John Wesley’s Rule

I came across with this rule in a book. Real leadership depends on it.

Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.
                - Ella Wheeler Wilcox

10 things to do when stuck in a situation

Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect.  – Alan Cohen (A prominent businessman from Florida)

Once you find yourself at a fork in the road, or clueless about which path to choose from - you wonder …..where should I begin this journey?  I have been there many time.  Sometime stuck or sometimes clueless.  I ask others and choose what fits in. You will be amazed how many resources are available for help and how different perspectives let you find the right solution. Choice is always yours, some times things work out as expected, other times you find out what does not work.  There is no template or documented way as we all have unique abilities and unique challenges. 

You have the solution, all you are doing is uncovering with the help of others. Because it is meant to be like that.

But when should you begin asking? After doing your home work. If you do not do your home work, you will be overwhelmed by choices and might be victim of analysis paralysis. Here are some thoughts to prepare you to ask help from others, in many cases you do many of these things in parallel:

1. Use mind mapping technique to put thoughts, situation and desired result on paper.
2. Talk to couple of your trusted friend and seek advice who has been in the similar situation.
3. Check with a life coach, a professional mentor or an expert is situation requires professional input.
4. Contemplate and jot down best-case and worst-case scenarios.
5. Do on-line search, check out blogs, forums, libraries or book stores.
6. Join a group, attend networking event, take a class where like-minded people will gather; or take a vacation, sleep well and go for a walk or jog with all the advice, a solution may pop-up automatically.
7. Do not do all thinking in the head alone, jot down your thoughts and give them shape by arranging them as they make sense.
8. Put a milestone chart for action steps. Start with question mark and end with desired outcome. Then fill with monthly and yearly milestone.
9. Now describe what needs to be done to achieve those monthly and yearly milestones.
10. Stay up-beat and keep focused.  Don’t be bothered about nay sayers. Per Nike’s tag line – just do it!

Any decision you take, remember Steven Covey’s 2nd principle – begin with the end in mind.  We all do most of the things but my experience working with others is that folks do not write or do not jot down any of the plan. You got to do it.

Further reading/references:

1. Seven steps to problem solving – http://www.pitt.edu/~groups/probsolv.html
2. What is mind-mapping – http://litemind.com/what-is-mind-mapping/
3. Scenario planning – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scenario_planning

8 Leadership Quotes

1. Strategy is not the consequence of planning but the opposite, its starting point. – Henry Mintzberg
2. Run with your head the first two-thirds of a race and with your heart the final third. – Jack Daniels
3. A good team is a great place to be, exciting, stimulating, supportive, successful. A bad team is horrible, a sort of human prison. – Charles Handy
4. In adversity, remember to keep an even mind. – Horace
5. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers; pray for powers equal to your tasks. – Phillips Brooks
6. The secret of getting things done is to act. - Dante Alighieri
7. Constant dripping hollows out a stone. – Lucretius
8. The first great gift we can bestow on others is a good example. – Thomas Marell

Leadership and Management

Leadership and Management, a photo by kvirk on Flickr.

My Summer reading list

Integrity – Key Ingredient for Success

Guard Your Integrity

February is Black History Month.  I was reading on Mr. Frederick Douglass and one of his quote came in front of me.  So profound and tells a lot about personal quality!  If one lacks integrity, will lack true sense of happiness and accomplishment in life. This quality in leaders and managers takes the organization to new level.  This is age of integrity and accountablity.   As a trusted advisor to your boss, friends, or to any institute, your currency is Integrity.

Frederick Douglass: I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence.

Here are some selected Quotes for Leaders and Managers:

1. Integrity is telling myself the truth. And honesty is telling the truth to other people. – Spenser Johnson
2. Integrity is not a conditional word. It doesn’t blow in the wind or change with the weather. It is your inner image of yourself, and if you look in there and see a man who won’t cheat, then you know he never will. – John MacDonald
3. I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence. – Frederick Douglass
4. Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
5. It’s not what we eat but what we digest that makes us strong; not what we gain but what we save that makes us rich; not what we read but what we remember that makes us learned; and not what we profess but what we practice that gives us integrity. – Francis Bacon

Marcus Aureliu: Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.

