Wiggins’s Words – Page 12

February 26, 2015

Project Management vs Program Management

I am obviously far from an apologist for all things Project Management (the prevalence and blind embrace we give to PMI, PMP, every other acronym known in the project management certification universe, is sometimes rather exhausting). Lately, however, I have been analyzing the difference in mindset between a typical “project manager” and someone more sophisticated – namely a “program manager”.

To me, a project manager is like a line cook. Meticulously dedicated to the ingredients, the recipe, the steps to prepare a perfect dish. The program manager, however, is the one tasked with understanding where the line cook’s dish fits within the overall context of a meal. The project manager, in the face of adversity, will inevitably have tunnel vision. They will be derailed the moment any one thing changes (lack of availability for an ingredient, the absence of a critical cooking surface/tool, etc). The program manager, though, has the foresight and the understanding of how to make it all work, even against all odds. They understand if the patrons are vegetarian, they understand how meals must be coursed rather than served all at once. They embrace customer expectations and adapt their philosophy to fit the needs of a given situation.

Sure, I am giving program managers a little bit too much credit here. Even they can be as blinded by factors external to their tunnel as the project manager. But – the more we can start to make people think like a program manager more often (and – in doing so – understand where they fit in the grand scheme of things), the sooner we will see the macro picture instead of simply having to settle for the micro.

Til Next Time,

Michael

February 20, 2015

Employee Engagement

Employee Engagement has been a hot topic recently in many corners throughout Corporate America, and I think it is a wildly fascinating topic. Over the past decade, the radical shift towards a more “progressive” office culture has yielded many beneficial ways to spur engagement. Engagement is something that many organizations struggle with, and there is nothing worse for the corporate morale (or the bottom line) than a large faction of disengaged (or disgruntled) employees. But – there is no silver bullet. Everyone operates at their own pace, and is motivated by different things. Listening to employees, though, is the one way to be certain that the methods or tools you are using to engage your workforce are ways that are preferable to and resonate with your employees. It’s all about the “Voice of the Field”. Embrace it.

Sylvia Vorhauser-Smith published a great article on Forbes a few years back that gives her opinions and examples of times that Employee Engagement has been done well. I think it offers some good insight and provides food for thought for anyone struggling with the idea of engagement. Take a look; you may like what you find!

Til Next Time,

Michael

February 18, 2015

National Drink Wine Day

It seems like more and more of these “National (insert activity, group, etc) Day” have been popping up recently. Every so often, though, there is one that I can get behind. Today is one of those days. Cheers!

Til Next Time,

Michael

February 16, 2015

Infographic of the Day

Offered without comment, courtesy of American Express Tumblr. Enjoy!

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Til Next Time,

Michael

February 13, 2015

Change Management in a Box

A buddy turned me on to a “Branding in a Box” type Kickstarter Campaign which got me thinking… Is it time for me to develop Change Management in a Box?

I know I have used this site to express a lot of my opinions, reflections, lists of “Do’s & Dont’s”, and generally opine on the topic (most of the time, that is – when I’m not selfishly reflecting on other items I’m passionate about like Music and Entertainment), but I don’t know that I really have that much to say that isn’t overly obvious or common sense? But at the same time, I probably have a lot to say and at least moderate organization skills and the requisite writing skills to pull it off so it’s not just another boring e-book on the topic?

I’m sure I could re-package these words, throw in some splashy design (think Cards Against Humanity from a design/aesthetics standpoint), add a couple online elements, and be halfway there… But would people really buy it? I guess if I keep my investment cost low, and price it competitively (yet where I still experience a profit per unit) – maybe there’s a market? We shall see; stay tuned!

Til Next Time,

Michael

February 12, 2015

Economic Impact of EDM

Electronic Dance Music has been around for a long time, albeit (until late) under different names or titles. It is only of late, though, that it has started to really creep into the wallets of the rich, famous, and elite on a large scale (i.e. not just the persistence of places like Area 51 during the Disco heyday).

A recent article published by Nightclub & Bar, discussing the Top 100 clubs for 2015 (based on past revenue generation), reveals just how far many fans (and, by consequence, club owners) have come on the ‘willingness to spend on electronic music’ spectrum. Now, sure, this economic impact isn’t directly associated to EDM – but the parallels and associations most certainly are. Just look at the headliners and resident DJ’s that frequent these clubs on their largest grossing nights. It’s Tiesto, Calvin Harris, Avicii, and the likes. A clear indication that the “club life” has expanded exponentially under the careful direction of these artists. So the economic impact is without question alive and well.

And I, myself, am a fan of the music. But it does make me wonder; how much higher before the ceiling bursts?

Til Next Time,

Michael

February 10, 2015

Pricing

The idea that pricing should follow traditional rules that have persisted since the early retail ages (or at least “retail” as we know it since big department/box stores started to pop up) is quickly becoming antiquated. I think we are past the days where specific industries should price goods as a strict percentage markup against cost. An article I read today on TechCrunch agrees. Although, what I will say is that the themes it brings up does almost take pricing back to its most basic roots, which I think is great.

