I haven’t blogged in 220 days, but I haven’t been idle either.  Far from it.  What has been going on you might ask?  For one, this happened!  (More on that later)

Here are 10 things I have been up to since this Word of Mouth Marketing post on January 8, 2011:

1. My first big project at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center went live.  It was a custom developed Time & Labor implementation and was a big win for BIDMC and SEI.
2. I transitioned from an HR Project Management Consulting role to the role of Test Manager on a large-scale, integrated Lab Information System for the hospital.  The transition from HR to the Clinical side has been as rewarding as it has been challenging.  And it has been very challenging.
3. I took a hiatus from blogging.  220 days.  I started to find myself staring at draft posts in WordPress, seemingly without words.  This lack of words was my mind telling me that I was lacking focus.  I don’t expect blogging to be easy, but I do expect to feel passionate about communicating a message, and if that isn’t there, I’m not going to fake it.
4. During that time, I began dreaming up a new concept for my ‘social landing page’ (Blog, resume, experience, non-profit advocacy work, and everything in between), called davisory.com.  It’s a play on what I do (Business and technology consulting – Advisory services), and my name.  Yeah I know, it’s not ingenious, but it let’s me have more range to talk beyond the boundaries of HR Technology.  I really enjoy HR, and I know I will work on many more HR projects, but I also know it’s not all I can do, nor is it all I will be doing, so www.hrthinktank.net is feeling very restrictive.
5. I fell off my bike.  My first real crash, going 20+ mph.  Spent a little time at the doctors, and a little more time recovering, but I got right back in the saddle.
6. I got married on July 4.  It was the best day of my life and we couldn’t be happier.  I’m excited for everything that life holds for us.  (To see the video, click the link, then look for July04 Andrea and Jason in the right column)
7. I went to Hawaii.  I sailed around the Napali coast in a 65-foot catamaran.  I watched the sun rise above the clouds and then biked down the Haleakala Crater on Maui.  I ate, drank, and laughed, and had an amazing honeymoon with my beautiful new wife.
8. I hit my 4 year anniversary at SEI-Boston, LLC.  SEI was recognized by the Cincinnati Enquirer as the #1 Best Workplace: Small Companies in their 2011 report.  We’re now 30 consultants strong in Boston, up from 5 when I started four years ago.  It’s a great company, and we’re hiring.
9. I rode in my 3′rd Pan-Mass Challenge, only this time I rode from the New York border.  3 days, 300 miles, all in the spirit of fighting cancer and pedaling for a cure.  Like my previous two PMCs, it was an amazing experience, and I couldn’t be prouder to be involved.  Want to help the cause?  I sure could use your help and would love you as part of our community.
10. I sat on my couch, for 3 hours, and thought about all of the big things I did in the past 220 Days.  I reflected on a busy 7 months.  I’m excited about the next 7.

Thanks for reading.  Hope you are all doing well.

-Jason

220 Days. is a post from: HR Think Tank

Project Management and Project Portfolio Management is a post from: HR Think Tank

I recently came across a Project Management article by Anna Possek on Dice.com.  In her article, she describes project management in a unique way.   Here is Anna’s take on what qualities are required to be a project manager:

The project manager must be:

* a diplomat to deal with conflicts between different stakeholders
* a psychologist to keep morale of the team high
* a merchant in negotiations
* an engineer to verify designs and quality
* a passionate leader to keep everybody focused
* a scapegoat if this will calm down unnecessary blaming

The most important quality for a project manager is verbal and written communication skills…

Have you ever heard that before on HR Think Tank?  Of course… Communication Style Bias. Managing Scope: It’s Really About Trust, Communication, and Delivery. No shortage of communications articles here.

What’s missing though?  Here’s something that should be a part of every project management job description – Great project managers should be able to excel and move forward in an orderly and purposeful manner in situations of uncertainty.  You need to be able to chart a course.  Tolerate ambiguity.  Make decisions.

IT Project Manager: A Fraud, Hero or Scapegoat is a post from: HR Think Tank

I was in a meeting last week discussing project management and client delivery and an executive made the point that the scope of the project is what the client thinks it is – period – and that as consultants it is our job to effectively manage expectations around scope continuously throughout an engagement.

Nailing down project scope has always been difficult, and it’s no surprise that when managing using a Waterfall/SDLC approach, scope creep and lack of scope definition are often some of the root causes of catastrophic project overruns and busted projects (Hence immense growth of Agile/Iterative… future post).  This is because, as depicted in the Dilbert cartoon, most businesses and hence most projects aren’t particularly good at documenting requirements.  And bad requirements lead to scope assumptions that will later contribute to a business sponsor being significantly underwhelmed by the final product.  However, even without perfectly documented requirements, there are ways to effectively manage project scope without having to rely on (and hide behind) some formal 100 page contract?  The key is to ensure your team is focused on the three things that contribute most to effectively managing expectations on the project: Trust, Communication, and Delivery.

