Work styles: Disruptive, collaborative, or both?

Pick your poison.  But why not do both in harmony?

Our work styles can be seen as disruptive (creating major change without regard to the current situation), collaborative (partnering deeply with peers to get things done), or a mixture of both.

Disruptive.  The disruptive style is cool and exciting.  It's about innovation and major change.  When I was in 8th Grade, when asked what I wanted to do when I grew up, I told my teacher, Mrs. Moore, that I wanted to either be a heavy equipment operator or a brain surgeon.  She laughed and asked me if I realized as she did that those two fields were markedly different.  I did not and I responded, "I really want to change things dramatically."  I suppose both on macro (bulldozer) and micro (brain) scales.  This still holds true to me.

Collaborative.  The collaborative work style is a really critical, key and important one that I have had to learn over the years.  As an aggressive person who wants to change things drastically I've learned that I have to collaborate and partner with others to get things done.  Leading without followers is not possible.  Sometimes I have to take the back seat and let others drive.

Having both of these capabilities as a disruptive, innovative person and a collaborative person provides balance and synergy between two forces.  Both are good for change but together they provide a pace that is realistic,  sustainable, and powerful.

Unscrew screwed situations

Don't just be any tool, be a screwdriver.  Be the one that can drive
change in one direction or another and try to make sure
it's positive change that people want.

I'm frequently brought into organizations to unscrew screwed situations.  What I do is to figure out what's going on (the situation), try to talk to all parties and sides (get info), look at all of the pieces and parts and systems (analyze), and then look at the market and objectives and fact and make decisions and recommendations and plans to help steer the organization(s) into a clearer light (lead).

Doing this is an art and science, and a risky, difficult one at that.  To do it successfully, you have to be really careful of the people and goals and get everyone thinking and looking in the same direction.  Have you have to identify key bottlenecks and remove them one by one until you can see out.  Communicating effectively up during this time is also difficult, yet critically important.

Dive into organizations and find out where they are most screwed up.  Be the change that is required to correct the problem and point it into the direction that you believe.

Selling up and selling down

Convincing others to do things for us is a great talent, skill, and art.
Make sure you're doing this to subordinates and superiors.

Forever I have wanted to make cool and creative things.  I have wanted to engineer creative solutions to problems and get rich doing so based on how creative I have been and how hard I have worked.  But I have discovered that the real skill in life and business is to be that social person who can and does get things done through other people through creative means.  I'm not saying that you can't create and be creative, but you have to create through others by way of inspiration and leadership: you have to grow big teams.

My dad gave me the idea when I was young that I am creative and smart.  I probably am.  But I have learned through the years that I have to be very humble as well and recognize that there are powerful people above and around me. 

As someone who does not have so much money that I can pay others to do everything for me, then I have to inspire them to want to do it themselves.  If I can lead in this way, then I am being successful with those below me.

But this is also true for those above me: the rich and famous and successful of the world.  I do not consider myself to be one of them but I have to do so: I have to rub elbows and act as if I'm one of them...but I have to be humble, too.

Sales works up and sales works down.  Make sure that you're selling up and selling down but learn to sell up because this is where the really big opportunities lie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Listening and advising as the key skills of consulting

Things will go in your ear that you don't want to hear sometimes.
But you will hear them.  You don't have to listen to them,
you just have to figure out how to react to what you hear: be calm.

There are three main skills in consulting: listening, giving and taking advice.

Listening is hard sometimes when there's so many things going on in your head.  Combine that with stupid or annoying speakers and it's hard to keep your mouth shut sometimes!

Try to quiet yourself and let yourself listen to what is being said: drink it all in and relax; breathe, contemplate responses but do not engage.  Let others finish their thoughts and points before you offer anything more, if you offer anything more; sometimes silence is far more powerful than words.

Accepting advice also requires that you listen and it also requires a great deal of patience and trust.  It is impossible to take advice if you can't listen.

Giving advice is easy.  Anyone can give advice.  But not everyone can give good advice.  There are a lot of people out there seeking advice.  Some of us are even paying great sums for advice and help from others.

Being a leader requires that we listen, give and take advice.  Balance these skills and be excellent.

4 key things a project manager must do

According to my way of thinking, there are four key things that a good project manager must do:

1. Clearly define work.  Defining what is owed by when.
2. Assign work.  Defining who owes what.
3. Manage risk in the supply chain.  Knowing what you'll do if you do/don't get what you're waiting for. 
4. Lead.  Using your own time efficiently and effectively to unblock and dis-impede the project (lead).  

