DiSC model - Management Styles

I completed DiSC (stands for Dominance, influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness) training last week and fount it interesting.   DiSC confirms one thing, different strokes for different folks.

DiSC is a system to help you find out similar and unique characteristics among people.  It also shows person’s behavioural preferences and helps to identify different management styles that can lead to obtain better results through interaction. 

According to the DiSC model, there are four management styles - by Dominance, by influence, by Steadiness, and by Conscientiousness.

Series of questions lead to a specific DiSC profile, that tells you what is your score and what is you dominant style of management and what are your supportive styles. 

D - Dominant : these people are active and questioning; these are direct and competitive in nature.  These people want to ‘get it done’.

i - Influence : these people are active and accepting; motivated, enthusiastic, sociable and lively. 

S - Steadiness : these people are thoughtful and accepting; patient and even tempered, accommodating. 

C- Conscientiousness : these people are thoughtful and questioning; kind of private with analytical abilities and task oriented.  Main objective is to ‘get it right’.

As we know everyone is unique and all have different ways of interacting.  Imagine, I interact with a person who has dominant  style of ‘Conscientiousness‘ (private and task oriented).  I pretend to be of ‘influence‘ (sociable and enthusiastic) dominant style; my interaction with that person can not be productive as I may not be providing the specific instructions that other person needs. 

Why is that?  Because people with dominant ‘infulence’ style mix personal talk with business discussions, becoming informal and emotionally expressive leaving the ‘Conscientiousness’ style person unclear or confuse as Max requires specific task oriented info and does not express himself emotionally.

How it will help me?  It lists what are key strengths, what things are overused, what could be the limitations and what changes should be made in management style that make one more effective.

Have you ever taken DiSC and Meyers-Briggs assessment?  What are your thoughts? Did you benefit from it?  Please share your thoughts.  Thank you for reading. 

More info -

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DISC_assessment 
2. One of the best books on the application of DiSC is by Keith Ayers titled “Engagement is Not Enough.”

Quotes for Managers

Quotes are powerful words to stir thinking process, give new perspective on things, motivate to take action.  Here are some quotes on planning and strategy that I collected from book Strategic Management by Fred David.

1. Like a product or service, the planning process itself must be managed and shaped, if it is to serve executives as a vehicle for strategic decision making. - Robert Lenz
2. Strategies for taking the hill won’t necessarily hold it. - Amar Bhide
3. Great spirits have always encountered vioulent opposition from mediocre minds. - Albert Einstein
4. A firm that continues to employ a previously successful strategy eventually and inevitably falls victim to a competitor. - Bill Cohen
5. Planning is often doomed before it ever starts, either because too much is expected of it or because not enough is put into it. - T. J. Cartwright
6. Planners should not plan, but serve as facilitators, catalysts, inquirers, educators, and synthesizers to guide the planning process effectively. - A. Hax and N. Majluf
7. Don’t recommend anything you woul not be prepared to do yourself if you were in the decision maker’s shoes. - A. J. Strickland III

Intro to Earned Value Analysis - Part 1

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We got to measure the progress of the project and report it to upper management along with controlling it.  Project might seem progressing well, tasks completing on time and we are spending money for that.  Earned Value Analysis (EVA) gives us an integrated view of cost and schedule performance.  Lets go over some basic definitions in this post.

There are three basic things that we need from project plan - Earned Value (EV), Planned Value (PV) and Actual Cost (AC).

EV  - Budgeted value (in $ or hours) of work performed a.k.a.  BCWP
AC- Actual value (in $ or hours)  of work performed a.k.a. ACWP
PV- Budgeted value (in $ or hours) of work scheduled or planned a.k.a. BCWS

These three key values enable us to calculate Cost Variance (CV) and Schedule Variance (SV).  This variance gives us info on if we are on track.

Cost Variance CV = EV-AC
(i.e. budgeted cost of work performed minus actual cost of work performed).
Positive variance means we are below budget and Negative variance means over budget.