1. Trust – Trust is not a nice to have – in both B2B relationships and B2C relationships – trust is critical in today’s economy where partnering and relationships are king.  Stephen Covey said “Business moves at the speed of trust” and when you are managing scope, it’s important to have that “high-trust dividend” in play.

2. Communication (and other soft-skills critical to relationship management!) – Maybe this one should be first on the list.  Why?  Because effective communication is the key to establishing trust in the first place.  In my Rockstar Project Management series, HR technology veteran Michael Krupa noted that “You can’t teach someone to be a Rockstar Project Manager. Either they “get it” or they don’t.”  We went on to agree that you can teach someone to be a ‘Good PM’, but to really excel, a PM has to have a little something extra that is hard to teach.  Part of that something extra is a great communication style, the ability to quickly build relationships, and a knack for bringing disparate and often dysfunctional teams together and moving in the same direction.  It’s tough (nearly impossible) to screen and hire for, but when you find it hold on tight, because it’s gold!

3. Delivery – Trust and communication are the currency that buy you autonomy and a little runway as a project manager.  At the end of the day, it’s still all about delivery.  Your clients are counting on you to solve problems, communicate progress, and hold up your end of the deal.  The scope may not be bounded by a formal contract, but it’s bounded by something far more important – your reputation.  I don’t advise compromising on communication, and certainly not on trust, but a client buys delivery, not friends.  Deliver.

The other interesting thing is that it really takes ALL THREE of these to sustain business in a healthy, continued vendor-client relationship.  Think about it, if you establish trust and communicate well but don’t deliver it’s a no brainer – you might get the invite to happy hour or to the weekend BBQ, but you won’t be on the project team.  If you communicate and deliver, but don’t establish trust, you may get some niche, difficult roles here and there, but you will never be the go-to resource for the client.  And if you are in a trusting relationship and deliver, but don’t communicate well, you put your business sponsor in that tough position to defend your existence without arming them with the information they need to manage up.

Do you agree?  What else would you add to the list?

Managing Scope: It’s Really About Trust, Communication, and Delivery is a post from: HR Think Tank

First of all, I think that most of the time spent in meetings is a waste of time.  I don’t think the actual meetings are a waste of time, since they are an enabler to face-to-face interaction, which is critical, but EVERY meeting should have a set duration, agenda, and a desired outcome before you get to the table.  And about that duration,  I think that in most cases, meetings should limited to 20 minutes.  There are just too many channels for real-time communication to save it all up for a three-hour marathon sessions.

In any case, in today’s business world, meetings still exist, so you should schedule them wisely.  Back when I was a road warrior consultant, I got accustomed to Monday being a travel day and Friday being a “home office” day to catch up on paperwork and local office requirements.  This schedule is convenient for both personal and professional purposes.  Personally, you don’t miss critical weekend time with your friends and family, and professionally, it pulls your real work into the most productive days of the work-week: Tuesday through Thursday.  If you have a meeting that you need people to show up to, and you want their attention, avoid scheduling on Mondays or Fridays.

Also, in my opinion the best time to schedule those meetings is mid-morning.  Ending your meeting at lunch is a great idea too – it helps bound the meeting, and it provides an opportunity for you to take your client, or your staff to lunch following the meeting.  Need to get at a senior executive?  Look for early morning, before their calendar becomes completely derailed, or early evening, where they are less likely to have their schedules blocked to handle other unexpected fire drills.

But remember, scheduling is only half the battle.  To truly excel in this space you have to master meeting execution.  The #1 reason that people complain about having too many meetings is not only because of the quantity of the meetings, but they are also being dragged through unproductive time wasting meetings with no objective and no clear articulated path to solve a problem.  Do you know your audience?  Knowing the attendees and how they consume information to make decisions is critical to meeting success.  Before you block the calendar for your next session, make sure to think through the problem, objective, and approach.  Attendees, duration, and even the venue will set the tone.  Your job is to get stuff done.  Are meeting habits in your organization getting in the way of that?

Are You Having Board Meetings or Bored Meetings? is a post from: HR Think Tank

It was April 2009, and my small consulting firm was drinking frosty beverages and celebrating a major milestone together at a sold-out Springsteen show in Boston.  It was my first show, and I must say that at almost 60 years old, love him or hate him, Bruce Springsteen brings an intensity to the stage that is unrivaled in the music business.  While ripping out the opening chords to “Badlands”, you can’t help but laugh – it’s all a bit cheezy and you would like to think you are cooler than the sea of Bruce fanatics on the floor, but hey, you have your ticket too.  You’re there, and it’s a truly amazing show.  I said it.  It’s awesome.  You have to do it at least once.