Think about the days when items were bartered (the most early form of ‘pricing’ as far as I’m concerned). Cows weren’t empirically worth 10 chickens, or vice versa. Cows were worth exactly what a peer or separate member of your “society” (I will use this term loosely – as I am trying to indicate a member of any group of people, be it a city, a town, a dwelling, or what have you) valued that cow. And, if they had an abundance of chickens, it probably meant that your cow was worth a lot more chickens to that individual than it may be to any other individual. Not a strict cost based on some pricing table that some dude in the village “pricing department” set.

In short, I love the article and think it raises great points about the real pricing dilemma in an Amazon/e-commerce economy. With the prevalence of mass amounts of venture funding, crowdsourcing of financing for new ideas/projects, and a general movement back towards consumerism, I think we will see a great evolution of pricing of all goods in the near term. And I’m very excited for that!

Til Next Time,

Michael

February 6, 2015

Wanderlust

Lately, I’ve been following way too many travel/points blogs, sites, and Instagram profiles. It has really made me wonder whether there is an opportunity to grow or expand the professional services that have only moderately existed in this space over the course of time…

Think about it – if you’re a consultant or anyone with relatively decent writing, photography, design, (insert any other) skills – why not consult things you care about? Can you really tell me you have a vested interest in traveling to Columbus, Ohio to help some widget manufacturer figure out how to get a more accurate view of their inventory through supply chain best practices? Or would you probably prefer traveling to incredible vacation destinations to optimize service levels and improve the customer experience for global travel brands?

Yes, I know this is a bit of a stretch. But there has to be room to expand that arena, right? Travel and Leisure, Fodor’s, and the likes have certainly done a good job (and, similarly, have the budget to do so), but I think a few more positions should be opened to join and support the cause.

Til Next Time,

Michael

February 2, 2015

“I Should Have Been More Clear”

This phrase is one of my pet peeves. We’re all victim to it, and all ultimately help feed the cycle from time to time when we ourselves aren’t as clear as we should have been.

We must stop the madness, though. Any time you send or receive anything that later has an associated “I’m sorry, I should have been more clear”, it is really nothing more than a glorified waste of time for everyone involved. What it really means is that not only did a sender send something that wasn’t clear, but there was probably some level of interaction, work, or energy dedicated to the poor attempt by at least one other person (hence the confusion). And, ultimately, a need to go back and clarify – ultimately completing an extraneous re-work activity.

How do we battle this? Without stating the obvious (as I did recently – “proper planning prevents poor performance” blah blah), I’d like to suggest a couple ways that I’ve experienced success in eliminating confusion and avoiding “should have been more clear” syndrome:

First, and perhaps most obvious, BE MORE CLEAR: this may seem juvenile of me to say, but let’s be honest – a lot of us suffer from a limited capacity to be clear and concise in our communications (avid followers of the blog probably understand that brevity is not my soul of wit, to pull in a Shakespearian reference)
Second, ORGANIZE YOUR CONTENT: this is a little less obvious, but organization of content, whether it’s a presentation or an email, can help quickly and succinctly convey key points or actions you wish others to take (think bullets, numbered lists, etc)
Third, SPEAK WITH PURPOSE: try to eliminate any and all language (whether spoken or typed) that doesn’t help the story you are trying to tell; the words may clutter the recipient’s mind and create confusion on what action they may need to take
Fourth, REINFORCE THE POINT: the saying goes “Tell ’em what you’re gonna tell ’em, then tell ’em, then remind them what you told ’em”; in other words, reinforce your message or your “ask”, even going so far as referencing it in your intro and conclusion (in case your message has real estate for these)

At the end of the day, any investment you make on the front end to prepare for well-executed communications, the less time you’ll spend fixing or clarifying on the back end. So make the investment early and often to avoid confusion. And trust me, you’ll find your days are much less filled with “I’m sorry I should have been more clear” emails.

Til Next Time,

Michael

January 29, 2015

Comcast Oopsie!

These stories are always somewhat funny, but hit really close to home based on the fact that the volume of my career’s work has been in telecommunications. I have been in situations like this (albeit not nearly as drastic) where you have to manage through all of the snowball that happens as a result. While it is so incredibly complicated, I think we are all starting to better learn how to navigate these scenarios and remind ourselves how easy it is for the 0.1% of people to derail the boat which is otherwise navigated by the 99.9%.

The one thing that shocked me though? 2 years of service was the alleged reimbursement offer (and 2 subsequent years of free service)… What’s that, a little less than $10k? I know if I were a customer I would be looking for WAY more than that. Right? What do you think – what’s the price on ’embarrassment’ or ‘agony’ now in a digital age where it’s so easy to smear a company and have it go viral?

Til Next Time,

Michael