How Project Managers Can Help Retain the Talented Resources

Michigan Central Train Station in Detroit

Organization rise and fall based on people involved in leading, managing and supporting.

It has become a deciding factor for success in any organization to hire, nurture and retain the great talent.  Organizations have in past gone out of way to attract key talented resources from competitors.

There might be fancy deck of powerpoint presentaton produced by HR professionals on available programs to do all that, but is it the reality on ground? Is it working?  Are key people leaving organization or moving to different department? How can you ensure the success of your initiative if key talented resources do not want to stick around? As a project manager you get to see things first hand if policies or programs are working as expected.

Also, I think, it is not only HR’s function to attract and keep talented folks but project managers play a vital role in it. Job security, clarity of direction, level of engagment, opportunities available, benefits and work environment determine how talented resource make their mind up but Project Managers can also influence talented resoureces stay by  -

1. Marketing the project, its benefit to customer and organization along with in what way it  can help resource grow professionally;
2. Keeping the account of talent levels of each resource’s skills, background and career goals to make informed decisions;
3. Offering or arranging mentoring sessions & directing the focus of talented and motivated employees to groom and engage resources;
4. Delegating in light of what resources can or can not do, level of hand holding required, comfort level in taking risk for project success;
5. Keeping the communication lines open, first listen then guide and supervise so that resource feels connected and knows he/she makes the difference;
6. Accepting that mistakes will be made by resources, plan accordingly and anticipate to develop future leaders and managers;
7. Finding challenging and creative assignments for talented resources so that resources can grow;
8. Rewarding and recommending the resources in presence of key stakeholders;
9. Giving or arranging opportunities to attend conferences, meetings and training to sharpen their saws; and
10. Explaining how project management fits into the life cycle of product development or any project – it’s not asking for status and producing late tasks report.

This is a list of 10 points to start your thought process, please share what else should be added.  Hope to find out from your valuable contribution through comments.  Thanks for reading.

10 Early Indicators of Problems & Framework To Solve

We all strive for higher productivity, quality and efficiency.  We implement processes in place to achieve great results but with time, we got to review and renew so that our organization continue to deliver good value to customer.

Early indicators of unhealthy organization requiring a thorough check of processes -

1. Increase in employee overtime
2. Over budget and late delivery of products
3. Higher help-desk call volume due to various issues
4. Higher employee turnover or absenteeism
5. Frequent customer complaints or low customer satisfaction
6. No feedback from employees for improvement or disengaged employees
7. Low worker morale due to work environment conditions
8. Poo or declining sales
9. Negative buzz on social media
10. Direction-less employees due to lack of leadership

The moment you see these symptoms of productivity drain, you got to spring into action.  What actions you take mainly depends largely on your unique situation which may include feedback surveys, quality training, leadership training, communication training, team building activities, and developing new / refining processes, empowering employees. Never go the route of micro-managing.

Here is framework I follow to find solution -

1. Assess the situation with the help of subject matter experts
2. Frame the problem in broad terms and why it need to be addressed now
3. Describe the desired outcome if problem is solved to the satisfaction
4. List three best options to solve the problem
5. List pros and cons of each option
6. Get consensus on the single option from the team
7. Explain why this chosen option will work and what are its constraints/risks
8. Implement or empower the implementation

I would be interested to know from your experience what other indicators can be added to this list and how do you solve the problems.  Thanks in advance for sharing your valuable thoughts and stopping by.

This list is based on my personal experience and is not through any scientific study.

The Best Advice I’ve Ever Been Given..

1. Don’t ask for what you don’t want.
2. You carry five balls in the air; all but one is made of glass. Glass is health, family, friends, spirituality. Rubber is career. Juggle well.
3. Be passionate but not emotional.
4. Master hard skills early in your career. Master soft skills to get ahead later in your career.
5. Know when to ask questions - sometimes in a group, sometimes one-on-one.  There is big difference in perception and outcome in these two situations.
6. Always do what you say you will do.
7. Take lunch – you are not that important.
8. Read the cover of sports page every day (no joke!).

