The Hard-Nosed Project Manager

Just noticed that I've been doing this for over two years...

Damn!

Remembrance Day 2011

Lest we forget.

Remember D-day

Just a quick post to remember those who landed on the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944.  My dad was at Juno Beach  with the Régiment de la Chaudière while six of my uncles took part with other regiments or the Canadian Navy.

Remember

Not really off topic

 The video below is both funny and educative.  Although its primary focus is not project management, I believe many of the subjects discussed can benefit a project manager. 

 

A few that come to mind are:

• Communications between cultures.  Except if you have lived a very sheltered life, you'll have been in contact with other cultures or, even worse, members of a younger generation...  Seeing this from a different point of view or just acknowledging that they exist goes a long way.
• The impact of choice.  Have you ever had a project unravel because too many choices or path were available?  I know I've had clients that mandated that "all possible avenues" be investigated and multiple options be included in proposals.

After you've listened to the video you can let me know that I'm all wrong and that not everything can or must be related back to project management.  I know, I have a tendency to oversimplify things...

What do you think?  As always comments are welcome.

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Off topic (again)

I one of my previous off topic posts I echoed the July 2010 Bloomberg Business article “How to Make an American Job Before It’s Too Late” by Andy Grove.  The basic point he was making is that America, or any other country for that matter, needs to have a manufacturing capacity of its own.

The March 2011 Wired article “Made in the USA” makes for a nice read and discusses the pros of manufacturing at home. 

• Better quality
• Shorter supply chain with shorter delivery and cheaper shipping
• Diminishing salary gap between offshore and home manufacturing
• Intellectual property protection

That article put a smile on my face.  Don’t get me wrong; I would not buy American or Canadian crap out of sheer patriotism but I’d be willing to pay a premium for homemade quality

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.

Off topic

Just what can be done when we let our minds wander in support of a worthy cause?  Look at this presentation by Nathan Myrhvold; sure beats Star Wars!

   

You've got to love it when someone who's made bags of money and could easily rest on his laurels just turns his creativity loose.

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.

Off topic

This is totally unrelated to project management but listen to this short clip and you will be introduced to someone who might well be the toughest, hardest man on this earth and also damn interesting.

Sir Ranulph Fiennes is an amazing person; you might want to read two of his books "Living Dangerously" and "Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know: The Autobiography".  Actually both are autobiographies but heck, with all he's done...

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.

Off topic

I just finished reading " How to Make an American Job Before It's Too Late" by Andy Grove in the July edition of Bloomberg Business.  Even if that does not make me particularly original, I’ll say that this is exactly how I feel except that I’d say Canadian job instead. 

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.