#047 - Why we all need a little Project FIRST AID

I recently attended an Outdoor First Aid course at Camp Waingaro, which is an old scout hall nestled in 19 hectares of New Zealand bush. Quite a long way from anywhere - or at least it felt like it when I found that I could no longer get a cellphone signal. It was a beautiful site, surrounded on three sides by a creek that wound its way down the valley.

I initially thought it would be something of a refresher course, as I had attended first aid courses before, but in many respects this was an entirely new experience.

Granted, the last in-depth First Aid course I took was over 30 years ago - but as it turned out I had remembered most of the basic concepts I needed to know over all of that time. The first day of the course was a lot of theory - with some practical exercises using CPR dummies, various bandages, how to deal with choking and so on. Of course, some practices and techniques have changed over the years - in fact, some first aid practices seem to change every few years as they learn more and best practices change.

On occasion, I have had to use my first aid skills in the past - beyond the basics of blisters, small cuts, splinters and burns. One was a full-out mountain rescue involving a victim 200 feet (61m) down a steep slope, his near-vertical evacuation and the treatment for scrapes, lacerations and embedded gravel. Years after that, I had to deal with a victim who had become engulfed in flame. It was a long drive to hospital as we worked to cool and protect his burns. Fortunately, both victims fully recovered.

As it had been a long time since my initial training, I was nervous when I first arrived at the course, but I grew progressively more confident throughout the day as we covered familiar topics. However, things changed when we got into the practical outdoor scenarios the next morning. 

(c) 2012 Mathew Frauenstein

When it all hit the fan, I felt like I knew almost nothing.

 Listen to the podcast or read the full article on Gazza's Corner Blog.  

#044 - What's the big deal with Team Sports, anyway?

When I was a child, I didn't like sports.

Well, that's not exactly true - I loved swimming and spent almost every day during my young summers in the water at our local pool, and was part of the swim team. Wrinkly skin, and a persistent smell of chlorine - it was a wonderful way to spend a good part of your summer's day. Besides, when your town had an outdoor pool that was only open for 3-4 months out of the year, you made the most of it. The rest of the year it was either too cold, or just plain closed, as the pool was left drained for 6 months of the year while the temperatures plummeted from freezing down to -40 degrees Celsius in the coldest months.

In the winter, starting sometime in November, the outdoor ice rinks were getting into full swing. I spent a few winters trying to perfect long, graceful glides around the temporary oval of a Speed Skating rink on our Elementary school field, while my younger brothers were just starting getting into ice hockey at the PeeWee level.

I think I managed two or three years of Speed Skating before I stopped going, while my brothers went on to play hockey with a passion - and still do today, over thirty years later.

My favourite sport fell back to swimming, which I pursued through to Bronze Medallion, and still enjoy today.

The key thing about swimming is that it is very much a solo sport, even if you are on a swim team. Separate swim lanes, individual competitors - even when they held "team" races like a relay, you were still the only person in your lane at one time.

I did not enjoy team sports at all - not even Hockey, which is close to sacrilege for anyone born in Canada.

(C) Fotolia 59510276

Listen to the podcast or read the full article on Gazza's Corner Blog. 

#040 - Is your Project Team like a Light Switch...or a Candle?

A few years ago I went on a fly-fishing trip with a group of work colleagues. I was working on a project in New Zealand, and we were going to be staying in an old company-owned holiday "bach" just outside of Taupo. You could book these properties for a weekend and pay a small fee. A basic type of unit - furnished with several beds, kitchen, TV, tables, chairs and couple sofas - nothing too fancy.

We unpacked our gear, loaded up the fridge and headed back outside for fly-fishing lessons. My first ever lesson - and apparently you need to learn how to do it while on dry land (without a hook) just to get used to the back-and-forth action before you try it standing hip-deep in a river. Perhaps to make sure you didn't fall over while casting - or hook anyone around you.

After about an hour of practicing casting, it was getting dark and our arms were getting tired, so we headed back in to get dinner ready and settle in for the evening. One of the guys was frying up dinner while the rest of us chatted and watched the little black-and-white TV. I was just walking back into the living room with a fresh beer when the lights went out.

"Who turned off the lights?" I asked.

"There's some coins on top of the fridge," one of the locals called out from the sofa.

"What?"

