"I preferred to deal with chiefs of organisations rather than counsellors. Everyone should do a good day’s work and be accountable for some definite task.""It is easier to give directions than advice, and more agreeable to have the right to act, even in a limited sphere, than the privilege to talk at large"
Winston Churchill, WWII Memoirs
"When I have one week to solve a seemingly impossible problem, I spend six days defining it, and then the solution becomes obvious."Albert Einstein
The real problem is not whether machines think but whether men do.B.F. Skinner
And then there's this:
But Edwin Armstrong, largely credited with the invention of FM as we know it today, disagreed strongly, citing all manner of empirical and practical experimentation and test operations, to say nothing of calculation errors and erroneous assumptions shown to be in the 'theory' of the FCC's expert.
But, to no avail; the FCC backed its expert.
Ten years later, after myriad sunspot eruptions, there was this exchange:
Armstrong: "You were wrong?!"
FCC Expert: "Oh certainly. I think that can happen frequently to people who make predictions on the basis of partial information. It happens every day"
" ....virtual collaboration is like evaporated milk with 60% of the water removed; safer; mostly up to the job, but a sterile version of face-to-face that leaves an unsatisfying aftertaste""Bartelby" columnist in the "Economist"
Our columnist goes on:
"There are downsides to being a clinically efficient worker. They include relinquishing the daily banter and complicity among colleagues..... Hyper efficiency and distance mean less opportunity for interpersonal tension but also less gratuitous job, which is hard to replicate on Zoom."
But then, on a business channel, I hear a start-up guy talking about developing a software application (alternative to Zoom, or Skype, or Webex) that has 'humanity built-in'
"Humanity built in"! Perhaps, but let's wait and see ....
I had to look it up to confirm. That's bonkers.The difference between a million and a billion is counter-intuitively large.As an example, a million seconds is 12 days, and a billion seconds is
32 years.
“The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates, and a monthly salary.” Nasim Taleb
"About boldness: Some might say “impulsiveness,” yet what is boldness but impulse leavened by calculation?Daniel Allen Butler
Calculation? Where does that come from?
Experience is where it comes from.
And what can we say about experience?
Steve Jobs would say it's one of the two coins that we get paid: One is cash, and the other is experience.
Others say it's the accumulated wisdom of all your encounters, good and bad
So, can you be bold without experience to base the calculation?
Yes, but then you are going by the "book" (others experience), or guessing or hoping or, in the worst case: foolish!
"This asteroid (B-612) has only been seen once through a telescope. That was by a Turkish astronomer in 1909. On making his discovery, the astronomer had presented it to the International Astronomical Congress, in a great demonstration. But he was in Turkish costume, and so nobody would believe what he said....
Fortunately, however, for the reputation of Asteroid B-612, a Turkish dictator [Kemel Ataturk] made a law that his subjects, on pain of death, should change to European costume.
So, in 1920, the astronomer gave his demonstration all over again, dressed in impressive style and elegance. And this time, everybody accepted his report"
Quoted by Niall Ferguson in "Civilization"
I would hardly think today of making my first flight on a strange machine in a 27-mile wind . . .I look with amazement upon our audacity in attempting flights with a new and untried machine under such circumstances.
Yet faith in our calculations and the design of the first machine, based upon our tables of air pressures, secured by months of careful laboratory work, and confidence in our system of control … had convinced us that the machine was capable of lifting and maintaining itself in the air
— Orville Wright, from “How We Made the First Flight” (*)
I hope you were able to read the last sentence, as long as it is -- my editor would have been apocalyptic!
So, what have we got here with O.Wright's statement that can inform project management?
He begins with audacity! Audacity: "a willingness to take bold risks"
To be audacious! Audacity is a risk attitude that is at first personal, but then infects the whole project culture.
But not recklessly bold risks. Audacious is one thing; willful recklessness is entirely different.