Schedule Variance SV = EV-PV
(i.e. budgeted cost of work performed minus actual cost of work scheduled).
Positive variance means we are ahead of schedule and Negative variance means behind schedule.

Positive variance (in $ or hours) is usually considered good.  But when we have to compare progress of multiple projects, CV or SV of one project won’t make any sense when compared with other projects because they could be of different size in terms of budget and schedule.  To overcome this issue of comparing different projects regardless of their sizes, indexes are used.   Instead of subtracting, we divide the same numbers.

Cost Performance Index  CPI = EV / AC

Schedule Performance Index SPI = EV / PV

If CPI  is 1.0, we can say we are on track with respect ot cost; if CPI > 1, we can say we are under budget plus better cost performance.  If CPI<1.0, we are over budget and need attention.

If SPI  is 1.0, we can say we are on track with respect ot schedule; if SPI > 1, we can say we are ahead of schedule plus better schedule performance.  If SPI<1.0, we are behind schedule and need attention.

If CV or SV is negative or CPI or SPI is less than 1.0, I would monitor the trend of CV and SV for over couple of weeks to see the trend and then take some action.  If CPI or SPI is greater than 1.5, we still need to evaluate why is it so?

We use EVA by plotting project schedule on x-axis and cumulative (weekly or monthly) budgeted spend plan according to base-lined data from project plan. 

We need to remember one thing, Garbage in, garbage out.  If project is poorly planned, EVA can not come to aid.

Thanks for reading and let me know what you think, any suggestions for improvements and corrections are truly welcome. 

Quote from Yogi

“We are on this planet to love each other, to serve each other and to uplift each other. We have come on this Earth to give, not to take. Don’t take pride in taking. Give and you will be given virtues. And that will give you God.”  - Yogi Bhajan

Five Powerful Leadership Quotes

Five very powerful quotes, read and ponder. 

1. “A leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of credit.” - Arnold Glasow
2. “There are no bad soldiers, only bad officers.” - Napolean
3. “The key to success is to get out into the store and listen to what the associates have to say.  It’s terribly important for everyone to get involved.  Our best ideas come from clerks and stockboys.” - Sam Walton
4. “If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.” - Yogi Berra
5. “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it is.” - Wayne Gretzky.

Trust is very important for teamwork

When a team outgrows individual performance and learns team confidence, excellence becomes a reality. - Joe Paterno.

Who else can say better than JoePa?  He is absolutely correct, but key thing is outgrowing individualism.  When a team is motivated to work together, everything seems possible and there is quite a different feeling. I have been blessed to work with some of the best people who knew how to empower team and have experienced how team’s common goals produce stunning results. 

Very first thing is to cultivate the trust in the team.  If there is no professional trust among group members, team will never perform at par. 

We have to be little bit open to our team members (my own perspective). if we become totally professional by delegating tasks and demand results with ‘paid for the work done’ attitude, team will not work.  You got to use some emotional intelligence, you got to connect with the employee.

Next, you being the boss,  have to guide and empower the team.  Every team member comes with unique skills, personality, objectives, understanding.  You got to know who needs direction, and who needs nod; who needs to be left alone and who should be slowing down.  Check Situational Leadership II post on my blog.  You are the one who will make things happen through this dynamic team.

Thanks for reading and I welcome your comments how you made your team perform above expectations and what factors were important to you.

 

Know what to emphasize

PM Tips - 1

What points we emphasize make a big difference in our communications. 

How do we do that? We got to know the expectation of the audience and what we want to convey.  Over emphasizing something or emphasizing meager issues may dilute the effect of conversation. We develop this skill with experience, paying attention to the audience and listening how others do it.

Certainly there are key things that you want to emphasize.  Make sure what you want to emphasize is really relevant and audience has some clue about what you are talking.

Notice how you emphasize? Do you find yourself keep repeating what you want to communicate in different phrases or you cleverly divert every topic discussed and then associate to what you have in mind? 

