The Dark Side of the Moon wasn’t always “dark”

Actually, it’s more like that the far side of the Moon may have been the near side.  According to this Scientific American article, it appears that our natural satellite was once rotated 180 degrees, with the current far side of the moon facing Earth. A large impact roughly four billion years ago could have temporarily [...]

PM Quote of the Day — Sara Jeanette Duncan

If you have anything to tell me of importance, for God’s sake begin at the end. 

New Leader Focus Area — Creatively Wielding Occam’s Razor

I’m wrapping up this first series about what goes into taking over a new organization (earlier posts (here. here, here, and here).  The theme of simplicity and parsimony gets mangled during many discussions; for example, sometimes people think that “simple = easy”.    Also, that old simplicity maxim — Occam’s Razor — focuses on analysis to the exclusion of creation [...]

PM Quote of the Day — Chinese Fortune Cookie

Remind yourself that ‘the lion when hunting doesn’t roar’.

PM Quote of the Day — Bernard Ibbings Bell

A good education is not so much one which prepares a man to succeed in the world, as one which enables him to sustain a failure. 

New Leader Focus Area — Competitive Position

Per earlier posts (here. here, and here), I’ve been thinking about what goes into taking over a new organization.  This post takes a look at competitive analysis via benchmarking.  Benchmarking is always useful, though I’m always wary of getting too hung up on one’s competitors.  I don’t have any particular comment on the eight questions from the HBR [...]

PM Quote of the Day — Nelson Mandela

One of the things I learnt when I was negotiating was that until I changed myself I could not change others. 

New Leader Focus Area — Customer and Profit Pools

Per earlier posts (here and here), I’ve been thinking about what goes into taking over a new organization.  In my last post on this topic, I may have given the impression that costs and prices should be one’s main focus.  To that end, this area is one that I’ve neglected — the HBR New Leader article wisely [...]

PM Quote of the Day — Chinese Proverb

To believe in one’s dreams is to spend all of one’s life asleep.

Effects of the economy on projects and portfolios

Josh Nankivel at PM Student posted the results of a recent survey he did on the Impact of the Economy on Project Management.  I’ll be curious to see Josh’s comments on the survey. I did notice that while there were answers about cutbacks, staff reductions, and increased financial scrutiny, I didn’t see any comments about [...]