The Latest Management Fad: One that Finally Makes Sense

If you're getting weary of managers who lead by MMA (Management by Magazine Article), you'll appreciate this bit of humor, courtesy of Raven Young, from the wonderfully eclectic Raven's Brain blog site.

For those who haven't checked out Raven's site, it's one of the best blog sites around. The problem is, there's so much great content, you're liable to not get anything else done.

Raven's Brain: (project) Management Humor: New Management Fad

Death by PowerPoint - Part 1

We posted this a few years ago on PMThink, but it's so funny, I figured I'd post it again for those who missed it. A lesson in what NOT to do with PowerPoint...

Problem Solving Methodology

An oldie, but goodie method for solving problems ...



Via BoingBoing

Create Your Own Mission Statement

I forget if I posted this one before, but even so, it's such a classic that it's worth posting again.

If you've seen the typical mind-numbing mission statements that for some reason executives think are inspiring, have some fun with this Mission Statement Generator from the Dilbert web site. The scary part is, whatever you generate with it, some executive is bound to actually like it.

Dilbert Comic Strip Archive - Dilbert.com - The Official Dilbert Website by Scott Adams - Dilbert, Dogbert and Coworkers!

A Lesson in People Skills

Play this at your next meeting for an ice-breaker...

Project Management T-Shirts: Read Em and Laugh

From the "Why didn't I think of that" department, Gantthead is now selling project management T-Shirts with twists on well-known movie lines and more. They're actually pretty nice designs, so they'd make great gifts for project managers or project teams.

T-Shirt sayings include:

- I love the smell of process in the morning.
- There's no crying in project management.
- Go ahead. Make my deadline.
- Toto, I don't think we're in compliance anymore.
- Budget? We don't need no stinkin' budget!
- There once was a project manager from Nantucket...

Hmm, wonder if that last one says anything on the back.

Here's a few they missed. Maybe they'll do these next:

- I just managed a huge project and all I got was this stinkin' T-Shirt.
- Dammit, Jim. I'm a project manager, not a mechanic.
- (picture of Yoda) Difficult to see, the future is. Rolling Wave scheduling you should try.
- (from Casablanca) Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful project.

Anyway, here's the Gantthead shop. Enjoy....

gantthead shop

The Nervous Project Manager

"I just wanted to tell you both good luck. We're all counting on you."

They say it's always good to hire a rich lawyer and buy from a poor salesperson. We might add to that to hire a nervous project manager. I'm of course half joking. Still, it's important to be vigilant about the things that can go wrong, and to confirm that issues are being addressed as required, especially in hot areas such as communication, testing, contingency plans, etc. The devil is often in the details.

This does not mean micromanagement. On the contrary, it's best to delegate work packages to the experts. But it's also important to be aware of what's going on in your project, and circulate regularly among your team. If details are being overloooked, often a gentle reminder is all that's needed.

At any rate, I'd rather have a nervous project manager than one who's running on autopilot.

Team Kickoffs: Breaking the Ice

Whether conducting a project kickoff, a seminar, or a training session, it's always fun to start with an ice breaker. It doesn't have to be anything fancy. I've seen ice breakers that were nothing more than a funny video, but served to loosen things up (nowadays that's pretty easy with YouTube, such as this one we posted on PMThink).

I've also seen ice breakers that served to get people moving around and networking, such as having each person use pictures (and no words) on a piece of folded flip chart paper to describe themselves, and then having people pair off for a minute at a time and interpret each other's pictures.

If you're looking for ideas, here's a nice list to help get you started. I think my favorite link is the last one.

Ice Breakers