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Project Management

Project Management
Assembled by Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD | Applies to nonprofits and for-profits unless noted Leaders Circles peer-training/coaching groups (nonprofits) | Authenticity Circles peertraining/coaching (for-profits) First-timers | Library home page | Library index of topics | Contact us

Project management is a carefully planned and organized effort to accomplish a specific (and usually) one-time effort, for example, construct a building or implement a new computer system. Project management includes developing a project plan, which includes defining project goals and objectives, specifying tasks or how goals will be achieved, what resources are need, and associating budgets and timelines for completion. It also includes implementing the project plan, along with careful controls to stay on the "critical path", that is, to ensure the plan is being managed according to plan. Project management usually follows major phases (with various titles for these phases), including feasibility study, project planning, implementation, evaluation and support/maintenance. (Program planning is usually of a broader scope than project planning, but not always.)

Categories of information include
Overviews of Project Management Useful Skills -- Team Building and Group Leadership General Resources Related Library Links (including many other types of planning) On-Line Discussion Groups

Various Perspectives
What is Project Management? Overview and Brief Description of Project Management Aspects Planning a Project The Laws of Project Management Project Planning Project Cycle Management Project Management Productivity Checklist Framework for Managing Process Improvement

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Team Building and Group Leadership
There are certain skills to have when conducting project management. It's best to have a team of planners when doing project planning. Therefore, it's important to have skills in forming, leading and facilitating groups. The following information will help you develop these skills. Team Building Leadership (Introduction) Meeting Management Facilitating in Face-to-Face Groups Group-Based Problem Solving and Decision Making Conflict Management (this topic provides basics in managing conflict in groups)

General Resources
Project Management Glossary management tools and articles Michael Greer's Project Management Resources International Project Management Help Desk Project managers resource center Project Management Institute(PMI) Project Management Institute communications center Commercial Solutions Reading Room Leadership Knowledge Base: Information to Improve Your Leadership Skills. Project management training, project management books, free project templates, project Project Manager's Control Tower

Related Library Links
Basic Research Methods Business Planning Chaos Theory Controlling / Coordinating the Implementation of Plans Creativity and Innovation Decision Making Finances and Accounting (For-Profit)

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Finances and Accounting (Nonprofit) General Planning Process Guidelines for Successful Planning Management by Objectives Marketing Organizational Change Organizing Resources to Implement Plans Performance Management (generic) Planning (includes numerous types of planning) Problem Solving Program Management Strategic Planning Systems Thinking

On-Line Discussion Groups
ODNET about organization development and change HRNET about human resources TRDEV about training and development Liszt: MG-ED-DV Liszt: JustInTimeCoaching Interesting Listservs and their usage List of HR Newsgroups and On-Line Discussion Groups HR Systems Forum Liszt: pmnet Additional Groups for Nonprofits Project Management discussion group PM-Talk

Used by The Management Assistance Program for Nonprofits

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2233 University Avenue West, Suite 360 St. Paul, Minnesota 55114 (651) 647-1216 With permission from Carter McNamara, PhD, Copyright 1999 Library and its contents are not to be used to generate profits [MAP Home Page] [Library Home Page] Reprint permission

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PROJECTNET - THE WORLD OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT
The ProjectNet project management resource site brought to you by Project Manager Today magazine - the UK's leading project management monthly. This site will soon be changing to give you more information plus on-line subscription and booking for events, so bookmark this page now. The leading magazine for project managers in all industries since 1989.

Click on the icons in this page below for more information

Subscription details
Click on Project Manager Today logo for subscription details, free sample copy, and our Article of the month

NEWS
NEW SITE NOW LIVE
The new Project Manager Today web site went live on Monday, 18th March. You can now subscribe, buy our books on-line and download past software reviews. New facilities will be added over coming weeks. Go now to pmtoday.co.uk This site will remain live but new material will only appear on the new site.

Contents
To review contents of issues and software reviews click on bookshelf

Job finder
Click on the icon for more details now.

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Events

Managing Smaller Projects

- - over 2000 copies sold Mike Watson's book is a practical, easyto-understand guide to managing small projects. review click on cover

If you have the book and want the forms click here

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Are you managing programmes?
Then you need John Bartlett's book 'Managing Programmes of Business Change'. This handbook sets out the practical steps that lead to success in programme management. Further details go to
bartlett.htm

Bibliography you can order some books direct

About the Worldwide project management associations

Case studies

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Click icon for feedback email:
The ProjectNet site is devoted to project management and incorporates Project Manager Today Project Manager Today . All aspects of this site and information contained herein is copyright Larchdrift Projects Ltd & Project Manager Today 2001.

© Copyright 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 Larchdrift Projects Ltd Created: 18 March 1996 This page Last Updated: February 2001

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Project-Manager's Map Page

INDUSTRIAL PROJECTMANAGEMENT:
THE MAP PAGE
You are now starting out on the INDUSTRIAL version of PROJECTMANAGER. Being called upon to spearhead an industrial project is one of the most exciting ventures around, whether you are doing it for yourself, your employer, or some third-party organization. Throughout your visit you will find tips to help you plan, implement and complete your project. You also have access to the PRODUCT DEPOTS to help you source equipment and services. If you wish, you may bypass the tour and go straight to the PRODUCT DEPOTS, now. Below is an image map that displays how Industrial PROJECTMANAGER is structured. The numbers are keyed to a contents list which follows the map. You can navigate the site by clicking the highlighted subject areas of the contents list, or by clicking the map. SKIP TO CONTENTS LIST

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Here are the contents of industrial PROJECT-MANAGER with a brief description of each. The number in front keys to the map above; the number at the end indicates the number of sections (i.e. links). 1.0) INFRASTRUCTURE: If there is a new facility or location in the plans, here are some hints on where to go (1). 2.0) MANAGEMENT ISSUES: Your guide to planning and implementing a successful project, on time, within budget, and to the required quality level (11). 3.0) PERSONAL SKILLS: Here's where you can assess your skills along with pointers to strengthening some key ones (1). 4.0) SOFTWARE: All sorts of software packages are out there to help you. Here are highlights of some of them and the basis for selection (4). 5.0) HARDWARE: Equipment is categorized as shown below. Each category also links to a PRODUCT DEPOT where you can source supplies, equipment and services. 5.1) MANUFACTURING EQUIPMENT, including machining 5.2) ASSEMBLY EQUIPMENT, including fastening 5.3) FABRICATION EQUIPMENT, including welding 5.4) MATERIAL HANDLING EQUIPMENT, including logistics 5.5) AUTOMATIC IDENTIFICATION EQUIPMENT, including bar coding 5.6) PACKAGING EQUIPMENT, including equipment for individual items and for loads 5.7) PROCESSING EQUIPMENT, including controlling, batching and blending 5.8) SAFETY & SECURITY EQUIPMENT, including personal safety devices.

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6.0) TROUBLESHOOTING: What to do when things go wrong (1). 7.0) THE MEETING PLACE: This is your own on-site opportunity to post questions, invite assistance, and offer help to fellow project-managers (variable content). 8.0) EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES: If you are looking for a job in industry or seek someone with specific skills, stop by here (variable content). 9.0) OTHER LINKS & RESOURCES: There are conferences, courses, books, trade shows and consultants who can help. Here are details on all of them (up to 8). Again, don't worry about getting lost. From this point on all pages are hot-linked to PRO-MAN'S GUIDE and to this page (THE MAP PAGE).

Editorial contributions and ideas for the Project-Manager site are encouraged from practitioners and experts, in all areas of project management. Companies who wish to promote products and services are welcome to contact the webmaster at Project-Manager.com. - © WMB Publishing Inc, Toronto, 1996 -

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Project Planning

PLANNING A PROJECT
by Gerard M Blair
The success of a project will depend critically upon the effort, care and skill you apply in its initial planning. This article looks at the creative aspects of this planning.

THE SPECIFICATION
Before describing the role and creation of a specification, we need to introduce and explain a fairly technical term: a numbty is a person whose brain is totally numb. In this context, numb means "deprived of feeling or the power of unassisted activity"; in general, a numbty needs the stimulation of an electric cattle prod to even get to the right office in the morning. Communication with numbties is severely hampered by the fact that although they think they know what they mean (which they do not), they seldom actually say it, and they never write it down. And the main employment of numbties world-wide is in creating project specifications. You must know this - and protect your team accordingly. A specification is the definition of your project: a statement of the problem, not the solution. Normally, the specification contains errors, ambiguities, misunderstandings and enough rope to hang you and your entire team. Thus before you embark upon the the next six months of activity working on the wrong project, you must assume that a numbty was the chief author of the specification you received and you must read, worry, revise and ensure that everyone concerned with the project (from originator, through the workers, to the end-customer) is working with the same understanding. The outcome of this deliberation should be a written definition of what is required, by when; and this must be agreed by all involved. There are no short-cuts to this; if you fail to spend the time initially, it will cost you far more later on. The agreement upon a written specification has several benefits:
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the clarity will reveal misunderstandings

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q q

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the completeness will remove contradictory assumptions the rigour of the analysis will expose technical and practical details which numbties normally gloss over through ignorance or fear the agreement forces all concerned to actually read and think about the details

The work on the specification can seen as the first stage of Quality Assurance since you are looking for and countering problems in the very foundation of the project from this perspective the creation of the specification clearly merits a large investment of time. From a purely defensive point of view, the agreed specification also affords you protection against the numbties who have second thoughts, or new ideas, half way through the project. Once the project is underway, changes cost time (and money). The existence of a demonstrably-agreed specification enables you to resist or to charge for (possibly in terms of extra time) such changes. Further, people tend to forget what they originally thought; you may need proof that you have been working as instructed. The places to look for errors in a specification are:
q

the global context: numbties often focus too narrowly on the work of one team and fail to consider how it fits into the larger picture. Some of the work given to you may actually be undone or duplicated by others. Some of the proposed work may be incompatible with that of others; it might be just plain barmy in the larger context. the interfaces: between your team and both its customers and suppliers, there are interfaces. At these points something gets transferred. Exactly what, how and when should be discussed and agreed from the very beginning. Never assume a common understanding, because you will be wrong. All it takes for your habitual understandings to evaporate is the arrival of one new member, in either of the teams. Define and agree your interfaces and maintain a friendly contact throughout the project. time-scales: numbties always underestimate the time involved for work. If there are no time-scales in the specification, you can assume that one will

q

q

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be imposed upon you (which will be impossible). You must add realistic dates. The detail should include a precise understanding of the extent of any intermediate stages of the task, particularly those which have to be delivered.
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external dependencies: your work may depend upon that of others. Make this very clear so that these people too will receive warning of your needs. Highlight the effect that problems with these would have upon your project so that everyone is quite clear about their importance. To be sure, contact these people yourself and ask if they are able to fulfil the assumptions in your specification. resources: the numbty tends to ignore resources. The specification should identify the materials, equipment and manpower which are needed for the project. The agreement should include a commitment by your managers to allocate or to fund them. You should check that the actual numbers are practical and/or correct. If they are omitted, add them - there is bound to be differences in their assumed values.

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This seems to make the specification sound like a long document. It should not be. Each of the above could be a simple sub-heading followed by either bullet points or a table - you are not writing a brochure, you are stating the definition of the project in clear, concise and unambiguous glory. Of course, the specification may change. If circumstances, or simply your knowledge, change then the specification will be out of date. You should not regard it as cast in stone but rather as a display board where everyone involved can see the current, common understanding of the project. If you change the content everyone must know, but do not hesitate to change it as necessary.

PROVIDING STRUCTURE
Having decide what the specification intends, your next problem is to decide what you and your team actually need to do, and how to do it. As a manager, you have to provide some form of framework both to plan and to communicate what needs doing. Without a structure, the work is a series of unrelated tasks which provides little sense of achievement and no feeling of advancement. If the team has no grasp

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of how individual tasks fit together towards an understood goal, then the work will seem pointless and they will feel only frustration. To take the planning forward, therefore, you need to turn the specification into a complete set of tasks with a linking structure. Fortunately, these two requirements are met at the same time since the derivation of such a structure is the simplest method of arriving at a list of tasks. Work Breakdown Structure Once you have a clear understanding of the project, and have eliminated the vagaries of the numbties, you then describe it as a set of simpler separate activities. If any of these are still too complex for you to easily organise, you break them down also into another level of simpler descriptions, and so on until you can manage everything. Thus your one complex project is organised as a set of simple tasks which together achieve the desired result. The reasoning behind this is that the human brain (even yours) can only take in and process so much information at one time. To get a real grasp of the project, you have to think about it in pieces rather than trying to process the complexity of its entire details all at once. Thus each level of the project can be understood as the amalgamation of a few simply described smaller units. In planning any project, you follow the same simple steps: if an item is too complicated to manage, it becomes a list of simpler items. People call this producing a work breakdown structure to make it sound more formal and impressive. Without following this formal approach you are unlikely to remember all the niggling little details; with this procedure, the details are simply displayed on the final lists. One common fault is to produce too much detail at the initial planning stage. You should be stop when you have a sufficient description of the activity to provide a clear instruction for the person who will actually do the work, and to have a reasonable estimate for the total time/effort involved. You need the former to allocate (or delegate) the task; you need the latter to finish the planning. Task Allocation

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The next stage is a little complicated. You now have to allocate the tasks to different people in the team and, at the same time, order these tasks so that they are performed in a sensible sequence. Task allocation is not simply a case of handing out the various tasks on your final lists to the people you have available; it is far more subtle (and powerful) than that. As a manager you have to look far beyond the single project; indeed any individual project can be seen as merely a single step in your team's development. The allocation of tasks should thus be seen as a means of increasing the skills and experience of your team - when the project is done, the team should have gained. In simple terms, consider what each member of your team is capable of and allocate sufficient complexity of tasks to match that (and to slightly stretch). The tasks you allocate are not the ones on your finals lists, they are adapted to better suit the needs of your team's development; tasks are moulded to fit people, which is far more effective than the other way around. For example, if Arthur is to learn something new, the task may be simplified with responsibility given to another to guide and check the work; if Brenda is to develop, sufficient tasks are combined so that her responsibility increases beyond what she has held before; if Colin lacks confidence, the tasks are broken into smaller units which can be completed (and commended) frequently. Sometimes tasks can be grouped and allocated together. For instance, some tasks which are seemingly independent may benefit from being done together since they use common ideas, information, talents. One person doing them both removes the start-up time for one of them; two people (one on each) will be able to help each other. The ordering of the tasks is really quite simple, although you may find that sketching a sequence diagram helps you to think it through (and to communicate the result). Pert charts are the accepted outcome, but sketches will suffice. Getting the details exactly right, however, can be a long and painful process, and often it can be futile. The degree to which you can predict the future is limited, so too should be the detail of your planning. You must have the broad outlines by which to monitor progress, and sufficient detail to assign each task when it needs to be started, but beyond that - stop and do something useful instead.

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Guesstimation At the initial planning stage the main objective is to get a realistic estimate of the time involved in the project. You must establish this not only to assist higher management with their planning, but also to protect your team from being expected to do the impossible. The most important technique for achieving this is known as: guesstimation. Guesstimating schedules is notoriously difficult but it is helped by two approaches:
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make your guesstimates of the simple tasks at the bottom of the work break down structure and look for the longest path through the sequence diagram use the experience from previous projects to improve your guesstimating skills

The corollary to this is that you should keep records in an easily accessible form of all projects as you do them. Part of your final project review should be to update your personal data base of how long various activities take. Managing this planning phase is vital to your success as a manager. Some people find guesstimating a difficult concept in that if you have no experience of an activity, how can you make a worthwhile estimate? Let us consider such a problem: how long would it take you to walk all the way to the top of the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty? Presuming you have never actually tried this (most people take the elevator part of the way), you really have very little to go on. Indeed if you have actually seen one (and only one) of these buildings, think about the other. Your job depends upon this, so think carefully. One idea is to start with the number of steps - guess that if you can. Notice, you do not have to be right, merely reasonable. Next, consider the sort of pace you could maintain while climbing a flight of steps for a long time. Now imagine yourself at the base of a flight of steps you do know, and estimate a) how many steps there are, and b) how long it takes you to climb them (at that steady pace). To complete, apply a little mathematics. Now examine how confident you are with this estimate. If you won a free flight to Paris or New York and tried it, you would probably (need your head examined) be mildly surprised if you climbed to the top in less than half the estimated time and if

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it took you more than double you would be mildly annoyed. If it took you less than a tenth the time, or ten times as long, you would extremely surprised/annoyed. In fact, you do not currently believe that that would happen (no really, do you?). The point is that from very little experience of the given problem, you can actually come up with a working estimate - and one which is far better than no estimate at all when it comes to deriving a schedule. Guesstimating does take a little practice, but it is a very useful skill to develop. There are two practical problems in guesstimation. First, you are simply too optimistic. It is human nature at the beginning of a new project to ignore the difficulties and assume best case scenarii - in producing your estimates (and using those of others) you must inject a little realism. In practice, you should also buildin a little slack to allow yourself some tolerance against mistakes. This is known as defensive scheduling. Also, if you eventually deliver ahead of the agreed schedule, you will be loved. Second, you will be under pressure from senior management to deliver quickly, especially if the project is being sold competitively. Resist the temptation to rely upon speed as the only selling point. You might, for instance, suggest the criteria of: fewer errors, history of adherence to initial schedules, previous customer satisfaction, "this is how long it takes, so how can you trust the other quotes".

ESTABLISHING CONTROLS
When the planning phase is over (and agreed), the "doing" phase begins. Once it is in motion, a project acquires a direction and momentum which is totally independent of anything you predicted. If you come to terms with that from the start, you can then enjoy the roller-coaster which follows. To gain some hope, however, you need to establish at the start (within the plan) the means to monitor and to influence the project's progress. There are two key elements to the control of a project
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milestones (clear, unambiguous targets of what, by when) established means of communication

For you, the milestones are a mechanism to monitor progress; for your team, they

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are short-term goals which are far more tangible than the foggy, distant completion of the entire project. The milestones maintain the momentum and encourage effort; they allow the team to judge their own progress and to celebrate achievement throughout the project rather than just at its end. The simplest way to construct milestones is to take the timing information from the work breakdown structure and sequence diagram. When you have guesstimated how long each sub-task will take and have strung them together, you can identify by when each of these tasks will actually be completed. This is simple and effective; however, it lacks creativity. A second method is to construct more significant milestones. These can be found by identify stages in the development of a project which are recognisable as steps towards the final product. Sometimes these are simply the higher levels of your structure; for instance, the completion of a market-evaluation phase. Sometimes, they cut across many parallel activities; for instance, a prototype of the eventual product or a mock-up of the new brochure format. If you are running parallel activities, this type of milestone is particularly useful since it provides a means of pulling together the people on disparate activities, and so:
q q q q

q

q

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they all have a shared goal (the common milestone) their responsibility to (and dependence upon) each other is emphasised each can provide a new (but informed) viewpoint on the others' work the problems to do with combining the different activities are highlighted and discussed early in the implementation phase you have something tangible which senior management (and numbties) can recognise as progress you have something tangible which your team can celebrate and which constitutes a short-term goal in a possibly long-term project it provides an excellent opportunity for quality checking and for review

Of course, there are milestones and there are mill-stones. You will have to be sensitive to any belief that working for some specific milestone is hindering rather than helping the work forward. If this arises then either you have chosen the wrong milestone, or you have failed to communicate how it fits into the broader structure.

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Communication is your everything. To monitor progress, to receive early warning of danger, to promote cooperation, to motivate through team involvement, all of these rely upon communication. Regular reports are invaluable - if you clearly define what information is needed and if teach your team how to provided it in a rapidly accessible form. Often these reports merely say "progressing according to schedule". These you send back, for while the message is desired the evidence is missing: you need to insist that your team monitor their own progress with concrete, tangible, measurements and if this is done, the figures should be included in the report. However, the real value of this practice comes when progress is not according to schedule - then your communication system is worth all the effort you invested in its planning.

THE ARTISTRY IN PLANNING
At the planning stage, you can deal with far more than the mere project at hand. You can also shape the overall pattern of your team's working using the division and type of activities you assign. Who know best? Ask your team. They too must be involved in the planning of projects, especially in the lower levels of the work breakdown structure. Not only will they provide information and ideas, but also they will feel ownership in the final plan. This does not mean that your projects should be planned by committee - rather that you, as manager, plan the project based upon all the available experience and creative ideas. As an initial approach, you could attempt the first level(s) of the work breakdown structure to help you communicate the project to the team and then ask for comments. Then, using these, the final levels could be refined by the people to whom the tasks will be allocated. However, since the specification is so vital, all the team should vet the penultimate draft. Dangers in review There are two pitfalls to avoid in project reviews:
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they can be too frequent

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they can be too drastic

The constant trickle of new information can lead to a vicious cycle of planning and revising which shakes the team's confidence in any particular version of the plan and which destroys the very stability which the structure was designed to provide. You must decide the balance. Pick a point on the horizon and walk confidently towards it. Decide objectively, and explain beforehand, when the review phases will occur and make this a scheduled milestone in itself. Even though the situation may have changed since the last review, it is important to recognise the work which has been accomplished during the interim. Firstly, you do not want to abandon it since the team will be demotivated feeling that they have achieved nothing. Secondly, this work itself is part of the new situation: it has been done, it should provide a foundation for the next step or at least the basis of a lesson well learnt. Always try to build upon the existing achievements of your team. Testing and Quality No plan is complete without explicit provision for testing and quality. As a wise manager, you will know that this should be part of each individual phase of the project. This means that no activity is completed until it has passed the (objectively) defined criteria which establishes its quality, and these are best defined (objectively) at the beginning as part of the planning. When devising the schedule therefore you must include allocated time for this part of each activity. Thus your question is not only: "how long will it take", but also: "how long will the testing take". By asking both questions together you raise the issue of "how do we know we have done it right" at the very beginning and so the testing is more likely to be done in parallel with the implementation. You establish this philosophy for your team by include testing as a justified (required) cost. Fitness for purpose Another reason for stating the testing criteria at the beginning is that you can avoid futile quests for perfection. If you have motivated your team well, they will each take pride in their work and want to do the best job possible. Often this means

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polishing their work until is shines; often this wastes time. If it clear at the onset exactly what is needed, then they are more likely to stop when that has been achieved. You need to avoid generalities and to stipulate boundaries; not easy, but essential. The same is also true when choosing the tools or building-blocks of your project. While it might be nice to have use of the most modern versions, or to develop an exact match to your needs; often there is an old/existing version which will serve almost as well (sufficient for the purpose), and the difference is not worth the time you would need to invest in obtaining or developing the new one. Use what is available whenever possible unless the difference in the new version is worth the time, money and the initial, teething pains. A related idea is that you should discourage too much effort on aspects of the project which are idiosyncratic to that one job. In the specification phase, you might try to eliminate these through negotiation with the customer; in the implementation phase you might leave these parts until last. The reason for this advice is that a general piece of work can be tailored to many specific instances; thus, if the work is in a general form, you will be able to rapidly re-use it for other projects. On the other hand, if you produce something which is cut to fit exactly one specific case, you may have to repeat the work entirely even though the next project is fairly similar. At the planning phase, a manager should bare in mind the future and the long-term development of the team as well as the requirements of the current project. Fighting for time As a manager, you have to regulate the pressure and work load which is imposed upon your team; you must protect them from the unreasonable demands of the rest of the company. Once you have arrived at what you consider to be a realistic schedule, fight for it. Never let the outside world deflect you from what you know to be practical. If they impose a deadline upon you which is impossible, clearly state this and give your reasons. You will need to give some room for compromise, however, since a flat NO will be seen as obstructive. Since you want to help the company, you should look for alternative positions. You could offer a prototype service or product at an earlier date. This might, in some cases, be sufficient for the customer to start the next stage of his/her own

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project on the understanding that your project would be completed at a later date and the final version would then replace the prototype. The complexity of the product, or the total number of units, might be reduced. This might, in some cases, be sufficient for the customer's immediate needs. Future enhancements or more units would then be the subject of a subsequent negotiation which, you feel, would be likely to succeed since you will have already demonstrate your ability to deliver on time. You can show on an alternative schedule that the project could be delivered by the deadline if certain (specified) resources are given to you or if other projects are rescheduled. Thus, you provide a clear picture of the situation and a possible solution; it is up to your manager then how he/she proceeds. Planning for error The most common error in planning is to assume that there will be no errors in the implementation: in effect, the schedule is derived on the basis of "if nothing goes wrong, this will take ...". Of course, recognising that errors will occur is the reason for implementing a monitoring strategy on the project. Thus when the inevitable does happen, you can react and adapt the plan to compensate. However, by carefully considering errors in advance you can make changes to the original plan to enhance its tolerance. Quite simply, your planning should include time where you stand back from the design and ask: "what can go wrong?"; indeed, this is an excellent way of asking your team for their analysis of your plan. You can try to predict where the errors will occur. By examining the activities' list you can usually pinpoint some activities which are risky (for instance, those involving new equipment) and those which are quite secure (for instance, those your team has done often before). The risky areas might then be given a less stringent time-scale - actually planning-in time for the mistakes. Another possibility is to apply a different strategy, or more resources, to such activities to minimise the disruption. For instance, you could include training or consultancy for new equipment, or you might parallel the work with the foundation of a fallback position. Post-mortem

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At the end of any project, you should allocate time to reviewing the lessons and information on both the work itself and the management of that work: an open meeting, with open discussion, with the whole team and all customers and suppliers. If you think that this might be thought a waste of time by your own manager, think of the effect it will have on future communications with your customers and suppliers.

PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE
With all these considerations in merely the "planning" stage of a project, it is perhaps surprising that projects get done at all. In fact projects do get done, but seldom in the predicted manner and often as much by brute force as by careful planning. The point, however, is that this method is non-optimal. Customers feel let down by late delivery, staff are demotivated by constant pressure for impossible goals, corners get cut which harm your reputation, and each project has to overcome the same problems as the last. With planning, projects can run on time and interact effectively with both customers and suppliers. Everyone involved understands what is wanted and emerging problems are seen (and dealt with) long before they cause damage. If you want your projects to run this way - then you must invest time in planning. Gerard M Blair is a Senior Lecturer in VLSI Design at the Department of Electrical Engineering, The University of Edinburgh. His book Starting to Manage: the essential skills is published by Chartwell-Bratt (UK) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (USA). He welcomes feedback either by email ([email protected]) or by any other method found here

Links to more of my articles on Management Skills can be found here

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Project Cycle Management

Introduction

Analysis

Vision

Personal Development

Open Space

Future Search

Literature

System Thinking

Creative Planning

Teamwork & Communication

Clienting

Project Cycle Management

Links

The Author

International Training Camp "Essential Consulting Skills" November 24-30,2002 in Germany

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Project Cycle Management (PCM) New Project Management Tools or Recycled Approaches from Yesterday?
by Holger Nauheimer published in : AT-Forum, No. 9, 1997

Since recently, a rumor trickles through the scene, which sounds like: "GTZ replaces ZOPP through PCM!", and: "PCM is nothing else than ZOPP − old vine in new bottles!" Both statements are principally wrong but bear - like all rumors - a true core. So, what's that all about? In the middle of the eighties, GTZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit) - the main agency for execution of the Technical Collaboration of the German Government, introduced a standardized project planning method. This method consisted of consecutive steps for appraisal, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of projects. This steps were mediated and facilitated by a planning tool that was called ZOPP (Zielorientierte Projektplanung - Objectives Oriented Project Planning). The ZOPP was meant to structure the planning approach into stakeholders analysis, problem analysis, objectives and alternatives analysis and into the project planning matrix (PPM), also known as Logical Framework Approach. The planning procedure was formalized, and a series of planning workshops were made obligatory for the live cycle of every project. Soon after introduction of ZOPP everybody mistook the workshops with the method without considering the ZOPP as a flexible tool, but as a rigidly structured 3-days or 5-days seminar that started with the participation analysis and ended with the formulation of indicators and assumptions. During the last ten years, many GTZ advisors and consultants working for GTZ got acquainted with the ZOPP workshop approach; and the monitoring and reporting system was totally adapted to the outcome of the workshop. If a project failed to achieve its planned results, blame could be placed on the external assumptions which had not be met. Nevertheless, since the introduction of ZOPP, critique had never stopped, and at the beginning of the nineties, time was due for a change.

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The GTZ recently has introduced a new concept of project management that might have significant consequences for the work of consultants, and which could change the general approach to project planning and implementation. It followed the earlier step of the European Union. This concept which received the label "Project Cycle Management" (PCM) aims at initiating not less than a paradigm shift for the comprehension of "technical assistance" and should not leave anybody untouched of those who deal with development assistance. The PCM concept incorporates the application of project planning and appraisal tools like ZOPP, PRA (Participatory Rural Appraisal), gender-analysis and others. These tools are not replaced by PCM but put into a flexible context of a planning cycle. The core of the philosophy of Project Cycle Management is based on the principle that the initiative for a technical cooperation project must be born from a self-help development process, in which only the genuine actors, are involved.

Only if the actors are unable to effect the transfer from the present problem state to the desired state, a national governmental or non-governmental organization might interfere and assist the process for a limited period of time. This is called a project. Only if the national organization of the partner country is short of the required skills and inputs for

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the project, the German government might interfere and support the project through technical assistance. A project supported by GTZ always is mediated by the partner organization to the beneficiaries. This philosophy is not new. In fact it has been the official language of German development policy for the last twenty years, but new is that the GTZ has put it into the focus of the attention. In the past and in the present, projects in most cases have been strongly influenced by the perception of German experts. Official programmes called for participation of beneficiaries, and new tools were introduced that seemed to secure involvement of target groups. However, participation was often reduced to a symbolic application of participatory rural appraisal (PRA). The validity and the applicability of this method often was not related to the context but used as a blueprint approach. There is a constant inherited conflict that runs through nearly all projects: target groups and partner organizations often, if not mostly have a different perception of projects, different desires, different technical concepts. If partner organizations would plan projects on their own, those would look different. UNDP has already introduced its new concept of "national execution" of projects. I had the opportunity to observe such a project in Thailand, which was, among other components, to support small-scale milk production. The project had highest support − the king of Thailand himself. Although officially it was called a "poverty alleviation project", the main rationale was to reduce the Thai dependency on imports of dairy products. Therefore the project was not questioned for a long time. Through heavy subsidizes to feedstuffs, extension, animal health services, and credits, production was economically feasible for a period of time. However, the high performance breeds introduced were not adopted to the extreme climate and the restricted feeding during the long dry season; their milk yield was sub-optimum. Finally, the prices for concentrate feeds which were constantly rising, exceeded the limit that allowed feasible production. Farmers who in the past were either forced or attracted through the subsidies started to protest and refused to continue dairying. If there is any economic or moral sense justifying development assistance, one question should be allowed: Are we (the experienced experts from the North) smarter? Sitting in my German office, I really don't know. Working in a particular concept as a consultant, of course, I am convinced that I am; otherwise I could not justify to work for a salary which is sometimes hundred times higher than the salary that my counterpart receives. If I look at the results of development aid of the last decades, I doubt that we are smarter. Maybe we are better sometimes, and our solar cookers look very fancy, but our project approaches often were not really accepted by the "target groups" and our partners. This relates to mainstream and socalled "alternative" project approaches. We all know that the predominant view of partner governments and partner organizations is: "We don't love the foreign experts, but we accept them as long as there is money involved." Despite of all different approaches that have been tried out since social-democratic values form the base of development assistance − AT, participation, etc. − sustainability of projects which are based on foreign experts or volunteers has not improved significantly. There are some challenging questions for the coming years to be answered:
q

What can we do to increase acceptance of advisory service? How can we make ourselves better understandable to our partners, making them truly believe that we come with best intentions?

q

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q

Do we, the experts, have to change radically our concept of Technical Assistance? How can we and our partners work together as a real great team, sharing responsibility and using all our creativity?

q

In this sense, the task of consultants in development assistance will be more process oriented. Ideally, they could be unbiased observers, who visit a project periodically, facilitate real participation of all actors and help to bring peoples brains and hearts together − not only including the poor farmers, but also the national experts and bureaucrats. Such a consultant would first of all need social competence and secondly the ability to move to a meta-level, i.e. to step back and to critically assess the roles of the participants − including his/her own. The long-term advisers acting as team leaders in German Technical Assistance projects will in many cases be overburdened with the triple responsibility of giving technical advise, organizing personnel and material inputs, and managing social processes. Consultants might in future act as process supervisors and personal coaches to project managers. The Objective Oriented Project Planning method is released from its straitjacket and positioned into a process. That means that planning workshops will not be obligatory any more within the project cycle − the German teamleader or backstopper can decide . If workshops are conducted, the decision on the applied methods is up to the moderator. They have to be chosen according to the status of the project. At a certain period of time, it might be necessary to do a problem analysis in a workshop, at a different point of time, a group might work on the project vision or elaborate the project planning matrix. But things could be done also without workshops, e.g. in small project groups. For example, a stakeholders analysis will require detailed studies which might include application of tools like PRA and gender analysis. The project team is free to apply other tools like vision sharing, future conferences, etc. However, the project planning matrix will most likely remain as an important tool of quality control and as a base for operational planning, monitoring and evaluation . Indicators will become a base to reach a common understanding on the project quality between advisers and partners ("What is it that we want to achieve?"). Still haven't got the message? Answer the following question: When was the last time that I thought 'The counterparts will never understand what is really appropriate for the development of the country.' (a) never - that's absurd (b) I don't remember, (c) five years ago. Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at me.

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Project Management & other productivity-impacting checklists

PDF Checklists

Commercial Solutions has been supplying custom and tailored training programs to large and small companies across America since 1986. We're pleased to provide the project management, productivity, meeting, sales and team building resources found on this page to anyone who is interested in improving their own performance or the performance of others. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss any collaboration to which we can apply our knowledge and experience in adult learning for purposes of improved quality, productivity, customer satisfaction and/or organizational profitability.

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Team Building

Team Building
Assembled by Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD | Applies to nonprofits and for-profits unless noted First-timers | Library materials | Library home page | Contact us | Leaders Circles

Note that the reader might best be served to first read the topic Group Dynamics to understand the basic nature of most groups and their typical stages of development. (It's not clear at this time if on-line groups have similar nature and stages.)

Categories of information include
Basics of Team Building Building Informal Work Teams Being an Effective Team Member Ensuring Effectiveness/Performance of Teams Additional Perspectives Related Library Links Facilitation Library On-Line Discussion Groups Free, Complete, On-line Training Programs That Include This Topic! For For-profit Organizations: This topic is also included in the Free Micro-eMBA learning module, Staffing and Supervising of Employees. This complete, "nuts and bolts", free training program is geared to leaders, managers and consultants who work with for-profit organizations. For Nonprofit Organizations: This topic is also included in the Free Nonprofit Micro-eMBA learning module, Staffing and Supervising of Employees and Volunteers. This complete, "nuts and bolts", free training program is geared to leaders, managers, consultants and volunteers who serve nonprofit organizations. Tell Friends! Local Professional Organizations! Spread the Word! Tell friends and professional organizations about these free programs! Advertise them in your newsletters and web sites so that others can save training dollars, too!

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Basics of Team Building
About Team-Building-The Manager's Role (Article) The Basics of Team Building How to Build a Team Building the Winning Team: Small Business Managing People - Business Town 3 Types Teams and Characteristics of Good Teams Team building Developing Your Skills for Building Your Team Seven Deadly Sins of Team Building (article) Team Roles and Team Building Self-Perception is no Basis on Which to Build a Team Teambuilding

Building Informal Work Groups
Team Building: Informal Groups at Work Team Building: Formation of Informal Work Groups Team Building: Leadership of Informal Work Groups Team Building: Communications of Informal Work Groups (The Grapevine) Team Building: Informal Group Cohesiveness Team Building: Informal Group Norms -- Unspoken Rules Team Building: Changing Informal Work Group/ Team Norms

Being An Effective Team Member
How to Manage Team Egos Being a Valuable Team Member

Effectiveness of Teams
Quality in Teams BOLA: Working in an Effective Team High Performance Team Team Effectiveness High Performance Team

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Additional Perspectives
Essay: The Life Cycles of Executive Teams Team work vs herd instinct The power of teams Making teamwork last Lessons from Geese When Teams Aren't Important Or Desirable (article) MANAGING TEAM PERF: UNREALISTIC VISION OR ATTAINABLE REALITY? IS TEAMWORK LIKE RIDING A BICYCLE? Teams Drucker on Teams Groups that Work Characteristics of an Effective Team Recruiting New Members Team Building Agenda Leader to Leader: Winter 1998 Leader to Leader: Winter 1997 Team Climate Survey

General Resources
Downloadable text on Team Effectiveness Training Net - Training and Human Resources (HR) Solutions SDWT HOME PAGE ASTD Commercial Solutions Reading Room list of team building resources

Related Library Links
Committees Communications (Face-to-Face) Conflict Management

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Dialoguing Facilitating Face-to-Face Facilitating On-line Focus Groups Group Dynamics Group Learning Group Performance Management Group Skills Ice Breakers and Warmup Activities Interpersonal Skills Meeting Management Negotiating Open Space Technology Problem Solving and Decision Making Self-Directed and Self-managed Teams Valuing Diversity Virtual Teams

On-Line Discussion Groups
Liszt: HRNET Interesting Listservs and their usage List of HR Newsgroups and On-Line Discussion Groups HR Systems Forum Global HR Forum Liszt: TRDEV-L Management Archive - GRP-FACL TeamNeT The Electronic Discussion on Group Facilitation: Process Expertise for Group Effectiveness IAF Group Facilitation Moderated Discussion Group

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Used by The Management Assistance Program for Nonprofits 2233 University Avenue West, Suite 360 St. Paul, Minnesota 55114 (651) 647-1216 With permission from Carter McNamara, PhD, Copyright 1999 Library and its contents are not to be used to generate profits [MAP Home Page] [Library Home Page] Reprint permission

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Overview of Leadership in Organizations

Overview of Leadership in Organizations
Written by Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD | Applies to nonprofits and for-profits unless noted Leaders Circles peer-training/coaching groups (nonprofits) | Authenticity Circles peertraining/coaching (for-profits) First-timers | Library home page | Library index of topics | Contact us

Very simply put, leading is establishing direction and influencing others to follow that direction. However, there are many variations and different areas of emphasis to this very simple definition. Experts assert that, whether you're an executive or an entry-level worker in your organization, it's critical for you to have strong skills in leadership. Many people today are seeking to understand -- and many people are writing about -- the concept of leadership. Understanding the concept of leadership requires more than reading a few articles. This topic in the library helps readers gain broad understanding of the concept of leadership along with the various areas of knowledge and skills required to lead in a variety of different situations. (Some of the following information was adapted from the "Nuts-and-Bolts Guide to Leadership and Supervision.") NOTE: Some people use the term "leadership" (the capability to lead) to refer to executive management (a role in an organization). If you're seeking information about executive management, see Chief Executive Role and/or Boards of Directors. NOTE: There are two closely related topics in the library, including Supervision (Introduction) and Management (Introduction).

Categories of Information in This Topic
Suggested Previous Readings Suggested Previous Readings Gaining Broad Perspective on Leadership Gaining Broad Perspective on Leadership - - - One Definition of Leadership - - - Leadership Theories - - - Leadership Styles

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- - - Emerging Trends in Leadership Is Leading Different Than Managing? Is Leading Different than Managing? (pros and cons of this debate) - - - Views That There is a Difference - - - View That Separating "Leading" and "Managing" Can Be Destructive How Do Leaders Lead? Is a Challenge to Suggest Which Skills to Use Suggested Competencies for Effective Leadership in Organizations - - - Leading Yourself - - - Core Competencies for Leading Others - - - Leading People -- Other Individuals - - - Leading People -- In Groups - - - Leading People -- Organization-Wide General Advice (Tips, etc.) General Advice About Traits and Characteristics That Leaders Should Have General Resources Related Library Links On-line Discussion Groups Basic Guide to Management and Supervision (leadership is part of managing and supervising) Basic Guide to Management and Supervision (html version) This comprehensive publication in published format, written by the author of this library, provides complete how-to, step-by-step directions for all of the most important activities in management and supervision. Basic Guide to Leadership and Supervision To Form Your Own Local Learning Community to Learn this Topic and to understand some myths about leadership development

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Free, Complete, On-line Training Programs That Include This Topic! For For-profit Organizations: This topic is also included in the Free Micro-eMBA learning module, Developing Basic Skills in Management and Leadership. This complete, "nuts and bolts", free training program is geared to leaders, managers and consultants who work with forprofit organizations. For Nonprofit Organizations: This topic is also included in the Free Nonprofit Micro-eMBA learning module, Developing Basic Skills in Management and Leadership. This complete, "nuts and bolts", free training program is geared to leaders, managers, consultants and volunteers who serve nonprofit organizations. Tell Friends! Local Professional Organizations! Spread the Word! Tell friends and professional organizations about these free programs! Advertise them in your newsletters and web sites so that others can save training dollars, too!

Suggested Previous Readings
The reader might benefit from first reading the library topics Introduction to Organizations and Introduction to Management. These two library topics explain the broad context within which leading occurs in organizations and management. Note that the library topic Leadership Development includes guidance for establishing a training plan to develop skills in leadership. However, before seeking to develop this training plan, the reader should first review the contents of the current topic "Overview of Leadership in Organizations".

GAINING BROAD PERSPECTIVE ON LEADERSHIP What is Leadership?
Many people believe that leadership is simply being the first, biggest or most powerful. Leadership in organizations has a different and more meaningful definition. Very simply put, a leader is interpreted as someone who sets direction in an effort and influences people to follow that direction. How they set that direction

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and influence people depends on a variety of factors that we'll consider later on below. To really comprehend the "territory" of leadership, you should briefly scan some of the major theories, notice various styles of leadership and review some of the suggested traits and characteristics that leaders should have. The rest of this library should help you in this regard.

Theories About Leadership
There are also numerous theories about leadership, or about carrying out the role of leader, e.g., servant leader, democratic leader, principle-centered leader, group-man theory, great-man theory, traits theory, visionary leader, total leader, situational leader, etc. The following article provides brief overview of key theories. See Are Managers Leaders?

Leadership Styles
Leaders carry out their roles in a wide variety of styles, e.g., autocratic, democratic, participatory, laissez-faire (hands off), etc. Often, the leadership style depends on the situation, including the life cycle of the organization. The following document provide brief overview of key styles, including autocratic, laissez-faire and democratic style. Leadership Styles

Emerging Trends in Leadership
New Paradigm in Management (including in Leadership) WoT's Hot and WoT's Not: Leadership in the Next Millennium Leadership in the 21st century Leader to Leader: Fall 1996

IS LEADING DIFFERENT THAN MANAGING? (PROS AND CONS)
Traditional views of management associate it with four major functions: planning, organizing, leading and controlling/coordinating. However, many educators, practitioners and writers disagree with this traditional view.

Views that Leading is Different Than Managing

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The following articles offer views different from the traditional view that leading is a major function of management Managers as leaders (takes the view the leaders are not the same as managers) Managing Things and Leading People (claims they are different and compares different traits) Leading versus Managing (when done reading, follow the "next" button) Management Styles (says they're different and compares different traits) Leadership (includes good overview of styles, and differences of manager and leader) Leading vs Managing -- Two Different Animals (claims they have different personalities)

View That Separating "Leading" from "Managing" Can Be Destructive
Another view is that to be a very effective member of an organization (whether executive, middle manager, or entry-level worker), you need skills in the functions of planning, organizing, leading and coordinating activities -- the key is you need to be able to emphasize different skills at different times. Yes, leading is different than planning, organizing and coordinating because leading is focused on influencing people, while the other functions are focused on "resources" in addition to people. But that difference is not enough to claim that "leading is different than managing" any more than one can claim that "planning is different than managing" or "organizing is different than managing". The assertion that "leading is different than managing" -- and the ways that these assertions are made -- can cultivate the view that the activities of planning, organizing and coordinating are somehow less important than leading. The assertion can also convince others that they are grand and gifted leaders who can ignore the mere activities of planning, organizing and coordinating -- they can leave these lesser activities to others with less important things to do in the organization. This view can leave carnage in organizations. Read: Founder's Syndrome (when leading is separated from planning, organizing and coordinating) Backlash Against the "New Paradigm"? (we have unrealistic expectations on today's organizations?)

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HOW DO LEADERS LEAD? Is a Challenge to Suggest Which Methods to Use
The particular competencies (knowledge, skills and abilities) that a person needs in order to lead at a particular time in an organization depend on a variety of factors, including: 1) Whether that person is leading one other individual, a group or a large organization; 2) The extent of leadership skills that person already has; 3) That person's basic nature and values (competencies should be chosen that are in accordance with that nature and those values) 4) Whether the group or organization is for-profit or nonprofit, new or longestablished, and large or small; 5) The particular culture (or values and associated behaviors) of whomever is being led.

Suggested Competencies Required for Leading in Organizations
The above considerations can make it very challenging when trying to determine what competencies someone should have in order to be a better leader. Perhaps that's why leadership training programs in institutions typically assert a set of standard competencies, for example, decision making, problem solving, managing power and influence, and building trust. The following lists of competencies was derived by examining a variety of leadership development programs. Suggested Competencies for Effective Leadership in Organizations - - - How to Use the Following List - - - Leading Yourself - - - Core Competencies to Lead Others - - - Leading People -- Other Individuals - - - Leading People -- In Groups - - - Leading People -- Organization-Wide

GENERAL ADVICE (TIPS, ETC.)

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Leading is Human Activity -- Everyone's Human -- Everyone's Got Advice About Leading There are numerous -- often contradictory -- views on the traits and characteristics that leaders should have. The concept of leadership is like a big "elephant" and each person standing around the elephant has their own unique view -- and each person feels very strongly about their own view. Descriptions of leadership include concepts such as the "New Paradigm", "New Millennium". Descriptions can sound very passionate, even evangelical! It can be difficult to grasp consistent messages from articles about leadership. Many writers use different terms for the same concepts. Some interchange use of roles in the organization (executive managers) with competencies in leading (leadership). Guidelines to Reading Literature About Leadership Therefore, before you begin reading the following articles, it might help you to glean some guidelines about understanding articles about leadership. See Guidelines to Understanding Literature About Leadership Numerous Views About What Traits and Characteristics Leaders Should Have To really get a good grasp on the "territory" of leadership, it's important to have a broad view of leadership. Therefore, if you haven't yet read Gaining Broad Perspective on Leadership, then considering doing so before reading any of the following articles. Now begin reading the numerous views of what traits and characteristics leaders should have. Suggested Traits and Characteristics of Highly Effective Leaders

On-Line Discussion Groups
ODNET about organization development and change HRNET about human resources TRDEV about training and development OMT Homepage MGTDEV-L: Management Executive Development Discussions mdpw: MDPW - Management Development Program for Women

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Liszt: MG-ED-DV critical-management discussion list Additional Groups for Nonprofits

Related Links in this Library
Note that numerous library links are also included in the core competencies list (that is, list of suggested areas of knowledge and skills located at the link Suggested Competencies for Effective Leadership in Organization. Other related topics to see in the library include Introduction to Management Introduction to Organizations Leadership Development Planning Management Development Planning Overview of Supervision Supervisoral Development Planning

Used by The Management Assistance Program for Nonprofits 2233 University Avenue West, Suite 360 St. Paul, Minnesota 55114 (651) 647-1216 With permission from Carter McNamara, PhD, Copyright 1999 Library and its contents are not to be used to generate profits [MAP Home Page] [Library Home Page] Reprint permission

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Managing Meetings

Managing Meetings
Assembled by Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD | Applies to nonprofits and for-profits unless noted First-timers | Library materials | Library home page | Contact us | Leaders Circles

Note that the reader might best be served to first read the topic Group Dynamics to understand the basic nature of most groups and their typical stages of development. (It's not clear at this time if on-line groups have similar nature and stages.)

Categories of information include
Complete Guides Additional Guidelines Planning Meetings Leading Meetings Evaluating Meetings Tips and Advice Special Topics On-Line Meetings General Resources Facilitation Library Related Library Links On-Line Discussion Groups

Basic Guide to Management, Leadership and Supervision This comprehensive publication, written by the author of this library, provides complete how-to, step-by-step directions for all of the most important activities in management and supervision. Basic Guide to Management, Leadership and Supervision Free, Complete, On-line Training Programs That Include This Topic! For For-profit Organizations: This topic is also included in the Free Micro-eMBA learning module, Developing Basic Skills in Management and Leadership. This complete, "nuts and bolts", free training program is geared to leaders, managers and consultants who work with for-

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profit organizations. For Nonprofit Organizations: This topic is also included in the Free Nonprofit Micro-eMBA learning module, Developing Basic Skills in Management and Leadership. This complete, "nuts and bolts", free training program is geared to leaders, managers, consultants and volunteers who serve nonprofit organizations. Tell Friends! Local Professional Organizations! Spread the Word! Tell friends and professional organizations about these free programs! Advertise them in your newsletters and web sites so that others can save training dollars, too!

Complete Guides
Basics Guide to Conducting Effective Meetings Complete guide to planning and facilitating meetings

Additional Guidelines
Communication Skills 7 Deadly Sins of Meetings Project Management Productivity Checklist (is useful for planning other types of meetings) The "F" Words for Effective Meetings Managing Meetings Participant Role Reminder (very extensive, somewhat conceptual but very enlightening)

Planning Your Meetings
You Have to Start Meeting Like This Selecting Participants Developing Agendas

Leading Meetings
Chairing and Supporting Meetings

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Opening the Meeting Establishing Ground Rules Time Management in Meetings

Meeting Evaluations
Calculate the Cost of Meetings Evaluating the Meeting Process Evaluating the Overall Meeting

Tips and Advice
Effective meetings Here's the matter with meetings

Special Topics
Meetings That Motivate Recognizing Successful Meetings (exercise to identify good from bad meetings) Also see Special Event Planning

On-Line Meetings
Free services to organize on-line meetings http://www.listbot.com http://www.egroups.com Also see Facilitating On-line The Technography Center Virtual Teams

General Resources
Welcome to the 3M Meeting Network

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Managing Meetings

Related Library Links
Committees Communications (Face-to-Face) Conflict Management Dialoguing Facilitating Face-to-Face Facilitating On-line Focus Groups Group Dynamics Group Learning Group Performance Management Group Skills Ice Breakers and Warmup Activities Interpersonal Skills Negotiating Open Space Technology Problem Solving and Decision Making Self-Directed and Self-managed Teams Team Building Valuing Diversity Virtual Teams

On-Line Discussion Groups
Liszt: HRNET Interesting Listservs and their usage List of HR Newsgroups and On-Line Discussion Groups HR Systems Forum Global HR Forum Liszt: TRDEV-L Management Archive - GRP-FACL TeamNeT The Electronic Discussion on Group Facilitation: Process Expertise for Group Effectiveness IAF Group Facilitation Moderated Discussion Group

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Managing Meetings

Used by The Management Assistance Program for Nonprofits 2233 University Avenue West, Suite 360 St. Paul, Minnesota 55114 (651) 647-1216 With permission from Carter McNamara, PhD, Copyright 1999 Library and its contents are not to be used to generate profits [MAP Home Page] [Library Home Page] Reprint permission

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Facilitation (Face-to-Face and On-Line)

Facilitation (Face-to-Face and On-Line)
Written by Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD | Applies to nonprofits and for-profits unless noted First-timers | Library materials | Library home page | Contact us | Leaders Circles

Categories of information include
Learning About Facilitation Facilitating in Face-to-Face Groups Facilitating On-Line Groups (virtual communities) Related Library Links Facilitation Library National Organizations That Include Focus on Facilitation On-Line Discussion Groups

Learning About Facilitation
What is Facilitation? Very simply put, facilitation is helping a group to accomplish its goals. There are a wide range of perspectives about the ideal nature and values of facilitation, much as there are a wide range of perspectives about the ideal nature and values of leadership. For example, some facilitators may believe that facilitation should always be highly democratic in nature and that anything other than democratic is not facilitation at all. Others may believe that facilitation can be quite directive, particularly depending on the particular stage of development of the group. Whatever one's beliefs about the best nature of facilitation, the practice usually is best carried out by someone who has strong knowledge and skills regarding group dynamics and processes -- these are often referred to as process skills. Effective facilitation might also involve strong knowledge and skills about the particular topic or content that the group is addressing in order to reach its goals -- these are often referred to as content skills. The argument about how much "process versus content" skills are required by facilitators in certain applications is a very constructive argument that has gone on for years. How Can I Learn About Facilitation? When gaining an introduction to facilitation, the reader might best be served to:

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Facilitation (Face-to-Face and On-Line)

1. Read articles referenced from the section Group Dynamics 2. Then read articles referenced from the section "Some Basic Guidelines and Principles About Facilitation" 3. Then refine your knowledge about various types of groups by reading articles referenced from the section Related Library Links. 4. You can deepen and enrich your learning by reflecting on your facilitation experiences, including by sharing feedback with other facilitators. Consider joining any of the National Organizations That Include Focus on Facilitation 5. Also consider joining an on-line discussion group, such as GRP-FACL, TeamNeT, The Electronic Discussion on Group Facilitation: Process Expertise for Group Effectiveness or IAF Group Facilitation Moderated Discussion Group. 6. Ultimately, the best way to really learn facilitation is to facilitate -- start simple, but start. Regularly reflect on your experiences as you grow and learn. ,

Facilitating in Face-to-Face Groups
Some Basic Guidelines and Principles About Facilitation The Role of the Facilitator (article) (scan down the screen until you come to this title) A Facilitator's Training Manual (from the STOP AIDS project) -- Chapter 3 about facilitation Facilitator Competencies Secrets of Successful Facilitators Facilitation Concepts: Intimacy in communication Various Tips, Tools and Techniques Facilitate.com Facilitation Tips Tips for Facilitators -- many articles Managers as Facilitators Facilitator's Toolbox Transformational Dialogues

Facilitating On-Line Discussions
On-Line Commercial Communities (comprehensive) Facilitating and Hosting a Virtual Community

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Facilitation (Face-to-Face and On-Line)

On-Line Community Toolkit Facilitator Competencies Internet Resources From the Electronic Discussion on Group Facilitation Resources for Moderators and Facilitators of Online Discussion Groups On-Line Conferencing Guidelines Resources for Volunteer Moderators and Facilitators of Online Discussion Groups Finding On-Line Newsgroups Discussion Group About On-Line Facilitation Facilitating and Hosting a Virtual Community The Art of Hosting Good Conversations Online Hosting On-Line Conferences The Technography Center many on-line resources about on-line facilitation Also see On-Line Board Meetings Also see these on-line discussion groups about on-line facilitation Town Talk E-Conf List List Moderators.Com List-Managers Mailing List

Related Library Links
Committees Communications (Face-to-Face) Conflict Management Dialoguing Focus Groups Group Dynamics Group Learning Group Performance Management Group Skills Ice Breakers and Warmup Activities

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Facilitation (Face-to-Face and On-Line)

Interpersonal Skills Meeting Management Negotiating On-Line News (on-line sources to read the news/media) On-Line Newsgroups (finding, using, etc.) On-Line Newsletters (free, on-line) Open Space Technology Problem Solving and Decision Making Self-Directed and Self-managed Teams Team Building Valuing Diversity Virtual Teams

National Organizations That Include Focus on Facilitation
3M Meeting Network American Society for Training & Development (ASTD) listings of organizations International Association of Facilitators International Society for Performance Improvement Institute for Cultural Affairs -- World-Wide Institute for Cultural Affairs USA and the Technology of Participation (ToP) Midwest Facilitators' Network Minnesota Organization Development Network National OD Network Project Management Institute (PMI) Regional facilitation networks Regional OD Networks Society for Human Resource Management

On-Line Discussion Groups
Discussion Group About On-Line Facilitation Internet Resources From the Electronic Discussion on Group Facilitation Liszt: HRNET Interesting Listservs and their usage List of HR Newsgroups and On-Line Discussion Groups

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Facilitation (Face-to-Face and On-Line)

HR Systems Forum Global HR Forum Liszt: TRDEV-L Management Archive - GRP-FACL TeamNeT The Electronic Discussion on Group Facilitation: Process Expertise for Group Effectiveness IAF Group Facilitation Moderated Discussion Group

Used by The Management Assistance Program for Nonprofits 2233 University Avenue West, Suite 360 St. Paul, Minnesota 55114 (651) 647-1216 With permission from Carter McNamara, PhD, Copyright 1999 Library and its contents are not to be used to generate profits [MAP Home Page] [Library Home Page] Reprint permission

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Group Decision Making

Group Decision Making and Problem Solving
Assembled by Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD | Applies to nonprofits and for-profits unless noted First-timers | Library materials | Library home page | Contact us | Leaders Circles

Note that the reader might best be served to first read the topic Group Dynamics to understand the basic nature of most groups and their typical stages of development. (It's not clear at this time if on-line groups have similar nature and stages.)

Categories of information include
Various Perspectives Related Library Links Facilitation Library On-Line Discussion Groups

Various Perspectives
Group Decision Making-Part 1 Group Decisions-Part 2 Techniques for Group-Based Problem Solving Strategic Planning (includes numerous group techniques for problem solving) Group Decision Making and Problem Solving - Can Models Help? (includes traditional 4-step decision making process) Group Decision Making within the Organization: Can Models Help?

Related Library Links
Committees Communications (Face-to-Face) Conflict Management Decision Making Dialoguing Facilitating Face-to-Face Facilitating On-line Focus Groups Group Dynamics

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Group Decision Making

Group Learning Group Performance Management Group Skills Ice Breakers and Warmup Activities Interpersonal Skills Meeting Management Negotiating Open Space Technology Problem Solving Self-Directed and Self-managed Teams Team Building Valuing Diversity Virtual Teams

On-Line Discussion Groups
Liszt: HRNET Interesting Listservs and their usage List of HR Newsgroups and On-Line Discussion Groups HR Systems Forum Global HR Forum Liszt: TRDEV-L Management Archive - GRP-FACL TeamNeT The Electronic Discussion on Group Facilitation: Process Expertise for Group Effectiveness IAF Group Facilitation Moderated Discussion Group

Used by The Management Assistance Program for Nonprofits 2233 University Avenue West, Suite 360 St. Paul, Minnesota 55114 (651) 647-1216

http://www.mapnp.org/library/grp_skll/grp_dec/grp_dec.htm (2 of 3) [5/28/2002 5:50:30 PM]

Group Decision Making

With permission from Carter McNamara, PhD, Copyright 1999 Library and its contents are not to be used to generate profits [MAP Home Page] [Library Home Page] Reprint permission

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Conflict Management in Groups

Conflict Management in Groups
Assembled by Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD | Applies to nonprofits and for-profits unless noted First-timers | Library materials | Library home page | Contact us | Leaders Circles

Note that many methods intended for addressing conflict in groups also might be considered as methods to address conflict between two people. Therefore, also see Addressing Interpersonal Conflict. Also note that the reader might best be served to first read the topic Group Dynamics to understand the basic nature of most groups and their typical stages of development. (It's not clear at this time if on-line groups have similar nature and stages.)

Categories of information include
Various Perspectives Related Library Links Facilitation Library On-Line Discussion Groups

Various Perspectives
Managing Conflict (brief overview for an overall perspective on nature and types conflict) How to Resolve Conflicts Without Killing Anyone Free Articles For Development Learning (see list of on-line articles) Extensive list of article about resolving conflicts Conflict Cooperation In The Workplace Measuring the Cost of Organizational Conflict Conflict In Organizations (an overview) Dealing with Conflict Negotiations and Resolving Conflicts: Search for Common Ground Handling Differences Productively ERIC Trends and Issues Alert - Conflict Management Free instrument for measuring the cost of organizational conflict List of On-line Articles About Mediation

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Conflict Management in Groups

IGC: ConflictNet

Related Library Links
Building Trust Committees Communications (Face-to-Face) Dialoguing Facilitating Face-to-Face Facilitating On-line Focus Groups Group Dynamics Group Learning Group Performance Management Group Skills Ice Breakers and Warmup Activities Interpersonal Skills Meeting Management Negotiating Open Space Technology Problem Solving and Decision Making Self-Directed and Self-managed Teams Team Building Valuing Diversity Virtual Teams

On-Line Discussion Groups
Electronic Discussion on Group Facilitation (also has lists of facilitation resources) Liszt: HRNET Interesting Listservs and their usage List of HR Newsgroups and On-Line Discussion Groups HR Systems Forum Global HR Forum Liszt: TRDEV-L Management Archive - GRP-FACL

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Conflict Management in Groups

TeamNeT The Electronic Discussion on Group Facilitation: Process Expertise for Group Effectiveness IAF Group Facilitation Moderated Discussion Group Conflict Management Network

Used by The Management Assistance Program for Nonprofits 2233 University Avenue West, Suite 360 St. Paul, Minnesota 55114 (651) 647-1216 With permission from Carter McNamara, PhD, Copyright 1999 Library and its contents are not to be used to generate profits [MAP Home Page] [Library Home Page] Reprint permission

http://www.mapnp.org/library/grp_skll/grp_cnfl/grp_cnfl.htm (3 of 3) [5/28/2002 5:50:34 PM]

Wideman Comparative Glossary of Project Management Terms v2.1

Page Content Index | Introduction | International Recognition 1999 Sources and References | About the Author | Technical What's New in Version 3 Order Your Copy!

Page Content Index
Glossary Notes • We use US spelling - e.g. "program" = "programme" • The list below shows the range of definitions on each page; select the range containing your definition! a b c d e f g h i Letter From A Abstract Resource Activation Actual Costs j k l m n o p q r s t u v w xy z To Action Plan Actual Cost of Work Performed Alternative Analysis

Copyright Wideman Comparative Glossary of Common Project Management Terms v2.1 is copyright by R. Max Wideman, May, 2001. Please feel free to point to this document. For non-profit purposes you may copy this document, either whole or as whole definitions provided the above copyright notice is attached. For inclusion in for-profit works, please contact the author at

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Wideman Comparative Glossary of Project Management Terms v2.1

[email protected] File: index.htm generated 2/15/2002 4:29:02 PM Generated by program: PMGlosGen v1.33 Program Author: Graham Wideman

Alternative Dispute Resolution Arrow Diagram B BAC Baseline, technical Bills of Materials Budgetary Control C/SCSC Cash Flow Management Charter Commitment Component Integration and Test Conditions Constraint Continuous Improvement Contract Target Price Coordinated Matrix Cost Ceiling Cost Performance Ratio CPU Critical Task

Arrow Award Letter Baseline, cost estimate Bill of Materials Budget Unit Bypassing Cash Flow Analysis Chart Room Commissions and Bonuses Component Conditional Risk Constituents Continuous Contract Target Cost Controlling Relationship Cost Budgeting Cost Performance Measurement Baseline CPR Critical Success Factors Cycle Time

C

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Wideman Comparative Glossary of Project Management Terms v2.1

D

Dangle Definitive Estimate Design & Development Phase Deviation EAC EF Entitlement Estimate To Complete Execution Period

Definitive Design Development Plan Dynamic Baseline Model© Education, in project management Enterprise Resource Planning Systems Estimate Conversion Excusable NonCompensable Delays Extra Works Final Contract Review Float Free Riding Fuzzy Front End Guideline Hypothesis Independent Initiating

E

F

f Final Design Float Trend Charts Free Slack G&A Hammock IAW Independent Cost Analysis

G H I

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Wideman Comparative Glossary of Project Management Terms v2.1

Initiation Integration of Activities J K L Job Key Labor Lead Time Liabilities Logic Diagram Macro Environment Managing by Projects Matrix Organization Milestone Dictionary Morale N/A Nonconformity O&M Optimistic Time P Package

Integration Items Just-In-Time KSI Lead Duration LFD Logic Lump Sum Managing Matrix Management Milestone Monthly Status Review Must Start Non-Conformance NTE Optimistic Duration Ownership of Quality Responsibility Percentage Completion

M

N

O

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Wideman Comparative Glossary of Project Management Terms v2.1

Performance Physical Percent Complete Policy Predecessor Activity Probability Assessment Procurement Supplier Valuation Program Analyst Programmer Project Boundary Project Cost Systems Project Leader Project Manual Project Progress Report Project Team Q QA Quality Improvement Program RAM Rejection Number Requirements of Society Resource Management Revenue

Physical Configuration Audit Policies/Procedures Predecessor Probability Procurement Strategy Program Programme Support Office Project Board Project Cost Management Project Launch Project Manager Project Products List Fact Sheets Project Task Force PVWS Quality Improvement Quick Reaction Capability Rejected Requirements Management Resource List Return on Investment Risk Management Plan

R

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Wideman Comparative Glossary of Project Management Terms v2.1

Risk Matrix S S Curve Schedule Work Unit Scope Quality Services Social Loafing Spiral Standard Operating Procedure Strawman Sunk Costs System Integration T T&M Team Meeting Termination for Convenience Time Oriented Total Network UB VAC

Runaway Project Schedule Variance Scope Performance/Quality Service Liability Social Factors SPI Standard Deviation Strategy Management Plan Summative Quality Evaluation System Hierarchical Structure Systems Scope Description Team Management Termination Time Now Line Total Float Turnkey Utilization Volume

U V

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W

Wage Work Flow Zero Based Budgeting

Work Effort Written Zero Float

Z

Home | Issacons | PM Glossary | Papers & Books | Max's Musings Guest Articles | Contact Info | Top of Page

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project management training, tools, techniques and textbooks

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project management training, tools, techniques and textbooks

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ALLPM - The Project Managers HomePage :: The Project Managers HomePage

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Application Erosion
Posted by: LynneWardell on Sunday, May 26, 2002 - 10:59 AM MDT Do Applications Really Erode? Diagnosing The True Causes of System Erosion By Lynne Wardell

Greetings to our latest registered user: cmkoberlein 4010 Members 220 Stories Published 6 Total comments 0 in Queue 525 Web Links 38 Downloads 12 Reviews 2 FAQ's 12 Answers 21 Forums with: 283 Topics 619 Posts 1070077 Page views since: June 2001 More stats? Past Articles

The term “application erosion” was recently coined to explain the phenomenon of decreasing value in a system occurring over time. It infers that applications have life. Unfortunately, the term not only misdiagnosis a common problem but also misses the point.
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Reviews: Easy RM Version 1.05 Posted by: Tom Kappel on Thursday, May 23, 2002 - 04:24 AM MDT Project Managers and Business Analysts are constantly searching for some method of gathering, identifying, capturing, and synchronizing project or business requirements, especially in the early initial stages of the project life cycle. It was with that in mind that I eagerly looked forward to studying and reviewing Easy RM software (RM for Requirements Manager, of course.)
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· PERT Chart EXPERT Version 2.0 (1)
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Reviews: PERT Chart EXPERT V 2.0 --Update Posted by: Tom Kappel on Thursday, May 23, 2002 - 04:19 AM MDT Mr. Spiller of Critical Tools took great exception to my comment about finish date calculations – proclaiming quite vociferously that the system does calculate a valid schedule and critical path. I repeated my testing and encountered mixed behavior with no discernible pattern. Given Mr. Spiller’s defense of his product, I uninstalled and re-installed the software. Following that, I found that PERT Chart EXPERT did perform consistently as advertised – correctly calculating the finish dates and schedule duration with no further difficulties.

