Strong PM & Devoted Parent: Bringing our identities together for a full life
ONE (FULL) LIFE
Article by Lili Kaneva
Every once in a while someone would tell you this - “you’re doing great”. Can you recall the last time? How did that make you feel? Did you jump with joy, feel relieved, proud…? Or did you instead fall into a spiral of self observation focusing on all the moments when you felt like you are not doing a great job, you can’t handle it all, you are failing your own standards…
It’s vital you hear this and you internalize it - YOU ARE DOING GREAT! This is not a compliment. It is the differentiator between professional failure and success. If you don’t believe you can make it chances are you are setting yourself up for a lot of anxiety and failure. It is simple and efficient. It’s called self-sabotaging and works like a charm. It turns every little obstacle into a mountain. The trick is now, when you don’t believe in yourself, you have to work double - first to overcome the negative emotions and then to do the actual work. It is a plague for every person’s career but this spring our warm support is directed to mothers. We will zoom in on several situations and how to navigate them so you don’t waste your energy in self-defeating internal fights.
What is PMP...
…and what does it do for you?
Article by Lili Kaneva
There are 16.5 million Project Managers on our planet. This same planet will be in need of 25 million of the same by 2030. If you are receiving this newsletter, you should be ecstatic on the news. It means a big demand for the craft of project management and this is a prerequisite for rich opportunities for you.
Communication Overload: Moving The Project Management Needle
Article by Lili Kaneva
Hey, shouldn’t you be doing something else right now?
How did you answer the question? Do you have a task list for the day and how did you define it? There is a great expression - “to move the needle”. It refers to those actions we perform every day to make progress towards a meaningful goal. It is useful because often it is like taking a cold shower - painful but awakening. Do you know how many of the checkboxes you ticked today actually helped you move the needle? It is a good way to make a retrospective, observe your habits, build discipline …but wait. Why discipline and what does it have to do with progress?
How did you answer the question? Do you have a task list for the day and how did you define it? There is a great expression - “to move the needle”. It refers to those actions we perform every day to make progress towards a meaningful goal. It is useful because often it is like taking a cold shower - painful but awakening. Do you know how many of the checkboxes you ticked today actually helped you move the needle? It is a good way to make a retrospective, observe your habits, build discipline …but wait. Why discipline and what does it have to do with progress?
Antifragility: On The Path to Sustainable Project Management?
“Antifragility is beyond resilience or robustness. The resilient resists shocks and stays the same; the antifragile gets better.” ― Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Article by Lili Kaneva
A collapse of vital supply chains is destructive.
A collapse of vital supply chains is an opportunity.
Conflict destroys the team spirit.
Conflict strengthens the team spirit.
Volatility will reduce profit.
Volatility will increase profit.
Would you call us crazy if we said that each pair of the sentences above contains two completely opposing statements, both of which are true? Probably yes and yet - that is the case.
We are more used to hearing about the negative consequences of events. This is what makes sensational news after all. Gladly, you can find another perspective. Where does it come from? The idea that disruption and change can have positive consequences and promote improvement comes from a favorite author. If you’re into trading surely you have come across the term Black Swan - unpredictable events with widespread impact. It is coined by Nassim Nicolas Taleb in his book by the same name (Taleb, 2007). Five years later, a development in this theory brings up another term - antifragile (Taleb, 2012). It boils down to this question - what if organizations, societies or even people could gain from disorder? What if they used those as opportunities to strengthen, learn and grow? Well, then they would be antifragile.
A collapse of vital supply chains is an opportunity.
Conflict destroys the team spirit.
Conflict strengthens the team spirit.
Volatility will reduce profit.
Volatility will increase profit.
Would you call us crazy if we said that each pair of the sentences above contains two completely opposing statements, both of which are true? Probably yes and yet - that is the case.
We are more used to hearing about the negative consequences of events. This is what makes sensational news after all. Gladly, you can find another perspective. Where does it come from? The idea that disruption and change can have positive consequences and promote improvement comes from a favorite author. If you’re into trading surely you have come across the term Black Swan - unpredictable events with widespread impact. It is coined by Nassim Nicolas Taleb in his book by the same name (Taleb, 2007). Five years later, a development in this theory brings up another term - antifragile (Taleb, 2012). It boils down to this question - what if organizations, societies or even people could gain from disorder? What if they used those as opportunities to strengthen, learn and grow? Well, then they would be antifragile.
Thunder In Project Management Paradise
Longing to sail away to your summer retreat - do it like you are one of us, do it like a Project Manager!
Article by Lili Kaneva
The sun is on like it's out for vengeance and I’ve got my straw hat swooped down to the level of my eyes. Half of my brain is sleeping (finally!) but the other half is still scanning the landscape - colorful umbrellas, cocktails and lounge chairs, the occasional kid flying by to fill up my mouth with sand. The beach, the deep blue sea, the waves…oh, wait, what?! My brain wakes up from a sudden prompt. It’s one man. He doesn’t fit the picture. Just Two lounge chairs away he seems to be there with his wife and kids and they are all smiles and fun but he isn’t. His face is tense, there’s a thick wrinkle between his eyebrows and a piercing look straight at the screen of the phone. Oh, I know what this is! It’s a work emergency. I suddenly feel so sorry for him. I know how this feels. But why do we work during our holidays and…what is a holiday anyway?