I was reading Canadian Business magazine‘s The Next Power Elite cover story and found these gems at the bottom of the page.  I could not resist sharing with my readers. Credit for the content goes to August-September issue of Canadian Business.

Fountain of Wisdom

Rose & Robert Skillman Library in Detroit has engraving “The Fountain of Wisdom Flows Through the Books“. To drink from this fountain, I continue to read books and here are some that I have completed recently and would like to share with my subscribers and visitors.  I have more detail posted here.

These 3 books are totally unique but fit in for a balanced approach towards any leadership or managerial role that you play in your life.

1. Buy-In: Saving Your Good Idea from Getting Shot Down - John P. Kotter, Harvard Business Press, 2010
2. Power: Why Some People Have It and Others Don’t - Jeffrey Pfeffer, HarperBusiness, 2010
3. It’s Not Just Who You Know: Transform Your Life (and Your Organization) by Turning Colleagues and Contacts into Lasting, Genuine Relationships - Tommy Spaulding, Crown Business, 2010

Why Should You Read These 3 Books?

Buy-In:  A leader or manager has to sell the idea, proposal or get an agreement.  Getting people buy-into is the critical task.  You will learn two things – first, how to protect your good ideas from being shot down and second, how to win the support of stakeholders when it really matters.  Naysayers will use 4 strategies of fear mongering, delay tactics, confusion and/or ridicule to derail the idea.

As we all know that good idea alone will not survive. This book offers 24 major attacks or objections (that people use time and time again) and how to handle them properly. Link provides 24 responses to these attacks.

Skillman Library in Detroit Courtesy: Wikimedia

Power:  For a leader or manager, being power less is not an option. If you can influence any decision, you got some power. Projects and initiatives of people who are associated with people of authority gets their way in any organization.  Some might have the different opinion of the use of power (i.e. Machiavellian style), but lets use the perspective that if you have power, you can do more good to your cause, organization and society. I will add quote from Baltasar Gracian:

The sole advantage of power is that you can do more good.  The Art of Worldly Wisdom, 1647

This book contains excellent advice and analysis about gaining power in corporations and politics.  You may not agree with all that is said like perception is reality (but for how long?), but its a good read and use what you feel appropriate with good intentions.

It’s Not Just Who You Know: Leaders and managers accomplish a lot by building rapport at all the levels, they are resourceful and get the work done for greater good.  This book fits right where both other left.  If you believe that great relationship in life make all the difference, you will enjoy it. Author does not give out any specific formula but shares his own experiences and then elaborates on how one should apply them in life. I used this book to learn from someone’s life how genuine interaction helps build great relationships.

This book is not you scratch my back and I scratch you back type but follows Carnegie’s classic How to Win Friends…

Author shares many inspiring stories and all underscore that relationship building begins with your genuine and sincere attention on the others and it’s not about you. Do not push for the things that you want, figure out what they need.  Also, author stresses that exploiting relationships for quick personal gains or favors will eventually ruin the foundation and it soon becomes transactional business relationship.

As a leader, you do not want to accomplish a lot in business but also would like to have strong relationships similar to great balance sheet or super annual report.  If you miss out building genuine and sincere relationships at all sectors of life, work and business included, you will be alone at top.

References:

1. http://www.kotterinternational.com/KotterPrinciples/BuyIn/AttacksAndResponses.aspx

Press Release : Kulveer Elected to Lead Michigan’s Largest Project Management Chapter

Have you ever created a press release before?  As I began my role in the chapter as President Elect on Jan 01, 2011, I thought of creating a press release and see how it looks.  First attempt, let me know what you think. (Note – my personal opinion and does not reflect of any organization or enterprise).

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Detroit, MI. (2 January 2011) — Board of Directors of Great Lakes Chapter of Project Management Institute (PMI – GLC), the largest project management member association in Michigan, elected Kulveer S. Virk as its new president for 2012.