· Projeca Release 7 Review from Tenrox Corporation (0)
Tuesday, April 30

· ESI and AchieveGlobal HK to Offer Project Management Courses in Greater China (0)
Friday, April 26

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· Protect Your Applications With Tenrox

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Notice: ALLPM Today, May 2002, Issue 42 Posted by: Kerry Gray on Monday, May 20, 2002 - 06:20 PM MDT ALLPM Today - The Community Newsletter of ALLPM.Com May 2002 Issue 42 Michael S. Lines, Publisher Kerry P. Gray, Editor ================================================================== ----------------------------------------------------------------IN THIS ISSUE ----------------------------------------------------------------* * * * * * * * ALLPM Today Editor, Kerry P. Gray ALLPM April Poll Results Column: Managing Projects From a New Perspective - Kerry P. Gray Column: Words to the Wise PM by PSM Consulting Review: Tenrox: PROJECA Release 7 Review Review: PERT Chart EXPERT Version 2.0 Review: Building a Project Driven Enterprise Advertise on ALLPM.COM

Management Services (0) · Programme Maturity – How are Managers Measuring Up? (0) Tuesday, April 23

· Branham declares Tenrox as 1 of Top 100 Independent Canadian Software Companies (0)
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· ALLPM Today, April 2002, Issue 41 (0)
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To subscribe to this newsletter, just go to http://www.allpm.com/signup.php

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Friday, April 19 Notice: Free Programme Management Seminars - UK Posted by: Anonymous on Thursday, May 16, 2002 - 06:11 AM MDT Invitation to Free Seminars - New Dates and Locations for Autumn 2002!! Senior Executives are attending our seminars to find out how they can re-energise their organisations, and gain at least 20% more productivity from their staff.
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· Launching Version YZPM 5.0 todayEnterprise Project Management Software (0)
Wednesday, April 17

Project Progress and Performance Measurement
Posted by: jasonstevens on Tuesday, May 07, 2002 - 02:37 PM MDT

· What is the Health of My Project?: The Use and Benefits of Earned Value (0)
Sunday, April 14

· Be the BEST Project

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ALLPM - The Project Managers HomePage :: The Project Managers HomePage

Without effective progress and performance measurement it is impossible to accurately determine your current and future project status. This article discusses what is involved in measurement, what is needed and how to collect the appropriate data. It also touches on incorrect progress assessments and the value of trending manpower performance. A useful article for projects of all sizes in all industry. URL: http://www.cms-inc.ca/L&L/prog.htm
(149 Reads) ( comments? | |)

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Notice: ESI Offers New Associates Certificate in Posted by: CPayne on Tuesday, May 07, 2002 - 07:25 AM MDT

Project Management

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA (May 6, 2002) -- ESI International, the leading provider of project management and contract management training, has announced a new Associate’s Certificate in Project Management, awarded in conjunction with their academic partner, The George Washington University in Washington, DC. This new credential provides an introduction to those professionals who require a less comprehensive approach to project management but who still want world-class training they can apply to any size or scope of project.
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· Speed to Market software selected by DESI Labeling Systems to ensure 100% custom (0) · Pharmacia and Medtronic expand Speed to Market's software license after initial (0)
Tuesday, April 09

Notice:

Tenrox Unveils Release 7 of its Enterprise Optimization family of products

Posted by: Melanie on Tuesday, May 07, 2002 - 07:23 AM MDT Tenrox is about to unveil new versions of its product family, dubbed R7. Tenrox delivers reliable, affordable, quickly deployable and feature rich web based software solutions which bridge the gap between ERP, Project Management, Payroll, Accounting and Workforce Management applications so as to provide a quicker return on investment for its clients.
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· Nucleus - Project Management, Control & Collaboration (0)
Monday, April 08

· Haven't received your password? (0)
Saturday, April 06

Notice:

Welcom Joins Oracle PartnerNetwork To Deliver Enterprise Cost/Schedule Solution

Posted by: dmarruffo on Monday, May 06, 2002 - 08:15 PM MDT

· Project Control & Management Training (0) · Customizable Project Management Software for Construction (0) · Iterative Development Testing Approaches (0)

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ALLPM - The Project Managers HomePage :: The Project Managers HomePage

(May 13, 2002) Houston, Texas - Welcom, a global leader in project and cost management software and services, today announced it has joined the Oracle PartnerNetwork as an Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL) Member Partner, to begin development efforts for a new interface to allow Oracle Projects customers to share cost and project schedule information from Welcom’s Cobra® cost management system and Open Plan® project management software throughout the enterprise. Targeted at the Aerospace and Defense industry, the interface will also provide Oracle customers with earned value reporting to meet the rigorous standards required by the US Department of Defense.
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· Speed to Market's software selected at ESCO Corporation (0) · Discuss portfolio management with John Thorp, author The Information Paradox (0) · Top Project Management Challenges for California State Leaders (0)
Thursday, April 04

Reviews: Building A Project Driven Enterprise Posted by: Tom Kappel on Monday, May 06, 2002 - 08:18 AM MDT Building a Project-Driven Enterprise by Ronald Mascitelli provides project managers with a set of waste-slashing and profit-boosting tools that are applicable to any industry.

· The Project Manager's Survival Guide (0)
| Reviews )

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· Software Project Management Kit for Dummies (0)
Tuesday, March 26

· Integrated Project Control Systems (0)
Sunday, March 24

· ALLPM Today, Issue 40, March 2002 (0) · Showcase Your Project By Treating It Like A Brand (0)
Saturday, March 23

· Free Project Management Seminar with Ed Yourdan (0) · Project KickStart 3 from Experience In Software, Inc. (0)

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ALLPM - The Project Managers HomePage :: The Project Managers HomePage

· PIVOT Version 4 (0)
Older Articles
Random Thoughts...

Adding people to a late project will just make it later (Brook's Law) --- Fred Brooks
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Copyright © 1998-2002 Internet Directory Services LLC "ALLPM", "ALLPM.COM", "ALL Project Management" and "The Project Managers Homepage" are trademarks of Internet Directory Services LLC Privacy Notice All rights reserved Legal Notice

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The Project Management Institute - Building Professionalism in Project Management

Membership | Certification | Education | Publications | Chapters | SIGs | Colleges | Research | Standards Advertising Connection

PMI Members Area About PMI About Project Management Info on Demand Products & Services PMI Educational Foundation PMI Board Listing, Committee Listing, Meeting Minutes & Speaking Engagements PMI Board Proposal Template, Call for Agenda Items and Board Agenda Cycle Calendar

Since its founding in 1969, Project Management Institute (PMI®) has grown to be the organization of choice for project management professionalism. With almost 90,000 members worldwide, PMI® is the leading nonprofit professional association in the area of Project Management. PMI establishes Project Management standards, provides seminars, educational programs and professional certification that more and more organizations desire for their project leaders. Breaking Institute News - 28 May 2002 Registration is now open for the first Project Management Degree Symposium and PMI Accreditation/Approval Workshop in Seattle Washington, 14 July 2002. Just four weeks to go...Advance registration to attend PMI Research Conference 2002 from 14-17 July in Seattle, Washington USA ends 21 June! Valuable Volunteer Input Sought! - PMI is asking you to provide suggestions for overarching "Areas of Focus" to be used in PMI Congresses in 2003. Executive Director Position Description and Requirements Now Available! SeminarsWorld 2003: Application/Proposal Deadline is steadily approaching! Annual PMI® Membership Meeting Call for Agenda Items. PMI Begins Search Process for New Executive Director. Be sure to get your copy of PMI: 2001 In Review which is now available for download.

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The Project Management Institute - Building Professionalism in Project Management

PMI's Governing Documents PMI Electronic Use Policies PMI Member Ethical Standards Intellectual Property Guidelines & Permissions Contact PMI

Training & Development SeminarsWorld 2002 catalog and registration now available online! Registered Education Providers - Find hundreds of learning opportunities offered by over 600 organizations who adhere to PMI's educational criteria.

Knowledge & Wisdom Center Now Open! - The PMI® James R. Snyder Center for Project Management Knowledge and Wisdom. Contact this information center for reference/research, document delivery, and current awareness/alert services. Members can now access the inaugural issue of the K&WC quarterly newsletter, PM KnowledgeWire, in the PMI Members Area!

Articles of Interest Coming Events News Room PM Links Search

PMI Bookstore Features all books published by the Project Management Institute as well as a complete catalog of titles from other publishers-many of the best project management books in print.

PMI Standards Program Products PMBOK® Guide - 2000 Edition and PMI Practice for Work Breakdown Structures.

PMBOK® Guide - 1996 Edition has been superseded by the PMBOK® Guide – 2000 edition and is no longer available.

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The Project Management Institute - Building Professionalism in Project Management

Annual Seminars & Symposium PMI 2002 3-10 October 2002. San Antonio, Texas USA. Registration for PMI 2002 opens on 3 June 2002. Preliminary information is now available. The full PMI 2002 web site will be available at the end of May. We look forward to seeing you in San Antonio for the largest project management event of the year!

Career Headquarters Career services including Job Postings, CareerLink Directory of member résumés/curriculum vitae and Career Resources for employers and professionals working in project management.

PMI Corporate Council Opportunity for corporations to work with PMI to advance the project management profession and to show their dedication to effective implementation of project management throughout the enterprise.

Awards Program The Project Management Institute’s Professional Awards Program recognizes outstanding performance in the practice of project management and the selfless contributions of individuals to the project management profession and to the Institute.

Project Management Institute Four Campus Boulevard Newtown Square, Pennsylvania 19073-3299 USA Phone: 610-356-4600 Fax: 610-356-4647 E-Mail: [email protected]

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The Project Management Institute - Building Professionalism in Project Management

©2002 Project Management Institute, Inc. All rights reserved. Terms of Use “PMI” and the PMI logo are service and trademarks registered in the United States and other nations; “PMP” and the PMP logo are certification marks registered in the United States and other nations; “PMBOK”, PM Network”, and “PMI Today” are trademarks registered in the United States and other nations; and “Project Management Journal” and “Building professionalism in project management.” are trademarks of the Project Management Institute, Inc. Site best viewed at 800x600 pixel resolution with Netscape Navigator/Communicator 4 or Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 or higher web browser.

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Project Management Institute! Web Communications Center

Greetings and Welcome to the PMI Communications Center!

PMI Comm Center Status
In 1998 PMI first provided a new communications Web site for the project management community. The site provided the following services: q Chat – enabled real-time conversations q Threaded Discussion Groups – for posting of notices and providing long term messaging capabilities and threaded bulletin board system q E-Mail Distribution Lists – provided for communication to list subscribers via e-mail. This Web site became known as the PMI Comm Center. Recently the discussion group and list serve areas of the Comm Center have been disabled as a result of technical problems. Rather than fix a system that the organization has outgrown, the Institute intends to provide an adequate solution that will meet PMI’s functional and technical requirements. Therefore, as of 1 August 2000, the Comm Center will be discontinued until this solution can be provided. The PMI Information Systems Department has been working with its Member Advisory Group to deliver a full-featured online community and collaborative work site. The department thanks you for your support and the feedback they have received throughout the Comm Center’s existence. For additional information, contact Rich Cavallaro, Webmaster, at [email protected], or Lisa McCann, Manager, Information Systems, at [email protected].

© 1995-1998 All Rights Reserved

- Kyle Parrish

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Welcome to Project Management Checklists and More

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Leadership Knowledge Base: Information to Improve Your Leadership Skills.

Career Management Change Management Consultants Customer Satisfaction Leadership Learning Organization Links Mentorship Meeting Management Periodicals Planning Process Improvement Product Generation Small Business Resources Software Project Management Staffing System Theory Theory of Constraints Time Management Work/Life Balance The Dilbert Zone Home
Enter here if you don't see an index of topics

Leadership Knowledge Base
Mission:
The objective of this web site is to help you become a more successful leader. Use this site for quick access to the information you need for top performance. Michael J. Freeman's presentation on "Leadership at Internet Speed" from the June 27/28, 2000 AQP conference on "People and the New Economy"

Editor: Michael J. Freeman [email protected]

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Basic Research Methods

Basic Business Research Methods
Assembled by Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD | Applies to nonprofits and for-profits unless noted Leaders Circles peer-training/coaching groups (nonprofits) | Authenticity Circles peertraining/coaching (for-profits) First-timers | Library home page | Library index of topics | Contact us

(NOTE: The following sections of information are included together in one document located at http://www.mapnp.org/library/evaluatn/fnl_eval.htm ) Categories of information include Planning Your Research Various Research Methods, including advantages and disadvantages Selecting Research Methods Method: Appreciative Inquiry Method: Case Study Design Method: Focus Groups Method: Interview Design Method: Listening Method: Questioning (face to face) Method: Questionnaires Method: Surveys Analyzing, Interpreting and Reporting Results General Information and Resources Ethics and Conducting Research Related Library Links On-Line Discussion Groups General Information and Resources frequently asked questions about qualitative research resources for qualitative researchers links to many research methods Ethics and Conducting Research ethics and practices

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Basic Research Methods

sample consent form (or sample release-of-information form) Ethics (guidelines to ensure ethical behavior) Related Library Links Advisory Information for Businesses (on-line lists of lists of resources) Consultant (Getting and Using, in case a researcher is hired) Creativity and Innovation Decision Making Ethics (guidelines to ensure ethical behavior) Evaluation Activities in Organizations Marketing (research, pricing, competitor analysis, etc.) Performance Management (measures for improvement of organizations, employees, etc.) Planning (various types of planning) Problem Solving Research Methods (planning research, various methods, analyzing results, giving reports, etc.) Searching On-Line (tips for conducting on-line searches on the Web) On-Line Discussion Groups ODNET about organization development and change HRNET about human resources TRDEV about training and development Liszt: MG-ED-DV Interesting Listservs and their usage List of HR Newsgroups and On-Line Discussion Groups HR Systems Forum Additional Groups for Nonprofits

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Basic Research Methods

Used by The Management Assistance Program for Nonprofits 2233 University Avenue West, Suite 360 St. Paul, Minnesota 55114 (651) 647-1216 With permission from Carter McNamara, PhD, Copyright 1999 Library and its contents are not to be used to generate profits [MAP Home Page] [Library Home Page] Reprint permission

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Program Planning and Management

Program Planning and Management
Written by Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD | Applies to nonprofits and for-profits unless noted First-timers | Library materials | Library home page | Contact us | Leaders Circles

Categories of information include
What's a Program? Feasibility Study for New Program Basic Guidelines for For-Profit Program Planning and Management Basic Guidelines for Nonprofit Program Design and Marketing Program Evaluation (for-profit or nonprofit) Related Library Links (includes other types of planning) On-Line Discussion Groups

What's a Program?
Varying Uses of the Term "Program" There are a wide variety of uses of the term "program" in organizations. In it's most general use, a program is a collection of organizational resources that is geared to accomplish a certain major goal or set of goals. (For those of you who read Organizations (an Introduction), you'll recognize that this definition of a program sounds like that of an organization and a system. A program is an organization and a system.) There are similaries and differences in how the term is used in nonprofit and forprofit organizations. Nonprofits usually refer to programs as ongoing, major services to clients, for example, a Transportation Program, Housing Program, etc. For-profits often use the term for very large business efforts that have limited duration and a defined set of deliverables. Nonprofits and for-profits might refer to programs as a one-time or ongoing set of activities internal to the organization, for example, a Total Quality Managment Program, Workplace Safety Program, the Space Program, etc. (Program planning is usually (but not always) of a broader scope than Project Planning.)

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Program Planning and Management

Feasibility Study for New Program
If you plan to start a new, major program in your organization, you should consider many of the same questions for starting a new business venture. The following feasibility study will guide you through these critical questions. Preparation for Planning a Business Venture

Basic Guidelines for For-Profit Program Planning and Management
Basic Guidelines for For-Profit Program Planning and Management

Basic Guidelines for Nonprofit Program Design and Marketing
Basic Guidelines for Nonprofit Program Design and Marketing

Program Evaluation
Basic Guidelines to Program Evaluation

Various Other Perspectives
Programme Management Web Site Articles (for-profit) Free, Complete, On-line Training Programs That Include This Topic! This topic is also included in the Free Nonprofit Micro-eMBA learning module, Designing and Marketing Programs. This complete, "nuts and bolts", free training program is geared to leaders, managers, consultants and volunteers who serve nonprofit organizations. Tell Friends! Local Professional Organizations! Spread the Word! Tell friends and professional organizations about these free programs! Advertise them in your newsletters and web sites so that others can save training dollars, too!

Related Library Links
Advertising and Marketing Laws

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Program Planning and Management

Advertising and Promotion Business Planning Contracts in Business Creativity and Innovation Customer Satisfaction Customer Service E-Commerce (doing business on the Internet/Web) Financial Management of Programs (nonprofit) Guidelines for Successful Planning Intellectual Property Laws (patents, trademarks, copyrights, etc.) Marketing (research, pricing, competitor analysis, etc.) Operations Management Organizational Change Performance Management Planning (many kinds) Program Planning Project Planning Quality Management Research Methods (Basic Business) Sales Strategic Planning

On-Line Discussion Groups
Liszt: HRNET Liszt: TRDEV-L Liszt: MG-ED-DV Interesting Listservs and their usage List of HR Newsgroups and On-Line Discussion Groups HR Systems Forum program management discussion group Additional Groups for Nonprofits

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Program Planning and Management

Used by The Management Assistance Program for Nonprofits 2233 University Avenue West, Suite 360 St. Paul, Minnesota 55114 (651) 647-1216 With permission from Carter McNamara, PhD, Copyright 1999 Library and its contents are not to be used to generate profits [MAP Home Page] [Library Home Page] Reprint permission

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The Basics of Team Building

This article introduces some of the basic concepts of team building, asking such questions as 'what is a team?', and 'what is team building?'. It also explains some of the basic ideas behind improving the performance of teams.

Are you interested in Team Building? Then consult our new on-line TEAM BUILDING ADVISOR

There are many other articles at this website that you may find interesting, including descriptions of team building exercises and articles about two of the most important tools for team building: the MBTI personality preferences, and the MTR-i team roles. These articles are all accessible from our Home Page

What is Team Building
In the late 80s and 90s, 'Team Building' has been recognised by many companies as an important factor in providing a quality service and remaining competitive. Yet the term 'team building' can sometimes seem rather nebulous - people often know that they need it, but aren't quite sure what it is.

What is a team?
Here are some terms that are often used to describe 'a team'. Which ones do you think define what a team is? A group of people Whole > Sum Synergy Co-operation Having one aim Flexibility

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The Basics of Team Building

Working together Reporting to one boss Serving one customer Some of these terms are features of good teams. For example, 'whole > sum' is a feature of a team that is working well together - but there are some teams whose collective performance falls short of what you might expect given the quality of individuals. The Apollo Syndrome is a good example of this - where a team composed of highly intelligent people often performs worse than teams made of up 'less-able' members. The term 'reporting to one boss' can be a misleading one. In a well-designed organisational structure, people reporting to one boss do often form 'teams'. But reporting lines are frequently designed within the constraints of grading structures. Of necessity, there is often a compromise between pay structures or traditional reporting lines, and grouping people together who are a team. In reality, team structures are often complicated, and people can be members of several teams, because a team is a group of people working together towards a common goal. .

Common goals
Consider the example of a financial services organisation, selling pensions. Who is a member of the 'sales' team? From the definition of a team, you first have to define the common goal of the sales team before you can define who is in it. Let us suppose that the goal is 'to increase the sales of the company'. Who contributes to that goal? There are many people: Sales people Sales Manager Marketing Manager Accountants Investment Analysts Undertake selling to clients Ensures the Sales People are equipped to sell properly Designs a product is attractive to potential buyers Control the costs of the product to keep it competitively priced Maximise the return on the client's investment, making the product more attractive to buy Process the applications quickly so that the client does not lose patience and move to a competitor company

Administrators

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The Basics of Team Building

Personnel Stationery suppliers Cleaning staff

Recruit high performing sales people, and provide training to maximise sales Provide marketing literature that looks professional and makes the product seem attractive Keep sales offices looking attractive, so that clients and prospects feel comfortable visiting the branches

In this example, it is easy to see the need for a corporate culture that recognises and values the contribution that everyone makes to the sales process, and other important goals. The whole organisation is truly a team, and working together towards a set of common goals. The example also shows the hierarchy of goals that exists within the company.

An example - the 'Personnel Team'
Looking at this hierarchy of goals, one might initially conclude that the goal that defines the personnel team might be 'to build a skilled workforce'. But who contributes to this goal? Surely line management have as major a role to play in this as Personnel, because they so often do the recruitment and most of the training 'on the job'? If this is true, what exactly is the goal of the Personnel team? Could it be 'to promote good practice in the company which leads to the recruitment of high quality staff and an excellent standard of training'? Clearly, defining a team as 'a group of people working towards a common goal' may cause us to challenge some long held assumptions about what a team is. It may cause a team to examine their purpose and their 'membership'.

What is team building?
A team is a group of people working towards a common goal. 'Team Building' is the process of enabling that group of people to reach their goal. It is therefore a management issue, and the most effective form of team building is that undertaken as a form of management consultancy, rather than as pure training (though there is a role for training within a programme of team building). In its simplest terms, the stages involved in team building are:
q q

To clarify the team goals To identify those issues which inhibit the team from reaching their goals

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The Basics of Team Building

q

To address those issues, remove the inhibitors and enable the goals to be achieved

The primary skills in this process are recognising the right issues, and tackling them in an appropriate way and an appropriate order. Team building can also take a different form depending on the size and nature of the team. In a project environment, where team composition is continually changing, the emphasis must be on developing the skills in individuals to be effective team members. The 'scale' involved is 1 person, and the team building consultant is endeavouring to change the skills and abilities of the individual at operating within a team (or within multiple teams). In teams where membership is static - typically in management teams - how the individuals within the team relate can have a big bearing on team performance. If a member leaves, or another joins, the dynamics of the team can be changed greatly. Here, the scale is small - say, 2 to about 12 - and the team building consultant endeavours to improve relationships between team members, using tools such as the MBTI and/or the MTR-i team roles. A larger scale operates between teams. Where the teams do not relate well, they are called 'team islands', and it is the relationship between the teams that becomes the focus for the consultant. The largest scale is that of organisational team building. With the exception of the senior management team, the ability of individuals to make an impact on the corporate culture is very limited. One of the key aims of the team building consultant is to change the behaviours and attitudes prevalent in the organisation, which are almost independent of who actually works there - new recruits who are 'different' often start behaving in accord with the existing culture.

Summary
q q q

q

A team is a group of people working towards a common goal Team building is a process of enabling the team to achieve that goal The stages involved in team building including clarifying the goal, identifying the inhibitors and removing them. The nature of the team building varies in terms of scale, and what you are trying to achieve:

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The Basics of Team Building

Scale Individual Small Team Team Islands Organisation 1 person 2-12 people 2 or more teams 15+ people

What is changed Individual skills and perceptions Relationships between people Relationships between teams The culture of the organisation

To read more articles at this web site related to team building, or find out about the MBTI personality preferences and MTR-i team roles, refer to our home page.
"MTR-i" is a trademark of S P Myers (no relation to Isabel Briggs-Myers). ®Myers Briggs Type Indicator and MBTI are registered trademarks of Consulting Psychologists Press Inc.. Oxford Psycholgists Press Ltd has exclusive rights to the trademark in the UK. ©1997 Team Technology (www.mtr-i.com). Team Technology, PO Box 41, Hoylake, L48 8BZ, UK. All rights are reserved and no copying in any form is permitted without written authorisation of the copyright holders.

©1997 Team Technology

©1997 Team Technology

What is your team role? Find out on using our free poster

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Building the Winning Team: Small Business Managing People - BusinessTown

Managing People - Motivation
Building the Winning Team

Home
Return to Motivation

Building the Winning Team
"Everyone wants to feel that they are on a winning team, that the company is moving ahead, and that they are an integral part of the group." Beyond Hiring Great People Building the winning team requires more than just hiring a bunch of talented people. It means hiring people who will work well together. It means developing a shared vision and commitment. It means physically bringing people together in formal group meetings for open discussion of broad-based issues. It means encouraging positive, informal interactions between group members. It means instilling a "winning" attitude throughout the organization. It means watching for and quickly trying to reverse team-building problems such as jealousy, cynicism, and defensive behavior. Get 'Em To "Buy In"! To build the winning team, you not only need to show people what direction the company is headed in, but you need to get them to "buy into" this direction. Otherwise, you can't expect people to support a group if they don't agree with where it's headed or, worse, don't even know where it's headed. Specifically, you need to show people:
q q q q

Site Index
Home Page Accounting Advertising Associations Books Business Directories Business Opportunities

Business Planning Careers Consulting Entrepreneur Finance Letters & Forms

Getting Started Hiring & Firing Home Business Internet Legal Managing a Business
New!

Your vision for the future. Your strategy for getting there. Why this is the best strategy. Every achievement that indicates this team is winning.

This is not a one-time discussion or announcement. You need to constantly remind people what the organization stands for and that it does indeed hold a bright future for them! Meetings Build Teams Part of building the winning team is having some group meetings. Meetings, or even parties or celebrations, with as many people as possible from the entire organization,

Managing People

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Building the Winning Team: Small Business Managing People - BusinessTown

help build a feeling of solidarity throughout the organization. But it is also important to have everyone participate in smaller group meetings where some work is done or some decisions are made. This makes people feel that they aren't just part of some big group, but that they are an active, important part of a team. For key managers, or people in your work group, you should have an interactive meeting once per week-not a meeting where you just make announcements and summarize the work that's been done and needs to be done, but a meeting where everyone has an opportunity to give feedback on substantive issues. Getting People To Work Together Perhaps the most difficult part of building a winning team is encouraging positive, informal interaction between team members when you are not present. Here are some thoughts on this:
q q q q q

Marketing Office Presentations Sales Selling a Business Taxes Time Management Travel & Maps TurnAround
New!

q

Have team members take part in the hiring process of new team members. Assign specific projects for two team members to work on together. Try to arrange for close proximity of offices. Create an incentive-pay plan based on common goals such as profitability. Have a specific part of the salary review dependent upon "interaction with others." Take your team off-site for formal meetings as well as casual get-togethers to build a sense of bonding.

Valuing a Business

Watch Out For Team Destroyers! Here are some of the problems that can rip the team-building process apart. Jealousy. Be on guard for jealousy whenever a new member is hired into the group. Go out of your way to tell other team members how much their work is appreciated. Cynicism. Some people are just negative by nature. Others might feel your company can't possibly prosper or they just don't like small companies, big companies, or whatever . . . . Be sure you are emphasizing the company's positive achievements to the group as a whole. And don't hesitate to confront any openly cynical individual and demand their behavior change at once. Lack of confidence. Some people lack confidence in themselves and view attacks on their opinions as attacks on themselves, responding with statements like "Are you telling me my fifteen years of experience don't matter?" Stop any discussion like this immediately and, in a private one-on-one meeting, patiently point out the defensive behavior. * Source Streetwise Small Business Start-Up

Motivation

Communication Compensation Firing Employees Performance Reviews Problem Employees

Copyright ©2001 BusinessTown.com, LLC. Disclaimer Contact us for technical support or provide us feedback.

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Building the Winning Team: Small Business Managing People - BusinessTown

BusinessTown.com LLC - Privacy Statement BusinessTown.com is a registered trademark of BusinessTown.com, LLC.

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Leadership Teams

Leadership Teams

"A team is a group organized to work together to accomplish a set of objectives that cannot be achieved effectively by individuals."

A key to successful planning and implementation is the development of teams. The table below provides a description of three types of teams and their relative advantages and disadvantages:

Executive Model
Small teams of 3-8 All district managers No constituent or stakeholder involvement

s s s

Advantages: quick, focused, consensus among leaders Disadvantages: isolated, no district-side ownership

District Model
Mid-size team of 15-20 Representatives from each key stakeholder group within the 'boundaries' of district staff

s s

Advantages: key representatives are involved, sense of district-wide ownership Disadvantages: representatives can take the narrow view, no community-side ownership

Community Model

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Leadership Teams

q q

Large team of 25-30 Mix of district staff and community leaders (50:50 preferred)

Advantages: key district community leaders involved, sense of community-wide ownership Disadvantages: slow process, everyone needs to be heard, steep learning curve as citizens become knowledgeable about issues and practices

Characteristics of a Team
s s

s

There must be an awareness of unity on the part of all its members. There must be interpersonal relationship. Members must have a chance to contribute, learn from and work with others. The member must have the ability to act together toward a common goal.

Ten characteristics of well-functioning teams:
s

s

s

s s

s s

s

s

s

Purpose: Members proudly share a sense of why the team exists and are invested in accomplishing its mission and goals. Priorities: Members know what needs to be done next, by whom, and by when to achieve team goals. Roles: Members know their roles in getting tasks done and when to allow a more skillful member to do a certain task. Decisions: Authority and decision-making lines are clearly understood. Conflict: Conflict is dealt with openly and is considered important to decision-making and personal growth. Personal traits: members feel their unique personalities are appreciated and well utilized. Norms: Group norms for working together are set and seen as standards for every one in the groups. Effectiveness: Members find team meetings efficient and productive and look forward to this time together. Success: Members know clearly when the team has met with success and share in this equally and proudly. Training: Opportunities for feedback and updating skills are provided and taken advantage of by team members.

Guidelines for effective team membership:
s s s s s s

Contribute ideas and solutions Recognize and respect differences in others Value the ideas and contributions of others Listen and share information Ask questions and get clarification Participate fully and keep your commitments

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Leadership Teams

s s

Be flexible and respect the partnership created by a team -- strive for the "win-win" Have fun and care about the team and the outcomes.

Characteristics of a high-performance team:
s

s

s

s s s s s

Participative leadership - creating an interdependence by empowering, freeing up and serving others. Shared responsibility - establishing an environment in which all team members feel responsibility as the manager for the performance team. Aligned on purpose - having a sense of common purpose about why the team exists and the function it serves. High communication - creating a climate of trust and open, honest communication. Future focused - seeing change as an opportunity for growth. Focused on task - keeping meetings and interactions focused on results. Creative talents - applying individual talents and creativity. Rapid response - identifying and acting on opportunities.

Who is Part of Your Team and What Does The Team Do?
s

s

s

s

s

Management Team (Superintendent and Administration) plus Governance Team (School Board) Vision (Planning) r School Board - creates, reviews and approves r Administration - recommends process, develop and plans (decides what), and implements plans (decides how) Structure (policy) r School Board - creates reviews and adopts r Administration - recommends and implements Advocacy (communication) r School Board - represents public interest, seeks public input r Administration - acts in public interest, seeks and provides public information Accountability (Evaluation) r School Board - monitors progress toward goals, evaluates the board standards and personnel in accordance r Administration - implements evaluation of programs

In this Module:
Governance and Management Leadership and Teams Professional Development Leadership Responsibilities

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In the Toolkit:
Toolkit Home Page Planning Community Involvement Prof'l and Ldrship Development Why Change? Policy Facility Planning Why Technology? Curriculum and Assessment Funding

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Developing Your Team Building Skills

Developing Your Team Building Skills

The first step in developing your team building skills is to identify your personal team player style. Without knowing what your style is, it is very difficult to form an effective team which will complement your strengths and weaknesses. Once you know what your own style is, it is equally important to identify the styles (and subsequent strengths and weaknesses) of the other members of your team... namely, your employees. Remember, you can always accomplish more as a group than you can as an individual.

Identifying Your Team Player Style
Purpose: The Team Player Survey will help you identify your style as a team player. The results will lead you to an assessment of your current strengths and provide a basis for a plan to increase your effectiveness as a team player. Teams may use the survey to develop a profile of team strengths and to discuss strategies for increasing team effectiveness. Directions: This is a survey, therefore, there are no right or wrong answers. Please answer each item according to how you honestly feel you function now as a team member rather than how you used to be or how you would like to be. Each sentence has four possible endings. Rank the endings in the order in which you feel each one applies to you. Click on the number 4 next to the ending which is most like you and continue down to a 1 next to the ending which is least like you. You must answer ALL questions for the

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test to be accurate. Each section (A-R) will have one question rated 4, one question rated 3, one question rated 2, and one question rated 1. A) During team meetings, I usually: provide the team with technical data or information. keep the team focused on our mission or goals. make sure everyone is involved in the discussion. raise questions about our goals or methods. B) In relating to the team leader, I: suggest that our work be goal-directed. try to help him/her build a positive team climate. am willing to disagree with him/her when necessary. offer advice based on my area of expertise. C) Under stress, I sometimes: overuse humor and other tension reducing devices. am too direct in communicating with other team members. lose patience with the need to get everyone involved in discussions. complain to outsiders about problems facing the team. D) When conflicts arise on the team, I usually: press for an honest discussion of the differences. 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1

4 4 4 4

3 3 3 3

2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1

4 4 4 4

3 3 3 3

2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1

4

3

2

1

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provide reasons why one side or the other is correct. see the differences as a basis for a possible change in team direction. try to break the tension with a supportive or humorous remark. E) Other team members usually see me as: factual. flexible. encouraging. candid. F) At times, I am: too results oriented. too laid back. self righteous. shortsighted. G) When things go wrong on the team, I usually: push for increased emphasis on listening, feedback, and participation. press for a candid discussion of our problems. work hard to provide more and better information. suggest that we revisit our basic mission. H) A risky team contribution for me is to: question some aspect of the team's work. push the team to set higher performance standards. work outside my defined role or job area.

4 4 4

3 3 3

2 2 2

1 1 1

4 4 4 4

3 3 3 3

2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1

4 4 4 4

3 3 3 3

2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1

4 4 4 4

3 3 3 3

2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1

4 4 4

3 3 3

2 2 2

1 1 1

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provide other team members with feedback on their behavior as team members. I) Sometimes other team members see me as: a perfectionist. unwilling to reassess the team's mission or goals. not serious about getting the real job done. a nitpicker. J) I believe team problem solving requires: cooperation by all team members. high level listening skills. a willingness to ask tough questions. good solid data. K) When a new team is forming, I usually: try to meet and get to know other team members. ask pointed questions about our goals and methods. want to know what is expected of me. seek clarity about our basic mission. L) At times, I make other people feel: dishonest because they are not able to be as confrontational as I am. guilty because they don't live up to my standards. small minded because they don't think long range.

4

3

2

1

4 4 4 4

3 3 3 3

2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1

4 4 4 4

3 3 3 3

2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1

4 4 4 4

3 3 3 3

2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1

4 4 4

3 3 3

2 2 2

1 1 1

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heartless because they don't care about how people relate to each other. M) I believe the role of the team leader is to: ensure the efficient solution of business problems. help the team establish long range goals and short term objectives. create a participatory decision making climate. bring out diverse ideas and challenge assumptions. N) I believe team decisions should be based on: the team's mission and goals. a consensus of team members. an open and candid assessment of the issues. the weight of the evidence. O) Sometimes I: see team climate as an end in itself. play devil's advocate far too long. fail to see the importance of effective team process. overemphasize strategic issues and minimize short term task accomplishments. P) People have often described me as: independent. dependable. imaginative. participative.

4

3

2

1

4 4 4 4

3 3 3 3

2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1

4 4 4 4

3 3 3 3

2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1

4 4 4 4

3 3 3 3

2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1

4 4 4 4

3 3 3 3

2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1

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Q) Most of the time, I am: responsible and hard working. committed and flexible. enthusiastic and humorous. honest and authentic. R) In relating to other team members, at times I get annoyed because they don't: revisit team goals to check progress. see the importance of working well together. object to team actions with which they disagree. complete their team assignments on time.
Total my Score!

4 4 4 4

3 3 3 3

2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1

4 4 4 4

3 3 3 3

2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1

For more information or comments on this site, please contact [email protected] or call (202) 205-6673 or contact the SBA Answer Desk at 1-800 U ASK SBA or [email protected] *Last Modified: 08-10-2001 Application Version: 2.0.1

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TEAM ROLES AND TEAM BUILDING

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TEAM ROLES AND TEAM BUILDING: SELF-PERCEPTION IS NO BASIS ON WHICH TO BUILD A TEAM

Barbara Senior

Barbara Senior is a Chartered Occupational Psychologist and Principal Lecturer and Consultant in Management at Nene College. She specialises in the areas of organisational behaviour and change, creative problem solving and cross cultural studies. Research interests are in team-working, particularly ways in which the characteristics of team members influence team performance; organisation and change; cross cultural studies Her published work includes a range of papers and two books.

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There has been much debate on the importance of the work of teams in achieving organisational tasks. For instance West begins his book Effective Teamwork, by asking, and attempting to answer, the question are teams more effective than individuals working alone? (1). The answer can be summed up in the words of West and Slater: "The research evidence is consistent in suggesting that the quality of group decision making generally equals but does not exceed the quality of decision making of the average member" (2). However Katzenbach and Smith believe that "teams will become the primary unit of performance in high-performance organizations" and that "every company faces specific performance challenges for which teams are the most practical and powerful vehicle at top management's disposal" (3).

Even though individuals working alone may achieve better results then groups of people working together in some situations, the fact that occupational teams are a common and increasing characteristic of organisational life places a responsibility upon all involved with them to ensure they work as effectively as possible. There are a number of factors which contribute to the performance of teams; for instance, the organisational structure within which the team works, the type of task to be accomplished, resources available and the characteristics of the team and the team members. The last, the characteristics of the team members, is the subject of this paper.

TEAM ROLES AND TEAM PERFORMANCE

It is generally accepted that people are chosen for their membership of teams because of the job and task skills they possess; in other words, because of the functional role they perform. However, for some fifty years or so, it has been recognised that members of groups play roles additional to those which gained them admission to the group in the first place. Thus, Benne and Sheats proposed a number of roles such as 'energiser', 'opinion seeker', initiator-contributor' 'harmoniser', 'encourager' and so on (4). Bales differentiated between task-oriented behaviours and socio-emotional behaviours, the latter being more concerned with a group's processes and the former more concerned with the task (5). More recently, various academics, consultants and others have applied the notion of behavioural roles to teams and claim to have identified sets of roles which they term 'team roles'. Thus, the early work of Belbin identified eight team roles (6), to which he later added a ninth (7). Davis, Millburn, Murphy and Woodhouse identified five team roles, which they subdivided into fifteen (8). Margerison and McCann found nine roles (9); Spencer and Pruss ten roles (10), and Woodcock twelve roles (11).

Different team roles indicate different types of behaviour which are not necessarily linked to job and task skills. For instance, a person might be naturally imaginative - a 'good ideas' person. Another might be good at checking details to make sure everything has been covered. Yet

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another might be the person to make sure decisions are implemented and the task carried through to completion. Even though these team roles are not associated with particular job and task skills, they are considered crucial to task and goal achievement in that their presence or absence is said to influence significantly the work and achievements of teams. Consequently, most team role exponents maintain that, for a team to be high performing, it should be 'balanced'; that is, there should exist amongst the typical behaviours of members, the full range of team roles.

Consultants and trainers have built upon these theories and applied in putting them together occupational teams and in expanding the activities of existing teams. A range of questionnaire type instruments have been developed to identify the natural team role of individuals - each team role proponent having devised his or her own instrument. Some have developed computer programmes to produce, for each team member, team role profiles and accompanying prose explanations. In addition, the programmes frequently give summaries of a team's expected performance on the basis of the team members' range of identified team roles.

Two main issues, crucial to the application of team role theory, arise from this work. The first is the method for identifying an individual's team roles and the question of whether he or she can make this judgement through self-perception only, or whether other people's judgements of them are also required. The second is the concept of balance. How balanced must a team be to be judged balanced enough to ensure high performance? The research reported in this paper arises out of these issues. They are related, specifically, to Belbin's work in this field, work which has resulted in one of the most widely applied set of team role theories. The remainder of this paper, therefore, starts with a discussion of these two issues. This is followed by a description of a piece of research which aims to identify different measures of team role identification, and using these, to test their validity in determining team role balance as a determinant of team performance. IDENTIFICATION OF TEAM ROLES

The most popular method for identifying a person's Belbin team role is to ask for completion of a Belbin Team Role Self-Perception Inventory (SPI), which gives a score between 0 and 100 for each team role. From these scores, a team role profile for each team member can be plotted. Based on Belbin's nine role framework, Figure 1 illustrates such a profile with a description of each team role.

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SELF PERCEPTION TEAM ROLE PROFILE

Name:............................................................

ROLES BEST AVOIDED

ROLES AND ROLES ABLE TO NATURAL DESCRIPTIONS ALLOWABLE ROLES TEAM-ROLE WEAKNESSES BE ASSUMED CONTRIBUTION 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 PLANT: Creative, Ignores imaginative, incidentals. Too unorthodox. preoccupied to communicate Solves difficult effectively. problems RESOURCE INVESTIGATOR: OverExtrovert, optimistic. enthusiastic, Loses interest communicative. once initial Explores enthusiasm has opportunities, passed. Develops contacts.

0 10 20

. ..

. . PL . .

..x.

. ..

. . RI x .

....

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x ..

. . CO . .

....

COORDINATOR: Mature, confident, a good chairperson. Clarifies goals, promotes decisionmaking, delegates well. SHAPER: Challenging, dynamic,

Can be seen as manipulative. Offloads personal work.

. ..

. . SH . x

....

Prone to provocation. Offends thrives on people's pressure. The drive and courage feelings to overcome obstacles MONITOR EVALUATOR: Lacks drive and Sober, strategic ability to and discerning. inspire others. Sees all options. Judges accurately.

x ..

. . ME . .

....

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. ..

. x TW . .

....

TEAMWORKER: Co-operative, Indecisive in mild, perceptive crunch and diplomatic. situations. Listens, builds, averts friction. IMPLEMENTER: Disciplined, Somewhat inflexible. Slow reliable, conservative and to respond to efficient. Turns new ideas into practical possibilities. actions. COMPLETER: Painstaking, Inclined to conscientious, worry unduly. anxious. Searches Reluctant to out errors and delegate. omissions. Delivers on time. SPECIALIST: Single-minded, self-Contributes on only a narrow starting, front. dedicated. Provides knowledge and Dwells on skills in rare technicalities. supply.

. ..

. . IMP x .

....

. ..

. . CF . .

.x..

. ..

x . SP . .

....

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Figure 1: Example of an individual's Belbin team role profile with descriptions of the nine different team roles. Note there are two team roles which are 'natural' roles, both scoring 70 or above. (Based on Belbin Associates Interplace IV computer programme materials)

An examination of Figure 1 shows that team roles are classified into those which are the natural roles for that person, those which are able to be assumed by that person, and those which he or she should avoid. Roles at score 70 or above are considered to be the roles that person would naturally assume given no pressures to act otherwise.

There have been criticisms of Belbin's eight role version of the SPI (which is similar to the one used here) in terms of its psychometric properties, which give rise to questions as to the use of 70 as the determining score for a 'natural' role (12). However, as important is the fact that the results rely solely on self-perception, taking no account of other people's views. Consequently, when Belbin Associates developed computer software (Interplace) to score the SPI, they also designed an observer adjective checklist for use by close work colleagues of the subject (Belbin advised at least four observations per team member). Therefore, in addition to using the results of the SPI on its own to identify a person's team role, it is also possible to use data from a combination of the SPI and the observer checklists to achieve a combined self and other-perception team role score.

However, although these two measures of team roles exist, and logic suggests the combined measure (SPI plus the perceptions of others) as the more rounded team role description, it is the SPI measure, on its own, which is predominantly used. For instance, only one account has been found which reports any other than the use of the SPI, and this claims systematic discrepancies between the SPI scores and the otherperception scores (13). To the author's knowledge, the majority of consultancy work done, based on the use of the team role concept, uses only the SPI results to identify a person's team roles. The dilemma remains, therefore, as to which measure to use for identifying someone's natural team roles as a means of building a balanced team. This leads to the issue of defining team role balance.

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TEAM ROLE BALANCE

Belbin makes a number of statements about balanced teams; for example "In a perfectly balanced team there is always someone who can deal naturally with any set of responsibilities" (14). This means that at least one person in the team should have at least one of the team roles in their profile as a naturally occurring role. In terms of team role scores, Belbin sets this at a score of 70 or above.

However, a person may have more than one role scoring 70 or above. The question then arises as to whether the role scoring, 90 is more natural than the one scoring (say) 70. Given that Belbin maintains teams of fewer than nine members can be balanced, the assumption is that, in the case above, both roles count. What is crucial to the concept of team balance is its relationship to team performance. Belbin's theory says a balanced team will be higher performing than an unbalanced team. What is not clear, however, is whether a team which is balanced in terms of roles scoring 80 or above is likely to be higher performing than a team which, though still balanced in Belbin's terms, scores only 70 or above.

Conversely, will a team that has only five roles naturally represented perform worse than a team which has, seven roles naturally represented? This point has been made by Fisher, Macrosson and Walker who observe that whereas Belbin claims that top teams (high performing teams) have a full complement of personality types, "there is no information in either Belbin's account or in the open literature to tell those firms which cannot muster the full complement of team personality types how poorly or how well their teams are likely to perform" (15).

SUMMARY AND RESEARCH AIMS

The conclusions for the above are twofold. First, there is some confusion about which measure of team role identification should be used to

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determine how balanced a team might be. Secondly, there is some confusion about how balanced a team should be to be high performing. Is it simply a dichotomy between balanced and unbalanced, or are there degrees of balance which are associated with degrees of performance?

Research with a number of different teams in a range of public and private sector organisations offered the opportunity to test the two different measures of team role identification and to investigate their relationship to different measures of team role balance. The aims of the research can be stated as:

To investigate the relationship between team role balance and team performance using a range of different measures of team roles and team role balance.

METHODOLOGY

Sample Ten teams were identified as the subjects of this study. These teams contrasted with the teams used for Belbin's original research which were 'artificially' formed from people attending management development courses. The teams in the study were actual management or departmental teams currently operating in their respective organisations. Numbers of team members per team ranged from four to nine, there being 59 members of teams in total. Two teams were in the private sector (one in financial services and the other in the brewing industry) and eight in the public sector (local and county councils and a hospital). All teams had been operating in their current form for at least two years with approximately 75% stability of membership. The functions of the teams varied. For instance, two teams managed two different centres for adults with learning difficulties, another team managed a large hospital's non-clinical services. One of the two private sector teams provided the accounts function for the organisation, whilst the other private sector team managed the human resource development function. All the teams could be defined, loosely, as having a management function, although, as can be seen from the examples given, this differed significantly over the range of organisational levels.

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Identifying team members' team roles Team members' team roles were identified separately in two ways: first, through using only the results of the SPI, which every member completed and which the Interplace programme shows as a set of team role profiles (for example, see Figure 1): and secondly, through using the results of the combined SPI and observer checklists which the Interplace programme shows as a graph (16). Figure 2 gives an example of this.

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Note: the bars represent the individuals with the highest combined score in that team role.

It can be seen from Figures 1 and 2 that scores for the SPI results can be identified only from the sten scores (multiples of ten), while the combined SPI and observer scores can be identified at smaller intervals. Five out of the total of fifty-nine team members, across three teams, had only three observer results each, which was less than the recommended four. This was not considered to affect the results in any significant way. Measuring team balance All measures of team balance rely on the presence or absence of team roles above a certain score. As discussed above, Belbin gives 70 and above as the score to be attained if a role is to be considered a person's 'natural' role. Thus, in any team, the greater number of roles represented at score 70 or above, the more balanced the team and vice versa. However, in keeping with the aims of the research to use a range of measures of team balance, scores were used as follows:

Self-perception (SPI) scores only at score 70 and above. Self-perception (SPI) scores only at score 80 and above. Self-perception (SPI) scores only at score 90 and above. Combined (SPI + observer) scores at score 70 and above.

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Combined (SPI + observer) scores at score 75 and above. Combined (SPI + observer) scores at score 80 and above. Combines (SPI + observer) scores at score 90 and above.

Measuring team performance Given the type of work done by the teams, there were no obvious objective measures, such as sales figures, number of complaints or components made per hour, available for assessing their performance. This contrasts again with Belbin's research teams judged on by their performance in the management games they were required to play. Therefore, some form of subjective measure was required. Two issues arise: which measure to use, and who should do the measuring? There are various ways of judging the performance of teams in the absence of objective measures. One way is to observe and rate the team's behaviour on some set of agreed criteria. Another is to interview all who may have a view about the team and its performance. A third is to administer a pre-prepared questionnaire to team members and their managers. Some researchers have used senior management as judges of a team's performance as well as, and sometimes instead of, team members' own judgements(17).

All these methods have their advantages and drawbacks. Observing team members' behaviour is very time-consuming and requires a degree of participant observation unavailable to most researchers. Interview data is, itself, qualitative and, unless obtained in a very structured way, does not lend itself to comparison. Many questionnaires purport to measure team performance; however, these assume equality of importance of the items measuring team performance, regardless of the purpose or activities of the team in question. Therefore, a team performance measure was sought which (a) took account of team members' own perceptions of what team performance criteria were important, (b) allowed the team leader's view to be incorporated with those of the other team members and (c) enabled a team's performance to be compared with that of others. Team members and team leaders were chosen as the vehicle both for defining the criteria on which their team should be judged and for using these criteria to measure their own team's performance.

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This method produced a form of self-rating, but one which operated on a group (including the team leader) basis. This combines the selfrating SPI measure with other people's ratings so as to avoid the bias of self-measurement. This measure also combines the views of both the team members and the team leader. There is considerable support for such team performance measures: ... asking teams and individuals to rate themselves on whatever factors are determined to be important is a good way to approach 'immeasurables' like customer service, teamwork, and communication skills"(18). They also help overcome what Furnham et al speak of as "... the extreme difficulty in measuring salient, ecologically valid and reliable, team-dependent outcome variables in order to establish some criterion of team success"(19).

Given this decision on the method to be used, the technique for collecting the data on team performance was as follows. In the context of an interview with each team member and the team leader, repertory grid technique was used to elicit constructs (criteria) relating to team performance on which team ratings could be made (20). Several elements were used to elicit the constructs. These included the team of interest as well as each respondent's identification of a 'good' team (the best team known to the respondent); a 'bad' team (the worst team known to the respondent) and an 'okay' team (one which was somewhere in between the other two). Each respondent's perceptions of a wellacted play and a badly-acted play, in terms of their performances, were also used as elements to broaden the 'compare and contrast' activity, which is an essential part of the repertory grid technique.

The Manchester Computing Centre's GAP programme was used to produce, for each team, a principle components analysis of the combined results of all the team members and the team leader. This enabled the production of a cognitive map of the positions of the elements in relation to the constructs and allowed a calculation of, the distance of one element from another. Figure 3 is an example of a cognitive map for one of the teams.

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Figure 3 shows the criteria used to measure team performance (the words and phrases around the circle) and the position of the team in question (in this case T4) and all the other elements with respect to these criteria. The performance of a team can be determined from its position in relation to the positive and negative constructs (that is the team performance criteria - each of which occupy approximately half the map area), and its position in relation to the other elements, including the good, bad and okay teams. Therefore, a cognitive map for a team represents a composite view of the team members and team leaders with respect to (a) the performance criteria important to that team, and (b) their ratings of their team on these criteria as well as in relation to other significant elements such as the good, bad and okay teams.

Results

Table 1 shows the ranked performance of the ten teams. Team performance rankings were determined as follows:

Team

Distance from

Good Team

Position in positive/ Distance from Okay negative Distance from Bad Team Team zone of map

F G

no different than by chance 25% nearer than by chance 55% nearer than by chance negative no different than by chance no different than by chance 35% nearer than by chance negative

1 2

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TEAM ROLES AND TEAM BUILDING

H J B A C E D I

no different than by chance no different than by chance 25% nearer than by chance borderline no different than by chance 25% further than by chance no different than by chance borderline 25% nearer than by chance no different than by chance 25% nearer than by chance positive 25% nearer than by chance no different than by chance 35% nearer than by chance positive 25% nearer than by chance no different than by chance 35% nearer than by chance positive 25% nearer than by chance 25% further than by chance 25% nearer than by chance positive 35% nearer than by chance 25% further than by chance 35% nearer than by chance positive 55% nearer than by chance 25% further than by chance 75% nearer than by chance positive

3 4 5 6.5 6.5 8 9 10

Table 1 Evaluation of team performance Note: Statistical nearness of the research teams to team members' perceptions of 'Good', 'Bad' and 'Okay' teams and the positive or negative positions of the teams on the cognitive maps are shown. Rank 10 indicates the highest performing team.

1 Order teams in terms of positive, borderline and negative positions on cognitive maps which created three categories - top, middle and bottom rankings. 2 Within these categories, order by nearness to good team.

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TEAM ROLES AND TEAM BUILDING

3 Where tied rankings occur, order by distance from bad team. 4 Where tied rankings still occur, order by nearness to okay team.

This produced a team performance ranking with only two teams tied.

Perf-ormance Team Ranking F G H J B A 1 2 3 4 5 6.5 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 7 5 8 7 7 8 CO SH PL RI IMP CF TW ME SP Total number of roles Roles ranking

6 1 9.5 6 6 9.5

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TEAM ROLES AND TEAM BUILDING

C E D I

6.5 8 9 10

+ + + -

+ + +

+ +

+ +

+ + +

+ + + +

+ + + +

+ -

+ + + +

6 6 7 7

2.5 2.5 6 6

Table 2 Distribution, number and ranking of team role types (self-perception ratings only) in teams ranked according to level of team performance. Note: Team roles scoring at sten 70 or above. Key: + = team role present; - = team role absent. CO=Coordinator; SH=Shaper; PL=Plant; RI=Resource Investigator; IMP=Implementor; CF=Completer Finisher; TW=Teamworker; ME=Monitor-Evaluator; SP=Specialist

Perf-ormance Team Ranking F 1 + + + + + + + CO SH PL RI IMP CF TW ME SP

Total number of roles

Roles ranking

7

7.5

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TEAM ROLES AND TEAM BUILDING

G H J B A C E D I

2 3 4 5 6.5 6.5 8 9 10

+ + + + + + -

+ + + + + +

+ + + +

+ + + + +

+ + + + + +

+ + + + + + + +

+ + + + + + + +

+ + + + -

+ + + + + + + -

4 8 6 7 8 5 5 5 6

1 9.5 5.5 7.5 9.5 3 3 3 5.5

Table 3 Distribution, number and ranking of team role types (self-perception ratings only) in teams ranked according to level of team performance. Note: Team roles scoring at sten 80 or above. Key: + = team role present; - = team role absent. CO=Coordinator; SH=Shaper; PL=Plant; RI=Resource Investigator; IMP=Implementor; CF=Completer Finisher; TW=Teamworker; ME=Monitor-Evaluator; SP=Specialist

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TEAM ROLES AND TEAM BUILDING

Perf-ormance Team Ranking F G H J B A C E D I 1 2 3 4 5 6.5 6.5 8 9 10 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + CO SH PL RI IMP CF TW ME SP

Total number of roles

Roles ranking

4 3 6 5 5 7 3 3 4 5

4.5 2 9 7 7 10 2 2 4.5 7

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TEAM ROLES AND TEAM BUILDING

Table 4 Distribution, number and ranking of team role types (self-perception ratings only) in teams ranked according to level of team performance. Note: Team roles scoring at sten 90 or above. Key: + = team role present; - = team role absent. CO=Coordinator; SH=Shaper; PL=Plant; RI=Resource Investigator; IMP=Implementor; CF=Completer Finisher; TW=Teamworker; ME=Monitor-Evaluator; SP=Specialist

Tables 2, 3 and 4 indicate the distribution of team roles according to the presence (indicated as +) or absence (indicated by -) of individuals whose self-perception (SPI) team role scores were, respectively, at 70, 80 and 90 and above. The teams are shown in order of team performance, where rank 10 indicates the highest performing team. The roles ranking (final column) is in terms of the number of team roles represented at the respective levels identified above, as shown in penultimate column. Rank 10 indicates the highest number of team roles in any team, and therefore the most balanced team. Rank 1 represents the lowest number of team roles, and therefore the least balanced team. Where rankings are tied, the mid point between the rankings has been taken. For illustration in Table 2, team J is ranked 4 in terms of performance. It has 7 out of a possible 9 team roles represented, which gives it a ranking of 6 in terms of team role balance.

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TEAM ROLES AND TEAM BUILDING

Perf-ormance Team Ranking F G H J B A C E D I 1 2 3 4 5 6.5 6.5 8 9 10 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 7 5 6 6 8 9 5 6 8 8 CO SH PL RI IMP CF TW ME SP Total number of roles Roles ranking

6 1.5 4 4 8 10 1.5 4 8 8

Table 5 Distribution, number and ranking of team role types (combined results of self-perception and observer ratings) in teams ranked according to level of team performance.

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TEAM ROLES AND TEAM BUILDING

Note: Team roles scoring at 70 sten or above. Key: + = team role present; - = team role absent; Perf-ormance Team CO SH Ranking 1 2 3 4 5 6.5 6.5 8 9 10 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + PL RI IMP CF TW ME SP

Total number of roles

Roles ranking

F G H J B A C E D I

5 4 5 5 6 7 5 5 8 7

4 1 8.5 6 7 8.5 4 4 10 4

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TEAM ROLES AND TEAM BUILDING

Table 6 Distribution, number and ranking of team role types (combined results of self-perception and observer ratings) in teams ranked according to level of team performance. Note: Team roles scoring at 75 sten or above. Key: + = team role present; - = team role absent;

Tables 5, 6, 7 and 8 have been prepared on the same basis as Tables 2 to 4, except that the team role identifications are based on the combined self-perception (SPI) and observer scores. The Tables represent, respectively, individual team members with scores of 70 and above, 75 and above, 80 and above and 90 and above.

Perf-ormance Team Ranking F G H J 1 2 3 4 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + CO SH PL RI IMP CF TW ME SP

Total number of roles

Roles ranking

4 3 4 5

3.5 1 3.5 6

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TEAM ROLES AND TEAM BUILDING

B A C E D I

5 6.5 6.5 8 9 10

+ + -

+ + + + +

+ + -

+ + + -

+ + + + +

+ + + + + +

+ + + + +

+ + +

+ +

6 7 4 4 6 6

8 10 3.5 3.5 8 8

Table 7 Distribution, number and ranking of team role types (combined results of self-perception and observer ratings) in teams ranked according to level of team performance. Note: Team roles scoring at 80 sten or above. Key: + = team role present; - = team role absent;

Perf-ormance Team Ranking CO SH PL RI IMP CF TW ME SP Total number of roles Roles ranking

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TEAM ROLES AND TEAM BUILDING

F G H J B A C E D I

1 2 3 4 5 6.5 6.5 8 9 10

+ -

+ + +

+ + -

+ + + + -

+ +

+ + + +

+ + + -

+ -

+ + + +

1 1 2 5 3 4 1 1 2 4

2.5 2.5 5.5 10 7 8.5 2.5 2.5 5.5 8.5

Table 8 Distribution, number and ranking of team role types (combined results of self-perception and observer ratings) in teams ranked according to level of team performance. Note: Team roles scoring at sten 90 or above. Key: + = team role present; - = team role absent.

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TEAM ROLES AND TEAM BUILDING

CO=Coordinator; SH=Shaper; PL=Plant; RI=Resource Investigator; IMP=Implementor; CF=Completer Finisher; TW=Teamworker; ME=Monitor-Evaluator; SP=Specialist

Type of balance measure

rs

significance level (two-tailed)

Self-perception (SPI) only score 70 and above Self-perception (SPI) only score 80 and above Self-perception (SPI) only score 90 and above SPI with observers score 70 and above SPI with observers score 75 and above SPI with observers score 80 and above SPI with observers score 90 and above

.0000 -.2876 .0907 .4158 .2328 .5751 .2273

1.000 .420 .803 .232 .517 .082* .528

Table 9 Correlation of team performance with team balance according to different measures of balance. * Significant at the p < .10, two-tailed

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TEAM ROLES AND TEAM BUILDING

Correlations Spearman's rank correlation coefficients, rs, were calculated for team performance and the number of team roles present (as representing team role balance) for each of the measures shown in Tables 2 to 8. Table 9 summarises these results. Only when both self-perception (SPI) and observer scores are used, in combination, at the score of 80 and above does team performance correlate with team balance at p <.10, twotailed; that is, at a level of 10%.

DISCUSSION

It can be deduced from the results shown in Table 9 that there is no statistically significant relationship between team role balance and team performance when balance is measured using the SPI scores only to indicate presence or absence of natural team roles. This is the case whether the cut off score is 70 and above (as Belbin suggests), or whether the more stringent criteria of 80 and above, or 90 and above, are used. The only significant relationship is that between team performance and team role balance measured using the combined self-perception and observer scores of 80 and above. Using combined cut-off scores of 70 and above, 75 and above, and 90 and above to indicate team role balance yields no relationship with team performance.

This result can be compared with a study of six product development teams in a UK software company (21). If found that team role scores at 90 and above were ? before a significant relationship between team role balance and team performance could be found - in this case, measured by revenues generated and cost performance identified by administering a questionnaire to senior management. However, there are several of differences from the present study. First, Mottram's measures of team roles (based on 16PF scores) were used to compute the self-perception scores (22). Secondly, Belbin's earlier framework of only eight team roles was used. Thirdly, the Implementor role was excluded on the

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TEAM ROLES AND TEAM BUILDING

grounds that management members of the teams would, of necessity, ensure completion of the work on time. Finally, only self-perception measures were employed.

In spite of these anomalies, this study supports the present one in finding that, in measuring team role balance, a criteria more stringent than that suggested by Belbin is required in order to find a positive relationship between team role balance and team performance. In addition, the present study finds no case for using the SPI on its own. It appears that a combined SPI and observer measure is likely to prove more reliable. This, to some extent, follows Parkinson's reasoning that there will be a difference between a person's team role measure using the SPI and that obtained when observers' views are taken into account (23).

Implications for future research This study is limited in a number of ways. It is limited in the number of teams surveyed, although, given the research time required to survey a single team, additional data will accumulate slowly. Clearly, more work needs to be done to confirm or refute the results to date. Secondly, other related factors influence team performance in addition to the degree of balance found in any team. Belbin discusses the relationship between a team's stage of project development and the need for particular team roles relevant to each stage. He also maintains that the team roles of team leaders should be compatible with the culture of the team and suggests what these might be. Therefore, the notion of 'balance' could change if these other variables are taken into account.

A third issue is that of how to measure team performance. Stewart and Stewart have written comprehensively on the business applications of repertory grid, including its use in questionnaire design and to investigate organisational climate and managerial effectiveness -uses which are very similar to that involved in this study (24). Team members judging the performance of their own team in their own terms allows them to 'buy-in' to the measurement and give it validity Galpin maintains that self-rating of team performance is more critical than the ratings given by managers of teams (25). In this study, however, each team leader's views were included in the composite results. Even so, how to measure team performance for teams which, in Katzenbach and Smith's terms, "recommend or run things" rather than "making or doing things" remains problematic (26). One way to strengthen this measure would be to gain the views of "customers" and higher management. Initially this would lengthen what is already a lengthy process.

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This study has accumulated approximately six hundred individually-generated team performance constructs (an average of ten per team member), although, as expected, the meanings of some of these overlap. What is possible now is to carry out a content analysis of these to identify the most commonly used across all teams and those which are unique to a particular type of team. From this, a series of questionnaires could be devised for use in future research. These could be tailored to the specific circumstances of the team surveyed and for use by people outside the team. The use of questionnaires would certainly shorten the time taken to collect data and, hopefully, allow additional data collection to take place at an accelerated rate.

CONCLUSIONS

The data presented here have shown that the most commonly used measure of team role balance (use of only the SPI with natural roles occurring at the recommended score of 70 and above) has been found to be flawed in its potential for predicting team performance. Even if combined SPI and observer scores are used, team role scores of 80 and above are required to determine team role balance as an indicator of team performance. For the present, therefore, it must be concluded that self-perception is no basis on which to build a team.

NOTES AND REFERENCES 1 M. West, Effective Teamwork, BPS Books, Leicester, 1994. 2 M. West, and J.A. Slater, 'Teamwork: myths, realities and research', The Occupational Psychologist, 24, 1995, pp 24-9. 3 J.R. Katzenbach and K. Smith, 'The discipline of teams', Harvard Business Review, March-April 1993, pp 111-20. 4 K.D. Benne and P. Sheats, 'Functional roles of group members', Journal of Social Issues, 4, 1948, pp 41-9. 5 R.F Bales, 'A set of categories for the analysis of small group interaction', American Sociological Review, 15, 1950, pp 257-63. 6 M. Belbin, Management Teams, Why they Succeed or Fail, Heinneman, London 1981.

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7 R.M. Belbin, Team Roles at Work, Butterworth Heinemann, Oxford, 1993. 8 J. Davis, P. Millburn, T. Murphy and M. Woodhouse, Successful Team Building, How to Create Teams that Really Work. Kogan Page, London 1992. 9 C. Margerison and D. McCann, Team Management, W H Allen, London, 1990 10 J. Spencer and A. Pruss, Managing Your Team, Piatkus, 1992. 11 M. Woodcock, Team Development Manual, Gower, Aldershot, 1989 12 A. Furnham, H. Steele and D. Pendleton 'A psychometric assessment of the Belbin Team-Role Self-Perception Inventory', Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 66, 1993, pp 245-57. 13 R. Parkinson, 'Cutting edge', Organisations and People, 2, 1, 1995, pp 22-5. 14 Belbin, Team Roles at Work, op cit, p 89. 15 S.G. Fisher, W.D.K Macrossan, and C.A. Walker, 'The structure of new product teams', Selection and Development Review, 10, 5, 1994, pp 1-3 (p 2). 16 The Belbin Associates Interplace IV computer programme was used for all the Belbin team roles analyses 17 See for instance, Fisher etal, op cit.; N. Brewer, C. Wilson and K. Beck 'Supervisory behaviour and team performance amongst police patrol sergeants', Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 67, 1994, pp 69-78; G. Borelli, J. Cable and M. Higgs, 'What makes teams work better?', Team Performance Management, 1995, p 3; P. Dainty, and A. Kakabadse, 'Brittle, blocked, blended and blind', Journal of Managerial Psychology, 7, 2, 1992, pp 4-17. 18 T. Galpin, 'How to manage human performance', Employment Relations Today, Summer 1994, pp 207-25 (p 245). 19 Furnham etal, op cit, p 245.

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20 The particular repertory grid technique used in this study is explained in detail in B. Senior, 'Team performance: using repertory grid technique to gain a view from the inside', Journal of Managerial Psychology, 11, 3, 1996, pp 26-32. 21 Fisher etal, op cit. 22 R.D. Mottram, 'Building effective management teams using the in The Analysis of Personality in Research and Assessment, Independent Assessment and Research Centre, London, 1988. 23 Parkinson, op cit. 24 V. Stewart and A. Stewart, Business Applications if Repertory Grid, McGraw Hill, London, 1981. 25 Galpin, op cit. 26 Katzenbach and Smith, op cit.

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Informal workgroups. Introduction to group dynamics.

Informal Workgroups - Intro Formation Leadership Communications Cohesion Group Norms Changing Group Norms

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Team Building
Informal Group Dynamics at Work Introduction
Jeff Lane was at his wits end. As a newly appointed production manager, he had tried virtually everything to get his work group to come up to production standard. The equipment was operating properly, and the group had the training and experience to meet expectations, yet it was not performing well. What was wrong? And what could he do to correct the situation? Managers and supervisors frequently face such a dilemma-standards that should be met but aren't for what seems like no apparent reason. What

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Informal workgroups. Introduction to group dynamics.

Jeff Lane and other managers/ supervisors sometimes fail to realize is that within every organization there are often informal group pressures that influence and regulate individual behavior. Informal groups formulate an implicit code of ethics or an unspoken set of standards establishing acceptable behavior In Jeff's department, the informal group may have established a norm below that set by the organization, subtly exercising control over its members regarding the amount of output.

The dynamism of informal groups
Informal groups almost always arise if opportunities exist. Often, these groups serve a counter organizational function, attempting to counteract the coercive tendencies in an organization. If management prescribes production norms that the group considers unfair, for instance, the group's recourse is to adopt less demanding norms and to use its ingenuity to discover ways in which it can sabotage management's imposed standards. Informal groups have a powerful influence on the effectiveness of an organization, and can even subvert its formal goals. But the informal group's role is not limited to resistance. The impact of the informal group upon the larger formal group depends on the norms that the informal group sets. So the informal group can make the formal organization more effective, too. A norm is an implied agreement among the group's membership regarding how members in the group should behave. From the perspective of the formal group, norms generally fall into three categories-positive, negative, and neutral. In other words, norms either support, obstruct, or have no

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effect on the aims of the larger organization. For example, it the informal group in Jeff's shop set a norm supporting high output, that norm would have been more potent than any attempt by Jeff to coerce compliance with the standard. The reason is simple, yet profound. The norm is of the group members own making, and is not one imposed upon them. There is a big motivational difference between being told what to do and being anxious to do it. If Jeff had been aware of group dynamics, he might have realized that informal groups can be either his best friend or his worst enemy. He should have been sensitive to the informal groups within his area and he should have cultivated their goodwill and cooperation and made use of the informal group leadership. That is, he should have wooed the leadership of the informal group and enlisted the support of its membership to achieve the formal organization's aims. The final effect of his actions might have been positive or negative, depending upon the agreement or lack of it between the informal group and himself. Harnessing the power of informal groups is no easy task. The requirements include:
q q

an understanding of group dynamics and, an ability to bring about changes in informal group norms that positively reinforce the formal organization's goals.

As a starting point, managers and supervisors should at least be aware of the reasons behind informal group formation and the properties and characteristics of these groups.

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Group dynamics at work. Formation of informal workgroups

Informal Workgroups - Intro Formation Leadership Communications Cohesion Group Norms Changing Group Norms

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Team Building
Informal Group Dynamics at Work Formation of Informal Work Groups
Individuals are employed by an organization to perform specific functions. Although the whole person joins an organization, attention is usually focused on the partial person, the part of the individual doing the job. Because people have needs that extend beyond the work itself, informal groups develop to fill certain emotional, social, and psychological needs. The degree to which a group satisfies its members needs determines the limits within which individual members of the group will allow their behavior to be controlled by the group.

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Group dynamics at work. Formation of informal workgroups

Sense of belonging
Several major functions are served by informal groups. For example, the group serves as a means of satisfying the affiliation needs of its members for friendship and support. People need to belong, to be liked, to feel a part of something. Because the informal group can withhold this attractive reward, it has a tool of its own to coerce compliance with its norms.

Identity and self esteem
Groups also provide a means of developing, enhancing, and confirming a person's sense of identity and self-esteem. Although many organizations attempt to recognize these higher needs, the nature of some jobs-their technology and environment-precludes this from happening. The long assembly line or endless rows of desks reinforce a feeling of depersonalization.
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Stress reduction
Another function of groups is to serve as an agent for establishing and testing social reality. For instance, several individuals may share the feeling that their supervisor is a slave driver or that their working conditions are inadequate. By developing a consensus about these feelings, group members are able to reduce the anxiety associated with their jobs.

All for one, one for all
Finally, the informal group serves as a defense mechanism against forces that group members could not resist on their own. Joining forces in a small group makes the members feel stronger, less anxious, and less insecure in the face of a perceived threat.

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Group dynamics at work. Formation of informal workgroups

As long as needs exist that are not served by the formal organization, informal groups will form to fill the gap. Since the group fills many important needs for its members, it influences member behavior.

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Team Building. Leadership of informal workgroups.

Informal Workgroups - Intro Formation Leadership Communications Cohesion Group Norms Changing Group Norms

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Team Building
Informal Group Dynamics at Work Leadership of Informal Work Groups
Informal groups possess certain characteristics that, if understood, can be used to advantage. While many of these characteristics are similar to those of formal organizations, others are unique. One attribute of informal groups is rotational leadership. The informal leader emerges as the individual possessing qualities that the other members perceive as critical to the satisfaction of their specific needs at the moment; as the needs change so does the leader. Only rarely does a single individual possess all of the leadership characteristics

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Team Building. Leadership of informal workgroups.

needed to fill the various needs of the group. Unlike the formally appointed leader who has a defined position from which to influence others, the informal leader does not possess formal power. If the informal leader fails to meet the group's expectations, he or she is deposed and replaced by another. The informal group's judgment of its leaders tends to be quicker and more cold-blooded than that of most formal groups.

