Project Management Success

Wayne Murray, a good PM at GD from my memory, asks the following question on LinkedIn.

What is the key to being a successful Market Manager/Program Manager in todays Commercial Wireless environment?

I know that I sound presumptuous, but I really feel confident with the answer here.

You need the following elements to be a successful project manager.

• A solid knowledge of the contract work breakdown structure resonating through the market organization as well as the market customer staff.
• Production metrics tied directly to the WBS and staffed by competent professionals who are enpowered to make decisions at their staff level. 
• Metrics must reflect reasonable contract monetary milestones.

If you can line up knowledge, metrics and competence along with a healthy customer contract, you will hit program goals and achieve customer satisfaction. 

If any component is missing... the compensatory strain will ultimately affect the project.   All of these components must be looked at continuously and tweaked as necessary during the project.  That includes staff changes and contract modifications.

I have walked away from projects where the components cannot be lined up.   Better for the customer to throw stones at you at the beginning based upon an untenable situation than to slog through and with a project that cannot work and hurt your company and career... all the while screeching "I told you so".

Nobody listens to "I told you so" when a project has gone to hell.  Memories are short and corporate careers are being protected.   Take the hit up front and project your company.  Negotiating the right contract terms is 60% of project success.

Tuna Lips said...

Ise finds horse wippin' the non-acomadatin' dirt peoples is an efacaseshus way to gettin' er done. Kernel Sartoris learnt me that, back in Chickesaw County days. Kill the monkee and the hens get to layin' eggs right quick.

Give Us Barabbas

Happy Easter.
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One of my favorite holidays because it signifies spring and rebirth, and the ultimate hope.  Plus there are cool Easter movies, like "Barabbas" and "Ben Hur".
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They just don't make actors like Anthony Quinn and Charlton Heston anymore.

POTW Week 13

It was a beautiful, sunny, warm day.  Mike helped me to finish the fence, and the back of the house has officially moved from Appalachia to the North Shore of Boston.  Once all of the trim is painted it will actually look really good. 
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I'm concerned about the water table though in the backyard since the willows have been cut down.  It's like the Everglades back there.  So maybe we are moving the house from Appalachia by way of the Everglades.
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Announcing ....

Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for the 13th week of 2010

Ben Martin's girlfriend who is from RI but I can't remember her name.

Ben Martin

Craig Murray

Mike Nestor

Rakesh Goel

Tommy O'Shea

Tomorrow is Easter.  And I will give an appropriate amount of consideration to the day, since I'm a cultural Catholic and believe in the divinity of Christ.  But I'm also going to try to move the firewood storage from the side of the house to the underside of the deck.
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Then we'll be concentrating on getting the pram and the tender ready for the season.  Hopefully the back will dry out.

Bird Seed Generosity

The other day, Stevie Lewis asked me how the action at the Feeder was.
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It dawns on me that I have been keeping this to myself and not sharing the daily Bird Feeder goings on with the multitude of you Peeps yearning to know any insignificant thing imaginable.
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So it does seem a bit selfish on my part.
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Anyway.... over the last two days, numerous Blue Jays, Sparrows, a House Finch, Chickadees and a male and female Cardinal have been observed partaking of my bird seed generosity.  I've also seen Robins and a number of Mourning Doves in the general vicinity.
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This should cover the Feeder report for the time being.

A Bit Below Par

I bought Joanne a Motorola Cliq Android phone for her birthday.
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It has a GPS, Camcorder, Camera, Email, Internet access, all sorts of cool apps..... plus you can use it to call people.
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She looks irritated and confused.  This could backfire.  Like the time I bought her a TV for Christmas, or a kitchen stool for a previous birthday.
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Even though I'm a Mountain of a Man, it's clear that I'm below par as a gift giver.
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This is proof that even I have flaws.  I just can't dominate over every facet of life.  In some areas, I'm just like the rest of you.... or maybe even worse.

Kerry D'Orio said...

Mountain of a man..your memory is failing. The way I hear it is the stool was for mothers day! Tisk-tisk.
Some men never learn...

Silver Lining

The rain has stopped, but it is still plenty soggy.  We finally did get a little water in the basement, but not enough to cause damage.  If it wasn't for the hard working sump pump, though it would have been a whole different story.
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I feel bad for anyone affected by flood.  It can be so messy and debilitating.   The only blessing is that all of this rain in March wasn't snow.  In that case, we would have been literally buried  with up to ten feet, and completely shut down.  So, as bad as it is, it could have been so much worse.
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Isn't that the case with most of the adversities that we face?  Things can be better, but they can be so much worse.

TommyO said... 

I hear ya my brother, as I vac'd and pumped water for hours on end the other night, all I had to do was turn on the TV to see the thousands of folks a lot worse off then me. Didn't feel so bad.