The Board chose Kulveer Virk for his keen strategic insights regarding building member and organization value, formulating and leading operational vision, strategy and direction. “Kulveer is a very hardworking, committed and inspiring volunteer leader. He brought great ideas to the chapter in the communication area including social media strategy, made improvements that resulted in cost savings” said Arun Das, PMP, Past-President for the chapter. “He also shaped other initiatives that originated from the ideation of strategic items identified during the last couple of years.”

Kulveer said he will build on the Board’s overall strategic direction and provide executive leadership to advance PMI-GLC as one of the largest and most influential project management chapter in the region.

Kulveer has been vice president of communications for PMI-GLC since 2008. Kulveer has nearly 15 years of experience in project management, strategic planning, and business process reengineering, operations and software development. During his tenure, Kulveer has been instrumental in implementing solutions to cut cost, redesign services, and embracing social media.

Apart from serving the PMI-GLC board, Kulveer manages a global project at Ford Motor Company in Michigan. His previous experience includes consulting, medical, engineering, city government sectors.

“I am extremely pleased that PMI-GLC’s Board has expressed the confidence in me to take PMI-GLC to next levels of volunteer and stakeholder engagement, increase in member value, positioning to meet the challenges of next decade.” said Kulveer. “I look forward to enhancing our strategic relationships with organization and businesses leaders to highlight the importance and benefits of Project Management and role PMI-GLC plays in the region.”

About Project Management Institute (PMI) & Great Lakes Chapter (PMI-GLC)

PMI (www.pmi.org) is the world’s largest project management member association, representing more than half a million practitioners in over 185 countries. As a global thought leader and knowledge resource, PMI advances the profession through its global standards and credentials, collaborative chapters and communities of practice and academic research.

PMI-GLC (www.pmiglc.org) is Metro Detroit chapter of PMI established in 1979 and serving around 2000 members across Michigan and Ontario, Canada. PMI-GLC offers annual symposium, dinner meetings and forums on project and program management topics apart from various other events for networking and membership orientation.

How Project Starts

This is how projects usually start, do not get discouraged by it or feel overwhelmed. You will never get everything fully documented and nicely presented to proceed, you will get pointers and its your job to find who can compliment or add to your major project.

Credit : Today’s Cartoon by Randy Glasbergen

Credits: From “Today’s Cartoon by Randy Glasbergen”, displayed with special permission. For many more cartoons, please visit Randy’s site @ www.glasbergen.com

Focus on Outcome and Invest in Process

“What do you have to get in order to be happy?” is the question Dr. Srikumar asks.

I found this talk on TED where he asks to plug into our hard-wired happiness.  We spend most of our lives learning to be unhappy, even as we strive for happiness. The way we learn to be unhappy is because we buy into a mental model.  When we accept the universe as it is at that moment happiness occurs.  Listen to the talk where he answers the question that he use to open his speech. Dr. Srikumar stresses to focus on outcome and invest in process and not the vice versa which is prevalent.

Some time ago I read Dr. Srikumar S Rao’s ‘Are you ready to succeed?’.  It was one of the best book that had big impact on my thinking and living. I think you will enjoy it.

Here is the complete speech on TED : http://www.ted.com/talks/srikumar_rao_plug_into_your_hard_wired_happiness.html

U.S. CIO Vivek Kundra Says Process Continues to Trump Outcomes – Voices on Project Management

U.S. CIO Vivek Kundra Says Process Continues to Trump Outcomes – Voices on Project Management.

How to motivate project teams

De-motivated teams can cause serious harm to any project easily. As you are in charge for the success of the project, its your job to create an environment to meet project objectives while offering ‘what motivates’ to a diverse group of team members.  Question is to find out what motivates whom and every one is unique due to their background, expectations, goals and fears.  You know that some team members do not require external motivations whatsoever to produce quality products while some need constant dose of motivation.

