Thoughts on building great teams, delivering results and becoming successful
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
And why nobody talks about the first ten days.Preparation decides everything — in surgery as well as in projects. Most people believe projects fail at the end.When deadlines slip.When budgets explode.When coordination collapses.When everyone is frustrated. But the truth is different, and far more uncomfortable: Projects do not fail in month six.They fail in week … Read more
One of the most important skills to be developed during anyone’s career is the ability to make things happen. When explaining at university what I believe is the basis for good management, I usually start talking about DRIVE and BARBECUEs. THE BARBECUE! We all know this, we have all seen this. Imagine you are hanging … Read more
If you don’t know where you are going, no route will take you there. (Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland, 1865) Without defining what is to be achieved, efforts can’t be coordinated and success becomes impossible, both for individuals and for organisations. As one of the most influential managers in Silicon Valley and the 1997 Time … Read more
Effective work follows principles which are even more important when working remotely. Since almost 3 months I’m working from home now. Although it felt strange at the beginning, I really got used to it by now. As additional handicap this new home-office experience came along with being at home while also everyone else was at … Read more
Knowing who is doing what is a prerequisite to implement change. Organisations will always try to evolve their business by enhancing, improving or widening their line of products, services and channels, by redesigning their processes or by starting completely new lines of business or partnerships. The way to implement those changes is to execute projects. … Read more
You can’t manage the zebra without structure. Without good structure, work can’t get done, communication fails, and organisations become ineffective. The importance of structure can’t be overstated. If you run a project, if you manage an organisation, or if you simply want to communicate in a way that your audience actually understands, not following a … Read more
Organisational debt is lack of structure evolving around individuals. Organisational debt is one of the hardest things to straighten out in an organisation. It’s very similar, and just as hard to cure, as its sibling “technical debt”. Technical debt Technical debt is a phrase originally coined by software developer Ward Cunningham. Wikipedia defines it as … Read more
You can’t manage time. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever. Time is the only thing in life that refuses to be negotiated. Every single day is delivered with exactly 24 hours. Not 24 hours and 17 minutes because you are stressed. Not 26 hours because you honestly tried your best. And not 23 hours because … Read more
The right language is key to reaching the largest number of people. As you have seen I chose to write this blog in English. This decision was not explicitly easy for me. Not because of having any preference in writing. By now, English is even easier for me. But mostly because I wanted to be … Read more