Tag Archives: governance

Do & Review, Manage to Lead

How to get back on track when a project goes awry.

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Storyboard blocks_v5_finalWhen a project goes awry  and no longer performing according to plan:

  • Assign a single capable person to serve as Project Manager (PM) responsible for the entire project through to completion if one is not already assigned or if the one assigned has proven ineffective.  The PM should be someone who has previously been successful in similar circumstances in terms of project scope, scale, and complexity.  If someone with requisite experience is not available to serve as PM then arrange for the experienced person to serve as a close adviser to the PM until a new plan is in place and performance relative to the new plan is on track.
  • Have the PM work with the client, the project team, management, and advisers to pull together a revised plan. Review the plan thoroughly with the PM, the project team, and with outside stakeholders, including the client, to be sure the path to completion, all the way through to client acceptance, is well formulated, understood, agreed to, and sensible.

Continue reading How to get back on track when a project goes awry. →

Get Help

How to think about and work with outsiders to systematically get help in a way that increases the odds of success.

Get HelpLearning to Get Help or to work with outsiders is one of the top two factors that account for success in maturing a start-up into a credible organization on track to long term growth and performance according to a plan.

Early stage CEO’s at first often think it is a sign of weakness to need help and when they finally do experiment with getting help they often find it frustrating ultimately because they misuse those they enlist.

It helps to think in terms of five types of outside support:

  • Celebrities to draw attention
  • Advisers to provide best practices and perspective based on experience
  • Peers to provide mutual support and community
  • Coaches to provide advice and counsel  to increase personal effectiveness
  • Governors to provide a consistent point of accountability and help with strategy, focus, and access to resources

Continue reading How to think about and work with outsiders to systematically get help in a way that increases the odds of success. →

People Matters

Leadership development curriculum content for top executives, and those who aspire to become top executives, is now also available on Amazon.

IntelliVen blog content is now available as interactive content.
High-end leadership development curriculum content now available on Amazon.

Whether one wants to change personal habits, implement a new information system, improve a business process, get team members to work together, increase a community’s appreciation for diversity, or even to topple a monarchy, taking seven actions driven by seven disarmingly simple truths will individually and collectively help achieve the goal.

Manage to Lead: Seven Truths to Help You Change the World is a workbook that top educators, consultants, and executives use to help their students, clients, and staffs become effective leaders of strategic change. Manage to Lead serves as the core content for a class in Organization Leadership, Analysis, Strategy, and Development at one of the top Organization Development masters programs in the United States.

The workbook was introduced in the spring as interactive, digital content and is now also available in softcover from Amazon or as an iBook from iTunes. It introduces a straightforward framework to describe and assess any organization and provides a structured approach to plan and implement next steps for an organization as it strives for long-term growth and performance.

Those searching for high-end leadership development curriculum content should consider placing Manage to Lead at the center of their program. Contact the author to request related teaching artifacts including: Continue reading Leadership development curriculum content for top executives, and those who aspire to become top executives, is now also available on Amazon. →

Do & Review, Position Descriptions

How to think about and organize Project, Client, and Offering Managers.

Clients and Offerings
Figure 1: A business with project that deliver offerings to clients.
Projects
Figure 2: Project managers deliver offering value on time, on target, and on budget.

Organizations that offer solutions to clients manage: Projects, Clients, and Offerings as suggested in Figure 1. Managing each requires different skills and seeks to achieve different goals as outlined below.

Project Managers, see Figure 2, deliver offering value to specific clients on time, on budget, and on target. Project Managers are also counted on to extend and expand engagements in order to deliver even greater value over a longer time frame. Continue reading How to think about and organize Project, Client, and Offering Managers. →