Observe if you are getting your point across.  Use some relevant example to explain your point.  Do not give frustrated look. You may have to do more work to refine your point.

Thank you for reading. Any suggestions or feedback?

Quotes for managers

1. People ask for the secret to success.  There is no secret but there is a process. - Nido Quebin
2. Set a good example.  It will please some people and amaze the rest. - Mark Twain
3. We don’t see things as they are.  We see them as we are.  - Anais Nin
4. Those who lack courage will always find a philosophy to justify it. - Albert Camus
5. The first thing to decide before you walk into any negotiation is what to do if the other fellow says no. - Ernest Bevin
6. The more you say, the less people remember. - Anatole France.

PMI Membership Benefits

I volunteer at my PMI (Project Management Institute) local chapter called Great Lakes Chapter (www.pmiglc.org).  I enjoy the benefits of PMI membership in form of monthly magazine called PM Network and accompanied paper called PMI Today.  Both are informative and I have gained a lot by reading both publications. 

Many people join organizations enthusiastically and then with very little involvement and different priorities, fail to renew annual membership and later claim that they did find not much benefit of membership.  Becoming member in your professional organization and participating actively gives you opportunity to network with best people in your trade and increase your domain knowledge.

I found couple of interesting benefits while reading PMI Today paper and thought of sharing it with you. Here are the benefits-

1. Attend PMI meetings/events at discounted price;
2. Networking opportunities with professionals in management;
3. Read PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge);
4. Read business books on-line;
5. Download a global standard;
6. View the results of PM research projects;
7. See articles from PMI publications for the last 7 years;
8. Search for jobs, consult with a career coach and have your resume critiqued;
9. Request a custom research;
10. Order books and other materials at a discounted price;
11. Use a career framework to help guide your career; and
12. Get PM Network and PMI Today publications.

I would suggest that if you are in project management, get involved with www.PMI.org, join your local chapter and participate in making project management indispensable for business results.

Thank you for reading and have a wonderful day!

Referenced - PMI Today - April 2008

Lao-tzu on Leader

I attended Wayne Dyer’s presentation in Toronto on 28th April 2008.  He spoke about his book  Living the Wisdom of  the Tao. 

I am quoting from this book.  Lets see what a philosopher, Lao-tzu, said in the 17th verse of Tao Te Ching  some 2500 year ago about the Leaders.

With the greatest leader above then, people barely know one exists.
Next comes one whom they love and praise.
Next comes one whom they fear.
Next comes one whom they despise and defy.

When a leader trusts no one, no one trusts him.

The great leader speaks little.
He never speaks carelessly.
He works without self-interest and leaves no trace.
When all is finished, the people say, “We did it ourselves.”

In the case of this post, we got to keep in mind that verse talks about ’greatest leader’. I think- there are still people who exhibit such qualities and making people’s life better.  What you think?  What did your interpretation of this verse?

Thank you and have a wonderful day!

Issue or Risk?

Budget, Scope and Schedule are three constraints a project manager has to deal with to produce deliverable.  Any one of these three is changed, remaining are also affected.

Risks and issues in a project are documented and monitored.  During the documentation phase, it becomes cofnusing when we have to classify it into either risk or issue category.  Here is the basic info on difference between risk and issue -

Risk is a future event that may have an impact on triple constraint.  It may happen or it may not.  We can plan for risk based on its probability and impact on deliverable - risks can be avoided completely, or can be minimized, or can be transferred to other party, or we can meet head on.

An issue is present problem or concern influencing triple constraints.  In other words, an issue is raised when something has gone wrong and will impact triple constraint.

A risk can become an issue, but issue is not risk - it has already happened.

Hope this helps.  Thank you for reading the post.