Supervisory strategies
Great Game of Business

The supervisor can use several strategies to affect the leadership and harness the power of informal groups. One quick and sure method of changing a group is to cause the leader to change one or more of his or her characteristics. Another is to replace the leader with another person. One common ploy is to systematically rotate out of the group its leaders and its key members. Considering the rotational nature of leadership, a leader may emerge who has aims similar to the formal goals of the organization. There are problems with this approach, however. Besides the practical difficulties of this, this strategy is blunted by the fact that group norms often persist long after the leader has left the group. A less Machiavellian approach is for the supervisor to be alert to leaders sympathetic to the supervisor's objectives and to use them toward the betterment of the formal group's effectiveness. Still another method is to attempt to 'co-opt' informal leaders by absorbing them into the leadership or the decision-making structure of the formal group. Co-opting the informal leader often serves as a means of averting threats to the stability of the formal organization. Remember, though, a leader may lose favor with the group because of this

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Team Building. Leadership of informal workgroups.

association with management, and group members will most likely select another leader.

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Group Dynamics: informal communications

Informal Workgroups - Intro Formation Leadership Communications Cohesion Group Norms Changing Group Norms

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Team Building
Informal Group Dynamics at Work Communications of Informal Work Groups (The Grapevine)
Another characteristic of the informal group is its communications network. The informal group has communications processes that are smoother and less cumbersome than those of the formal organization. Thus its procedures are easily changed to meet the communication needs of the group. In the informal group, a person who possesses information vital to the group's functioning or well-being is frequently afforded leadership status by its members. Also, the centrally located person in the group is in the best position to facilitate the smooth flow of information

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Group Dynamics: informal communications

among group members. Knowing about informal group communication the supervisor can provide a strategically placed individual with information needed by the group. This not only enhances the stature of this individual perhaps elevating him or her to a leadership position but also provides an efficient means of distributing information. Providing relevant information to the group will also help foster harmony between the supervisor and the informal group. By winning the cooperation of informal group leaders the supervisor will most likely experience fewer grievances and better relationships.

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Team building - informal group cohesiveness

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Team Building
Informal Group Dynamics at Work Informal group cohesiveness
A third characteristic of informal groups is group cohesiveness-the force that holds a group together. Group cohesiveness varies widely based on numerous factors-including the size of the group dependence of members upon the group achievement of goals status of the group and management demands and pressures. For example group cohesiveness increases strongly whenever the membership perceives a threat from the outside. This threat produces the high anxiety that strong group cohesiveness can help reduce.

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Team building - informal group cohesiveness

If the supervisor presses the group to conform to a new organizational norm that Is viewed as a threat to the security needs of group members The group will become more unified in order to withstand the perceived threat. Thus management can limit its own effectiveness by helping to increase the group's cohesiveness. With the passing of the threat the group tends to lose its cohesiveness. Perhaps paradoxically the most dangerous time for group cohesion is when things are going well. Supervisors can use the factors that affect group cohesiveness to increase their own effectiveness.
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Decision making process involvement
For instance a supervisor can involve the informal group members in the decision-making process. Input from group members will not only reduce their feeling of alienation but also improve communication between the supervisor and subordinates thereby reducing potential conflict. Where group participation in decision making is not practical the supervisor should carefully explain the reasons to play down what might be seen as a threat to the group. In some cases the supervisor may want to increase the groups cohesiveness deliberately devising situations that put one group into competition with another. If this gambit is carefully controlled the solidarity that results may bring a higher level of performance. The danger of this strategy is that the supervisor may be unable to control the reaction of the group. The ploy could backfire bringing competition and dissension within the group.

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Team building - informal group cohesiveness

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Informal workgroup team building. Group norms.

Informal Workgroups - Intro Formation Leadership Communications Cohesion Group Norms Changing Group Norms

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Team Building
Informal Group Dynamics at Work Informal group norms-unspoken rules
The final characteristic of informal groups is their establishment of norms. As we discussed earlier, norms keep a group functioning as a system instead of a collection of individuals. Norms are of great importance to the informal group in controlling behavior and measuring the performance of members. Because norm violations threaten a group's existence, departures from the norm usually carry severe sanctions. The members must either conform or sever their group affiliation.

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Informal workgroup team building. Group norms.

The latter action is unlikely, especially if the individual values group membership to satisfy certain needs. Two points are important to note about the norms of informal groups.
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First, where both formal and informal norms exist, the informal norms transcend the formal. At moments when norms conflict with organizational objectives, organizational effectiveness suffers. Second, members of an informal group may be unaware that the norms of the group influence their behavior. Norms are particularly potent because without knowing it members would not even think of acting otherwise-norms are that ingrained into their behavior pattern.

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Team building. Changing informal work group/ team norms

Informal Workgroups - Intro Formation Leadership Communications Cohesion Group Norms Changing Group Norms

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Team Building
Informal Group Dynamics at Work Changing informal work group/ team norms
A supervisor should attempt to encourage norms that positively affect the formal organization's goals, and to alter those that are negative. If this is accomplished, the informal group/ team will direct its energies toward desired goals. How can a supervisor bring about a positive change in a group / team's norms? Once a group / team has developed its norms, they are strictly enforced

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Team building. Changing informal work group/ team norms

until changed. But norms change frequently because the group / team must be responsive to changes in its environment for self-protection. When a perceived change occurs in the environment that affects the group / team, it tightens, eases, or changes it norms. There are three stages to fostering group / team / team norms that are congenial to the organization.

First Stage
The first stage involves determining what the group/ team/ team norms are, and then getting group/ team members to recognize their existence and influence. This can often be accomplished by observing the behavior patterns of the group / team, interviewing group / team members, or asking the group/ team to identify its own norms. As we noted, people frequently respect and follow norms unconsciously. Helping define norms is useful because it assists the group / team in clarifying its thinking and frees members from behavior patterns that they may not really wish to follow in the first place. When group / team members actually become aware of negative norms, they commonly reject them and seek alternative modes of behavior. And the supervisor can't begin to change negative norms to positive ones until group / team members first become aware of their existence.
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Second Stage
Once the group/ team's norms are identified, the next stage is to measure the norms and establish a norm profile. Various norm categories should be established that relate to organizational and group/ team effectiveness.

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Team building. Changing informal work group/ team norms

Norms Profile (click to view full size)

Each group/ team member should then be asked to rate the norm's intensity from low to high. A nine-point scale may be used in which nine represents where the group / team should realistically be. As shown in the 'Norms Profile' graphic, the responses can be averaged and plotted in order to obtain a norm profile. The difference between where the group / team is and where it should be, represents a normative "gap." These gaps provide a starting point for determining where changes should occur.

Third Stage
The final stage is to bring about normative change. A systematic change process consists of six steps: 1. Demonstrate the importance of norms in achieving organizational and group/ team effectiveness.

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Team building. Changing informal work group/ team norms

2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Create positive norm goals through cooperative effort. Establish normative change priorities. Determine a plan of action to bring about change. Implement and monitor the change strategy. Review the effectiveness of the strategy periodically and modify where necessary.

This process emphasizes the creation of positive norms through cooperative effort that benefits both the supervisor and the group/ team. Positive group/ team norms -increase the effectiveness of the supervisor while providing an environment in which group/ team members can satisfy their own needs. The process also improves team communications and trust, reducing the anxiety sometimes created by perceived threats from management. If the informal group / team's norms are negative, they can negate the interests of an organization many times the group / team's size. The process of change is a tool by which a supervisor can deal with the informal group/ team stresses that exist within the organization and that tend to de-motivate employees. By fostering positive group norms, a supervisor can harness the power of informal groups and release the energies of such groups to work together as a team to achieve desired goals.

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How to Manage Team Egos

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October 2000

How to Manage Team Egos
As president and CEO of KPMG Consulting, Rand Blazer has managed some considerable egos in his day. Adopt his strategy for keeping egomaniacs in check, and transform arrogance into enthusiasm for your next team project. by Regina Fazio Maruca Rand Blazer President and CEO KPMG Consulting LLC McLean, Virginia Most consultants are willing to work as part of a team. But more than likely, they also have an entrepreneurial streak. They want to create something. To steer. To lead. When you're building a team, you have to start with that understanding and work with it. You can't ignore it or try to get around it.

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How to Manage Team Egos

KPMG Consulting LLC

Don't ask people to set their egos aside for the good of the team. Feed their egos. Make one person the team's leader of communications. Make another the team's leader of technology. Make a third the client-services leader. Give each person an area in which to excel, and you'll find that you have a team that really pulls together. The key? Have an ultimate team leader who can hold all of those reins and keep everyone moving in the same direction, at a companionable pace. That leader can't be the one to grab the flag and charge up the hill. A good leader is one who can ensure that others will take the flag and charge. Do these team leaders also have egos that need feeding? Of course. How should a higher-up handle that? Give those people enough room to roam, to set the agenda for their team's goals, and to maintain their own identity elsewhere in the job. These people are probably senior members of your organization. Make sure you treat them that way. Hey, no one said this team stuff was easy. Rand Blazer is president and CEO of KPMG Consulting LLC, ( http://www.kpmgconsulting.com ), a global Internet-integration solutions provider, headquartered in McLean, Virginia. More Web Features for Leaders

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MGTB28Y--Management Skills

Being a Valuable Team Member "Take responsibility." Although the team leader is held accountable for establishing and monitoring team performance measurements, all team members are responsible for their team's success. If your prior experience was as a member of a work group, your contribution was to get your work done. Your contribution as a team member goes far beyond the work itself. The notes in this reading provide you with advice about how you can interact with the people on your team more productively and offer you tips on how you, as an individual team member, can facilitate constructive team dynamics. Your team meeting is your meeting and therefore it is your responsibility to do whatever is called for to make it effective. Team meetings are not something that happen to you; they are something that you make happen. Your team leader, as a participating member, has a piece of the action but he is not solely responsible. And if your team has established a role called "meeting facilitator", that person might take the lead in reserving the meeting room, distributing the advance agenda, or similar tasks, but he is not totally responsible. Every single team member is responsible. This is a drastic change in role definition for most team members and for team leaders as well. As a team member you can no longer afford to sit back and be an attendee, spectator, or complainer. You must be a full participant/observer, actively contributing to the content of the meeting and at the same time observing team dynamics and intervening when team members are behaving in dysfunctional ways. It's not an easy job but it most definitely is part of your responsibility as a team member. If you view meetings as an event that someone else plans and leads and that you attend, this will not be an easy adjustment to make. And if your team leader is accustomed to being in charge of the meeting, the adjustment will be even more difficult. The first step in making the transition to this new role of participant/observer requires a major shift in mind-set by all. To behave responsibly, you must feel responsible. And your team leader must also be willing to share the responsibility. Talk about how your meetings are structured, who decides what the agenda will be, what behaviors are inhibiting the team from accomplishing its intended tasks, and

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MGTB28Y--Management Skills

how the team feels at the end of the meeting and why. Then make some decisions collectively about what you can do to improve it. Don't expect to feel comfortable right away with this added responsibility. It's like becoming a parent for the first time. There's so much to pay attention to. You can't sit back and expect others to make it happen. It's a hard job and it takes an incredible amount of energy. Check out the following sections: Every Player Contributes to the Process and Summarizer, Orienter, Harmonizer, and Other Helpful Roles. The tips in them will help you to fulfill your responsibility. Every Player Contributes to the Process Your team meeting has two major focal points that require your attention: content and process. Content is what your team is working on; process is how your team members are working together. If I asked you to tell me how your last meeting went and you said, "We discussed the consolidation project, put together a plan for year-end closing, and decided to set up a meeting with Quality Team to discuss error rates," you would have reported on the content of your meeting. Content sounds like those items you would summarize in your meeting minutes. If your response was, "Discussion became very heated and members stopped listening to one another; the energy level was very low, and a lot of time was wasted talking about unrelated topics," you would have described your team's process. In other words, process is a description of how members behaved during the meeting. Another work used interchangeably with process is dynamics. There may be times during a team meeting when you feel you can't participate because you're not conversant with the topic being discussed. Just because you can't contribute to the content doesn't mean you can't contribute at all. You are in a perfect position to observe and facilitate the team's process -- and that's where teams need the most help. Teams generally do fine with content; they usually have the right items on the agenda and enough contributing experts. Ineffective meetings are usually the result of dysfunctional teams dynamics or process. The entire team is responsible for the success of your meeting so all members should play an active role in facilitating healthy dynamics. When you are not engrossed in

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MGTB28Y--Management Skills

the meeting content, you have an advantage of perspective; you can concentrate solely on process. How do you know whether a team's process is functional or dysfunctional? If the team strikes a balance between satisfying both its task and relationship needs, it has a healthy, functional process going. Members behave in ways that facilitate getting the job done and at the same time make members feel valued, respected, included, and energized. Members leave the meeting saying, "We were very productive and I sure do like being a member of this team." When there is an imbalance between task and relationship need satisfaction, or not enough attention paid to either, the team's process is dysfunctional. If you hear members saying, "We got a lot of things accomplished, but I can't stand the way members treat each other," it's a sure sign that the team hasn't paid enough attention to its relationship needs. And if you hear, "We are so cohesive; just like a family. But we sure didn't get much done," the team has slipped on the task side. And if ever you should hear, "Another waste of two hours--nothing accomplished. Why can't people at least be civil to each other?" you know there is much work to be done on both the task and relationship sides of the equation. Learning how to observe your team's process and intervene appropriately takes time and practice. If you randomly try to watch everything, you'll see nothing. The key is to train your eyes and ears so that you can focus your observations. A good way to start focusing is to become acquainted with a few specific team facilitation roles, also known as intervention behaviors. Then look for the appropriate situations during your meeting to apply them. In other words, first learn what the helping behaviors are, and why and how they help. Then you will more easily see places where you can be helpful, as explained in Summarizer, Orienter, Harmonizer, and Other Helpful Roles. Summarizer, Orienter, Harmonizer, and Other Helpful Roles "Don't forget to take SOFI HAGE to your meeting. Put her to work and I guarantee she will make a significant contribution to your team's progress and success." Exhibit 1 introduces SOFI HAGE. The name comes from the first letter of each of the task and relationship roles. Exhibit 1. Team Facilitation Roles

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MGTB28Y--Management Skills

Task 1. 2. 3. 4. Summarizer Orienter Gatekeeper Encourager 1. 2. 3. 4.

Relationship Harmonizer Analyzer Fact Seeker Initiator

It's important that all team members understand and employ each of the four task and relationship roles listed in the exhibit. The Summarizer urges the group to acknowledge consensus and reach a decision. When team members are wound up like the Energizer Bunny, the Summarizer breaks in with, "It seems like we're all in agreement with the parts of the program that need to be changes; can we move off that topic and discuss specific changes to be proposed?" By asking for verbal agreement with the summary, the Summarizer helps the team get past one decision and onto the next decision point. The Orienter prevents the team from wandering too far from the topic at hand; he or she brings them back and focuses them again when they do stray. This redirecting should not be done abruptly as in, "Hey, we're way off here; let's get back on track," or "David, you just took us off topic again," because you don't want to introduce a negative effect into the relationship side of the equation. A useful and neutral way to intervene is with the question, "Are we off topic right now?" The Fact Seeker tests reality to make sure the decision the team is about to make is doable. This team member always wants more information and is quick to point out the difference between a fact and an opinion. The Fact Seeker is also very helpful in pointing out when a team does not have all the information it needs to make a good decision. The Fact Seeker will suggest that the team get more data before proceeding. He or she is also good at checking the decision-making boundaries of the team, asking "Do we have the authority to make this decision?" The Initiator gets the team started on the right foot by always beginning discussions with the question, "How should we approach this task?" Getting agreement on a game plan before starting to work on the task itself is crucial to team effectiveness and is the distinguishing characteristic of the Initiator.

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MGTB28Y--Management Skills

When you plan the Summarizer, Orienter, Fact Seeker and Initiator roles, you contribute to your team's productivity by moving the task along to completion. Play the following relationship roles to ensure that team members feel valued and respected and you will make a major contribution to your team's cohesiveness. The Harmonizer realizes that conflicts is inevitable and that if left unresolved, it is the biggest barrier to a team's achieving health and success. The Harmonizer called the team's attention to a conflict (especially if team members haven't wanted to acknowledge it), by saying something like, "Let's be honest: we've got some strong conflicting feelings about this issue. What steps can we take to resolve our differences?" The Harmonizer is also able to focus discussion on meeting specific needs as a way of mediating conflict. More help on mediation is given in some of the sections which follow: When You Reach an Impasse, Talk About Needs and `Hey, No Problem'. The Analyzer watches for changes in the vital signs of the team and brings these changes to the attention of the team. The Analyzer is the team member most likely to ask, "How is everyone feeling about how we're working together?" or "It seems we've lost our energy; what is happening?" The Gatekeeper is concerned primarily with team communication and participation. This member makes sure all team members are actively listening to each other and understanding each other's messages. The Gatekeeper paraphrases messages to make sure that everyone is on the same wavelength and that every idea is understood by the group before being discredited or discarded. The Gatekeeper invites quieter members to participate and makes sure that more active members don't dominate. The Encourager builds and sustains team energy by showing support for people's efforts, ideas, and achievements. If the Gatekeeper focuses on making sure the content of team members' ideas is clearly understood by all, the Encourager emphasizes members' participation by giving verbal approval: "Good point--that's a great idea." This is another role that prevents Whack-a-mos and in general helps people to feel valued. It is extremely important that every member be ready and able to intervene as a facilitator. If you were an eight-member team and each person had a delegated

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MGTB28Y--Management Skills

responsibility to wear one of the SOFI HAGE hats and intervene appropriately, you would see a significant increase in your effectiveness. But you can do better than that by having each member wear all the hats and thus provide maximum facilitation coverage. Learning the eight different roles may seem at first like an overwhelming challenge to you and your teammates, but you'll probably be surprised to find that some team members are natural at orienting or encouraging, or that some easily assume the role of summarizers and gatekeepers. To have all eight roles covered may just be a matter of learning a few more facilitation behaviors. I know you can do it and as a team you'll be glad you did. Recognize Your MVP When a sports team wins a championship, they follow a time-honored tradition of recognizing their most valuable player. This is the player who, for that game or series of games, gave a stellar performance. It's a nice touch. The team is also generous in lavishing public praise on their MVP during the post-game interview. In my own experience, no praise pleased me so much as when a fellow teammate would say, "We couldn't have done it without you." Apply this practice to your work teams--it's an important investment in team building. From time to time, you will have a member (perhaps it will be you!) who puts in extra hours or who applies his or her particular talent to a project to make it a winner. In a team-based environment, it's management's responsibility to reward team performance. It's the team's responsibility to recognize and acknowledge its stars. Be generous with your praise; it's a powerful motivator and it costs nothing to give. You Don't Have to Be Best Friends There's no question that the personal relationships we develop on our team make a big difference in how we feel about our work and our workplace, as well as our team. But, contrary to popular belief, you don't have to be best friends to be an effective team. Best friends do not a best team make; best teammates make a best team.

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MGTB28Y--Management Skills

Being a best teammate is all about thoughtful behavior. In a sense, it's about treating a teammate as if he or she were your best friend. It doesn't include socializing outside of work, or sharing personal feelings; what it does include is every kind of behavior you can think of that conveys respect. Think about the ways you demonstrate respect for your best friend. Do you offer help to your best friend when she needs it? Do you listen to your best friend without prejudging his ideas or opinions? Are you sensitive toward your best friend when he is experiencing personal problems? Do you accept your best friend's idiosyncrasies? Do you arrive on time for engagements with your best friend when you know it will benefit her? Do you share in your best friend's excitement and offer praise when he has achieved something? I'm sure you answered "Yes" to all of the above questions. And I'm sure you can think of many more ways that you show respect for your best friends. That's what it takes to be a best teammate. Start treating your teammates this way and who knows; you may just become best friends. Stranger things have happened.

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Quality in Teams

How to Build Quality into your Team
by Gerard M Blair
Quality is primarily viewed in terms of corporate culture, multi-departmental adhoc task forces and the salvation of entire companies. This article, instead, will view these ideas as they might be applied by a Team Leader with a small permanent staff. Quality has become the philosophers' stone of management practice with consultants and gurus vying to charm lead-laden corporations into gold-winning champions. Stories abound of base companies with morose workers and mounting debts being transformed into happy teams and healthy profits; never a day goes by without a significant improvement, a pounds-saving suggestion or a quantum leap in efficiency. With this professed success of "Quality" programmes, there has evolved a proscriptive mythology of correct practise which has several draw backs:
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the edicts call for nothing less than a company wide, senior-management led programme the adherence to a single formula has a limited effect, precludes innovation outside these boundaries, and reduces the differentiation which such programmes profess to engender the emphasis on single-task, specially formed groups shifts the focus away from the ordinary, daily bread-and-butter

Of course, these criticisms do not invalidate the ideas of Quality but are simply to suggest that the principles might well be viewed from a new angle - and applied at a different level. This article attempts to provide a new perspective by reexamining some of the tenets of Quality in the context of a small, established team: simply, what could a Team Leader do with his/her staff.

What is "Quality"?

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Quality in Teams

In current management writings "Quality" has come to refer to a whole gambit of practices which themselves have resulted in beneficial side-effects; as a Team Leader, you will want to take advantage of these benefits also. The Customer In simple terms, attaining Quality has something to do with satisfying the expectations of the customer. Concern for the wishes and needs of customers becomes the focus for every decision. What the customer wants, the company provides. This is not philanthropy, this is basic survival. Through careful education by competitors, the customer has begun to exercise spending power in favour of quality goods and services; and while quality is not the sole criterion in selecting a particular supplier, it has become an important differentiator. If one ten-pence ball-point runs dry in one month and another ten-pence ball-point lasts for three then the second ball-point is the make which the customer will buy again and which he/she recommends to others - even if it costs a little more. The makers of the first ball-point may have higher profit margins, but eventually no sales; without quality in the product, a company sacrifices customers, revenue and ultimately its own existence. In practical terms, Quality is that something extra which will be perceived by the customer as a valid reason for either paying more or for buying again. In the case where the product is a service, Quality is equated with how well the job is done and especially with whether the customer is made to feel good about the whole operation. In this respect Quality often does cost more, but the loss is recouped in the price customers are prepared to pay and in the increase of business. Reliability The clearest manifestation of Quality is in a product's reliability: that the product simply works. To prevent problems from arising after the product is shipped, the quality must be checked before-hand - and the best time to check quality is throughout the whole design and manufacturing cycle. The old method of quality control was to test the completed product and then to rework to remove the problems. Thus while the original production time was short, the rework time was long. The new approach to quality simply asserts that if testing becomes an integral

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Quality in Teams

part of each stage of production, the production time may increase but the rework time will disappear. Further, you will catch and solve many problems which the final "big-bang" quality-check would miss but which the customer will find on the first day. To achieve this requires an environment where the identification of errors is considered to be "a good thing", where the only bad bugs are the ones which got away. One of the most hallowed doctrines of Quality is that of zero defects. "Zero defects" is a focus, it a glorious objective, it is the assertion that nothing less will suffice and that no matter how high the quality of a product, it can still be improved. It is a paradox in that it is an aim which is contrary to reason, and like the paradoxes of many other religions it holds an inner truth. This is why the advocates of Quality often seem a little crazy: they are zealots. People as Resource While Quality has its own reward in terms of increased long-term sales, the methods used to achieve this Quality also have other benefits. In seeking to improve the quality of the product, manufacturers have found that the people best placed to make substantial contributions are the workforce: people are the most valuable resource. It is this shift in perspective from the management to the workforce which is the most significant consequence of the search for quality. From it has arisen a new managerial philosophy aimed at the empowerment of the workforce, decision-making by the front line, active worker involvement in the company's advancement; and from this new perspective, new organizational structures have evolved, exemplified in "Quality Circles". Without digressing too much, it is important to examine the benefits of this approach. For such delegation to be safely and effectively undertaken, the management has to train the workforce; not necessarily directly, and not all at once, but often within the Quality Circles themselves using a single "facilitator" or simply peer-coaching. The workforce had to learn how to hold meetings, how to analyse problems, how to take decisions, how to present solutions, how to implement and evaluate change. These traditionally high-level managerial prerogatives are devolved to the whole staff. Not only does this develop talent, it also stimulates interest. Staff begin to look not only for problems but also for solutions. Simple ideas become simply implemented: the secretary finally gets the filing cabinet moved closer to the desk, the sales meetings follow an agenda, the

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Quality in Teams

software division creates a new bulletin board for the sports club. The environment is created where people see problems and fix 'em. Larger problems have more complex solutions. One outcome of the search for Quality in Japan is the system of Just-In-Time flow control. In this system, goods arrive at each stage of the manufacturing process just before they are needed and are not made until they are needed by the next stage. This reduces storage requirements and inventory costs of surplus stock. Another outcome has been the increased flexibility of the production line. Time to change from one product run to the next was identified as a major obstacle in providing the customer with the desired range of products and quantities, and so the whole workforce became engaged in changing existant practices and even in redesigning the machinery. The Long Term However, I believe that the most significant shift in perspective which accompanies the introduction of Quality is that long term success is given precedence over short term gains. The repeat-sale and recommendation are more important than this month's sales figures; staff training and development remain in place despite immediate schedule problems; the product's reliability is paramount even over time-to-market. Time is devoted today to saving time in the future and in making products which work first and every time.

Team Quality
While the salvation of an entire corporation may rest primarily with Senior Management, the fate of a team rests with the Team Leader. The Team Leader has the authority, the power to define the micro-culture of the work team. It is by the deliberate application of the principles of Quality that the Team Leader can gain for the team the same benefits which Quality can provide for a corporation. The best ideas for any particular team are likely to come from them - the aim of the Team Leader must be to act as a catalyst through prompts and by example; the following are possible suggestions. Getting Started

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Quality in Teams

There will be no overnight success. To be lasting, Quality must become a habit and a habit is accustomed practise. This takes time and training - although not necessarily formal training but possibly the sort of reinforcement you might give to any aspect of good practise. To habituate your staff to Quality, you must first make it an issue. Here are two suggestions. The first idea is to become enthusiastic about one aspect at a time, and initially look for a quick kill. Find a problem and start to talk about it with the whole team; do not delegate it to an individual but make it an issue for everybody. Choose some work-related problem like "how to get the right information in time" and solicit everybody's views and suggestions - and get the problem solved. Demand urgency against a clear target. There is no need to allocate large amounts of resource or time to this, simply raise the problem and make a fuss. When a solution comes, praise it by rewarding the whole team, and ensure that the aspects of increased efficiency/productivity/calm are highlighted since this will establish the criteria for "success". Next, find another problem and repeat. The second idea is the regular weekly meeting to discuss Quality. Of course meetings can be complete time wasters, so this strategy requires care. The benefits are that regularity will lead to habit, the formality will provide a simple opportunity for the expression of ideas, and the inclusion of the whole group at the meeting will emphasize the collective responsibility. By using the regular meeting, you can establish the "ground rules" of accepted behaviour and at the same time train the team in effective techniques. One problem is that the focus on any one particular issue may quickly loose its efficacy. A solution is to have frequent shifts in focus so that you maintain the freshness and enthusiasm (and the scope for innovative solutions). Further benefits are that continual shifts in emphasis will train your team to be flexible, and provide the opportunity for them to raise new issues. The sooner the team takes over the definition of the "next problem", the better. Initial Phases The initial phases are delicate. The team will be feeling greater responsibility without extra confidence. Thus you must concentrate on supporting their development. Essentially you will be their trainer in management skills. You could get outside help with this but by undertaking the job yourself, you retain control:

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you mould the team so that they will reflect your own approach and use your own criteria. Later they will develop themselves, but even then they will understand your thinking and so your decisions. One trap to avoid is that the team may focus upon the wrong type of problem. You must make it clear any problem which they tackle should be:
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related to their own work or environment something which they can change

This precludes gripe sessions about wages and holidays. As with all group work, the main problem is clarity. You should provide the team with a notice board and flip-charts specifically for Quality problems. These can then be left on display as a permanent record of what was agreed. If you can, steer the group first to some problem which has a simple solution and with obvious (measurable) benefits. A quick, sharp success will motivate. Team Building To succeed, a Quality push must engage the enthusiasm of the entire team; as Team Leader, you must create the right atmosphere for this to happen. Many aspects of team building can be addressed while Quality remains the focus. You must create the environment where each team member feels totally free to express an idea or concern and this can only be done if there is no stigma attached to being incorrect. No idea is wrong - merely non-optimal. In each suggestion there is at least a thread of gold and someone should point it out and, if possible, build upon it. Any behaviour which seeks laughter at the expense of others must be swiftly reprimanded. One crude but effective method is to write down agreed ground rules and to display them as a constant reminder for everyone, something like:
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all criticism must be kind and constructive all our-problems are all-our problems

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Quality in Teams

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BUGS WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE (but not for long) if it saves time later, do it now

Another method is to constantly talk about the group as the plural pronoun: "we decided", "we can do this", "we'll get back to you". This is especially effective if it is used in conversation with outsiders (especially management) within ear-shot of the team. Praise and reward the whole team; get the team wider fame by a success story in an internal newspaper. Most importantly, you must enable failure. If the team is unable to try out ideas without rebuke for errors, then the scope of their solutions will be severely limited. Instead, a failure should be an opportunity to gain knowledge and to praise any safe-guards which were included in the plan. Mutual Coaching An important aspect of team interaction is the idea of mutual support. If you can instill the idea that all problems are owned by the entire team then each member will be able to seek help and advice when needed from every other team member. One promoter of this is to encourage mutual coaching. If one team member knows techniques or information which would be useful to the rest, then encourage him/her to share it. Specifically this will raise the profile, confidence and selfesteem of the instructor at the same time as benefiting the entire group. And if there is one member who might never have anything useful to impart - send him/her to a conference or training session to find something. Statistics One of the central tenets of Quality programmes is the idea of monitoring the problem being addressed: Statistical Quality Control. Quite simply, if you can't measure an improvement, it probably isn't there. Gathering statistics has several benefits in applying Quality:
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it identifies (the extent of) the problem it allows progress to be monitored it provides an objective criterion for the abandonment of an idea it can justify perceived expense in terms of observed savings/improvements

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it motivates staff by providing a display of achievement

and, of course, some problems simply disappear when you try to watch them. The statistics must be gathered in an objective and empirical manner, the outcome should be a simple table or graph regularly updated to indicate progress, and these results must be displayed where all the team can watch. For example, if your team provides product support, then you might monitor and graph the number of repeat enquiries or the average response time. Or if you are in product development, you might want to monitor the number of bugs discovered (i.e. improvement opportunities). In the long term, it may be suitable to implement the automatic gathering of statistics on a wide range of issues such as complaints, bug reports, machine downtime, etc. Eventually these may either provide early warning of unexpected problems, or comparative data for new quality improvement projects. It is vital, however, that they focus upon an agreed problem and not upon an individual's performance or else all the positive motivation of staff involvement will be lost. Projects Clarity of purpose - this is the key to success. You need a simple, stated objective which everybody understands and which everybody can see achieved. Any plan to improve the quality or effectiveness of the group must contain:
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the objective the method the statistical display for monitoring the outcome the agreed criteria for completion or curtailment

By insisting on this format, you provide the plan-owners with a simple mechanism for peer recognition (through the displayed notice board) and yet enable them to manage their own failure with grace. For a small established team, the "customer" includes any other part of the company with which the team interacts. Thus any themes regarding customer

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satisfaction can be developed with respect to these so called internal customers. In the end, the effectiveness of your team will be judged by the reports of how well they provide products for others. A simple innovation might be for a member of your team to actually talk to someone from each of these internal customer groups and to ask about problems. The interfaces are usually the best place to look for simply solved problems. The immediate benefit may be to the customer, but in the long run better communications will lead to fewer misunderstandings and so less rework. Building Quality Quality costs less than its lack; look after the pennies and the profits will take care of themselves. To build a quality product, you must do two things:
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worry the design and the procedures include features to aid quality checking

It is a question of attitude. If one of the team spots a modification in the design or the procedures which will have a long term benefit, then that must be given priority over the immediate schedule. The design is never quite right; you should allocate time specifically to discussing improvement. In this you should not aim at actual enhancements in the sense of added features or faster performance, but towards simplicity or predicting problem areas. This is an adjunct to the normal design or production operations - the extra mile which lesser teams would not go. Many products and services do not lend themselves to quality monitoring. These should be enhanced so that the quality becomes easily tracked. This may be a simple invitation for the "customer" to comment, or it could be a full design modification to provide self-checking or an easy testing routine. Any product whose quality can not be tracked should naturally become a source of deep anxiety to the whole team - until a mechanism is devised. One of the least-used sources of quality in design and production in the engineering world is documentation. This is frequently seen as the final inconvenience at product release, sometimes even delegated to another (nontechnical) group - yet the writing of such documentation can be used as an

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important vehicle for the clarification of ideas. It also protects the group from the loss of any single individual; the No.7 bus, or the head-hunter, could strike at any time. In devising a mechanism for monitoring quality, many teams will produce a set of test procedures. As bugs emerge, new procedures should be added which specifically identify this problem and so check the solution. Even when the problem is solved the new procedures should remain in the test set; the problem may return (perhaps as a side effect of a subsequent modification) or the procedure may catch another. Essentially the test set should grow to cover all known possibilities of error and its application should, where possible, be automated. Role Change As your team develops, your role as leader changes subtly. You become a cross between a priest and a rugby captain, providing the vision and the values while shouting like crazy from the centre of the field. Although you retain the final say (that is your responsibility), the team begins to make decisions. The hardest part, as with all delegation, is in accepting the group decision even though you disagree. You must never countermand a marginal decision. If you have to over-rule the team, it is imperative that you explain your reasons very clearly so that they understand the criteria; this will both justify your intervention and couch the team in (hopefully) good decision-making practices. Another role which you assume is that of both buffer and interface between the team and the rest of the company: a buffer in that you protect the team from the vagaries of less enlightened managers; an interface in that you keep the team informed about factors relevant to their decisions. Ultimately, the team will be delegating to you (!) tasks which only you, acting as manager, can perform on its behalf.

Quality for Profit
By applying the principles of Quality to an established team, the Team Leader can enjoy the benefits so actively sought by large corporations. The key is the attitude and the insistence on the primacy of Quality. As a Team Leader, you have the power to define the ethos of your staff; by using Quality as the focus, you also can

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accrue its riches. Gerard M Blair is a Senior Lecturer in VLSI Design at the Department of Electrical Engineering, The University of Edinburgh. His book Starting to Manage: the essential skills is published by Chartwell-Bratt (UK) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (USA). He welcomes feedback either by email ([email protected]) or by any other method found here

Links to more of my articles on Management Skills can be found here

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Managing Team Performance: Unrealistic Vision or Attainable Reality?

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Managing Team Performance: Unrealistic Vision or Attainable Reality?
By Dick McCann & Richard Aldersea Copyright © Dick McCann & Richard Aldersea. All rights reserved.

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This article was presented in September at the 1997 International Conference on Work Teams in Dallas, Texas.

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Abstract
This paper outlines the work and research we have been involved in and associated with (Margerison and McCann, 1995) . It can be used to help teams in trouble and to fine tune teams that are already performing well. It is based on a new model of teamwork and an instrument which can measure team performance.

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The Types of Work Wheel
The work and research we have been involved and associated with (Margerison and McCann, 1995), has focused on understanding the key work elements that have proved to be a reliable and valid focus in explaining why it is that some work teams work effectively and achieve their objectives while others fail.

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The research has supported an understanding of team performance in terms of nine team performance factors, summarized as the Types of Work Wheel, shown below in Figure 1. Figure 1. Margerison-McCann Types of Work Wheel

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Effective teams continually demonstrate a focus on all nine performance factors. The eight factors arranged around the spokes of the wheel are known as the teamwork functions and show relative statistical independence. The ninth activity, Linking, is placed in the center of the Wheel as it is a characteristic shared with the eight work functions. For example, Inspecting work must be done in a linking way if it is to be shared with all the other functions. The importance of each work function to teamwork is described in more detail below: Advising Advising work is concerned with giving and gathering information. It involves finding out what others are doing in your area of work and ensuring that you are following best practices. Information may need to be gathered from articles, reports, or books, or by meeting and talking with people. It means ensuring that you have all the information available for the team to make the best decisions and deliver results. Innovating Innovating is a key aspect of teamwork and involves challenging the way things are currently being done. Technology is changing so quickly that the way you are currently performing tasks may no longer be the best way. If you are not up-to-date in your practices, your cost structure may be too high or you may no longer be delivering competitive service. Innovating is essential for all work teams. There are always better ways of doing things if you only take time to discover them. Promoting To obtain the resources – people, money, and equipment – to carry out your work, you have to 'sell' what you are doing to other people. Resources to implement new ideas will only be given if your team can persuade and influence people higher in the organization. Promoting to customers or clients both inside or outside the organization is also important if you are to continually deliver what people want. Developing Many ideas don't see the light of day because they are impractical. The Developing activity ensures that your ideas are molded and shaped to meet the needs of your customers, clients, or users. It involves listening to their needs and incorporating these in your plans. Developing will ensure that what you are trying to do is possible, given the resource constraints of your organization. Organizing Here the emphasis is on getting into action and making things happen. It involves organizing the team so that everyone knows what they have to do, how, and when. Clear goals have to be established and action taken to ensure that results are delivered on time and to budget. Producing

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Once plans are set up and everyone knows what has to be done, the team can concentrate on Producing. This activity focuses on delivering the product or service on a regular basis to high standards of effectiveness and efficiency. It is the Producing function that ensures the team keeps on delivering the required outputs. Inspecting Regular checks on work activities are essential to ensure that mistakes are not made. Quality audits of your products or services will ensure that your customers or clients will remain satisfied. Inspecting also covers the financial aspect of work in your team, as well as the security aspects, the safety aspects and the legal aspects. Maintaining All teams need to uphold standards and maintain effective work processes. Your car will fail if it does not have its regular service. Teams can fail too, if the team processes are not regularly checked and maintained. Maintaining ensures that quality standards are upheld and that regular reviews of team effectiveness take place. Linking Linking is the activity that ensures all team members pull together, and makes the difference between a group of individuals and a highly effective and efficient team. It covers both the linking of people and the linking of tasks.

Research Basis
There are several implications to the Types of Work model. First, the model suggests that work functions adjacent to each other on the wheel are more similar than those nonadjacent, and opposed to those opposite. For example, to do "promoting" work effectively may require skills, abilities, and preferences that are significantly different from those required to do "inspecting" work effectively. Second, it suggests that all team work can be classified into a combination of key areas. Comments from teams who have been exposed to the model seem to confirm this, confirming high face validity. In addition, the Types of Work model seems to comply with the generally accepted criteria of a good theory, i.e. generalizability, comprehensiveness, and parsimony. In developing this model, a 64-item questionnaire known as the Types of Work Profile Questionnaire (TWPQ) was devised with eight items defining each of eight work functions. This instrument was then administered to individuals who were asked to rate those activities in their job which were critical to success. The data were then checked for internal consistency and scale intercorrelations and various items added or deleted until a satisfactory instrument was produced. Tables 1 and 2 summarize the results of this research. Cronbach alpha coefficients (Table 1) are a way of determining whether all questions formulated to measure a particular scale, say Organizing for example, make a consistent contribution to determining that scale. If the coefficient is greater than 0.75 then the questions are internally consistent. If the alpha coefficient is below 0.7 then there are likely to be some questions in the item pool not associated with the scale being determined. Table 1 shows that the 64 questions in the pool have high internal reliability. Table 1: Internal Consistency of Types of Work Profile Questionnaire scales (n=754)

Cronbach Alpha Coefficients Advising Innovating Promoting Developing Organizing Producing Inspecting Maintaining 0.81 0.94 0.82 0.83 0.86 0.85 0.88 0.78

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Intercorrelations of scales enable relationships between the scales to be measured. Generally if the intercorrelation coefficient is less than 0.35 we can say that two scales are relatively independent i.e. they are measuring different things. If the coefficient is between 0.35 and 0.6 then the scales are moderately correlated. If the coefficient is over 0.6 the scales are highly correlated. Table 2: Intercorrelations of Types of Work Profile Questionnaire raw scales (n=1518)

Advising Innovating Promoting Developing Organizing Producing Inspecting Maintaining Advising Innovating Promoting Developing Organizing Producing Inspecting Maintaining 0.44 0.43 0.60 0.54 0.63 0.56 0.14 0.11 0.32 0.32 0.21 -0.02 -0.09 0.23 0.31 0.22 -0.10 -0.15 0.13 0.40 0.68 0.33 0.13 0.27 0.29 0.48 0.49 0.54

This table explains the structural rationale for the Types of Work Model, based on an interpretation of the intercorrelation coefficients. Opposite work functions, say Organizing and Advising have a coefficient of 0.14 whereas adjacent work functions, say Advising and Innovating have a coefficient of 0.44. It is perhaps easier to understand if we transpose just one set of data onto the Types of Work Wheel, as shown below. This data is obtained by drawing horizontal and vertical lines through the Promoting function in Table 2. The intercorrelation coefficients of all the scales against Promoting can then be arranged in a visual format. Figure 2: Relationship of the promoting work function with other scales on the Types of Work Wheel (n=1518)

As can be seen, the results dramatically confirm the validity of the model; the closer a certain type of work is to promoting, the closer the relationship as indicated by the correlation coefficients. Inspecting, according to this sample, has no relationship to promoting (-0.15), while innovating (0.60) and developing (0.56) have a much closer relationship. The same exercise can be completed for the other seven types of work, returning similar results.

Measuring Team Performance
Understanding and subsequently discussing a team's performance is central to managing team performance. To work effectively, teams must regularly and objectively review their "teamwork". In

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addition to concentrating on their short-term outputs, team members must examine work processes to ensure that the team is working creatively, that the team is effectively promoting itself to others, and so on. Too often in managing team performance the team review focuses on subjective individual evaluation, as opposed to an objective team assessment. Based on the Types of Work Wheel and the Types of Work Profile Questionnaire a further questionnaire was developed specifically to measure team performance. This questionnaire is known as the Team Performance Profile Questionnaire (TPPQ) and is a 54-item multi-rater assessment which focuses objectively on assessing a team's performance in terms of the nine team performance factors associated with high-performing teams. The resulting Team Performance Profile then
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Provides an ideal entry point to an assessment of team performance by offering a common language and shared understanding of critical factors for high performance. Acts as a catalyst for team development and improved effectiveness by enabling team members to focus on areas requiring action. Is an ideal tool in any ongoing team development process … initial profiling of the team can be repeated at a later point to assess how team performance has improved.

Managing Team Performance
A major benefit of the common language provided by the Types of Work Wheel is the shared understanding it gives to team members and the process it offers for developing action plans for improved team performance.

Improving Team Performance in a Chemical Factory
Recently a team in a specialty chemicals factory completed a 360 degree survey of the nine team success factors. All of the team members were very satisfied with the team's performance on organizing, producing and inspecting but there were some differences in their views on innovating and promoting. Carlos Martinez had rated the team at 45% on innovating and 36% on promoting, whereas most of the other team members had been generous, giving ratings over 75%. The differences sparked off a detailed discussion on how well the team actually generated ideas and promoted them to other teams in the organization. When the results of clients and members of other teams were compared, the team was surprised to find that the ratings of the outsiders were much lower than the team's, particularly on producing and inspecting. Follow-up investigation by team members identified some quality problems in the intermediate chemicals they were producing, of which they had been unaware. The measurement of team performance was instrumental in changing the way the team worked and caused them to develop new vision and purpose statements. With the review of teamwork that the Types of Work Wheel supports, managing team performance is simplified to focusing on the nine key success factors that lead to high performance. These can be addressed through an informal process of questioning at various stages during a project, using the nine factors posed as questions:
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What information do we need? Is this the best way of doing it? Who are the stakeholders we need to influence? Is this what the stakeholders want? How should we organize ourselves? Are our products/services clearly defined in terms of outputs and outcomes? What details need checking? Are we maintaining the best standards and procedures? How well are we linked, both internally and externally?

The hallmark of successful work teams is not the answers they give, but the questions they ask.

Managing Team Performance: A Conclusion
Successfully managing team performance starts by identifying where the team is performing well and where it needs further development. The Team Performance Profile Questionnaire and associated analysis gives team members an objective assessment of how the team is doing. It provides opportunities to compare the various viewpoints of team members and outsiders and relate them to the team vision and purpose. The common language ensures that everyone is focusing on the critical team

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Managing Team Performance: Unrealistic Vision or Attainable Reality?

performance factors and the measured gaps can then be translated into action plans for improved performance. It is the diagnosis of the problems that is essential. Once we know what is wrong, it is usually easy to fix it! Tuckman (1965) presented the four stages of teamwork which are now widely used by work teams throughout the world to assess their progress. The model describes the stages as follows: Figure 3: Tuckman's Stages of Teamwork Model

Once teams are formed, they go through an unpleasant storming stage before ground rules and norms are established. Eventually the performing stage is reached. In the 1980s it was acceptable to take maybe six months or so to reach the performing stage. However, in the '90s, such is the speed of change and the intensity of competition that some teams have to get to good performance levels in six weeks or even six days! Models such as the Types of Work Wheel give a reliable and valid way of measuring and managing team performance, by generating qualitative and quantitative feedback data both from team members and outsiders. Problems can be diagnosed or even predicted before they happen. In managing team performance, clever work teams will use this information to bypass the storming stage and move quickly to the norming stage by generating ground rules which will prevent major problems from occurring. The team can then accelerate its progress to the performing stage.

References
Margerison, C.J. and McCann, D.J., Team Management: Practical New Approaches, Management Books 2000, London, 1995 Tuckman, B.W. Development Sequence in Small Groups, Psychological Bulletin, 63(6), 1965

Copyright © Dick McCann & Richard Aldersea. All rights reserved.

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Essay: The Life Cycles of Executive Teams

Life Cycles of Executive Teams
Work with nature, don't put senile teams on life support systems Do you really want a highly cohesive and highly effective management team? Sounds logical, is taught in MBA programs, and is sought by OD specialists. However, it isn't strategically viable or productive! Read on to find out why.

The P4 Group
In 1984 I was invited to speak at a management workshop conducted by the business school of Santa Clara University. During my talk the subject of "P Groups" came up- because I had unknowingly contradicted what had been taught about them earlier in the day. P Groups were someone's way of describing the characteristics of a management team in terms of the team's effectiveness and cohesiveness. (See Fig. 1) That is, one team might be low in effectiveness and low in cohesiveness at one extreme, and another team high in both characteristics at the other extreme.

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Fig. 1:The P4 group, highly effective and highly cohesive.

I was informed that the ideal team is one which is both highly effectiveand highly cohesive, a P4 group. After some three microseconds consideration, during which I compared this hypothesis to my own intuition, I delivered my usual, highly rational response:"bullshit." A heated discussion ensued for the next two hours, during which I developed the concept of the Life Cycles of Teams to explain what my experience told me was more accurate.

A Team is a living organism
I've heard it said that one of the great breakthroughs of the 1950's was that management consultants became aware of management teams as entities. Since then, managers and Organizational Development professionals have devoted enormous efforts to develop healthy, effective teams and to help team members work smoothly together. My own association with team dynamics has been intensely practical. I've been involved with several social movements, several project teams, and many business organizations. In the process I have participated in the birth, growth, maturity, decay, and death of many teams. Birth, growth, maturity,

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decay, and death serve vital purposes in our individual lives and for the entire human species. No condition is superior to the others, and only death is permanent. Without decay and death, our world would overcrowd yet more quickly and our social systems would ossify. Those in power would remain in power decade after decade while the rest of us followed orders. Everyone would eventually be bored to death with life. Just look at China's government where the people who governed it in the 1940's are still in control fifty years later. China waits for Deng to die so that it can begin to renew its stagnant political life. Death is nature's way of making room for the new and innovative and for keeping life interesting! The prospect of Death instills in each of us an entrepreneurial sense of urgency about life. Likewise, the birth, growth, decay, and death of an executive team serve critically important functions for the business as a whole and for team members. I will describe the values and drawbacks of each phase of the life cycle both to corporate vigor and to individual growth. I will show how attempts to maintain a highly effective, highly cohesive management team undermines both the health of the company in which it operates and the personal growth of the individuals who are part of that team! It would be better for all concerned to hasten the death process rather than fight it!

An overview of a Team's Life and Death
With the help of Figures 2 and 3, I'll briefly describe an overview of the Life and Death of a typical management team.

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Fig. 2:The life cycle of executive teams. The period from Birth to Maturity is typically two to three years. Maturity to Decay may take two to five years. Decay to Death takes less than a year and is triggered (usually) by a catastrophe the team produces.

An executive team is formed to achieve specific strategic business objectives within a few years. When the selection process is done correctly, team members are chosen based on their individual abilities to contribute to achieving those objectives. In the first few months of the team's life, its cohesiveness is low and its effectiveness is low (Fig. 3A). There is much uncertainty about how the team will work together, what each member will contribute, and how the team will fare as it interacts with the outside world. Team members are barely committed to the team, and are still strongly immersed in their external environments. There are abundant challenges and healthy doses of the unexpected and fun. There is uncertainty and anxiety about whether or not the team will succeed. The team's energies are concentrated on future successes. Each team member contributes the stimuli

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of his person and the information from his reality outside the team. This is the team's childhood, a time of maximum learning by team members, and maximum sensitivity to the world outside the team.

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Fig. 3:Relationships among team members and between team members and the world outside the team. Shown for different times in the life cycle.

As team members learn from one another and take successful actions together, the team's effectiveness and cohesiveness increase. This increases the members' enthusiasm and commitment to the team. For a while there is a positive feedback loop in which success increases cohesiveness, which increases effectiveness, which generates more success. This is the team's adolescence (Fig. 3B). Eventually the team accomplishes its first major success, the strategic objective for which it was formed. That strategic success marks the point at which the team is considered to be highly cohesive and highly effective. But cohesiveness has a dark side: lack of openness to the world outside the team or to new team members (Fig. 3C). Success also has its dark side. The team changes its attitude about its relationship to the outside world. It succeeded, therefore it has the formula! It loses the very anxiety and sensitivity to the external environment which contributed to its success. The team also develops a team memory based on past successes and previous communications. The team memory now defines each member's role, the team's knowledge of the outside world, and how the team operates in that world. The team memory enables the team to perform like an experienced adult, able to quickly handle challenges in previously learned ways. But the team succeeds only as long as the team memory of how things were accurately reflects how things are. When the outside world changes, for example in customer requirements, competitors' innovations, or new technologies, the members of a highly cohesive and highly effective team usually don't respond. They continue to see the world through the team memory and act accordingly. After all, that behavior was successful!

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Once the team becomes highly effective and highly cohesive, the communication of new information between the outside world and the team and among team members deteriorates (Fig. 3D). The team memory freezes and becomes increasingly detached from the present reality. Team members no longer listen to one another because they already know what to expect. They become bored with their predictable roles. Sooner or later, the team makes decisions that fail to meet members needs or fail in a changed external environment. The decay process is underway. After decay becomes well established, some CEOs seek outside help to restore their teams' to peak performance. The team members are highly sensitive to their own isolation within the team, and remember a team past in which things were much better. Consequently, the restoration efforts tend to focus on communication and cohesiveness. Sometimes these efforts temporarily slow the decay process. Usually they have little impact, especially when the CEO exempts himself from them. Loss of effectiveness (typified by one or more failed decisions or projects) eventually overcomes the exaggerated management energy committed to cohesiveness, and the team disintegrates (Fig. 3E). Disintegration (death), frees team members to participate in new teams where they can renew their enthusiasms, develop new personal relationships, and revitalize their atrophied learning processes. Disintegration of the old team also makes room for a new leadership team; one that is able to start out anchored in the "real world," ready to deal with things as they are, not as they used to be.

Project Teams and Executive Teams
A project team and an executive team start life in much the same way. The significant difference is that a Project Team is disbanded when it achieves its initial strategic success. Project team members are rewarded, but one of the rewards is not continued employment. Executive Team members expect continued employment in return for past success.

Comments
I could write a book on the life cycles of management teams. However, in this essay I'll just make a few, thought provoking observations. 1. When a team is formed it focuses on the future. Once it succeeds it

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focuses on the past. Team members are usually selected based on how they will contribute to the teams strategic objectives. Once the team attains its first strategic success, however, a member of an executive team gets to stay on the team as a reward for the team's success. That member may not be appropriate for the future challenge. (An executive team has to fail repeatedly and miserably before team members are disenfranchised.) IBM lost most of the PC market (new challenge) because its key business decisions were made by people who succeeded with mainframes (past successes). 2. Success breeds failure. In business and in sports it is difficult for a team to repeat its success. A study of management teams found that most successes are followed by major failures. For example, the IBM PC (success) was followed by PC Jr. (abject failure). Apple II (success) was followed by Lisa (failure)! Apple MacIntosh begat Newton! There are almost no "three-peats" in sports or business. 3. Failure can breed success. Norman Schwartzkopf and Colin Powell endured the failure of Vietnam. They learned from that, and fought Desert Storm with the wisdom and anxiety that Vietnam fostered. I wouldn't select Norman Schwartzkopf to lead another battle because he succeeded in the last one. He would tend to repeat his past actions with too little sensitivity to changed circumstances. 4. Term limits of no more than 8 years for executives and executive teams would improve business effectiveness more than any other management change. In another essay I'll show why a leader can only lead change in the first two years of his tenure. After that he can only maintain a past direction, regardless of any change in his personal vision! If the management goal is predictable, consistent responses to a changing world, then leave a team in place indefinitely (The Pope and his Cardinals, China's leadership, Judges). If the goal is innovative change and consistent successes in a dynamic environment, then CEOs and their executive teams should serve no longer than 8 years! We have been wise enough to put an 8 year term limit on the President of the United States (and his cabinet). We haven't done so for Congress or business executives yet. An opportunity awaits management gurus and boards of directors. Of course, I'm not holding my breath.

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Conclusion
A highly effective, highly cohesive team is a transitory state in a dynamic process. Business management will improve significantly when executives respect the values of that process and work with its dynamics.

Copyright © 1986, 1996 Edwin Lee All rights reserved. You may download and freely reprint this essay provided you include this copyright notice. Ed Lee Executive Workshop, 11 Doral Drive, Moraga, CA 94556 Tel: (925) 377-6124 Email: [email protected]

Homepage: www.elew.com

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Leadership - Lessons From Geese

Leadership - Lessons From Geese

Teamwork and Geese
Objective - How relying on others promotes the goals of the team. Read and discuss the following short story:

Fact 1
As each goose flaps its wings, it creates an "uplift" for the birds that follow. By flying in a "V" formation, the whole flock adds 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew alone.

Lesson
People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going quicker and easier because they are traveling on the thrust of each other.

Fact 2
When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of flying alone. It quickly moves back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front of it.

Lesson
If we have as much sense as a goose, we stay in formation with those headed where we want to go. We are willing to accept their help and give our help to others.

Fact 3

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When the lead bird tires, it rotates back into the formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front of it.

Lesson
It pays to take turns doing the hard tasks and sharing leadership. As with geese, people are interdependent on each others' skills, capabilities, and unique arrangements of gifts, talents, or resources.

Fact 4
The geese flying in formation honk to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.

Lesson
We need to make sure our honking is encouraging. In groups where there is encouragement, the production is much greater. The power of encouragement (to stand by one's heart or core values and to encourage the heart and core values of others) is the quality of honking we seek.

Fact 5
When a goose gets sick, wounded, or shot down, two geese drop out of formation and follow it down to help and protect it. They stay with it until it dies or is able to fly again. Then, they launch out with another formation or catch up with the flock.

Lesson
If we have as much sense of geese, we will stand by each other in difficult times as well as when we're strong.

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Notes "LESSONS FROM GEESE" was transcribed from a speech given by Angeles Arrien at the 1991 Organizational Development Network and was based on the work of Milton Olson. It circulated to Outward Bound staff throughout the United States.

Created January 1, 1998. Last update April 11, 2000. Return to Leadership Training and Development Outline About [email protected] http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/geese.html

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Humax Articles - Teams As Networks

Teams as Networks: Using Network Analysis for Team Development
By Wayne E. Baker, Ph.D.
Bring together your all-stars and create a new team. Will they produce stellar performance? Probably not. The best string quartet isn't created by assembling the greatest violinists, cellist, and violist. In sports, the best teams aren't the all-star gatherings. And in business, a collection of the best individuals from marketing, finance, production, and research doesn't guarantee the best multifunctional team. GREAT INDIVIDUALS DON'T MAKE GREAT TEAMS unless they build good working relationships. Having the right ingredients — the right mix of people, skills, resources — is essential but not enough. Without the right relationships, even all-stars can't win. This article addresses the importance of good relationships for high-

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performance teams. In it, I present a new tool, called network analysis, for diagnosing team relationships. Why should you consider it? First, companies now depend on teams. In the past, teams weren't critical for organizational success. Today, however, teams are used more often, for more purposes, and with much higher expectations. "Teams will be the primary building blocks of company performance in the organization of the future," say Katzenbach and Smith in The Wisdom of Teams. Given the reliance on teams, it's critical that you do all you can to make sure teams function well. Second, the team trend means you'll encounter more dysfunctional teams. This problem stems from the sheer number of teams now created, but also from the much higher expectations people have for teams. More dysfunctional teams means you need new tools for systematic diagnosis. Third, mediocre teams aren't acceptable anymore. When teams were used for ad hoc and secondary purposes, mediocre performance was tolerable. It's not today. You must move more teams up the team-performance curve.

SOCIAL NETWORKS AND NETWORK ANALYSIS
As used here, a social network is the set of relationships among members of a team. ("Social" is used to distinguish people networks from computer networks.) Social network is a generic term. It doesn't imply socializing or networking. A social network can represent any set of human relationships. A family, for example, is a type of social network. Network analysis is the toolbox used to understand a social network. Network analysis enjoys a rich tradition in sociology, anthropology, and communication studies, where it has been used to study many different types of social networks. Only recently, however, has network analysis been exported from the academic world and applied in organizational development. The potential is enormous. Network analysis is a powerful tool for diagnosing team networks and facilitating the evolution of a group of individuals into a real team. Network analysis provides clear, easy-tounderstand, objective "X-rays" of the real social network. This objective information dispels misconceptions about the team's relationships. It initiates conscious consideration of the team's relationship problems and possible improvements. With the aid of network analysis, the team can self-diagnose problems, design a "target" team, and measure its progress toward that goal. Network analysis speeds the process of team development and helps to

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convert more working groups into real teams.

FINCO'S SENIOR MANAGEMENT TEAM
To illustrate the use of network analysis for team development, consider the case of FINCO, my pseudonym for a large, diversified financial services company headquartered in the Midwest. FINCO established a cross-functional team composed of senior managers from various departments and locations around the region. The team has two purposes. One is to promote professional development by creating a learning environment for members to share information, best practices, advice and counsel. The other is to integrate the company by coordinating activities across departments and locations. FINCO sponsors periodic conferences as part of the company's program to aid team development. For one of these meetings, I was asked to facilitate a discussion of the team's structure and culture. Prior to our session, I administered a network survey designed to collect information about important types of relationships — workflow, communication, advice giving and getting, and so on. (Basic network concepts and measures are defined in Table 1.)

Table 1. Basic Network Concepts and Measures A characteristic of a person, such as age, education, gender, specialty, discipline, or other background or demographic characteristics. A connection between two people; also called a link, tie, or bond. The content of a connection, such as verbal communication, advice, liking, respect antagonism, or informal socializing. The quantity or quality of a relationship, such as frequency of communication, quality of advice, or degree of friendship.

Attribute

Relationship

Type of Relationship

Strength of Relationship

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Direction of Relationship Network Target Network

The point toward which something flows or moves, such as advice giving, message sending, or input-output (often indicated by arrowheads in a network diagram). A set of relationships among a defined set of people. A desired future network; the object of efforts to change an existing network. Number of people; often abbreviated as n. the number of actual relationships in a network, expressed as a percent of maximum number possible (for directed relationships, the maximum is calculated as n' — n); density varies between 0% and 100%. The fewest number of links between two specified people in a network; also called path distance or geodesic. The extent to which all people are connected by direct or indirect paths. A person in a network that is not connected to at least one other person. A subset of two people connected by a relationship, usually without additional links to other people. A subset of three or more people, with all possible relationships present (strict definition) or most relationships present (relaxed definition); a subset of densely interconnected people. A person connected to only one other person; a peripheral member of a network A person in a network that, when removed, causes one or more people to become isolated, or breaks the network into two or more disconnected regions.

Size of Network Density

Distance

Reachability

Isolate

Dyad

Clique

Outlier

Critical Person

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Using network analysis software, I analyzed and mapped the team's social network. One such map is reproduced in Figure 1. This map shows communication links among the 20 team members. The data behind this map were generated by the survey question, "How often do you talk with this person about work-related matters?" The response scale ranged from 0 (never) to 5 (almost daily). Because team members have an agreement to talk at least once a month, I dichotomized answers such that a response of 2 (once a month) or greater was defined as a relationship and less than 2 was not. Each relationship, thus defined, is indicated by a solid line between two people in Figure 1.

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The location of each person in Figure 1 is important. The technique used to draw this network map (called multidimensional scaling) analyzes the direct and indirect relationships between all people in a network. It places together people who are closely interconnected, and separates people who are not. Devin and Joe are far apart, for example, because they are not connected directly; they have at least two intermediaries between them (Eve and Abbie). For contrast, consider the "clique" composed of Jack, Margo, Bill, and Patrick (lower right). These four are completely interconnected. Bill and Patrick are placed the farthest from the rest of the team because they have no direct connections with anyone else. Using network maps. Maps like Figure 1 enable team members to see — for the first time — their real network of relationships. It permits members to compare their expectations with objective information. In every social setting, for example, a person develops and carries a "mental map" or cognitive picture of the network of relationships: who talks with whom, who is a friend of whom, who dislikes whom, who advises whom, and so forth. Without a mental map, it would be impossible to work, function, or even survive. Most mental maps are incomplete and distorted pictures of the actual network. A big reason is that most mental maps are not based on active and systematic observation; rather, mental maps are usually drawn intuitively, based on personal interactions, inference, hearsay, and gossip. Research shows, however, that accurate, mental maps are essential for effectiveness. Before I show a network map, I always ask team members about their expectations: What do they think their social network looks like? For example, using concepts and measures from Table 1, I may ask: "Is everyone reachable? Are there any isolated people? Most teams, like FINCO's, do not expect to have isolates. Yet, as shown in the map, Jim is an isolate (placed in the upper right of Figure 1).
q

What is the density of the network? Typically, people think density is much higher than it really is. FINCO's team, for example, thought that at

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q

q

q

least 50 percent of all possible relationships would exist. The density of Figure 1, however, is only 18 percent. Are there cliques? Teams like to think that cliques do not exist, but subgroups almost always form. Figure 1 reveals eight cliques (using the strict definition of clique in Table 1). For example, Sue, Abbie, Christie, Mary, and Eve form a clique located in the center of the network. Are there outliers? The map shows five people in the periphery: Bob, Louis, Kathy, Tom, and Fred. Most work in FINCO's satellite offices (denoted by an asterisk following a name in Figure 1), suggesting that physical and organizational separation is a relationship barrier. Are there "critical" people? A critical person in a social network is the only connection for one or more people. Sue, for example, is critical for both Bob and Louis; without her, they would be isolates. For effect, I call this the "bus test." If this person were hit by a bus, would someone become isolated? Would the network fall apart?

Causes of social networks. Why does FINCO's management network look like it does? What are the causes of network structure? In general, every network is a result of three factors: opportunity, constraint, and choice. Opportunity refers to the availability of contacts. Constraint refers to obstacles for contact. And, choice refers to deliberate decisions to build or not build relationships. To get at these issues, I invited team members to reflect on the causes of their relationships with each other. FINCO's team offered several typical explanations: "Our jobs force us to talk." "We were friends before." "We worked together on a committee." "I don't know her, so I don't call." "We're in different offices, so we never run into each other." Such answers imply a passive approach to network-building. It's as if the social network "just happens" as a mere reflection of opportunity and constraint. Real teams are much more active, making choice a bigger determinant of network structure. The social network reflects deliberate choices to build relationships, create opportunities, and overcome constraints. As FINCO's team reflected on their network, they came to realize that they

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were not a real team. Rather, they were really a working group. As defined in The Wisdom of Teams, this is "...a group for which there is no significant incremental performance need or opportunity that would require it to become a team... The members interact primarily to share information, best practices, or perspectives and to make decisions to help each individual perform within his or her area of responsibility." In other words, the FI NCO network exists solely to help individuals do their jobs better. It did not have any real work to do as a team. It lacked a team mission and team product. What should the network be? Analysis of the observed social network spurred discussion about what the network should be: What relationships did they want to have? All members agreed they wanted to improve the existing network, even if they remained a working group instead of becoming a real team. For example, they wanted to strengthen communication and build a more integrated network. The target network, they decided, should be much denser, without isolates and outliers (especially people from satellite offices). And, the network should have few or no cliques. We devised several mechanisms, such as a systematic calling program, to achieve this target network. Consideration of the target network led to a discussion of mission. Did they want to develop a true team mission? Did they want to evolve into a real team? At this time, they are considering a number of opportunities that would enable them to do so. Meanwhile, they are taking steps to ensure that they improve performance as a working group.

DOING NETWORK ANALYSIS
Using network analysis for team development involves these basic steps: 1. Approvals. Does the team consent to doing network analysis? Are approvals from higher up necessary? 2. Boundary specification. Who's on the team? This is not a trivial question. Members may come and go, and network analysis requires that you define precisely who is in the network and will be surveyed. 3. The network survey. What questions will you ask? What types of relationships do you want to uncover? Generic network questions

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4.

5.

6.

7.

include frequency and importance of communication, workflow inputs and outputs, advice giving and getting, and informal socializing. You may also ask questions about projects or issues specific to the team you are studying (e.g., "How often do you talk with this person about the Brand X new-product release?). It is also important to collect basic background and demographic information. Confidentiality. How will the network data be processed and used? Who will have access to the data? Network surveys cannot be anonymous, so you must ensure confidentiality. One way is to use an outside party to collect and analyze the data. How will you display the results? For FINCO, I assigned a random code to each person, and displayed maps with these codes. Privately, I would tell each person what his or her code was. Data analysis. How will you analyze the data? Special network analysis software is needed. I produced Figure 1 with KrackPlot, a drawing program by David Krackhardt and associates. Network analyses were performed with UCINET. (Both are available from Analytic Technologies.) Follow up. How will the team know if it achieved its target network? It is important to conduct before/after studies to document progress or make mid-course corrections. FINCO, for example, invited me to return at a later date and do another network analysis of the group.

CONCLUSION
New times demand new ideas, skills, and tools. As companies rely more and more on teams, trainers and consultants need to employ new tools to promote team development. Network analysis, a well-accepted method in the social sciences, offers a scientific approach for helping teams help themselves. By analyzing the true network of relationships, team members can see their actual relationships, understand why their network looks like it does, design a target network for the future, and implement mechanisms for achieving it. Network analysis can be a powerful tool for facilitating the development of highperformance, high-functioning teams.

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Drucker on Teams

There's More Than One Kind of Team
By Peter F. Drucker, Wall St. Journal "Team building" has become a buzzword in American business. The results are not overly impressive. Ford Motor Co. began more than 10 years ago to build teams to design its new models. It now reports "serious problems," and the gap in development time between Ford and its Japanese competitors has harshly narrowed. General Motors' Saturn Division was going to replace the traditional assembly line with team work in its "factory of the future." But the plant has been steadily moving back toward the Detroit-style assembly line. Procter & Gamble launched a team-building campaign with great fanfare several years ago. Now P&G is moving back to individual accountability for developing and marketing new products. One reason- perhaps the major one- for these near-failures is the all-but-universal belief among executives that there is just one kind of team. There actually are threeeach different in its structure, in the behavior it demands from its members, in its strengths, in its vulnerabilities, its limitations, its requirements, but above all, in what it can do and should be used for. The first kind of team is the baseball team. The surgical team that performs an openheart operation and Henry Ford's assembly line are both "baseball teams." So is the team Detroit traditionally sets up to design a new car. Fixed Positions The players on the team: they do not play as a team. They hate fixed positions they never leave. The second baseman never runs to assist the pitcher; the anesthesiologist never comes to the aid of the surgical nurse. "Up at bat, you are totally alone," is an old baseball saying. In the traditional Detroit design team, marketing people rarely saw designers and were never consulted by them. Designers did their work and passed it on to the development engineers, who in turn did their work and passed it on to manufacturing, which in turn did its work and passed it on to marketing.