We can understand the person’s behaviour if we spend enough time studying them or sometimes DiSC profile assessment can help.  Underlying object of reading behaviour patterns and using motivating factors is to build trust.  If you fail to connect and build trust, success and motivation will last for a short while.  You, yourself, should be motivated first and then motivate other.  Emotional intelligence is the key here.  If you know how to connect with the team member, its much easier to motivate. Study the team members’ behavior (its kind of becoming judgmental).  Broadly, here are high-level steps:

1. You must be optimistic and motivated first
2. Understand the behavior pattern
3. Build trust
4. Find out what motivates the individual
   

   Image Courtesy of IPS Worldwide®

Common behavioral roles found in any team are -

• Optimist : is always finding good in any situation; positive about success; thinks nothing is impossible; does not see risk; inspires others.
• Pessimist : is critical of every initiative; uncertain about success; sees risk and failure everywhere; hesitant to take initiative; needs push.
• Conformist : follows the process; agrees with group decisions; silent majority.
• Intriguer : always hungry for more info; not satisfied with current process; expresses opinions to higher up is high on agenda.
• Socialite : focused on networking; first on taking responsibilities of arranging party or potluck; interaction is high on agenda.
• Commentator : has expert comments on each and every aspect of project life cycle and might have ‘predicted’ the outcome long ago.
• Activist : tries to represent the organization values and mission; takes stand for human rights; mobilizing team for any cause is high on agenda.
• Orphan : sympathy seeker; feels neglected by team members and management; stays isolated; complains about loneliness.
• Subject Matter Expert : presents as knowledgeable about everything and anything organization does; does not share knowledge; only shares high-level information.
• Irritated One : is easily irritated by any change or management action ; develops conflict easily; uses irritatedness to keep people at bay.
• Celebrity : presents that everyone knows him/her; does very little activity and behaves like big influencer; technically challenged in many areas.
• Leader : is not a leader but assumes of taking over this position; shares achievement stories; complains about lack of recognition.
• Worker Bee : works a lot; believes if he/she does not take additional responsibility project will fail; always worried; takes on many tasks; delivers but with issues
• Combination of two or more stated above.

These behavioral patterns gives a lens through which motivation needs can be seen.  Do not be a manipulator; your objective is to motivate the team members to work for success of the project while giving opportunities to team members’ to meet their personal goals and needs. This is key to maximize the team performance.

Several motivation theories are referenced by managers to understand what motivates teams, these are Maslow’s Hierarchy, Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Factors, McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y, and William Ouchi’s Theory Z.

Motivational Theories

1. Maslow’s Hierarchy – We have a large number of needs and we are motivated to work accordingly to fulfill these needs.  Maslow groups these needs into 5 broad categories. He said that the lower-level needs must be satisfied in order for the upper level needs to emerge.

1. Physiological – Food, water, warmth, shelter
2. Safety – Physical safety and economic security
3. Social - Acceptance in group, love, affection, association with team, affiliation
4. Esteem or Recognition -  Position, status, prestige, importance/significance
5. Self Actualization - Challenging projects, opportunities to work on innovative and creative assignments, self-mastery

Lower three levels of hierarchy are basic maintenance needs. The individual must have these needs met in order to experience well-being. Self-Actualization is growth need.  Once a particular need is satisfied, it no longer serves as a motivator.

2. McGregor’s Theory X (Authoritarian Management Style) - This theory is kind of cynical theory in which management completely distrusts the employees.  This theory assumes that

• workers (or employees or people) are lazy
• avoid work if possible
• managers must use coercion, close supervision, tight control and threats  to have workers perform
• employee needs money and security &  no ambitions to grow
• employees are self-centered and do no care about organization goals

Theory X will result in resentment, low productivity, disloyal employees, and high turnover rate in employees.

3. McGregor’s Theory Y (Participative Management Style) – This is opposite of theory X. This theory assumes that

• workers do not inherently dislike work
• workers will be self-directed to meet their work objectives if they are committed to them
• workers will be committed to their objectives if rewards are in place that address higher needs such as self-fulfillment
• under these conditions, workers will seek responsibility
• most employees or people can handle responsibility because creativity and ingenuity are common in the population

If theory Y is implemented properly, better productivity, satisfied employees and good work environment can be achieved.