Outside of obvious musical talent, Springsteen and the E Street Band have some serious business chops – you just can’t compile a resume like that on sheer talent alone.  They have composed an exceptional team (with low turnover for the industry, mind you), ensured consistent, sustainable customer satisfaction, consistently deliver a high-energy performance (they are known for putting on some of the longest shows in the biz), and have unbelievable brand consistency.

What else can we learn about life and business?  Read on for some keen advice in business, direct from The Boss.  No, not your Boss… THE Boss.

1. “I hid in the clouded wrath of the crowd, but when they said “Sit down”, I stood up…” (Growin’ Up, 1973)

Here’s an “oldie but goodie” from Springsteen about adolescence as a rebellious teenager, written in the first-person and played live over 270 times.  Good career advice too, as Samantha Ogborn recently pointed out on her blog, Oscar Wilde said it best, “Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.” It’s a good thing to have mentors and professionals who you rely on for career advice.  It’s also a good thing to have a professional community to bounce ideas off of.  It’s not a good idea to get stuck in a group think rut, always striving to be in someone else’s shoes or doing their job.  Figure out what you like, and go get it.  It’s likely going to take some swimming against the current.

2. “I ain’t here on business, baby, I’m only here for fun” (Rosalita (Come Out Tonight), 1973)

Rosalita.  Amazing.  Bruce closed out the show with this tune.  Anyway, Matt Cheuvront just wrote a phenomenal post over at lifewithoutpants.com about the Generation “Now”.  The whole post was great, but my favorite line was: Your world doesn’t, or shouldn’t revolve around your career. Too many people get so wrapped up in where they are going with their career, that they forget to actually live their life.  My advice – work to live, don’t live to work – the best memories will never be made within the confines of your cubicle (oh, you have an office?  congrats, you probably definitely work too much! disclaimer: great times CAN be had with your coworkers, just probably not AT work).  And don’t forget, as Laurie says over at punkrockhr.com, “I would also like to remind everyone that there’s a place for creamy ice cream, cold beer, and salty potato chips when love & work are the cornerstones of humanity”

3. “Poor man wanna be rich, rich man wanna be king, and a king ain’t satisfied, till he rules everything…” (Badlands, 1978)

Isn’t that the truth?  How many of you went through college begging for a certain position after graduation from college?  Nearly all of you, ok.  And how many of you were actually content when you locked up that job?  Oh, none of you.  That’s what I thought.  This is one of the reasons I got into consulting in the first place – I figured that consulting could move me around enough to keep things fresh and prevent me from continuing to plot my next three positions like a chess match three months into a new job.  My recommendation – try to direct that energy to being great in the job that you are in, not in the endless search for the job you don’t have yet.  If you spend your career in this cycle of always wanting more, you are destined to be an unhappy worker, and unhappy workers tend to turn into poor performers.  And poor performers, well, they suck.  Bruce doesn’t suck, and neither should you.

What other performers lines that you know are applicable to your career?  Have you seen Bruce?  Let me hear your thoughts in the comments section!

Business Lessons From The Boss is a post from: HR Think Tank

Most of you have probably already seen this video (if your browser doesn’t display the video, get it on YouTube here). It’s message is pretty difficult to refute – the Social Media Revolution is upon us.  I mean, the one stat alone that ‘If Facebook (with over 400 million active users) were a country it would be the world’s 4th 3rd largest between above the United States and with only China and India being larger is incredible.  People are getting involved – they’re on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and increasingly, they blog.  According to Universal McCann, 133,000,000 blogs have been indexed by Technorati since 2002 and 77% of internet users are reading blogs.  Are you blogging?  Are you wondering if you should be?

The blog, the future buzz had a great article on the 70 Usable Stats from the 2009 State Of the Blogosphere with some great stats on what motivates bloggers and the impact to their business.  Here are some of my favorites:

71% say they blog at least in order to speak their minds

72% say they blog to share their expertise

53% are looking to attract new clients from blogging

72% of those who are self-employed and blogging are interested in attracting new clients

71% of respondents who maintain blogs for a business report that they have increased their visibility within their industries through their blogs

58% say that they are better known in their industry because of their blog

All great numbers, and good reasons to blog.  I’m definitely blogging for some of these reasons – I’m passionate about organizational culture discussion and the talent side of the business.  I like the idea of sharing my experiences, and I have been pitching my company’s leadership to start a business blog specifically because of some of these statistics.