My Reading List for coming days

• Books are the bees which carry the quickening pollen from one to another mind.  ~James Russell Lowell 
• You’re the same today as you’ll be in five years except for the people you meet and the books you read. ~ Charlie “Tremendous” Jones
• No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance. ~ Confucius
• It is better to read a little and ponder a lot than to read a lot and ponder a little. ~ Denis Parsons Burkitt

Here are 13 books that I plan to read in coming days…

1. True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership(J-B Warren Bennis Series) (Hardcover) by Bill George
2. ME, INC.How to Master the Business of Being You: A Personalized Program for Exceptional Living (Hardcover) by Scott W. Ventrella
3. Think Better: An Innovator’s Guide to Productive Thinking (Hardcover) by Tim Hurson
4. The Manager’s Book of Decencies (Hardcover) by Steve Harrison (Author)
5. Why Should the Boss Listen to You: The Seven Disciplines of the Trusted Strategic Advisor (Hardcover) by James E. Lukaszewski
6. The Boston Consulting Group on Strategy: Classic Concepts and New Perspectives (Hardcover) by Carl W. Stern, Michael S. Deimler
7. 60 Seconds & You’re Hired (Paperback) by Robin Ryan
8. A Dream With a Deadline: Turning Strategy Into Action (Hardcover) by Jacques Horovitz & Anne-Valerie Ohlsson-Corboz
9. Love Is Letting Go of Fear(Paperback) by Gerald G. Jampolsky
10. Welcome to Your Brain: Why You Lose Your Car Keys but Never Forget How to Drive and Other Puzzles of Everyday Life (Hardcover) by Sandra Aamodt & Sam Wang
11. How Come That Idiot’s Rich and I’m Not?(Hardcover) by Robert Shemin
12. The Second World: Empires and Influence in the New Global Order (Hardcover) by Parag Khanna
13. Awakening the Entrepreneur Within: How Ordinary People Can Create Extraordinary Companies (Hardcover) by Michael E. Gerber

I enjoy reading magazines and books on leadership, management, personal development, life, etc.  Have you read any of 12 books?  Do you suggest any other?

Cheese Moved? Doesn’t Matter.

We, as a professional, are hired by organizations to deliver results and perform. As time passes, our daily job becomes our universe.  We spend our energies resolving problems, improving processes, saving money and many other good things.  Sometimes we are ignorant and sometimes we are so busy handling all the situations at the job, we do not realize that whole world has changed and we are still there.  We find that new technologies, processes, ideologies, concepts and trends have taken over what we used to do.  And when we realize, then blame our employer for not guiding us, showing us the right path, etc.  Remember, we are professionals and professionals know all about their field of expertise.

 When I see clueless people in the situations when their cheese (i.e. work) is moved (or gone), I tell them to stop complaining but learn the lesson from it and take action. 

Here are 11 points I tell (and remind) people to avoid becoming obsolete -

1. Subscribe to professional/trade  magazines and journals and read ( or go to library, but stay up-to-date on what is happening).
2. Bookmark and frequently checkout websites dealing with news & views related to your field of expertise.
3. Read some good books on the subject.  Check Amazon.com’s ratings and views before buying. 
4. Become member & get involved in professional organizations in your chosen field.
5. Volunteer your time & services in your chosen field or for any good cause.
6. Mentor and guide other people, help people grow, offer help selflessly.
7. Attend seminars or conferences; it does not matter if you got to spend few hundreds from your own pocket and on yourself.
8. Read some good self-help books on personal development and personal finance.
9. Grow your network, if good people can not find you; you go out and find for your networking.  Interaction is the key.
10. Always keep learning new things in your chosen field, and
11. Change with time.

You will find out many successful people are already doing these above mentioned things to grow their professional network and knowledge base. 

I am certainly interested in what you got to say on this subject.  Everyone has unique experience and lets share our thoughts and learn from each other.

 Thank you for visiting and reading the post.  I appreciate it.  Have a good time.

Illiterate of the 21st century…

“The illiterate of the 21^st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” - Alvin Toffler

I found this quote very much true.  It is becoming more and more important in today’s work environment for employees and organizations to change their traditional mind-set and evolve. 

