New project management articles published on the web during the week of September 2 –8.  We read all of this stuff so you don’t have to!  Recommended:

• Andrea Brockmeier examines the pros and cons of virtual work.
• Elizabeth Harrin reviews Squish, an issues management Software-as-a-Service offering.
• Craig Brown reviews “The People’s Scrum,” by Tobias Mayer.
• Toby Elwin reviews “Leading Successful Change,” by Gregory P. Shea, PhD and Cassie A. Solomon.
• Martin Webster notes the similarities between the stages of change and the stages of grief.
• Peter Saddington rolled out a series on using Agile techniques to manage distributed teams, in three parts.
• Neil Killick explains why the business analyst is not a role in Scrum.
• Glen Alleman goes into a lot of (excellent) detail on prediction failure modes.
• Patrick Richard shares a few TED talks about skepticism, and recommends we (specifically) be skeptical of the “NoEstimates” movement.
• John Goodpasture recoils in horror at the mere mention of not making estimates.  Mike Cohn, what were you thinking?
• Andy Jordan wonders if the PMO’s “project dashboard” view of the portfolio is helping, or hurting?  Maybe we need “pull” reporting …
• Chuck Morton starts a new best practices series, this time on project status reports.
• Devan Dean explains how to audit a project.  Just eight minutes, safe for work.
• Patrick Weaver expounds on the process of delegating.
• Conrado Morlan is fine-tuning how he communicates with Generation Y.
• Dr. Mark Goulston is presenting a free webinar on persuasion on September 12th, “Just listen: how to get through to anyone.”
• Francis Hooke sees some parallels between the long running British television show, “Top Gear,” and managing projects with Prince2.
• Annie McKee explains why good people become bad bosses.  Just ten minutes, safe for work.
• Marko Divac looks into the people who de-motivate us in the workplace.
• Jo Ann Sweeney shares some strategies for getting demotivated workers to support your project.
• Pawel Brodzinski shares his thoughts on why we need to hire for cultural fit, rather than getting the best technical skills.
• Penelope Trunk lays out a strategy for making your horrible job suck less.
• Susanne Madsen asks us to leave the comfort of our Comfort Zone, and leave certainty behind.
• Philip Smith hears all of this talk about the importance of soft skills, and asks, “When has Project Management NOT been about people?”
• Lynda Bourne looks at four techniques to develop team members: teaching, coaching, counseling, and mentoring.
• Kerry Wills is finding new professional applications for his obsessive-compulsive disorder, in his project binder.

Enjoy!