But, when I really sat down and thought about why I am blogging, here is what I drew up:

For me, I’m blogging because, well, because I wasn’t.  And I felt like that was leaving an opportunity on the table, because in the consulting business, and in business in general, being a good connector is a good thing.  And effective connectors are good at building actionable communities.  Apparently, I am not the only one who feels that way.  When I typed in “HR blogging and connectedness” into Google, I recognized the 5′th result that got returned: Ben Eubank’s Upstart HR.  One of Steve Boese’s HR Technology class students, Carolina Correa, just recently guest posted on Ben’s site about a similar topic, writing “To blog or not to blog is a debate that only finds answers when discussed in the context of finding value, this is true not just for the HR community but just about any profession seeking the comforts of connectedness.”

Well said Carolina. Because within that connectedness is opportunity.  Opportunity to learn, contribute, build relationships, and build a community.  And that’s why I blog.

Thoughts?

What motivated you to start blogging?  Is blogging helping you or your business?  What are people doing wrong out there on their personal or business blogs.  Share your thoughts in the comments section!

(6/17/2010 – Updated the post with the latest Social Media Revolution video with updates statistics)

The Answer to the Question: Why Blog? is a post from: HR Think Tank

My first job out of the Air Force Academy was simple: Manage the ‘task list’ of action items and have them ready for the Colonel’s stand-up staff meeting at 7 AM. The expectations were clear – Show up on time with a status for every task, and run through brick walls if needed to chase down the contributors to make sure nothing was late.  This was not the type of leader that accepted no shows, no status, or late. It was an unassuming job, and trust me when I say I wasn’t the envy of any of the other junior officers.  Even the guy running the snack room liked his discreet, no pressure duty more than being in charge of the task list.

The Colonel expected his directs to be managing their projects to tight schedules, and the stand-up was specifically to highlight issues that couldn’t be handled without involving senior management – those sticky issues that needed some additional horsepower from the top to drive decisions or outcomes to keep the projects on schedule.  It wasn’t uncommon to witness the Colonel tear apart project managers for ineffectively escalating issues.  Some project managers would avoid escalation at all costs, only escalating at the 25th hour when remediation was ineffective because it was too late.  Others were alarmists, escalating every issue or decision to leadership.  This was the first time I realized just how important mastering the art of escalating project issues is to being a high-performing project manager.

The ability to strategically manage escalation is one of the key differentiators between the Rockstar Project Managers (PM) and the average, or even good, PMs.

To kick off my Rockstar Project Management Series – here are a few tips on how to manage issue escalation effectively:

1. Timing is Everything: It’s a delicate balance, escalate too early and your manager will feel like they are doing your work for you; Escalate too late and the project slip is on your shoulders.  Effective escalation is an art, not a science, but in general an issue should be escalated after all reasonable avenues of resolution have been investigated and exhausted without success, but while allowing reasonable runway for the escalation to still result in a successful outcome.  Issues must be escalated in time to enable management to outline and execute a mitigation strategy.

2. Don’t be an Alarmist: Have you ever looked at an issues log and seen every item classified as high priority?  If you are a business sponsor, is your e-mail stream full of status updates from project managers that are over-communicating on every task/issue?  Project Manager’s should set reasonable reporting requirements with the management.  Report at a milestone or major task level, but manage your project at the task level.  Managers will appreciate the quiet progress and will take the issues that you do raise much more seriously.

3. Have a Process and Follow Through Simply escalating an issue is not enough.  There should be a process to track risks as they matriculate into issues, and then the systematic burn-down of those issues, including those that are escalated for action.  Escalated issues should also include documentation as to what actions have been taken, and recommendations for actions the manager can take to help resolve the issue.  Most business sponsors/managers won’t be as close to your project as you are, and your success lies in making them successful.  Don’t just throw issues on their desk and go grab DunkinDonuts

4. Communicate: Managers shouldn’t be completely surprised to see an issue escalated to them.  Under normal circumstances, you would have been tracking progress on this issue and communication would have occurred that there was an issue that may require escalation.  Transparent, early communication or risks will prevent embarrassment later.  Knowing what to communicate and what to work behind the scenes will mean the difference between Rockstar PM and a good or average PM.

Rockstar project management involves managing the balance because as much as leadership (and clients) don’t like to hear bad news on their project, they don’t like the Boy Who Cried Wolf either. The best project managers, and the best consultants, understand the delicate balance between candid project status with timely escalation of critical issues, and over-communication issues to the detriment of the project teams reputation and ability to work autonomously.

(Image courtesy of http://braddocksblog.com)

Rockstar Project Management: The Art of Escalation is a post from: HR Think Tank