Have you seen people who are worried about their jobs as the technology they know is now obsolete? People had been working very hard and did not focus on upgrading their skills as market was going through change.  

I want to stress that you are in charge of your learning opportunities.  It may be soft skills, new language, new technology, new way of doing things or any combination of things that will keep us marketable in this century.  We got to be flexible in terms of learning new things, unlearning of old concepts and some times relearning of (back to basics) concepts.

Thanks and have a great day!

Leading Creative Employees

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There are always some special people in teams who are very much techie, creative and loaded with specific knowledge.  Lets call these employees creative people in this post.

These creative people provide tremendous value to organization through application of their knowledge and expertise.  These really smart and creative people need nurturing environment and motivation. When leading these creative people, keep in mind that they may-

1. think they know more than anyone (or know everything);
2. do not want to be led (know what, how and why);
3. do not want to follow the process (think its bureaucracy);
4. want to discuss the solution with higher authority (by-pass chain of command);
5. expect people to come and ask for help (until then they keep quiet);
6. show their exceptional knowledge in group meetings;
7. become poor listeners and jump to solution (feel they know problem already);
8. dislike to say thank you for any assistance;
9. feel attached to the solution they offered (won’t accept alternate);
10. stop contributing if ignored;
11. want praise and recognition (not always care about position);
12. want challenges and new things to work on.

Leading creative people require smart leadership.  Smart leaders will help these creative employee contribute by creating environment where they feel valuable while making sure that other employees also flourish. 

Smart leaders demonstrate their expertise and authority over creative employees quietly by not pushing them or by not showing them who is the boss.  Smart leader also makes sure that they know what organization’s strategic goals and objectives are; but does not dictate how to achieve.  These creative people can contribute beyond expectations when their leader becomes their coach-cum-mentor-cum-guardian.

Not all the points may apply in any given situation and there might be other examples as well.  I am interested to hear your thoughts on this.  Please leave comments.  Thank you for reading and have a wonderful day!

Positive Quotes

These words of wisdom reaffirm an optimistic view towards our life and work.  These words once said by great minds ask us to develop positive attitude, take action, believe in ourselves and make our word more beautiful place to live.

1. Of all the liars in the world, sometimes the worst are your own fears. - Rudyard Kipling (English poet and author)
2. It is worth a thousand (British) pounds a year to have the habit of looking on the bright side of things. - Dr. Samuel Johnson, 1709-1784
3. If there were nothing wrong in the world, there wouldn’t be anything for us to do. - George Bernard Shaw
4. To accomplish great things we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe. - Anatole France
5. Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. - Abraham  Lincoln
6. A man is what he thinks about all day long. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

What Got You Here, Won’t Get You There

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I read many books in 2007 and one of the best that I want to mention here is What Got You Here, Won’t Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith.This book is all about how successful people become even more successful.  There are tons of books on leadership and management out there but this is something.  In my case, book had very good title that got my attention plus it had Ford CEO Alan Mullaly’s recommendation on the dust jacket, I decided to give it a try. The book was a wonderful read, I read it very slowly enjoying each page filled with new insights and examples - just like I am sipping tea in early spring morning.

Sometimes people get to almost at top by dedication, integrity and excellent work, and then do not get there (to the real topand achieve greatness and may be fame as well). There are many factors contributing to get there but author has identified 20 habits that hold person from getting there. These are very common bad habits that cost a lot in long run such as - not listening, beginning conversation with ‘but‘, speaking when angry, playing favorites, etc.

Visit author’s website www.marshallgoldsmithlibrary.com  for more info and free resources. 

Here is link to the list of 20 bad habits identified in the book.

The beauty is the way author has explained these common habits and their impacts on others in organization is just like a sage speaking to you.  I have heard from many of my peers and seniors who read the book on my recommendations,  came to me and thanked me. I hope I get a chance to meet him personally and I would pass all those thanks to Marshall for writing such a nice book. If we are getting such an advice compiled in a book, its the best deal for your career.