"Coins on top of the fridge. Put some in the slot."

"What slot?"

He sighed and got up. "In the meter."

He walked over to the fridge and picked up three coins. He popped them into a box on the wall, one by one. The lights suddenly came back on. "That should do for an hour. We pay for power when we use the bach - it's one reason it is so cheap to stay here."

I studied the pile of coins on top of the fridge. It was perhaps my first experience of "user pays" - in this case, quite literally with a pocket full of change.

I was experiencing a sudden and strange shift in expectation - electricity is just supposed to be "on", right?

 
Listen to the podcast or read the full article on Gazza's Corner Blog.

#038 - Have YOU Exploited your Project Team Today?

Let me ask you an important question:

Have you Exploited your Project Team Today?

Wait a minute, Exploit your Project Team? You are probably thinking - He can't be serious. That's a horrible, evil thing to do, right?

You probably also have visions of unfair wages, an evil boss, overworked and under-appreciated staff, things like that. Unfortunately, that does happen - but it is not what I am talking about.

You really should exploit your team - and a trip to the toy store made me come to view this as a viable management approach. 

Wisdom from the Toy Store

While shopping for a birthday present for one of my children, I came across the following toy that you first assemble, and then play with:

"Exploiter"? My initial reaction was to take offense at the words on the box. My second reaction was to take a photo. Translated instructions from a foreign country are often quite humorous, but it is less common to have the label or name of a product be so obviously "wrong". It was one of those you-have-to-see-it-to-believe-it moments.

I paced around the store, agitated, thinking about what a poor message this was giving to our children - nobody wants to be exploited, and if you exploit someone, you are obviously a bad person - right? 

Listen to the podcast or read the full article on Gazza's Corner Blog.    

#037 - Your Fifteen Minutes of ... Productivity?

Fifteen minutes of Fame - we all seem to want it, and according to some we are all due our fifteen minutes in the limelight. Well, maybe, or maybe not. I am sure that the law of averages has something to say about that, and more likely some celebrity out there is using up a whole lot of other people's 15 minutes. I am sure mine has already been used up somewhere, maybe yours too. Who knows?

We all day-dream about what might be. However, instead of making the dreams a reality, we often squander countless minutes musing about a possible future - while instead we could have been doing something more productive towards that (or any other) goal. 

Other times, we are either delaying work on an unpleasant task, trying to put off the inevitable, or simply waiting until we "have enough time" to get the task done.

The truth is that it is far more rewarding (and practical) to apply those extra minutes towards the things that you need to get done. Even better, apply the time towards the things you need to get done, and you will find you have more time to do the things you want to do.

For some, this seems hard to do, particularly if the task is difficult or unpleasant, or you are simply procrastinating. We all procrastinate - some more than others, and I will admit I have had my fair share over the years. Usually, it just takes some butt-in-seat glue to stay and get focused on the task, and it gradually starts to take shape - and soon enough you find the task completed.

Listen to the podcast or read the full article on Gazza's Corner Blog.   

#036 - Roadside Checkup: How Clear is your Project Vision?

When I was fifteen, I spent the summer visiting my relatives in Alberta. Nothing unusual about that, as we did that most summers. We would usually drive the nearly 14 hours to Calgary and then spend a few very enjoyable weeks visiting the grandparents, exploring the farmyard and visiting our many aunts, uncles, cousins and other relatives in the area.

What was different about that summer is that our family divided up the visits, allowing us kids to each spend more time with our relatives, one-on-one. I spent a few days with my grandparents, and then one of my Aunts came to pick me up and drive me up to their farm an hour and a half to the north. My parents were going to pick me up later in the week to take me to the next relative.

It was a hot, dry summer, which was not uncommon in the prairies. Her car was brown. Actually, it might not have been brown, it was just coated in so much dust you couldn't see the colour underneath. My grandparents waved from the front steps of the farmhouse as we rumbled away down the gravel driveway, dust rising high behind the car. It was a little hard to see, but I didn't think too much of it. Everything was dusty that summer.

As we drove down the main gravel road and onto the stretch of pavement before we reached the main highway, my Aunt said she needed to stop and get some gas. We pulled into a little gas station and the attendant started to pump the fuel. 

"Just need to clean the windshield," she said as she hopped out of the car and grabbed a squeegee from the bucket beside the gas pump. I remained seated in the car.

