Tag: project management skills

Pro tip of the week

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Cognitive diversity enables innovation, strengthens the sense of belonging and improves the performance of individuals and teams. Go with this mental set-up to the next team meeting, armed with good listening skills, and see what happens.

« AI and the Project Manager » by Peter Taylor

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Finally! The promised land of a project manager who is looking forward to enhancing own abilities, freeing the agenda of routine, necessary yet boring tasks, and, more importantly – finding ways of supporting decision-making process through forecasting and risk management. I can see clearly the many benefits an intelligent and ethical application of AI brings to my professional and personal life. With an estimated 80% of saving effort provided by AI, I will eventually find time to write that book I am thinking about.

One feature which distinguishes Peter’s books from the hundreds of books on project management is authenticity and unreserved sharing of own experience, with all its ups and downs of “the old and the wise”, delivered in a no-non-sense style. It responds to my brain’s need to learn from others. Another point of attraction for me is his very own perspectives on conceptual matters, such as, for instance, Actionable Information, for AI. I get that more than the widespread understanding of the acronym, especially if in your own language the word “intelligence” is void of the meanings it has in English.

The book is meant for reflective practitioners. Peter asks many important questions and invites us to stay inquisitive. After all, AI does not stay put. From a brief introduction and dismantling some myths surrounding AI, categories of AI into the core if it all – “people -centred AI”, each of us will find things to learn from and ponder on. Projects are about, by and for people, no doubts there.

And those afraid of or resisting AI should remember this: “The danger of artificial intelligence isn’t that it’s going to rebel against us, but that it’s going to do exactly what we ask it to do” (Janelle Shane).

My main take away: Stay calm, learn to benefit from AI and help people thrive! Thanks, Peter! So, when is a legacy sequel coming up?

Thank you 2021!

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I wrote my Winter Holidays messages to friends, colleagues and partners in a heartbeat.

It was coming from my heart.

I was only sorry I could not write individual cards this year. It would have taken me hours as the list of recipients this year is, thankfully, long. Longer than usual.

And there was something in common in all – the gratitude.

Gratitude for enriching my professional life with

amazing new milestones,

lasting and growing networks,

seeing through troubles and recoveries for myself and others,

inspiration beyond imaginable,

results and failures turned into pure learning,

humility from learning,

perpetuating meaningful causes,

continuing to keep us in a constant chain of changes,

for reminders to stay faithful to relationships regardless of the changes to procedures or to plans,

for bringing our resilience as individuals and as teams to a new level,

for my new colleagues, teams and partners,

for revived relationships,

mutual trust on the critical path,

the most precious prize of “The most active Secret Santa” and

simple human gestures.

I embrace it all and look forward to more

with gratitude.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

“The presentation secrets of Steve Jobs” by Carmine Gallo

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I like books which make me think, books that help me move on the path I choose. Books that bring out the best of my inquisitive instincts. “The presentation secrets of Steve Jobs” is such a book. It is loaded with unpacked and ready to use techniques of the best CEO of the times we are living in.

I believe each project manager is a CEO, by roles, if not by definition. It is one of our roles to come forth in front of various audiences of teams, stakeholders, sponsors. If you want to learn Jobs’ secrets behind being “insanely great in front of any audience” then you may want to read this book. If you’d like, you can do your own research into it. Only if you want to. Otherwise, Gallo did it for us. He unpacked Jobs’ magic in tiny bits to absorb with ease.

Gallo takes the reader through 18 scenes divided between 3 acts on Create the story, Deliver the experience, Refine and rehearse. In each act, there are doors and passages to simple, yet amazing techniques to apply in presenting to any audience. He highlights the basics of preparations and unveils what I see as the essence of it all: talk about things you are passionate about; rehearse, rehearse, rehearse; and be authentic.