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The second kind of team is the football team. The symphony orchestra and the hospital unit that rallies round a patient who goes into shock at 3 a.m. are "football teams," as are Japanese auto makers' design teams. The players on the football team or in the symphony orchestra, like those on the baseball team, have fixed positions. The oboe never comes to the aid of the violas, however badly they might flounder. But on these teams players play as a team. The Japanese auto makers' design teams, which Detroit and P&G rushed to imitate, are football-type teams. To use an engineering term, the designers, engineers, manufacturing people and marketing people work "in parallel." The traditional Detroit team worked "in series." Third, there is the tennis doubles team- the kind Saturn management hoped would replace the traditional assembly line. It is also the sort of team that plays in a jazz combo, the team of senior executives who form the "president's office" in big companies, or the team that is most likely to produce a genuine innovation like the personal computer 15 years ago. On the doubles team, players have a primary rather than a fixed position. They are supposed to "cover" their teammates, adjusting to their teammates' strengths and weaknesses and to the changing demands of the "game." Business executives and the management literature have little good to say these days about the baseball-style team, whether in the office or on the factory floor. There is even a failure to recognize such teams as teams at all. But this kind of team has enormous strengths. Each member can be evaluated separately, can have clear and specific goals, can be held accountable, can be measured- as witness the statistics a true aficionado reels off about every major-leaguer in baseball history. Each member can be trained and developed to the fullest extent of the individual's strengths. And because the members do not have to adjust to anybody else on the team, every position can be staffed with a "star," no matter how temperamental, jealous or limelight-hogging each of them might be. But the baseball team is inflexible. It works well when the game has been played many times and when the sequence of its actions is thoroughly understood by everyone. That is what made this kind of team right for Detroit in the past. As recently as 20 years ago, to be fast and flexible in automotive design was the last thing Detroit needed or wanted. Traditional mass production required long runs with minimum changes. And since the resale value of the "good used car"- one less

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than three years old- was a key factor for the new-car buyer, it was a serious mistake to bring out a new design (which would depreciate the old car) more than every five years. Sales and market share took a dip on several occasions when Chrysler prematurely introduced a new, brilliant design. The Japanese did not invent "flexible mass production": IBM was probably the first to use it, around 1960. But when the Japanese auto industry adopted it, it made possible the introduction of a new car model in parallel with a successful old one. And then the baseball team did indeed become the wrong team for Detroit, and for mass-production industry as a whole. The design process then had to be restructured as a football team. The football team does have the flexibility Detroit now needs. But if has far more stringent requirements than the baseball team. It needs a "score"- whether it's the play the coach signals to the huddle on the field or the Mozart symphony everyone in the orchestra puts on his music stand. The specifications with which the Japanese begin their design of a new car model- or a new consumer-electronics product- are far more stringent and detailed than anything Detroit is used to in respect to style, technology, performance, weight, price and so on. And they are far more closely adhered to. In the traditional "baseball" design team every position- engineering, manufacturing, marketing- does its job its own way. In the football team or the symphony orchestra, there is no such permissiveness. The word of the coach or the conductor is law. Players are beholden to this one boss alone for their order, their rewards, their appraisals, their promotions. The individual engineer on the Japanese design team is a member of his company's engineering department. But he is on the design team because the team's leader has asked for him- not because the chief engineer sent him there. He can consult engineering and get advice. But his orders come from the design-team chief, who also appraises his performance. If there are stars on these teams, they are featured only if the score calls for a solo. Otherwise they subordinate themselves to the team. Even more stringent are the requirements of the doubles team- the kind that GM's Saturn Division hoped to develop in its "flexible-manufacturing" plant, and that any such plant does indeed need. This team must be quite small, with five to seven

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members at most. The members have to be trained together and must work together for quite some time before they fully function as a team. There must be one clear goal for the entire team and yet considerable flexibility with respect to the individual member's work and performance. And in this kind of team only the team "performs"; individual members "contribute." All three of these kinds of teams are true teams. But they are so different- in the behavior they require, in what they do best, and in what they cannot do at all- that they cannot be hybrids. One kind of team can play only one way. And it is very difficult to change from one kind of team to another. Gradual change cannot work. There has to be a total break with the past, however traumatic it may be. This means that people cannot report to both their old boss and to the new coach, conductor or team leader. And their rewards, their compensation, their appraisals and their promotions must be totally dependent on their performance in their new roles on their new teams. But this is so unpopular that the temptation to compromise is always great. Teams Are Tools At Ford, for instance, the financial people have been left under the control of the financial staff and report to it rather than to the new design teams. GM's Saturn division has tried to maintain the authority of the traditional bosses- the first-line supervisors and the shop stewards- rather than hand decision-making power over to the work teams. This, however, is like playing baseball and a tennis doubles match with the same people, on the same field, and at the same time. It can only result in frustration and non-performance. And a similar confusion seems to have prevailed at P&G. Teams, in other words, are tools. As such, each team design has its own uses, its own characteristics, its own requirements, its own limitations. Team work is neither "good" nor "desirable"- it is a fact. Wherever people work together or play together they do so as a team. Which team to use for what purpose is a crucial, difficult, and risky decision that is even harder to unmake. Managements have yet to learn how to make it.

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Groups that Work

Groups that Work
by Gerard M Blair
Groups form a basic unit of work activity throughout engineering and yet the underlying process is poorly managed. This article looks at the basics of group work and suggests ways to accelerate development. In the beginning, God made an individual - and then he made a pair. The pair formed a group, together they begat others and thus the group grew. Unfortunately, working in a group led to friction, the group disintegrated in conflict and Caian settled in the land of Nod - there has been trouble with groups ever since. When people work in groups, there are two quite separate issues involved. The first is the task and the problems involved in getting the job done. Frequently this is the only issue which the group considers. The second is the process of the group work itself: the mechanisms by which the group acts as a unit and not as a loose rabble. However, without due attention to this process the value of the group can be diminished or even destroyed; yet with a little explicit management of the process, it can enhance the worth of the group to be many times the sum of the worth of its individuals. It is this synergy which makes group work attractive in corporate organization despite the possible problems (and time spent) in group formation. This article examines the group process and how it can best be utilized. The key is that the group should be viewed as an important resource whose maintenance must be managed just like any other resource and that this management should be undertaken by the group itself so that it forms a normal part of the group's activities.

What is a Group?
A group of people working in the same room, or even on a common project, does not necessarily invoke the group process. If the group is managed in a totally autocratic manner, there may be little opportunity for interaction relating to the work; if there is factioning within the group, the process may never evolve. On the

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other hand, the group process may be utilized by normally distant individuals working on different projects; for instance, at IEE colloquia. In simple terms, the group process leads to a spirit of cooperation, coordination and commonly understood procedures and mores. If this is present within a group of people, then their performance will be enhanced by their mutual support (both practical and moral). If you think this is a nebulous concept when applied to the world of industry, consider the opposite effect that a self-opinionated, cantankerous loud-mouth would have on your performance and then contrast that to working with a friendly, open, helpful associate.

Why a Group?
Groups are particularly good at combining talents and providing innovative solutions to possible unfamiliar problems; in cases where there is no well established approach/procedure, the wider skill and knowledge set of the group has a distinct advantage over that of the individual. In general, however, there is an overriding advantage in a group-based work force which makes it attractive to Management: that it engenders a fuller utilization of the work force. A group can be seen as a self managing unit. The range of skills provided by its members and the self monitoring which each group performs makes it a reasonably safe recipient for delegated responsibility. Even if a problem could be decided by a single person, there are two main benefits in involving the people who will carry out the decision. Firstly, the motivational aspect of participating in the decision will clearly enhance its implementation. Secondly, there may well be factors which the implementer understands better than the single person who could supposedly have decided alone. More indirectly, if the lowest echelons of the workforce each become trained, through participation in group decision making, in an understanding of the companies objectives and work practices, then each will be better able to solve work-related problems in general. Further, they will also individually become a safe recipient for delegated authority which is exemplified in the celebrated right of Japanese car workers to halt the production line.

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From the individual's point of view, there is the added incentive that through belonging to a group each can participate in achievements well beyond his/her own individual potential. Less idealistically, the group provides an environment where the individual's self-perceived level of responsibility and authority is enhanced, in an environment where accountability is shared: thus providing a perfect motivator through enhanced self-esteem coupled with low stress. Finally, a word about the much vaunted "recognition of the worth of the individual" which is often given as the reason for delegating responsibility to groups of subordinates. While I agree with the sentiment, I am dubious that this is a prime motivator - the bottom line is that the individual's talents are better utilized in a group, not that they are wonderful human beings.

Group Development
It is common to view the development of a group as having four stages:
q q q q

Forming Storming Norming Performing

Forming is the stage when the group first comes together. Everybody is very polite and very dull. Conflict is seldom voiced directly, mainly personal and definitely destructive. Since the grouping is new, the individuals will be guarded in their own opinions and generally reserved. This is particularly so in terms of the more nervous and/or subordinate members who may never recover. The group tends to defer to a large extent to those who emerge as leaders (poor fools!). Storming is the next stage, when all Hell breaks loose and the leaders are lynched. Factions form, personalities clash, no-one concedes a single point without first fighting tooth and nail. Most importantly, very little communication occurs since no one is listening and some are still unwilling to talk openly. True, this battle ground may seem a little extreme for the groups to which you belong - but if you look beneath the veil of civility at the seething sarcasm, invective and innuendo, perhaps the picture come more into focus.

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Then comes the Norming. At this stage the sub-groups begin to recognize the merits of working together and the in-fighting subsides. Since a new spirit of cooperation is evident, every member begins to feel secure in expressing their own view points and these are discussed openly with the whole group. The most significant improvement is that people start to listen to each other. Work methods become established and recognized by the group as a whole. And finally: Performing. This is the culmination, when the group has settled on a system which allows free and frank exchange of views and a high degree of support by the group for each other and its own decisions. In terms of performance, the group starts at a level slightly below the sum of the individuals' levels and then drops abruptly to its nadir until it climbs during Norming to a new level of Performing which is (hopefully) well above the start. It is this elevated level of performance which is the main justification for using the group process rather than a simple group of staff.

Group Skills
The group process is a series of changes which occur as a group of individuals form into a cohesive and effective operating unit. If the process is understood, it can be accelerated. There are two main sets of skills which a group must acquire:
q q

Managerial Skills Interpersonal Skills

and the acceleration of the group process is simply the accelerated acquisition of these. As a self-managing unit, a group has to undertake most of the functions of a Group Leader - collectively. For instance, meetings must be organized, budgets decided, strategic planning undertaken, goals set, performance monitored, reviews scheduled, etc. It is increasingly recognized that it is a fallacy to expect an individual to suddenly assume managerial responsibility without assistance; in the group it is even more so. Even if there are practiced managers in the group, they

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must first agree on a method, and then convince and train the remainder of the group. As a collection of people, a group needs to relearn some basic manners and peoplemanagement skills. Again, think of that self-opinionated, cantankerous loudmouth; he/she should learn good manners, and the group must learn to enforce these manners without destructive confrontation.

Accelerating Development
It is common practice in accelerating group development to appoint, and if necessary train, a "group facilitator". The role of this person is to continually draw the groups' attention to the group process and to suggest structures and practices to support and enhance the group skills. This must be only a short-term training strategy, however, since the existence of a single facilitator may prevent the group from assuming collective responsibility for the group process. The aim of any group should be that facilitation is performed by every member equally and constantly. If this responsibility is recognised and undertaken from the beginning by all, then the Storming phase may be avoided and the group development passed straight into Norming. The following is a set of suggestions which may help in group formation. They are offered as suggestions, no more; a group will work towards its own practices and norms. Focus The two basic foci should be the group and the task. If something is to be decided, it is the group that decides it. If there is a problem, the group solves it. If a member is performing badly, it is the group who asks for change. If individual conflicts arise, review them in terms of the task. If there is initially a lack of structure and purpose in the deliberations, impose both in terms of the task. If there are disputes between alternative courses of action, negotiate in terms of the task.

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Clarification In any project management, the clarity of the specification is of paramount importance - in group work it is exponentially so. Suppose that there is a 0.8 chance of an individual understanding the task correctly (which is very high). If there are 8 members in the group then the chance of the group all working towards that same task is 0.17. And the same reasoning hold for every decision and action taken throughout the life of the group. It is the first responsibility of the group to clarify its own task, and to record this understanding so that it can be constantly seen. This mission statement may be revised or replaced, but it should always act as a focus for the groups deliberations and actions. The mouse In any group, there is always the quiet one in the corner who doesn't say much. That individual is the most under utilized resource in the whole group, and so represents the best return for minimal effort by the group as a whole. It is the responsibility of that individual to speak out and to contribute. It is the responsibility of the group to encourage and develop that person, to include him/her in the discussion and actions, and to provide positive reinforcement each time that happens. The loud-mouth In any group, there is always a dominant member whose opinions form a disproportionate share of the discussion. It is the responsibility of each individual to consider whether they are that person. It is the responsibility of the group to ask whether the loud-mouth might like to summarize briefly, and then ask for other views. The written record Often a decision which is not recorded will become clouded and have to be rediscused. This can be avoided simply by recording on a large display (where the

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group can clearly see) each decision as it is made. This has the further advantage that each decision must be expressed in a clear and concise form which ensures that it is clarified. Feedback (negative) All criticism must be neutral: focused on the task and not the personality. So rather than calling Johnie an innumerate moron, point out the error and offer him a calculator. It is wise to adopt the policy of giving feedback frequently, especially for small things - this can be couched as mutual coaching, and it reduces the destructive impact of criticism when things go badly wrong. Every criticism must be accompanied by a positive suggestion for improvement. Feedback (positive) If anyone does something well, praise it. Not only does this reenforce commendable actions, but it also mollifies the negative feedback which may come later. Progress in the task should be emphasised. Handling failure The long term success of a group depends upon how it deals with failure. It is a very British tendency to brush off failure and to get on with the next stage with no more than a mention - it is a very foolish tendency. Any failure should be explored by the group. This is not to attribute blame (for that is shared by the whole group as an individual only acts with delegated responsibility), but rather to examine the causes and to devise a mechanism which either monitors against or prevents repetition. A mistake should only happen once if it is treated correctly. One practise which is particularly useful is to delegate the agreed solution to the individual or sub-group who made the original error. This allows the group to demonstrate its continuing trust and the penitent to make amends. Handling deadlock If two opposing points of view are held in the group then some action must be

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taken. Several possibly strategies exist. Each sub-group could debate from the other sub-group's view-point in order to better understand it. Common ground could be emphasised, and the differences viewed for a possible middle or alternative strategy. Each could be debated in the light of the original task. But firstly the group should decide how much time the debate actually merits and then guillotine it after that time - then, if the issue is not critical, toss a coin. Sign posting As each small point is discussed, the larger picture can be obscured. Thus it is useful frequently to remind the group: this is where we came from, this is where we got to, this is where we should be going. Avoid single solutions First ideas are not always best. For any given problem, the group should generate alternatives, evaluate these in terms of the task, pick one and implement it. But most importantly, they must also monitor the outcome, schedule a review and be prepared to change the plan. Active communication Communication is the responsibility of both the speaker and the listener. The speaker must actively seek to express the ideas in a clear and concise manner - the listener must actively seek to understand what has been said and to ask for clarification if unsure. Finally, both parties must be sure that the ideas have been correctly communicated perhaps by the listener summarizing what was said in a different way.

Conclusion
Groups are like relationships - you have to work at them. In the work place, they constitute an important unit of activity but one whose support needs are only recently becoming understood. By making the group itself responsible for its own support, the responsibility becomes an accelerator for the group process. What is vital, is that these needs are recognized and explicitly dealt with by the group. Time and resources must be allocated to this by the group and by Management,

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and the group process must be planned, monitored and reviewed just like any other managed process. Gerard M Blair is a Senior Lecturer in VLSI Design at the Department of Electrical Engineering, The University of Edinburgh. His book Starting to Manage: the essential skills is published by Chartwell-Bratt (UK) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (USA). He welcomes feedback either by email ([email protected]) or by any other method found here

Links to more of my articles on Management Skills can be found here

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Making Teams Work at the Top -- Jon R. Katzenbach full-text article

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Making Teams Work at the Top by Jon R. Katzenbach
Leader to Leader, No. 7 Winter 1998

top executives pay lip service to their "team at the top" but achieve only a small portion of the actual team performance potential of the senior leadership group. Others, who champion a team approach at all levels, become frustrated that they cannot run the company more as a team. Both extremes are missing the point: real team efforts at the top of large organizations have performance value only when applied to legitimate team opportunities.
ost

Thought Leaders Forum: Jon R. Katzenbach

In other words, the senior leadership group (that is, all the CEO's direct reports) need not try to become a real team. As obvious as this may seem, few senior leadership groups are disciplined about when and how they pursue team opportunities. As a result, they struggle for team performance when it makes no sense, and miss opportunities for

Jon R. Katzenbach is a director of McKinsey & Company in Dallas, specializing in strategy, organization performance, leadership, and change for business and nonprofit institutions. He is author of the recently released Teams at the Top and coauthor of the best-selling The Wisdom of Teams. (12/97) More on Jon R. Katzenbach

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team performance when it offers high potential. This happens even in companies that have mastered the use of teams in other parts of the organization. The reasons are simple to describe but difficult to overcome. Shortfalls in team potential occur when leadership groups
q

q

q q

q

Do not appreciate the discipline of teams and the performance potential teams can offer -- even at the top Do not differentiate between -- nor Additional resources for make an explicit distinction in how this article they pursue -- team and nonteam opportunities Depend upon crisis-type events to trigger team behavior Rely exclusively on the familiar discipline of executive leadership, which conflicts with -- and typically overpowers -the discipline required for team performance Regularly overlook new options for team composition, modes of behavior, and leadership roles they can play to build real teams in the right places

This article is Chapter 32 in Leader to Leader. See the complete contents. From Leader to Leader, No. 7 Winter 1998 • Table of Contents • From the Editors • Resources

The Prevailing Mind-Set

we think of a team at the top composed only of the CEO's direct reports, we presume that all companies have one, for better or for worse. We also presume that this senior executive group can function together in only one of two ways: as a hierarchical group or as a collaborative team. If those are the primary options, then most top teams certainly are not "real teams" because the CEO calls the shots. Moreover, it is virtually impossible to change that reality without changing the style of the CEO, which rarely happens. Hence, we observe very little team performance in the executive suite of most organizations. This mind-set further leads to two
hen

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different sets of myths about so-called teams at the top: the strong leader myths and the real team myths. Both result in a loss of performance potential within senior leadership groups.

Myths of the Strong Leader

underlying assumption of those who favor strong executive leadership is simply that strong leaders cannot -- and probably need not -- function as part of a real team; that sort of behavior makes more sense down the line or in the workplace. This premise leads in turn to five fallacies surrounding senior leadership behavior.
he

1. The CEO determines whether a company wins or loses. What board of directors does not believe that if you pick the right CEO your problems are solved? The view is even more pervasive than corporate boards, however; analysts, consultants, and journalists as well as most executives appear to share this belief. In fact, it is close to heresy to suggest otherwise. The reality is that the leadership requirements of winning companies (particularly those that stand the test of time) go well beyond the CEO. It is not that the CEO role is somehow less important, or that the leader's personal attributes have little influence on corporate performance; obviously, they do. Rather, it is that the broad leadership and organizational system is more important over time. As James Collins and Jerry Porras argue in Built to Last, "the success of visionary companies -- at least in part -- [comes] from underlying processes and fundamental dynamics embedded in the organization and not primarily [from] a single great idea or some great, all-knowing, godlike visionary who made great decisions, and had great charisma, and led with great authority." 2. The CEO has to make all the key decisions. No self-respecting boss admits to backing off when a tough decision is needed. This is particularly true in turnaround situations. This view causes most of us to believe that a real team (wherein the leadership and decision-

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making role shifts among the members) is really impossible at the top, because real teams do not have a single leader or decision maker. In reality, however, the CEOs of large companies cannot make all the key decisions, nor do they try. Instead, a strong cadre of leaders down the line is constantly making important decisions that never reach the attention of the CEO. More and more companies are disaggregating their businesses to create even more decision makers closer to both the marketplace and the workplace. Many of these avail themselves of real team decisions. Furthermore, real teams can and do function within a construct that permits the senior leader (or CEO) to decide key issues. This need not prevent a shifting of leadership roles within teams when opportunities require it. 3. It is a team because we say so! CEOs, managers, analysts, consultants, academics, and writers freely label the senior leadership groups of large and small companies as "the executive team" or "top team." Everyone knows who they mean, despite the nonteam behavior that generally characterizes these groups. The reality -- which everyone knows as well -- is that these groups seldom if ever function as real teams if one is rigorous about defining the term, applying the discipline it implies, and measuring the kind of results it should produce. Labeling the leadership group a team does not make it so. 4. The right person in the right job leads to the right team. The very best companies devote major portions of their human resource system to getting right person-right job match-ups. At some companies it becomes a slogan, if not a reality. At the top, the primary focus of new leaders is how to structure and fill the top jobs in the company -- particularly those that comprise the CEO's direct reports. The understandable presumption is that the right person will somehow figure how to shape his own team -- and will instinctively team up with other executives as need be to get the job done. The fact is, real teams at the top happen naturally only when a major,

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unexpected event forces the issue -- and only when the instincts of the senior leader permit the discipline of team performance to be applied. Unfortunately, that means a lot of valid team opportunities are overlooked.

Real teams at the top happen naturally only when a major, unexpected event forces the issue.

5. The top team's purpose is executing the company mission. While senior executives are, in fact, responsible for carrying out the organization's mission and strategy, that is far from the whole story. To produce the kind of shared sense of commitment necessary to execute strategy, they must also focus on collective work products or joint leadership. The achievement of mission depends on much more than the decisions of senior executives, some of which may warrant joint decisions. Good decision making alone, however, will seldom provide the focus, commitment, and mutual accountability that a real team effort must have. While it is possible for senior leadership groups to shape effective team behavior around key decisions, they seldom do. As pervasive as these myths are, the result of embracing any or all of them is to virtually preclude real team performance at the top -except when a crisis breaks the strong executive leadership behaviors that prevail in most organizations.

Myths of the Real Team

constraining is a set of strongly held beliefs about the importance of real team performance within a senior leadership group. These beliefs are increasingly evident among top executives, and have been at the heart of much of the research that has been published about executive team behaviors. Unfortunately, they are as counterproductive as the myths of the strong leader. Five in particular hamper the very team performance they are designed to stimulate:
qually

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1. Teamwork at the top will lead to team performance. This myth argues for more attention to the "four Cs" of effective teamwork -communication, cooperation, collaboration, and compromise. It also recognizes that many senior leadership groups need to practice more supportive behaviors or teamwork. In fact, most of us assume that teamwork is probably the only kind of team effort that senior groups can be expected to pursue. The reality is that teamwork is not the same thing as team performance. Teamwork is broad-based cooperation and supportive behavior; a team is a tightly focused performance unit. Hence, by focusing on teamwork as a generic virtue, the senior group is less likely to discern when and where they need to apply the discipline required to achieve real team performance. They may improve their ability to communicate and support one another, but they will not obtain team performance without applying team discipline to a specific task. 2. Top teams need to spend more time together building consensus. We often assume that consensus-based decisions are somehow better than individual decisions, particularly with respect to critical corporate actions. Unfortunately, we also assume that building consensus is synonymous with reducing conflict, and that less conflict leads to more teamlike behavior. The reality is that most executives have little time Real team efforts do not avoid to spare as it is, and the idea of consuming more of confict; they thrive that scarce resource struggling to build consensus on it. makes little or no sense to them. In fact, many decisions -- such as whether to appoint an individual to a new job or how to choose between two equally attractive strategies -- are better made individually than collectively. Moreover, spending time together seeking consensus is not the same thing as actually working together, as a real team, to yield a higher performance result. The further reality is that, in a real team, the right person or persons make the decisions; group consensus is not required. Most important, real team efforts do not avoid conflict; they thrive on it. Conflict is

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virtually unavoidable among top decision makers, who must deal with ambiguity, high stakes, and frank debate as a matter of course. 2. CEOs need to change their style to obtain team performance. Those who see the strong, decisive style of the CEO and others as the major obstacle to team performance would admonish top executives to stop making all key decisions, and to learn to be more collaborative. Some even advocate personal counseling and leadership training to that end. Most senior executives cannot fundamentally change their style. However, rather than trying to be someone they are not, if they simply learn to play a different role, they can often stimulate real team efforts, if not function as members and leaders of such efforts. Their underlying beliefs and everyday activities turn out to be much more important than their personal leadership styles. For instance, Andrew Sigler, the former CEO of Champion International, would probably not be anyone's first choice as the ideal team leader. He was a strong, individual leader with a single-minded focus on the best way to lead his company forward. Nonetheless, he understood the value of teams and, through word and deed, genuinely supported their growth throughout the organization. His successor, Richard Olson, has a very different leadership style, much of it developed while working under Sigler's strong executive style. Olson is a natural team leader who is able to lead Champion's senior group -both as a team and as a single-leader unit. Both Sigler and Olson achieved remarkable team results throughout the company, although Olson gets more team performance at the top. The key is in learning to differentiate between team and nonteam situations within the senior group, and to ensure the appropriate discipline is applied -even if it means someone else should lead the group's team efforts. 4. The senior group should function as a team whenever it is together. This myth presumes that every task for the senior leadership group could qualify as a team opportunity, regardless of how that task is best carried out within the group. But that view leads to team-building sessions that can drive tough, skeptical executives up the wall. As a result, a lot of time can be wasted

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attempting to achieve team behaviors in situations that warrant more efficient, leader-driven approaches. In reality many senior leadership interactions are Team efforts at the top make sense simply not real team opportunities and do not only for specific warrant the application of team disciplines. Team issues that require executives efforts at the top make sense only part of the time -- senior to do real work when they address specific issues that require together. senior executives to do real work together. If, by contrast, the task is simply a matter of reviewing and approving the work of others, or communicating syndicated decisions -- as much senior executive activity has become -- it is seldom best accomplished by a team. Individual efforts can often be faster and more effective, particularly when the potential value of the collective work products is low or unclear. 5. Teams at the top need to "set the example." To suggest that teams down the line cannot perform as real teams unless the top leaders act as role models presumes too much about the power of senior managers -- and too little about the abilities of others. Nevertheless, believers in this view argue for "daily examples" of team behavior among the leadership group. The reality is that daily contact is seldom even possible among the members of the management group. Fortunately, most real team efforts down the line are unaffected by how the senior leadership group behaves, as long as the top leaders believe in the value of team performance down the line and are supportive of such team efforts. The support matters far more than the example. Moreover, many of the team efforts at the top are, of necessity, carried out behind closed doors because of the confidential nature of the crisis events that produce true team action. The myths that grow out of the real team premise can be as constraining on senior leadership performance as those growing out of the strong leader premise. For that reason, it makes sense to seriously consider a different mind-set that seeks to integrate these two extreme points of view. Simply stated, a "team at the top"

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should be able to vary its composition, behavior, and leadership roles to optimize -- and better integrate -- individual, team, and nonteam performance. Obviously, this is an argument for a balanced leadership approach.

Achieving Balance "at the Top"

and tapping into the leadership capacity throughout the organization is important for virtually any enterprise that anticipates growth and change, be it Mobil Oil, Hewlett-Packard, Champion International, or Ben & Jerry's. It doesn't seem to matter whether the company is large or small, industrial or financial, global or regional -- leadership capacity is in short supply at all levels.
xpanding

This has always been true, and will probably always be true -dynamic organizations can never have enough leadership capacity. On the other hand, just because the aspiration is elusive does not mean that we can afford to ignore the need. In leading a complex enterprise to an increasingly high set of balanced aspirations, team performance is but one of several approaches that leaders must consider. At the same time, I believe team performance is the approach with the most potential for immediate results -- and the one that is most neglected within top leadership groups. The forces at work in any large organization can easily undermine senior executives' interest in learning how to increase their team performance. Paradoxically, these very same leaders are often in serious pursuit of greater leadership capacity. Yet they continue to overlook the value of the team approach in enhancing the potential of any small group. Real teams learn how to shape working approaches that exploit the leadership capabilities of all their members. They also learn how to develop those individual and collective capabilities to the fullest. However, the full potential of a team at the top cannot be realized unless and until the leadership group is able to

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Sharpen its ability to recognize high-potential team opportunities and differentiate them from equally important nonteam situations Learn to shift its mode and composition to fit differing opportunities and apply the appropriate discipline Become comfortable in shifting the leadership role among its members without eroding the ultimate authority of the CEO

What worries me most when able leaders are first exposed to the notion of fluid team dynamics is their tendency to conclude "we already do that." Discussions of shifting roles and responsibilities among senior leadership groups invariably produce a great deal of head nodding, knowing glances, and side comments of support -followed by the sighs of relief that "we don't really have to worry about being a team after all -- we just have to keep delegating work to subgroups." An understandable reaction, since much of what effective leaders do instinctively is what works best for teams at the top. In moments of crisis -- a plant disaster, a takeover threat, any unexpected and serious disruption of service -- people break the hierarchical norms of the organization and work together to accomplish whatever needs to be done. Most leaders are also relieved to learn that their personal styles do not usually need to change, that they need not feel guilty about functioning as single-leader working groups, and that strong individual leadership still counts for a lot. Indeed, subordinate groups working without the executive's direct participation are often the best way to obtain team performance, and, as we have seen, unexpected events will probably trigger true team behavior anyway. No wonder "we already do it that way" is a common reaction among senior executives. So why not just keep doing it in the way you are most comfortable? The answer, of course, is that instinctive adherence to executive leadership disciplines will snuff out team discipline. Any senior leadership group may get team performance in crucial situations, but will not obtain it in many other important opportunities. Teams excel when

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q q

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The task requires a truly collaborative work product Real value accrues from rotating leadership roles among team members Members hold themselves mutually accountable

But understanding the difference between team and nonteam situations is not enough. Learning how to recognize those differences, consciously making the tradeoffs between the speed of individual action and the performance potential of team action, integrating the two disciplines, and applying the right discipline at the right time is an acquired skill for most leaders who run things at any level. To that end, the following six specific suggestions can help any senior group that aspires to more team performance at the top: 1. Determine the group's level of common commitment to real team efforts: Openly discuss each member's beliefs as to the potential value of more team performance within the group. Unless and until group members truly believe in the extra value of team performance, executive leadership discipline will prevail. 2. Do not try to be a real team all the time: Learn the difference between a real team effort and a single-leader working group; recognize that both have value within the construct of the senior leadership group. 3. Be disciplined, but be selective: Learn to apply the six elements of team discipline -- small size, complementary skills, common purpose, clear performance goals, explicit working approach, and mutual accountability. Real team performance demands that members of the group understand and apply this simple discipline, as well as deal with the inevitable conflicts team basics create for advocates of executive discipline. Until the group recognizes the value of both disciplines and is selective about when to apply each, valuable leadership capacity will be lost. 4. Go beyond your "personal favorite" leadership approach: Learn

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to shift in and out of a real team mode of behavior and vary the roles played by each member without eroding the senior leader's ultimate authority. This suggests an open discussion of the relative areas of individual experience and know-how, as well as the design of a working approach for the group that permits role shifts among the members as different kinds of performance issues arise. 5. Obtain the right skill mix: Vary the membership of each team situation to fit its purpose and goals; do not presume all "direct reports" should be involved in all team issues at the top. Seek out the appropriate skill mix for each situation, even if it requires skills from outside the senior group. 6. Concentrate team efforts where they count the most: Periodically (say, every six months), explicitly identify the half-dozen or so team opportunities that deserve priority attention of the senior leadership group. Ensure that the six elements of team discipline are being applied to each of these situations. The good news is that team performance at the top is much more doable than commonly assumed. The bad news is that most small groups that run things can obtain team performance only by changing their approach, learning new skills, applying multiple disciplines -- and doing more real work together. The potential benefits of doing so are too great to ignore.

Copyright © 1998 by Jon R. Katzenbach. Reprinted with permission from Leader to Leader, a publication of the Drucker Foundation and Jossey-Bass, Inc., Publishers. To subscribe, contact Jossey-Bass Publishers, 350 Sansome Street, San Francisco, CA 94104, 1-888-378-2537 or 1-415-4331767. For reprints, call 1-800-217-7874 or 1-612-582-3800. Permission to copy: Send a fax (1-212-850-6008) or letter to John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Permissions Department, 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158. Include: (1) The publication title, author(s) or editor(s), and pages you'd like to reprint; (2) Where you will be using the material, in the classroom, as part of a workshop, for a book, etc.; (3) When you will be using the material; (4) The number of copies you wish to make. [Further information on permissions is available from the Wiley Web site http://www.wiley.com/about/permissions/.] Available on the Drucker

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Foundation web site, http://www.pfdf.org/leaderbooks.

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The Secrets of Great Groups -- Warren Bennis full-text article

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The Secrets of Great Groups by Warren Bennis
Leader to Leader, No. 3 Winter 1997

leadership is one of the most studied topics in American life. Indeed, I have devoted a big chunk of my professional life to better understanding its workings. Far less studied -- and perhaps more important -- is group leadership. The disparity of interest in those two realms of leadership is logical, given the strong individualist bent of American culture. But the more I look at the history of business, government, the arts, and the sciences, the clearer it is that few great accomplishments are ever the work of a single individual.
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Thought Leaders Forum: Warren Bennis

Our mythology refuses to catch up with our reality. And so we cling to the myth of the Lone Ranger, the romantic idea that great things are usually accomplished by a largerthan-life individual working alone. Despite the evidence to the contrary -- including the fact that Michelangelo worked with a group

Warren Bennis is a distinguished professor and founding chairman of the Leadership Institute at the University of Southern California. He has advised four U.S. presidents and numerous CEOs and is author or editor of more than 20 books on leadership, change, and management, including Organizing Genius. (12/96) More on Warren Bennis

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of 16 to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel -- we still tend to think of achievement in terms of the Great Man or the Great Woman, instead of the Great Group.

As they say, "None of us is as smart as all of us." That's good, because the problems we face are too complex to be solved by any one person or any one discipline. Our only chance is to bring people together from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines who can refract a problem Additional resources for through the prism of complementary minds this article allied in common purpose. I call such collections of talent Great Groups. The genius of Great Groups is that they get remarkable people -- strong individual achievers -- to work together to get results. But these groups serve a second and equally important function: they provide psychic support and personal fellowship. They help generate courage. Without a sounding board for outrageous ideas, without personal encouragement and perspective when we hit a roadblock, we'd all lose our way.

This article is Chapter 31 in Leader to Leader. See the complete contents. From Leader to Leader, No. 3 Winter 1997 • Table of Contents • From the Editors • Resources

The Myths of Leadership

Groups teach us something about effective leadership, meaningful missions, and inspired recruiting. They challenge not only the myth of the Great Man, but also the 1950s myth of the Organization Man -- the sallow figure in the gray flannel suit, giving his life to the job and conforming to its mindless dictates.
reat

Neither myth is a productive model for behavior, and neither holds up to current reality. In fact, I believe, behind every Great Man is a Great Group, an effective partnership. And making up every Great Group is a unique construct of strong, often eccentric individuals. So

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the question for organizations is, How do you get talented, selfabsorbed, often arrogant, incredibly bright people to work together? The impetus for my current work in groups was a meeting more than 40 years ago with anthropologist Margaret Mead. I had heard her speak at Harvard, and afterward I asked her whether anyone had ever studied groups whose ideas were powerful enough to change the world. She looked at me and said, "Young man, you should write a book on that topic and call it Sapiential Circles." I gasped, and she went on to explain that sapiential circles meant knowledgegenerating groups. Like a lot of good ideas, it took a while to gestate, but over the years the power of groups became a recurrent theme for me. Recently, work by leading thinkers like Michael Shrage in the nature of technology and collaboration, Hal Leavitt and Jean Lipman-Blumen in Hot Groups, and Richard Hackman in the remarkable Orpheus Chamber Orchestra highlights the significance of this inquiry. To see what makes Great Groups tick, I studied some of the most noteworthy of our time, including the Manhattan Project, the paradigmatic Great Group that invented the atomic bomb; the computer revolutionaries at Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) and at Apple Computer, whose work led to the Macintosh and other technical breakthroughs; the Lockheed Skunk Works, which pioneered the fast, efficient development of top-secret aircraft; and the Walt Disney Studio animators. Every Great Group is extraordinary in its own way, but my study suggests 10 principles common to all -- and that apply as well to their larger organizations.
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At the heart of every Great Group is a shared dream. All Great Groups believe that they are on a mission from God, that they could change the world, make a dent in the universe. They are obsessed with their work. It becomes not a job but a fervent quest. That belief is what brings the necessary cohesion and energy to their work. They manage conflict by abandoning individual egos to the pursuit of the dream. At a critical point in the Manhattan

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Project, George Kistiakowsky, a great chemist who later served as Dwight Eisenhower's chief scientific advisor, threatened to quit because he couldn't get along with a colleague. Project leader Robert Oppenheimer simply said, "George, how can you leave this project? The free world hangs in the balance." So conflict, even with these diverse people, is resolved by reminding people of the mission.
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They are protected from the "suits." All Great Groups seem to have disdain for their corporate overseers and all are protected from them by a leader -- not necessarily the leader who defines the dream. In the Manhattan Project, for instance, General Leslie Grove kept the Pentagon brass happy and away, while Oppenheimer kept the group focused on its mission. At Xerox PARC, Bob Taylor kept the honchos in Connecticut (referred to by the group as "toner heads") at bay and kept the group focused. Kelly Johnson got himself appointed to the board of Lockheed to help protect his Skunk Works. In all cases, physical distance from headquarters helped. They have a real or invented enemy. Even the most noble mission can be helped by an onerous opponent. That was literally true with the Manhattan Project, which had real enemies -- the Japanese and the Nazis. Yet most organizations have an implicit mission to destroy an adversary, and that is often more motivating than their explicit mission. During their greatest years, for instance, Apple Computer's implicit mission was, Bury IBM. (The famous 1984 Macintosh TV commercial included the line, "Don't buy a computer you can't lift.") The decline of Apple follows the subsequent softening of their mission. They view themselves as winning underdogs. World-changing groups are usually populated by mavericks, people at the periphery of their disciplines. These groups do not regard the mainstream as the sacred Ganges. The sense
World-changing groups do not regard the mainstream as the sacred Ganges.

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of operating on the fringes gives them a don't-count-me-out scrappiness that feeds their obsession.
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Members pay a personal price. Membership in a Great Group isn't a day job; it is a night and day job. Divorces, affairs, and other severe emotional fallout are typical, especially when a project ends. At the Skunk Works, for example, people couldn't even tell their families what they were working on. They were located in a cheerless, rundown building in Burbank, of all places, far from Lockheed's corporate headquarters and main plants. So groups strike a Faustian bargain for the intensity and energy that they generate. Great Groups make strong leaders. On one hand, they're all nonhierarchical, open, and very egalitarian. Yet they all have strong leaders. That's the paradox of group leadership. You cannot have a great leader without a Great Group -- and vice versa. In an important way, these groups made the leaders great. The leaders I studied were seldom the brightest or best in the group, but neither were they passive players. They were connoisseurs of talent, more like curators than creators. Great Groups are the product of meticulous recruiting. It took Oppenheimer to get a Kistiakowsky and a Niels Bohr to come to his godforsaken outpost in the desert. Cherry-picking the right talent for a group means knowing what you need and being able to spot it in others. It also means understanding the chemistry of a group. Candidates are often grilled, almost hazed, by other members of the group and its leader. You see the same thing in great coaches. They can place the right people in the right role. And get the right constellations and configurations within the group. Great Groups are usually young. The average Great Groups don't know age of the physicists at Los Alamos was what's supposed to be impossible. about 25. Oppenheimer -- "the old man" -gives them was in his 30s. Youth provides the physical That the ability to do stamina demanded by these groups. But Great the impossible.

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Groups are also young in their spirit, ethos, and culture. Most important, because they're young and naive, group members don't know what's supposed to be impossible, which gives them the ability to do the impossible. As Berlioz said about Saint-Saens, "He knows everything; all he lacks is inexperience." Great Groups don't lack the experience of possibilities.
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Real artists ship. Steve Jobs constantly reminded his band of Apple renegades that their work meant nothing unless they brought a great product to market. In the end, Great Groups have to produce a tangible outcome external to themselves. Most dissolve after the product is delivered; but without something to show for their efforts, the most talented assemblage becomes little more than a social club or a therapy group.

New Rules for Leaders

principles not only define the nature of Great Groups, they also redefine the roles and responsibilities of leaders. Group leaders vary widely in style and personality. Some are facilitators, some doers, some contrarians. However, leadership is inevitably dispersed, sometimes in formal rotation, more often with people playing ad hoc leadership roles at different points.
hese

Furthermore, the formal leaders, even when delegating authority, are catalytic completers; they take on roles that nobody else plays -cajoler, taskmaster, protector, or doer -- and that are needed for the group to achieve its goal. They intuitively understand the chemistry of the group and the dynamics of the work process. They encourage dissent and diversity in the pursuit of a shared vision and understand the difference between healthy, creative dissent and self-serving obstructionism. They are able to discern what different people need at different times.

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In short, despite their differences in style, the leaders of Great Groups share four behavioral traits. Without exception, the leaders of Great Groups:
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Provide direction and meaning. They remind people of what's important and why their work makes a difference. Generate and sustain trust. The group's trust in itself -- and its leadership -- allows members to accept dissent and ride through the turbulence of the group process. Display a bias toward action, risk taking, and curiosity. A sense of urgency -- and a willingness to risk failure to achieve results -- is at the heart of every Great Group. Are purveyors of hope. Effective team leaders find both tangible and symbolic ways to demonstrate that the group can overcome the odds.

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There's no simple recipe for developing these skills; group leadership is far more an art than a science. But we can start by rethinking our notion of what collaboration means and how it is achieved. Our management training and educational institutions need to focus on group development as well as individual development. Universities, for instance, rarely allow group Ph.D. theses or rewards for joint authorship. Corporations usually reward individual rather than group achievement, even as leaders call for greater teamwork and partnership.

Power of the Mission

no accident that topping both lists -- the principles of Great Groups and the traits of group leaders -- is the power of the mission. All great teams -- and all great organizations -- are built around a shared dream or motivating purpose. Yet organizations' mission statements often lack real meaning and resonance.
t's

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Realistically, your team need not believe that it is literally saving the world, as the Manhattan Project did; it is enough to feel it is helping people in need or battling a tough competitor. Simply punching a time clock doesn't do it. Articulating a meaningful mission is the job of leaders at every level - and it's not an easy task. In Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1, Glendower, the Welsh seer, boasts to Hotspur that he can "call spirits from the vasty deep," and Hotspur retorts, so can I, so can anybody -"but will they come when you do call for them?" That is the test of inspiring leadership. I learned firsthand how critical a sense of mission --Part of the responsibility for or its absence -- can be to an employer. Several uninspired work lies with the years ago, I had an assistant who handled the arrangements for my speeches and travel; at night leader. she did volunteer work for a nonprofit, self-help organization. Her work for me was acceptable but perfunctory. It was clear that she was much more involved and committed to her unpaid work. Frankly, I was jealous. I came to resent the fact that I was not getting her best efforts; after all, I was paying her and they weren't. We talked about it, and she was very honest about the fact that it was her volunteer work that had real meaning for her; there she felt she was making a difference. So you can't expect every employee to be zealously committed to your cause. But you can accept the fact that part of the responsibility for uninspired work lies with the leader. Great Groups remind us how much we can really accomplish working toward a shared purpose. To be sure, Great Groups rely on many long-established practices of good management -- effective communication, exceptional recruitment, genuine empowerment, personal commitment. But they also remind us of author Luciano de Crescanzo's observation that "we are all angels with only one wing; we can only fly while embracing one another." In the end, these groups cannot be managed, only led in flight.

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Copyright © 1997 by Warren Bennis. Reprinted with permission from Leader to Leader, a publication of the Drucker Foundation and Jossey-Bass, Inc., Publishers. To subscribe, contact Jossey-Bass Publishers, 350 Sansome Street, San Francisco, CA 94104, 1-888-378-2537 or 1-415-4331767. For reprints, call 1-800-217-7874 or 1-612-582-3800. Permission to copy: Send a fax (1-212-850-6008) or letter to John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Permissions Department, 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158. Include: (1) The publication title, author(s) or editor(s), and pages you'd like to reprint; (2) Where you will be using the material, in the classroom, as part of a workshop, for a book, etc.; (3) When you will be using the material; (4) The number of copies you wish to make. [Further information on permissions is available from the Wiley Web site http://www.wiley.com/about/permissions/.] Available on the Drucker Foundation web site, http://www.pfdf.org/leaderbooks.

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Team Climate Survey

Team Climate Survey
Remember the leadership qualities, well now explore the characteristics of well-functioning teams. Keep the following in mind:
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Teamwork improves the working environment. Teamwork keeps communication consistent. Teamwork relieves stress. Teamwork reduces errors. Teamwork keeps communication lines open.

Open Communications . . .
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Creates and maintains a climate of trust and open, honest communication. Allows team members to talk openly with one another. Promotes the exchange of feedback. Provide team members to work through misunderstandings and conflicts.

Commitment to a Common Purpose and Performance Goals . . .
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Keeps the purpose in the forefront of decision making and evaluations of team practices. Helps one another maintain the focus.

Shared Responsibility . . .
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Allows team members to feel equally responsible for the performance of the team and its outcome. Permits individuals to have primary roles for completing team tasks and remain flexible to do what is necessary to accomplish the team’s goals and tasks.

Use of Resources and Talents . . .
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Utilizes the resources and talents of all the group members. Makes good use of the team’s creative talent by openly sharing skills and knowledge, and encourages learning from one another.

Capacity for Self-Evaluation . . .
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Allows teams to stop and look at how well they are doing and what, if anything, may be hindering their performance and communication.

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Team Climate Survey

Participative Leadership
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Provides opportunities for team members to participate in decision making. Allows team members to help set goals and develop strategies for achieving these goals. Allows team members to help identify tasks and decide how to approach and evaluate them.

Characteristics of Effective Team Members
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Team members are supportive to achieve the results. Team members avoid "winning" or looking good at the expense of others. Team members keep the goal and the mission in mind. Team members are open to the ideas of others. Team members share information and ideas. Team members support the contribution of others.

Guidelines for Effective Team Membership
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Contribute ideas and solutions
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The willingness of all team members to draw on their own expertise and experience to contribute ideas and solutions is what makes an effective team. You should feel comfortable enough in the team setting to express yourself, and know that your ideas have value. Creative input from a variety of member perspectives is the basis of effective problem solving. Team "norms must encourage contributions, not inhibit them."

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Recognize and respect differences in others.
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Creative, effective teams bring together individuals with widely divergent skills and backgrounds who must work closely together to execute the tasks assigned to them. This can only be accomplished in an atmosphere of mutual respect and willingness to listen. You won't always agree with the ideas other team members bring to a discussion, but you should always be willing to listen without prejudice and contribute positively to the problem-solving process.

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Value the ideas and contributions of others
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A willingness to respect ideas and opinions that differ from your own is the cornerstone of positive and interactive teamwork. Input from every member of the groups should be carefully weighed and evaluated, never disparaged.

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Listen and share information

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Team Climate Survey

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Really listening to what other team members have to say is one of the most vital skills you can contribute to a productive team atmosphere. You should always be willing to give an attentive ear to the views of other team members and expect them to do the same for you.

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Ask questions and get clarification
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If an idea isn't clear to you, it is your responsibility to the team to ask questions until the matter is clarified. The field of education often has a language all their own; asking questions to cut through the jargon will benefit all participants.

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Participate fully and keep your commitments
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To fully participate, you have to contribute ideas, challenge conventional ways of doing things, ask questions, and complete the tasks assigned to you in a timely and professional manner. These are your responsibilities. Without the enthusiastic participation of all its members, a group is just a collection of individuals. The unique skills and viewpoints you bring to the team are crucial to the successful completion of tasks.

Team Climate Survey Take the following team climate survey, to see where your board stands as a team. Purpose Do members of your board share a sense of why the team exists and are invested in accomplishing the mission? In a successful team: Members proudly share a sense of why the team exists and are invested in accomplishing its mission and goals.

Priorities

Do members know what needs to be done next, by whom, and by when to achieve team goals? In a successful team: Members know what needs to be done next, by whom, and by when to achieve team goals.

Roles

Do members know their roles in getting tasks done and when to allow a more skillful member to do a contain task? Members know their roles in getting tasks done and when to allow more skillful members to do a certain task.

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Decisions

Are authority and decision-making lines clearly understood? In a successful team: Authority and decision-making lines are clearly understood.

Conflict

Is conflict dealt with openly and considered important to decisionmaking and personal growth? In a successful team: Conflict is dealt with openly and is considered important to decision-making and personal growth.

Personal Traits

Do board members feel their unique personalities are appreciated and well utilized? In a successful team: Members feel their unique personalities are appreciated and well utilized.

Norms

Are group norms set for working together and are they seen as standards for everyone in the group? In a successful team: Group norms for working together are set and seen as standards for every one in the groups.

Effectiveness

Do members find team meetings efficient and productive and look forward to this time together? In a successful team: Members find team meetings efficient and productive and look forward to this time together.

Success

Do board members clearly know when the team has met with success and share in this equally and proudly? In a successful team: Members know clearly when the team has met with success and share in this equally and proudly.

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Training

Are opportunities for feedback and updating skills provided and taken advantage of by team members? In a successful team: Opportunities for feedback and updating skills are provided and taken advantage of by team members.

In this Module:
Governance and Management Leadership and Teams Professional Development Leadership Responsibilities

In the Toolkit:
Toolkit Home Page Planning Community Involvement Prof'l and Ldrship Development Why Change? Policy Facility Planning Why Technology? Curriculum and Assessment Funding

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Team Effectiveness
What are teams? Teams are an important element in the new high performance forms of organization. It is important to understand what teams are and what they aren't, if they are to be used effectively. Teams differ from committees, groups of co-workers, and other groups. Teams have performance goals to achieve and member of the teams feel mutually accountable for achieving them. What is the definition of a team? A team is defined as a reasonably small group of people, who bring to the table a set of complementary and appropriate skills, and who hold themselves mutually accountable for achieving a clear and identifiable set of goals. Teams can be very effective. It is almost imposable to open a business magazine today without some guru exhorting the benefits of working in teams. In many situations teams can achieve more than individuals working on their own. This is because teams can bring to bear a wider range of skills and experience to solve a problem. Teams also produce better quality decisions. When a team has been working on a problem, and they have a sense of commitment to the common solution. Teams can have their shady side. They are not always effective. They can be highly dysfunctional. They can develop a 'group think' mentality that can produce bad decisions. They can be disruptive, leading to arguments and discord in the organization. They can be enormously wasteful of people's time and energy. In short, teams can be good, but they can also be bad. In the new organization teams have a critical role to play. Work teams are used as the basic unit of organization. Problem solving teams are used to improve the way the organization performs, and management teams are used to develop strategy and to drive the changes. If the role of teams is to be positive, people must learn how to make them work effectively. What do we mean by team effectiveness? A team can be considered to be effective if their output is judged to meet or exceed the

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expectations of the people who receive the output. This is a question of the customer being right. If the team has been given some task to perform, the people who have given them the task are the people who will judge whether the result is satisfactory. Producing a quality output is not enough to judge the effectiveness of the team. The second criteria is that the team should still be able function effectively after they have completed their task. It should not be torn apart by dissension. This is not just a question of the members of the team still being on speaking terms. It means that after the team has been disbanded, the people should have an enhanced working relationship that benefits the organization. Finally, effectiveness is judged by whether the team feels satisfied with its efforts. If the team members are pleased with their efforts, if the experience has been a good one, if time spent away from their normal work has been worth the effort, the team has likely been effective. What then are the factors that contribute towards an effective team? There has been a great deal of research into the subject of team effectiveness over the last decade or so and there is a consensus on what factors must be controlled in order to set up and run effective teams. There are three areas of group behaviour that must be addressed for teams to be effective. The team must work hard. The effort that the team puts in to get the job done is dependent on whether the nature of the task motivates the members of the team and whether the goals are challenging. The team must have the right mix of skills to bring to the table. These skills include technical, problem solving and interpersonal skills. The team must be able to develop appropriate approaches to problem solving. This depends on developing a plan of attack and using appropriate techniques for analysis. The following factors contribute to hard work, skill development and effective

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problem solving strategies: The task itself should be motivating. One of the factors affecting the effort the team is likely to put into the job is the job itself. The characteristics of the job should provide motivation. The job should require a variety of high level skills to make it interesting. The task itself should be seen as being worthwhile. It needs to be a whole piece of work with a clear and visible outcome so that people can feel a sense of ownership. The outcome of the task should be perceived as being important to other people's lives. It should affect others in the organization or impact on the external customer. The job should provide the team with an opportunity for self regulation. They should decide how the work is to be done. Meaningful feedback should be provided on the how well the team is performing. The job characteristics are particularly important for work teams who are part of the day to day running of the organization. The team needs challenging goals which are clearly defined. For problem solving teams the most important factor that fosters the hard work and effort necessary for success is having meaningful goals. During the eighties quality circles were the latest fad. They generally failed to achieve any worthwhile results because they were not focused on results. They were aimless. If goals are foggy or too easy to achieve the team will not be motivated to make the extra effort that separates a high performance team from an ineffective group. Goals are needed to spur a team. When challenging goals are set the team will mobilise its efforts to find innovative ways to achieve feats that may have been considered impossible. Providing a challenging job is the most important motivator to sustain group effort. Goals provide a sense of direction to the team so that when conflict occurs it is possible to channel the conflict more constructively by returning to the goals for direction.

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The team needs to buy in to the goals. In most cases a team has been set up to achieve a set of prescribed goals. They should spend some time discussing the goals and if necessary they should have the opportunity to negotiate them with their management. They must have the opportunity to buy in and commit to achieving the goals. Goals need to be challenging, but not impossible to achieve. They also need to be measurable so that progress towards achieving them can be monitored and results confirmed. Rewards are important. Rewards reinforce the motivational aspects of having a well designed task and challenging goals. People tend to engage in those behaviours that are rewarded, so the rewards need to suit the personal characteristics of the people on the team. These rewards do not need to be financial rewards although they may be. Simply providing recognition for a job well done can be all that is required. Whatever form the reward takes, it is important that group effort be recognised. One should avoid the destructive effect of trying to single out individuals from the group, when there has been a group effort. The impact of rewards will be heightened if the team understands that the provision of the reward is contingent on meeting the agreed goals. On the whole, hard work and effort are best sustained by having a worthwhile task to perform and having clear challenging goals to meet. Rewards merely reinforce these conditions for fostering group effort. The team should have the right mix of skills. The right mix of skills should be brought to the task at hand. This is partly a matter of assigning talented individuals and avoiding the temptation to assign people to a team for political reasons. It is also a question of carefully reviewing the job to determine what relevant skills are required and selecting staff so that the team has the right balance. Any shortfall in skills is then made up by providing relevant training. Technical skills are required. For teams who are trying to improve a process that

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cuts across department boundaries, each function should be represented. One should achieve a balance of skills. This means avoiding having a preponderance of skills and experience in one specialised area. Sheer numbers may weigh the solution towards the dominant group. In the case of permanent work teams it is likely that team members will not have all the task relevant skills at the onset. When the group is new, it is likely that members will bring narrow skills learned in their old roles. They will need to develop broader skills for the new job. To ensure that this is done, training and coaching should be provided. The members of the team need to have problem solving and decision making skills as well as technical skills. When a business is making its first venture into team based work, it is likely that people will not have a good grasp of the techniques related to problem analysis and solution. These relevant skills must be acquired, so it will be necessary to provide training. Over a period of time staff will become experienced in problem solving techniques and the organization will develop a repertoire of skills among the staff so this training will not always be necessary. Interpersonal skills are also important. This is not as obvious as it may sound. Most people do not listen well. Listening is much more than being quiet when some else is talking. Active listening is required. Many people do not speak to the point but ramble on or go off at a tangent. Most people do not take criticism well and tend to be defensive about their own opinions. Agree on a code of conduct. At the beginning of the team project it is important to develop a code of conduct for meetings. The team needs to agree on a set of rules to ensure that their efforts are purposeful and that all members contribute to the work. The most critical rules pertain to attendance, open discussion, using an analytical approach, not pulling rank over other members, planning the work and sharing work assignments. This will ensure that the work is done well and done on time. In summary, to ensure that the best possible set of skills and experience is brought

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to the task, able people should be selected on the basis of their relevant skills, and training or coaching should be provided to make up any skill deficiencies. Team activities are in fact a powerful vehicle for building skills. People learn skills from each other. They learn how other parts of the organization function. Teams serve to build up a repertoire of skills in the organization and this enhances the organization in the long term. The team must develop effective problem solving strategies. Behaviour in some groups can be chaotic. Early on, the team must develop a consensus about the general strategy for approaching problems. Failure to do so will seriously inhibit the ability of the team to tackle its tasks. For the team to be able to develop an appropriate strategy, it must have a clear definition of the problem, know what resources it has available and the limits, and understand the expectations. It must then develop a problem solving plan, based on the approach suggested in the section on continuous improvement. An effective team must develop good synergy. When a group finally clicks and become a team, it will find creative ways to solve problems and come up with innovative solutions. Synergy comes about when gains from the team setting exceed the losses. When this does not happen, people are passive. Their skills and knowledge are not utilised and they waste their time. Synergy is effected by group interaction. It is also dependent upon the group size. A larger group has the potential to be able to provide a greater variety of skills. However, when the group is too large the individual contribution of each person decreases. Some people feel intimidated by large group and don't contribute. Also when the group is large members become inactive. Small size is better, it generates team spirit. The team should have just enough hands to do the work and no more. Special teams have special issues. From the perspective of organisational improvement we are interested in three types of teams. One is the problem solving

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team, another is the work team and then there is the senior management team. Problem solving teams are set up with a clearly defined task to investigate a problem and recommend a solution. Sometimes the same team will go on to implement the solution. When their task is completed the team is disbanded and members go back to their normal organisational duties. There are two important issues facing these teams. One is getting started and the other is handing over the recommendations for implementation. The key to getting started is to ensure that the team is committed to achieving an agreed set of goals. Goals serve to focus the team's effort. Implementation is important. It will not just happen; it must be planned. The implementors must be brought into the solution stage so that they develop a sense of ownership towards the solution and buy into it. The best way to do this is to have the problem solving team do the implementation. Another approach is to phase the implementors into the team so that the membership changes prior to the implementation. Whatever approach is used one should remember that the idea is to implement a solution and not to produce a report. Work teams are different in that they are a fixed part of the organization. They have an ongoing function which is to control a set of activities that make up a discrete operation in the overall business process. They need to focus on the critical factors in their process and to control these factors to ensure a quality product. Their work is ongoing. There are no completion dates. They must think in terms of how they can constantly improve their work to cut cost, cycle time, or improve quality. One of the management issues is how to keep track of the performance of a large number of work teams to ensure that effort is focused on improving the performance of the key processes. Management teams are another thing altogether. At the senior level in an organization there should be a team approach taken towards the effective implementation of business strategy.

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This implementation should include the achievement of a range of performance improvement goals. It is important to identify specific measurable business objectives and monitor the progress towards meeting them. For the management team to behave as a real team they should be prepared to roll up their sleeves and help with the change effort. They should perform the higher level activities that support people at the lower level. These include communications, resolving road blocks and providing support and encouragement to those affected by the changes.

How to contact us
Call Mike Hick at (905) 372-5182 Write to Mike Hick, 56 Tremaine Terrace, Cobourg, Ontario, Canada, K9A 5A8 Email [email protected]. Visit web site www.eagle.ca/~mikehick Copyright. If you use this handout for your own training purposes please make copies and send me a copyright fee of a dollar per copy. Use the 'Back' command to go back or click here to go the the main page

This page last edited on March 14, 1998 This page has been visited times.

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Basic Guide to Conducting Effective Meetings

Basic Guide to Conducting Effective Meetings
Written by Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD | Applies to nonprofits and for-profits unless noted First-timers | Library materials | Library home page | Contact us | Leaders Circles

(Information in this topic is adapted from the Nuts-and-Bolts Guide to Leadership and Supervision.)

This document contains the following sections:
Selecting Participants Developing Agendas Opening the Meeting Establishing Ground Rules Time Management in Meetings Evaluating the Meeting Process Evaluating the Overall Meeting Closing the Meeting Meeting management tends to be a set of skills often overlooked by leaders and managers. The following information is a rather "Cadillac" version of meeting management suggestions. The reader might pick which suggestions best fits the particular culture of their own organization. Keep in mind that meetings are very expensive activities when one considers the cost of labor for the meeting and how much can or cannot get done in them. So take meeting management very seriously. The process used in a meeting depends on the kind of meeting you plan to have, e.g., staff meeting, planning meeting, problem solving meeting, etc. However, there are certain basics that are common to various types of meetings. These basics are described below. (Note that there may seem to be a lot of suggestions listed below for something as apparently simple as having a meeting. However, any important activity would include a long list of suggestions. The list seems to become much smaller once you master how to conduct the activity.)

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Selecting Participants
· The decision about who is to attend depends on what you want to accomplish in the meeting. This may seem too obvious to state, but it's surprising how many meetings occur without the right people there. · Don't depend on your own judgment about who should come. Ask several other people for their opinion as well. · If possible, call each person to tell them about the meeting, it's overall purpose and why their attendance is important. · Follow-up your call with a meeting notice, including the purpose of the meeting, where it will be held and when, the list of participants and whom to contact if they have questions. · Send out a copy of the proposed agenda along with the meeting notice. · Have someone designated to record important actions, assignments and due dates during the meeting. This person should ensure that this information is distributed to all participants shortly after the meeting.

Developing Agendas
· Develop the agenda together with key participants in the meeting. Think of what overall outcome you want from the meeting and what activities need to occur to reach that outcome. The agenda should be organized so that these activities are conducted during the meeting. In the agenda, state the overall outcome that you want from the meeting · Design the agenda so that participants get involved early by having something for them to do right away and so they come on time. · Next to each major topic, include the type of action needed, the type of output expected (decision, vote, action assigned to someone), and time estimates for addressing each topic · Ask participants if they'll commit to the agenda. · Keep the agenda posted at all times. · Don't overly design meetings; be willing to adapt the meeting agenda if members are making progress in the planning process. · Think about how you label an event, so people come in with that mindset; it may pay to have a short dialogue around the label to develop a common mindset among attendees, particularly if they include representatives from various cultures.

Opening Meetings
· Always start on time; this respects those who showed up on time and reminds late-

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comers that the scheduling is serious. · Welcome attendees and thank them for their time. · Review the agenda at the beginning of each meeting, giving participants a chance to understand all proposed major topics, change them and accept them. · Note that a meeting recorder if used will take minutes and provide them back to each participant shortly after the meeting. · Model the kind of energy and participant needed by meeting participants. · Clarify your role(s) in the meeting.

Establishing Ground Rules for Meetings
You don't need to develop new ground rules each time you have a meeting, surely. However, it pays to have a few basic ground rules that can be used for most of your meetings. These ground rules cultivate the basic ingredients needed for a successful meeting. · Four powerful ground rules are: participate, get focus, maintain momentum and reach closure. (You may want a ground rule about confidentiality.) · List your primary ground rules on the agenda. · If you have new attendees who are not used to your meetings, you might review each ground rule. · Keep the ground rules posted at all times.

Time Management
· One of the most difficult facilitation tasks is time management -- time seems to run out before tasks are completed. Therefore, the biggest challenge is keeping momentum to keep the process moving. · You might ask attendees to help you keep track of the time. · If the planned time on the agenda is getting out of hand, present it to the group and ask for their input as to a resolution. (Also see Time Management.)

Evaluations of Meeting Process
· It's amazing how often people will complain about a meeting being a complete waste of time -- but they only say so after the meeting. Get their feedback during the meeting when you can improve the meeting process right away. Evaluating a meeting only at the end of the meeting is usually too late to do anything about participants' feedback. · Every couple of hours, conduct 5-10 minutes "satisfaction checks". · In a round-table approach, quickly have each participant indicate how they think the meeting is going.

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Evaluating the Overall Meeting
· Leave 5-10 minutes at the end of the meeting to evaluate the meeting; don't skip this portion of the meeting. · Have each member rank the meeting from 1-5, with 5 as the highest, and have each member explain their ranking · Have the chief executive rank the meeting last.

Closing Meetings
· Always end meetings on time and attempt to end on a positive note. · At the end of a meeting, review actions and assignments, and set the time for the next meeting and ask each person if they can make it or not (to get their commitment) · Clarify that meeting minutes and/or actions will be reported back to members in at most a week (this helps to keep momentum going). Related Library Links Communications (Face-to-Face) Group Performance Management Group Skills (including various types of group types and matters) Interpersonal Skills Time Management Valuing Diversity On-Line Discussion Groups Liszt: HRNET Interesting Listservs and their usage List of HR Newsgroups and On-Line Discussion Groups HR Systems Forum Global HR Forum Liszt: TRDEV-L Management Archive - GRP-FACL TeamNeT Additional Groups for Nonprofits

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Used by The Management Assistance Program for Nonprofits 2233 University Avenue West, Suite 360 St. Paul, Minnesota 55114 (651) 647-1216 With permission from Carter McNamara, PhD, Copyright 1999 Library and its contents are not to be used to generate profits [MAP Home Page] [Library Home Page] Reprint permission

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National Endowment for the Arts - Lessons Learned: Essays - Effective Meeting Facilitation: The Sine Qua Non of Planning

NEA Home

Lessons Learned: Essays Effective Meeting Facilitation: The Sine Qua Non of Planning
by Miranda Duncan [NOTE: Miranda Duncan's following article is the longest in our Toolkit. It is so rich with useful information, however, that I could not bear to shorten it! Instead, I have moved her excellent list of sample TOOLS, FORMS AND CHECKLISTS to a separate chapter directly following this one. -- Morrie Warshawski, Editor] INTRODUCTION Say the word "meeting" and expect to hear sighs, groans, or sarcastic remarks. Yet, planning requires people to come together frequently over a period of time in a word meeting. Well-planned and facilitated meetings sustain participants' energy and allow them to contribute their best thinking to the planning endeavor. The planning process is like a slide show that follows a logical sequence from beginning to end. Each slide represents a single meeting. The whole of the planning process will be greater than the aggregate of each meeting, but only if each meeting is orchestrated to accomplish the requisite function. Like each individual slide, the composition of a meeting is designed to convey a message or fulfill a purpose. A large part of the planning process is accomplished in meetings because, as the saying goes, "Two heads are better than one." Each member of the planning team brings an essential perspective to the process. Elements of a plan goals or solutions to problems are not the only outcome of planning meetings. The interactive work transpiring to develop the plan is as important - if not more important - than the plan itself. Think of a time you recounted a funny story, but no one laughed. Then, you realize, "Well, I guess you had to be there to appreciate it." That's the way it is with planning: Those who must carry out the plan with energy and enthusiasm, must be there to help create the plan. The information in this chapter is presented primarily for the person who will be responsible for pulling those meetings together, leading them, and coordinating tasks in preparation for meetings and the follow-up steps in their wake. Topics cover the items on a facilitator's check list.

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q q q q q q q q q q q q

Identify the purpose, or expected outcome, of the meeting. Make sure the right people will be there. Develop the agenda. Prepare necessary materials. Double check the room set up. Lead the meeting as a facilitator Agree on ground rules Practice facilitation skills Use consensus-building decision making techniques Be prepared to handle conflict as it surfaces Clarify "next steps" and assignments Reflect on effectiveness of the meeting (evaluation)

I. THINK BEFORE YOU MEET It is not unusual to spend as much time planning a meeting as running it. Preparation begins with asking these questions: 1. What outcome do we want to achieve by the end of this particular meeting? A newspaper editorial from an irate father just after attending his daughter's college orientation session serves to illustrate the usefulness of understanding the various reasons for meetings. This man went to the meeting to learn about courses of study, relevant deadlines, tuition and expenses, financial aide, and safety precautions. "I knew I was in trouble," he said, "when I entered a room full of chairs set up in a circle." The meeting was designed, instead, to explore feelings about one's child going off to college, and to build relationships with other parents. Whether you identify with the father who sought specific information and was sorely disappointed, or the meeting planners who offered an opportunity for consciousness raising - the point is that the purpose of the meeting must be clearly identified. The purpose drives who should attend, the agenda items, what materials or equipment to have on hand, and the direction of the next meeting. Knowing that the purpose of the meeting is "planning" is not enough. More specifically, people meet for one of, or for a combination of these reasons:
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Information exchange (acquiring or disseminating information or both)

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Self-awareness or consciousness raising q Learning (topics and skills) q Creative thinking and generating ideas (brainstorming) q Critical thinking (analysis, goal setting, problem solving, decisionmaking) q Accomplishing tasks q Building relationships and commitment 2. To achieve the desired meeting outcome, what must we do during the meeting? And how much time will each item realistically require?
q

Knowing the purpose of the meeting is a first step in structuring the agenda. Having a firm idea of where you want to be by the end of of the meeting suggests what must be covered during the meeting. Do we need to review last year's budget? Do we want to create a common vision of our organization in the year 2020? If we want consensus on four short-term goals, how can we both inspire creative thinking yet maintain a sense of reality? Each step in reaching the desired meeting outcome is thought through carefully to determine the amount of time needed.
q q

q q

Establish how long the meeting is to last List the agenda items that need to be covered or process steps that need to occur Estimate how long each item will take factoring in time for dialogue Leave about 15 minutes minimum at the end for summary and agreement on what comes next.

