Handling Tough Conversations

A longer version of my previous talk describing some topics and experiences about project management, and making a case for why you should practice them.

From GR DevDay 2014 at Davenport University

Transcript

1. tough conversations experiences in management of technology projects
2. tough conversations experiences in management of technology projects
3. matters less when things go well
4. matters more when things go badly
5. wrong!
6. actually matters all the time
7. matthew seeley @maxsilver
8. matthew seeley @maxsilver at for a really long time on 50+ different projects
9. todo
10. todo describe good project management I’ve experienced
11. todo describe good project management I’ve experienced make a case for why you should practice it
12. four steps observe! think! record! communicate
14. listen to what is spoken
15. listen to what is spoken watch for what is unspoken
16. story time
17. ask about the unclear examine the assumptions
19. analyze the requests using your knowledge and history brainstorm with your team for feedback and ideas
20. record
21. take good notes
22. take good notes paper ! looks better
23. share info! with your team
24. share info! with your team maintain its accuracy
25. communicate
26. repeat what was discussed
27. provide communication regularly and predictably repeat what was discussed
28. never ever ever hide or skip! problems, setbacks, or delays always be open and honest! about the project
29. story time
30. simple story time difficulty level
31. 2 weeks later
32. tough 2 weeks later difficulty level
33. matters less when things go well
34. matters more when things go badly
35. wrong!
36. actually matters all the time
37. todo
38. todo describe good project management I’ve experienced
39. todo describe good project management I’ve experienced
40. todo describe good project management I’ve experienced make a case for why you should practice it
42. doing project management well builds trust
43. doing project management well builds trust encourages sustainability
44. doing project management well builds trust encourages sustainability promotes reliability
45. doing project management well builds trust encourages sustainability promotes reliability reduces stress
46. our behavior directly impacts! our clients behavior
47. “You are always so calm, I feel much better after talking to you” - the client
48. #winning
52. “ we have no managers* ”
53. “ we have no managers* ” * we have people who have all the roles and responsibilities that a project manager would have, but we’ve relabeled them a “primary responsible person” so we can live in a hipster indie dream world where words are meaningless and work just handles itself.
54. translation : “ we have no managers* ” * we have people who have all the roles and responsibilities that a project manager would have, but we’ve relabeled them a “primary responsible person” so we can live in a hipster indie dream world where words are meaningless and work just handles itself. we have managers
55. if you define ‘management’ by exclusively bad attributes
56. if you define ‘management’ by exclusively bad attributes then ‘management’ will always be bad, by definition
57. if you define ‘management’ by exclusively bad attributes then ‘management’ will always be bad, by definition (hint: it’s a tautology)
58. so, don’t do that.
59. eliminate the bad parts of the role promote the good parts of the role
60. managers roles ! don’t have to include : - being the “boss” - hiring or fire people - promoting or demoting - setting hours - enforcing policy - being terrible people
61. managers roles ! don’t have to include : - being the “boss” - hiring or fire people - promoting or demoting - setting hours - enforcing policy - being terrible people
62. eliminate the bad promote the good
63. matthew seeley ! @maxsilver