Then comes the skill and science
So then comes the science, the engineering, and the risk management to leaven the audacity. Afterall, as we learn from author Jo Nesbo, "Someone will no doubt come up with an opinion with the benefit of hindsight, but we prefer to be wise in foresight".
In this case, wisdom in foresight requires:
And what does the world get with this elixir of bold thinking, careful consideration of risk, and skill-and-science?
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(*) Quotation courtesy of Herding Cats
"A well-ordered life has compartments. People that have secrets know that other people have secrets. That's how we all get alongDialogue from "The Paladin" by David Ignatius
Of course, in the pristine description of project methodologies in the PMBOK® and elsewhere, projects are an open book. The project pyramid is transparent from top to bottom; information is readily available.
Real projects are compartmented
I should say that a well-ordered project is strategically transparent but tactically compartmented. Everyone should know and internalize the major mission elements, but tactically, there is value in limitations.
Effective communication emulates life in a lot of ways, and one of those ways is to compartment information. Immediately, the N-squared number of communication channels between N sources is reduced exponentially. From that one action, communication quality goes up:
And, compartmentation is helpful when you need to put space between big egos; separate clashing personalities, and limit people interactions. It's how we all get along.
But also, compartmentation is a tool for limiting information according to sensitivity, proprietary protections, and utility according to function. Sometimes, it's just better to know less, at least with respect to tactical detail.
And, compartments reduce risk.
How so?
In the sailboat business, we speak of "rip stops" in sails. Sails are never one large sheet; they are always compartmented by seams. If a problem arises in one part of the sail, the "rip stop" seam contains the problem, prevents its spread, and usually leaves a lot of the sail useful for powering the boat.
The same goes for a project: compartments are "rip stops". A problem in one aspect of the project is contained, but the rest of the project goes forward.
And, I might add: In system engineering, we build with subsystems linked by carefully constructed interfaces. The interface provides "loose coupling" that helps contain and compartmentalize any issue in one subsystem.
The architecture of project methods
When developing the architecture of your project methodologies, think of what it takes to have a well-ordered project
Some people live in fear because they project the past into the futureAnonymous
“The best way to predict the future is to to create it.”A. Lincoln
What does one learn when reading great ..... writings? That well-chosen words are the way by which past deeds acquire meaning and future deeds acquire purpose.Now, I think it's reasonable to say that most writing coming forth from the PMO doesn't rise to the level of the Gettysburg Address in eloquence or conciseness, or engender the profound effect the Address has had on generations since.
“The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here,” are the only false notes in the Gettysburg Address. The Battle of Gettysburg is etched in national memory less for its military significance than because Lincoln reinvented the goals of the Civil War in that speech — and, in doing so, reimagined the possibilities .....
[Great] writing doesn’t just provide meaning and purpose. It also offers determination, hope and instruction.
Bret Stephens
Exasperating, but generally forgiven. A combination of charm, audacity, imagination, optimism, and energyHistorian Arthur Schlesinger describing William Donovan, the leader of the clandestine spy agency, OSS, in WW II
"Organization is the enemy of improvisation
It is a long jump from knowing to doing
Committees take the punch out ...."
Lord Beaverbook, Minister of Aircraft Production for Britain in WW II
The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function
- Albert A. Bartlett, The Essential Exponential! For the Future of Our Planet
"Whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. Even to the end"
A skeptic will question claims, then embrace the evidence. A denier will question claims, then reject the evidence. - Neil deGrase Tyson
Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power. — Abraham LincolnAnd, thanks to Herdingcats for showing me this quote.
Power corrupts, but absolute power corrupts absolutelyWe see PMOs riding roughshod over rules, skating too close to the edge, what General Michael Hayden has characterized as playing on the white chalk.
Keep your thoughts positive
because your thoughts
become your words
Keep your words positive
because your words
become your behavior
Keep your behavior positive
because your behavior
becomes your habits
Keep your habits positive
because your habits
become your values
Keep your values positive
because your values
become your destiny
--Mahatma Gandhi