If, after following the above exercise, the agenda clearly requires more time, revise accordingly. Adjust the length of the meeting (and let participants know), or cut back on what you expect to accomplish. Keep in mind that critical thinking requires more time than typically allowed for in meetings, especially if there is controversy. Opportunities to voice an opinion, ask questions, and explain reasons behind positions are key to developing and achieving consensus on a plan. Shortcuts at this point could cause looping back or gridlock farther down the line. 3. What idea-building processes would be useful? Planning alternates between expanding and culling ideas. Visioning and brainstorming help participants expand their thinking. Ranking, cost-benefit analysis, and comparing related concepts help participants winnow their thinking. When critical issues must be addressed, participants might use a problem solving process, or "force field analysis." Without a sequential structure to guide thinking

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and dialogue, participants become bogged down or overwhelmed. Using a rational framework guides and clarifies the participants' thought process. (See attached explanations of a variety of such processes.) 4. Who needs to attend the planning meetings? As a general rule, planning can be accomplished by a sub-group within an organization not everyone has to participate. Ideally, the planning group will be comprised of at least one person from each unit or each level of organizational work (i.e., staff, board, volunteer). In addition to representative participation, the planning group should have someone with authority to make decisions, someone who has responsibility for carrying out decisions, someone who knows the milieux backwards and forwards (subject matter expertise), and input from someone who uses or benefits from the service or product the organization offers. In addition to diversity of experience, planning teams should encompass diversity of thinking styles. The world sometimes seems to be sharply divided into two types of people big picture visionaries, and practical nuts-and-bolts people. Planning teams require both types. The big picture folks have difficulty reaching closure and won't be able to convert a vision to an action plan. Developing step-by-step procedures is what the nuts-and-bolts types like doing best. The planning group, at some point along the way, will need to perform tasks best left to individuals i.e., one person is generally charged with a writing project. Allowing two or three individuals to take information from the group, work out an idea on paper, and bring it back to the group for feedback saves meeting time. For example, when a complex issue surfaces, a subgroup may want to meet, and bring back their recommendations to the whole planning group or organization. The planning group might decide to elicit public participation for a specific aspect of the planning process. There are a variety of meeting formats to enhance information exchange with the public: focus groups, charettes, open house, workshops. A "talking head" format is the least effective. Make the information flow as interactive as possible. Occasionally, either because the organization is small, or because trust has disintegrated, all members of the organization may need to take part in the planning process. The answer to the question, "Why are we meeting?" should help determine who needs to be there. No one who needs to be at a meeting should be left out, and no one should have to attend an unnecessary meeting.

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5. What should we send participants in advance? And, what information should we have available at the meeting (i.e., maps, flow charts, the old report, proposals, etc.)? Sending out an agenda before the meeting allows participants to ask questions about it, prepare if necessary, and in general sets a businesslike tone. If participants are going to be asked to read or edit documents, send the material in advance. (Even when material has been sent ahead, time for review at the meeting might be wise.) Visual aids assist in making visionary dialogue more concrete. If the planning committee must consider capital improvements to a building, obtain floor plans or blueprints. If planning focuses on publicity for the annual arts festival, make sure participants have calendars. Use worksheets to develop action plans so participants can think in terms of implementing creative ideas (see attached "Action Planning Worksheet"). 6. What's the best way to set up the space? The ideal planning group ranges from 6 to 12 members. Most rooms will allow a group of 12 to meet around a table. For a larger group up to 24 tables placed in a Ushape work well. If planning requires participation of a very large group or public input, a face-to-face arrangement may be difficult. At the least, participants should have easy visual and spatial access to speakers, facilitators, or the area of the room where most focus is directed. If the large group will need to separate into smaller groups, try to have separate "pods" of seating already set up so participants can move to their work-group areas without having to rearrange the furniture. 7. What equipment will make the meeting run more smoothly? The flip chart is standard equipment in planning meetings. Make sure there is wall space nearby for posting the chart paper as the meeting progresses. (In other words, flipping the paper over does not provide participants the benefit of having their work product spread out on the walls before them.) For larger groups, overhead projectors work better than flip charts, but only for presenting information. The group's work product should be recorded on flip chart paper and posted, even if not easily visible by all participants. At least the information is readily available to refer to or review before leaving the meeting. Computers that project text onto the wall can be very useful when the group is

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developing a carefully worded document such as a mission statement. Innovative ways of presenting information enhances participants' attention and inspires creativity. Facilitators, for instance, might employ videotapes to illustrate success stories or skill methodologies. Visual aids, in the final analysis, however, do not substitute for participants rolling up their sleeves and getting to work. It is hard to imagine a reason to tape record a planning meeting. Taping can be intimidating and stifle creative thinking. Generally tape recording is used when there is a low trust level and someone anticipates a law suit. A word about food at meetings: Light refreshments, especially coffee or other beverages can help sustain energy levels. If the meeting is planned for the evening, serving a light meal first allows more control in starting on time. In some organizations, food is an enticement to attend the meeting.

II. ORCHESTRATING THE MEETING Leadership. In the olden days, meetings were run by chairmen. Bringing in an independent facilitator, or appointing someone to that role is becoming standard planning practice. There is a danger, however, as "facilitation" moves into vogue: It looks easy, but the appearance of ease may be deceptive. The word "facilitation" means to make something easier, so while others look on and think the facilitator has an easy job, the facilitator is working very hard to make it look easy. Behind the scenes, the facilitator has taken training courses, practiced, taken more training, learned the hard way from experience, and puts great effort into his or her work. The ideal arrangement is for the chairperson and a facilitator to work closely in planning and leading the meeting. The chairperson retains the prestige and authority of leader, and provides grounding in reality. The facilitator has process expertise, serves to balance participation, and is better situated to move the group through sensitive issues, controversy, and tough problems. Sometimes groups further divide functions and ask someone other than the facilitator to record meeting notes on a flip chart. Many facilitators use the flip chart as a tool in leading (and controlling) the meeting. Separating the titular leadership role from the meeting leadership function benefits the planning process in three ways.

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1. By taking care of process concerns, the facilitator frees the chairperson to contribute valuable input as a meeting participant. 2. The facilitator must operate on principles of objectivity. Participation is evened-out and decisions reflect joint thinking. Ideas of the more forceful participants are tempered by the facilitator's probing questions, and if those ideas are adopted, it is because others view them as worthy. 3. The facilitator brings an understanding of group process and decisionmaking so that he or she can interject steps and techniques (such as those described in the attachments) to move the group through complex information and controversial positions. Frequently a member of the planning team must assume leadership of a meeting. On those occasions, the internal leader can serve the group well, just as the external facilitator does, by adopting the following operating objectives:
q q q

q

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Help the group improve the way it solves problems and makes decisions Ensure that the group accomplishes its identified outcomes in a timely manner Foster within the group an enhanced sense of commitment to one another and to the achievement of goals See that group members share and understand all information relevant to an issue, and seek new information when necessary Buffer the group from internal and/or external manipulation or coercion

Key Meeting Facilitation Skills. Effective meeting facilitation requires skill in three capacities: (1) Analysis - Separating content work from process work - Identifying interests - Framing problems (2) Communication - choice of words - ability to listen, summarize and reframe

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- using questions to stimulate thinking (3) Familiarity with process models - leadership - decisionmaking and consensus building - techniques to keep the meeting on track and moving Analysis. A community leadership group received $2,000 gift for youth programs from a wealthy individual. No one stepped forward to design and oversee a program. In the meeting to plan next year's activities, the gift was overlooked. Eventually the president asked what the group wanted to do with the funds. All sorts of suggestions poured forth, always with the same conclusion: The kids wouldn't come anyway. What the group needed to do was decide a process issue before launching into content. They needed to evaluate options of how to deal with the funds (not what program to implement). The choices were: (a) give it back; (b) give it to someone who would do something with it; (c) use up the funds on a one-time event for youth; or (d) implement the program as envisioned when the gift was made. After discussing the pros and cons of each option, the group agreed to implement a youth program. Until they decided that question, they could not focus or commit to any specific plan of action on the content. This story illustrates how a facilitator needs to separate the process issue, prompt the group to take care of that issue, and then move on to the goal or content issue. The other useful analytic ability is to spot an underlying interest, and bring it out in the open so it can be discussed and negotiated. The president of the school board does not want to incorporate public participation into the district's strategic planning process, claiming it is unnecessary and a drain on time. His underlying interest, however, is that he does not want to be chastised for low student test scores. The facilitator must recognize the validity of the president's reluctance, yet push forward with the requirement: "How can we involve the citizens of the district without the meeting turning into a gripe and blame session?" Once structures were in place to prevent wholesale attack on individual board members, he was quite willing to involve the public. Problems must be stated without imparting judgment or implying a solution. The problem statement has to be worded so that participants with differing viewpoints accept that description. For example, an arts organization holds a theme fair to raise funds for its operation. One of the planning committee members raises the concern that a vendor sells items that do not conform to the theme. Note the difference in how the dilemma is stated: "Should we let Henry sell his items next time?" Or, "How do we ensure items are

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congruent with the theme?" Or, "We're here to discuss sexual harassment," vs. "We're here to agree upon appropriate conduct in the work place." Communication skills. The facilitator primarily relies on listening and asking questions. Listening enables the facilitator to remember the content, relate the content to the discussion, capture its essence on the flip chart, note reactions of others to what is said, and make a judgment call about sticking with the topic or moving on to the next speaker or agenda item. By summarizing the speaker's point, or by recording the idea on the flip chart, the facilitator affirms to the speaker that he or she has been heard and understood. Facilitators ask questions to control the process and to spark thinking. A question signals progress we are moving on with our agenda: "Shall we begin?" "What did you hope to walk away with by the end of the meeting?" Questions bring the discussion back on track: "Shall we add that topic to the agenda for next time?" "Do we need to make sure we cover the other items before we run out of time?" Or, "Do we need to decide this in order to decide that?" Questions can provide closure: "Is there anything else before we move on?" "What are our next steps?" Questions also stimulate thinking, and rethinking. Statements can be perceived as, or actually are, challenges provoking a counter challenge or assertion of a superior idea. Questions, on the other hand, create a temporary vacuum a time for reflection. The facilitator, by posing questions, eliminates much of the superfluous posturing and banter. Questions maintain an air of openness, an attitude of, "Let me hear more before I decide." Examples: "If you do this, what will happen?" "Could you describe the process of communication you currently use?" "If you could change one thing about the design, what would it be?" In other words, questions, rather than directives or advice, are the most potent way to encourage the group to focus on something, rethink a course of action, or evaluate options. "Reframing" combines skill in communication with an ability to analyze what's happening on the spot. Reframing is a way to "launder language." The facilitator extracts inflammatory or negative impact from a statement, and crystalizes the legitimate underlying motivation for that statement. For example, a board member emphatically states, "There's no use in going forward with this planning process. What we need is a new executive director!" The facilitator quickly reframes the remark to highlight a valid concern: "You want to make sure staff can carry out the board's policy directives." Reframing a statement so the language is palatable to others does carry the risk of the speaker admonishing the facilitator for not summarizing the statement accurately, as originally stated. If that happens, the facilitator would have to rework the wording more to the speaker's liking. On the other hand, the speaker may be relieved to see that there is a more constructive way to present the concern and feel affirmed that someone has taken the

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concern seriously. Decisionmaking by vote. Traditionally, groups made decisions by voting, and allowed the "majority to rule." Voting makes sense when:
q q q q q

Many people are involved The population is diverse Moving forward is more important than settlement Before votes are cast there is ample time for dialogue The dialogue includes looking at and evaluating a number of options

The disadvantage of voting is that it leads to an all or nothing, win/lose outcome. What happens to those who voted "nay" and were outnumbered? How committed are they to supporting the outcome? And, what happens to the concerns driving the no-vote. Were those concerns addressed, or will they come back to haunt the yea-sayers? Ample discussion with analysis of alternative courses of action can counteract the disadvantages of voting. Even then, voting might be reserved as a last resort. Clearly, in a small group convened for the purpose of planning, consensus is possible and more desirable. Decisionmaking by Consensus. Over the past 15 years, making decisions by consensus has gained acceptance, yet a number of misconceptions remain. Consensus is the cooperative development of a decision that is acceptable enough so that all members of the group agree to support the decision. Consensus means that each and every person involved in decisionmaking has veto power. Keep in mind, though, that members of the planning group are team members, not adversaries. Responsible team members use power only to achieve the best results vis a vis the group's purpose, not for their own personal gain. In other words, if a team member objects, it behooves the others to find out why and give considerable thought to the concerns expressed by the dissenting member. The remarkable result of giving individuals veto power is that they rarely use it! If participants are reassured nothing can go forward without their approval, they tend to relax, contributing more to the content and worrying less about procedural matters. Consensus does not mean there is an absence of conflict. It does mean there is a commitment of time and energy to work through the conflict. Consensus requires taking all concerns into consideration and attempting to find the most universal decision possible. Groups able to make decisions by consensus usually demonstrate:
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Unity of purpose, a basic agreement shared by all in the group regarding goals and purpose of the group Commitment to the group, a belief that the group needs have priority over

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q q q q q

q q

individual needs Participation, ideally no formal hierarchy equal access to power and to some degree, the group's autonomy from external hierarchic structures Recognition that process is as important as outcome Underlying attitudes of cooperation, support, trust, respect, and good communication Understanding and tolerance of differences, acceptance of conflicting views TIME willingness and capability to devote time to the process

Factors working against consensus include: competition, individualism, passivity and solution-orientation There are many techniques to facilitating consensus:
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q

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Frame the dilemma so participants see the big picture and recognize their interdependence: What decision do we need to make and why do we need to make it?" Remove insecurity and make sure all participants have the same key information and have the opportunity to discuss that information together. Build little agreements along the way: "So we agree that this is a good way to state the problem we are trying to solve." Or, "At least you do all agree that something has to be done, that things are unacceptable as they are now." Motivate creativity by asking "Isn't there anything else you can suggest?" and then allow for a long pregnant pause. Summarize and fractionate: "This is what we agree on, and this is still in question. What are the specific causes for concern?" Or, "How can we get the benefit from doing this, but not the detriment?" Refer to the mission and purpose of the group for guidance: "If we do this, are we in line with what we are all about?" Finally, ask: "What will happen if we can't all agree?" Or, "Do you really need to make a decision on this issue?"

Voting and consensus are the "how" of decisionmaking. Decisions, themselves, seem to come in three shapes: 1. 2. Some decisions have to be answered "yes" or "no." Either we close the theater for inclement weather, or we go on with the show. The outcomes are mutually exclusive and a choice is imperative for the good of the organization. 3. Other decisions require finding a solution to a problem. "How shall we solve for

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X?" "What shall we do about lack of attendance at our performances?" Or, reframing the problem in the affirmative: "How can we ensure record attendance?" 4. A third type of decision is even more open-ended. "Which way shall we go?" Or, "What goal shall we attain?" Try out different ways of framing the decision using the above three formats. The way in which the decision is framed sets the stage for the solutions generated. Different framing of the same topical issue elicits very different solutions. For example, a decision regarding regulation of outdoor advertising can be framed, "Who is going to control outdoor advertising local municipalities or the state?" Responses will be very different from those prompted by the question: "How can local government determine the character of its land use without eliminating outdoor advertising?" The important rule of thumb about good decisionmaking is "Do Not Decide Prematurely." Ultimately, the thinking process for any type of decision is the same:
q q q q q q q

Gathering and analyzing relevant information Careful framing of the question you want answered Discussing values and criteria Envisioning various scenarios Evaluating consequences of those scenarios Making the decision Refining specific aspects of the decision and ensuring its implementation

III. OTHER TECHNIQUES TO MAKE MEETINGS MORE EFFECTIVE Ground Rules. An essential task early on in planning meetings is for the group to agree on ground rules. Ground rules are logistical agreements a group makes to improve its ability to work as a group. They are the standards of operating that determine how people conduct their discussions and how they will make their decisions. The value of ground rules lies in their very creation. Any preordained rule such as, "We should respect each other" will garner minimal commitment. Only through dialogue will a rule achieve its maximum selfenforcing potential. The discussion can be initiated with the question: "What operating principles should we adopt in order to make our work more efficient and of higher quality?" Or, simply: "What are some important guidelines we should all keep in mind as we work together in these meetings?" The discussion prompted by asking for ground rules not only elicits the rules; just as importantly, it allows potentially derailing sensitivities to surface. The facilitator can

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normalize strongly held values and emotional issues. The participants will feel better about themselves as group members and appreciate a greater sense of safety. Some participants may discount the importance of establishing these guidelines up front. The facilitator must be prepared to assert the value of the discussion and negotiate for the participants' indulgence. If the group has polarized around issues, spending time on establishing ground rules becomes all the more important. Ground rules generally take the form of agreements on certain topics. Typically ground rules center around these issues:
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q q q q q q

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The purpose of the planning meetings (what people expect to have at the end of the series of meetings) Significant or ambiguous definitions Time lines for meetings length of meetings, when they are held, and for how long Meeting leadership and other roles Participation and attendance How decisions will be made (consensus or voting) The value of expressing different perspectives how disagreements should be expressed and handled ("Discuss the undiscussable" or "How to disagree without being disagreeable") Communication with those outside the planning process

The facilitator can offer one or two ground rules to stimulate the participants' discussion. The faciliator can also suggest thinking about ground rules participants have overlooked. Agreement on a specific rule, however, must be made by the participants. Flip Charts. Flip charts are an essential tool. The facilitator can use chart writing to: 1. 2. Create a record of the work product. Participants can see the notes and make corrections or ask for clarification as the conversation progresses. 3. Organize thinking i.e., draft wording, pose options, connect ideas, depict consequences, narrow choices, summarize decisions, organize tasks. 4. Keep the participants on track by referring to the topic on the flip chart, or specific agenda items. The information on the flip chart must be "user friendly." Use large letters, space between concepts (so ideas can be added), alternating colors, and make sure the paper can be posted rather than just flipped over. Bin Issues. A useful tool for moving participants through the agenda is to create a separate

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flip chart page for issues raised, important, but either tangential or too complex to deal with during the meeting. Noting these issues on a separate sheet, also referred to as the "parking lot," respects participants' concerns and assures them that the issues will be addressed. (Make sure they are addressed eventually, or that participants no longer want to address them; otherwise the bin issue sheet soon will lose its efficacy. Next Steps. The facilitator should have a good sense of what is going to happen in meeting #2 when planning meeting #1. That sense is confirmed by taking about 15 minutes at the end of the meeting to ask "Where do we go from here?" or, "What do you need to do so that you can move forward in this process?" There may be a number of tasks participants must accomplish before the next meeting convenes. Make sure to summarize who is going to do what, with whom, and by when. Rough-out major agenda items for the next meeting before adjourning. When participants reach decisions, the facilitator will need to devote time to how they will implement those decisions. Thinking they are done, euphoria sets in, and participants fail to convert the decision to an action plan (see action planning worksheet in the attachments). Before participants leave the meeting, the facilitator should pin down action steps: Who is responsible for taking what action by when? Evaluation. Planning requires a willingness to look critically at how the group is performing. Honest reflection can be difficult. One way to help participants become more comfortable with self-critique in a work setting is to ask them to evaluate the meeting. "What aspect of the meeting did you particularly like? Any insights? What didn't go well? What would you do differently next time?" On a written evaluation, leave room for "suggestions." If participants offer their critique orally, the facilitator will need to encourage them to be critical, that the evaluation is an important part of the facilitator's learning and improvement. (See attachment.) Handling conflict in a meeting. If meetings are well-planned and orchestrated, conflict is less likely to surface. If it does, it probably needs to. The most common reaction to conflict is avoidance. Repressing conflict, pretending it doesn't exist, hoping it will go away, or admonishing participants for disagreeing are all forms of avoidance. Generally the conflict does not disappear, and often times, the situation worsens. The facilitator is in a good position to help participants engage in constructive conflict. Understanding the nature of conflict, its sources and patterns helps the facilitator remain centered when participants begin to develop oppositional stances on goals or strategies in the planning process. Social scientists make a distinction between objective and subjective conflict. (See

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"Sources of Conflict" diagram in next chapter). The source of subjective conflict stems from poor relationships, personality clashes, and differences in values. This type of conflict is difficult to handle because values and preferences cannot be negotiated. Rather, participants agree implicitly or explicitly work around fundamental differences either because those differences do not interfere with getting the job done, or because getting the job done is more important than expending energy on fighting. If relationship conflicts have been allowed to fester in an organization, members of that organization may not be able to work together as a planning team. The group may benefit from a team development program, sensitivity training, or application of Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicators to enhance their ability to interact constructively before embarking on a planning process. On the other hand, when participants come together frequently for a significant purpose and experience success on joint goals, often relationships improve. There is no litmus test to determine which of these two routes to follow. The choice may be best left to the participants themselves. The source of objective conflict lies in the allocation of resources salaries, vacation time, office space, supplies, respect. Objective conflicts can be negotiated. The conflict is framed in the same way a problem would be framed, and the negotiations would resemble problem solving. What makes resolving conflict more difficult than solving a problem is the pervasiveness of strong emotions and lack of trust. The facilitator has to move more slowly, spending time talking with participants individually, finding out from each individual or faction what it would take to be able to work together productively again. Here too, the planning process itself may provide the group with the opportunity to improve to rethink job descriptions, performance objectives, incentives, and working conditions. Or, the group may decide to put the planning on hold and focus on settling a specific, exacerbated conflict first. When it appears addressing a specific conflict takes precedence over planning, there are a few principles to keep in mind:
q q q q q q q q q

q

Allocate sufficient time Help the participants clarify what the conflict is about Do not take sides Affirm the validity of all viewpoints Frame the conflict in terms of a problem to be solved Create space for problem solving to occur Help participants save face Discuss what happens if no agreement is reached Ask if the group can proceed with what they do agree on and hold back on areas of disagreement Keep in mind that ultimately, the participants have the responsibility to resolve the

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conflict The process to resolve conflict is similar to problem solving. The most important steps, especially when viewpoints have become polarized, are the first four (below). Frequently conflict does not get resolved because the participants begin at step five. The role of the facilitator is particularly valuable to ensure that the participants do start at step one. 1. 2. The facilitator gains rapport and commitment from the parties to address the conflict. (Side meetings with individuals or factions.) 3. Agreement on the scope of what you are trying to solve. "What do you need to agree on so that you can proceed with your organizational mission and goals?" This question may sound easy, yet generally requires more time than anticipated. (First time the participants meet on the conflict.) 4. Agreement on ground rules, including meeting protocols, time lines, the scope, who participates and the decision making process. (Second meeting.) 5. Gathering and exchanging information on the aspects of the scope from technical data to feelings in a joint session. 6. Framing the decision to be made incorporating diverse interests into the problem statement. 7. Developing criteria by which to evaluate a wise decision. 8. Developing options to address the problem statement. 9. Negotiating over the options. 10. Making decisions, fine tuning terms and implementation plan. 11. Checking back to see how things are going.

IV. IN CLOSING Following a process structure for thinking and dialogue, sharpening facilitation skills such as listening, reframing, and asking searching questions, planning meetings ahead of time are the basics of meeting effectiveness. Two additional ingredients cannot come from a book (or a computer). The first is a mindset a mindset that: believes in the wisdom of the participants, demonstrates patience and more patience, and conveys a nonjudgmental demeanor. In general, a good facilitator is supportive, respectful, and has enough extra energy to carry a group through late afternoon slump. The second ingredient is experience. A facilitator becomes better with age having had valuable opportunities to synthesize the theory of process models, skills, and techniques with practical experience.

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Suggested Reading
Barry, Bryan. Strategic Planning Workbook for Nonprofit Organizations. St. Paul, MN: Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, 1986. Creighton, James. Involving Citizens in Community Decision Making: A Guidebook. Washington, D.C. Program for Community Problem Solving, 1992. Doyle, Michael and Strauss, David. How to Make Meetings Work. New York: Jove Books, 1982. Fisher, Roger and Ury, William. Getting to Yes. New York: Penguin, 1981. Howard, V.A. and J.H. Barton. Thinking Together: Making Meetings Work. New York: William Morrow and company, Inc., 1992. Kaner, Sam. Facilitative Guide to Participatory Decisionmaking. New Society Publisher, 1996. Katz, Neil and Lawyer, John. Communication and Conflict Resolution Skills. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, 1985. Kinlaw, Dennis. Facilitation Skills: The ASTD Trainer's Sourcebook. McGraw Hill companies, 1996. Kretzmann, John and McKnight, John. Building Communities from the Inside Out. Evanston, IL: Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research, Northwestern University, 1993. Kroehnert, Gary. 100 Training Games. Sydney, Australia: McGraw-Hill, 1991. Moore, Carl. The Facilitator's Manual. Chattanooga, TN: Chattanooga Venture, 1992. Pokras, Sandy. Team Problem Solving: Reaching Decisions Systematically. Menlo Park, CA: Crisp Publications, Inc., 1989. Schrage, Michael. Shared Minds. New York: Random House, 1990.

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Schein, Edgar. Organizational Cultural and Leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1992 (second edition). Schwartz, Roger M. The Skilled Facilitator. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1994. Winer, Michael and Ray, Karen. Collaboration Handbook. St. Paul, MN: Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, 1994. Please send us your comments on this Essay. Essay Contents | Lessons Learned | Publications
National Endowment for the Arts Contact the Web Manager.

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The Seven Sins of Deadly Meetings

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The Seven Sins of Deadly Meetings
And seven steps to salvation. Tools, techniques, and technologies to make your meetings less painful, more productive -- even heavenly. by Eric Matson from FC issue 2, page 122

Naomi Chavez, an internal consultant for Cisco Systems, one of Silicon Valley's leading network-equipment manufacturers, is frustrated: "We have the most ineffective meetings of any company I've ever seen." Kevin Eassa, vice president of operations for the disk division of Conner Peripherals, another Silicon Valley giant, is realistically resigned: "We realize

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our meetings are unproductive. A consulting firm is trying to help us, and we think they've hit the mark. But we've got a long way to go."
Teamwork > Human Relations

Richard Collard, senior manager of network operations at Federal Express, is simply exasperated: "We just seem to meet and meet and meet and we never seem to do anything." Meetings are the most universal -- and universally despised -- part of business life. But bad meetings do more than ruin an otherwise pleasant day. William R. Daniels, senior consultant at American Consulting & Training of Mill Valley, California, has introduced meeting-improvement techniques to companies including Applied Materials and Motorola. He is adamant about the real stakes: bad meetings make bad companies. "Meetings matter because that's where an organization's culture perpetuates itself," he says. "Meetings are how an organization says, 'You are a member.' So if every day we go to boring meetings full of boring people, then we can't help but think that this is a boring company. Bad meetings are a source of negative messages about our company and ourselves." It's not supposed to be this way. In a business world that is faster, tougher, leaner, and more downsized than ever, you might expect the sheer demands of competition ( not to mention the impact of e-mail and groupware ) to curb our appetite for meetings. In reality, the opposite may be true. As more work becomes teamwork, and fewer people remain to do the work that exists, the number of meetings is likely to increase rather than decrease. Jon Ryburg, president of the Facility Performance Group in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is an organizational psychologist who advises companies on office design and "meeting ergonomics." He tells his clients that they need twice as much meeting space as they did 20 years ago. The reason? "More and more companies are team-based companies, and in team-based companies most work gets done in meetings." A variety of tools and techniques ( plus a healthy dose of common sense ) can make meetings less painful, more productive, maybe even fun. There's also an important role for technology, although the undeniable power of computer-

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enabled meeting systems usually comes with astronomical price tags. Still, there's lots to learn from electronic "meetingware" even if you never buy it. What follows is Fast Company's guide to the seven sins of deadly meetings and, more important, seven steps to salvation. Sin #1: People don't take meetings seriously. They arrive late, leave early, and spend most of their time doodling. Salvation: Adopt Intel's mind-set that meetings are real work. There are as many techniques to improve the "crispness" of meetings as there are items on the typical meeting agenda. Some companies punish latecomers with a penalty fee or reprimand them in the minutes of the meeting. But these techniques address symptoms, not the disease. Disciplined meetings are about mind-set -- a shared conviction among all the participants that meetings are real work. That all-too-frequent expression of relief -- "Meeting's over, let's get back to work" -- is the mortal enemy of good meetings. "Most people simply don't view going to meetings as doing work," says William Daniels. "You have to make your meetings uptime rather than downtime." Is there a company with the right mind-set? Daniels nominates Intel, the semiconductor manufacturer famous for its managerial toughness and crisp execution. Walk into any conference room at any Intel factory or office anywhere in the world and you will see on the wall a poster with a series of simple questions about the meetings that take place there. Do you know the purpose of this meeting? Do you have an agenda? Do you know your role? Do you follow the rules for good minutes? These posters are a visual reminder of just how serious Intel is about productive meetings. Indeed, every new employee, from the most junior production worker to the highest ranking executive, is required to take the company's home-grown course on effective meetings. For years the course was taught by CEO Andy Grove himself, who believed that good meetings were such an important part of Intel's culture that it was worth his time to

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train the troops. "We talk a lot about meeting discipline," says Michael Fors, corporate training manager at Intel University. "It isn't complicated. It's doing the basics well: structured agendas, clear goals, paths that you're going to follow. These things make a huge difference." Sin #2: Meetings are too long. They should accomplish twice as much in half the time. Salvation: Time is money. Track the cost of your meetings and use computerenabled simultaneity to make them more productive. Almost every guru invokes the same rule: meetings should last no longer than 90 minutes. When's the last time your company held to that rule? One reason meetings drag on is that people don't appreciate how expensive they are. James B. Rieley, director of the Center for Continuous Quality Improvement at the Milwaukee Area Technical College, recently decided to change all that. He did a survey of the college's 130-person management council to find out how much time its members spent in meetings. When he multiplied their time by their salaries, he determined that the college was spending $3 million per year on management-council meetings alone. Money talks: after Rieley's study came out, the college trained 40 people as facilitators to keep meetings on track. Bernard DeKoven, founder of the Institute for Better Meetings in Palo Alto, California, has gone Rieley one step better. He's developed software called the Meeting Meter that allows any team or department to calculate, on a running basis, how much their meetings cost. After someone inputs the names and salaries of meeting participants, the program starts ticking. Think of it as a national debt clock for meetings. DeKoven emphasizes that he created the Meeting Meter as a conversation piece rather than as a serious management tool. It's a visible way to put meeting productivity on the agenda. "When I use the meter, I don't just talk about the cost of meetings," he says, "I talk about the cost of bad meetings. Because bad meetings lead to even more meetings, and over time the costs become awe-inspiring."

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Technology can do more than just keep meetings shorter. It can also increase productivity -- that is, help generate more ideas and decisions per minute. One of the main benefits of meetingware is that it allows participants to violate the first rule of good behavior in most other circumstances: wait your turn to speak. With Ventana's GroupSystems V, the most powerful meeting software available today, participants enter their comments and ideas into workstations. The workstations organize the comments and project them onto a monitor for the whole group to see. Most everyone who has studied or participated in computer-enabled meetings agrees that this capacity for simultaneity produces dramatic gains in the number of ideas and the speed with which they are generated. Geoff Bywater, senior vice president of marketing and promotion for FoxMusic, recently organized a strategic retreat for the 170 top executives of 20th Century Fox Filmed Entertainment. He used a computer system supplied by CoVision, a San Francisco consulting firm that specializes in technologyenabled meetings. Apple PowerBooks outfitted with customized software allowed participants to respond to questions, propose ideas, and vote on options -- all at the same time. "We had 170 of the brightest people in the company in one room," Bywater reports. "The challenge was, how much information and how many ideas could we get out of them? Even if we had divided into 15 breakout groups, we'd still have only 15 people speaking at the same time. People were amazed. If we asked a question and each person typed in 2 ideas, that's nearly 350 ideas in five minutes! That was the biggest impact of the technology - the number of ideas generated in such a short time." Be warned, though: electronic meetings can be more productive than traditional meetings, but they're not always shorter. "The good news about computer-supported meetings is that the discussions tend not to be repetitive or redundant," says Michael Schrage, a consultant on collaborative technologies and the author of No More Teams!, an influential guide to group work and meetings. "The bad news is that the meetings can become longer. The computer-supported environment encourages people to discuss things a little more thoroughly than they might otherwise."

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Sin #3: People wander off the topic. Participants spend more time digressing than discussing. Salvation: Get serious about agendas and store distractions in a "parking lot." It's the starting point for all advice on productive meetings: stick to the agenda. But it's hard to stick to an agenda that doesn't exist, and most meetings in most companies are decidedly agenda-free. "In the real world," says Schrage, "agendas are about as rare as the white rhino. If they do exist, they're about as useful. Who hasn't been in meetings where someone tries to prove that the agenda isn't appropriate?" Agendas are worth taking seriously. Intel is fanatical about them; it has developed an agenda "template" that everyone in the company uses. Much of the template is unsurprising. An Intel agenda ( circulated several days before a meeting to let participants react to and modify it ) lists the meeting's key topics, who will lead which parts of the discussion, how long each segment will take, what the expected outcomes are, and so on. Intel agendas also specify the meeting's decision-making style. The company distinguishes among four approaches to decisions: authoritative ( the leader has full responsibility ); consultative ( the leader makes a decision after weighing group input ); voting; and consensus. Being clear and up-front about decision styles, Intel believes, sets the right expectations and helps focus the conversation. "Going into the meeting, people know how they're giving input and how that input will get rolled up into a decision," says Intel's Michael Fors. "If you don't have structured agendas, and people aren't sure of the decision path, they'll bring up side issues that are related but not directly relevant to solving the problem." Of course, even the best-crafted agendas can't guard against digressions, distractions, and the other foibles of human interaction. The challenge is to keep meetings focused without stifling creativity or insulting participants who stray. At Ameritech, the regional telephone company based in Chicago, meeting leaders use a "parking lot" to maintain that focus.

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"When comments come up that aren't related to the issue at hand, we record them on a flip chart labeled the parking lot," says Kimberly Thomas, director of communications for small business services. But the parking lot isn't a black hole. "We always track the issue and the person responsible for it," she adds. "We use this technique throughout the company." Sin #4: Nothing happens once the meeting ends. People don't convert decisions into action. Salvation: Convert from "meeting" to "doing" and focus on common documents. The problem isn't that people are lazy or irresponsible. It's that people leave meetings with different views of what happened and what's supposed to happen next. Meeting experts are unanimous on this point: even with the ubiquitous tools of organization and sharing ideas -- whiteboards, flip charts, Post-it notes -- the capacity for misunderstanding is unlimited. Which is another reason companies turn to computer technology. The best way to avoid that misunderstanding is to convert from "meeting" to "doing" -- where the "doing" focuses on the creation of shared documents that lead to action. The fact is, at most powerful role for technology is also the simplest: recording comments, outlining ideas, generating written proposals, projecting them for the entire group to see, printing them so people leave with real-time minutes. Forget groupware; just get yourself a good outlining program and oversized monitor. "You're not just having a meeting, you're creating a document," says Michael Schrage. " I can't emphasize enough the importance of that distinction. It is the fundamental difference between ordinary meetings and computeraugmented collaborations. Comments, questions, criticisms, insights should enhance the quality of the document. That should be the group's mission." In other words, the medium is the meeting. That's why Bernard DeKovan prefers computers to flip charts and whiteboards. "Flip charts create behaviors

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conditioned by the medium," he says. "People start competing for room on the flip chart, the facilitator has to scratch thing out, and pretty soon you can't read what's on it. With a computer, you never run out of room for ideas, you can edit indefinitely, you can generate hard copies for everyone at a moment's notice. It's a much richer medium." Sin #5: People don't tell the truth. There's plenty of conversation, but not much candor. Salvation: Embrace anonymity. We all know it's true: Too often, people in meetings simply don't speak their minds. Sometimes the problem is a leader who doesn't solicit participation. Sometimes a dominant personality intimidates the rest of the group. But most of the time the problem is a simple lack of trust. People don't feel secure enough to say what they really think. The most powerful techniques to promote candor rely on technology, and most of these computer-based tools focus on anonymity -- enabling people to express opinions and evaluate alternatives without having to divulge their identities. It's a sobering commentary on free speech in business -- "Say what you think, and we'll disguise your names to protect the innocent" -- but it does seem to work. Jay Nunamaker, CEO of Ventana Corporation, based in Tucson, Arizona, and a professor at the University of Arizona's Karl Eller Graduate School of Management, is a leading expert on electronic meetings. He says Ventana added anonymity to its software to meet the needs of the U.S. military. "Admirals can really dampen interaction at a meeting," he notes. "But we didn't realize the impact it would have in corporate settings. Even with people who work together all the time, anonymity changes the social protocols. People say things differently." CoVision, the firm that facilitated the 20th Century Fox meeting, provides a system that allows for anonymous voting and anonymous group conversations. Meeting participants enter comments onto laptops, and the comments are projected onto a screen without attribution. CoVision president Lenny Lind says the system is especially

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powerful in meetings of high-ranking executives. "People in the upper reaches of management pay so much deference to the leader, and have so much to lose, that conversations quickly become measured and political," he argues. "People just won't bare their souls. Anonymity changes that." But there are problems with anonymity. Some people like getting credit for their ideas, and anonymity can leave them feeling shortchanged. There are also opportunities for manipulation. Carol Anne Ogdin of Deep Woods Technology, a teamwork consultant and meeting facilitator based in Santa Clara, California, calls anonymity a "modest idea that's been blown out of proportion." In particular, she worries about gamesmanship - for example, people who build an anonymous groundswell of support for their own contributions. Sin #6: Meetings are always missing important information, so they postpone critical decisions. Salvation: Get data, not just furniture, into meeting rooms. Most meeting rooms make it harder to have good meetings. They're sterile and uninviting -- and often in the middle of nowhere. Why? To help people "concentrate" by removing them from the frenzy of office life. But this isolation leaves meeting rooms out of the information flow. Often, the downside of isolation outweighs the benefits of focus. Computer-services giant EDS has built a set of high-tech facilities that leave meetings participants awash in data. These much-heralded Capture Labs, electronic meeting rooms used by the company and its clients, may offer a glimpse of the meeting room of the future. The Capture Lab "is a self-contained information network," says Michael Bauer, a principal with EDS's management consulting subsidiary. "We can bring in information from the Internet or from EDS's internal Web. We can get information on stock prices, even about the weather if we're worried about

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shipping or travel. It's brought into the room, displayed on a screen, and talked about." It's not necessary to go that far. Jon Ryburg, the meeting ergonomist, offers a few ways to increase the "information quotient" in meeting spaces. For one thing, allow enough space in your meeting rooms for teams to store materials. Project teams generate lots more than minutes and memos. Meetings build models, fill up flip charts, create artifacts of all sorts - "information" that's vital to future meetings. "People are constantly hauling materials to and from meeting rooms," Ryburg says. "It's much easier to just store things for later meetings." William Miller, director of research and business development for Steelcase, the office-furniture manufacturer based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, emphasizes that mobility is about more than convenience. The radical redesign of work, he argues, requires a radical redesign of meeting space. "Knowledge workers spend 80% of their time at the office away from their desks," Miller says. "Where are they? Working on projects. The way to support that work is to build project clusters and co-locate desks around them. You can post information and never take it down. We call it 'information persistence.' And we don't talk about meetings. We talk about 'interactions.' It's part of the new science of effective work." Sin #7: Meetings never get better. People make the same mistakes. Salvation: Practice makes perfect. Monitor what works and what doesn't and hold people accountable. Meetings are like any other part of business life: you get better only if you commit to it -- and aim high. Charles Schwab & Co., the financial-services company based in San Francisco, has made that commitment. In virtually every meeting at Schwab, someone serves as an "observer" and creates what the company calls a Plus/Delta list. The list records what went right and what went wrong, and gets included in the minutes. Over time, both for specific meeting groups and for the company as a whole, these lists create an agenda

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for change. How much can meetings improve? The last word goes to Bernard DeKoven: "People don't have good meetings because they don't know what good meetings are like. Good meetings aren't just about work. They're about fun -keeping people charged up. It's more than collaboration, it's 'coliberation' -people freeing each other up to think more creatively." Have I Died and Gone to Meeting Heaven? How to Prepare for Your Next Meeting Back to top | Read more stories from this April 1996 issue

Very interesting "sins" indeed. ... Lars Bannan I just wanted to ask... " Who w... Christopher ( Wolfie) Castillo q I liken meetings to a gym work o... Mark Zorro q kasdlka dfadfajdsfa dfkad fadfas... Adrian Nedelcu q These sins are prevalent in most... Yusuf Hoosain q Less costly salvation is availab... RuthAlice Anderson (most recent of 6 comments)
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Communication Skills

CONVERSATION AS COMMUNICATION
by Gerard M Blair
Communication is best achieved through simple planning and control; this article looks at approaches which might help you to do this and specifically at meetings, where conversations need particular care. Most conversations sort of drift along; in business, this is wasteful; as a manager, you seek communication rather than chatter. To ensure an efficient and effective conversation, there are three considerations:
q q q

you must make your message understood you must receive/understand the intended message sent to you you should exert some control over the flow of the communication

Thus you must learn to listen as well as to speak. Those who dismis this as a mere platitude are already demonstrating an indisposition to listening: the phrase may be trite, but the message is hugely significant to your effectiveness as a manager. If you do not explicitly develop the skill of listening, you may not hear the suggestion/information which should launch you to fame and fortune.

AMBIGUITY AVOIDANCE
As a manager (concerned with getting things done) your view of words should be pragmatic rather than philosophical. Thus, words mean not what the dictionary says they do but rather what the speaker intended. Suppose your manager gives to you an instruction which contains an ambiguity which neither of you notice and which results in you producing entirely the wrong product. Who is at fault? The answer must be: who cares? Your time has been wasted, the needed product is delayed (or dead); attributing blame may be a satisfying (or defensive) exercise but it does not address the problem. In everything

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Communication Skills

you say or hear, you must look out for possible misunderstanding and clarify the ambiguity. The greatest source of difficulty is that words often have different meanings depending upon context and/or culture. Thus, a "dry" country lacks either water or alcohol; "suspenders" keep up either stockings or trousers (pants); a "funny" meeting is either humorous or disconcerting; a "couple" is either a few or exactly two. If you recognize that there is a potential misunderstanding, you must stop the conversation and ask for the valid interpretation. A second problem is that some people simply make mistakes. Your job is not simply to spot ambiguities but also to counter inconsistencies. Thus if I now advocate that the wise manager should seek out (perhaps humorous) books on entomology (creepy crawlies) you would deduce that the word should have been etymology. More usual, however, is that in thinking over several alternatives you may suffer a momentary confusion and say one of them while meaning another. There are good scientific reasons (to do with the associative nature of the brain) why this happens, you have to be aware of the potential problem and counter for it. Finally, of course, you may simply mishear. The omission of a simple word could be devastating. For instance, how long would you last as an explosives engineer if you failed to hear a simple negative in: "whatever happens next you must [not] cut the blue wi..."? So, the problem is this: the word has multiple meanings, it might not be the one intended, and you may have misheard it in the first place - how do you know what the speaker meant? Rule 1: PLAY BACK for confirmation Simple, you ask for confirmation. You say "let me see if I have understood correctly, you are saying that ..." and you rephrase what the speaker said. If this "play back" version is acknowledged as being correct by the original speaker, then you have a greater degree of confidence in you own understanding. For any viewpoint/message/decision, there should be a clear, concise and verified statement of what was said; without this someone will get it wrong.

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Communication Skills

Rule 2: WRITE BACK for confidence But do not stop there. If your time and effort depend upon it, you should write it down and send it to everyone involved as a double check. This has several advantages:
q q q

q

Further clarification - is this what you thought we agreed? Consistency check - the act of writing may highlight defects/omissions A formal stage - a statement of the accepted position provides a spring board from which to proceed Evidence - hindsight often blurs previous ignorance and people often fail to recall their previous errors

Rule 3: GIVE BACKground for context When speaking yourself, you can often counter for possible problems by adding information, and so providing a broader context in which your words can be understood. Thus, there is less scope for alternative interpretations since fewer are consistent. When others are speaking, you should deliberately ask questions yourself to establish the context in which they are thinking. When others are speaking, you should deliberately ask questions yourself to establish the context in which they are thinking.

PRACTICAL POINTS
As with all effective communication, you should decide (in advance) on the purpose of the conversation and the plan for achieving it. There is no alternative to this. Some people are proficient at "thinking on their feet" - but this is generally because they already have clear understanding of the context and their own goals. You have to plan; however, the following are a few techniques to help the conversation along. Assertiveness The definition of to assert is: "to declare; state clearly". This is your aim. If someone argues against you, even loses their temper, you should be quietly assertive. Much has been written to preach this simple fact and commonly the final

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Communication Skills

message is a three-fold plan of action:
q

q

q

acknowledge what is being said by showing an understanding of the position, or by simply replaying it (a polite way of saying "I heard you already") state your own point of view clearly and concisely with perhaps a little supporting evidence state what you want to happen next (move it forward)

Thus we have something like: yes, I see why you need the report by tomorrow; however, I have no time today to prepare the document because I am in a meeting with a customer this afternoon; either I could give you the raw data and you could work on it yourself, or you could make do with the interim report from last week. You will have to make many personal judgement calls when being assertive. There will certainly be times when a bit of quiet force from you will win the day but there will be times when this will get nowhere, particularly with more senior (and unenlightened) management. In the latter case, you must agree to abide by the decision of the senior manager but you should make your objection (and reasons) clearly known. For yourself, always be aware that your subordinates might be right when they disagree with you and if events prove them so, acknowledge that fact gracefully. Confrontations When you have a difficult encounter, be professional, do not lose your self-control because, simply, it is of no use. Some managers believe that it is useful for "discipline" to keep staff a little nervous. Thus, these managers are slightly volatile and will be willing "to let them have it" when the situation demands. If you do this, you must be consistent and fair so that you staff know where they stand. If you deliberately lose your temper for effect, then that is your decision - however, you must never lose control. Insults are ineffective. If you call people names, then they are unlikely to actually listen to what you have to say; in the short term you may feel some relief at "getting it off your chest", but in the long run you are merely perpetuating the problem since you are not addressing it. This is common sense. There are two

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Communication Skills

implications. Firstly, even under pressure, you have to remember this. Secondly, what you consider fair comment may be insulting to another - and the same problem emerges. Before you say anything, stop, establish what you want as the outcome, plan how to achieve this, and then speak. Finally, if you are going to criticise or discipline someone, always assume that you have misunderstood the situation and ask questions first which check the facts. This simple courtesy will save you from much embarrassment. Seeking Information There are two ways of phrasing any question: one way (the closed question) is likely to lead to a simple grunt in reply (yes, no, maybe), the second way (the open question) will hand over the speaking role to someone else and force them to say something a little more informative. Suppose you conduct a review of a recently finished (?) project with Gretchen and it goes something like this:
q q q q q q q q

"Have you finished project X Gretchen?" "Yes" "If everything written up?" "Nearly" "So there is documentation left to do?" "Some" "Will it take you long?" "No, not long"

Before your fingers start twitching to place themselves around Gretchen's neck, consider that your questions are not actually helping the flow of information. The same flow of questions in an open format would be: what is left to do of project X, what about the documentation, when will that be completely finished? Try answering Yes or No to those questions. Open questions are extremely easy to formulate. You establish in your own mind the topic/aim of the question and then you start the sentence with the words:

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Communication Skills

WHAT - WHEN - WHICH - WHY WHERE - HOW
Let others speak Of course, there is more to a conversation (managed or otherwise) than the flow of information. You may also have to win that information by winning the attention and confidence of the other person. There are many forms of flattery - the most effective is to give people your interest. To get Gretchen to give you all her knowledge, you must give her all your attention; talk to her about her view on the subject. Ask questions: what do you think about that idea, have you ever met this problem before, how would you tackle this situation? Silence is effective - and much under-used. People are nervous of silence and try to fill it. You can use this if you are seeking information. You ask the question, you lean back, the person answers, you nod and smile, you keep quiet, and the person continues with more detail simply to fill your silence. To finish At the end of a conversation, you have to give people a clear understanding of the outcome. For instance, if there has been a decision, restate it clearly (just to be sure) in terms of what should happen and by when; if you have been asking questions, summarize the significant (for you) aspects of what you have learnt.

MEETING MANAGEMENT - PREPARATION
In any organization, "meetings" are a vital part of the organization of work and the flow of information. They act as a mechanism for gathering together resources from many sources and pooling then towards a common objective. They are disliked and mocked because they are usually futile, boring, time-wasting, dull, and inconvenient with nothing for most people to do except doodle while some opinionated has-been extols the virtues of his/her last great (misunderstood) idea. Your challenge is to break this mould and to make your meetings effective. As with every other managed activity, meetings should be planned beforehand, monitored during for effectiveness, and reviewed afterwards for improving their

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management. A meeting is the ultimate form of managed conversation; as a manager, you can organize the information and structure of the meeting to support the effective communication of the participants. Some of the ideas below may seem a little too precise for an easy going, relaxed, semi-informal team atmosphere - but if you manage to gain a reputation for holding decisive, effective meetings, then people will value this efficiency and to prepare professionally so that their contribution will be heard. Should you cancel? As with all conversations, you must first ask: is it worth your time? If the meeting involves the interchange of views and the communication of the current status of related projects, then you should be generous with your time. But you should always consider canceling a meeting which has little tangible value. Who should attend? You must be strict. A meeting loses its effectiveness if too many people are involved: so if someone has no useful function, explain this and suggest that they do not come. Notice, they may disagree with your assessment, in which case they should attend (since they may know something you do not); however, most people are only too happy to be released from yet another meeting. How long? It may seem difficult to predict the length of a discussion - but you must. Discussions tend to fill the available time which means that if the meeting is openended, it will drift on forever. You should stipulate a time for the end of the meeting so that everyone knows, and everyone can plan the rest of their day with confidence. It is wise to make this expectation known to everyone involved well in advance and to remind them at the beginning of the meeting. There is often a tendency to view meetings as a little relaxation since no one person has to be active throughout. You can redress this view by stressing the time-scale and thus forcing the pace of

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Communication Skills

the discussion: "this is what we have to achieve, this is how long we have to get it done". If some unexpected point arises during the meeting then realize that since it is unexpected: 1) you might not have the right people present, 2) those there may not have the necessary information, and 3) a little thought might save a lot of discussion. If the new discussion looks likely to be more than a few moments, stop it and deal with the agreed agenda. The new topic should then be dealt with at another "planned" meeting. Agenda The purpose of an agenda is to inform participants of the subject of the meeting in advance, and to structure the discussion at the meeting itself. To inform people beforehand, and to solicit ideas, you should circulate a draft agenda and ask for notice of any other business. Still before the meeting, you should then send the revised agenda with enough time for people to prepare their contributions. If you know in advance that a particular participant either needs information or will be providing information, then make this explicitly clear so that there is no confusion. The agenda states the purpose of each section of the meeting. There will be an outcome from each section. If that outcome is so complex that it can not be summarized in a few points, then it was probably too complex to be assimilated by the participants. The understanding of the meeting should be sufficiently precise that it can be summarized in short form - so display that summary for all other interested parties to see. This form of display will emphasize to all that meetings are about achieving defined goals - this will help you to continue running efficient meetings in the future.

MEETING MANAGEMENT - CONDUCTING
Whether you actually sit as the Chair or simply lead from the side-lines, as the manager you must provide the necessary support to coordinate the contributions of the participants. The degree of control which you exercise over the meeting will vary throughout; if you get the structure right at the beginning, a meeting can effectively run itself especially if the participants know each other well. In a team, your role may be partially undertaken by others; but if not, you must manage.

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Maintaining Communication Your most important tools are:
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Clarification - always clarify: the purpose of the meeting, the time allowed, the rules to be observed (if agreed) by everyone. Summary - at each stage of the proceedings, you should summarize the current position and progress: this is what we have achieved/agreed, this is where we have reached. Focus on stated goals - at each divergence or pause, re-focus the proceedings on the original goals.

Code of conduct In any meeting, it is possible to begin the proceedings by establishing a code of conduct, often by merely stating it and asking for any objections (which will only be accepted if a demonstrably better system is proposed). Thus if the group contains opinionated wind-bags, you might all agree at the onset that all contributions should be limited to two minutes (which focuses the mind admirably). You can then impose this with the full backing of the whole group. Matching method to purpose The (stated) purpose of a meeting may suggest to you a specific way of conducting the event, and each section might be conducted differently. For instance, if the purpose is:
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to convey information, the meeting might begin with a formal presentation followed by questions to seek information, the meeting would start with a short (clear) statement of the topic/problem and then an open discussion supported by notes on a display, or a formal brainstorming session to make a decision, the meeting might review the background and options, establish the criteria to be applied, agree who should make the decision and how, and then do it to ratify/explain decisions, etc etc

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As always, once you have paused to ask yourself the questions: what is the purpose of the meeting and how can it be most effectively achieved; your common sense will then suggest a working method to expedite the proceedings. You just have to deliberately pause. Manage the process of the meeting and the meeting will work. Support The success of a meeting will often depend upon the confidence with which the individuals will participate. Thus all ideas should be welcome. No one should be laughed at or dismissed ("laughed with" is good, "laughed at" is destructive). This means that even bad ideas should be treated seriously - and at least merit a specific reason for not being pursued further. Not only is this supportive to the speaker, it could also be that a good idea has been misunderstood and would be lost if merely rejected. But basically people should be able to make naive contributions without being made to feel stupid, otherwise you may never hear the best ideas of all. Avoid direct criticism of any person. For instance, if someone has not come prepared then that fault is obvious to all. If you leave the criticism as being simply that implicit in the peer pressure, then it is diffuse and general; if you explicitly rebuke that person, then it is personal and from you (which may raise unnecessary conflict). You should merely seek an undertaking for the missing preparation to be done: we need to know this before we can proceed, could you circulate it to us by tomorrow lunch? Responding to problems The rest of this section is devoted to ideas of how you might deal with the various problems associated with the volatile world of meetings. Some are best undertaken by the designated Chair; but if he/she is ineffective, or if no one has been appointed, you should feel free to help any meeting to progress. After all, why should you allow your time to be wasted. If a participant strays from the agenda item, call him/her back: "we should deal with that separately, but what do you feel about the issue X?" If there is confusion, you might ask: "do I understand correctly that ...?"

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If the speaker begins to ramble, wait until an inhalation of breath and jump in: "yes I understand that such and such, does any one disagree?" If a point is too woolly or too vague ask for greater clarity: "what exactly do you have in mind?" If someone interrupts (someone other than a rambler), you should suggest that: "we hear your contribution after Gretchen has finished." If people chat, you might either simply state your difficulty in hearing/concentrating on the real speaker. or ask them a direct question: "what do you think about that point." If someone gestures disagreement with the speaker (e.g. by a grimace), then make sure they are brought into the discussion next: "what do you think Gretchen?" If you do not understand, say so: "I do not understand that, would you explain it a little more; or do you mean X or Y?" If there is an error, look for a good point first: "I see how that would work if X Y Z, but what would happen if A B C?" If you disagree, be very specific: "I disagree because ..."

CONCLUDING REMARKS
The tower of Babel collapsed because people could no longer communicate; their speech became so different that no one could understand another. You need to communicate to coordinate your own work and that of others; without explicit effort your conversation will lack communication and so your work too will collapse though misunderstanding and error. The key is to treat a conversation as you would any other managed activity: by establishing an aim, planning what to do, and checking afterwards that you have achieved that aim. Only in this way can you work effectively with others in building through common effort. Gerard M Blair is a Senior Lecturer in VLSI Design at the Department of

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Electrical Engineering, The University of Edinburgh. His book Starting to Manage: the essential skills is published by Chartwell-Bratt (UK) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (USA). He welcomes feedback either by email ([email protected]) or by any other method found here

Links to more of my articles on Management Skills can be found here

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Meeting Participant Roles and Contract

Return to UIA: Welcome Page | Document Index

Towards a New Order of Meeting Participation
Participant role reminder Pattern of meeting participant roles (diagram) Meeting participant contract r Preamble r Contractual bonds between participants r Participant commitment form

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PARTICIPANT ROLE REMINDER
1. We are less rewarded for our involvement in a meeting when we assume that our role has been more central to its processes than when we are able to question its value to other participants. 2. We degrade and pollute the meeting environment more when we assume that any negative impacts of our initiatives on other participants are of little consequence than when we have doubts concerning the ability of the meeting to deal with them. 3. We exhibit a greater degree of ignorance in a meeting when we assume the adequacy of the knowledge we demonstrate than when we question its validity from the perspectives of other participants. 4. Our contributions are less nourishing and enlivening to other participants when we assume that they are naturally fruitful than when we question their fruitfulness to others.

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5. We contribute more to the mismanagement of a meeting when we assume that our favoured procedures are the most useful to other participants than when we have doubts concerning their efficacy for others. 6. We are less productive in a meeting when we assume we are responding productively to other contributions than when we have doubts concerning the contribution of our efforts to the productivity of other initiatives. 7. We are more threatening to other participants when we assume that our role is not experienced as intimidating and discriminating by some than when we question how others may be threatened by our actions in the meeting. 8. We bring more malaise to a meeting when we assume that we are paragons of well-being than when we have doubts concerning our degree of health in the eyes of others. 9. We are more exploitative in a meeting when we assume that our initiatives do not impoverish the experience of other participants than when we question this possibility. 10. We make more inappropriate contributions to a meeting when we assume that they are naturally appropriate than when we have doubts concerning their degree of appropriateness to other participants. 11. The representation of reality that we endeavour to communicate to other participants is experienced as more incoherent when we assume that it offers unique integrative advantages than when we question whether this may be the case for others. 12. We are more effective in turning cultural and religious celebrations into meaningless rituals when we assume that they are not experienced as such by some than when we question why this may indeed be the case.

MEETING PARTICIPANT CONTRACT

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0. Preamble
0.1 Since it is in the minds (and hearts) of meeting participants that the problems of the world emerge, it is in our minds (and hearts) as participants that these issues should be addressed. Endeavouring to respond to societal problems as though they were purely external and distant, fails to respond to the mind-set which continues to reinforce them and ensures their continuing unfruitful treatment in the meeting environment. 0.2 The collective impotence of the 1990s (including the creative diplomatic delays over Yugoslavia, Somalia and the Sudan) justifies a certain impatience with regard to conventional meeting processes. The low expectations and levels of satisfaction associated with events like the Rio Earth Summit suggest the need for a sharper focus and a more radical evaluation of meeting performance. The systems of checks and balances, or challenge and support, need to be rendered more explicit in meetings. There is a need for "tighter ships" following the limited successes associated with meeting permissiveness in the past decades. 0.3 The conceptual and behavioural challenges of "sustainable development" are too easily projected onto the formulation of larger, global strategies conveniently beyond the control or responsibility of individual meeting participants. 0.4 Meeting participants need to take greater responsibility for the quality of the meeting as a whole rather than designing personal participation strategies which effectively delegate such responsibilities to others. Participants can no longer afford to be primarily concerned with their own track or function. Operational content needs to be consciously given to values such as solidarity or the Japanese concept of group harmony ("wa"). 0.5 In endeavouring to respond to the challenges of meeting structures and processes, the tendency to delegate or allocate responsibility to another is somewhat similar to electing a "mummy" or a "daddy" or a "police chief" -leaving the electors free to be playfully disobedient and to scorn any seemingly heavy-handed disciplinary measures. It is part of the problem for which each participant needs to take greater personal responsibility.

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0.6 Each role in a meeting is supported and handicapped by other roles. The task in the meeting, as in wider society, may be seen as one of becoming conscious of and working with the complementarity of these roles in order to achieve higher orders of consensus and sustainability. 0.7 Can meetings and their participants cultivate a greater sense of selfawareness, self-reflexiveness, or sense of presence appropriate to the challenges of the times? 0.8 The following draft invites further revisions that build in sharper and clearer understanding of the lessons for meeting processes from the major clusters of social challenges that tend to be their concern. It is valuable to see the roots of such challenges in the dynamics of meetings -- where people as participants may well find the clues to more creative responses to the equivalent problems in wider societies.

CONTRACTUAL BONDS BETWEEN PARTICIPANTS Acknowledgement of Interacting Roles at the Shadowy Roundtable Hidden within every Meeting
Each of the roles below is positioned around a "roundtable" in an accompanying diagram (http://www.uia.org/uiadocs/round.htm). The relationships between the roles below are indicated on the diagram. You can click back from any role in the diagram to the description below.

Role 1. "Unemployment" Metaphor
Contractually, this role calls for each participant to respond to the tension between waiting for opportunities offered by others and creating opportunities which others will find beneficial in the meeting. It also requires that each be attentive to the

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ways in which his/her initiatives effectively exploit others without appropriately recompensing them. We are less rewarded for our involvement in a meeting when we assume that our role has been more central to its processes than when we are able to question its value to other participants. In this mode each experiences the anguish of being underemployed in the meeting. This may be perceived as the failure of others to acknowledge the role that s/he performs in the gathering or their failure to create openings to make use of the skills that s/he brings to the event. As a consequence there is a frustration at not being able to contribute effectively, associated with a sense of not being appropriately rewarded for what s/he has to offer. But at the same time, and when given the opportunity, each will tend exploitatively to use what others have to offer, offering minimal acknowledgement and psychic rewards. More fundamentally, through this mode the meeting and the participants are challenged as to how to make best use of the opportunities of the occasion and how to be appropriately rewarded. The frustrations of underemployment can easily expose participants to a sense of alienation and purposelessness. Role relationships:
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Challenge: Responding to the constraint of fairness (Role 7) in undertaking significant initiatives (Role 1). Complementarities: Reconciling opportunities for significant initiatives (Role 1) with the dilemmas of exploitation (Role 9) and of appropriate management (Role 5). Systemic formal equivalents: Developmental and expansion orientation also common to product development (Role 10), procedural development (Role 7), and population development (Role 4).

Role 2. "Degradation of environment" Metaphor

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Contractually, this role calls for each participant to take on a stewardship capacity in caring for the many features of the cultural ecosystem constituted by the meeting. This involves recognition of the build up of potentially negative consequences of any intervention and the manner in which others must be depended upon to help render them innocuous. We degrade and pollute the meeting environment more when we assume that any negative impacts of our initiatives on other participants are of little consequence than when we have doubts concerning the ability of the meeting to deal with them. In this mode each degrades the meeting environment by exploiting the resources it offers in ways that ultimately threaten its viability. As a socio-cultural ecosystem, the meeting is effectively a habitat for a wide range of psycho- social roles. Conventional meeting processes, that are most "productive" in the short term, exploit this system in ways which progressively degrade it and deprive it of any capacity to renew itself. Favoured meeting processes generate waste products which tend progressively to pollute and poison the emotional and intellectual exchange processes and to render infertile any common meeting ground. More fundamentally, through this mode the meeting must create a space for the natural expression of participants, giving pattern to their relationships as an ecosystem. It challenges belief in the possibility of any underlying homeostatic principles governing the global relationships amongst participants and their initiatives. Role relationships:
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Challenge: Responding to the constraint of personal development (Role 8) in endeavouring to manage the collective environment (Role 2). Complementarities: Reconciling management of the collective environment (Role 2) with fostering new skills and abilities (Role 6) and developing more appropriate products (Role 10). Systemic formal equivalents: Structural and mediatory responsibility also common to group management (Role 5), insight management (Role 11) and self- management (Role 8).

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Role 3. "Ignorance / Mal-education" Metaphor
Contractually, this role calls for each participant to be sensitive to the inadequacies of his/her perspective and to compensate for the inadequacies of others in the meeting, whether or not these can be effectively brought to their attention. We exhibit a greater degree of ignorance in a meeting when we assume the adequacy of the knowledge we demonstrate than when we question its validity from the perspectives of other participants. In this mode each is complacent about his/her level of ignorance to the point of revelling in the adequacy of their comprehension of the dilemmas faced by the meeting or its participants and the appropriateness of the answers s/he can supply. This ignorance is further nourished by communications which pander to easy modes of understanding and do not attempt to challenge them. Education from such a perspective then tends to reinforce this sense of adequacy and ignores its own irrelevance to the real inter-sectoral challenges faced by the meeting. More fundamentally, through this mode the meeting is faced with the challenge of what kinds of learning experiences within the meeting can meet the needs of participants with quite different knowledge bases. Especially challenging is the need to communicate a sense of historical perspective, notably when participants have lost any sense of relationship to historical roots or to the value of the collective wisdom of the past. Role relationships:
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Challenge: Responding to the constraint of impoverishment or exploitation (Role 9) in fostering the use of information (Role 3). Complementarities: Reconciling fostering the use of information (Role 3) with protecting the vulnerable (Role 7) and with ensuring the emergence of new insights (Role 11). Systemic formal equivalents: Fostering and promotional endeavours common to collective projects (Role 9), use of skills (Role 6), and the expression of cultural beliefs (Role 12).

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Role 4. "Undernourishment / Malnutrition" Metaphor
Contractually, this role calls for each participant to be attentive to the forms of information and energy which are nourishing to others and their initiatives. Ways should also be sought to encourage others to supply forms of information which can ensure their survival in the meeting. It also raises dramatic questions concerning the conception (and "tabling") of issues during the event and the manner in which this should be curtailed, if at all. Our contributions are less nourishing and enlivening to other participants when we assume that they are naturally fruitful than when we question their fruitfulness to others. In this mode each experiences the limited nourishment offered by others to interests or projects that s/he seeks to further -- to the point at which people and/or projects suffer a form of emotional, intellectual or spiritual "starvation" during the meeting. But equally each intervention tends to contribute relatively little to the meeting in a form which is experienced as palatable and nourishing by others. As such each is both a cause of malnutrition in some and a victim of undernourishment from others. Few participants enjoy a healthy information diet throughout a meeting. These effects are often a consequence of the rapidly rising numbers of initiatives and perspectives clamouring for attention as the meeting progresses and creating an insatiable demand for project resources. More fundamentally, it is through this mode that the meeting is faced with the question of who should be allowed to originate and present new issues and initiatives -- of what kind, in what quantity, and under what circumstances. The tendency of the meeting to be overrun by new issues, to which adequate attention cannot be given, then raises the question of whether and how such natural creativity should be curtailed -- especially when it may be perceived as either one of the principal joys of meeting or vital to the sense of security of the originator. Role relationships:

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Challenge: Responding to the constraint of product appropriateness (Role 10) in nourishing collective development (Role 4). Complementarities: Reconciling nourishment of collective development (Role 4) with individual health and development (Role 8) and with expressing the relationship to cultural and spiritual insights (Role 12). Systemic formal equivalents: Developmental and expansion orientation also common to procedural development (Role 7), initiative development (Role 1), and product development (Role 10).

Role 5. "Domination / Red tape / Mismanagement" Metaphor
Contractually, this role calls for each participant to act responsibly in developing the governance of the meeting, recognizing that regulations that may be satisfactory and logical to some could well be totally inhibiting to others. Any conflicts can be seen as challenges to collective learning. We contribute more to the mismanagement of a meeting when we assume that our favoured procedures are the most useful to other participants than when we have doubts concerning their efficacy for others. In this mode there is a tendency to subscribe to simplistic meeting structures and processes which do not have the capacity to deal with important latent conflicts or to move the meeting forwards in a fruitful way. As such failures become evident, in the face of new challenges within the meeting, these procedural devices are experienced by some as increasingly inadequate and artificial. They may also be judged as primarily serving the interests of the meeting establishment, and other vested interests, rather than the participants in general or the declared purpose of the event. More fundamentally, it is through this mode that the ways in which power in the meeting is distributed and controlled can be understood, especially as they are used to mediate between opposing initiatives, to articulate new goals, and to ensure the implementation of acceptable new steps towards them. It is in this sense that

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concerns about a policy vacuum are expressed. Role relationships:
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Challenge: Responding to the constraint of allowing emergence of new insights (Role 11) in ensuring the management of the collective enterprise (Role 5). Complementarities: Reconciling appropriate management (Role 5), with opportunities for significant initiatives (Role 1) with the dilemmas of exploitation (Role 9). Systemic formal equivalents: Structural and mediatory responsibility also common to environmental management (Role 2), insight management (Role 11) and self- management (Role 8).

Role 6. "Underproductivity / Overproductivity" Metaphor
Contractually, this role calls for each participant to be sensitive to the levels of involvement of others in the meeting and to ensure that the attention is challenged so that each is effectively present there. Each should take some responsibility for questioning his/her own tendency to cultivate other agendas or to overstate a particular case. We are less productive in a meeting when we assume we are responding productively to other contributions than when we have doubts concerning the contribution of our efforts to the productivity of other initiatives. In this mode we may, at one extreme, respond minimalistically to the formal requirements of the meeting with little sense of engagement or involvement. Such "working to rule" can be so skilfully done that no criticism is justified. It may also manifest as various forms of "absenteeism", whether simple inattentiveness or actual involvement in alternative activities and agendas, possibly outside the meeting. At the other extreme we may each choose to exploit every opportunity to produce and develop a favourite argument or insight beyond the needs of the

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meeting or its capacity to benefit from it. More fundamentally, it is through this mode that the productivity of the meeting as a whole is assessed. This may involve such primary activities as the "mining" of bodies of knowledge, the evocation and accumulation of various forms of psychosocial energy and commitment (notably as funds), or the cultivation of perspectives vital to the nourishment of the meeting. Aspects of the work may involve refining or processing the results of such activities for wider distribution amongst participants. The work of the meeting may be seen as directed to its social (re)construction, whether in the form of team building, the creation of fellowship and solidarity, or the design of specialized environments (commissions, workshops, etc). As such there may be concern about the quality and weaknesses of the meeting infrastructure and its associated services and facilities. From this perspective, the concern here is with the meeting as a habitat and with the sustainability of its development. Role relationships:
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Challenge: Responding to the constraint of expressing collective cultural insights (Role 12) in ensuring the fostering of new skills and abilities (Role 6). Complementarities: Reconciling management of the collective environment (Role 2) with fostering new skills and abilities (Role 6) and developing more appropriate products (Role 10). Systemic formal equivalents: Fostering and promotional endeavours common to collective projects (Role 9), use of information (Role 3), and the expression of cultural beliefs (Role 12).

