Being busy is considered by many to be a virtue. People may be giving their businesses 200% of effort. But in reality, being busy as you work through a shopping list of “to do” tasks can be the opposite of virtuous. How? Because it can lead to wasting time on the wrong things, unproductive multi-tasking […]
A Project-Based Organization to Radically Improve Performance
Competencies not power, common goal instead of function/silo results, these are the elements of an organization built on projects. We all know that what matters is the global (overall) bottom line of any organization. And yet, when we measure performance, we connect it with functional, i.e. silo results. How do we come out of this seemingly irreconcilable conflict? We […]
Hierarchy and Silos – How they Hurt Project Management
Even with the best Project Management, hierarchy and silos will interfere with outcomes. In this post we look at why that is and how Project Management itself is the answer. If you Google the term ‘Project Management’ you will hundreds of millions of results. It is a multi-billion dollar business and there are official institutes that […]
What is a Project Manager?
The term Project Manager is much abused. We look at a precise definition of what Project Manager means in a systemic organization, where projects make up the nervous system of the organization. An organization is essentially a network of projects with a goal An organization is essentially a network of projects with a goal. There are projects that […]
Network Thinking: Changing How We see the World
Adopting a network perspective changes how we see the world and our place in it. In this post we look at how that applies to organizations and their design. Revolutions in thought have been part of our human development, from Copernicus’ unveiling how the sun does not revolve around the earth to Darwin’s theory of evolution, […]
Team of Teams- A Systems View
Teams are at the core of successful work in organizations. Very few things can be accomplished by individuals. There is increasing talk about teams. Inspiring work has been done in military environments, as illustrated through the book Team of Teams by General Stanley McChrystal. But what is a team? How do you choose the members, and […]
What’s a Priority? Thinking it Through
We need structure and priorities at every level in order to lead constructive and productive lives and to deliver whatever it is we produce as companies and individuals. So the practical problem becomes, how do we decide what a priority is? When we’re faced with something we have to accomplish or a project, where do […]
A Business Management Software Can Never Run Your Company
A client embarking on a pattern of transformation through systemic management recently asked ‘How soon will I be able to use the software to manage the company?’ It’s tempting to think that by buying and ‘installing’ the right software, a company can magically acquire a whole new way of operating that will lead to more […]
State of the Art Project Management with Critical Chain
Too many projects all over the world fail to deliver, coming in late and over budget. We all pay the price for this. The reason is because much of Project Management is flawed in its thinking and execution. It doesn’t have to be this way. In his 1997 business novel called ‘Critical Chain’, Dr. Eliyahu […]
How to Do Multitasking Mindfully
In our approach to Project Management, multitasking is one of the most radical changes necessary because Critical Chain requires focussing on one task until it is completed. People think that by hopping from one task to another they are being more “efficient” and getting more done. This is pure illusion because every time we switch […]