I am glad that I read it and would recommend to all leaders, aspiring leaders and managers to read it with open mind and make our organizations more successful and in return we also grow with others.  Let me know what you find out.

Thank you and have a great day!

How to Have Project Kick-off Meeting

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Kick-off meeting is the first meeting of the project where you give all the team members good news that project is ‘go ahead’ from the sponsors and also set the tone of your project - is it going to be a success or a failure.  Many hours and days have gone into preparation before you have kick-off meeting. You have worked very hard and now have project charter and project plan is in your hands.Primarily kick-off meeting has following goals-

1. energize the project team
2. communicate project goals and expectations
3. introduce team members and stake-holders
4. highlight opportunities plus challenges and reiterate importance of project for organization
5. provide information of processes, methodology, project plan, key milestones, etc.
6. handout team’s contact phone numbers and email addresses
7. present communication plan
8. give time to attendees to ask questions and express views

I would do following extra things to make sure kick-off meeting sets positive tone -

1. print the hand-out material a day before, also check for meeting room projector etc.
2. have some project related posters and famous positive quotes posted on the wall
3. invite one or two senior managment  people to talk about project’s importance
4. have kick-off meeting around 9 AM (start of the day is better)
5. block enough time for this meeting (time for refreshments, presentations, questions and answers)
6. set date of kick-off  meeting and notify all members at-least a week ago
7. offer light refreshments at the beginning of the kick-off meeting
8. do not sit and just talk, look and feel energetic
9. have your project plan and other documents (that you plan to hand out) reviewed well in advance by subject matter experts for accuracy
10. make sure meeting conveys the message and people walk out with motivation

Are there other key things? I will be interested to hear.  Hope this helps and good luck with your kick-off meeting. 

Stroke Warning Signs

My mother suffered minor stroke(s) last week and she is in hospital recovering as right side is affected by it.  Reason for my this post is to make readers aware of the signs of stroke so that if someone else has these symptoms, quick help can be arranged. 

In my case, I was not aware of any symptoms and thought she is expeiencing numbness due to high blood pressure.  We went to see one doctor in walk-in clinic and he suggested that she needs some more rest and continue with blood pressure medicine. Later that day we took her to emergency in hospital when she had problem walking as well.  After talking to Triage nurse, I realized that she might be having stroke.  Here are symptoms of stroke, If you notice one or more of these signs, do not wait. Stroke is a medical emergency.

Classic Stroke Symptoms (as per MayoClinic.com May’07 report):

• Sudden numbness, weakness, or paralysis of your face, arm or leg — usually on one side of your body
• Sudden difficulty speaking or understanding speech (aphasia)
• Sudden blurred, double or decreased vision
• Sudden dizziness, loss of balance or loss of coordination
• A sudden, severe “bolt out of the blue” headache or an unusual headache, which may be accompanied by a stiff neck, facial pain, pain between your eyes, vomiting or altered consciousness
• Confusion, or problems with memory, spatial orientation or perception

 Reference - http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stroke-symptoms/BN00055

Update (05-Jan) - My mother has been discharged from hospital, and recovering at home.  Thanks all for good wishes.

Good Bye 2007

Its been a wonderful year for me, and I hope the ditto for you all the readers. 

When I look back and see the things that happened; I believe that I have learned a lot, accomplished a lot and I am a better person today. 

Things that looked major challenges turned out to be minor things that I could handle very easily; the things that I thought were distractions proved to be stepping stones for success.  I had opportunity to read many good books of personal development, leadership and management.

New year comes with some resolutions that we thing should be accomplished in the year.  My take is to have your goal accomplished -

1. Write down your resolution on paper and method explaining how will you do it.
2. Must be realistic.
3. Must have dates associated such as 20% by March.
4. Read your resolution and review the success often.
5. You must believe firmly that you will accomplish it.
6. And start doing it …

I wish you all very happy and prosperous 2008.