4. Ouchi’s Theory Z – This theory by William Ouchi  is based on the Japanese approach to motivate workers, emphasizes trust, quality, collective decision-making , and cultural values. This theory recommends job rotation, broadening of skills, generalization versus specialization, and the need for continuous training of workers.

Reference material:

• http://www.businessballs.com/mcgregor.htm
• Information Technology Project Management by Kathy Schwalbe – Course Technology – 2010
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_X_and_theory_Y
• The Project Manager Question & Answer Book by Michael W Newell and Marina N Grashina – AMACOM – 2004

Quotes for Leaders

• In risk, if you perform, it produces great opportunities. - John Hammergren, CEO McKesson Corp
• You just can’t get too focused on what’s going to happen in the next quarter. You have to worry about where the business is headed long-term.  - James Sinegal, Founder & CEO Costco
• If you don’t have a competitive advantage, don’t compete. - Jack Welch, Chairman & CEO GE
• Capital isn’t scarce; vision is. - Sam Walton, Founder Wal-Mart
• Sometimes size is an asset. Sometimes, it’s a liability. - Marco Provera, Chairman & CEO Pirelli Group
• Communication is the only task you cannot delegate. - Roberto Goizueta, Chairman & CEO Coca-Cola

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.

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 for 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

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 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

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.

Change : Three Fish Story

Change is inevitable.  In every person’s life, opportunities for change come and go.  If person avoids change, nature creates circumstances in one way or the other, and change becomes unavoidable.  As per human nature, some will embrace the change and act positively, some will accept reluctantly and some will  completely deny the fact.  I hope you remember the classic fable on change by Dr. Spencer Johnson ‘Who Moved My Cheese?‘. 

Here is one similar story* by Rumi, draw the conclusion yourself.

In a lake somewhere, there lived three big fish.  One of them was intelligent, another half-intelligent, and the third, stupid.

One day, some fishermen came to the lake with their nets and the three fish noticed them.  The intelligent fish decided at once to leave, to make the long, difficult trip to the ocean.  He thought, “I won’t consult with these two on this.  They will only weaken my resolve, because they love this place so.  They call it home.  Their ignorance will keep them here.”

The wise fish saw the men and their nets and said, “I am leaving.”  So the intelligent fish left and suffered greatly on its way, but finally made it to the edgeless safety of the sea.

Now about the half-intelligent fish thought, “My guide has gone, I ought to have gone with him, but I didn’t, and now I’ve lost my chance to escape.  I wish I’d gone with him.”

Second fish mourns the absence of his guide for a while,  and then thinks, “What can I do to save myself from these men and their nets?  Perhaps if I pretend to be already dead!”  I’ll belly up o n the surface and float like weeds float, just giving myself totally to the water.  So he did that.  He bobbed up and down, helpless, within arm’s reach of the fishermen.

“Look at this! The best and biggest fish is dead.”  One of the men lifted him by the tail, spat on him, and threw him up on the group.  He rolled over and over and slid secretly near the water and then, back in.

Meanwhile, the third fish, the dumb one, was agitatedly jumping about, trying to escape with his agility and cleverness.  The net, of course, finally closed around him, and as he lay in the terrible frying-pan bed, he thought, “If I get out of this, I’ll never live again in the limits of a lake.  Next time, the ocean!  I’ll make the infinite my home.”

Thank you for reading.  Everyone handles the situation in a unique way and that makes our world interesting. *paraphrased

Source: The Essential Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks, 2004

7 Leadership Quotes

Here are seven inspiring leadership quotations from some of the world’s greatest thinkers. 

1. Greater than the threat of mighty armies is an idea whose time has come. – Victor Hugo
2. Failure, rejection and mistakes are the perfect stepping stones to success. – Dr. Alan Goldberg
3. You either have to be first, best, or different. – Loretta Lynn
4. Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others? – Martin Luther King, Jr.
5. Always do right – this will gratify some and astonish the rest. – Mark Twain
6. Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal. – Henry Ford
7. The mind is like a parachute.  It doesn’t work if it is not open.

Thank you and have a great day!