Role 7. "Injustice / Criminality / Injured innocence" Metaphor
Contractually, this role calls for each participant to be vigilantly attentive to the tendency of others to take unfair advantage of situations in the meeting, whilst at the same time recognizing that others must necessarily impose similar constraints

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on his/her propensities. We are more threatening to other participants when we assume that our role is not experienced as intimidating and discriminating by some than when we question how others may be threatened by our actions in the meeting. In this mode each may at one extreme rejoice in an air of innocence, whether sincere or deliberately assumed, concerning the fairness with s/he responds to others. Such innocence then defines anything offensive or discriminatory as being the responsibility of others at the gathering. At the other extreme, the role exploits opportunities in the meeting for action in an underhanded or unfair manner, often behind the scenes and possibly with accomplices. Such initiatives may well be unconscious. They are often undertaken at the expense of vulnerable groups represented at the meeting, whether minorities of one kind or another, or those subjected to some special handicap. Part of the challenge is that any such "success" may be valued as a mark of superior meeting gamesmanship. The only constraint may be seen in the shame or guilt of being "caught" and subject to formal censure. The consequences for the victims of such practices are considered incidental. More fundamentally, through this mode the meeting is faced with the challenge of insecurity and fear engendered amongst participants and its destructive effects on the meeting as a community. It raises the question of the pattern of rights and responsibilities amongst participants and how it is to be protected. Role relationships:
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Challenge: Responding to the need for risky significant initiatives (Role 1) in endeavouring to protect the vulnerable (Role 7). Complementarities: Reconciling fostering the use of information (Role 3) with protecting the vulnerable (Role 7) and with ensuring the mergence of new insights (Role 11). Systemic formal equivalents: Developmental and expansion orientation also common to product development (Role 10), initiative development (Role 1), and population development (Role 4).

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Role 8. "Illness / Malformation / Therapy" Metaphor
Contractually, this role calls for each participant to be sensitive to the unwelcome challenges s/he brings to the emotional, mental or spiritual hygiene of the meeting. Each should be prepared to act in a supportive/therapeutic role to others, whether they are in distress or causing it. But enthusiasm for any therapeutic role or fashion should be conditioned by recognition of the difficulties of challenging its use as a panacea. We bring more malaise to a meeting when we assume that we are paragons of wellbeing than when we have doubts concerning our degree of health in the eyes of others. In this mode we each exhibit unhealthy behaviours and attitudes which, due to their infectious or contagious nature, may directly threaten the behavioural health of other participants. As disabilities or malformations, such behaviours may also call for some form of therapeutic intervention, including use of prosthetic devices, to enable us to interact on an equal basis with others. The therapeutic measures evoked, and any need for constraint or quarantine, can seriously inconvenience the flow of the meeting. Such unhealthy psychological conditions make it difficult for innovative initiatives emerging within the meeting to survive into maturity through their period of dependency. More fundamentally, it is through this mode that we distinguish those processes which enhance our sense of well- being as a participant as opposed to those that contribute to unproductive forms of stress. Both raise questions concerning our understanding of the nature and direction of our personal development. Role relationships:
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Challenge: Responding to the constraint of the health of the collective environment (Role 2) in endeavouring to ensure individual health and development (Role 8). Complementarities: Reconciling nourishment of collective development (Role 4) with individual health and development (Role 8) and with expressing the relationship to cultural and spiritual insights (Role 12). Systemic formal equivalents: Structural and mediatory responsibility also

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common to environmental management (Role 2), insight management (Role 11) and group management (Role 5).

Role 9. "Impoverishment / Exploitation / Wealth maldistribution" Metaphor
Contractually, this role calls for each participant to explore the kinds of wealth produced and distributed during any meeting and the ways in which such processes can be made more equitable. Although a rich experience for one may be judged as unfruitful by another seeking different benefits, the "gap" between the "rich" and the "poor" should be a matter of continuing concern. We are more exploitative in a meeting when we assume that our initiatives do not impoverish the experience of other participants than when we question this possibility. In this mode we find ourselves, on the one hand, impoverished by the quality of the meeting dynamics to which we are effectively exposed. We experience ourselves as exploited by others more skilled in manipulating meeting processes in which we would like to participate more fully in order to benefit to the extent that they do. On the other hand, when the situation presents itself, we use our skills to exploit others, however much it impoverishes their experience of the gathering, in order to profit more fully from the event ourselves. More fundamentally, it is through this mode that what is valuable to the meeting is defined and the manner of its distribution within the meeting is controlled. This can readily lead to manipulative transactions between groups of participants that amount to "profiteering", "rip-offs" or "dumping". Some groups may build up debts to others, conditioning their behaviour and creating long-term dependency. The pattern of who owes what to whom becomes a major determinant of meeting dynamics, making it difficult to undertake new initiatives freed from such burdens of past debts and obligations. Groups of participants can be plagued by inflationary conditions in which too much energy and enthusiasm is chasing too few concrete initiatives. Role relationships:

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Challenge: Responding to the constraint of fostering the dissemination of information (Role 3) in exploiting the advantages that it offers (Role 9). Complementarities: Reconciling appropriate management (Role 5), with opportunities for significant initiatives (Role 1) and with the dilemmas of exploitation (Role 9). Systemic formal equivalents: Fostering and promotional endeavours common to use of skills (Role 6), use of information (Role 3), and the expression of cultural beliefs (Role 12).

Role 10. "Shoddy workmanship / Overskill / Overdesign" Metaphor
Contractually, this role calls for each participant to be sensitive to the quality and reliability of the contributions made, avoiding specious arguments, ploys and appeals, and discouraging their production by others in the meeting. But care should also be taken to avoid sophisticated arguments which disempower others and reduce their ability to participate. In either case, all participants are required to perform a maintenance function in response to defects in the contributions of others. We make more inappropriate contributions to a meeting when we assume that they are naturally appropriate than when we have doubts concerning their degree of appropriateness to other participants. In this mode we each contribute inappropriately to the meeting. At one extreme, this may take the form of ill- conceived or ill-crafted interventions that are far from being the best of which we are capable. Such "unreliable" interventions force others present into a "maintenance" mode, to the point of devoting excessive resources to compensate for such inadequacies. At the other extreme, this may take the form of highly skilled interventions which others are unable to match and which are beyond the real needs of the moment. This has the insidious effect of creating dependency on the supply of such "overdesigned" contributions and the peak experiences that they seem to offer. It devalues simpler contributions which may well be more appropriate to the evolution of the meeting.

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More fundamentally, it is through this mode that the issues of the appropriateness of the psycho-social sciences used in the meeting are assessed, together with any supportive communication technologies. Both raise questions concerning the degree of responsibility with which insights and know- how are developed, brought to bear, and transferred amongst participants in the meeting environment. Role relationships:
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Challenge: Responding to the constraint of nourishing the collective development (Role 4) in endeavouring to develop more appropriate products (Role 10). Complementarities: Reconciling management of the collective environment (Role 2) with fostering new skills and abilities (Role 6) and developing more appropriate products (Role 10). Systemic formal equivalents: Developmental and expansion orientation also common to procedural development (Role 7), initiative development (Role 1), and population development (Role 4).

Role 11. "Misrepresentation and Disinformation" Metaphor
Contractually, this role calls for each participant to recognize the limitations of language and philosophies in honouring the complex richness of the realities experienced by those at a representative meeting. Each needs to recognize that failure to understand how s/he is part of the communication problem guarantees failure in understanding the nature of any response that might be appropriate. The representation of reality that we endeavour to communicate to other participants is experienced as more incoherent when we assume that it offers unique integrative advantages than when we question whether this may be the case for others. In this mode each seeks to cultivate a particular representation of the reality of the meeting and the world of issues of which it is an articulation. Whether deliberately

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or inadvertently, the selective presentation of information can be used to give substance to certain issues and to deny it to others. In this way each effectively denies aspects of reality favoured by others at the meeting, emphasizing other aspects in ways which some will judge to be exaggerated and even dangerously distorted, however seductive they appear to others. More fundamentally, through this mode enthusiasm is expressed in the meeting for particular philosophies, ideologies and belief systems. This is matched by efforts to reconcile them and, through them, the vested interests with which they are associated. This presents a dilemma between partial perspectives of greater relevance to some as contrasted with more integrative perspectives which cannot be effectively grounded or widely comprehended. Role relationships:
q

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Challenge: Responding to the constraint of managing the collective enterprise (Role 5) in ensuring the emergence of new insights (Role 11). Complementarities: Reconciling fostering the use of information (Role 3) with protecting the vulnerable (Role 7) and with ensuring the emergence of new insights (Role 11). Systemic formal equivalents: Structural and mediatory responsibility also common to environmental management (Role 2), self- management (Role 8) and group management (Role 5).

Role 12. "Tokenism / Hedonism / Ritualism" Metaphor
Contractually, this role calls for each participant to manage the tension between the "public relations" challenge of the moment and the deeper work of the meeting with its implications for the longer-term. It calls for each to be sensitive to the aesthetic or spiritual sins, whether of commission or omission, that may accompany the resolution of this tension. We are more effective in turning cultural and religious celebrations into meaningless rituals when we assume that they are not experienced as such by some

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than when we question why this may indeed be the case. In this mode the unique, celebratory opportunity offered by the event is recognized as a vehicle for the spirit of the moment that may be important as a symbol within wider society. This may take the form of special rituals, declarations or appeals, which constantly run the danger of being experienced or judged as tokenism. It may also offer much welcomed opportunities for social and personal exchanges. These may however be sought for their own sake as recreation and judged by some as a hedonistic betrayal of the purpose of the meeting. More fundamentally, it is through this mode that the meeting draws upon its cultural, symbolic and spiritual resources to clarify and affirm the meanings and values that are the justification for more tangible initiatives. Both culture and religion may encode insights into potential relationships which the intellect has as yet been unable to articulate in a comprehensible manner. It is in this sense that concerns about a spiritual or religious vacuum are expressed. Role relationships:
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Challenge: Responding to the constraint of fostering new skills and abilities (Role 6) in ensuring the expressing of cultural and spiritual insights (Role 12). Complementarities: Reconciling nourishment of collective development (Role 4) with individual health and development (Role 8) and with expressing the relationship to cultural and spiritual insights (Role 12). Systemic formal equivalents: Fostering and promotional endeavours common to collective projects (Role 9), use of skills (Role 6), and the use of information (Role 3).

Example PARTICIPANT COMMITMENT FORM
As a participant in the scheduled meeting entitled:

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I hereby accept my contractual obligations to other participants as indicated above. In the same spirit, I equally accept the necessity for my actions as a participant to be both facilitated and constrained by their responses to me. I further accept that collectively we will endeavour to achieve a deeper understanding of the pattern of challenges and opportunities suggested by the dynamics of major social problems as they resonate within the meeting -- with the intention of achieving higher orders of consensus that should empower us to respond more effectively to the root causes of such problems. Name:

Date: Signature: Document to be returned to the meeting organizers.

Send any comments to Anthony Judge, Union of International Associations (http://www.uia.org/), 40 rue Washington, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium at: [email protected]

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You Have to Start Meeting Like This!

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You Have to Start Meeting Like This!
We work -- therefore we meet. But why do so few of our meetings meet our expectations? Michael Begeman may be the world's foremost expert on the business world's most universal ritual. Here's his short course on running meetings that will work for you. by Gina Imperato illustrations by Greg Clarke from FC issue 23, page 204

Michael Begeman is a leading authority on one of the business world's most universal rituals: the meeting. An anthropologist and computer scientist by training, he serves as manager of the 3M Meeting Network, a loose-knit

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3M Corp.

collection of meeting experts that's been assembled by 3M, the innovationobsessed manufacturing giant headquartered in Minneapolis. But Begeman, 41, is much more than a meeting planner and facilitator. He spent four years as a member of the technical staff at Intel. He spent six years as a research manager at MCC, a high-tech research consortium based in Austin, Texas. He has run his own consulting firm. In short, he knows as much about how business works as he does about how meetings work. So what's the most effective meeting that Begeman has seen lately? He says that it didn't take place in a high-rise office building or at a cutting-edge chip factory. In fact, it took place in a tepee -- in a scene from Dances with Wolves ( 1990 ), the Oscar-winning film featuring Kevin Costner. The scene takes place after a group of Native Americans discover Costner not far from their camp. Between 20 and 30 members of the tribe gather around for a meeting. There's one big question on their agenda: What should they do with this mysterious white man -- kill him to send a message to others who might follow, or leave him alone to signal their willingness to reason with such newcomers? What follows, claims Begeman, is a clinic in good meeting behavior. "People actually listen to one another," he marvels. "There are some genuine disagreements, but everyone recognizes merit in everyone else's position and tries to incorporate it into his thinking. The chief spends most of his time listening. When the time comes to make a decision, he says something like 'It's hard to know what to do. We should talk about this some more. That's all I have to say.' And the meeting ends! He is honest enough to admit that he's not ready to make a decision." How does Begeman compare that powwow with what takes place inside most conference rooms today? "Do you want to know the truth?" he asks. "Here's my mental image of what happens at most business meetings: You could take the people out and replace them with radios blaring at each other, and you would not have changed very much. That's what most meetings are like. People wait for the person who's speaking to take a breath, so they can jump into the empty space and talk. The quality of communication in most meetings is roughly comparable to the quality of the arguments that you used to have

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with your 10-year-old brother." Begeman's mission is to change all that. The monthly email newsletter published by the 3M Meeting Network goes out to thousands of subscribers. The group's Web site offers a collection of useful tools and techniques, of valuable hardware and software. "There is a 'science' of meetings that's available to people now," he says. "We have the knowledge we need to make meetings better. But most people haven't learned it or don't bother to use it. And then they wonder why their meetings just stumble along." In an interview with Fast Company, Begeman offers a short course on how to make your meetings work.

Meetings Are Work -- And Great Meetings Take Lots of Work
Great meetings don't just happen -- they're designed. Producing a great meeting is a lot like producing a great product. You don't just build it. You think about it, plan it, and design it: What people and processes do you need to make it successful? But first you have to create agreement among people that meetings are work -- they are not an empty ritual to be suffered through before getting "back to the office." Meetings are events in which real work takes place. That's a big mind flip. All primates -- monkeys, apes, humans -- are social creatures. When you're out in the wild, studying nonhuman primates, one of the things you appreciate is just how social they are. They hang out together, they play together, they groom each other. You very rarely see solitary behavior. But if you walk into a typical company, what you see are rows and rows of cubicles. We've taken these wonderfully social creatures -- human primates -- and we've isolated them. And then we've asked them to be productive in that environment. Now, as more and more of what people do takes place in teams, meetings

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become the setting in which most of the really important work gets done. I see this everyday in my own work and life. I do almost all of my work with a team of people -- some from inside 3M, some from outside the company. If I spend most of the day sitting in my office, instead of interacting with people, a warning bell goes off in my head: I'm not getting my job done. So many people complain to me, "I wish I didn't spend so much time in meetings." To which I say, "Resistance is futile!" The simple fact is, some of our peak experiences as people take place in work groups. Most people have attended at least a few meetings in which there's been a real breakthrough: People are facing a problem, banging heads, not making very much headway - and then a kind of magic overtakes them. A wind comes along, it blows away the clouds, and you can just feel the energy in the room. It's possible to have more experiences like that -- if you design your meetings with the same care that you use to design your products.

Different Meetings Need Different Conversations
One of my main roles is to create useful linguistic distinctions for people. Organizations call meetings for lots of different reasons. And it turns out that different kinds of meetings require different kinds of conversations. If you're not clear about the kind of conversation that you should be having, then your meeting probably won't achieve a clear outcome. For example, some meetings are built around a "conversation for possibility." The group acknowledges that it has come together to generate ideas, not to make decisions. The goal is to maximize creativity. Other meetings are built around a "conversation for opportunity." The goal is not to reach a final decision but to narrow down a field of ideas or options. You gather lots of information; you do some analysis; people take positions. Finally, there are meetings that are built around a "conversation for action." The goal is to decide, to commit: "We want to leave this room with our three investment priorities for 2000." Unless everyone understands these distinctions, you run into certain familiar

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problems. You convene a brainstorming session ( a "conversation for possibility" ), and people are afraid to speak up because someone might shoot down their idea -- or worse, someone might say, "Let's do it." Or you convene a budgeting session ( a "conversation for action" ), and someone loops back to an idea that was rejected earlier -- which drives everyone else crazy. If you call a meeting, make it clear to people what kind of conversation they're going to have, and then impose a certain amount of discipline on them. Remember: Meetings don't go off topic. People do.

Always Play by the Rules ( of Engagement )
Most participants come to a meeting with clear expectations about how other people should act. And if the meeting lives up to such expectations, the participants will feel like they've had a really good experience. If the meeting violates those expectations, then people will become upset or withdrawn. So the key is to translate implicit expectations into explicit agreements -- into what I call "rules of engagement." Do people feel strongly about starting and ending on time? Then make an explicit commitment to doing that. Are people concerned that a meeting doesn't have a clear enough objective? Then make an explicit promise: "If we can't agree on a clear objective within the first 10 minutes, then the meeting is over. We'll schedule another meeting when the objective becomes clear." You can even create rules of engagement about individual behavior. For example: Before anyone makes a point, that person has to find merit in the point made by the previous speaker. Or, the senior people in the meeting can speak only after the junior people have had a chance to express themselves. It's a pretty simple idea, really. All you are trying to do is to make the invisible visible, to make the automatic deliberate. These rules of engagement take the bad behaviors that groups stumble into, shine a light on those behaviors, and then address basic questions: How can we change all of this? How do we want to act? Such rules of engagement give people a chance to design how they treat one another in meetings.

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One last point about rules of engagement: You should be clear that not all successful meetings end with a decision -- which goes back to why I love that scene in Dances with Wolves. Decisions are the Valium of meetings. They offer relief from the tension of what lies ahead, from the uncertainty of the world. They tend to create an illusion of progress: "We've finally made a decision. Now we don't have to worry about that issue anymore." Often it takes courage for a group to end a meeting without making a decision.

Small Talk is a Big Deal
There is a legitimate social component to meetings. Sure, we'd all rather be efficient than sloppy in our work. Sure, we'd all rather spend our time on "real work" than on "idle chitchat." But you should never overlook the social side of work rituals -- even in meetings that are "all business." In many of the meetings that I run -- especially in meetings that take place early in the day -I schedule 5 or 10 minutes of open time, just to encourage people to relate to one another. If you plan for such time, if you put it on your agenda, then you won't feel as if you're not doing what you ought to be doing. Instead, you can enjoy going around the room and asking people what they did last night, or over the weekend. For some meetings, I book a certain amount of time at the beginning to ask, "Is there anything that people need to say in order to be 'present' at this meeting?" Remember, just because people walk into a conference room doesn't mean that their mind is on your meeting. They may be thinking about an argument that they just had with a colleague, or about a computer glitch that they've been struggling with all day. If you let people express their frustrations before you get down to business, you allow them to clear their mind and to focus on your meeting.

Want Serious Meetings? Hand Out Toys!
There is much more to people -- even serious businesspeople -- than what's above the neck. We are not just intellects that come together to interact with

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other intellects. The more you involve the whole person in your meetings, the more people will learn, and the more of that learning they will retain. If you want people to work together effectively, let them play together. That's why I think there is so much value in having kinetic stuff in meeting rooms: squeeze balls, Slinkies, little gizmos that you turn over and play with. Every so often, just go into a toy store, blow $20 on junk, and put all of it in your conference room. Toys are a great stress reliever -- and a great creativity enhancer. I've found that when people have something to play with, when they can get more of their body involved in what they're doing, they become more creative. I'm famous around here for my bag of meeting toys. It comes in handy. Last summer, for example, I was working with a group of senior executives. The first thing I did when I started off the meeting was to give everybody two toys: a Meeting Network mouse pad and a Meeting Network squeeze ball. The executives played with this stuff throughout the meeting. It was great: One person would say something that another person didn't like, and the second person would throw a ball across the table. Everyone at the meeting had lots of fun. And these were senior executives, by the way -- people who are not given to playing at work. A week later, I was in the same room, sitting in as an observer for someone who was presenting to the same group. The executives came in and sat around their table, and as the meeting was about to start, one guy said, "Wait a minute. We can't start yet." Then he ran out -- and came back a few minutes later with his squeeze ball!

Even Good Meetings Can Get Better
If you're serious about improving the quality of your meetings, then you should borrow an idea from the quality people: continuous improvement. Set aside five minutes at the end of every meeting you hold -- make it a discipline for your team or your company -- and ask some simple questions: What did we do in this meeting that really worked well? What happened that we never

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want to repeat? Are there bad habits that we seem to keep falling into? Write down people's answers, keep a running record of their comments, and then see how well the entire group improves over time. A written record can also be a great source of ideas for future rules of engagement. It can tell you not just how to behave, but why people believe it's important to behave that way. But don't overdo this. The best medicine in the world can make you sick if you take too much of it. If you become too intent on improving meetings, you're likely to become the most dreaded person in your department: "Oh no, Joe's in this meeting. What's he gonna come up with this time?" So, please, use these ideas and practices, but use them wisely.

Meeting Minutes
q One classic meeting dilemma is deciding how much to record. Michael Begeman's proposal: Don't worry too much about taking detailed minutes -that is, exhaustive notes about who said what. Focus instead on three categories of information: decisions reached, action items that people need to follow up on, and open issues. "The record of all this becomes input for future meetings," says Begeman. "Plus, encouraging people to use these categories will sharpen the quality of their participation."

q Actions speak louder than rules. Leaders send nonverbal as well as verbal messages. So it's quite possible, says Michael Begeman, for your words to abide by the "rules of engagement" for a meeting, while your informal actions don't. If you're leading a meeting and people expect you to move the group toward a decision, then act accordingly. Sit at the head of the table to signal, "I'm in charge." Stand while others are sitting to signal, "I have the floor." If participants expect a collaborative meeting, ask one of your team members to run the meeting -- to signal, "I want to share leadership." Or to signal, "I'm with you," sit on one side of the table. All of this may sound obvious, but it's amazing how small, nonverbal behaviors can undermine -- or promote -- what you are trying to accomplish.

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Associate Editor Gina Imperato ( [email protected] ) has learned to love meetings. You can contact Michael Begeman by email ( [email protected] ) or learn more about the 3M Meeting Network on the Web ( http://www.3m.com/meetingnetwork ). Back to top | Read more stories from this April 1999 issue

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As we spend anything up to two t... jasper reid I have no comments. Thanks and ... Ahmed Farouk Sorour Interesting... sounds like a com... DM Hadden Gina Imperato's article is right... John Miller (most recent of 4 comments)

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How to Resolve Conflicts

How to Resolve Conflicts -Without Offending Anyone

If you are having to deal with other people, you will, sooner or later, have to deal with conflict. Conflict is not inherently bad. In fact, conflict simply stems from differing viewpoints. Since no two people view the world exactly the same way, disagreement is quite normal. In fact, anyone who agrees with you all of the time is probably telling you what you want to hear, not what he or she actually believes. The reason conflict has received such bad press is because of the emotional aspects that come along with it. When there is conflict, it means that there is strong disagreement between two or more individuals. The conflict is usually in relation to interests or ideas that are personally meaningful to either one or both of the parties involved. Unmanaged conflict can lead to violence and insubordination. Notice I said "unmanaged". The key to managing conflict effectively is to learn the skills necessary to become a good conflict manager. We are going to examine three main areas where conflicts occur: in interpersonal one-on-one relationships; in meetings; and in negotiations. Although there are similarities between all of these areas, each one takes a slightly different slant depending on the setting the conflict occurs in. Let's take a look at each one in a little more detail and I will show you what I mean. Conflicts in interpersonal relationships. Sometimes in interpersonal relationships, such as those between you and one

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of your employees, there may be a conflict that you are not aware of. If someone who is normally upbeat and friendly toward you suddenly begins avoiding you or being rude, there is usually a reason. If the person has remained cheerful with everyone else except you, chances are you are dealing with a conflict situation. In these instances, you will want to address the problem by proceeding through the following steps.
q

Try to determine if there is a problem between you and the other person. If you think there is a problem, set up a private face-toface meeting to discuss the problem with the other person. In a nonconfrontational manner, ask the person if there is a problem. If his/her answer is "No", inform the person that you think there is a problem and explain what you think the problem is. As you talk, ask for feedback. Do not "attack" the other person with accusations. Try to listen to each other with open minds. Be sure to respect each other's opinions. Take a few minutes to recycle the other person's opinions in your mind. Try to determine why the other person felt the way they did. Avoid "finger-pointing." Try to work out a compromise that pleases both of you.

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Conflicts in meetings. Conflicts in meetings can be very
disruptive. But they can also be very helpful. Remember, conflicts are disagreements. If the person who is disagreeing with you is raising valid questions, it may benefit the group to address the issues they are presenting. In fact, by listening to them, you may gain valuable insight into what is and what is not

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working within your organization. However, if the person continues past the point of disagreement to the point of disruptiveness, specific steps should be taken. Below is a list of conflict resolution tactics that you can use for meetings that get "out of control."
q

Find some "grain of truth" in the other person's position that you can build upon. Identify areas of agreement in the two positions. Defer the subject to later in the meeting to handle. Document the subject and set it aside to discuss in the next meeting. Ask to speak with the individual after the meeting or during a break. See if someone else in the meeting has a response or recommendation. Present your view, but do not force agreement. Let things be and go on to the next topic. Agree that the person has a valid point and there may be some way to make the situation work for both parties. Create a compromise.

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Conflicts in negotiations. When you are negotiating with your clients, vendors, or even your employees, it is important to always keep in mind the idea that both parties are seeking a Win/Win situation. No one wants to feel like they are giving away something for nothing. In fact, most conflicts arise because one party feels like the other party is taking advantage of them. In order to avoid these types of situations, there are certain principles you can apply to increase your chances of a successful negotiation.
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Avoid defend-attack interaction: non-productive every time!

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q

Seek more information: ask a lot of questions! Check understanding and summarize: make sure that you are understanding everything! Try to understand the other person's perspective: communication is more than just listening; try to see it their way!

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Rules for disagreeing diplomatically. Regardless of the type of conflict you are dealing with, there are several general rules of thumb you should follow whenever you are trying to bring harmony to a volatile situation. Here they are.
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Reflect your understanding of the other's position or opinion. "I feel,think, want, etc." This says, "I am listening to your opinion and I take your opinion into account before I state mine." Let the other person know that you value him/her as a person even though his/her opinion is different from yours. "I understand (appreciate, respect, see how you feel that way, etc.)". This says, "I hear you and respect your opinion." State your position or opinion. "I feel, think, want, etc." This says, "I don't agree, but I value you - so let's exchange ideas comfortably, not as a contest for superiority."

q

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To become a good conflict manager requires a lot of practice. Just remember that the goal is to reach a compromise that both of you can live with as well as be happy with. In other words, find a way that both of you can walk away feeling like a winner!
(Texas Center for Women's Business Enterprise, Austin, TX, 8/97)

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Conflict Research Consortium

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Conflict Research Consortium

Most, but not all, "Knowledge Base" components of the Consortium web site have now been moved over to CRInfo, a conflict resolution "super site" housed with the Consortium and funded by the Hewlett Foundation. (See right hand column.) Also, see Knowledge Base below for additional projects. Return to Top

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Conflict Research Consortium

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Free instrument for measuring the cost of organizational conflict in six languages

The Cost of Conflict
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Measuring the Financial Cost of Organizational Conflict
A tool for demonstrating the bottom-line impact of HRD and OD interventions

Instruments (free):
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Case examples:
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Sourcebooks:
Managing Differences Conflict Resolution

Training:
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Public Edition
Receive a courtesy copy of Measuring the Financial Cost of Conflict by e-mail autoresponder. The document should arrive in your in-box in less than one minute. Corporate intranets may slow delivery. Click the language edition that you wish to receive, and send the blank e-mail: English | English for South Africa Other languages (in alphabetical order): Afrikaans Dutch French German Hebrew Japanese Portuguese Russian Spanish

Corporate officers and internal HRD professionals are invited to request the Corporate Edition of the instrument. Also request the Dana Diagnostic Survey of Conflict Management Strategies. Translator? If you are a native speaker of a language other than those listed above, and are willing to translate this instrument from English to your native tongue as a public service, please send e-mail Susan Connor for details. Your translated version will be offered free from this website, and you will be acknowledged by name as the translator. Meeting Planner? Do you need a conference or keynote speaker on this or related topics? Privacy Pledge: Your email address will never be sold, rented, or given to any other party.

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Free instrument for measuring the cost of organizational conflict in six languages

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Leadership and Dealing with Conflict

Dealing with Conflict
Conflict occurs when individuals or groups are not obtaining what they need or want and are seeking their own self-interest. Sometimes the individual is not aware of the need and unconsciously starts to act out. Other times, the individual is very aware of what he or she wants and actively works at achieving the goal. About conflict:
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Conflict is inevitable; Conflict develops because we are dealing with people's lives, jobs, children, pride, self-concept, ego and sense of mission or purpose; Early indicators of conflict can be recognized; There are strategies for resolution that are available and DO work; Although inevitable, conflict can be minimized, diverted and/or resolved.

Beginnings of conflict:
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Poor communication Seeking power Dissatisfaction with management style Weak leadership Lack of openness Change in leadership

Conflict indicators:
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Body language Disagreements, regardless of issue Withholding bad news Surprises Strong public statements Airing disagreements through media Conflicts in value system Desire for power Increasing lack of respect Open disagreement Lack of candor on budget problems or other sensitive issues Lack of clear goals No discussion of progress, failure relative to goals, failure to evaluate the superintendent fairly, thoroughly or at all.

Conflict is destructive when it:
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Takes attention away from other important activities Undermines morale or self-concept Polarizes people and groups, reducing cooperation

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Increases or sharpens difference Leads to irresponsible and harmful behavior, such as fighting, name-calling

Conflict is constructive when it:
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Results in clarification of important problems and issues Results in solutions to problems Involves people in resolving issues important to them Causes authentic communication Helps release emotion, anxiety, and stress Builds cooperation among people through learning more about each other; joining in resolving the conflict Helps individuals develop understanding and skills

Techniques for avoiding and/or resolving (board-superintendent) conflict:
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Meet conflict head on Set goals Plan for and communicate frequently Be honest about concerns Agree to disagree - understand healthy disagreement would build better decisions Get individual ego out of management style Let your team create - people will support what they help create Discuss differences in values openly Continually stress the importance of following policy Communicate honestly - avoid playing "gotcha" type games Provide more data and information than is needed Develop a sound management system

Causes of board-superintendent conflict: How does a school board cause conflict with a superintendent?
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Trying to be administrators; overstepping authority Making promises as board members individually Involving themselves in labor relations or budgetary minutia Not doing their "homework" and failing to prepare for meetings Not following procedures for handling complaints Not keeping executive session information confidential Failing to act on sensitive issues Failing to be open and honest with the superintendent Making decisions based on preconceived notions Not supporting the superintendent - lack of loyalty Springing surprises at meetings Having hidden agendas

How does a superintendent cause conflict with a school board?
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Not treating board members alike Not informing the board members of public concerns

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Not providing adequate financial data or adequate information Using poor public management practices Making public statements before informing the board Failing to be open and honest with the board Not providing alternatives in an objective manner Not adjusting to the new reality of an involved board Not support the board - lack of loyalty Springing surprises at meetings Having hidden agendas

Elements of a strong board-superintendent partnerships
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Full disclosure Frequent two-way communication Careful planning Informal interaction Periodic evaluation Mutual support

Courageous decision controversies: The controversies usually involve:
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Changes in the way "we've always done things" Notions of fundamental values Determined, articulate advocates for every side Inability to compromise Rampant rumors Threats of retaliation at the polls at the next bond, levy or school Board election

Resolving Conflict Searching for the causes of conflict is essential to be successful in resolving the conflict. Nine possible causes of conflict include:
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Conflict with self Needs or wants are not being met Values are being tested Perceptions are being questioned Assumptions are being made Knowledge is minimal Expectations are too high/too low Personality, race, or gender differences are present

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Reaching Consensus through Collaboration Groups often collaborate closely in order to reach consensus or agreement. The ability to use collaboration requires the recognition of and respect for everyone's ideas, opinions, and suggestions. Consensus requires that each participant must agree on the point being discussed before it becomes a part of the decision. Not every point will meet with everyone's complete approval. Unanimity is not the goal. The goal is to have individuals accept a point of view based on logic. When individuals can understand and accept the logic of a differing point of view, you must assume you have reached consensus. Follow these guidelines for reaching consensus:
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Avoid arguing over individual ranking or position. Present a position as logically as possible. Avoid "win-lose" statements. Discard the notion that someone must win. Avoid changing of minds only in order to avoid conflict and to achieve harmony. Avoid majority voting, averaging, bargaining, or coin flipping. These do not lead to consensus. Treat differences of opinion as indicative of incomplete sharing of relevant information, keep asking questions. Keep the attitude that holding different views is both natural and healthy to a group. View initial agreement as suspect. Explore the reasons underlying apparent agreement and make sure that members have willingly agreed.

In this Module:
Governance and Management Leadership and Teams Professional Development Leadership Responsibilities

In the Toolkit:
Toolkit Home Page Planning Community Involvement Prof'l and Ldrship Development Why Change? Policy Facility Planning Why Technology? Curriculum and Assessment Funding

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Negotiations and Resolving Conflicts:

Negotiations and Resolving Conflicts: An Overview
prepared by Professor E. Wertheim, College of Business Administration, Northeastern University

"In a successful negotiation, everyone wins. The objective should be agreement, not victory." "Every desire that demands satisfaction and every need to be met-is at least potentially an occasion for negotiation; whenever people exchange ideas with the intention of changing relationships, whenever they confer for agreement, they are negotiating."

"Every day the Boston Globe reports hundreds of negotiations."

Introduction
(Suggestion: This guide will be easier to follow if you think about a specific negotiation or conflict situation you have recently been involved in.)

In the course of a week, we are all involved in numerous situations that need to be dealt with through negotiation; this occurs at work, at home, and at recreation. A conflict or negotiation situation is one in which there is a conflict of interests or what one wants isn't necessarily what the other wants and where both sides prefer to search for solutions, rather than giving in or breaking-off contact. Few of us enjoy dealing with with conflicts-either with bosses, peers, subordinates, friends, or strangers. This is particularly true when the conflict becomes hostile and when strong feelings become involved. Resolving conflict can be mentally exhausting and emotionally draining. But it is important to realize that conflict that requires resolution is neither good nor bad. There can be positive and negative outcomes. It can be destructive but can also play a productive role for you personally and for your relationshipsboth personal and professional. The important point is to manage the conflict, not to suppress conflict and not to let conflict escalate out of control. Many of us seek to avoid conflict when it arises but there are many times when we should use conflict as a critical aspect of creativity and motivation. You will be constantly negotiating and resolving conflict throughout all of your professional and personal life. Given that organizations are becoming less hierarchical, less based on positional authority, less based on clear boundaries of responsibility and authority, it is likely that conflict will be an even greater component of organizations in the future. Studies have shown that negotiation skills are among the most significant determinants of career success. While negotiation is an art form to some degree, there are specific techniques that anyone can learn. Understanding these techniques and developing your skills will be a critical component of your career success and personal success.

The Five Modes of Responding to Conflict It is useful to categorize the various responses we have to conflict in terms of two dimensions: 1. how important or unimportant it is to satisfy our needs and 2. how important or unimportant it is to satisfy the other person's needs. Answering this questions results in the following five modes of conflict resolution. None is these is "right" or "wrong". There are situations where any would be appropriate. For example, if we are cut off driving to work, we may decide

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"avoidance" is the best option. Other times "avoidance" may be a poor alternative. Similarly, collaboration may be appropriate sometimes but not at other times.

High Satisfying the Other's Needs.....................Low

Yield Compromising Avoiding

Collaborating

Competing

Low...........................Satisfying our needs......................... High In general, most successful negotiators start off assuming collaborative (integrative) or win-win negotiation. Most good negotiators will try for a win-win or aim at a situation where both sides feel they won. Negotiations tend to go much better if both sides perceive they are in a win-win situation or both sides approach the negotiation wanting to "create value" or satisfy both their own needs and the other's needs. We will focus on the two most problematic types: Collaborative (integrative) and Competitive (Distributive). Of the two the more important is Collaborative since most of your negotiation and conflict resolution in your personal and professional life will (or should) be of this nature. This is because most negotiation involves situations where we want or need an on-going relationship with the other person. While it is important to develop skills in "competitive" bargaining (eg. when buying a car), or skills that allow us to satisfy our concerns while ignoring the other's goals, this approach has many negative consequences for both our personal lives and for our professional careers especially if we are to have an ongoing relationship with the other person..

The key to successful negotiation is to shift the situation to a "win-win" even if it looks like a "win-lose" situation. Almost all negotiation have at least some elements of win-win. Successful negotiations often depend on finding the win-win aspects in any situation. Only shift to a win-lose mode if all else fails.

Rational vs. the Emotional Components of Negotiation All negotiations involve two levels: a rational decision making (substantive) process and a psychological (emotional) process. The outcome of a negotiation is as likely to be a result of both. Most of us understand the need to grasp the substantive or rational aspects of negotiation. For many of us it is the psychological aspects that are more difficult.
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how comfortable each feels about conflict how each perceives the other assumptions each makes about hte other trust how important winning is

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how important is it to avoid conflict how much one likes or dislikes the other how important is it to not look foolish

The Two Most Important Kinds of Bargaining: Distributive (win-lose) vs. Integrative (win-win)

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Distributive (also called competitive, zero sum, win- Integrative (collaborative, win-win or creating value).
lose or claiming value).
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q

one side "wins" and one side "loses." there are fixed resources to be divided so that the more one gets, the less the other gets. one person's interests oppose the others. the dominant concern in this type of bargaining is usually maximizing one's own interests. dominant strategies in this mode include manipulation, forcing, and withholding information.

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there is a variable amount of resources to be divided and both sides can "win." dominant concern here is to maximize joint outcomes. dominant strategies include cooperation, sharing information, and mutual problem solving. This type is also called "creating value" since the goal here is to have both sides leave the negotiating feeling they had greater value than before.

It needs to be emphasized that many situations contain elements of both distributive and integrative bargaining.. For example, in negotiating a price with a customer, to some degree your interests oppose the customer (you want a higher price; he wants a lower one) but to some degree you want your interests to coincide (you want both your customer and you to satisfy both of your interests-you want to be happy; you want your customer to be happy). The options can be seen in the table below:

Integrative or Win-Win Bargaining: Keys to Integrative Bargaining
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Orient yourself towards a win-win approach: your attitude going into negotiation plays a huge role in the outcome Plan and have a concrete strategy...be clear on what is important to you and why it is important Know your BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Alternative) Separate people from the problem Focus on interests, not positions; consider the other party's situation: Create Options for Mutual Gain: Generate a variety of possibilities before deciding what to do Aim for an outcome based on some objective standard Pay a lot of attention to the flow of negotiation; Take the Intangibles into account; communicate carefully Use Active Listening Skills; rephrase, ask questions and then ask some more

Some of these areas are explored below.

Orient Yourself towards a win-win approach: many studies support the view that how you approach a negotiation will play a key role in how the negotiation proceeds. You have a much better chance of coming to an outcome involving mutual gains if you approach the negotiation wanting to reach this kind of outcome. It is critical to constantly reinforce your interest in the other side's concerns and your determination to find a mutually satisfactory resolution. Even in what appears to be win-lose situations, there are often win-win solutions; look for an integrative solution. This includes trying to create additional alternatives such as low cost concessions that might have high value to the other person; frame options in terms of the other person's interests; look for alternatives that allow your opponent to declare victory

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Plan: Do some thinking ahead of timeBefore the negotiation, it is helpful to plan. Know whether you are in a win-win or win-lose situation. Be sure of your goals, positions, and underlying interests. Try to figure out the best resolution you can expect, what is a fair and reasonable deal and what is a minimally acceptable deal. What information do you have and what do you need. What are your competitive advantages and disadvantages. What is the other's advantages and disadvantages. Give some thought to your strategy. It is very important to be clear on what is important to you. Be clear about your real goals and real issues and try to figure out the other person's real goals and issues. Too many negotiations fail because people are so worried about being taken advantage of that they forget their needs. People who lose track of their own goals will break off negotiations even if they have achieved their needs because they become more concerned with whether the other side "won." Equally important is to be clear and communicate why your goals, issues, and objectives are important to you. The other side needs to know why issues are important to you, not just that they are important. It is important to be clear about your walkaway (also called reservation position or BATNA). It is important to know your competitive advantage-your strongest points. Also you need to know the advantages to the other's argument. Similarly, know your weaknesses and the other's weaknesses. In most conflict resolution or negotiation situations you will have a continuing relationship with the other person so it is important to leave the situation with both sides feeling they have "won." It is very important that the other person doesn't feel that he or she "lost." When the other person loses, the results are often lack of commitment to the agreement or even worse, retaliation. The most common failure is the failure of negotiating parties to recognize (or search for) the integrative potential in a negotiating problem ; beneath hardened positions are often common or shared interests.

Know Your BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement) (also called reservation price or walkaway price) Going into any negotiation it is important to be very clear on your BATNA or the course of action you would take if you do not reach an agreement. If you are negotiating over salary, your alternatives might include a specific job elsewhere, a longer job search, or remaining at your current job. This is important because the negotiation needs to aim to match or do better than your BATNA. The BATNA establishes a threshold for the settlement. Determining your BATNA or walkaway is not always easy. You have to establish a concrete value for various alternatives. For example, what is the value of keeping a current job or taking a new one at $5,000 higher salary that involves a move. In simple negotiations, there may be just one issue but often negotiations involve multiple issues making the determination of BATNA's even more difficult. In the planning process it is also important (and difficult) to estimate the other side's BATNA. A goal of negotiation is to come as close to the other person's BATNA as you can and you need to estimate the BATNA to do this. Skilled negotiators also often try to influence the other person's BATNA. This happens when you convince the other person that his alternatives are not as good as the other perceives them to be.

Separate People from the Problem

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It is critical to address problems, not personalities and avoid the tendency to attack your opponent personally; if the other person feels threatened, he defends his self-esteem and makes attacking the real problem more difficult. Try to maintain a rational, goal oriented frame of mind: if your opponent attacks you personally, don't let him hook you into an emotional reaction; let the other blow off steam without taking it personally; try to understand the problem behind the aggression. Make sure you send signals that you know the conflict is about the issues at hand and not personal. This will help to prevent the other side from getting defensive.

Find Underlying Interests A key to success is finding the "integrative" issues--often they can be found in underlying interests. We need to be very clear about our interests and this may not be as easy as it would appear. Equally important is the need to find out the other person's key interests. We are used to identifying our own interests, but a critical element in negotiation is to come to understanding the other person's underlying interests and underlying needs. With probing and exchanging information we can find the commonalities between us and minimize the differences that seem to be evident. Understanding these interests is the key to "integrative bargaining." The biggest source of failure in negotiation is the failure to see the "integrative" element of most negotiation. Too often we think a situation is win-lose when it is actually a win-win situation. This mistaken view causes us to often use the wrong strategy. Consider a situation where your boss rates you lower on a performance appraisal than you think you deserve. We often tend to see this as win-lose-either he/she gives in or I give in. There is probably a much higher chance of a successful negotiation if you can turn this to a win-win negotiation. A key part in finding common interests is the problem identification. It is important to define the problem in a way that is mutually acceptable to both sides. This involves depersonalizing the problem so as not to raise the defensiveness of the other person. Thus the student negotiating a problem with a professor is likely to be more effective by defining the problem as "I need to understand this material better" or "I don't understand this" rather than "You're not teaching the material very well."

Use an Objective Standard if possible Try to have the result be based on some objective standard. Make your negotiated decision based on principles and results, not emotions or pressure; try to find objective criteria that both parties can use to evaluate alternatives; don't succumb to emotional please, assertiveness, or stubborness

Pay Attention to the Flow of Negotiation: Negotiation is a sequence of events, not an incident There is a tendency to think about conflict or the negotiating situation as an isolated incident. It is probably more useful to think about conflict as a process, or a complex series of events over time involving both external factors and internal social and psychological factors. Conflict episodes typically are affected by preceding and in turn produce results and outcomes that affect the conflict dynamics. A negotiation usually involves a number of steps including the exchange of proposals and counter proposals. In goodfaith negotiation, both sides are expected to make offers and concessions. Your goal here is not only to try to solve the problem, but to gain information that will enable you to get a clearer notion of what the true issues might be and how your "opponent" sees reality. Through offers and counter offers there should be a goal of a lot of information exchange that might yield a common definition of the problem.

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Such an approach suggests the importance of perception-conflict is in the eye of the beholder. Thus, situations which to an outside observer should produce conflict may not if the parties either ignore or choose to ignore the conflict situation. Conversely, people can perceive a conflict situation when in reality there is none. Next, once aware of the conflict, both parties experience emotional reactions to it and think about it in various ways. These emotions and thoughts are crucial to the course of the developing conflict. For example, a negotiation can be greately affected if people react in anger perhaps resulting from past conflict. Then based on the thoughts and emotions that arise in the process of conflict resolution, we formulate specific intentions about the strategies we will use in the negotiation. These may be quite general (eg. plan to use a cooperative approach) or quite specific (eg. use a specific negotiating tactic). Finally, these intentions are translated into behavior. These behaviors in turn elicit some response from the other person and the process recycles. This approach suggests we pay particular attention to these generalizations:
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conflict is an ongoing process that occurs against a backdrop of continuing relationships and events; such conflict involves the thoughts, perceptions, memories, and emotions of the people involved; these must be considered. negotiations are like a chess match; have a strategy; anticipate how the other will respond; how strong is your position, and situation; how important is the issue; how important will it be to stick to a hardened position begin with a positive approach:Try to establish rapport and mutual trust before starting; try for a small concession early pay little attention to initial offers: these are points of departure; they tend to be extreme and idealistic; focus on the other person's interests and your own goals and principles, while you generate other possibilities

The Intangibles: Other Elements that affect negotiation It is important to communicate very carefully. Subtle verbal and body language can make a difference in how your negotiation progresses. Spend more time listening than talking and make direct eye contact. Use the word "and" instead of "but." This helps to send the signal that you are interested in the other party and are seeking common ground. Intangibles are often the key factors in many negotiations. Some of these intangibles are: Communications: be careful about using the phone, e-mail, and other nonvisual communication vehicles. A lack of facial expressions, vocal intonation, and other cues can result in a negotiation breakdown. Constantly reiterate your interest in the other side's concerns and your determination to find a mutually satisfactory resolution. Personalities: be conscious of aspects of your personality such of your own needs and interpersonal style as well as the other person's personality; these factors will play a key role and understanding yourself will be an important factor Your own personality and style: how much you trust the person; how free with your emotions; how much you want to conceal or reveal; Physical space: sometimes where the negotiation takes place can be important; are we negotiating in a space we are uncomfortable and other is comfortable? Past interaction: if there is a history of conflict resolution with this person, think about how this history might affect the

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upcoming negotiation Time pressure: Think about whether time pressure will affect the negotiation and whether you need to try to change this variable? Subjective utilities: be aware that people place very different values on elements of a negotiation. For example, in negotiating for a job, you may place a high value on location and relatively lower on salary; it is important to be aware of your subjective utilities and try to ascertain the other person's subjective utilities; it is difficult to know in advance or even during the negotiation what a particular outcome will mean to the other party. Finding out what is "valued" is one of the key parts of negotiation.

Be an active Listener, ask a lot of questions, and test for accuracy Good communication skills are critical although it is easy to forget them in the "heat of battle." Try to avoid: Talking at the other side, focusing on the past, or blaming the other person. Be an "active listener and test for accuracy: This involves continuously checking to see if you are understanding the other person. . Focus on the future; talk about what is to be done; tackle the problem jointly. Constantly ask questions about whether you understand the other side; restate the other's position to make sure you are hearing him or her correctly

How can I change what seems like a "win-lose" situation to a "win-win" (or what if the other person doesn't play by these rules?) There are many advantages to trying to shift a win/lose situation to a win/win. Yet we will be in situations where the other person either doesn't wish to reach a "win-win" or doesn't realize it is in his or her best interest to achieve a collaborative solution. In these situations it is necessary for us to open lines of communication, and try to increase trust and cooperativeness. Sometimes conflicts escalate, the atmosphere becomes charged with anger, frustration, resentment, mistrust, hostility, and a sense of futility. Communication channels close down or are used to criticize and blame the other. We focus on our next assault. The original issues become blurred and ill-defined and new issues are added as the conflict becomes personalized. Even if one side is willing to make concessions often hostility prevents agreements. In such a conflict, perceived differences become magnified, each side gets locked into their initial positions and each side resorts to lies, threats, distortions, and other attempts to force the other party to comply with demands. It is not easy to shift this situation to a win-win but the following lists some techniques that you might use:
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reduce tension through humor, let the other "vent," acknowledge the other's views, listen actively, make a small concession as a signal of good faith increase the accuracy of communication; listen hard in the middle of conflict; rephrase the other's comments to make sure you hear them; mirror the other's views control issues: search for ways to slice the large issue into smaller pieces; depersonalize the conflict--separate the issues from the people establish commonalities: since conflict tends to magnify perceived differences and minimize similarities, look for greater common goals (we are in this together); find a common enemy; focus on what you have in common focus less on your position and more on a clear understanding of the other's needs and figure out ways to move toward them make a "yesable" proposal; refine their demand; reformulate; repackage; sweeten the offer; emphasize the

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positives find a legitimate or objective criteria to evaluate the solution (eg. the blue book value of a car)

Some Tricks that Skilled Negotiators Use We constantly trade-off in negotiations. An examples is when a union negotiation trades wage gains for job security. An important ingredient of negotiation is assessing the trade-offs. In general, we start by identifying the best and worst possible outcomes, and then specify possible increments that trade-offs can reflect, and finally, consider how the increments relate to the key issues. If we pursue "integrative bargaining," we try to create gains for both parties. An example is offering something less valuable to us but more valuable to the other person (eg., the other person may highly value payment in cash rather than through financing whereas we may be indifferent to this). The following are ways of creating joint gains. Negotiators look for differences. For example, if you buy a car price may be of most importance and timing may be of lesser importance. To the dealer, closing the deal today (the last day of the month) may be more crucial than making a profit on the sale. Negotiators look for items to trade off, items that may be more important to one side than the other and that can be traded for items in reverse preference to the other side. When to reveal your position: This depends on the other person. It is not a good idea to reveal your minimum position if the other person needs to feel he has worked hard to reach it; the other person may need to feel he or she has worked very hard to move you to your position. Case from a workshop on negotiation: We had to sell a training program to Sue, a former member of our law firm. We knew she needed to purchase a program and she also held a grudge against our firm. Mary heaped abuse on us. I wanted to punch her, but Chuck (my partner) just smiled and began applying some standard negotiating principles. First, he identified our interests as the selling of a program at a decent price and the maintenance of a good relationship with Mary and her law firm (focus on interests, not positions). Next, he completely ignored Mary's obnoxious personality (separate people from problems). And he offered to sell Mary only the latest program, with a price break for a quick sale (options for mutual gain). But his most effective technique was the "jujitsu." When the other side pushes, don't push back. When they attack, don't counterattack; rethink their attack as an attack on mutual problems. Two tools are used--ask questions instead of making statements, and respond with prolonged silence in the face of unreason. Chuck used them both, and we completed the sale and got a better price than we had hoped for.

Other Techniques you can use
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Broadening the Pie: Create additional resources so that both sides can obtain their major goals Nonspecific Compensation: One side gets what it wants and the other is compensated on another issue Logrolling Each party makes concessions on low-priority issues in exchange for concessions on issues that it values more highly Cost Cutting: one party gets what it wants; the costs to the other are reduced or eliminated Bridging : Neither party gets its initial demands but a new option that satisfies the major interests of both sides are developed.

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What if I want "to win" and I don't care about the other person's interests (Distributive or win-lose Bargaining) In this situation, strategy is different than in integrative bargaining. In this mode, one seeks to gain advantage through concealing information, misleading, or using manipulative actions. Of course, these methods have serious potential for negative consequences. Yet even in this type of negotiation, both sides must feel that at the end the outcome was the best that they could achieve and that it is worth accepting and supporting. Most critical in this mode is to set one's own opening target and resistance points and to learn what the other's starting points, target points, and resistance points are. Typically, the resistance point (the point beyond which a party will not go) is usually unknown until late in negotiation and is often jealously concealed by the other party. This is what you need to find out. The range between resistance points is typically the bargaining range; if this number is negative, successful negotiation is usually impossible. For example, if you are willing to pay up to $3,000 and the seller is willing to go as low as $2800, there is a $200 positive spread or bargaining range if the negotiators are skillful enough to figure it out. The goal of a competitive bargaining situation is to get the final settlement to be as close to the other party's resistance point as possible. The basic techniques open to the negotiator to accomplish this include:
q q q q

influence the other person's belief in what is possible (eg. a car dealer telling you what your used car is worth) learn as much as possible about the other person's position especially with regard to resistance points try to convince the other to change his/her mind about their ability to achieve their own goals promote your own objectives as desirable, necessary, ethical, or even inevitable.

Is it ethical to "lie or bluff" in negotiations? The answer to this question depends on one's values, one's culture, and the situation. What might be acceptable in poker would probably not be acceptable in most business situations. What might be acceptable in Cairo might not be acceptable in Boston. Different cultures and different situations contain inherent "rules" about the degree to which bluffing or misrepresentation is deemed acceptable. In poker and in general negotiations one is not expected to reveal strength or intentions prematurely. But discretion in making claims and statements syhould not be confused with misrepresentation. In general, in our culture, our "rules" forbid and should penalize outright lying, false claims, bribing an opponent, stealing secrets, or threatening an opponent. While there may be a fine line between legitimate and illegitimate withholding of facts, there is a line and again we are distinguishing between the careful planning of when and how to reveal facts vs. outright lying. Bluffing, while it may be ethical, does entail risk. The bluffer who is called loses credibility and it can get out of hand. Also remember, that most negotiations are carried out with people with whom you will have a continuing relationship. Again, while our culture supports and encourages those who are careful about how and when to disclose facts, out culture does not condone outright lying. An old British Diplomat Service manual stated the following and it still might be useful Nothing may be said which is not true, but it is as unnecessary as it is sometimes undesirable to say everything relevant which is true; and the facts given may bve arrange din any convenient order. The perfect reply to an embarassing question is one that is brief, appears to answer the question completely (if challenged it can be proved to be accurate in every word), gives no opening for awkward follow-up questions, and discloses really nothing. Skilled negotiators develop techniques to do this. A favorite one is to answer a question with a question to deflect the first question.

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Final Advice "Be unconditionally constructive. Approach a negotiation with this-- ‘I accept you as an equal negotiating partner; I respect your right to differ; I will be receptive.' Some criticize my approach as being too soft. But negotiating by these principles is a sign of strength." R. Fisher, Getting to Yes All of us engage in many negotiations during a week but that doesn't mean we become better at it. To become better we need to become aware of the structure and dynamics of negotiation and we need to think systematically, objectively, and critically about our own negotiations. After engaging in a negotiation, reflect on what happened and figure out what you did effectively and what you need to do better. There is no one "best" style; each of us has to find a style that is comfortable for us. Yet, everyone can negotiate successfully; everyone can reach agreements where all sides feel at least some of their needs have been satisfied. This involves a lot of alertness, active listening, good communication skills, great flexibility, good preparation, and above all it involves a sharing of responsibility for solving the problem, not a view that this is "their" problem. To summarize the most important keys to successful conflict resolution:
q q q q q

bargain over interests, not predetermined positions de-personalize the problem (separate the person from the problem) separate the problem definition from the search for solutions try to generate alternative solutions; try to use objective criteria as much as possible reflect on your negotiations; learn from your successes and mistakes
"Have unlimited patience. Never corner an opponent and always assist the other person to save his face. Put yourself in his shoes-so as to see things through his eyes. Avoid self-righteousness like the devil-nothing is so self-blinding. B. H. Liddell Hart, historian

Appendix 1: Some Types of Negotiators
the aggressiveopener negotiator unsettle the other side by making cutting remarks about their previous performance, unreasonabless, or anything that can imply the opponent is worth little the long pauser list to the other side but don't answer immediately; appear to give it considerable thought with long silences; hope the silence will get the other side to reveal information you need the mocking negotiator mock and sneer your opposition's proposals to get the other side so upset that they will say something they may regret later the interrogator meet all proposals with searching questions that will imply the opponents haven't done their homework; challenge any answers in a confronting manner and ask the opposition to explain further what they mean the cloak of reasonableness appear to be reasonable while makng impossible demands for the purpose of winning the friendship and confidence of the others divide and conquer produce dissension among opposition so they have to pay more attention to their own internal disagreements rather than the disagreements with the opposition; ally with one member of the team and try to play him or her off against

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the other members of the team. the "act dumb" negotiator pretend to be particularly dense and by doing so exasperate the opposition in hopes that at least one member of the opposing team will reveal information as he tries to find increasingly simple ways to describe proposals with each proposal being elaborated and amplified so anyone can understand it

Appendix 2: Three Styles: Soft, Hard, and Principles Negotiation Soft Hard Principled

friends adversaries problem solvers goals: agreement victory wise outcome make concessions demand concessions separate people from problem be soft on people and problems be hard on problem and people be soft on people, hard on problems trust others distrust others proceed independent of trust change positione asily dig in focus on interests not positions make offers make threats explore interests disclose bottom line mislead avoid having bottom line accept one sided loss demand one sided gain invent options for mutual gain search for acceptable answer search for one answer you will accept develop multiple options insist on agreement insist on your position insist on objective criteria try to avoid contest of wills try to win context of wills try to reach result based on standards yield to pressure apply pressure yield to principle not pressure

Dealing with Difficult People

Hostile Aggressive
q q

Stand up for yourself; use self-assertive language give them time to run down......avoid a direct confrontation

Complainers q Listen attentively; acknowledge their feelings; avoid complaining with them q state the facts without apology.......use a problem solving mode Clams: q keep asking open ended questions; be patient in waiting for a response q if no response occurs, tell them what you plan to do, because no discussion has taken place Superaggreables: q In a non-threatening manner, work hard to find out why they will not take action q Let them know you value them as people q Be ready to compromise and negotiate, and don't allow them to make unrealistic commitments q Try to discern the hidden meaning in their humor Negativists: q Do not be dragged into their despair.........Do not try to cajole them out of their negativism q Discuss the problems thoroughly, without offering solutions q When alternatives are discussed, bring up the negatives yourself q Be ready to take action alone, without their agreement Know-it-Alls

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Bulldozers: Prepare yourself; listen and paraphrase their main points; question to raise problems Balloons: state facts or opinions as your own perception of reality; find a way for balloons to safe face; confront in private
q q

Indecisive Stallers q Raise the issue of why they are hesitant...Possibly remove the staller from the situation q If you are the problem, ask for help.....Keep the action steps in your own hands (from Coping with Difficult People, R. M. Bramson, Doubleday, 1981)

Example of a negotiation
Adjuster: We have studied your case and with our policy you are entitled to $3,300 Tom: I see. How did you reach that figure A: That was how much we decided the car was worth. T: I see; what standard did you use to determine the amount. Do you know where I can buy a comparable car for that? A: How much are you asking? T: Whatever I am entitled to under the policy. I found a second hand car like mine for $3,850. Adding sales and excise tax it would come to about $4,000. A: $4,000! That's too much! T: I'm not asking for $4,000, or 3 or 5; just fair compensation. Do you think it's fair I get enough to replace the car? A: OK, I'll offer you $3,500. That's the highest I can go. T: How does the company figure that? A: Look, $3,500 is all you get. Take it or leave it. T: $3,500 may be fair. I don't know. I certainly understand your position if you're bound to company policy, but unless you can state objectively why that amount is what I'm entitle to, I think I'll do better in court. Why don't we study the matter and talk again. A: OK, I've got an ad here for a 1985 Fiesta for $3,400. T: I see. What does it say about the mileage? A: It says 49,000, why? T: Because mine had only 25,000 miles. How much does that increase the value in your book? A: Let me see, $150. T: Assuming the 3,400 as possible base, that brings the figure to $3550. Does that ad say anything about a rado. A: No T: How much extra in your book? A: That's $125. T: What about air conditioning? 30 minutes later, Tom took home a check for $4,100 ..................from Fisher and Ury, Getting to Yes

Pareto Efficiency A goal of negotiations is to be as "Pareto Efficient" as possible. A Pareto efficient outcome is one in which there is no other agreement that would result in both parties being better off. If there is an outcome that would have made both better off, the decision reached is not Pareto efficient. Stated differently, an agreement is "Pareto Efficient" if one party cannot do better without some other party doing worse. Consider the example. Barry and Nancy are going out to dinner. Barry likes Indian food the best and cannot eat Chinese food. Nancy greatly prefers Chinese food but finds the Indian dishes too hot. There are a range of possible solutions. They could go to a Chinese or Indian restaurant or have a number of other choices. They both find Italian food OK. Actually both would prefer Thai food to Italian. It is possible to plot out all of these choices on a graph. On one axis is Barry's preference values. On the other axis are the values Nancy attaches to each preference. For Barry Indian food has the highest value, Thai is next, then Italian, and

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Chinese is last. For Nancy, Chinese is highest followed by Thai, Italian, and Indian is the last. Both Barry and Nancy prefer Thai to Italian. In this case we say that Thai Pareto dominates Italian. A decision to go to a Thai restaurant results in both Barry and Nancy being better off than if they had gone to an Italian restaurant. The Thai choice is also Pareto efficient because the only choice that is better for Barry (Indian) leaves Nancy worse off. Similarly, the only decision better for Nancy (Chinese) leaves Barry worse off. Collectively, negotiators leave "money on the table" when they settle for a Pareto inefficient agreement. Negotiators should aim at gaining Pareto efficient agreements, finding all joint gains, and not leaving money on the table.

REFERENCES
q

q q

Nierenberg, Gerard, Fundamentals of Negotiation James Ware and Louis B. Barnes, "Managing Interpersonal Conflict," HBR, 1978. Fisher, Roger and William Ury, Getting to Yes Lax, D. A. and J. K. Sebenius, The Manager as Negotiator, (New York: Free Press, 1986).

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ERIC Trends and Issues Alert - Conflict Management

Trends and Issues Alerts Conflict Management
Bettina Lankard Brown 1998

The dynamics of a diverse work force characterized by organizational change, competition, and complex communication are drawing attention to interpersonal conflicts among workers. Organizational change, for example, alters the status quo and requires members of an organization to work together in new ways and under new rules. Competition compounds issues of power and escalates conflicts of personalities and behaviors. The complexities of communication make it more difficult for culturally, economically, and socially diverse workers to resolve the issues and problems they encounter on the job. These conditions have generated a need for new types of training and employee development programs to help workers acquire skills in conflict management. Moving away from Litigation The increase in conflicts occurring in the workplace and in society as a whole has created a strong interest in new ways of avoiding the costly and destructive outcomes of relationship dysfunctions. Litigation and legal negotiation are two of the most expensive and time-consuming ways to resolve a conflict between parties as they require court action and the involvement of legal counsel. Arbitration, another method for resolving conflict, involves a neutral third party to settle disputes among parties in a subjective manner. Like litigation and legal negotiations, however, arbitration takes power out of the hands of those in conflict and defuses their role in conflict negotiation and resolution. Conflict mediation moves toward worker empowerment by involving the services of a mediator whose role is to assist the parties in negotiating their own resolution

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ERIC Trends and Issues Alert - Conflict Management

to a situation. However, since most workplace conflicts are likely to be repeated under new circumstances and in new situations, the empowerment of workers to resolve their own differences of opinions before they escalate to conflict is the goal of conflict management. "Conflict management is the ability to manage every-day situations that involve personal interactions involving differences of opinion. It differs from conflict resolution, where successful resolution means that the issue is totally resolved and finished" (Casey and Casey 1997, p. 160). Conflict management requires skills that are emotionally based, skills that reflect selfesteem, flexibility, and an openness to different ways of thinking and acting. New Training Programs and Techniques According to a recent Accountemps survey, "executives spend more than 9 weeks each year 18 percent of their work time resolving personality clashes between employees" (Allerton 1996, p. 10). Such clashes can undermine morale, jeopardize teamwork, and potentially erupt into violent confrontations (Ramsey 1996). Because it is impossible to operate at a maximum level of creativity, efficiency, and productivity in the midst of turmoil, many organizations are hiring conflict management specialists to train their employees in positive ways to resolve their differences. Adult educators, educational administrators, health care and business professionals, and human resource managers are among those who are assuming new roles as leaders in conflict management (Blum and Wall 1997; Buller et al. 1997; Mhehe 1997; Strutton and Pelton 1997). Advice and strategies for resolving conflict are appearing in many recent professional journals and publications and are highlighted in training courses on conflict resolution, alternative dispute resolution, and conflict management. Casey and Casey (1997) suggest self-esteem training as an aid to acquiring conflict management skills. Drama, such as forum theater and role play, is suggested as a way to engage learners in clarifying the issues and constructing solutions to conflict situations. For example, actors in a forum theater reenact and reconstruct certain situations of conflict and then invite the audience to participate by role-playing potential problem-resolving actions (O Toole 1997). Other techniques include using posters to promote conflict resolution, detailing ways to handle anger, engage in active listening, practice win-win strategies, etc. (Phillips 1997); and using teaming and in-team intervention approaches to conflict resolution training (McEwan 1997; Reynolds 1998). The following resources provide additional information about conflict management efforts and strategies.

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ERIC Trends and Issues Alert - Conflict Management

Print Resources Allerton, H. "News You Can Use." Training & Development 50, no. 9 (September 1996): 9-11. Reports the findings of various surveys related to communication, including the Accountemps survey regarding the amount of time executives spend on employee mediation. Bellard, J. et al. Face to Face: Resolving Conflict without Giving In or Giving Up. Washington, DC: National Association for Community Mediation, 1996. (ED 410 473) Modular curriculum developed to train AmeriCorps members addresses conflict at the personal and the interpersonal level. Provides concepts and tools to assist participants in working effectively and collaboratively within a group. Blum, M. W., and Wall, J.A., Jr. "HRM: Managing Conflicts in the Firm." Business Horizons 40, no. 3 (May-June 1997): 84-87. Describes the techniques human resource managers of Midwest firms have used to assist in and resolve conflicts in their organizations and the success they have realized through their efforts. Buller, P. F.; Kohls, J.J.; and Anderson, K.S. "A Model for Addressing CrossCultural Ethical Conflicts." Business & Society 36, no. 2 (June 1997): 169-193. Presents a model for addressing cross-cultural ethical conflict detailing effective strategies and using case study examples. Burgess, H., and Burgess, G.M. Encyclopedia of Conflict Resolution. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 1997. This encyclopedia the first of its kind presents all the concepts, techniques, information, resources, events, people, organizations, and training and academic programs vital to this important field.

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Casey, M., and Casey, P. "Self-Esteem Training as an Aid to Acquiring Conflict Management Skills." Australian Journal of Adult and Community Education 37, no. 3 (November 1997): 160-166. Describes the goals and activities of a training program designed to enhance the selfesteem of participants as a means of developing conflict management skills. Reports on participants improvement in communication and problem-solving skills realized through participation in the training program. Drory, A., and Ritov, I. "Effects of Work Experience and Opponent s Power on Conflict Management Styles." International Journal of Conflict Management 8, no. 2 (April 1997): 148-161. A study identified low-power individuals as having a preference for a "dominating" style of relationship as opposed to "avoiding," "obliging," and "integrating" styles. Dunlop, J., and Zack, A. Mediation and Arbitration of Employment Disputes. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1997. Describes Alternative Dispute Resolution, a process that offers employers and employees a method for resolving disputes fairly and reasonably. Gleason, S., ed. Workplace Dispute Resolution: Directions for the 21st Century. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 1997. Provides a variety of international viewpoints on effective dispute management. Examines how the interpersonal nature of a relationship determines the method selected to handle disputes. Kottler, J. Beyond Blame. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1994. Details a plan for addressing conflicts that arise in work, family, and life. Describes ways to alter destructive behavior patterns that contribute to interpersonal conflicts. McEwan, E.K. Leading Your Team to Excellence: How to Make Quality Decisions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 1997. (ED 403 635)

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Describes the concept of teaming and the ways in which decision making and group interactions influence team performance. Also describes strategies for building team trust, cooperation, and consensus reaching skills. Mhehe, E. G. "The Role of the School Administrator in Conflict Management." Position paper, 1997. (ED 408 642) Describes the conflict mediation/management role of educational administrators and points out that in selecting a strategy to adopt for conflict management, minimizing destructive aspects and maximizing efforts that contribute to organizational growth are top priorities. O Toole, J. "Rough Treatment: Teaching Conflict Management through Drama." Teaching Education (Columbia, SC) 9 (Summer-Fall 1997): 83-87. Promotes drama as a way of teaching conflict management. Describes how clarifying, reenacting, and reconstructing situations of conflict through drama can enhance participants understanding of and ability to construct viable solutions to conflicts. Phillips, P. "The Conflict Wall." Educational Leadership 54, no. 3 (May 1997): 4344. (EJ 545 866) Introduces the efforts of a supervising administrator in a Connecticut high school to promote conflict resolution across the school. Describes how posters were used to depict ways to handle anger in a positive manner, discuss win-win strategies for conflict resolution, describe cause-effect relationships, and outline strategies for apologizing and active listening. Ramsey, R. D. "Conflict Resolution Skills for Supervisors." Supervision 57, no. 8 (August 1996): 9-11. Recommends the use of conflict resolution training to avoid the ramifications of interpersonal conflicts within an organization. Suggests four areas of skill development: listening, questioning, communicating nonverbally, and mediating strategies. Also presents strategies of involving subordinates or other employees to improve the outcomes of conflict mediation.

