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Blog
Knowledge Transfer – An Investment
Posted by Rich Crowley on Jan 6, 2008 in IT, Knowledge Transfer | 0 comments
Throughout history, man has had to develop and refine ways to pass knowledge on from one human to another and from one generation to another. Two of the most common forms of passing on knowledge are to write things down or to simply pass the knowledge on verbally. Writing things down can take many forms with language and words being the most obvious examples but other forms such as pictures and music have also played a significant role in this regard. Written things have the advantage of being less susceptible to creative translation by the...
read more10 Things PM’s Should Have on their “Don’t-Do” List
Posted by Rich Crowley on Nov 17, 2007 in IT, Project Management | 0 comments
Don’t react – always take time to think through the various stimuli coming your way and respond in a planful way Don’t manage by the seat of your pants – plan! Don’t sit – wander the floor, every day Don’t ignore your sponsor – sounds obvious but it happens Don’t stay home – visit remote sites, if not often then at least at the beginning of a project to get to know people Don’t defer to strong-minded team members – if you think they are out-of-line, you must reign them...
read moreA Contractor Boom?
Posted by Rich Crowley on Nov 14, 2007 in Contracting, IT | 0 comments
I’ve been contracting for almost 10 years now. Those 10 years followed 10 as an employee. While contracting has its downsides, it really has been more enjoyable for me to be a contractor than an employee. I’ve made lots of good friends in the client offices I’ve worked in, I’ve had lots of challenge and opportunity, variety and since I tend to get restless quite quickly, the constant change has served me well. Recently, I’ve heard more and more full timer’s that I’ve come to know over the years...
read morePracticing
Posted by Rich Crowley on Oct 29, 2007 in Personal Improvement, Training | 0 comments
During the past few weeks, I’ve taken some time off from “real work” to do some upgrading in the various areas my project management work requires me to have some knowledge. During this time off, it has become apparent to me that I’ve fallen into a terrible trap over what is an embarrasingly long period of time – years! This trap is that I have quit “practicing” the skills I use each day. When we think of professional athletes, entertainers, etc, we tend to think of them in the context of their...
read moreBuilding Contingency into Project Plans
Posted by Rich Crowley on Oct 26, 2007 in IT, Project Management | 0 comments
Building a project plan with no contingency metrics (for budget and timeline) is foolish. Yet PM’s do it all the time, this one included. Why? It can only lead to expanding budgets and timelines for projects unless they are almost completely understood at the time of the original estimate, which is almost never. By definition, a project is a unique undertaking. If it wasn’t unique, it would be operations and hence understood and repeatable. This uniqueness translates into uncertainty and risk, both of which need to be...
read moreBracing for Impact
Posted by Rich Crowley on Oct 25, 2007 in Change | 0 comments
Attended an excellent presentation yesterday afternoon entitled “Bracing for Impact – Staying Productive During a Time of Distraction”. The presentation was given by Tim Daniels of Noll & Associates at Rebel Creek Golf Course in Kitchener. What a talk it was. 3 hours long and every minute worth listening to. The essence of it was around anxiety, how it manifests itself in the workplace, how to spot people (including ourselves) who are dealing with it poorly and how to get a grip on it and move forward...
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