Clearly defining work is a key element of being a project manager.  What this means is that you are crystal clear on what needs to be done by when.  The project manager must know the "Definition of Done" and what is good enough from a quality perspective.  In order to do this, the project manager must speak with both the customers and the suppliers of any given work item and very clearly define what's needed.  Before the work is produced, there should be a commitment for each item on the statement of work.

Assigning work is a very important part of being a good manager as well.  Assigning the work is all about getting good commitments and trusting that the resources you have doing the things are quality and committed and for real.

Managing risk in the supply chain is a hard part of the project manager's job.  The project manager has to have mitigation plans for what they will / won't do if they do / don't get what they're expecting.  In this way, a big part of the job is to wait for things to happen but when they do or don't happen be very prepared to act upon the failure.

Leading is of course an overall critical skill that the PM must have.  This takes many forms but in this context I'm using it primarily to mean that you are a good professional and know how to use your time and others effectively.  You are efficient and effective at getting the things done that you have to do (the steps mentioned above) and making sure that the whole thing is tracking.

There's a lot to being a project manager, but maybe thinking about it in these four simple "competency areas" will help you figure out where you should focus your efforts at the moment!!

You can still be an entrepreneur while working with someone else’s idea

Starting your own business is really hard.  I should know, I’ve started a few and failed (and still feel like I’m failing on the other ones I’ve started and am working on!):

• 1994: Tortizza
  • Why started: Dad suggested it was a good idea.  I was 17.
  • Mission: Make pizzas from tortillas, patent the name.
  • Successes: Made some tasty treats, met lawyers
  • Failed because: not interested, didn’t know how to patent.
  • What I learned: That patenting something isn’t a process I want to do.  Expensive, bureaucratic.  I hate bureaucracies (but want to create them!)
• 1996: The Computer Dude
  • Why started: I wanted to make money during the summer and had computer and marketing skills to offer.
  • Mission: Help people use computers.
  • Successes: Made money, met many interesting people and learned about their computing needs/interests, and environments
  • Failed because: Lost interest.  People are crazy.
  • What I learned: Good customer service and marketing skills.
• 1999: TheWesternChannel/CollegeUnderground/Bottlefed
  • Why started: Wanted to have an internet business with friends.  The thing we knew most about was our college and we had a strategy of getting a ton of content and expanding.
  • Mission: Make web sites for things we’re passionate about.
  • Successes: Very popular WWU website in 1999-2001, featured in campus and city newspapers.
  • Failed because: Had no real business model.  Geeked out on technology to much.  Wasn’t mature enough.  Got bored of college topics after college.  Needed real income after graduating from school.
  • What I learned: How to make very cool web products and communities.  Databases, systems.
• 2002: eServices
  • Why started:  Wanted to be able to do work for companies around the area via 1099.
  • Mission: Provide professional services to area firms for high wages (work 1099).
  • Successes: Worked for a former employer for the highest wage to date.
  • Failed because: Didn’t do any marketing.  Got wrapped up in a day-job and went back to school.
  • What I learned: Not much, never really pursued this much.

The following businesses I’ve started and am still (semi-actively) working on:

• 2006: Visualize Everything/PhatLibs
  • Why started: I love words and word games and technology and this to me is like the perfect blend.
  • Mission: Create an online word game that results in the worlds largest and most relevant database of phrases.
  • Successes: Created product.
  • What I’m learning: Launching requires money and time and energy.
• 2007: EfficiTrends LLC
  • Why started: Saw many opportunities in the “green” space.  Really liked the idea of doing green things and being in business but socially responsible/saving the planet.
  • Mission: Provide professional services, sell the value of ‘green’ and social responsibility.
  • Successes: Built brand, created web site, did a little marketing.  Have a framework about which I can speak.
  • What I’m learning: Don’t be idealistic, be realistic.  Sell your basic values, not ideals.
• 2011: AppsJack
  • Why started: Many opportunities in the mobile application development space.  Wanted to create a brand and market position in the space.  Know someone with a great product / process for building apps.
  • Mission: To create custom (mobile) apps for people.  Modern software development.  (And other services via EfficiTrends if necessary).
  • Successes: Created brand, met sales and technology partners, went on sales calls, built paperwork, systems, and legal framework.
  • What I’m learning: Pick the right partners.  Make sure you focus on the overall process and delivery.  Don’t be idealistic (again!).

