compuware employee and opinions expressed here are my own.

3-Rs for Leaders

1. Read more
2. Reflect more
3. Risk more

Leaders ought to read a lot to stay ahead.  Each day is blessed with new discoveries and useful information.  Using the 80/20 rule, find out what is out there that you need to know.  Co-relate how changes in the world going to shape your world. Read more = Plan

Leaders take tough decisions all the time, they are the face of the organization.  Leaders chalk out the course of action in the midst of challenges.  Reflecting on the decesions taken and the one you are about to take is going to determine if you are an authentic leader - who knows where his True North is.  Reflect more = Check

Taking new risks, coming up with new ideas and having the drive to materialize them, thinking out of the box, leading organization into a totally new direction are the key qualities leader has.  Listen more and observe more.  Taking calculated and smart risk is also creativity. Risk more= Do and Act.

These 3 Rs fit into Deming’s Plan > Do > Check > Act; a continous improvement loop.  Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day.