A common adage in the management consulting business is that efficiency and effectiveness are completely different measurements. An organization can be extremely efficient, getting high productivity from their workforce and producing their product or service with very little waste or churn, yet be totally ineffective in meeting their objectives if, for instance, their product or service is not accepted in the marketplace. This difference is often distilled to the statement “efficiency is about doing things right, while effectiveness is about doing the right things.” The Seven S approach is...

You may be the best developer in the world, or you may be able to diagnose any network problem in three minutes flat, but that does not automatically make you a good candidate for a manager. That’s like saying “I play a mean cello, so I should conduct the entire orchestra.” These are two different skill sets. The Manager tag should not be your goal. It is not something by which to measure your personal worth. It’s a responsibility, and it’s a lot of work. It’s also very unfair to team members to take on their management if you don’t really know how to do it. If you think you deserve...

Regardless of your job, role, or organization – and, no, it doesn’t matter what your political beliefs are – keep these 3 management rules front and center when making plans for the future: 1. The strategies most likely to win are the ones that are the easiest to understand. If the situation is complex, figure out a way to make it understandable. Otherwise, you’ll end up being another one of those really smart people who has no followers, no success stories, and no promotional future. 2. Emotion wins over logic 9 times out of 10. When we get emotional we generate energy and enthusiasm...

Small projects don’t necessarily require much knowledge of project management or much project management discipline. But as a project gets larger, formal processes and techniques become essential. Different project management methodologies organize and structure these processes in various ways, but we’re going to focus on 10 basic areas: Define the project Plan the work Manage the workplan Manage issues Manage scope Manage risks Manage communication Manage documentation Manage quality Manage metrics In general, if you can master these areas, you can succeed in most projects. You may not...

Top management techniques that most of us would love to see!!! 1: Pro Wrestling Project Management Much like the world of professional wrestling, the world of project management can be filled with empty threats, posturing, feuds, rivalries, and unusual alliances. But what if the similarities were made an official part of project management? Let’s face it, I think we have all (at least once) dreamed of putting stubborn clients into a headlock until their faces turned purple, or maybe seeing the project manager spend 20 minutes in a steel cage with the operations manager. To really make it an...