I guess I have traction from these angles: I’ve done cool things for companies, I’ve been an employee, I’ve driven my salary up to a pretty good level, I’ve gotten grad degrees and a PMP certificate, I’ve joined companies, I’ve volunteered, I’ve built my resume and background, network.

It’d be ideal to me to have my own idea that I’m pursuing but sometimes that’s not in the cards.  Finding partners works both ways.

In order to get some traction given my current situation (employed), I’m going to try to support OTHERS in THEIR businesses.  I already do this as my day job as an employee and consultant, so why not do it also as an entrepreneur?  I don’t have to be the inventor!!! 

By doing so, the benefits are that I get to go further up the food chain (closer to owners), get good experience, have large scope, influence, and responsibility!

The Release Manager is the Product Owner

What's a release manager? A marketer. A public relations fellow. Someone that cares both about the customer AND the product development team but in no specific order. This person is the best possible person you could have on your team or company. They can turn a bad project into a good one and a good one into a bad one. If you have someone acting in a release manager capacity that is either A) all about the requirements or B) all about giving the customer everything they want regardless of cost, you're in trouble.

Train people in this role how to help you out, provide air-cover, and also how to serve the customer. If you are the guy/gal responsible for delivering the product find someone who complements you very well and understands how to communicate, deflect, and the like. I'm not yet sure if the Release Manager needs to be technical in a software project but I believe the answer is definitely yes, since if they aren't they can't deflect and backlog as necessary, that would end up falling to you.

Forming a Consulting Group (that is World-Changing, Profitable, Enjoyable, Sustainable, Continuously-Improving, etc.)

The world is full today with people in business who are doing good things and making compelling change to our organizations.  These people are not generally organized as a collective.  It's likely the goal for many of these individuals to find other like-minded people and establish "guilds" around their particular part of the technology and change delivery puzzle, be it sales, product definition, development, delivery, or support.  In total, our system today requires many quality professionals to deliver the services that it has; and the quality of these services and their density is highly variable and in some cases poor, some cases excellent.  The goal is to make high-quality products that the world needs and for which the market will be willing to pay.  "It takes a village" but this village that we will need for this change is smart, involved, well-organized, and planned.  This is not a government, it is an uprising.

What are the attributes of this village we require to bring about the quality products and services of tomorrow?  From where does this village come?  The crowd, I say!  From our networks; current and future.  In my opinion, it is possible to find and support--with the appropriate tools, incentives, practices, and resources--people willing to capably contribute to our current firms and to the firms that we need to bring about.  The goal for the support organization and consulting group would be to offer the training, staffing, and project/program/product services necessary to allow the resources we have today to turn out the products we need tomorrow as fast and at as high of a quality and leading to the greatest economic value possible. The technologies we have today are mature enough to support and sustain such a group.

Today's organizations are either A) antiquated B) outdated C) unprepared or D) non-existing.  Let's fix this!


Critical Components of the Consulting Organization (EfficiTrends):

• Sales & Marketing -- responsibilities are to build the network, filter associates/partners/relationships, educate and train our stakeholders and members.
• Operations & Delivery -- responsible for getting the job done as it's defined and communicating to others when things aren't going according to plan.
• Product Definition and Contracting -- responsible for strategic planning, fine-grained management of relationships, project/program/product management, and contracting.
• Product Support and Operations, Sustainability -- responsible for the ongoing "care and feeding" of completed products and services as well as the definition of new, more streamlined ways of providing those products and services at a lower cost.

Critical Inputs to the Process:

• People in jobs
• Make the most out of the person's role and support them with a great staff and "back office"
• Provide personal marketing, coaching, and resume services about what they're doing, how to market their strengths, develop their weaknesses, and work toward demonstrable results and efficient engagement
• On-site staff augmentation and support services to fill gaps within client team.
• Project and program management definition and sales -- how to "stealthily" grow the scope of the consulting group's influence at the client.
• Replacement services when the individual isn't the best fit
• "Graceful exit" services when the client or engagement should not be the focus of the consulting organization
• Leads, hiring managers, entrepreneurs
• Assist in the definition of programs and offerings
• Put consultants and partners in place
• Seek to define measurable results and a consistent, visible practice, and knowledge base
• Partner via Master Service Agreement (MSA), Joint Venture (JV), etc.