Aquaponic Pricing

If I were to build an Aquaponics System for someone... a system ready to add fish and plants....the below spreadsheet would be the breakdown for a 2 waterfall, course with 3' deep 4'x5' irregular, stone lined pond, that is connected to a 4'x8' hydoponic vegetable platform.
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This is the way that I would construct my final price.  But you wouldn't see this breakdown. 
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You would see a one page sheet that says....


Complete Aquaponic System with two waterfall course, 4'x5' Pond capable of keeping Koi four seasons and adjacent integrated hydroponic growing system.
$5,000.00.  Payment in full upon completion.

So for $5,000 you would be ready to relax to a soothing waterfall, watch your  fish, and harvest hydroponically grown plants and vegetables.

It hardly seems enough.

Shroud of Turin

Lots of news today about a 3D recreation of the Shroud of Turin.
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It is not a painting, but a sort of phtotographic negative that scientists have used all types of state of the art dating scrutiny.  Evidence continues to point to an origin during New Testament times.
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If the Shroud is fake, then I would say that it is the most ingenious piece of artwork ever created.
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I tend to believe that the Shroud is the real burial cloth of Jesus.
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But it doesn't matter.  We don't need an artifact to legitimize the existence of Christ.  He has made his impact on the world... whether or not his crucifixion was imaged on his burial shroud.

Frank Iacono said....

Thanks John--wonderfully stated.

More Rainfall

It's raining again here on the North Shore of Boston.  Really soggy.  Flood conditions anywhere near rivers and ponds.  It is the wettest March on record here, but I luckily haven't had any water in the basement like in previous years.  Probably because this precip is all rain with no ice damns that ultimately caused my basement leakage.
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But the sump pump is getting a good workout.
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The rain doesn't have me depressed.... a Mountain of a Man doesn't let a few drops get him down.... but it would be nice to get a little sunshine in the mix.  Plus, I'm interested in seeing if the backyard stops being a swamp since the fallen willow trees wil not be absorbing this moisture.

Weekend Progress

I appreciate all of the calls and emails asking how the fence project came out.  It does disturb me a bit that you are so obsessed with my weekend accomplishments, but such is the circumstance of a Mountain of a Man.
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So to satisfy your pathetic obsession, please note that the fence came out fine.  I dug all of the post holes, leveled and poured the concrete, then cut and  installed the fence rails.  All that is left is to install the picketts, which shouldn't be heavy lifting, but still will require a little attention to detail.
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I was pretty much done by 4:00, showered and went to dinner, with Katelyn and Mike, who were in town to see the grandkids as well as Stevie Lewis and his beautiful wife Jill. Joanne and I took them to the new restaurant that was the former Flynnies... has a wierd name that I can't remember... but the food was good.
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Next weekend is Easter, and Mike said that he would come into Marblehead to make the pickett nailing short work.  It's supposed to rain Monday, Tuesday and Wedsnesday, but I still hope to get the shingling done before Mike gets here for the picketting job.
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In the meantime, maybe I can get the Nanepashemet Warehouse sign carved and installed.

Pisc said...

Seldom does one comes across a topper like ______from back in the Needham days. Anything you have seen or done, he had seen a bigger one or climbed a higher one. In my current position, I have met an equal to the Topper. The same generation, same middling position in the organization but self-perceived C level executive talent, same ability to stultify a conversation, its uncanny. I need to sharpen my wit for the next round of topping. Pat -  Are you saying that someone is topping the Topper?  Hard to believe.

POTW Week 12

It's sunny and cool in the thirties.  A perfect day for some FreshAyer and post hole digging.

ANNOUNCING....
Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for the Twelve Week of 2010

Harvey Rowe
Lindsey Kepnes
Michael Murphy
Linda Hewitt Murray
Jean Bubon
Will Nestor

Let the fun begin.

Project Appalachia Status

Today, after a very productive morning at Nanepashemet Telecom, I got out into the backyard and took stock of what remains to be done in completing the transformation from Appalachia to New England back there.
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Still shingling to be finished, but the focus now is on the stockade fence.  I stabilized the portion where the willow tree had crashed through, leveled the post, and put some concrete mix into the post hole to mix with the rainwater.
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Repaired the fence railings by using the Kreg Jig to screw some new support boards in.
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After a visit to FreshAyer tomorrow morning, I will try to dig the last two post holes and install the railings.  Then it's just a question of installing the pickets, which I will hopefully complete on Sunday.
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There's still a chance that I can get the shingling details done before April, but unlikely, since the Nanepashemet business is starting to really pick up lately.  But as long as we have reclaimed the backyard and painted the house trim prior to fishing season starting in late May, everything will be on track.