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Reynolds, S. "Managing Conflict through a Team Intervention and Training Strategy." Employment Relations Today 24, no. 4 (Winter 1998): 57-64. Describes the effects of team breakdowns in the new management systems that rely on teams for problem solving and new product design. Describes a six-step intervention and training process using the intact-team approach. Rothman, Jay. Resolving Identity-Based Conflict. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1997. Describes how identity-based conflict can be managed. Explains the processes of antagonism, resonance, invention, and action and their application to a variety of environments. Strutton, D., and Pelton, L.E. "Negotiation: Bringing More to the Table than Demands." Marketing Health Services 17, no. 1 (Spring 1997): 52-58. Presents tips for successful negotiation of intraorganizational conflict in health care institutions, conflicts that involve the differing views of physicians, department heads, patients attorneys, insurance companies, and trustees or medical staff. Web Resources Center for Peacemaking and Conflict Studies. Peer Mediation & Conflict Management Training. Fresno, CA: Fresno Pacific University, 1997. <http://www.fresno.edu/dept/pacs/peermed.html> Describes the Peer Mediation Training Program, which is designed to help participants explore interpersonal and group conflict and practice strategies used to help themselves and others mediate disputes among peers. National Association for Community Mediation, 1726 M St., NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20036; 202/467-6226; fax: 202/466-4769; e-mail: [email protected]; http://www.igc.apc.org/nafcm/ National Institute for Dispute Resolution, 1726 M St., NW Suite 500, Washington, DC 20036-4502; 202/466-4764; fax: 202/466-4769; e-mail: [email protected]; Virtual

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Resource Center: http://www.nidr.org/ Developed with funding from the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, under Contract No. RR93002001. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the position or policies of OERI or the Department. Trends and Issues Alerts may be freely reproduced

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Review of Managing Smaller Projects by John Bartlett
Mike Watson, Project Manager Today Publications, January 1998, 168 pages, £18.50, ISBN 1 900 391 02 3
This little book is a gem for those who have small projects to manage, who want to use a formal approach but who are daunted by the prospect of delving into a heavy-weight project management text. Here, in a nice easy-to-read format, is a synthesis of the essentials of project management interpreted for the lay reader. It seems that Mike Watson has managed to satisfy two key requirements of his readership: a practical reference guide for the fundamentals needed to control small projects and a text which is free of technical jargon. He has assumed, rightly I believe, that the majority of people who will be interested in managing small projects will not have had exposure to project management principles; so his style is very much directed at the non-project manager, with plenty of clarity of explanation. At first, I was dismayed not to see an index, but this initial concern was alleviated when I found how easy it was to find specific topics, such as quality or risk. The Table of Contents is all the index you need, and, even without that, topics are very easy to find. The book presents a practical approach, such that the reader, using the templates provided, could get to grips with a small project without any sophisticated software. Remember those days when you always drew network diagrams by hand? Mike has plenty to say on this subject. Those who go straight to the chapter Using a Computer may be surprised to find the tip "Don’t do it!"; but this book is born from experience, and is certainly not a cut-down large project manual — Mike’s frustrations at having tried to go down this route for small projects are well exemplified throughout. The result is a method, which Mike calls SPM (Small Projects Method) and which is admirably described and bounded. Mike defines small projects as those delimited by duration (roughly two days to two months), which, when you think about it, implies small size and low cost. Two days must relate purely to project execution, since it would take more than two days just to establish the project. The method, however, is easily extendible to greater durations, as long as one keeps a perspective on size: it may not

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Our first review of Microsoft Project 2002 is now available. Go to the menu bar for access and look in integrated products. Available NOW Project Manager Today has produced indepth software reviews since 1989. Now you can access those produced over the last two years in on-line pdf format for a small fee. Price £60 two volume Each volume £35 Postage & Packaging extra

European pm focus on human genome project
Sir John Sulston (opposite) was a leading player in the massive human genome project, the subject of the lead story in the June issue of European Project Manager. Worldwide collaboration plays a major role in its continuing success. EPM is available on subscription or free with a full subscription to PMT

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Regional pm winner
Brendan Carty is the UK's North-East Project Manager of the Year. He received the APM title, £500 and a crystal bowl for his work with Northumbrian Water on an enviromental scheme that turned the beach at Seaton Carew from one of the dirtiest in Britain ten year's ago to one of the cleanest in 2001.

UKAEA clean up
The lead story in the April issue of Project Manager Today highlights the sophisticated tools developed by UKAEA to aid decommissioning of nuclear sites. At Harwell the clean up also meant dealing with left over RAF munitions from WWII

Free download of ePSO

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Project Manager Today

Over 126 independent software reviews have appeared since 1989. Now Volt Europe is the first company to sponsor free access to the pdf of a review on our web site. Check out their e-PSO product on the left side bar : follow PM Software Reviews:integrated products. The review was published in March 2002

IPMA World Congress June
The biennial world congress visits Berlin in June with keynote speakers including Edward de Bono, inventor of 'lateral thinking'; Tom de Marco; Martin Barnes and astronaut, Bernard Harris. See events for web link or tel: +49.30.44048017 and fax +49.30.4439902.

Pros and cons of virtual teams in EPM
The ups and downs of virtual teams form the main theme of European Project Manager was published on 2 March. Free as part of a paid for subscription to PMT or available price 26 Euros (£16) throughout the EU. For a subscription phone +44 (0) 118 932 6665

Quick off the mark
If you were intrigued by the news item in the March issue on lack of speed in starting projects look at the full version by Chris Worsley in the attached document.
For more information click here

Ten top tips for estimating
American correspondent, Carl Pritchard, interviewed leading US project managers to get the best tips for estimating in the February 2002 magazine

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Home Page

Knowledge Base
Project Manager Today has accumulated a wealth of information on the project & programme management scene since its inception and first appearance in October 1989. In this section of the web site you will be able to interrogate and purchase any of the articles contained in the Knowledge base. Initially the Knowledge base is limited to articles published from the January 2000 issue up to and including our last published issue (usually the month preceding the current date). More articles will be added in due course over the coming weeks and a search function will also be added. The initial series of articles will be available here later this month

HANDBOOK
...........................
Editorial Director Ken Lane [email protected] Tel: +44 (0) 118 932 6665 Deputy Editor Clive Wellings Technical Editor Steve Cotterell USA Correspondent Carl Pritchard Editorial Contributors Fiona Powell,

Available NOW Price £60 two volume Each volume £35 Postage & Packaging extra

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Philip Holt Conference Manager Jim Potter Advertising Manager Peter Cook Tel:01784 435677 © Project Manager Today 2002

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Home Page PM Software Reviews Integrated Products Project Planning & Scheduling Project Accounting Quantitative Risk Time Recording Web-based Collaboration Tools Management Tools Graphics Resource Management Document Management Professional Services Automation Mind Mapping List of Reviews in Date Order

Software Reviews
Since 1989 Project Manager Today has been carrying out in-depth, independent reviews of project management software and associated products. All the reviews are by industry experts. Click here for a free sample review. Then go to the side index and choose the category that interests you. You will get a brief description of the product and review plus the opportunity to download the review in pdf format for a small fee. Simply add your choices to your shopping cart.

HANDBOOK

Available NOW Price £60 two volume Each volume £35 Postage & Packaging extra

http://www.pmtoday.co.uk/pm_software.asp (1 of 3) [5/28/2002 6:02:21 PM]

Project Manager Today

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Editorial Director Ken Lane [email protected] Tel: +44 (0) 118 932 6665 Deputy Editor Clive Wellings Technical Editor Steve Cotterell USA Correspondent Carl Pritchard Editorial Contributors Fiona Powell, Philip Holt Conference Manager Jim Potter Advertising Manager Peter Cook Tel:01784 435677 © Project Manager Today 2002

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Project Manager Today

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Home Page PM Software Reviews Integrated Products Project Planning & Scheduling Project Accounting Quantitative Risk Time Recording Web-based Collaboration Tools Management Tools Graphics Resource Management Document Management Professional Services Automation Mind Mapping List of Reviews in Date Order

Integrated Products
Project management software that incorporates a range of project planning, scheduling, time recording, etc. tools in one package or linked modules.

HANDBOOK

Available NOW Price £60 two volume Each volume £35 Postage & Packaging extra

http://www.pmtoday.co.uk/ShowSoftwareReviewList.asp?Id=1 (1 of 11) [5/28/2002 6:02:34 PM]

Project Manager Today

...........................
Editorial Director Ken Lane [email protected] Tel: +44 (0) 118 932 6665 Deputy Editor Clive Wellings Technical Editor Steve Cotterell USA Correspondent Carl Pritchard Editorial Contributors Fiona Powell, Philip Holt Conference Manager Jim Potter Advertising Manager Peter Cook Tel:01784 435677 © Project Manager Today 2002

http://www.pmtoday.co.uk/ShowSoftwareReviewList.asp?Id=1 (2 of 11) [5/28/2002 6:02:34 PM]

Project Manager Today

Review of: Published: Author: Description:

Project 2002
May 2002 Fiona Powell Pages 34 - 36

More advanced than ever before. There are 3 flavours of Microsoft Project 2002 catering for everyone from the single user to multi-user and those for whom collaboration is an imperative. Fiona looks at the basics.

Vendor: Price: £2.70

Microsoft Ltd. Add to shopping cart

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Select Process Director
April 2002 Jon Collins Pages 38 - 41

A PM support tool that enables project processes to be defined and used. It provides a comprehensive process editor, methodology wizards, synchronisation with MS Project and desktop utilities.

http://www.pmtoday.co.uk/ShowSoftwareReviewList.asp?Id=1 (3 of 11) [5/28/2002 6:02:34 PM]

Project Manager Today

Vendor: Price: £2.70

Aonix Corp. Add to shopping cart

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e-PSO
March 2002 Steve Cotterell Pages 42 - 44

Web-based database app. combines workflow, programme & project management best practice with knowledge and innovation management. As an aide to enabling sizeable projects to comply with the PRINCE2 methodology it has the potential to be a useful tool. Vendor: Price: free Volt Europe View review

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Review of: Published: Author: Description:

Lawson Professional Service Automation Software
February 2002 Fiona Powell Pages

Lawson take Fiona Powell on a virtual test-drive of their PSA offering. Payback time says Lawson's Lou Pereira can be just 6 months.

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Vendor: Price: £2.70

Lawson Professional Service Automation Software Add to shopping cart

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PlanView version 7.1
January 2002 Steve Cotterell Pages 37-41

PlanView is a web-enabled programme and project scheduling, management and reporting tool. Particularly strong in the resourcing area and has a good timesheet system. Budgetary and risk features will be enhanced in the next version. Vendor: Price: free PlanView View review

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PIVOT - Project Integrity & Verification of Operations Tool
Nov-December 2001 Ray Palmer Pages 42 - 46

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A broad ranging suite of applications that provides systematic control of processes including estimating, costs, quality plans, audits, purchase orders, action tracking, verification, document tracking and risk management modules. Vendor: Price: £2.70 Impact Petroleum Software Add to shopping cart

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mpower-suite
October 2001 Steve Cotterell Pages

A `thin-client` project management and PSA application that can accessed through a web browser. It contains modules for high-level monitoring, project planning and scheduling, time recording, estimating, billing, project resourcing and human resources Vendor: Price: £2.70 Monitor Management Control Systems Ltd. Add to shopping cart

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Force12 eP Series
September 2001 Steve Cotterell Pages 40 - 46

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Project Manager Today

A Microsoft oriented Professional Services Automation suite. It provides the PSA foundation and functionality and integrates with MS Project and Outlook. Includes excellent module to help field operatives manage their work and record their times. Vendor: Price: £2.70 Force12 Add to shopping cart

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Review of: Published: Author: Description:

ServicePort
april2001 Fiona Powell Pages 36 - 38

A web-hosted suite of business applications and outsourced services for the professional services industry. Plan and resource projects, share information with other authorised users, your team and your boss, complete, submit and approve timesheets, etc. Vendor: Price: £2.70 Portera Systems Ltd. Add to shopping cart

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Review of: Published: Author: Description:

Intelligent Planner 4.1
February 2001 Steve Cotterell Pages 38 - 40

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Project Manager Today

Designed to optimise the allocation of human resources to projects. Use it to manage complex resourcing across multiple projects from the point where the project is still a sales `opportunity` up to completion. Interfaces with MS Project and ERP systems Vendor: Price: £2.70 Augeo Software Ltd. Add to shopping cart

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Review of: Published: Author: Description:

WelcomCONNECT Partnership Programme
July 2000 Steve Cotterell Pages

Welcom has a partnership with a number of software houses that add functionality to Open Plan enterprise. Includes time/cost/billing; earned value; risk and a construction database.

Vendor: Price: £2.70

Welcom - UK Add to shopping cart

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PowerProject TeamPlan
June 2000 Steve Cotterell Pages 31 - 37

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Project Manager Today

Description: A very flexible project and programme management solution with its menu structure conforming to the Microsoft Office model. It has an excellent, fully-featured Gantt chart. Our reviewer was impressed with the features found in TeamPlan`s multi-user mode. Vendor: Price: £2.70 Asta Development plc. Add to shopping cart

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Review of: Published: Author: Description:

GroupProject
May 2000 Philip Holt Pages 27 - 30

An integrated suite of modules and components that combines Lotus Notes ability to share information and Microsoft Project/CA-Super Project`s popularity and ease-of-use ino an application for collating, sharing and monitoring project information. Vendor: Price: £2.70 Corporate Project Solutions Ltd. Add to shopping cart

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Primavera Project Planner for the enterprise
April 2000 Pages 36-39

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Author: Description:

Steve Kendrew

Stephen Kendrew looks at what Primavera claims to be the most powerful enterprise pm system available P3e

Vendor: Price: £2.70

Primavera Systems Inc. Add to shopping cart

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Review of: Published: Author: Description:

Hydra version 2
March 2000 Steve Cotterell Pages 37 - 38

All of an organisation`s work can be planned, resourced and monitored using this enterprise programme management system. Its electronic timesheet system is very easy to use. Uses Internet email system to update between satellite plans and master plan. Vendor: Price: £2.70 The Program Management Group Ltd. Add to shopping cart

Other Categories Covered:

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Project Manager Today

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Home Page PM Software Reviews Integrated Products Project Planning & Scheduling Project Accounting Quantitative Risk Time Recording Web-based Collaboration Tools Management Tools Graphics Resource Management Document Management Professional Services Automation Mind Mapping List of Reviews in Date Order

Project Planning & Scheduling
Project Planning & Scheduling

HANDBOOK

Available NOW Price £60 two volume Each volume £35 Postage & Packaging extra

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Project Manager Today

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Editorial Director Ken Lane [email protected] Tel: +44 (0) 118 932 6665 Deputy Editor Clive Wellings Technical Editor Steve Cotterell USA Correspondent Carl Pritchard Editorial Contributors Fiona Powell, Philip Holt Conference Manager Jim Potter Advertising Manager Peter Cook Tel:01784 435677 © Project Manager Today 2002

Review of: Published: Author:

Project 2002
May 2002 Fiona Powell Pages 34 - 36

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Project Manager Today

Description: More advanced than ever before. There are 3 flavours of Microsoft Project 2002 catering for everyone from the single user to multi-user and those for whom collaboration is an imperative. Fiona looks at the basics.

Vendor: Price: £2.70

Microsoft Ltd. Add to shopping cart

Other Categories Covered:

Review of: Published: Author: Description:

e-PSO
March 2002 Steve Cotterell Pages 42 - 44

Web-based database app. combines workflow, programme & project management best practice with knowledge and innovation management. As an aide to enabling sizeable projects to comply with the PRINCE2 methodology it has the potential to be a useful tool. Vendor: Price: free Volt Europe View review

Other Categories Covered:

Review of: Published:

Lawson Professional Service Automation Software
February 2002 Pages

http://www.pmtoday.co.uk/ShowSoftwareReviewList.asp?Id=2 (3 of 12) [5/28/2002 6:02:48 PM]

Project Manager Today

Author: Description:

Fiona Powell

Lawson take Fiona Powell on a virtual test-drive of their PSA offering. Payback time says Lawson's Lou Pereira can be just 6 months.

Vendor: Price: £2.70

Lawson Professional Service Automation Software Add to shopping cart

Other Categories Covered:

Review of: Published: Author: Description:

PlanView version 7.1
January 2002 Steve Cotterell Pages 37-41

PlanView is a web-enabled programme and project scheduling, management and reporting tool. Particularly strong in the resourcing area and has a good timesheet system. Budgetary and risk features will be enhanced in the next version. Vendor: Price: free PlanView View review

Other Categories Covered:

Review of: Published:

mpower-suite
October 2001 Pages

http://www.pmtoday.co.uk/ShowSoftwareReviewList.asp?Id=2 (4 of 12) [5/28/2002 6:02:48 PM]

Project Manager Today

Author: Description:

Steve Cotterell

A `thin-client` project management and PSA application that can accessed through a web browser. It contains modules for high-level monitoring, project planning and scheduling, time recording, estimating, billing, project resourcing and human resources Vendor: Price: £2.70 Monitor Management Control Systems Ltd. Add to shopping cart

Other Categories Covered:

Review of: Published: Author: Description:

Force12 eP Series
September 2001 Steve Cotterell Pages 40 - 46

A Microsoft oriented Professional Services Automation suite. It provides the PSA foundation and functionality and integrates with MS Project and Outlook. Includes excellent module to help field operatives manage their work and record their times. Vendor: Price: £2.70 Force12 Add to shopping cart

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Projectplace
May 2001 Pages 35 - 38

http://www.pmtoday.co.uk/ShowSoftwareReviewList.asp?Id=2 (5 of 12) [5/28/2002 6:02:48 PM]

Project Manager Today

Author: Description:

Ray Palmer

A centralised place where people can exchange information, via their browsers, and project data can be stored and accessed by each team member. There are tools for assigning work, arranging meetings, sharing and comparing documents and holding discussions Vendor: Price: £2.70 Projectplace Ltd. Add to shopping cart

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GigaPlan
april2001 Fiona Powell Pages 32 - 36

Enables you to manage projects when your team, clients, and managers are distributed around the world. Teams complete timesheets using their browser. Clients/stakeholders/customers/senior managers/etc. also access project information via their browsers Vendor: Price: £2.70 GigaPlan (Europe) Ltd. Add to shopping cart

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ServicePort
april2001 Pages 36 - 38

http://www.pmtoday.co.uk/ShowSoftwareReviewList.asp?Id=2 (6 of 12) [5/28/2002 6:02:48 PM]

Project Manager Today

Author: Description:

Fiona Powell

A web-hosted suite of business applications and outsourced services for the professional services industry. Plan and resource projects, share information with other authorised users, your team and your boss, complete, submit and approve timesheets, etc. Vendor: Price: £2.70 Portera Systems Ltd. Add to shopping cart

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Review of: Published: Author: Description:

Multi-project
march2001 Jane Parslow Pages 40

Compiles a register of all your projects and provides an access point to the data in them. It stores summary information, which is brought in from MS Project or input directly into the program. Projects can be consolidated and resource pools created. Vendor: Price: £2.70 Innate Management Systems Ltd. Add to shopping cart

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Project Organiser
February 2001 Pages 34 - 36

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Project Manager Today

Author: Description:

Steve Cotterell

A database application that was developed to organise project activity, documentation, issues and time in a structured and easy-to-use way. Based around the concept that, if you control the paperwork in your project, you control the project. Vendor: Price: £2.70 Clarity Designing Solutions Add to shopping cart

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Intelligent Planner 4.1
February 2001 Steve Cotterell Pages 38 - 40

Designed to optimise the allocation of human resources to projects. Use it to manage complex resourcing across multiple projects from the point where the project is still a sales `opportunity` up to completion. Interfaces with MS Project and ERP systems Vendor: Price: £2.70 Augeo Software Ltd. Add to shopping cart

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AMS Realtime Projects 5.2
January 2001 Pages 26 - 31

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Project Manager Today

Author: Description:

Bill Johnson

Allows organisations to reach beyond project planning to incorporate effort tracking across all project and non-project work as well as resource management and capacity planning. Offers solutions straight out of the box for both new and experienced users Vendor: Price: £2.70 Advanced Management Solutions Ltd. Add to shopping cart

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Project KickStart 3.0
November/December 2000 Pages 41 Steve Cotterell

Walks you through the creation of a project. Phases, activities, resources and risks are all considered and a library is built up for use in future projects. When complete your plan can be easily exported to MS Project, Primavera products and Milestones. Vendor: Price: £2.70 CoCo Systems Ltd. Add to shopping cart

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Review of:

Pertmaster Professional + Risk version 7

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Project Manager Today

Published: Author: Description:

October 2000 Philip Rawlins

Pages 32 - 38

This review concentrates on the risk analysis capabilities of this project planning program. Our reviewer felt that `No other program seems to come anyway close in terms of usability, functionality and speed. This is a long awaited product`. Vendor: Price: £2.70 Pertmaster Ltd. Add to shopping cart

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Review of: Published: Author: Description:

PowerProject TeamPlan
June 2000 Steve Cotterell Pages 31 - 37

A very flexible project and programme management solution with its menu structure conforming to the Microsoft Office model. It has an excellent, fully-featured Gantt chart. Our reviewer was impressed with the features found in TeamPlan`s multi-user mode. Vendor: Price: £2.70 Asta Development plc. Add to shopping cart

Other Categories Covered:

Review of:

GroupProject

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Project Manager Today

Published: Author: Description:

May 2000 Philip Holt

Pages 27 - 30

An integrated suite of modules and components that combines Lotus Notes ability to share information and Microsoft Project/CA-Super Project`s popularity and ease-of-use ino an application for collating, sharing and monitoring project information. Vendor: Price: £2.70 Corporate Project Solutions Ltd. Add to shopping cart

Other Categories Covered:

Review of: Published: Author: Description:

Primavera Project Planner for the enterprise
April 2000 Steve Kendrew Pages 36-39

Stephen Kendrew looks at what Primavera claims to be the most powerful enterprise pm system available P3e

Vendor: Price: £2.70

Primavera Systems Inc. Add to shopping cart

Other Categories Covered:

http://www.pmtoday.co.uk/ShowSoftwareReviewList.asp?Id=2 (11 of 12) [5/28/2002 6:02:48 PM]

Project Manager Today

Review of: Published: Author: Description:

Hydra version 2
March 2000 Steve Cotterell Pages 37 - 38

All of an organisation`s work can be planned, resourced and monitored using this enterprise programme management system. Its electronic timesheet system is very easy to use. Uses Internet email system to update between satellite plans and master plan. Vendor: Price: £2.70 The Program Management Group Ltd. Add to shopping cart

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Change Management Toolbook

Introduction

Analysis

Vision

Personal Development

Open Space

Future Search

Literature

System Thinking

Creative Planning

Teamwork & Communication

Clienting

Project Cycle Management

Links

The Author

International Training Camp "Essential Consulting Skills" November 24-30,2002 in Germany

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I am not creating anything by myself. I am standing on the shoulder of giants. (Sir Isaac Newton)

Welcome to the Change Management Toolbook!
In this Toolbook for Change Management in Organizations, I will offer you a broad range of methods and strategies which you can apply during different stages of organizational development. In its core, the Toolbook is based on the concept of "Learning Organizations", which was mainly introduced by Peter Senge of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and it is strongly influenced by the work of Robert Dilts, who teaches Neurolinguistic Programming at the University of California. To compile this toolbook, I consulted and cited many books on Organizational Development. And I added a few tools that I developed myself. The Toolbook starts with an introduction to the idea of change management. After that, you will find hyperlinks that lead you to the different sections and straight into the exercises.

Changing means departing to new destinations. It involves curiosity, but also fear. We must be prepared to enter new worlds and to see the people around us with new eyes.

We have nothing to loose but our chains! (from the rock group "Ton, Steine, Scherben")

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Change Management Toolbook

"Life is out to get you! The question is - where I dedicate this Toolbook to my teacher Robert does it get you to?" Dilts, who taught me to see the world with open eyes, to my teacher Stephen Gilligan, who taught me to look at myself with the eyes of happiness (Stephen Gilligan) and understanding, and to my daughter Rosa, who taught me the value of unconditional love. And to all who do their best to master their fear of change!

This Toolbook is compiled by Holger Nauheimer - that's me. I am working as a consultant and trainer in development assistance, and I deeply believe that it is time to change the behaviour of our organizations and of ourselves - in the North and in the South. To what should we change? There are a multitude of challenges and threats, to name a few: globalization of economy and information, increasing ineffectiveness of governmental institutions - and of many private, too -, the still growing number of people living in poverty. But the biggest threat is the indifference of people. These threats call for a new spirit of development, in which individuals, the members of organizations, experience selfdetermination and personal growth - and participate in creating a world around them to which they want to belong. Please visit my personal page to know more about me, the philosophy of my work and the services offered I offer.

Everybody of us can change something; non of us is dispensable in this process of change. (Virginia Satir)

Introducing Change Management into Organizational Development

At the beginning of the twentyfirst century, change is everywhere. The reality of yesterday proves wrong today, and nobody really knows what will be the truth tomorrow. Social, political and economic change has become so fast that most people feel that they do not have any influence. Like a small boat dancing on the waves. As in the Renaissance, it will be an exciting time, a time of great opportunities for those who can see and seize them, but of a great threat and fear for many. It will be more difficult to hold organizations and societies together. The softer words of leadership and vision and common purpose will replace

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Change Management Toolbook

the tougher words of control and authority because the tough words won’t bite anymore. Organizations will have to become communities rather than properties, with members, not employees, because few will be content to be owned by others. Societies will break down into smaller units but will also regroup into even larger ones than now for particular purposes. Charles Handy: Beyond Certainty: The changing worlds of organizations, 1995 Many organizations behave like individuals, sometimes they follow a certain logic or system, and sometimes they react irrational. Private companies strive to meet market demands and to increase shareholder values, and sometimes they collapse from one to the other day and nobody knows exactly why. Public agencies try to fulfill government strategies which had been formulated years ago, under totally different baseline conditions. Service quality is often not more than an empty phrase. The structure of international development assistance has long supported unviable organization structures. Many projects did not induce a sustainable development process. Sometimes, project proposals are submitted by Governments of developing countries to the World Bank or other donors, which had been written ten or twenty years ago. At the same time, a strategy for balancing economic growth and sustainable management of the natural resources is not in sight. Everybody is aware that the relative economic and social stability in the top industrialized countries stands on a weak base. This has been shown in Germany during the last years, which during recent years changed its position in the UNDP Human Development Index from rank 12 to 17. Individuals all over the world have to carry the burden of increasing living expenses by accepting any work without having the chance to plan for prosperity in their future. People try to separate private and professional life; many do not succeed. The majority of us complain about bad working conditions, caused by an authoritative an incompetent boss or by greedy and needy colleagues. As Jean-Paul Sartre detected correctly - the hell are always the others. The steadily increasing complexity of the world is asking too much of us. Yes, we know much more about the principles of the world than our ancestors, but our models prove more and more invalid. The amount of information and data is doubling every few years. The number of products and services offered are nearly indefinitely. In this situation of sheer chaos, suddenly a chaotic computer network offers a new order. Although the Internet now may contain 20 million pages or more, we can easily manage around. How can we -as individuals, as well as organizations, prepare ourselves for an uncertain future? Through creating our own future. Change management means empowering organizations and individuals for taking over their responsibility for their own future. Organizational Development (OD) is the application of methods of social sciences and psychology to management of groups, teams, institutions, companies, ministries, agencies, etc. The goal of any OD intervention into an existing system is to enhance the effectiveness and the efficiency of an organization by enriching individual maps of reality, by supporting personal growth of the individuals, by improving team spirit and inter-personal communication of the organization's members, and by introducing system thinking into strategic planning. The most promising concept for OD is the concept of Learning Organizations.

Learning Organizations
A learning organization is a particular vision of an enterprise that has the capacity to continually enhance its capabilities to shape its future. (P. Senge)

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The discussion on learning organizations is headed by Peter Senge, Professor at the Massachusetts Institute for Technology. His book The Fifth Discipline became within few years after its publication a standard for change management in organizations. The five disciplines described by Senge, have been widely accepted as the cornerstones of a new corporate culture. Among the largest companies that apply these methods IBM can be found. The five disciplines, which are reflected in this toolbook, are Personal Mastery, Vision Sharing, Mental Models, Team Learning and System Thinking. In this toolbook, I extended the list of disciplines a little bit: I included three more, which are (i) the analysis of the organization's learning climate, (ii) the use of creativity for strategic planning, and (iii) clienting - proactive customer orientation.

What to expect from the Toolbook

The Toolbook for Change Management is a collection of practical exercises that can be applied for initiating change processes in any kind of organizations - private companies, governmental agencies, non-profit organizations, self-help groups, etc. There are cultural differences of communication, and you might find that some tools work in one culture and they don't in an other. But you might also find that some tools work in one organization and also work in an other, which is 5000 miles away - but the same tools don't work in an other organization which is just next door. It is more the organization's culture that makes it receptable for change or not.

Organization in this sense means a group of people who share a common goal

Some of the tools are designed to be worked out individually, mainly in the form of questionnaires. Others can be applied in groups, e.g. in workshops of your organization. I encourage you to print them out and use them. But, if you do so, never forget to cite the original source, which is indicated in the header of each exercise.

I would like you to realize that organizational development is not an instant process. Do not expect that just applying some of my tools will change your organization. They have to be put into a context, and this needs time - and training. If you want to change your organization's culture, I would recommend to employ an independent adviser, who has the capacity to step into a true metaposition, i.e., who is able to constantly question the process and the role of the stakeholders including himself. However, some of the tools might give you a taste of what it means to initiate change.

This Toolbook is open source, but I tried to appreciate the copy right of the sources I used. It now consists of 20 some exercises, and by browsing through it, you will find a lot of blank spaces. Originally, it was intended to grow constantly, now I decided to go in an other direction. There will be a newsletter with additional tools available soon. This is the right place to appreciate the input of Jill Decker from HP, who who proveread the text and corrected my spelling and grammar errors. And I would like to invite everybody to comment and, even better, to contribute his/her own tools for the next revision. Send me an E-Mail!

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Change Management Toolbook

There are some graphical images that will navigate you through the Toolbook:

Objective of the tool

Summary of the exercise

Time needed for the exercise

This image shows you that the exercise is meant for groups

This image depicts exercises that can be done individually

This image means that you should do the exercise in pairs (one person acts as a coach)

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Change Management Toolbook

For this exercise, you should employ a facilitator or external adviser without it might be difficult to steer the group.

This sign indicates examples

A hint where to go next

The exercises are grouped under the following sections:

Introduction

Introduction to Change Management

Analysis

Analysis of an Organization's Learning Climate

Vision

Creating an Organization's Vision

Personal Development

Personal Development: A Path to Individual Growth

System Thinking

System Thinking: You Can't have the Butter and the Money from the Butter

Open Space

A radical approach to meetings and conferences

Future Search

The Search for Common Ground among diverse Stakeholders

Creative Planning

Creative Planning: Broaden Your Views

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Change Management Toolbook

Teamwork & Communication

Teamwork and Communication: Exploring Mental Maps

Clienting

The Outer World: Clienting and Total Quality Management

Literature

References and Selected Articles

Holger Nauheimer

Services Offered by the Author of the Toolbook

Each section starts with an introduction to the topic which also gives a short overview of the tools. It also contains cross-references to other sections. You will find a lot of hyperlinks that lead you to other parts of the toolbook.

How to start

Maybe already you were tempted and tried the hyperlinks that lead you directly to the different sections and further to the individual tools. I would like to encourage you to do so - browse through the Toolbook. If you prefer to study the toolbook more systematically, I would like you to follow the path I have prepared for you. It starts with a questionnaire that helps you to define your personal relation towards the future. At the end of the questionnaire, you will be given different options were to proceed. You might than continue with a second questionnaire for analyzing your organization's approach to change.

Why don't you start now?

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Analysis of An Organizations's Learning Climate

Introduction

Analysis

Vision

Personal Development

Open Space

Future Search

Literature

System Thinking

Creative Planning

Teamwork & Communication

Clienting

Project Cycle Management

Links

The Author

International Training Camp "Essential Consulting Skills" November 24-30,2002 in Germany

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Analysis of an Organization's Learning Climate
Cultural Aspects of Organizational Development

Analysis of an organization's learning climate produces the fertilizer that help an organization to grow. Systemic analysis helps to identify constraints for growth of your organization and the people working for it. It is an invitation for people to take interest in their organization. There is no blueprint for a successful structure of an organization - and no generalized approach to advice for organizational development. Communication structures in an organization mirror to a great extend cultural patterns. What you do with the results of these exercises is up to you. But once you start to analyze your organization and involve your staff, you have to tell them about the results, and listent to their comments. Then, it is up to the management to decide whether you continue the path for becoming a learning organization or not. You might adopt only a few ideas of the concept. But if you want to start a real process of change, you need the full support of your employees - otherwise it will inevitably fail. The Toolbook offers a series of exercises which help you to analyze and visualize structures of your organization:

Is your organization a participatory one?

is a questionnaire that analyses the degree of participation and responsibility sharing in your organization.

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Analysis of An Organizations's Learning Climate

SWOT

strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats has meanwhile become a standard tool for organizational analysis.

Designing a learning organization

is a kick-off event for organizations which want to start the process of developing a learning climate

How does your organization look like? Transect walk

makes you explain your organization with metaphors.

is a tool that is taken from Participatory Rural Appraisal. It helps to visualize the psycho-geography of your organization.

Mapping your organization

like transect walk, it is a visualization of your organization, but in more detail.

Venn diagram

is another graphical expression for communication structures and relationships in your organization.

Exploring the conscious and the unconscious of your organization

a questionnaire that looks behind the obvious structures and tries to explore the hidden agenda of organizations.

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Creating an Organization's Vision

Introduction

Analysis

Vision

Personal Development

Open Space

Future Search

Literature

System Thinking

Creative Planning

Teamwork & Communication

Clienting

Project Cycle Management

Links

The Author

International Training Camp "Essential Consulting Skills" November 24-30,2002 in Germany

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Creating an Organization's Vision
How to create a corporate identity to which people like to subscribe

"Every organization has a destiny: a deep purpose that expresses the organization's reason for existence. Visions exist on different levels of the organization's identity. Every telephone organization, for example, is tied to the original vision of Graham Bell - to provide a tool for universal communication. Many members of the organization have a collective sense of its underlying purpose - but in day-to-day operations those visions are often obscured. To become more aware of an organization's vision, one must ask the members and learn to listen for their answers. People sometimes say that it is pointless to develop a sense of purpose for a company. There already is a purpose: "To maximize return on investment to shareholders." Obviously, making money is important. But to confuse the essential requirement for advancing in the game with the deeper rationale, is a profound confusion. Focusing on the purpose of making money at the expense of other purposes, will naturally distract an organization's competitive advantage." (P. Senge) In the last 10 years, defining corporate or organizational visions and missions became one of the "flavours of the month" in organizational development. To my knowledge, the idea comes mainly from the US, but was widely accepted and adapted by profit and non-profit organizations. Obviously, the idea behind defining an organizational vision is three-fold: Firstly, to have a tool for aligning members of the organization and to increase their motivation to cooperate. Secondly, to attract customers, particular the growing share of environmentally or ethically conscious consumers.

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Creating an Organization's Vision

Thirdly, to ease the pain of shareholders who are constantly suspecting the company to waste money for things they don't want to have their capital spent for. Here comes the trick: If you are not an NGO, I don't believe that it is always possible to achieve all three objectives with one hit. Employees of a company or a governmental organization might first look at working conditions and might often not so much interested in, let's say, the environmental record of the organization. The shareholders' view is obviously directed towards short- or mediumterm return-on-investment. To have a vision that satisfies all is, so to say, a little bit naive (at least in times of recession). In a nutshell: I believe that organizations need to ask first: Why do we need a vision? What is the objective for it? Whom do we want to attract by the vision? Can we achieve our objective by other means? An example: I had the management of social welfare organization asking me to organize a workshop with all their staff with the objective to define their vision. I found out, that the main objectives were (1) to get more ideas for new services that the organization could offer and (2) the alignment of the staff with the new management. They were not in the position to pay for a longer and moderated OD process, just for a 2 days event. I convinced them not to focus on the vision but to hold a 2 days Open Space on the future of the organization. The outcome was (1) a variety of practical and implementable proposals which are now put into practice and (2) a booster for the motivation of the staff. Maybe the vision comes next year... Don't get me wrong - I still believe in visions and that co-creating a vision is an important step in an organizational development process. But I recognize that organizations are more cautious in spending money for an OD process. So we all have to think on when and where and with whom it is appropriate to define a vision.A vision shared by the members of an organization helps people to set goals to advance the organization and is an important key for motivation and empowerment. Without an understanding of the organization's purpose, its actions are confined to management by objectives, i.e. the goals that have once have been set by the higher management level or, often in the case of public institutions, by outsiders. Consequently, members of an organization without vision are not able to really take part in creating their own professional future - and the future of their working environment. Visions can be created on different levels of an organization. They can be developed by the CEO of the director and then published in the organization's newsletter, or communicated in any other way to the staff, in the sense "That is the view of our future, and we want you to come on board." Or they can be developed in a process that involves every member of the staff, from the driver to the boss. Of course, their are many shadings between both extremes. Visions can be created at a higher level of the organization and then developed by working groups of the staff. Or the other way around. The management could also consult the members of the organization before creating the actual vision. There is no right or wrong way, but there are appropriate or inappropriate approaches. Members of an organization that always had been steered in a more autocratic style might not be able in a first instance to freely describe their image of the future. Cultural values might impede equal sharing of visions. You have to assess degree of participation pertinent for your environment. The exercise "Is your organization a participatory one?" might help you in the assessment. From the subscribers of our newsletter we have collected vision and mission statements that allow comparison of cultural and industry type specific different visions.

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Creating an Organization's Vision

The tools that are provided for the development of visions can principally used in different settings. They can be applied by individuals, by a confined group of decision makers, or they can be adapted to serve as a base for a company-wide co-creation process. The Toolbook offers a series of exercises which help you to analyze and visualize structures of your organization:

Visions of the World

A collection of vision and mission statements from different parts of the world and through different industry sectors, including the public sector and NGOs. You might browse visions from the same industry sector and/or country.

Logical level alignment - defining the organization's identity

is an other wonderful exercise for vision sharing. It starts by delineating the future environment, and then stepwise defines future behaviors, skills, values, identities and relations to the outside world. It is one of my favorites!

Story telling - the history of the organization

goes back to the original purpose of the organization to see whether it is still valid and how it can be accompany the organization into the future

Co-creating a vision

consists of questions that helps to structure a group process for creating an organization's vision. It can be done individually, but It is particularly applicable for a organization-wide vision sharing process.

Vision into action - how to effect change management

how can you put visions into practice?

Companies that belong to the planet

goes beyond the point of an organization's vision. It asks the questions: "Is their anything else? Why are we existing as an organization? What is our contribution to the world around us?"

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Personal Development: A Path to Individual Growth

Introduction

Analysis

Vision

Personal Development

Open Space

Future Search

Literature

System Thinking

Creative Planning

Teamwork & Communication

Clienting

Project Cycle Management

Links

The Author

International Training Camp "Essential Consulting Skills" November 24-30,2002 in Germany

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Personal Development: A Path to Individual Growth

When working as an adviser for organizations, I frequently ask myself, how people can stand returning every day to an environment which they detest. They know, they have to come to earn their living, but they know also that they would prefer to spend their time with their family or go fishing, they suffer from gastritis, they believe that they are employed far below their real value, they do not trust their colleagues and they conclude that the only justification of their boss is to make life sour. Although they fulfill their duties, they try to escape form this hostile world as much as possible. But then they work overtime, the family is suffering, and their health is deteriorating. The funny thing is that from outside it seems very obvious: an organization full of people who can develop their capacities, to reconcile work and private life, to enjoy that their organization is advancing must be much more effective than an organization full of frustrated staff. Why is so difficult to create an environment to which people want to belong? I am pretty sure that the desire for personal development has no cultural bias. People want to do a good job everywhere, in France, in Nigeria, in Thailand, - but they believe that they are hold back by their boss or their colleagues, and: by the system. Have you ever realized that your colleague, or even your boss feels the same? Mind you, your colleagues or your subordinates might consider themselves tricked by you. Personal development starts with developing integrity and competence for yourself. That is the essence of this section. Without acknowledging your own capacities and your own personality (including pitfalls and successes) you won't do it. As the great dame of family therapy, Virginia Satir, put it: "I am me. There is nobody in the whole world who is exactly like me... Everything belongs to me - my body and everything what it does, my spirit and all its thoughts and ideas, my eyes, and all images that they see, my feelings, whatever they might be: anger, joy, frustration, love , disappointment and excitement; my mouth and all words that it produces... All my victories and my successes belong to me as well as my defeats and my failures."

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Personal Development: A Path to Individual Growth

Yes, I deeply believe that sufficient room for personal growth is the most important precondition for a learning organization. And for the organization, it is the most valuable competitive advantage. Without having a staff full of this passion, effective teamwork (or, as Peter Senge puts it: teamlearning) is not achievable. The Toolbook offers a series of exercises which help you to analyze your personal goals and values, and how you can connect your personal vision with the purpose of your organization:

Drawing forth your personal vision

In my view, this is the absolute starter exercise for change management. Defining your personal goals and your future plans gives you a kick-off. It also helps to understand that recognizing your values and distinguishing them from others' values is important for you to grow. We refrain from doing many things not because we could not do it, but because we believe that we could not do it. Apart from real physiological handicaps, we are principally able to do everything, or at least to learn it. This exercise is the essence of Robert Dilts' work on believes and a start to get rid of limiting believes. You want to proceed in a personal project? How does it fit into your present life? This exercise helps you to allocate resources for new activities. This tool helps you to define your goal and the evidences you need for knowing that you have achieved your goal. A tool which you will also find in the section on creative planning. By separating a dreamer, a realist and a critique state, the exercise leads you step by step to refining personal goals.

Changing limiting beliefs

Personal Project Management

Defining personal targets (I): Test-Operate-Test-Exit (T.O.T.E.)

Refining personal targets (II): The Walt-Disney-Circle

S.C.O.R.E.

This is a tool that you can find also in the section on systems thinking. By separating a problem or symptom state and its cause from the expected outcome and its effects, you start to understand your own systemic approach to problem solving. By doing this exercise, you will identify resources that help you get from the symptom state to the outcome state and you will consider systemic influences on problem solving strategies. is a wonderful exercise for refining your personal vision, you will find it also under the section on creating a corporate vision. It starts by delineating the future environment, and then stepwise defines future behaviors, skills, values, identities and relations to the outside world. It is one of my favorites!

Logical level alignment - defining your own identity

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Personal Development: A Path to Individual Growth

How would you react?

Some systemic questions that help you to enrich your personal maps.

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Open Space Technology

Introduction

Analysis

Vision

Personal Development

Open Space

Future Search

Literature

System Thinking

Creative Planning

Teamwork & Communication

Clienting

Project Cycle Management

Links

The Author

International Training Camp "Essential Consulting Skills" November 24-30,2002 in Germany

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OPEN SPACE - A Tool for Effective Stakeholder Consultation

During the last years, private companies as well as public agencies have been realized that consultation of stakeholder groups is an indispensable step for achievement of results and improvement of impacts. Consequently, companies like The Body Shop, IBM, or Shell have developed their own tools to ensure that management decisions can be significantly influenced by customers, shareholders, employees, suppliers, the public opinion and other important groups. The World Bank, through the New Development Framework, will ensure stakeholder participation in identification, planning, implementation and monitoring of its programmes.

A multi-stakeholder process is based on the idea that any organization to be effective in the long run has to make sure that
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its products and services match the expectations of the clients, the return on investment (or on public spending respectively) satisfies the sponsors, the working conditions motivate the employees, the procurement policy does not suffocate the suppliers, and the overall conduct delights the public opinion.

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In the past, it seemed difficult to involve large groups in a participatory manner. For example, the upper limit of participants of a workshop was considered to be around twenty persons. In most cases, this limit was just exceeded by inviting key persons from the involved agencies or departments. In contrast, it was difficult to bring a large and diverse group of people to interact. Recently, several new tools for large group facilitation have been developed, among them Future Search (by Marvin Weisbord and Sandra Janoff) and Open Space Technology (by Harrison Owen).

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Open Space Technology

You can’t beat the elegance and clarity of OPEN SPACE technology. To all stakeholders, it offers the opportunity to work on complex and burning issues. Simple rules support a highly participatory, reflecting and task oriented cooperation for 5 to 500 participants of a meeting, which can go on for one to three days. Each collaborator is empowered to contribute to the success of the workshop with his/her own competency and ideas. The methodology is particularly appropriate for initiating and establishing self-referenced learning and development processes in communities, organizations and companies. Michael M Pannwitz has created a worldmap of countries in which Open Space events have been hosted.

The market place, in which focus groups are negotiated(Photo: Michael M Pannwitz)

What is the principle? Any Open Space event is predefined by a question which is to be discussed during a one to three days meeting. The question has to be selected carefully by the management, supported by the facilitator. It should address a burning and conflicting issue and ensure a high diversity of opinions. One day means a good exchange of ideas, two days means a good exchange of ideas and the elaboration of recommendations and three days means a good exchange of ideas, elaboration of recommendations and the priorization of actions.

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Open Space Technology

Such a meeting would have neither a fixed agenda nor invited speakers. Management should be aware that the lay-out of the conference would not allow any status differences ("no ranks, no titles") and should commit themselves to the outcomes of the conference. Within the first two hours of an Open Space event, the participants themselves have set the agenda. Initial resistance or uncertainty disappears, when suddenly more issues have been identified that anybody would have expected beforehand. On average, 30 focus groups are set up in a conference of one hundred participants.

Workshop results are constantly documented and displayed. At the end of the conference, each participants will take the conference proceedings home.

The process is based on a set of four Principles and one Law: 1st Principle: Whoever comes is the right people. Open Space works with those who are interested and ready to commit themselves. Only those that are present can contribute. Although the invitation list might be limited, an Open Space conference is principally open for everybody; often, outsiders bring in fresh and independent views that can cause a quantum leap for the process.

2nd principle: Whatever happens is the only thing that could have. This principle gives the base for sustainable involvement of stakeholders. Those issues for which people have a passion and in which they would engage themselves are discussed, not less, not more. In Open Space, everything that happens has a meaning. In contrast, issues that have been identified before the conference had started might not be considered. Open Space creates transparency and facilitates identification of those areas that bear the highest probability of implementation.

3rd principle: Whenever it starts is the right time. 4th principle: When it's over, it's over. (When it's not over, it's not over.) These principles describe an obvious and well-known fact: it is not possible to force processes. If people are committed to make a change, they will take the process in their hand. Although time and place are predefined in an Open Space event, clocks play a minor role in setting the pace. Participants themselves decide, how much time is needed to work on an issue – ten minutes, two hours, one day – or not at all.

The Law of the Two Feet The only law that guides Open Space requires that whenever a participant feels that he/she is neither contributing nor learning, he/she is encouraged to use their capacity to move to a another place of interest. Thus, the Law of Two Feet creates a process of cross-fertilization between the different focus groups.

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Open Space Technology

OPEN SPACE can be applied for:
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stakeholder consultation, solution finding for corporate uncertainties , networking of institutions on local, regional and international level, creating synergy and growth among representatives of different pressure groups, mergers of companies, creativity, research and development, solving technical problems, vision sharing, opening event for projects and programmes or for change processes in larger organizations, community planning, and others.

q

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OPEN SPACE was successfully applied by AT&T, BBC, Mercedes Benz AG, Pepsi Cola, Boeing, Peace Corps and the World Bank. Debited to its simplicity and the sensual aspects of comprehension that will be offered by an experienced facilitator, OPEN SPACE can be employed for all cultures, educational levels and age groups – even for children. Therefore it is also applied in schools and educational programmes.

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Future Search

<
Introduction Analysis Vision Personal Development Open Space Future Search Literature

System Thinking

Creative Planning

Teamwork & Communication

Clienting

Project Cycle Management

Links

The Author

International Training Camp "Essential Consulting Skills" November 24-30,2002 in Germany

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Future Search Future Search is an innovative planning conference used world-wide by hundreds of communities and organizations. It helps to transform the capability of organizations for cooperative action in a relatively short time. Future search is - similar to scenario conferences - especially helpful in uncertain, fastchanging situations. Because people build on what they already have, they need no prior training or expertise. In Future Search conferences, topics focus on a wide range of purposes but the title is always “The Future of ...”. Because Future Search is largely culture free, it has been adopted with success by people from all walks of life in North and South America, Africa, Australia, Europe and South Asia. We applied the method, for example, in the context of educational reform in Pakistan. In this conference, we had diverse stakeholder groups, ranging from high ranking ministry officials to parents and teachers. There were even women who never before had left their home village! The approach empowered them to work on their own issues and discuss them freely with the other participants.

How Future Search Works A future search usually involves 50 to 70 people. The magic number is 64 participants, because then 8 times 8 working groups can be formed. Equal number of participants are invited from all relevant stakeholder groups In a business context it could be: employees, management, shareholders, suppliers, customers, the public, etc. It is intended that within stakeholder groups a cross section of gender, ethnic groups, powerful and non-powerful people, etc. are represented. The method can be applied in a planning process. It allows planners to learn about the issues that really concern people. The trick that distinguishes Future Search from similar methods is that for some of the tasks, participants are groped according to their stake (e.g., in our workshop in Pakistan all teachers met separately, all parents, all ministry employees all donors, etc.), and for other tasks, groups are mixed to the highest degree possible (i.e., one member of each stakeholder group).

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Future Search

The conference is designed to principles that enable people to work together without having to defend or sell a particular agenda: - “Whole system” in the room - Global exploration before local action - Future focus on Common Ground - Self Management and Responsibility The first principle involves "getting the whole system in the room." That means inviting people with a stake in the purpose who don't usually meet, thus enlarging everybody's potential for learning and action. The second involves putting the focal issue in global perspective, helping each person to see the same larger picture of which they have a part. The third means treating problems and conflicts as information rather than action items, while searching for common ground and desirable futures. The fourth invites people to manage their own small groups in talking about and acting on what they learn. The Future Search Agenda The work is done in two and a half days. There are five tasks. The first establishes a common history: participants draw time lines on big sheets of wall paper. The second task is done in plenary: a mind map of world trends affecting the whole group is produced. This creates confusion and mixed feelings. People can sense the complexity in which they are living. The third step is the first time that stakeholders work in their peer groups. It calls for an assessment of what they are doing now that they are proud of and sorry about, an important and powerful step that helps the other groups to understand more of each other’s motives. Next, people devise ideal future scenarios and bring them to life through role plays. Then all groups identify common ground themes--key features that appear in every scenario. The whole group confirms their common future, acknowledges differences and makes choices about how to use their energy. In the final segment, they sign up to work together on desired plans and actions.

Changing Our Assumptions “For decades it was assumed that the best way to bring a large group together was in the presence of an expert speaker or panelists who would answer peoples' questions. The belief that someone else has the knowledge we need is deep in us. So is the belief that if others tell us what to do we can do it. Future

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Future Search

search turns those assumptions upside down. Instead of speeches, we have working sessions among a wide range of parties who have information, authority to act, and a stake in the outcome, regardless of their status, skills, or attitudes. In addition, we assume that complex planning issues require value choices more than expertise and "data." We believe that people make different choices when they are in dialogue than they would make working alone or only with familiar faces. We assume people already have the skills and motivation to do more than they are doing now. What they need is opportunity. We assume that each person has a piece of reality, and that each needs access to all in order to get a more whole picture. We assume that we need go toward the mess together--the confusion and chaos--and do something about it. These are common sense assumptions that hold up well in practice.” (Weisbord and Janoff, 2000) Reference: Weisbord, M. and Janoff, S. (2000): Future Search. Berett-Koehler.

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Literature on Change Management

Introduction

Analysis

Vision

Personal Development

Open Space

Future Search

Literature

System Thinking

Creative Planning

Teamwork & Communication

Clienting

Project Cycle Management

Links

The Author

International Training Camp "Essential Consulting Skills" November 24-30,2002 in Germany

Subscribe to Our Free Newsletter and Receive New Tools Monthly

Our German Site: BeraterKompetenz

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References and Further Reading

Bateson, G.: Steps to an Ecology of Mind. Balantine Books, New York, 1972 (German Edition: Ökologie des Geistes, Suhrkamp) This famous book laid the philosophical base for what now called 'constructivism'. It is a huge collection of articles and glimpses on the idea that we create our reality by means of language and perception. Bierter, W.: Appropriate Technology: Critique and Future Perspectives. In: Schmitt et al.: Appropriate Technology in Post-Modern Times (see below) Capra, F.: The Tao of Physics. Shambala, Boston, 1975. With his book, which became a classic, Capra laid one of the foundation for constructivism. If you read it together with Bateson, you get all the main ideas that brought a paradigm shift in modern sciences (including management science). Capra, F.: The Web of Life. Harper & Colins Publishers, London, 1996. A long road since The Tao of Physics Capra summarizes history of science from Aristotle till present, specifically describing Biology, Physics, and Mathematics and linking the most recent findings to the above mentioned paradigm shift that began to influence thinking. It seems to be the book of the age of aquarius! Gaia, Heissenberg, The Santa Fé Institute, Darwin - they are all included in his synthesis. Dilts, R.B.: Changing Believe systems with NLP. Meta Publications, Capitola, 1990. With this book, Dilts gives a broad description of how our believe systems influence our behaviour - and how we can change limiting believes. Dilts, R.B.: Strategies of Genius Vol. I, II and III. Meta Publications, Capitola, 1994-

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Literature on Change Management

1995. My favourite books of Dilts. In this series, he analyses what was the intellectual and creative background that made such different persons as Aristotle, Leonardo Da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Sherlock Holmes, Wolfang Amadeus Mozart and others being a genius - and how we can apply their strategies for achieving excellence. Dilts, R.B.: Visionary Leadership Skills. Meta Publications, Capitola, 1996. A rich collection of strategies on how to become a leader. One of my essential books for change management. GFA. SWOT Analysis and strategic planning. A manual by L. Horn, F. Niemann, C. Kaut, A. Kemmler. Hamburg, 1994 Lynch, D. and Kordis, P.: Dolphin Strategies. Brain Technologies Corp., 1988. (German Edition: Delphin Strategien, PAIDA Verlag) A very different book on change management, and a huge collection of quotes and glimpses. Lynch and Kordis studied the strategies of the dolphin and transformed it to a model for excellence. Very exciting! Nauheimer, H.: Project Cycle Management (PCM). New Project Management Tools or Recycled Approaches from Yesterday? You will find this article here in the toolbook. Nauheimer, H.: Applying Chaos Theory to Planning Workshops. A New Approach to Objectives Oriented Project Planning. You will find this article here in the toolbook. Pedler, M.; Burgoyne, J. and Boydell, T.: The learning Company. A Strategy for Sustainable Development. McGraw-Hill Book Company, London, 1991. A good collection of ideas on organizational development, summarized in 101 "glimpses". Satir, V.: The New Peoplemaking. Science and Behavior Books, 1988. German Edition: Kommunikation - Selbstwert - Kongruenz. Junfermann, 1990. Virginia Satir, who died 1988, was certainly one of the greatest psychotherapists of the last 30 years. She was one of the developer of systemic family therapy. Her approach is based on multiple perspectives: "How would you see yourself with the eyes of your mother? What is the good intention of your father?" Her system of family role play is now widely applied for organizational development. "The New Peoplemaking" is her legacy, the essence of her work. Although it focuses on families, part one it is a good base for working on one's own self-respect and the second part provides tools for teambuilding. Senge, P.: The Fifth Discipline. The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. Doubleday/Currency, New York, 1990 (German Edition: Die Fünfte Disziplin, KlettCotta) Senge, P.; Kleiner, A.; Roberts, C.; Roos, R.B. and Smith, B.J.: The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook. Strategies and Tools for Building a Learning Organization. Nicholas Brailey Publishing, London, 1994. My God, what a good stuff. There are certainly no other books on organization development, which have influenced me more than those from Peter Senge. And not only me. The Fifth Discipline and the complementary Fieldbook are already the most referenced books. This toolbook is based on the categories introduced by Senge. While The Fifth Discipline gives the background, the Fieldbook puts the theory into practice. You can't do without it!

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Schmitt, K.; Nauheimer; H; Tillmann, H.J. and Grierson, J.P.: Appropriate Technology in Post-Modern Times. Report on an international workshop held in Frankfurt, 1992. Can be ordered from AT-Verband, e-mail: [email protected]. Appropriate Technology in Post-Modern Times was the focus of an international workshop carried out by GATE/GTZ in May 1992. Participants included strong grassroots representation from the South, national and international organizations involved in development assistance. The report provides ideas and concepts about the systemic aspects of international technology transfer. Waldrup, M.M.: Complexity: The Emerging Science at the Edge of Order and Chaos. New York, Simon & Schuster, 1992. German Edition: Inseln im Chaos, die Erforschung komplexer Systeme. Reinbek bei Hamburg, rororo science, 1996 One of the most fascinating books I have read recently. It describes the history of the Santa Fé Institute, which brings together scientists from various disciplines to explore the space beyond conventional science: "Why did in 1989 the hegemony of the Soviet Union in Eastern Europe break within a few months, after having lasted more than 40 years? Why did the wallstreet index fall at a singular Monday in October 1987 by more than 500 points? What really is life?"

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The Outer World: Clienting and Total Quality Management

Introduction

Analysis

Vision

Personal Development

Open Space

Future Search

Literature

System Thinking

Creative Planning

Teamwork & Communication

Clienting

Project Cycle Management

Links

The Author

International Training Camp "Essential Consulting Skills" November 24-30,2002 in Germany

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The Outer World Clienting and Total Quality Management

In 1993, a German author wrote a book with the provocative title: The only that disturbes us is the client. Isn't true for many of our organizations, particularly those which call themselves 'service provider'? Yes, the client is difficult. We strive to do our best to offer him our product, but he does not make use of it. Or not enough. We work out a nearly perfect extension strategy, and the farmers do not adopt our message. Or they do, but not in the way we expected it. We develop a wonderful energy saving cooking stove, but it does not sell. We initiate a marketing campaign for eco-products, but the people continue buying in the supermarket. At the same time, we all are customers or clients every day. And we suffer. Why does it take forty minutes to cash a traveller cheque? Why does the grocer sell mouldy grapes? Is it really necessary to remain in the telephone queue for half an hour, entertained by an electronic version of Mozart's 'Little Night Music' and the repeated announcement 'Please hold the line! Please hold the line! Please hold the line'. One of my nightmares was a flight from Madrid to Berlin. Normally it takes about three hours, but because I wanted to save some money, I flew via Paris. The first flight had a delay of one hour, and I lost my connection. In Paris, I queued up at the transit desk for one hour, just to get the information that I have to wait for another six hours until I could continiue my journey. There would have been other possibilities... Another one is even better: I had a contract for a consultancy in Ethiopia. My passport with the necessary visa was sent by courier from Bonn to Berlin. It never takes more than one day. Thought I. Two days later, the scheduled Friday of my departure, my passport was not there. The courier service had no explanation, but worse, they started the search on Friday afternoon (and interrupted it for the weekend). I received my passport on Monday, without comment...

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The Outer World: Clienting and Total Quality Management

I Thailand, I conducted workshops for improvement of animal health services. When I asked for the causes of the bad productivity of the livestock, the usual answer was: 'The farmers do no adopt our recommendations.' I insisted and continued asking (For systemic questions, you should see the exercise The Five Whys). My next question was: 'Why do the farmers not adopt the recommendations?' The reply of the officers was: 'Because they are stupid, uneducated and conservative.' Can you imagine, how the adoption rate would change, if everybody in the service would adopt an approach of asking 'What are the needs of the farmers? What would I expect, being a farmer?' The goal of this section is to introduce instruments for quality management. It is my philosophy, that finally only quality and customer orientation will survive (=effectiveness). If you manage to combine highest quality with economic thinking (=efficiency), you will win.

The Toolbook offers a series of exercises which help you to analyze and visualize the relation to your client:

Men at Work!

Benchmarking- Striving for the Better

more a glimpse or short introduction into the subject of how to improve your quality by comparing your organization with others

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The Outer World: Clienting and Total Quality Management

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Teamwork and Communication: Exploring Mental Maps

Introduction

Analysis

Vision

Personal Development

Open Space

Future Search

Literature

System Thinking

Creative Planning

Teamwork & Communication

Clienting

Project Cycle Management

Links

The Author

International Training Camp "Essential Consulting Skills" November 24-30,2002 in Germany

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Teamwork and Communication: Exploring Mental Maps
Stepping into the other's shoes
Expressed in a more popular way, we consist of an accumulation of emotional crooks, who hide their real identity, play hazardous games and call everything society. (V. Satir) We cannot not communicate. When ever two persons get in contact, they will exchange information, consciously or unconsciously, verbal or non-verbal. The tricky thing is, that in a communication process there is a transmitter and a receiver, and the meaning of a communication is not the intend of the transmitter, but the reaction it elicits at the receiver. At breakfast, a mother might ask to her adolescent son: "Where have you been yesterday night?", just having the intention to take part in the life of her grown-up. The son might understand a different message, like: "As long as you live in my house, I would like to have control of your movement." And off he goes to school, pulling a bittersour face. You think, its his problem? What's about the following? A director of an organization calls for a meeting of the entire staff. He tells them: "We have developed a vision of the future. We want to be the first company in our sector, the brightest star among all others. We wish you to come on board and share this future of light." Three quarters of the staff understand: "I want you to work harder, and those who do not comply with the new standards will be left behind." Who is right, the boss or the staff? Or is it a tricky question? The map is not the reality. This famous quote from Gregory Bateson, now equivocally used by psychologists and neuro-biologists, means that we all create our own reality in our minds according to the experience we have had, and maybe even according to our genes (nobody knows that exactly) - we form our own maps. Not a single map is more true or better than any other - like the city plan of New York is not better than the Michelin map of East Africa. But try to find the Empire State Building on the Michelin. The problem is: if people's maps do not overlap, they will have a communication problem. Have you tried to step into the shoes of your colleague, who's favorite occupation is to cause you a constant headache?

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Teamwork and Communication: Exploring Mental Maps

Teamlearning is more than a simple training of strategies for collaboration. It includes communication skills, sharing visions, acceptance of mental models and recognition of the unique contribution of the individual actors. Teamlearning facilitates future planning through continuous processing of feedback information. Key questions How can we give feedback to colleagues in a constructive way? How can we improve our communication structures? Which resources do we need as a team to increase our effectiveness? What would I see/hear/feel being in the shoes of the other? What is the good intention of her behaviour? Enriching individual maps is the key for successful cooperation and communication. Yes, communication patterns can be improved substantially, and I am offering you a set of tools that will enhance teamwork and create synergy.

Meta Mirror

This exercise helps us to understand the behaviour of others by stepping into their shoes and by separating the emotional reaction the behaviour produces. An exercise that trains you to give feed-back and critique in a pleasant and constructive way. An exercise that helps you to identify and understand the mental maps of others. A questionnaire which analyses the believes that are behind a conflict and shows alternative perspectives for conflict solving. A linguistic model of language distortions which helps us to communicate more efficiently An exercise originally developed in family therapy. Conflict solving strategies through a kind of role play. Explore the conscious and unconscious rules of your organization. Utilizing the power of diversity for team building. This exercise demonstrates alternative strategies to solve competitive situations through collaboration. It supports the strengthening of teams.

Positive Feed-Back The Wheel of Multiple Perspectives Conflict solving exercise (Belief outframing pattern) Meta Model of Communication Lining up Groups What are our rules? Working with diversity The prisoner's dilemma

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Teamwork and Communication: Exploring Mental Maps

Moments of Awareness The ladder of inference The Left-Hand Column Multiple Perspectives Projectors and Screens Skillful Discussions Fishbowl Undiscussables Look who's talking
An exercise that helps to analyze communication structures. In this exercise you improve your skills of active listening. A very dynamic exercise for analyzing communication structures. What is allowed to talk about in our organization? What is not allowed to talk about? Another tool for analyzing communication structures, by looking at the dominant and non-dominant speakers in the group. An exercise that demonstrates the effects of destructive communication patterns and the way you can deal with them productively. A tool for giving equal opportunities to all to participate in a discussion. What do we know about ourselves? What do we not know about ourselves? What do others know about ourselves? What do others not know about ourselves?

Saboteur

Matches Johari's Window

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Creative Planning

Introduction

Analysis

Vision

Personal Development

Open Space

Future Search

Literature

System Thinking

Creative Planning

Teamwork & Communication

Clienting

Project Cycle Management

Links

The Author

International Training Camp "Essential Consulting Skills" November 24-30,2002 in Germany

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Creative Planning
Broaden Your Views!
"Fantasy is more important than knowledge" (Albert Einstein)

This section deals with one of the main skills that distinguishes mankind from animals - creativity. Everything around us only exists, because once somebody had a dream, which later on was realized. We know about the creativity of our great masters, like, for example, Leonardo Da Vinci, who could perceive technical innovations, which at this time were not based on any common knowledge. 500 years later, the helicopter, which had been dreamed by Leonardo, was invented. Or look at Albert Einstein, who was sitting in his (boring) math classes, imagining himself sitting on a light beam traveling through space. This once was the birth of the general theory of relativity. If you want to know more about these creative geniuses, I recommend you the series of R. Dilts (Strategies of Genius I-III). The famous contemporary German artist Joseph Beuys often was cited with his quote: "Everybody is an artist!" In its core, it means that each of us can be creative. In fact each of us is creative in some parts of his live. One might be an artist in furnishing her house, the other in playing an instrument, the third in formatting computer documents. But we rarely consider applying this creativity to other sectors. I really believe that creativity is a congenital characteristic. Not being creative in a particular sense (e.g., in painting, or speaking to public) is not a matter of skills, but a matter of believe. Of course, we won't become a Rubinstein on the piano within 5 days. But each of us is physically and mentally able to learn an instrument. Mind you - I myself for 38 years had the profound believe that I can not draw or paint. Than I changed my believe - and you should see my dynamic sketches now. I confess, it resembles more to Beuys than to Rembrandt, but my workshop participants regularly are delighted. Below you see one of my favorites - a volleyball team as a metaphor for team spirit

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Creative Planning

Creativity can also a team process. Have you ever experienced the power of a team connected through the desire of developing a new project? This power can be stimulated through creativity techniques, which are described under this section. But this part of the toolbook goes further. It gives you the sketch of a session for project planning, which you can apply for your own projects.

The Toolbook offers a series of exercises which help you in modeling the future of your organization: Strategic Planning Workshops This is my variation of the famous ZOPP technique that was used for more than a decade in planning of German projects of technical assistance. Rather than starting with the problem analysis, I prefer to look for visions at the beginning. You need a moderator! Doing brainstorming in a different way - you will discover your creative part. A wonderful tool to plan a personal or corporate project by separating the different stages of the dreamer, the realist and the critique. Got into the stuck state with your project? This is a creative way to get a new view on your problems.

Mind Mapping

The Walt Disney Circle

Creative Solutions - Intervision with Drawings

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Creative Planning

Reframing

How can we separate what we consider the problems from the framework? Reframing means to respect the good intentions of how we are doing somthing but finding other, non-conflict ways to do it.

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Systems Thinking: You Can't Have the Butter and the Money from the Butter

Introduction

Analysis

Vision

Personal Development

Open Space

Future Search

Literature

System Thinking

Creative Planning

Teamwork & Communication

Clienting

Project Cycle Management

Links

The Author

International Training Camp "Essential Consulting Skills" November 24-30,2002 in Germany

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Systems Thinking: You Can't have the Butter and the Money from the Butter

The flapping of a single butterfly's wing today produces a tiny change in the state of the atmosphere. Over a period of time, what the atmosphere actually does diverges from what it would have done. So, in a months time, a tornado that would have devastated the Indonesian coast doesn't happen. Or maybe one that wasn't going to happen, does. (I. Stewart)

What is it? Systemic thinking means considering cause-effect relationships of decisions. What is the benefit? Systemic thinking facilitates the creation of alternative scenarios for the future. Be prepared for the unexpectable! Key questions What is the underlying cause for our problem? What are the positive aspects of doing things in an old-fashioned way? What effects do we expect from reaching our goals? How does the anticipation of effects influence the status quo? What question would I like to ask an oracle?