She dragged the wet spongy side across the top of the window, and rivulets of mud tracked down the glass. She re-wet the squeegee several times as she progressively sponged and cleared the dust and mud off the outside of the window. 

She looked at the window, frowned, and then leaned into the car to have a look out of the windshield. "You might want to get out," she said as she walked back around the car towards the squeegee bucket. 

I unbuckled myself and got out of the car just as she stepped forward and proceeded to drag the wet squeegee across the inside of the windshield. It, too was covered in dust, and trickles of mud ran down the glass and dripped onto the dashboard. Slightly flustered, she quickly cleaned the inside of the window, paid the attendant and then we got back into the car.

As we drove down the dust-free highway, windows still down but now able to see ahead of us more clearly, I asked her why the car was so dusty on the inside. She replied that the car did not have air conditioning, so naturally driving with the windows down was a good substitute.

However, living on a farm (with no air conditioning), you had to keep the windows down to cool off, but of course that let the dust in. With the manual window winders and only one person in the car, it was hard to put the windows up and down as you regularly went from asphalt to dirt or gravel - so she mostly left them down.


Thus the coating of dust throughout the car, inside and out.


Driving with clear visibility in front of you is obviously important - that is why my Aunt cleaned the window once we were off the dusty road. But ask yourself this - how many of us truck on ahead with our projects, "just getting the work done", but with no clear vision of where we are going or what is up ahead?


It might just be time to pull off the road and check those windows.

 Listen to the podcast or read the full article on Gazza's Corner Blog.  

#035 - Protect your project from Zombie Outbreaks

zom·bie

\ˈzäm-bē\ noun

1. Formal.
   a. the body of a dead person given the semblance of life, but mute and will-less, by a supernatural force, usually for some evil purpose.
   b. the supernatural force itself 

2. Informal.

   a. a person whose behavior or responses are wooden, listless, or seemingly rote; automaton.

   b. a person who is or appears lifeless, apathetic, or completely unresponsive to their surroundings. 

   c. an eccentric or peculiar person, markedly strange in appearance or behavior (sometimes confused with Teenagers). 

3. Project Zombie.

   a. a member of the project team whose behavior or responses towards the project are wooden, listless, or seemingly rote; automaton.

   b. a member of the project team who appears directionless or wandering but is attracted by noise and activity.

Zombies Today

Zombies are currently very popular in the media; in the past 18 months alone there have been 32 zombie films created (many of them B films, but a notable number featured in the mainstream theater circuit, and over 160 have been released since the start of 2009). I will admit, I have only seen a half dozen or so in the last few years but my favorites have to be Zombieland (2009) and Sean of the Dead (2004). Soulless re-animated bodies wanting to eat your brains? Sure. Running for your lives to reach a goal or sanctuary, keeping just ahead of the armies of the undead? You bet. However, both films introduce a quirky sense of humour that keeps them from being strictly hide-under-the-covers horror movies. 

Yearning for some piece of normality while you reload your shotgun? That overturned delivery truck just might contain a box of Twinkies.

What about Warm Bodies (2013), you ask? Well, certainly it was an enjoyable film and it had decent humour, but as most of the 'zombies' recovered simply from looking at a pretty girl, you have to wonder if they were true zombies, or if they were just temporarily heartbeat-challenged. On the other hand, the explanation they offered for eating brains was unique and somewhat enlightening. OK, so maybe we will add it to the list.

However, the cinematic undead aside, we have a much more serious problem in real life. Many of our projects suffer zombie outbreaks. They may not actually be undead or want to eat your brains, but they are zombies nonetheless. And even worse, they may be your fault.

 Listen to the podcast or read the full article on Gazza's Corner Blog. 

#032 - Sense, Sensibility and Perception: There's no accounting for Taste

A colleague of mine has no taste. None at all - either he lost it in early childhood or he never had it, he can't exactly remember. 

I am not being mean about his clothing or sense of style - I am being quite literal. His taste buds do not work at all. When he eats, there is only texture, no flavor. "Food is simply fuel" as he says it - there is no particular enjoyment to any particular food, just the satisfaction of no longer being hungry.

"How horrible," I thought, "to never be able to taste chocolate, fruit or delicious, exotic foods". 

