Did you know that leading difficult people can actually be beneficial to you? We have all found times when we’ve had to lead difficult people. In retail or business operations, they can deliver poor customer service to your patrons. In project teams, they can slow down the progress of creativity. In any setting, they can drive you up the wall!
We’ve all been there. That point in a critical business project where the outlook appears grim. Even though you planned out the project, you engaged your stakeholders, and you analyzed what you thought were all the risks, but unforeseen challenges arose. As a project manager, it’s your job to rally your team. So, how do you accomplish that without appearing overly optimistic?
There is a lot of conversation on social media (and in coffee shops) about the latest Nike ad featuring Colin Kaepernick. Ours is a nation divided. Divided by ideals, when the mission of this country is clear...liberty and justice for all. The early settlers and founding fathers came to America fleeing persecution of their ideals, namely their freedom of religion. They established a nation of principles, the preamble states it clearly: "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." Our nation was founded on the principle of sacrificing for just beliefs. Of standing up (or sitting down) for what you believe in. And the recent Nike ad is promoting that ideal..."Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything". As a Christian, I can relate. Studying the early church is a history lesson in when the belief was justified, but the sacrifice was heavy. Lives and freedoms were lost...
When I was in college, I worked at a pet store in the mall, and I fell in love with a cute little chameleon. I wore my hair in a bun on top of my head at the time, and I would place him on my bun and he'd hold on while I walked around the store greeting customers (talk about your conversation starter). I got a kick out of placing him near my brown apron and watching him change [...]
When I was in the fourth grade, I was the new kid (again!), and this time it was close to the end of the year, so I wasn't going to bother making new friends. Well, to my surprise, my parents bought me a 64 pack of Crayola Crayons! This made me an instant hit in the classroom, and one girl, Esther, always wanted to borrow my crayons. The problem was, she kept breaking them! One day, with palm sweating and [...]
I love the old adage "What you focus on grows". It speaks to investing our time and attention to the things that matter. And in return, you'll get dividends. Most times, people intend to focus on the important relationships, tasks, and projects in their lives, but it can be difficult. There are so many things vying for our attention, competing for our energy and focus. This can be especially frustrating when we talk about goals. Making goals is important, but sticking to [...]
As a project manager, I have found delegation to be one of the most valuable tools in my toolbox, but it is one that I have seen often misused. Why is it misused? Well, quite simply because often times people don't understand the difference between true delegation and just telling someone to do something. Anyone can tell someone to do something, especially the "bossy" people, but can you properly delegate a task to someone? We'll take a pen for instance, [...]
Can you imagine life without the rainbow? Can you imagine having the rain but not being able to look forward to the beauty of the rainbow? We look forward to that beauty not only because it is beautiful, but because God sent that as a promise to Noah. To let us know that he will never again destroy the Earth from floods. At that moment, the rainbow took a very special place in our hearts and in our lives and [...]
The first project I was assigned as a young engineer was intended to bring about a massive amount of change to an industry that didn't particularly like change. I recall being mentored by engineers who kept their best information in a "tally book" in their back pocket. That would be the equivalent of Google docs today! The undertaking I was embarking on was going to digitize and standardize invoicing for the entire company...but first, people had to be taught how [...]
A couple of months ago, I attended a book launch and I won the door prize which included a T-shirt that said: “I’m booked”. That clever play on words has stuck with me, and with summer upon us, has given me something to ponder. If you have children, chances are you signed them up for a summer reading program to keep their minds engaged. I have done this for years with my kids and enjoyed watching them dive into A [...]
