There are unexpected parallels even if, at first blush, horse trials and IT Project Management may seem worlds apart – I was struck by many similarities in the principles, the methods and the challenges.
WORLDS APART
Quickly, let’s compare the two.
8 lessons IT Project Teams can learn from Chatsworth International Horse Trials Read More »
If you’ve ever trained a puppy, you’ll know the value of a “treat” to reward good behaviour, like sitting or staying on command. I think most dogs know the word “biscuit” before they learn their own name, mind you, I know some PMs who are as partial to a bourbon or chocolate malted milk, she writes dunking a digestive! At Crufts I saw a lot of treats passed from owner to dog with a “good boy” or “good girl”. Rewards are vital to the process.
Unleashing success! What IT Project Management can learn from Crufts Read More »
Experience and anecdotal evidence suggest that Bex isn’t alone in seeking a little bit more. In many organisations now, IT project teams feel that the necessary fixed scope, set budgets, tight deadlines, limited resources and defined roles and responsibilities, leave little or no room for experimentation and innovation.
The thing is, if you’re getting the results, do you need the added sizzle of innovating?
I think that you do.
From ‘a meh thing’ to amazing! How PMaaS can help build innovation into IT Projects Read More »
The trainer was explaining the team’s fairly unique binary approach to scrum sprints, which effectively boils down to them having two duration categories – A) one week long and B) three weeks long.
The new hire found this interesting and enquired about the reason behind this approach. In her last job, length and number of sprints would be decided at a goal setting meeting, a twelve-week scrum project could have 15–20 Scrum sprints, which could be as short as a handful of days and as long as a month.
So, “Why?” seemed a reasonable question but it was met with either blank expressions or an unsatisfactory explanation. The trainer did not know, nobody on the team could answer either.
IT Project Management: Nailing know-how, but are we wondering why? Read More »
Isn’t it beautiful when an IT Project team execute and implement with total cohesion from top to bottom? When colleagues become team-mates, and when leaders understand who they are leading, I think a team becomes almost unbeatable. LESSONS FROM A LEGEND The passing of the legendary footballer Sir Bobby Charlton, which is fairly fresh news
The “Crucible Moments” podcast is a fascinating listen, especially as Roelof Botha (whose thoughts are the inspiration for this blog) isn’t the main subject. He plays the role of presenter; the main guest is Jack Dorsey (former Twitter CEO who now runs the financial services company Block). The central narrative of the podcast is the evolution of Block from its origins as Square, and how they created Cash App, a ‘third’ option, which is now responsible for half of Block’s revenue. The strategy of expanding the number of options for consideration was instrumental in helping Block identify and eliminate what wasn’t working and focus on more profitable projects.
Empowerment, autonomy, ownership – these buzzwords have rattled around for a few years now in relation to IT Project talent.
Most project managers, business analysts (etc) would agree that they have the power to schedule their own time, track their own progress and tasks and choose how they work, to some extent. It usually leads to improved performance – after all who knows how to do a job better than the person who does it day-in, day-out?!
What if you could take this improved individual performance and amplify it across your whole project or portfolio?
An interesting thought experiment: open-book IT Project Management Read More »
Interesting perspective from a Chief Experience Officer, Sandy, on how her organisation is making decisions – “we’re like a car that’s forgotten it has a steering wheel and more than one gear”.
I love this metaphor. I can see the car missing turn offs and short cuts and the noise and smoke from driving along in first gear!
What she means is that when the project team faces a challenge, or has a strategic decision to make, instead of weighing up what the problem really is and what would be best, it is culturally beholden to the in-house resources it already has at its disposal.
Sandy thinks it may be a hangover from the pandemic.
I suppose we all managed with what resources we could lay our hands on, became insular in our thinking, even adopting a scarcity mindset as we adjusted to the changing reality.
Changing our minds – the evolution of IT project strategic thinking and decision making Read More »
Despite the slow economy and provisional estimates which suggested lower mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity at the start of 2023, there were 365 mergers and acquisitions involving UK Companies during Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2023 according to the Office of National Statistics.
There were inward M&A (foreign companies acquiring UK companies) in Quarter 1 2023 was £12.7 billion; and the total value of outward M&A (UK companies acquiring foreign companies) in Quarter 1 2023 was £2.9 billion.
How mergers and acquisitions can cement IT as a strategic business partner Read More »
David writes blogs based on his many years in Project Management and also on ideas from the team here at Stoneseed. Light-hearted, insightful and funny, David’s blog cover all things Project Management, Leadership, Best Practice, PMO, Business Analysis and of course Project Management as a Service.
FREE IT Project Management eBook Read More »
