Re: PM Woe

Subject: Re: PM Woe
From: "Raj Machhan" <raj -dot- machhan -at- gmail -dot- com>
To: vrfour -at- verizon -dot- net
Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2007 02:17:22 +0530

Sorry James, I got your name wrong. Hope the suggestion is useful.

Best

Raj


On 7/23/07, Raj Machhan <raj -dot- machhan -at- gmail -dot- com> wrote:
>
> Too much control is stifling and there are many a control freaks out there
> who do not miss even the smallest of opportunities to show who is the
> boss. However, I have noticed that a number of software companies are now
> adopting a flat organization structure to promote innovation and fresh
> ideas. Moving forward, the flat structure is sure to gain wider acceptance,
> given the nature of work in the IT/software sector.
> The situation Jim is facing is not unusual. As I see it, a proactive
> approach could be a possible way out. Come up with a detailed work flow
> of the department, rope in the HR people and volunteer for a presentation on
> impediments to productivity growth. The presentation, of course, talks about
> the roadblocks to productivity taking Jim's department as an example.
> Suggest a better way of doing things to the middle and senior management
> people. This would not only put the Technical Communication process under
> the scanner, but will also initiate a debate to arrive at the best process.
> I think it is a great opportunity for Jim to make his mark.
>
> Raj
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On 7/23/07, Sharon Burton <sharon -at- anthrobytes -dot- com> wrote:
> >
> > I like this approach as well. If someone wants to be this controlling,
> > then
> > let them, I say. No one is actually good at micro-managing. The
> > attention
> > span required to do it well simply don't exist. My second marriage would
> > have gone much better, I think, if I had the attention span to
> > micromanage
> > my passive/aggressive husband. But I didn't and he ultimately was better
> > at
> > passive aggressive than I was at fighting it. He won. Yahoo for him.
> >
> > I would also ask for clarification on the word "document". If this
> > everything that we might write during the day? Does that include emails?
> >
> > Documents that we might start to order our thoughts but might never
> > submit?
> > How about notes files from talking to people or files meant to track
> > things?
> >
> > Do we need permission to chat with someone in the kitchen/bathroom about
> >
> > project issues? Or can we retro-approve those? If so, how? Do phone
> > calls
> > count? How about lunch conversations?
> >
> > I'd then put all the time for all this activity into each schedule,
> > including the wait for the permission time - estimate 3 minutes to
> > create
> > the request, 10 minutes to receive it. So you have 15 minute cycles of
> > really no activity that forwards the project.
> >
> > If this is what they want, then let them have it. It's their money; they
> > can
> > ask that you spend it this way. Remember, "Foolish money spends just as
> > well
> > as smart money."
> >
> > sharon
> >
> > Sharon Burton
> > CEO, Anthrobytes Consulting
> > 951-369-8590
> > www.anthrobytes.com
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Gene Kim-Eng
> > Sent: Sunday, July 22, 2007 12:16 PM
> > To: vrfour -at- verizon -dot- net; 'TECHWR-L'
> > Subject: Re: PM Woe
> >
> >
> > Given the situation you described previously (an out-of-control
> > process butting heads with a PMO trying to assume total personal
> > control), I think the approach you followed previously still sounds
> > like the most operable one. Send the PMs and PMO 50 emails
> > a day with requests to talk to 30 different SMEs, start a new
> > document, submit a document for review, release, etc. Be sure
> > each one says "per our current process, further work on this
> > project cannot continue without the requested approval."
> >
> > Don't view the time spent on these emails as "lost project time."
> > If your group charges hours to projects, create a time tracking
> > category for "obtain PM/PMO approval" and charge for time
> > spent doing it. If you schedule your projects on GANTT or
> > similar charts and it takes a day to get those approvals, pepper
> > every chart with dozens of one-day "PM/PMO approval" tasks
> > during which project progress stands still.
> >
> > Give the PMO everything he wants and follow his process to the
> > letter. Bury him under the weight of his own requirements.
> >
> > Or, if by some inexplicable turn of events the PMO's approach
> > actually does bring order to the existing chaos, make your group
> > the one he holds up to the rest of the company as a shining example.
> >
> > Gene Kim-Eng
> >
> >
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References:
Re: PM Woe: From: Gene Kim-Eng
RE: PM Woe: From: Sharon Burton
Re: PM Woe: From: Raj Machhan

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