New project management articles published on the web during the week of July 11 – 17. And this week’s video: John Kotter explains how an organization that starts out entrepreneurial and agile becomes a bureaucracy, and why it’s hard to reverse the process. Just six minutes, safe for work.
Must read!
- Ben Tarnoff recounts the story of how the first internet connection was demonstrated forty years ago this summer, at a beer garden in Portola Valley, a suburb of Palo Alto.
- Bruce Harpham reflects on the phenomenon of ego depletion – the gradual loss of self-control after multiple challenges – and other sources of energy depletion.
- Paul Reubens reports on how global engineering firm Atkins made the decision to migrate to Office 365, and what they learned along the way.
Established Methods
- Paul Culmsee and Kailash Awati have published a new book, “The Heretic’s Guide to Management.” They say it’s about ambiguity, teddy bears, and fetishes – OK!
- Harry Hall shows how to create and use a stakeholder register. Just 4 minutes, safe for work.
- Laura Barnard shares her thoughts on the business case for the PMO as value creator.
- Elizabeth Harrin interviews Traci Duez, who explains how she got into project management and then into speaking about project management.
- Seth Godin reminds us that decisions about the future should not be about the past.
- John Goodpasture ruminates on Matthew Squair’s representation of the risk spectrum, from known to unknown to unknowable.
- Adam Shostack challenges information security professionals to hold themselves to the same standards as those who build bridges.
- Paramita Ghosh details the skills required to be a data scientist. You start with business skills …
Agile Methods
- Johanna Rothman defines swarming, mobbing, and pairing, in great detail.
- The Clever PM identifies three primary skills of great product managers.
- Michael Kogan shares some procedural lessons learned from conducting retrospectives.
- Angela Wick contrasts feature thinking and value thinking.
- Ryan Ripley chairs a round table of sorts on the GROWS method, with Andy Hunt, Jared Richardson, and Don Gray. Just 55 minutes, safe for work.
Applied Leadership
- Art Petty recommends that we think and act “in the moment.” The past matters and so does the future, but what we do right now matters far more.
- Walt Grassl shares a parable about establishing a culture of trust, which he turns into a sort of checklist.
- Cornelius Fichtner interviews Niraj Kumar on developing project leadership skills. Just 34 minutes, safe for work.
- Elise Stevens interviews Gillian Klette on how to incorporate feedback into your leadership plan, including positive comments. Just 18 minutes, safe for work.
- Liane Davey describes the constructive mindset, as a prerequisite for giving feedback.
Working and the Workplace
- Lisette Sutherland shares some of the best productivity she tips she collected over many years and interviews. Just 14 minutes, safe for work.
- Hambrick and Ullén summarize recent research into whether genes or deliberate practice drive excellence and expertise. The twins research is very interesting.
- Keith Rollag answers questions posed in the webinar, “What to do when you’re new: how to be comfortable, confident, and successful in new situations.”
Enjoy!