And then a few years ago, as a side effect of some bug going around, I completely lost my sense of taste as well. Usually your sense of taste is diminished when you have a cold, as smell is a big part of the sensation. But it wasn't that - my taste buds actually stopped working completely - and the smell part of it went too. Nothing but texture was left - not even spicy food registered, other than some watering eyes.

Fortunately it only lasted around 4 weeks, but I can tell you I was worried it might not come back. Life without the taste of good food...and chocolate! Of course, I could imagine it very well as I was experiencing it first-hand, but I did not like the prospect of life without tasting. While I suffered the effects, food was definitely just fuel. No enjoyment at all.


I was thinking a lot about my colleague during that time - wondering if he missed it, or simply did not know what he was missing. 


Other friends or colleagues are color-blind, some red/green, some other mixes, and a rare few have strictly black and white vision. A few others are partially or entirely blind, either through accidents, disease or blind since birth. Countless others wear glasses, as I did until laser surgery - when I had reached the point where things were still a bit blurry at the "best" setting on the optician's fancy machine.


Some other friends and family are deaf, either mostly or partly - and my kids certainly have selective hearing when there are jobs to do around the house!

I have not come across anyone personally who has a diminished sense of touch, but I understand that there are many people with this condition as well.

When we are dealing with people, we never know exactly how they each experience the world - what their perspectives are - and not just with the physical senses. 


One thing that is undeniable, though, is that your perception of the world around you affects how you respond in any given situation - and it also affects your approach to projects and challenges.


Listen to the podcast, or read the full article on Gazza's Corner blog.   

#031 - New Year, New Project - Don't forget the PARTY!

Happy New Year - and welcome to your new project! 

The start of the calendar year often marks the start of new projects; the old year is done, the new year is fresh and full of potential. Everyone is rested from the break and raring to go...ok, perhaps recovering is the right word. However, it is still a great time of year to kick off new projects, with most people full of energy and optimism. Who knows - your New Year Resolution might even have been about your project. (Ya, right!)

Many people finished up the calendar year with a lot of social activities and parties; the closer you got to the end of the year it seems the less work was done, or at least it was harder to get work done. I know exactly how tough it was - I was in the first month of ramping up on a new project, looking for information, while everyone else was winding down from the year and starting to disappear on holiday.

Now it is a new year, people are returning from holiday, refreshed or recovering, in any case coming back to work to hit the ground running (or at least at a moderate walking pace).

So what do we need to do to get our new projects off on the right foot, to help make sure they are successful?

Quite simple, really. What we need is...a Project PARTY.

Listen to the podcast, or read the full article on Gazza's Corner blog.   

#030 - Working with Teams: Interview with Chris Cattaway

Today's interview is with with Chris Cattaway, an expert in building successful teams.

Chris's experience ranges from designing and project managing multi-million dollar telecommunications systems to leading disaster response teams in Africa and Asia. He is a PMP®, a Registered Prince 2 Practitioner, and graduated as an Otago (NZ) MBA in 2003. 

Recognizing that both hard and soft competencies are necessary for sustainable performance improvement he is also licensed and accredited to facilitate workshops using world-class psychometric typing systems. Using the Clarity4D model, Chris uses four "colour energies" - Red, Green, Blue and Red as a model for analyzing behavioral preferences and helping teams work together more effectively.

Through his business, Global Achievements, Chris works throughout the Asia-Pacific region and internationally, "envisioning and catalysing transformational change" through capacity building for individuals, teams and organisations, and programme management. 


Chris presented at the PMI New Zealand Annual Conference in Wellington in September 2012.

Join us and listen to Chris Cattaway as he discusses the four behavioural "Colour Energies" and learn why it is important to have a good colour mix on your project teams.


Chris Cattaway
http://www.galdac.com/Pages/ChrisCattaway.aspx
Twitter: @GALDAC

#029 - Pick Me! Pick Me! ...What is YOUR Essential Value Proposition?

When my father graduated from university and got his first job as an Electrical Engineer, his manager told him the following on his first day:

"Congratulations on earning your degree. But I want you to know the only thing it shows me is that you know how to learn."

My father was stunned. He had worked hard to get his degree over several long years; surely all of what he had learned counted for something! Engineering was a hard degree to get and covered a lot of knowledge areas in depth...what was his manager talking about?

