Thoughts on building great teams, delivering results and becoming successful
Many students believe that with clarity, clear thinking, and good data, every CEO should be able to make strong, quick, and sensible decisions at any given moment. That is harder than many people think. Teaching the real complexity of CEO-level decisions comes from putting the students into the CEOs shoes. At least for a little … Read more
1) Leadership as influence, not position Two core definitions framed the second part of the lecture: Leadership = followers Leadership exists when people choose to follow. Authority alone does not create leadership. Leadership = influence Leadership is the ability to shape behavior, thinking, and direction of others. Nothing more, nothing less. Key implication: holding a … Read more
Think of the last time you had a really strong argument with someone. A real one. Not a polite disagreement. An emotionally burning fight. Raised voices. Maybe even shouting. Picture the sitution in your head. Precisely. Feel the emotion, the tension, the anger. Now imagine: In the next moment you say something. And your counterpart … Read more
When projects fail, we usually blame the usual suspects. timelines budgets technology requirements It feels comforting. Those things are tangible. They show up in PowerPoint. They can be escalated. What we hesitate to confront is the team. Not because the team did not work hard, but because the team dynamics quietly undermined everything else. The … Read more
1. Why leadership matters in projects Projects are structurally harder than line management: teams are temporary people often have not worked together before members come from different functional backgrounds time pressure is high authority is often indirect (matrix organization) A solid plan alone is not sufficient. People are the decisive factor. A strong team can … Read more
1. Team Roles: Why Composition Matters Team role model referenced as a nine-role system. No role “good” or “bad.” Capability to perform any role exists. Preference patterns exist and influence ease of contribution. Key message: Balanced role composition reduces blind spots. Role diversity supports planning quality, problem solving, and coordination. Practical implication: Role awareness supports … Read more
1. Why Structure Matters More Than Tools One of the most underestimated success factors in projects is structure. Structure determines clarity of responsibility, ownership boundaries, and interface definition between work packages. Failure rarely originates from lack of capability. Failure typically originates from unclear ownership caused by weak structure. 2. The Zoo Example: How Chaos Is … Read more
When people talk about project risk, they usually mean timelines, budgets, or technical dependencies. What they rarely mean are stakeholders. And yet, in real projects, stakeholder management is one of the most decisive success factors. Not because stakeholders write code or design processes, but because they shape the environment in which projects either move forward … Read more
Topic: Project Organization, Roles and Stakeholders 1. Why Organization Is the First Real Project Problem Most projects do not fail because the idea is wrong. They fail because nobody really thought through how the project is organized. Who is involved? Who decides? Who actually works on the tasks? Who can stop the project without being … Read more
Let’s start with a little challenge. Before you scroll further, look at the image below and count the number of times the letter F appears in the sentence. Take 5 seconds. Count carefully. (This is the actual slide I use in class) Ready? So, how many did you count? Three? Four? Five? Six? Almost every … Read more