The Hard-Nosed Project Manager

The eXtreme project manager strikes again...

(Edited 20101013, PR)

I must state that the post below relates to a podcast I listened to, not an encounter with Doug DeCarlo.

(End edit)

I don’t know why but when I’m having a grumpy day Doug DeCarlo creeps up and makes it even worse.  My last run in with this bozo had me using some strong language.  This time, I was actually screaming in my car on the way back from work.

Doug DeCarlo is a snake oil salesman; he talks in buzzwords and in long phrases that never make a point.  Apparently he is successful at selling his garbage but you have to wonder who the hell pays for this total lack of content.  When you listen to him you start thinking cult not project management.

He basically uses the tactics of the charlatan; gratuitous affirmations, pseudo-scientific wording (quantum brain), out of context expressions (weather is his expression for regulation or mandatory processes), aligns his stuff with legit approaches (Agile for one) but then contradicts his own arguments, etc.

This goes on for 50+ minutes.  As if things couldn’t get worse, there is a part 2 to this ordeal.  Yes I will listen to it and it’s likely I’ll go medieval over it.

What do you think?  As always questions and comments are welcome.

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Job description SNAFU – We have a winner!

It didn’t take much time (30+ minutes) and we have a winner to our Job description SNAFU contest!  Andrew Lavinski correctly identified the problem as being a CPI of 1.0 or less.

They are asking you to stay within 5% of budget which is a feat by itself but even better the CPI has to be below 1. The kicker is that if the CPI goes below 1, your project is costing MORE than budgeted. So, they are asking you to LOSE money, but not more than 5%...

What do you think?  As always comments are welcome.

Connect with me on LinkedIn.  I am a LinkedIn Open Networker (LION); you can use “Friend” to add me to your network, please mention the blog in your request.

 

Job description SNAFU

Because I love project management and because I’m a proud Canadian I decided earlier this year to create my very own LinkedIn group called CanadianPM.  One the most useful features of LinkedIn groups is their job boards.  I do contribute a lot to my group job board, copying job descriptions I see in other places and publishing those that are sent to me by other LinkedIn users.

A sad observations is that, in many cases, the job descriptions are thrown together by some recruiter with minimal understanding of what he or she is looking for.

Here is an excerpt from a job description I saw yesterday.  See if you can spot a problem with it other than the typo. 

Sucessfully (sic) manage XXX, YYY, ZZZ and other projects as assigned achieving a CPI ratio of 1.0 or less.

Achieve customer satisfaction levels.

All projects delivered with a budget variance of less than 5%.

Report to the PMO bi weekly utilizing Earned Value Management metrics.

The first person, other than Glen B. Alleman, that spots the problem gets bragging rights.  Glen is disqualified from all EV related contest for reasons obvious to all who follow his blog; I have to keep this fair...  If no one answers by Monday, 9/27 at 12h00 Eastern I’ll reveal the glaring mistake.  Enjoy!

What do you think?  As always comments are welcome.

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Ethics are a funny thing

Well, not really… I had this post bugging me for a long while, triggered by this Mentisor podcast, but I was kind of busy and my mind was somewhere else.  The first topic in the podcast is ethics and asks the question “Is spending $10,000 to save your client $5000 unethical if that client doesn't know better?”.  The Mentisor guys make a number of good points, some I disagree with, on this topic.

Those of us who have had the pleasure of taking the PMP exam and practice tests prior to the exam know that ethics are not black and white; there are cultural as well as moral aspects to them.  Some approaches are fine in some cultures or setting and taboo in others.

Going back to the Mentisor podcast, what if the client “wants” to have the answer even if it costs more to do so than the potential savings?  I think that, in this particular case, if you inform the client and he says to do it anyway there is no ethics question.  I can provide personal examples of this:

• I was involved in a pharmaceutical project that was in its startup phase; the client was asking us to make little changes as problems crept up.  This is a costly way of doing things but, based on my limited experience at the time, I was playing along.  The client was happy and my bosses too because I was charging time to the project.  However, after more than a few changes, I was getting bored and told the client that it would be more efficient to gang the changes together as it saved on paperwork and overall effort.  The client resisted and my PM was less than happy.  Eventually, the client came to see my point because the original approach was a drain on resources and funds.  Note that I’m not claiming that this was an ethical suggestion on my part; I’m not a drone and I don’t like to do the same thing over and over.  These days, with experience and wisdom (???), I would push the client to my way and I would actually refuse to work one fix at a time otherwise I’d feel like I’m stealing from my client.
• Another of my clients will spend almost any sum to account for inventory of an active ingredient prior to writing it off.  One could say that it is a waste of money but not doing so could trigger an audit due to Sarbanes Oxley.  Companies could write off high value materials that have never actually been produced to offset profits and the audit is the big hammer provided by law to make companies comply.  The cost of accounting for inventory pales in comparison to the regulatory impact on the company.
• One area where ethics are clearly involved in safety of people or the environment; if you are asked to do something that could harm either you have to refuse to do the work.  Years ago I was interviewed for a job where the HR guys kept coming back to matter of ethics.  Is tack was that if my higher ups were OK with an approach I should be too.  They offered me the job even after I pushed back; I walked away.  Never regretted it.

What do you think?  As always comments are welcome.

Connect with me on LinkedIn.  I am a LinkedIn Open Networker (LION); you can use “Friend” to add me to your network, please mention the blog in your request.