For the manager, my father's value proposition was the potential for a future of great contributions to the company, based on his educational focus and demonstrated ability to learn complex things (provided he continued to apply himself and work hard, of course). To be sure, the company must have seen value or they would not have hired my father in the first place - but it was still a shock for him to hear that message on his first day.

My father didn't tell me what he was thinking before he entered the office, but that first meeting with his manager had a profound effect on him. I even believe it was a defining moment for him. It forced him to look forward - to what he could do with and for the company, rather than dwell on his prior accomplishments.

What you have done is not as important as what you will do next. The past only shows what you were capable of then; it merely lays the groundwork for what you might become on your journey.

Image licensed from Fotolia #45593398

For many of us, our value proposition is often quite different than what we think it is. In fact, our value is always defined more by the other person (the receiver of your services) than by you (the giver of the service).

They want to know what YOU can do for them, and how you can help them solve their needs and problems. This is your Value to them.
 
But there is much, much more to it than that...  


Listen to the podcast, or read the full article on Gazza's Corner blog.   

#028 - From the Playground to the Olympics: What NOT to do in Team Development

"I got here first!"

"No, I did!"

"Me!"

"No, me!"

I just got back from a three day school camp with my youngest son. We  went to new and interesting places each day, and everywhere we went, walking or driving, the adults were constantly serenaded by the same chorus when we arrived at each destination.

"I got here first!"

Somehow, it seemed vitally important to be the first one to arrive wherever we went, or at least it was if you were under 10 years old.

The playground is a useful place to hone skills and promote competition, but it is equally important to learn to work and compete together as a team.

Often, when children compete in teams, you will have individuals claiming they were the fastest in the team, and therefore they are the reason the team won - so really "they" won and the rest of the team's efforts did not matter. 

Unfortunately, some people never outgrow this. They are in constant competition with everyone else, even though the others may not even know there is a race going on. They may not say it out loud, but they likely feel a small satisfaction in reaching the traffic light first, so they can be ready to launch off again - first - as soon as it turns green.

Even as adults, some people within teams will promote their personal contributions to the detriment of the team - just like back on the playground, they believe that they (and themselves alone) are the real reason the team succeeded.

It is true that one person can make a difference.

It is also true that one person can help to bring a team together - or destroy it.

Fortunately, most people do outgrow these playground behaviors, and become great team players. There is hope!

Listen to the podcast, or read the full article on Gazza's Corner blog.   

#027 - Whole Brain Team Development: An Interview with Lynne Schinella

Today's interview is with Lynne Schinella, an expert on building “whole brain” organizations and teams.

Lynne Schinella is an authority on masterful communication in the 21st century.  She believes that at the heart of all great communication are 3 elements: empathy, understanding and respect for diversity. No stranger to these qualities, she discovered their great power early on in life. 

Before starting Schinella Incentives in 1991 and then Ripe Learning in 2001, Lynne worked at Qantas, Continental Airlines, UTA French Airlines, Hyatt and Radisson Hotels and experienced a wide range of cultures and religions rich in eclectic experience. She studied how the Tahitians, French and Chinese carved out an existence through respecting their differences when she lived in Tahiti for 3 years. Over the years, she has learned that the most successful teams are the most diverse, and able to acknowledge their differences and build on trust through their strengths.

Lynne’s workshops and keynotes have a strong message of understanding and celebrating our differences, whether personality, gender, culture, generation or anything else.

She is the author of Bite Me and other do's and dont's of dealing with our differences, but in front of an audience her real gift is in her practical down to earth approach, her willingness to be transparent and a talent for making the complex simple and relevant.

Join us and listen to Lynne Schinella as she discusses the four behavioural "fruit types" - Apple, Mango, Lime and Banana - and learn why it is so important that your teams are a "fruit salad".

Lynne Schinella
http://www.lynneschinella.com.au/about-lynne/
Twitter: @lynneschinella

#024 - Leadership: On Developing Teams - Are you alone on the Ice?

Alone on the ice, surrounded by mountains and snow in the darkness. The faintest sliver of moon is barely brighter than the thousands of stars overhead. A cold, clear sky on a windless night, -16C/3F outside. I am dressed warmly but a small shiver escapes me.

Feeling very, very small indeed.

