Slow news week!

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

PM Best Practices

• Jesse Jacoby points out that change management is an organizational capability, and he shows us how to develop it.
• Elizabeth Harrin reviews “The Project Management Book,” by Richard Newton, and calls it her new favorite.
• Kerry Wills notes that “TBD” is not a date on the calendar.
• Steven Levy continues his series on “not to do’s” with an explanation of something now called the “GM Nod.”
• Kailash Awati extracts some thoughts on antifragility from Nassim Taleb’s recent book, and applies them to IT strategy.
• John Goodpasture also invokes Nassim Taleb, as well as Matthew Squair, with their common interest in a false narrative leading to a bad design.
• Bruce Benson recounts an anecdote about the value of small, simple tools.

Agile Methods

• Glen Alleman deflates the puffery around Lean Startup, #NoEstimates, and Minimum Viable Features.
• Mike Cohn looks into the Agile trade-off few like to address: cost vs. schedule.
• Bob Tarne posts part 2 of 12 in his Principle of Agile series. This time, he contemplates Death March projects, why they happen, and how to avoid them.
• Venkatesh Rao debunks the John Henry myth, pointing out the stupidity of killing yourself simply to prove you can prevail.
• Mike Griffiths invokes Disney and Ikea, in explaining that Agile isn’t in the process, it is in creating a working ecosystem for your environment.
• Bart Gerardi notes that grooming the backlog is a communication opportunity.
• Ken Whitaker says the best way to succeed in a transition to Agile methods is to keep it simple.
• Arijit Sarbagna explores the role of the architect in Agile teams and projects.

Professional Development

• Martin Webster continues his exploration of leadership models. This week: Transformational leadership, in a complex environment.
• Doug Dickerson addresses the phenomenon of “selfies,” and links it to a leadership lesson.
• Cheri Baker considers the unpleasant: how to respond when you are verbally attacked.
• Johanna Rothman recounts how a deteriorating relationship with a toxic boss led her to find another job.
• Gina Abudi wants us to reflect on our brand: what others think of us, or more importantly, what they say about us to others.

Podcasts and Videos

• Cesar Abeid interviews Cornelius Fichtner, who provides a wonderfully precise definition of a number of Agile terms being bandied about. Just 47 minutes, safe for work.
• Luis Seabra Coelho interviews Peter Taylor, the Lazy Project Manager. Just 53 minutes, safe for work.

Enjoy!