I am standing in the middle of Lightning Lake, British Columbia, Canada. The light of the stars is bright enough for me to easily see the contrast of light and dark - brighter, actually than I thought it would be. An igloo stands a ways back, off to my left. 

I check my watch. Time to go in.

I turn and walk in silence, a hundred paces back the way I came - where I join the rest of the scout troop I am leading. They have retraced their own steps back to the circle.

Technically I was not really alone - however with everyone separated and facing away from each other, looking only at the sky, the lake and the mountains, it was very easy to imagine you were indeed alone out there.  

In absolute stillness.

We waited for the last few to join the circle and then we quietly shared observations of the experience. Most felt small, insignificant, alone in the vastness - but also not alone, either. They were not talking about the other members of the troop hundreds of feet from them - they were feeling small, but also part of their surroundings.  Maybe the start of a sense of belonging to nature, and a few did not feel as cold standing there as they did on the walk out onto the lake.

The interesting part of the whole exercise was that from being and feeling quite alone out on the ice, we walked back to camp with a deeper connection from the shared experience of being alone in the universe - together. And I am quite sure that each of them will remember the experience as long as they live.
...

There is no one prescribed way to build a team, but the common thread in all successful methods is in doing things together. Whether you are leading and developing the youth who will be the leaders of tomorrow, or working with already-grown-ups, the principle is the same.

Teams grow and bond (and sometimes break apart) through challenges and the shared experience of building or accomplishing things - together.

 Listen to the podcast, or read the full article on Gazza's Corner blog. 

#013 - Leadership: You Can't Get There From Here (or, How to get things done in spite of it all)

Attitude, they say - is everything. Well, almost.

Perspective is a pretty big player as well.

On a project early in my career, the system deployment involved a group of technicians racing around the country installing hardware in switching and transmission sites in cities as well as some pretty remote areas. One of the technicians made a wrong turn off the main highway on his way to the Picton ferry terminal to come back up to the North Island of New Zealand. Standing by the beautiful shoreline and trying to work out where he was on the map (no GPS back then), a friendly local offered him some assistance. 

"Where are you trying to get to?" the local asked. 

"The ferry terminal" my colleague replied.

"Ah, you can't get there from here." responded the local.

Sometimes, our projects are like that. You know what needs to be done, but you are not sure how to get there - and when you seek directions or guidance, you seem to hit a wall. People are not usually obstructing you on purpose - they might just not have a wide enough perspective to help you with the big picture.

Listen or read the full article on Gazza's Corner (www.gazzascorner.com)

Gary Nelson, PMP www.gazzaconsulting.com

#011 - Leadership: Working with Volunteers

Everybody knows you should "play nice" when you are working in an office together. If you don't get along, there is the polite smile, or taking another hallway when you see them coming. But you are all paid to work together to get things done, so unless you are ready to quit and work somewhere else, you do need to work things out so that the team somehow manages to function - or eventually one of you might find you are being shown the door.

A Different World - Volunteering

In the world of volunteering, this becomes a totally different situation. Nobody is paying you to be there. Sure the donuts and coffee might be ok, but the real reason that volunteers are there is because they want to be there - they want to contribute to some vision or goal and make a difference.

Listen or read the full article on Gazza's Corner (www.gazzascorner.com)

Gary Nelson, PMP www.gazzaconsulting.com

#005 - Leadership: Managing Virtual Teams

Ever managed a virtual team? Considering doing so, but not sure what to do, and how effective that team might be - and who should be in it? And what, exactly, is a "virtual team"?

I have been managing and working with virtual teams for the past 11 years. From an on-site project manager role working with on-site/off-site resources, to now managing a team in a mostly virtual context, this session addresses some of my experiences - and lessons learned - working with Virtual teams.

Listen or read the full article on Gazza's Corner (www.gazzascorner.com)

Gary Nelson, PMP www.gazzaconsulting.com

#001 - Leadership: Ten Attributes of an Effective Leader

No, it is not a myth. Many of us have actually seen this phenomenon, or even been lucky enough to work with an Effective Leader. If you were really lucky, they were also your manager/ team leader/ project manager etc.

Ok, to be fair, Effective Leadership is not quite that rare - but uncommon enough that people definitely appreciate it when they see it - and they wished they had it too.

Listen or read the full article in Gazza's Corner (www.gazzascorner.com)

Gary Nelson, PMP www.gazzaconsulting.com