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Systems Thinking: You Can't Have the Butter and the Money from the Butter

This section deals with complexity. Although our brain certainly is on of the most complex devices ever invented by God, human beings strive to simplify their perception of the world - we create our individual mental maps. In fact, without simplistic models that help us navigating through the world, we would be lost, and in most cases our models do work. Generally, it is not necessary to know how microchips and hard-disks work to use a computer. Even we don't need to know all features of a complex text processing programme to write and print a letter. But many of us know the Friday afternoon horror: we have to have some work done over the weekend, and our desk-top breaks down exactly a 6 p.m., leaving us lonely with a blank screen and the message. <UNKNOWN FILE OR COMMAND, please press F1 for help> Of course, if it works at all, only it tells us all the things we already know. In this situation, our model is clearly limited. The complexity of the world and of social and technological systems is increasing at indescribable speed. For an example, a person who utilizes an electrical device like a drill "does this not in the way one uses a simple tool like a hammer, which one can either hold in the hand or put aside" (W. Bierter, 1992). Rather, he is connected to a worldwide system of electricity production and supply. Maybe the best current model of complexity is the medium you just tuned in, the Internet, which developed structures by itself. If you want to know more about complexity, search the internet for the key word "chaos". Since 1984, researchers at the Santa Fé Institute try to find common principles of chaos and order, which can be applied to economical, biological and social systems. (Waldrup, M.M., 1992: Complexity: The Emerging Science at the Edge of Order and Chaos). Most projects of Technical or Financial Assistance have reached a level of complexity which hardly can be understood or managed by traditional means. This becomes particularly evident in so-called integrated rural development projects. These are programmes that tend to influence the entire social and economic setting of the project region. They often concentrate on increasing productivity of agriculture, and by the same time provide inputs to create off-farm employment generation, improve health and social systems, education, environment, women's groups, etc. They try to consider every aspect of the rural life. But they are hardly prepared for the systemic effects of external and internal influences. To invent a few examples: Eventually, the world price of the main agricultural commodity (let's say wheat) of a project region drops by 40%. Cheap wheat is imported. Then, production becomes uneconomic for small-scale farmers. Then, farmers sell their land. Then, size of land holdings increase. Then, because of the effects of production of scale, local medium and large-scale farmers produce wheat a lower price. This increases the pressure on small-scale farmers.

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Systems Thinking: You Can't Have the Butter and the Money from the Butter

An other example that deals with a private manufacturing company has been described by M. Goodman and R. Karash in P. Senge's The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: The General Manager of a Manufacturing division faces a series of budget crises. She is told to shrink her facility, to make it run "lean and mean". So she reluctantly decides to reduce her staff, sacks some employees, reduces also maintenance and cuts back marketing activities. her costs go down for a while, but than rise again. So she continues to cut down everything. The reduction of marketing activities has a depressing impact on her market share, the reduced maintenance leads to equipment failure (and increasing costs), and the motivation of staff declines. Eventually, everything collapses.

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Systems Thinking: You Can't Have the Butter and the Money from the Butter

The success of a project or an organization is influenced by a magnitude of factors. In each case, it is possible to identify at least a dozen of such factors, but there are many others of subordinate and partially not identifiable variables, which influence each other. All processes of a system (like an organization, group, project, society, etc.) are principally dynamic and can only be influenced in a systemic context. It is not possible to foresee all effects and relations between the factors. For example, 12 variables result in 66 linear and 220 triangular relations. To elaborate a planning base that facilitates sustainable growth the most important factors must be identified and arranged in a context that considers systemic effects. In such a complex environment, linear planning tools loose their effectiveness.

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Systems Thinking: You Can't Have the Butter and the Money from the Butter

Of course, it is quite possible that we could fully account for the properties of each whole if we could know the characteristics of all the parts and know in addition all existing relationships among them. The we could reduce the characteristics of all the parts and know in addition all existing relationships among them. Then we could reduce the characteristics of the whole to the sum of the characteristics of the parts in interaction. But this involves integrating the data not merely for three bodies, but for three thousands, three million, three billion, or more, depending on the whole we are considering. And since science cannot perform this feat even for a set of three parts, it is quite hopeless to think it can do it for any of the more complex phenomena it comes across in nature, man, and society. Hence, to all practical purposes, the characteristics of complex wholes remain irreducible to the characteristics of the parts. (E. Lazlo)

In the eighties, planning tools for projects were introduced that tried to structure the complexity through a series of consecutive steps of linear analysis. In Germany, it was called ZOPP (Zielorientierte Projektplanung - Objectives Oriented Project Planning). A variation of this method is now widely used under the name PCM (Project Cycle Management) and widely applied in the projects of European Union. For more explanations on PCM, see the articles: Project Cycle Management, and: Applying Chaos Theory to Planning Workshops. In the section about system thinking, you will find some tools to analyze systemic cause-effect relationships and to identify the lever that has the greatest impact on the system.

Thought Viruses The Five Why's S.C.O.R.E.

This is a tool for identifying solutions that are out of our 'normal' map of reality A tool that helps to identfy systemic causes of a problem. A tool for systemic cause-effect analysis. It helps to find resources for the tranformation from problem to desired state. Senario design is one of the main areas of practice of systems thinking. In this exercise, a questionnaire helps you to find alternative options for the future.

Creating Scenarios

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http://home.snafu.de/h.nauheimer/links.html

Introduction

Analysis

Vision

Personal Development

Open Space

Future Search

Literature

System Thinking

Creative Planning

Teamwork & Communication

Clienting

Project Cycle Management

Links

The Author

International Training Camp "Essential Consulting Skills" November 24-30,2002 in Germany

Subscribe to Our Free Newsletter and Receive New Tools Monthly

Our German Site: BeraterKompetenz

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Links
These are a few links that add insight to my subject.

Links on Sustainable Development

http://www.sustainable.doe.gov The Center of Excellence for Sustainable Development helps communities design and implement innovative strategies that enhance the local economy as well as the local environment and quality of life. CESD was created by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. It includes a collection of articles on the subject, a toolkit for sustainable development, public and private sources of technical and financial assistance, information about the public participation processes other communities have found work best in planning and implementing sustainable development, and other useful links.

http://iisd.ca/didigest/ Development Ideas Digest: An online magazine on sustainable development. Over recent years it has become fashionable to think of sustainable development as having three fundamental dimensions – social, ecological and economic. Increasingly, however, there is talk of a fourth dimension – ethics, or moral principles or code – to ensure that the concerns of the

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ethicist are considered alongside those of the economist, ecologist and sociologist. Instead of a separate fourth category, however, it may be best to view ethics as an issue which cuts across all aspects of SD. Without strong values, development is almost bound to be rudderless and, ultimately, unsustainable.

http://www.bellanet.org/ International development strategies have considerable impact on how countries interact with one another. With resources constrained and increasing global complexity, the challenge is to increase the impact and relevance of development activities. While resource constraints push some towards more competitive behaviour, others believe that increasing collaboration among development actors is essential for increasing effectiveness and reducing duplication of efforts. As a response, development assistance agencies created the Bellanet Initiative to work with the development community to use information and communication technologies (ICTs) more effectively to broaden collaboration, increase participation and transparency of action and facilitate the diffusion of lessons learned.

http://www.oneworld.org/thinktank/index.html Research, debate, policy and practice: the Think Tank is a library of the governmental, professional and academic material on OneWorld. It is also a forum for debate - with potential colleagues from over 100 countries.

http://obelix.polito.it/forum/welcome.htm Forum: Habitat in Developing Countries is an internet resource aimed at providing information to researchers and professionals working for the improvement of the built environment in developing countries, and at facilitating communications among them. The Forum is a research project of the Library Territorio Ambiente (specialized in planning in developing countries) of the Faculty of Architecture of the Politecnico di Torino, Italy in partnership with the School of Specialization "Technology , Architecture and Town in Developing Countries". The main concern of the Forum: Habitat in Developing Countries is to use the internet to ease and improve communication amongst researchers and practitioners from all over the world (especially architects and planners) engaged in innovative approaches to research, planning, development and capacity building projects in developing countries. This section presents a number of projects and sites run by the Forum to achieve this goal: international networks of researchers as well as the site of the Maison de l'Habitat (UNCHS Europe Office).

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The Forum has a rich virtual library on habitat issues in developing countries - a collection of more than 500 links. It is divided into five sections: know-how (architecture, housing, planning, building technology, environment, emergencies and refugees, credit, special interest groups, participation, etc.), organizations, sources of information on development, regional references, reseearch and training institutions.

Some Interesting Links on Organizational Learning: Change Management 101 - A Primer Fred Nickols maintains a resourceful website on change management, including for example on consulting, knowledge management, communities of practice etc. If you like the Change Management Toolbook, you will like his site, too! http://www.nlpu.com This is the homepage of my teacher Robert Dilts who has a lot to say to the concept of Learning Organizations.

http://www.edison.albany.edu/~klarsen/learnorg/ A good summary of the ideas of Peter Senge, under the motto: ”Contemplate to see that awakened people, while not being enslaved by the work of serving living beings, never abandon their work of serving living beings.” (Thich Nhat Hanh, The Miracle of Mindfulness! 1976)

http://www.rtis.com/nat/user/jfullerton/review/learning.htm A review of Peter Senge's Book "The Fifth Discipline"

http://learning.mit.edu The homepage of The Society for Organizational Learning at the Massachusets Institute of Technology (where Peter Senge is teaching), with an interesting forum on Organizational Development, called "Ideas Exchange". Change Management Software Change Management Software offers a complete software solution designed to help your company

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efficiency manage change while improving overall project management and increasing developer productivity.

OD Resources and Links The objective of this web site is to help you by providing access to information and knowledge related to organization development and learning. This page has been created and maintained by Hamdi Youssef, a SSU Alumni,-OD 2001. Very comprehensive listing. http://www.eos.at/: Verein zur Förderung der Organisationsentwicklung im Bildungswesen: An Austrian non-profit organization for organizational change in education. http://www.ipma.co.uk: The International Professional Managers Association (IPMA) is an International Professional body formed for the purpose of providing practicing managers with the opportunity to participate and to be part of the process of improving managerial performance and effectiveness in all areas of business and industrial activity. http://www.tcm.com/trdev/changemanagement.htm: A useful resource list on Change Management http://web.nmsu.edu/~dboje/TDgameboard.html: Transorganizational Development Network Gameboard David Boje develops a fascinating meta model how organizational change theories develop from the Guru to the practitioner – kind of change management monopoly. Links to Learning Organization Work (e.g. Peter Senge and Edgar Schein) and to the Knowledge Organization, Knowledge Work. Here the focus is on the work that is transorganizational. The section is divided into beginner, intermediate, and advanced level theory on the relation of narrative and stakeholder theory as it applies to learning organization http://www.cciw.com/content/chaos.html: A nice commented link list on chaos theory. http://organizations.haifa.ac.il/: The Center for the Study of Organizations & Human Resource Management. The Center's focus is the study of the human behavior in modern organizations. By addressing the organizational and managerial environment in its entirety, recognition is given to the increasing importance of the behavioral field in the discipline of management... ns a http://www.managementhelp.org/: Free Management Library. Complete, highly integrated library for nonprofits and for-profits http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leader.html: Big Dog's Leadership Page

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This leadership guide is for new supervisors, managers, leads, and anyone wishing to move up through the ranks as a leader. The first chapter, Concepts of Leadership, provides a basic background on leadership. The following chapters provide the skills and knowledge needed to implement effective leadership. The appendixes contain a basic lesson plan for implementing a leadership development program with several learning activities, definitions, quotes, references, and other tools. http://www.michaelmpannwitz.de/: (in German): Michael is one of the fathers of Open Space in Germany. He has a long experience in English speaking countries. http://www.madhukarshukla.com/: Madhukar Shukla's Homepage Madhukar is one of the most distinguished Change practitioners in India. His Website has plenty of material and links regarding Organizational and Personal Change. http://www.workteams.unt.edu/: The Center for the Study of Work Teams The Center is based at the University of North Texas and was created for the purpose of education and research in all areas of collaborative work systems. Over the past decade, the Center has grown from an organization run by students to one with a permanent staff of eight. Faculty and students in the Industrial Organizational Psychology Program, as well as other degreed programs at UNT, are frequently involved in projects at the Center. Good and comprehensive link list. Changemakers.net: Web guide to the rapidly growing profession of social entrepreneurship. Changemakers.net provides resources, inspiring ideas and opportunities for social entrepreneurs and those interested in learning more about innovative social change. The library of this site is the most comprehensive and best edited I have seen so far.

http://nrm.massey.ac.nz/changelinks/: nrm-changelinks.net links for developing change in Natural Resource Management - an on-line resource guide for those seeking to improve the use of collaborative and learning-based approaches. I like the detailed comment on the online resources. Vernetzt Denken: Software tools for systemic thinking, balanced scorecard and scenario writing. Website is in German only.

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Change Management 101: A Primer

Change Management 101
A Primer
© Fred Nickols 2000

Purpose and Audience
The purpose of this paper is to provide a broad overview of the concept of “change management.” It was written primarily for people who are coming to grips with change management problems for the first time and for more experienced people who wish to reflect upon their experience in a structured way.

Three Basic Definitions
In thinking about what is meant by “change management,” at least three basic definitions come to mind: 1. The task of managing change 2. An area of professional practice 3. A body of knowledge

The Task of Managing Change
The first and most obvious definition of “change management” is that the term refers to the task of managing change. The obvious is not necessarily unambiguous. Managing change is itself a term that has at least two meanings.

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One meaning of managing change refers to the making of changes in a planned and managed or systematic fashion. The aim is to more effectively implement new methods and systems in an ongoing organization. The changes to be managed lie within and are controlled by the organization. However, these internal changes might have been triggered by events originating outside the organization, in what is usually termed “the environment.” Hence, the second meaning of managing change, namely, the response to changes over which the organization exercises little or no control (e.g., legislation, social and political upheaval, the actions of competitors, shifting economic tides and currents, and so on). Researchers and practitioners alike typically distinguish between a knee-jerk or reactive response and an anticipative or proactive response.

An Area of Professional Practice
The second definition of change management is "an area of professional practice." There are dozens, if not hundreds, of independent consultants who will quickly and proudly acknowledge that they are engaged in planned change, that they are change agents, that they manage change for their clients, and that their practices are change management practices. There are numerous small consulting firms whose principals would acknowledge these same statements about their firms. And most of the major management consulting firms claim to have a change management practice area. Some of these change management experts claim to help clients manage the changes they face, the changes happening to them. Others claim to help clients make changes. Still others offer to help by taking on the task of managing changes that must be made. In almost all cases, the process of change is treated separately from the

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specifics of the situation. It is the task of managing this general process of change that is laid claim to by professional change agents.

A Body of Knowledge
Stemming from the view of change management as an area of professional practice there arises yet a third definition of change management: the content or subject matter of change management. This consists chiefly of the models, methods and techniques, tools, skills, and other forms of knowledge that go into making up any practice. The content or subject matter of change management is drawn from psychology, sociology, business administration, economics, industrial engineering, systems engineering, and the study of human and organizational behavior. For many practitioners, these component bodies of knowledge are linked and integrated by a set of concepts and principles known as General Systems Theory (GST). It is not clear whether this area of professional practice should be termed a profession, a discipline, an art, a set of techniques, or a technology. For now, suffice it to say that there is a large, reasonably cohesive albeit somewhat eclectic body of knowledge underlying the practice and on which most practitioners would agree — even if their application of it does exhibit a high degree of variance. To recapitulate, there are at least three basic definitions of change management: 1. The task of managing change (from a reactive or a proactive posture) 2. An area of professional practice (with considerable variation among practitioners) 3. A body of knowledge (consisting of models, methods, techniques, and other tools)

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The Change Process as Problem Solving and Problem Finding
A very useful framework for thinking about the change process is problem solving. Managing change is seen as a matter of moving from one state to another, specifically, from the problem state to the solved state. Diagnosis or problem analysis is generally acknowledged as essential. Goals are set and achieved at various levels and in various areas or functions. Ends and means are discussed and related to one another. Careful planning is accompanied by efforts to obtain buy-in, support, and commitment. The net effect is a transition from one state to another, in a planned, orderly fashion. This is the planned change model. The word “problem” carries with it connotations that some people prefer to avoid. They choose instead to use the word “opportunity.” For such people, a problem is seen as a bad situation, one that shouldn’t have been allowed to happen in the first place, and for which someone is likely to be punished — if the guilty party (or a suitable scapegoat) can be identified. For the purposes of this paper, we will set aside any cultural or personal preferences regarding the use of “problem” or “opportunity.” From a rational, analytical perspective, a problem is nothing more than a situation requiring action but in which the required action is not known. Hence, there is a requirement to search for a solution, a course of action that will lead to the solved state. This search activity is known as “problem solving.” From the preceding, it follows that “problem finding” is the search for situations requiring action. Whether we choose to call these situations “problems” (because they are troublesome or spell bad news), or whether we choose to call them “opportunities” (either for reasons of political sensitivity or because the time is ripe to exploit a situation) is immaterial. In both cases, the practical matter is one of

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identifying and settling on a course of action that will bring about some desired and predetermined change in the situation.

The Change Problem
At the heart of change management lies the change problem, that is, some future state to be realized, some current state to be left behind, and some structured, organized process for getting from the one to the other. The change problem might be large or small in scope and scale, and it might focus on individuals or groups, on one or more divisions or departments, the entire organization, or one or on more aspects of the organization’s environment. At a conceptual level, the change problem is a matter of moving from one state (A) to another state (A’). Moving from A to A’ is typically accomplished as a result of setting up and achieving three types of goals: transform, reduce, and apply. Transform goals are concerned with identifying differences between the two states. Reduce goals are concerned with determining ways of eliminating these differences. Apply goals are concerned with putting into play operators that actually effect the elimination of these differences (see Newell & Simon). As the preceding goal types suggest, the analysis of a change problem will at various times focus on defining the outcomes of the change effort, on identifying the changes necessary to produce these outcomes, and on finding and implementing ways and means of making the required changes. In simpler terms, the change problem can be treated as smaller problems having to do with the how, what, and why of change.

Change as a “How” Problem

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The change problem is often expressed, at least initially, in the form of a “how” question. How do we get people to be more open, to assume more responsibility, to be more creative? How do we introduce self-managed teams in Department W? How do we change over from System X to System Y in Division Z? How do we move from a mainframe-centered computing environment to one that accommodates and integrates PCs? How do we get this organization to be more innovative, competitive, or productive? How do we raise more effective barriers to market entry by our competitors? How might we more tightly bind our suppliers to us? How do we reduce cycle times? In short, the initial formulation of a change problem is means-centered, with the goal state more or less implied. There is a reason why the initial statement of a problem is so often means-centered and we will touch on it later. For now, let’s examine the other two ways in which the problem might be formulated — as “what” or as “why” questions.

Change as a “What” Problem
As was pointed out in the preceding section, to frame the change effort in the form of “how” questions is to focus the effort on means. Diagnosis is assumed or not performed at all. Consequently, the ends sought are not discussed. This might or might not be problematic. To focus on ends requires the posing of “what” questions. What are we trying to accomplish? What changes are necessary? What indicators will signal success? What standards apply? What measures of performance are we trying to affect?

Change as a “Why” Problem
Ends and means are relative notions, not absolutes; that is, something is an end or a means only in relation to

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something else. Thus, chains and networks of ends-means relationships often have to be traced out before one finds the “true” ends of a change effort. In this regard, “why” questions prove extremely useful. Consider the following hypothetical dialogue with yourself as an illustration of tracing out ends-means relationships. 1. Why do people need to be more creative? 2. I’ll tell you why! Because we have to change the way we do things and we need ideas about how to do that. 3. Why do we have to change the way we do things? 4. Because they cost too much and take too long. 5. Why do they cost too much? 6. Because we pay higher wages than any of our competitors. 7. Why do we pay higher wages than our competitors? 8. Because our productivity used to be higher, too, but now it’s not. 9. Eureka! The true aim is to improve productivity! 10. No it isn’t; keep going. 11. Why does productivity need to be improved? 12. To increase profits. 13. Why do profits need to be increased? 14. To improve earnings per share. 15. Why do earnings per share need to be improved? 16. To attract additional capital. 17. Why is additional capital needed? 18. We need to fund research aimed at developing the next generation of products. 19. Why do we need a new generation of products? 20. Because our competitors are rolling them out faster than we are and gobbling up market share. 21. Oh, so that’s why we need to reduce cycle times. 22. Hmm. Why do things take so long? To ask “why” questions is to get at the ultimate purposes of

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functions and to open the door to finding new and better ways of performing them. Why do we do what we do? Why do we do it the way we do it? Asking “why” questions also gets at the ultimate purposes of people, but that’s a different matter altogether, a “political” matter, and one we’ll not go into in this paper.

The Approach to Change Management Mirrors Management's Mindset
The emphasis placed on the three types of questions just mentioned reflects the management mindset, that is, the tendency to think along certain lines depending on where one is situated in the organization. A person’s placement in the organization typically defines the scope and scale of the kinds of changes with which he or she will become involved, and the nature of the changes with which he or she will be concerned. Thus, the systems people tend to be concerned with technology and technological developments, the marketing people with customer needs and competitive activity, the legal people with legislative and other regulatory actions, and so on. Also, the higher up a person is in the hierarchy, the longer the time perspective and the wider-ranging the issues with which he or she must be concerned. For the most part, changes and the change problems they present are problems of adaptation, that is, they require of the organization only that it adjust to an ever-changing set of circumstances. But, either as a result of continued, cumulative compounding of adaptive maneuvers that were nothing more than band-aids, or as the result of sudden changes so significant as to call for a redefinition of the organization, there are times when the changes that must be made are deep and far-reaching. At such times, the design of the organization itself is called into question.

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Organizations frequently survive the people who establish them. AT&T and IBM are two ready examples. At some point it becomes the case that such organizations have been designed by one group of people but are being operated or run by another. (It has been said of the United States Navy, for instance, that “It was designed by geniuses to be run by idiots.”) Successful organizations resolve early on the issue of structure, that is, the definition, placement and coordination of functions and people. Other people then have to live with this design and these other people are chiefly concerned with means. Some organizations are designed to buffer their core operations from turbulence in the environment. In such organizations all units fit into one of three categories: core, buffer, and perimeter. In core units (e.g., systems and operations), coordination is achieved through standardization, that is, adherence to routine. In buffer units (e.g., upper management and staff or support functions), coordination is achieved through planning. In perimeter units (e.g., sales, marketing, and customer service), coordination is achieved through mutual adjustment (see Thompson). People in core units, buffered as they are from environmental turbulence and with a history of relying on adherence to standardized procedures, typically focus on “how” questions. People in buffer units, responsible for performance through planning, often ask “what” questions. People in the perimeter units are as accountable for performance as anyone else and frequently for performance of a financial nature. They can be heard asking “what” and “how” questions. “Why” questions are generally asked by people with no direct responsibility for day-to-day operations or results. The group most able to take this longterm or strategic view is that cadre of senior executives responsible for the continued well-being of the firm: top management. If the design of the firm is to be called into question or, more significantly, if it is actually to be altered, these are the people who must make the decision to do so.

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Finally, when organizational redefinition and redesign prove necessary, all people in all units must concern themselves with all three sets of questions or the changes made will not stand the test of time. To summarize: · Problems may be formulated in terms of “how,” “what” and “why” questions. · Which formulation is used depends on where in the organization the person posing the question or formulating the problem is situated, and where the organization is situated in its own life cycle. 1. “How” questions tend to cluster in core units. 2. “What” questions tend to cluster in buffer units. 3. People in perimeter units tend to ask “what” and “how” questions. 4. “Why” questions are typically the responsibility of top management. 5. In turbulent times, everyone must be concerned with everything.

Content and Process
Organizations are highly specialized systems and there are many different schemes for grouping and classifying them. Some are said to be in the retail business, others are in manufacturing, and still others confine their activities to distribution. Some are profit-oriented and some are not for profit. Some are in the public sector and some are in the private sector. Some are members of the financial services industry, which encompasses banking, insurance, and brokerage houses. Others belong to the automobile industry, where they can be classified as original equipment manufacturers (OEM) or after-market providers. Some belong to the health care industry, as providers, as insureds, or as insurers. Many are regulated, some are not. Some face stiff competition, some do not. Some are foreign-owned and some are foreign-based. Some are corporations, some are

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partnerships, and some are sole proprietorships. Some are publicly held and some are privately held. Some have been around a long time and some are newcomers. Some have been built up over the years while others have been pieced together through mergers and acquisitions. No two are exactly alike. The preceding paragraph points out that the problems found in organizations, especially the change problems, have both a content and a process dimension. It is one thing, for instance, to introduce a new claims processing system in a functionally organized health insurer. It is quite another to introduce a similar system in a health insurer that is organized along product lines and market segments. It is yet a different thing altogether to introduce a system of equal size and significance in an educational establishment that relies on a matrix structure. The languages spoken differ. The values differ. The cultures differ. And, at a detailed level, the problems differ. However, the overall processes of change and change management remain pretty much the same, and it is this fundamental similarity of the change processes across organizations, industries, and structures that makes change management a task, a process, and a practice.

The Change Process as “Unfreezing, Changing and Refreezing”
The process of change has been characterized as having three basic stages: unfreezing, changing, and re-freezing. This view draws heavily on Kurt Lewin’s adoption of the systems concept of homeostasis or dynamic stability. What is useful about this framework is that it gives rise to thinking about a staged approach to changing things. Looking before you leap is usually sound practice.

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What is not useful about this framework is that it does not allow for change efforts that begin with the organization in extremis (i.e., already “unfrozen”), nor does it allow for organizations faced with the prospect of having to “hang loose” for extended periods of time (i.e., staying “unfrozen”). In other words, the beginning and ending point of the unfreeze-change-refreeze model is stability — which, for some people and some organizations, is a luxury. For others, internal stability spells disaster. Even the fastest of hares, if standing still, can be overtaken by a tortoise on the move.

Change Management: The Skill Requirements
Managing the kinds of changes encountered by and instituted within organizations requires an unusually broad and finely-honed set of skills, chief among which are the following.
q

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Political Skills. Organizations are first and foremost social systems. Without people there can be no organization. Lose sight of this fact and any wouldbe change agent will likely lose his or her head. Organizations are hotly and intensely political. And, as one wag pointed out, the lower the stakes, the more intense the politics. Change agents dare not join in this game but they had better understand it. This is one area where you must make your own judgments and keep your own counsel; no one can do it for you. Analytical Skills. Make no mistake about it, those who would be change agents had better be very good at something, and that something better be analysis. Guessing won’t do. Insight is nice, even useful, and

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sometimes shines with brilliance, but it is darned difficult to sell and almost impossible to defend. A lucid, rational, well-argued analysis can be ignored and even suppressed, but not successfully contested and, in most cases, will carry the day. If not, then the political issues haven’t been adequately addressed. Two particular sets of skills are very important here: workflow operations or systems analysis, and financial analysis. Change agents must learn to take apart and reassemble operations and systems in novel ways, and then determine the financial and political impacts of what they have done. Conversely, they must be able to start with some financial measure or indicator or goal, and make their way quickly to those operations and systems that, if reconfigured a certain way, would have the desired financial impact. Those who master these two techniques have learned a trade that will be in demand for the foreseeable future. (This trade, by the way, has a name. It is called “Solution Engineering.”)
q

People Skills. As stated earlier, people are the sine qua non of organization. Moreover, they come characterized by all manner of sizes, shapes, colors, intelligence and ability levels, gender, sexual preferences, national origins, first and second languages, religious beliefs, attitudes toward life and work, personalities, and priorities — and these are just a few of the dimensions along which people vary. We have to deal with them all. The skills most needed in this area are those that typically fall under the heading of communication or interpersonal skills. To be

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effective, we must be able to listen and listen actively, to restate, to reflect, to clarify without interrogating, to draw out the speaker, to lead or channel a discussion, to plant ideas, and to develop them. All these and more are needed. Not all of us will have to learn Russian, French, or Spanish, but most of us will have to learn to speak Systems, Marketing, Manufacturing, Finance, Personnel, Legal, and a host of other organizational dialects. More important, we have to learn to see things through the eyes of these other inhabitants of the organizational world. A situation viewed from a marketing frame of reference is an entirely different situation when seen through the eyes of a systems person. Part of the job of a change agent is to reconcile and resolve the conflict between and among disparate (and sometimes desperate) points of view. Charm is great if you have it. Courtesy is even better. A wellpaid compliment can buy gratitude. A sincere “Thank you” can earn respect.
q

System Skills. There’s much more to this than learning about computers, although most people employed in today’s world of work do need to learn about computer-based information systems. For now, let’s just say that a system is an arrangement of resources and routines intended to produce specified results. To organize is to arrange. A system reflects organization and, by the same token, an organization is a system. A word processing operator and the word processing equipment operated form a system. So do computers and the larger, information processing systems in which

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computers are so often embedded. These are generally known as “hard” systems. There are “soft” systems as well: compensation systems, appraisal systems, promotion systems, and reward and incentive systems. There are two sets of systems skills to be mastered. The first is the set most people associate with computers and it is exemplified by “systems analysis.” This set of skills, by the way, actually predates the computer and is known elsewhere (particularly in the United States Air Force and the aerospace industry) as “systems engineering.” For the most part, the kind of system with which this skill set concerns itself is a “closed” system which, for now, we can say is simply a mechanistic or contrived system with no purpose of its own and incapable of altering its own structure. In other words, it cannot learn and it cannot change of its own volition. The second set of system skills is the set associated with a body of knowledge generally referred to as General Systems Theory (GST). This set deals with people, organizations, industries, economies, and even nations as socio-technical systems — as “open,” purposive systems, carrying out transactions with other systems and bent on survival, continuance, prosperity, dominance, plus a host of other goals and objectives.
q

Business Skills. Simply put, you’d better understand how a business works. In particular, you’d better understand how the business in which and on which you’re working works. This entails an understanding of money — where it comes from, where it goes, how to get it, and how to keep it. It also calls into

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play knowledge of markets and marketing, products and product development, customers, sales, selling, buying, hiring, firing, EEO, AAP, and just about anything else you might think of.

Change Management: Four Basic Strategies
(see the Bennis, Benne and Chin reference)

Strategy

Description
People are rational and will follow their selfinterest — once it is revealed to them. Change is based on the communication of information and the proffering of incentives.

RationalEmpirical

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NormativeReeducative

People are social beings and will adhere to cultural norms and values. Change is based on redefining and reinterpreting existing norms and values, and developing commitments to new ones. People are basically compliant and will generally do what they are told or can be made to do. Change is based on the exercise of authority and the imposition of sanctions.

Power-Coercive

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EnvironmentalAdaptive

People oppose loss and disruption but they adapt readily to new circumstances. Change is based on building a new organization and gradually transferring people from the old one to the new one.

Note: The fourth and last strategy above is not one of those presented by Bennis, Benne and Chin. It is instead the product of the author’s own experiences during some 30 years of making and adapting to changes in, to, and on behalf of organizations. An excellent example of this strategy in action, albeit on an accelerated basis, is provided by the way in which Rupert Murdoch handled the printers of Fleet Street. He quietly set about building an entirely new operation in Wapping, some distance away. When it was ready to be occupied and made operational, he informed the employees in the old operation that he had some bad news and some good news. The bad news was that the existing operation was being shut down. Everyone was being fired. The good news was that the new operation had jobs for all of them—but on very different terms That there are also elements of the rational-empirical and power-coercive strategies at play here serves to make the point that successful change efforts inevitably involve some mix of these basic change strategies, a point that is

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elaborated on below.

Factors in Selecting A Change Strategy
Generally speaking, there is no single change strategy. You can adopt a general or what is called a "grand strategy" but, for any given initiative, you are best served by some mix of strategies. Which of the preceding strategies to use in your mix of strategies is a decision affected by a number of factors. Some of the more important ones follow. 1. Degree of Resistance. Strong resistance argues for a coupling of power-coercive and environmentaladaptive strategies. Weak resistance or concurrence argues for a combination of rational-empirical and normative-reeducative strategies. 2. Target Population. Large populations argue for a mix of all four strategies, something for everyone so to speak. 3. The Stakes. High stakes argue for a mix of all four strategies. When the stakes are high, nothing can be left to chance. 4. The Time Frame. Short time frames argue for a power-coercive strategy. Longer time frames argue for a mix of rational-empirical, normativereeducative, and environmental-adaptive strategies. 5. Expertise. Having available adequate expertise at making change argues for some mix of the strategies outlined above. Not having it available argues for reliance on the power-coercive strategy. 6. Dependency. This is a classic double-edged sword. If the organization is dependent on its people, management's ability to command or demand is limited. Conversely, if people are dependent upon the organization, their ability to oppose or resist is limited. (Mutual dependency almost always signals

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a requirement for some level of negotiation.)

One More Time: How do you manage change?
The honest answer is that you manage it pretty much the same way you’d manage anything else of a turbulent, messy, chaotic nature, that is, you don’t really manage it, you grapple with it. It’s more a matter of leadership ability than management skill. 1. The first thing to do is jump in. You can’t do anything about it from the outside. 2. A clear sense of mission or purpose is essential. The simpler the mission statement the better. “Kick ass in the marketplace” is a whole lot more meaningful than “Respond to market needs with a range of products and services that have been carefully designed and developed to compare so favorably in our customers’ eyes with the products and services offered by our competitors that the majority of buying decisions will be made in our favor.” 3. Build a team. “Lone wolves” have their uses, but managing change isn’t one of them. On the other hand, the right kind of lone wolf makes an excellent temporary team leader. 4. Maintain a flat organizational team structure and rely on minimal and informal reporting requirements. 5. Pick people with relevant skills and high energy levels. You’ll need both. 6. Toss out the rule book. Change, by definition, calls for a configured response, not adherence to prefigured routines. 7. Shift to an action-feedback model. Plan and act in short intervals. Do your analysis on the fly. No lengthy up-front studies, please. Remember the hare

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8.

9.

10.

11. 12.

13.

14.

and the tortoise. Set flexible priorities. You must have the ability to drop what you’re doing and tend to something more important. Treat everything as a temporary measure. Don’t “lock in” until the last minute, and then insist on the right to change your mind. Ask for volunteers. You’ll be surprised at who shows up. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by what they can do. Find a good “straw boss” or team leader and stay out of his or her way. Give the team members whatever they ask for — except authority. They’ll generally ask only for what they really need in the way of resources. If they start asking for authority, that’s a signal they’re headed toward some kind of power-based confrontation and that spells trouble. Nip it in the bud! Concentrate dispersed knowledge. Start and maintain an issues logbook. Let anyone go anywhere and talk to anyone about anything. Keep the communications barriers low, widely spaced, and easily hurdled. Initially, if things look chaotic, relax — they are. Remember, the task of change management is to bring order to a messy situation, not pretend that it’s already well-organized and disciplined.

Selected Sources
1. The Planning of Change (2nd Edition). Warren G. Bennis, Kenneth D. Benne, and Robert Chin (Eds). Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York: 1969. 2. Human Problem Solving. Allen Newell and Herbert A. Simon. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs: 1972. 3. Organizations in Action. James D. Thompson. McGraw-Hill, New York: 1967.

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Change Management 101: A Primer

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Fred Nickols may be reached by phone at (740) 397-2363 and by e-mail at [email protected].

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http://www.rtis.com/nat/user/jfullerton/review/learning.htm

Review of The Fifth Discipline
Go to start of home page or Go to list of reviews | Start | Introduction | Five Disciplines | Additional Topics | System Dream | My Contribution | Explanatory Notes | Resource List | The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization Peter Senge, 1990 - 1st edition, 1994 - paperback edition, xxiii, 413 p., ISBN 0385-26095-4 "The Fifth Discipline was originally published in hardcover by Currency Doubleday, a division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc." Generally, emphasized passages are direct quotations from The Fifth Discipline.

The Fifth Discipline and "learning organizations"
| Start | Introduction | Five Disciplines | Additional Topics | System Dream | My Contribution | Explanatory Notes | Resource List | The Fifth Discipline brings word of "learning organizations," organizations where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly

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desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning how to learn together. Five disciplines are described as the means of building learning organizations. Case studies are provided to show how the disciplines have worked in particular companies. The need for learning organizations is due to business becoming more complex, dynamic, and globally competitive. Excelling in a dynamic business environment requires more understanding, knowledge, preparation, and agreement than one person's expertise and experience provides. David Garvin of Harvard University says that "Continuous improvement requires a commitment to learning." Reference. The five disciplines are systems thinking, personal mastery, mental models, shared vision and team learning. The first three disciplines have particular application for the individual participant, and the last two have group application. The author writes of the disciplines that these might just as well be called the leadership disciplines as the learning disciplines. Those who excel in these areas will be the natural leaders of learning organizations. Systems thinking has the distinction of being the "fifth discipline" since it serves to make the results of the other disciplines work together for business benefit. The Fifth Discipline as a book consists of five parts - business setting that calls for change, systems thinking, four other disciplines, case studies, and final thoughts about future disciplines and the possible effect of learning organizations. In an additional section the systems thinking archetypes are explained.

The Five Disciplines
| Start | Introduction | Five Disciplines | Additional Topics | System Dream | My Contribution | Explanatory Notes | Resource List | What fundamentally will distinguish learning organizations from traditional authoritarian "controlling organizations" will be the mastery of certain basic disciplines. That is why the "disciplines of the learning organization" are vital.

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Individual disciplines
Systems Thinking | Systems Thinking , | Personal Mastery , | Mental Models , | Shared Vision | Team Learning | Systems thinking is based on system dynamics; it is highly conceptual; it provides ways of understanding practical business issues; it looks at systems in terms of particular types of cycles (archetypes); and it includes explicit system modeling of complex issues. Systems thinking is a conceptual framework, a body of knowledge and tools that has been developed over the past fifty years, to make the full patterns clearer, and to help us see how to change them effectively. Also, The essence of the discipline of systems thinking lies in a shift of mind:
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seeing interrelationships rather than linear cause-effect chains, and seeing processes of change rather than snapshots

The practice of systems thinking starts with understanding a simple concept called "feedback" that shows how actions can reinforce or counteract (balance) each other. It builds to learning to recognize types of "structures" that recur again and again: the arms race is a generic or archetypal pattern of escalation, at its heart no different from turf warfare between two street gangs, the demise of a marriage, or the advertising battles of two consumer goods companies fighting for market share. Eventually, systems thinking forms a rich language for describing a vast array of interrelationships and patterns of change. Ultimately, it simplifies life by helping us to see the deeper patterns lying behind the events and the details. Systems Archetypes are basic and understandable cycles that systems go through. The archetypes from The Fifth Discipline are Balancing Process with Delay Limits to Growth Shifting the Burden

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Shifting the Burden to the Intervenor Eroding Goals Escalation Success to the Successful Tragedy of the Commons Fixes that Fail Growth and Underinvestment Systems thinking uses archetypes for modeling the cycles that systems go through. Consequences at a distance - keep us from easily seeing cause and effect. Complexity and understanding - we need methods to increase understanding. Leverage - is to find the point in the cycle where effort is most effective or to change the structure of the system. Personal Mastery | Systems Thinking , | Personal Mastery , | Mental Models , | Shared Vision | Team Learning | Personal mastery is the discipline of continually clarifying and deepening our personal vision, of focusing our energies, of developing patience, and of seeing reality objectively. Continually focusing Vision, current reality, and creative tension If we have a personal vision and we also see current reality objectively, then the difference between the two causes "creative tension". That tension can be used to draw us from where we are - in current reality - to the vision. What the vision does is to bring about the creative tension that is used to move a person toward the reality of the vision. Commitment to the truth is the other part of the process. Understanding of current reality as well as a vision are necessary for creative tension to begin to work. Using the subconscious is important in personal mastery. The author says that people committed to continually developing personal mastery practice some form of "meditation." Whether it is through contemplative prayer or other methods of simply "quieting" the conscious mind, regular meditative practice can be extremely

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helpful in working more productively with the subconscious mind. The following words are the first from the "Introduction to the Paperback Edition" of The Fifth Discipline. The vision that became The Fifth Discipline was born one morning in the fall of 1987. During my meditation that morning, I suddenly became aware that "the learning organization" would likely become a new management fad. The author decided that he wanted to take advantage of the fad and do something that would establish systems thinking, mental models, personal mastery, shared vision, and team learning and dialogue as inescapable elements in building learning organizations. People creating the results in life that they truly seek This is where the spirit of the learning organization is from. Mental Models | Systems Thinking , | Personal Mastery , | Mental Models , | Shared Vision | Team Learning | "Mental models" are deeply ingrained assumptions, generalizations, or even pictures or images that influence how we understand the world and how we take action. The discipline of working with mental models starts with turning the mirror inward; learning to unearth our internal pictures of the world, to bring them to the surface and hold them rigorously to scrutiny. It also includes the ability to carry on "learningful" conversations that balance inquiry and advocacy, where people expose their own thinking effectively and make that thinking open to the influence of others. Balancing Inquiry and Advocacy Scenarios Leaps of Abstraction Left-hand Column Espoused theory versus theory-in-use

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Team disciplines
Shared Vision | Systems Thinking , | Personal Mastery , | Mental Models , | Shared Vision | Team Learning | The practice of shared vision involves the skills of unearthing shared "pictures of the future" that foster genuine commitment and enrollment rather than compliance. Openness Pictures of the future Team Learning | Systems Thinking , | Personal Mastery , | Mental Models , | Shared Vision | Team Learning | The discipline of team learning starts with "dialogue," the capacity of members of a team to suspend assumptions and enter into a genuine "thinking together." The discipline of dialogue also involves learning how to recognize the patterns of interaction in teams that undermine learning. The patterns of defensiveness are often deeply engrained in how a team operates. If unrecognized, they undermine learning. If recognized and surfaced creatively, they can actually accelerate learning. Dialogue The discipline of team learning involves mastering the practices of dialogue and discussion, the two distinct ways that teams converse. In dialogue, there is the free and creative exploration of complex and subtle issues, a deep "listening" to one another and suspending of one's own views. By contrast, in discussion different views are presented and defended and there is a search for the best view to support decisions that must be made at this time. Dialogue and discussion are potentially complementary, but most

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teams lack ability to distinguish between the two and to move consciously between them. Emphasis added. David Bohm's necessary conditions for dialogue are as follows: 1. all participants must "suspend" their assumptions, literally to hold them "as suspended before us"; 2. all participants must regard one another as colleagues; 3. there must be a "facilitator" who "holds the context" of dialogue. The following information about dialogue is from Organizational Dynamics. Autumn 1993. "Taking Flight: Dialogue, Collective Thinking, and Organizational Learning", William N. Isaacs, director of the Dialogue Project at MIT's Organizational Learning Center. Dr. Isaacs mentions these first steps and four Levels and Stages of Dialogue.
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Early requirement - people developed an initial grasp of inquiry skills, such as how to detect an abstract statement and invite people to explain their thinking. gradually people recognize that they can either begin to defend their points of view, finding others as somewhat or totally wrong, or suspend their view, and begin to listen without coming to a hard and fast conclusion about the validity of any of the views yet expressed. They become willing to loosen the "grip of certainty" about all views, including their own. At this stage, people may find themselves feeling frustrated, principally because the underlying fragmentation and incoherence in everyone's thought begins to appear. Extreme views become stated and defended. All of this "heat" and instability is exactly what should be occurring. The fragmentation that has been hidden is surfacing in the container.

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They ask: "Where am I listening from? What is the disturbance going on in me (not others)? What can I learn if I slow things down and inquire (to seek within)?"
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People notice, for example, that they differ in their pace and timing of speaking and thinking, and begin to inquire into and respect these facts. Sometimes in this phase the flow takes on a powerful and undeniable intensity. Inquiry within this phase of the container is subtle; people here can become sensitive to the cultural "programs" for thinking and acting that they have unwittingly accepted as true. In these later stages of dialogue, the term "container" becomes limiting. It is more accurate to describe it as a kind of shared "field" in which meaning and information are being exchanged. This phase can be playful and penetrating. Yet it also leads to another crisis. People gradually realize that deeper themes exist, behind the flow of ideas. They come to understand and feel the impact that holding fragmented ways of thinking has had on them, their organizations, and their culture. They sense their separateness. While people may understand intellectually that they have had limits to their vision, they may not yet have experienced the fact of their isolation. Such awareness brings pain--both from loss of comforting beliefs and from the exercise of new cognitive and emotional muscles. People recognize that their thoughts--in the form of collective assumptions and choices--create and sustain fragmentation and separation. Moving through this crisis is by no means a given nor necessary for "success" in dialogue. Groups may develop the capacity for moving to the final level of dialogue over a considerable period of time. It is a deep and challenging crisis, one that requires considerable discipline and collective trust.

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If this crisis can be navigated, a new level of awareness opens. People begin to know consciously that they are participating in a pool of common meaning because they have sufficiently explored

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each other's views. They still may not agree, but their thinking takes on an entirely different rhythm and pace. At this point, the distinction between memory and thinking becomes apparent. People may find it hard to talk together using the rigid categories of previous understanding. The net of their existing thought is not fine enough to begin to capture the subtle and delicate understandings that begin to emerge. This too may be unfamiliar and disorienting. People may find that they do not have adequate words and fall silent. Yet the silence is not an empty void, but one replete with richness. Tabling or suspending assumptions

Other topics to mention and some concerns
| Start | Introduction | Five Disciplines | Additional Topics | System Dream | My Contribution | Explanatory Notes | Resource List | Microworlds - computer enactions of businesses and business processes. Where is training or knowledge going to come from? metanoia - Greek word meaning "change of mind" The apostle Paul said "if we have hope in this life only, we are of all men most miserable." The cost of advancing principles where there are views that are held religiously may not be pleasant. Some thoughts that arise from this are that opposition may be great enough to make hope for "the next life" needed for workers. Also, apostolic dedication to the task was to a task and an objective that were real. Instinct - actions that don't result from thoughtfulness may not be easily overcome through dialogue. Criticism - harsh and possibly personal disagreement may not be manageable through simple openness. There is a need for principles beyond what individuals make up for them own selves. The natural affections such as love and nurturing do not simply distribute to everyone or through the business climate.

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New Age One author says: Does Senge think his movement is New Age? Asked directly, he replies: "The term carries a lot of baggage, but yes, Deming always talked about a new economic age. That was his term, and he said that the principles by which success is going to be determined in this new economy will be different. So it's New Age." The above is from an article about Peter Senge and learning organizations in Fortune. 130(8): 147-157. 1994 Oct 17. "Mr. Learning Organization", Brian Dumaine. In Organizational Dynamics. Autumn 1993. Communities of Committment: The Heart of Learning Organizations", Fred Kofman and Peter M. Senge say the following. Joseph Cambell spoke of the ancient Indo-European myth of the Goddess who "teaches compassion for all living beings. There also you come to appreciate the real sanctity of the earth itself, because it is the body of the Goddess." Recent advances in archeological research are suggesting that the myth of the Goddess may have predominated throughout central Europe in the late Paleolithic and early Neolithic cultures. These cultures may have been neither warlike nor male dominated, as long assumed. On the other hand, I found a copy of Authur Koestler's book "Ghost in the Machine", written in 1967, in the New Age section of a local bookstore. The use of the name "new age" does not necessarily mean that a viewpoint really is part of the new age. Nevertheless, use of the idea of a goddess for decency and possibly attentiveness do have something in common with new age imagery. Life in a body. Integrity and the inability to manage the body. "unvoiced longing toward a truer world" as W. E. B. Du Bois wrote about the blues in The Souls of Black Folk. Self-Control as a biblical version of personal mastery.

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Anecdotes and case studies Pleasant conversation "Bright Ideas" The difference between delayed on-line communication and dialogue. Integrity - being true to our understanding or our promise. Authenticity - being real and genuine. Collective intelligence - the benefit of combining the understanding of individuals. Aspiration - hopes, desires for the future, vision, direction. Conceptualization - seeing the future through imagination and system thinking. The concert pianist thinks only of the aesthetics of the performance, not the mechanics.

System Dream
| Start | Introduction | Five Disciplines | Additional Topics | System Dream | My Contribution | Explanatory Notes | Resource List | The first full day I worked on this review, I probably spent about ten hours gathering notes, searching The Fifth Discipline for definitions, and writing the beginning of the review. That night I slept and dreamed of flying. I was thinking that my dream might not be very beneficial for publication; however, I bought the Fifth Discipline Fieldbook 7-Dec-95, and during lunch at a cafeteria that day I heard someone say, "I'm going to tell you a dream I had last night." Then when I was leaving, I heard someone else from another table say as I walked past "here's my dream." So, here's my system dream. I see a flying saucer/platform-type vehicle. My vantage point seems to be a little above the saucer and not far from it. It may be hovering in the air; however, it doesn't seem like a space vehicle, more like a hovercraft. The vehicle seems to have something to do with my brother. Maybe he is accustomed to flying these vehicles. The saucer is not awesome or forbidding and is about the width of 1-2 chairs. I think of flying it as a privilege and think of the vehicle in terms of a takenfor-granted F-14. Soon I am flying it. There are no visible controls; it seems to go where I want it to, responding to my thought. I am flying fairly slow, maybe at a height of 100-300 feet over a suburban residential area. I see my destination, beside or near someone's house, across a small field. My flight is wobbly, and I don't know how to control the part of my thinking that controls the vehicle. I'm

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descending to my destination with a trace of shame and embarrassment as I try to avoid and am not sure I can avoid power lines between me and my destination. Somehow, maybe by guessing or chance, I avoid the power lines and everything is OK.

My Contribution
| Start | Introduction | Five Disciplines | Additional Topics | System Dream | My Contribution | Explanatory Notes | Resource List | Is "learning organization" the answer to my question? If someone asked how to start a car and received an answer in terms of the laws of physics, the answer would be unusual. Usually we have some idea of the kind of answer we'll receive and may even expect it. The learning disciplines are not an "expected answer" for the question "how can my workplace become a learning organization?" Or, more directly, "what can I do to be part of a learning organization?" We would expect answers like "just start learning" and "help promote learning". The Fifth Discipline in not directed to meeting those expectations and with good reason. Learning in an environment where there is little receptivity to what is learned is not fully useful to a company. And "ivory tower" learning that separates people does not further the development of a learning organization. The five disciplines relate to business needs Individual learning should prepare the individual for being a part of the group (personal mastery), and what is learned needs to prepare receptivity to others' learning, experience, questions, and manner of thought (mental models). A viewpoint that is sufficient for understanding business cycles and system relationships is required for working with cycles and toward better relationships both of systems and with people (systems thinking). Without a guiding purpose and shared values (shared vision), corporate effort will have the Tower of Babel problem and the confusion resulting from different languages. For everyone to learn together (team learning), a receptive process of listening to one another is needed. The disciplines may not be what we were looking for In these terms, the disciplines of learning may seem less foreign; yet there is a

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great distance between the idea of personal mastery and behaviors such as looking for stuff on the network. How can purposeful, person-as-resource principles be furthered? This is when the vision and a real understanding of the present show that we must change our minds. The first step for the individual in being part of a learning organization is wanting to be a part, and maybe that's the first thing that has to be settled. Do you want to go? If you want to go, then you can. Object-oriented design and the mental work required for system design Object-oriented design and object-oriented computer programming languages have increased in emphasis in the last few years. While Steve McConnell's Code Complete isn't directly concerned with object-oriented programming, it is very informative about programming research and methods, and part of the author's purpose in writing the book was to reduce the significant gap between research and practice. If procedural programming practice differs greatly, object-oriented programming shares the same language elements plus new language elements and more design options. The emphasis of object-oriented programmers and designers is often very different with programmers seeming to think that the technical elements of the language result in useful objects, while designers who are working at a higher level than a programming language, a level that is possibly lacking from some projects, marvel at the uncertainties, mental effort and difference between design choices. Object-oriented design has understandable means One thought that may benefit the learning organization is that object-oriented system modeling, though based on very definite "finding methods", continues to be conceptually difficult. The finding methods such as CRC cards and Use Case modeling give an investigator real starting points or starting questions. Systems archetypes, on the other hand, seem to be based on business analysis expertise and experience of same-type cycles. There's less information presented about how to find the archetypes in a system than object system designers have needed, wanted and received in their work. If you don't see the archetypes, there's not much guidance for how to find them. And evidence of the full effectiveness of modeling with the archetypes is not presented, either. The conclusion might be that further development of systems thinking models and modeling is needed and possible. Maybe I should mention here that I've purchased The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook, and it may answer some of my questions.

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Systems thinkers view of the archetypes In The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: Strategies and Tools for Building a Learning Organization systems thinking professionals evaluate the use of systems archetypes and write the following. The comments from the book are not intended as being disrespectful of modeling methods.
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An archetype is nothing more than a mental model made visible. 164 Translating a complex organizational issue into a model that makes sense is still a high-level craft, and the modeling programs contain no built-in criteria for helping you see whether a model is credible or appropriate. 176 Peter Senge has referred to them, correctly in my opinion, as "training wheels." 177 Predicting the behavior of even the simplest archetype would mean solving a high-order nonlinear differential equation in your head. Human beings do not have the cognitive capacity to do so. 178

How much of life is made of visible cycles? Another thought is that object-oriented design seems to focus much more on the intended use and functionality of systems rather than emphasizing visually defined cycles within a system. The cycles are almost taken for granted in some modeling, since programming generally involves repeated processes. I don't have enough business experience to say whether a given case study is exemplary and useful for general application or whether it is an example of a story-teller's skill and the human interest of stories.

Explanatory Notes
| Start | Introduction | Five Disciplines | Additional Topics | System Dream | My Contribution | Explanatory Notes | Resource List | Importance of the fifth discipline, systems thinking There is some disagreement on the importance of systems thinking relative to the other disciplines. One article about Peter Senge says that systems thinking is no more important than any of the other disciplines and that the term "fifth discipline" was used because it sounded good. On the other hand, the books says that the discipline makes the other disciplines "work". The author writes It is vital that the

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five disciplines develop as an ensemble. This is challenging because it is much harder to integrate new tools than simply apply them separately. But the payoffs are immense. This is why systems thinking is the fifth discipline. It is the discipline that integrates the disciplines, fusing them into a coherent body of theory and practice. It keeps them from being separate gimmicks or the latest organization change fads. Without a systemic orientation, there is no motivation to look at how the disciplines interrelate. By enhancing each of the other disciplines, it continually reminds us that the whole can exceed the sum of its parts. The author also writes I call systems thinking the fifth discipline because it is the conceptual cornerstone that underlies all of the five learning disciplines of this book. Go to context Reference David Garvin, Building a Learning Organization, Business Credit, 96(1): 19-28. 1994 January. From the same publication, "David A. Garvin is the Robert and Jane Cizik Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. His current research focuses on the general managers role and successful change processes." Go to context. More information. The Author of The Fifth Discipline From the book cover, Peter M. Senge is Chair of the Council for the Society for Organizational Learning and a founding partner of Innovation Associates in Framingham, Massachusetts, and Toronto, Canada. He has introduced thousands of managers at Ford, Digital, Procter & Gamble, AT&T, Herman Miller, Hanover Insurance, Royal Dutch/Shell, and at other major corporations to the disciplines of the learning organization through the seminars offered by Innovation Associates. Go to context

Learning Organization Resource List

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| Start | Introduction | Five Disciplines | Additional Topics | System Dream | My Contribution | Explanatory Notes | Resource List | Additional information is available on the WWW for learning organizations and system thinking.

If anyone has anything to say, they can send me a note at [email protected] JPF

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The Organizational Learning Center at MIT

You are attempting to view a web page of the Organizational Learning Center (OLC) at the MIT Sloan School of Management. The Organizational Learning Center at MIT closed in August 1997. However, most of the faculty affiliated with OLC continue to actively pursue lines of research associated with Organizational Learning. A partial list of faculty with interests in the area of Organizational Learning include:
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Lotte Bailyn John Carroll Jay W. Forrester William Isaacs Wanda Orlikowski Nelson Repenning George Roth Anjali Sastry Edgar Schein Peter Senge John Sterman

More information on these and other faculty at the MIT Sloan School of Management can be found in our faculty directory. There are also a number of other nonprofit and academic resources outside MIT that provide information and education on Organizational Learning, including but not limited to:
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The Society for Organizational Learning - a nonprofit located in Cambridge Massachusetts

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The Organizational Learning Center at MIT

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The Program on Social and and Organizational Learning - at George Mason University The Organizational Learning and Instructional Technologies Program - at the University of New Mexico The Research Program in Social and Organizational Learning - at George Washington University

This page is maintained by Stephen Buckley ([email protected]) and was last updated December 11, 2001

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Web Based Change Management Software System - AIM

Official Product Website
Introduction Demo

Change Management Expert™ is a completely web-based change management software system. Combining an HTML user interface with a sophisticated relational database back-end, the Change Management Expert™ system allows companies to track, document and safely implement changes to company resources such as assets, documents, or procedures. All changes are stored in a relational database with a date/time stamp, with defined tasks for initiators, approvers, implementers and verifiers. The web-based design allows companies with multiple locations to keep change documents in one sharable system, eliminating inaccuracies and confusion. Click Here to Try Out A FREE Online Demonstration! Check out the Features and Benefits section to learn more about how Change Management Expert™ software can help your business to run more efficiently, or see the FAQ for answers to some of the commonly asked questions about the product. Have any comments or suggestions? Contact us! We welcome your feedback and the opportunity to serve you.

How to Purchase Features & Benefits Capabilities Brochures System Requirements Presentation FAQ Add-On Modules Corporate Contact Distinguished Clients Visit AIM's Other Product Websites: HelpDesk Expert for IT Support™ HelpDesk Expert for Customer Service™ Bug/Defect Tracking Expert™ Asset Expert™ Sales Management Expert™

home | products | contact | support | search

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Change management resources and books

TCM Home Page
T&D Resource Centre Home

Change Management
Useful References - Books
COPERNIC 2001 SEARCH RESULTS Search: Found: change management (Exact phrase) top 25 document(s) on The Web Date: Sort: 02/02/23 Score

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HR Training and Development Books from TCM's Bookstore

T&D Resource Centre | TCM Home Page

TCM's Bookstore
Selected books on Human Resources, Training & Development for Corporate libraries, Learning Centres and HR Professionals Lord of the Rings | Harry Potter Books
---- Choose a Topic ---Go

2002-04-26 - The Bottom Line on ROI: Basics, Benefits, & Barriers to Measuring Training & Performance Improvement: Phillips & Phillips 2002-04-25 - Running Training Like a Business : Delivering Unmistakable Value: David Van Adelsberg, Edward A. Trolley 2002-04-25 - Pocket Muse : Ideas and Inspirations for Writing: by Monica Wood 2002-04-23 - Reengineering Corporate Training: by Robert E. Haskell 2002-04-23 - The Contrarian's Guide to Leadership: Steven B. Sample, Warren Bennis (Foreword) 2002-04-10 - First Among Equals: How to Manage a Group of Professionals: Patrick J. McKenna, David H. Maister 2002-04-03 - Who's Counting? Marilyn Waring on Sex, Lies & Global Economics (VHS): National Film Board of Canada 2002-04-03 - Traditional Chinese Medicine - TCM 2002-04-02 - The Best 100 Web Sites for HR Professionals: Ray Schreyer, John McCarter 2002-04-02 - Policies Now 6.0: Knowledge Point 2002-03-27 - Facilitating Online Learning : Effective Strategies for Moderators: George Collison, Bonnie Elbaum, Sarah Haavind, Robert Tinker 2002-03-27 - 147 Practical Tips for Teaching Online Groups : Essentials of WebBased Education: Donald E. Hanna, Michelle Glowacki-Dudka, Simone Conceicao-Runlee 2002-03-27 - Building Learning Communities in Cyberspace: Effective Strategies for the Online Classroom: Paloff and Pratt

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Agility / The Agile Organization Career Development Change Management Coaching Top Top Top Top

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Communities of Practice

Compensation / Reward Systems Competencies - Selected Titles Computers
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The PC Is Not a Typewriter: A Style Manual for Creating Professional-Level Type on Your Personal Computer: Robin Williams Computers Simplified: Ruth Maran (Recommended on TRDEV by Barbara Fillicaro) Top

Corporate Portals Creativity
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Selected titles on "Orbitting the Giant Hairball" -- staying creative while inside the corporate "hairball" Top

Culture and organization
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Customer Service
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Good Company: Caring As Fiercely As You Compete: Hal F. Rosenbluth, Diane McFerrin Peters Inside the Magic Kingdom: Thomas K. Connellan Stewardship : Choosing Service over Self-Interest: Peter Block Top

Decision Making / Problem Solving

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Diversity - Selected titles Downsizing, Layoffs eLearning Top Top

Empowerment
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Empowering Human Resources in the Merger and Acquisition Process: Mark N. Clemente, David S. Greenspan Top Top

Entrepreneurship

Expatriate Management / Admin Ethics Extranets Facilitation Family
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Top The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens: Sean Covey The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families: Stephen R. Covey How to Develop a Family Mission Statement: Stephen R. Covey Top

General Reference Gift Books
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Handwriting Analysis
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Health, Mind & Body

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HR Training and Development Books from TCM's Bookstore

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Hiring/Selection
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Staffing the Contemporary Organization: A Guide to Planning, Recruiting and Selecting for Human Resource Professionals: Donald L. Caruth, Gail D. Handlogten Hire With Your Head: A Rational Way to Make a Gut Decision: Lou Adler Hiring Right : A Practical Guide: Susan J. Herman Executive EQ: Emotional Intelligence in Leadership and Organizations: Robert K., Phd Cooper, Ayman Sawaf 96 Great Interview Questions to Ask Before You Hire: Paul Falcone Staffing Organizations: Herbert G. Heneman, Robert L. Heneman, Timothy A. Judge, Tim Judge The Talent Solution: Aligning Strategy & People to Achieve Extraordinary Results: Edward L. Gubman Global Assignments: Successfully Expatriating and Repatriating International Managers: J. Stewart Black, Hal B. Gregersen, Mark E. Mendenhall High Impact Hiring: A Comprehensive Guide to Performance-Based Hiring: Joseph G. Rosse, Robert Levin Finding, Hiring, and Keeping the Best Employees: by Robert Half Top

Human Spirit / Soulful Leadership Humor in the Workplace
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Podium Humor : A Raconteur's Treasury of Witty and Humorous Stories: James C. Humes A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Podium: Herbert Victor Prochnow The Healing Power of Humor: Allen Klein A Funny Thing Happened On The Way to The Boardroom: Michael Iapoce Comedy Writing Secrets: Melvin Helitzer Comedy Writing Workbook: Gene Perret Humor at Work: The Guaranteed, Bottom-Line, Low Cost, HighEfficiency Guide to Success Through Humor: Esther Blumemfeld Laffirmations: 1,001 Ways to Add Humor to Your Life and Work: Joel Goodman Lighten Up: The Power of Humor at Work/Audio Cassette: Matt Weinstein Making Humor Work: Take Your Job Seriously and Yourself Lightly: Terry Paulson Making Work Fun Doing Business With a Sense of Humor: Garland

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Icebreakers and Warmups Innovation Culture Instructional Design Interviewing
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Effective Interviews for Every Situation: Alexander Hamilton Institute Top

Intranets
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Intranet Business Strategies: Melanie Hills Intranet As Groupware: Melanie Hills Other Titles on "Intranet" Top

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ISO 9000 and Malcolm Baldrige in training and education: a practical application guide: C. W. Russ Russo, C.W. Russ Russo ISO 9000: Documentation, Training, and Checklist 1996 Disk Edition: Maureen Dalfanso Quality Assurance in Training and Education : How to Apply Bs5750 (Iso 9000 Standards): Richard Freeman Documenting and Auditing for Iso 9000 and Qs-9000 : Tools for Ensuring Certification or Registration: D. H. Stamatis The Iso 9000 Answer Book: Rob Kantner The Iso 9000 Handbook: Robert W. Peach Other Titles on ISO-9000 Top

Job Aids
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Job Search
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Knowledge Management Leadership
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Judgment in Managerial Decision Making: Max H. Bazerman Into the Storm : A Study in Command: Tom Clancy, Frederick M. Franks Mining Group Gold: How to Cash in on the Collaborative Brain Power of a Group: Thomas A. Kayser Practice What You Preach : What Managers Must Do to Create a High-Achievement: David Maister The Witch Doctors : Making Sense of the Management Gurus: by John Micklethwait, Adrian Wooldridge Making Sense of Behavior: The Meaning of Control: William Powers Human Resource Champions : The Next Agenda for Adding Value and Delivering Results: Dave Ulrich Generations at Work: Managing the Clash of Veterans, Boomers, Xers, and Nexters in Your Workplace: Ron Zemke, Claire Raines, Bob Filipczak Top

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Mentoring
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Negotiation

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Organizational Development
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Organizational Surveys
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Organizational Surveys : Tools for Assessment and Change: Allen I. Kraut Top

Participative Management
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Managing Inter@ctively : Executing Business Strategy, Improving Communication, and Creating a Knowledge-Sharing Culture: Mary E. Boone Participative Management: Implementing Empowerment: Lorne C. Plunkett, Robert Fournier Top Top

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Personal Organization / Time Management Post Traumatic Stress Management Problem Solving / Decision Making Project Management Presentations / Tools Retirement Planning Return on Investment Sales Training Top Top Top Top Top Top Top Top

Sexual Harassment

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Storytelling

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Managing Inter@ctively : Executing Business Strategy, Improving Communication, and Creating a Knowledge-Sharing Culture: Mary E. Boone Sun Tzu and the Art of Business: 6 Strategic Principles for Managers: Mark R. McNeilly Say It & Live It: 50 Corporate Mission Statements: Patricia Jones, Larry Kahaner In the Eye of the Storm: Reengineering Corporate Culture: Childress, Senn, Measelle The Human Equation, Building Profits by Putting People First: Jeffrey Pfeffer Sharpen Your Team's Skills in Developing Strategy: Susan Clayton Relevance Lost : The Rise and Fall of Management Accounting: Thomas H. Johnson, H. Thomas Johnson, Robert S. Kaplan The Talent Solution : Aligning Strategy & People to Achieve Extraordinary Results: Edward L. Gubman TechnoStress: Coping With Technology @WORK @HOME @PLAY: Michelle M. Weil, Larry D. Rosen Tomorrow's HR Management: 48 Thought Leaders Call for Change: David Ulrich (Editor), Michael R. Losey (Editor), Gerry Lake (Editor) Going Virtual: Moving Your Organization into the 21st Century: by Raymond Grenier, George Metes Human Resource Champions : The Next Agenda for Adding Value and Delivering Result: Dave Ulrich A Simpler Way: Margaret J. Wheatley, Myron Kellner-Rogers Top Top

Succession Planning

TCM - Traditional Chinese Medicine Teams Top Top Top Top

Teleworking

Time Management

Training & Development -

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Virtual Communities Working Virtually Workplace Violence

Top Top Top

XML - Extensible Markup Language (Selected/recommended Titles for non-techies) Top

Are there other titles that should be here? E-mail me
Click here to be notified of updates

Top T&D Resource Centre | T&D Bookstore | Quality Bookstore | TCM Home Page URL: http://www.tcm.com/hr-books/

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Course Technology--InfoWeb: Chaos

Chaos
The place to begin is the ChaosForum site at www.chaosforum.com. Here you'll find a broad range of links to topics such as a quick introduction to chaos theory, a set of interesting FAQs, and a bibliography. Next, check out the chapter, "Thinking Past the Obvious" in Joseph O'Connor's book, The Art of Systems Thinking: Essential Skills for Creativity and Problem Solving (Thorsons, 1998). For a really cool article on how to apply chaotic software to manufacturing processes, read "The Man from CHAOS" by William Green at www.fastcompany.com/online/01/chaos.html. You'll find more details on the Coopers & Lybrand simulation in the Forbes article, "Playing the Game of Life," which is posted online at www.forbes.com/forbes/97/0407/5907100a.htm. The Santa Fe Institute is the "mecca" for computational approaches to complex systems. Don't miss the online demos of chaos simulations at www.santafe.edu/projects/swarm/examples/index.html. For some perspective on the entire chaos movement, connect to foxnet.cs.cmu.edu/people/spot/nab/perplexity.html and read "From Complexity to Perplexity." You'll find additional links about chaos theory, the Butterfly Effect, and Edward N. Lorenz at the ThinkQuest online library (library.thinkquest.org/library/index.html) by searching for "chaos."

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Course Technology--InfoWeb: Chaos

Additional Links
Systems Thinking: You Can't Have the Butter and the Money from the Butter A classic image from chaos theory is that a very small action--the flapping of a butterfly's wing--can have an enormous impact on a dynamic system--weather patterns that create hurricanes. To fully understand this idea, you also need to understand systems thinking. This section of a Web site called the Change Management Toolbook clearly explains systems concepts and illustrates them with easy-tounderstand examples and graphics. The author of the Web site is Holger Nauheimer, who is an organizational development consultant in Germany. Chaos and Complexity: What Does That Have to Do with Knowledge Management If applying chaos theory to situations in the business world (or your life) seems to be an overwhelming challenge, this article can help lead the way to a deeper understanding. The author, Michael R. Lissack, a research associate at Henley Management College, U.K., outlines how the language of complexity theory can serve as useful metaphors in management contexts.

Click to see a list of all Computer Concepts 4e InfoWebs.

Click to see a list of all Computer Concepts 3e InfoWebs.

If you are using the CD, close your browser to return to it.

Click to see a list of all Illustrated Computer Concepts InfoWebs.

© Copyright 1999, 2000 Course Technology

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Management Function of Coordinating / Controlling: Basic Overview of Methods

Management Function of Coordinating / Controlling: Overview of Basic Methods
Assembled by Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD | Applies to nonprofits and for-profits unless noted Leaders Circles peer-training/coaching groups (nonprofits) | Authenticity Circles peertraining/coaching (for-profits) First-timers | Library home page | Library index of topics | Contact us

Basically, organizational coordination and control is taking a systematic approach to figuring out if you're doing what you wanted to be doing or not. It's the part of planning after you've decided what you wanted to be doing. Below are some of the major approaches to organizational control and coordination. (Some of the information in this topic was adapted from the guidebook, Nuts-andBolts Guide to Leadership and Supervision.)

This document contains the following sections
Introduction - "Controlling" Getting a Bad Rap? Administrative Controls Delegation Evaluations Financial Management Performance Management Policies and Procedures Quality Control and Operations Management Risk, Safety and Liabilities Various Perspectives Related Library Links On-Line Discussion Groups To Form Local Learning Communities to Learn This Topic Free, Complete, On-line Training Programs That Include This Topic! For For-profit Organizations:

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This topic is also included in the Free Micro-eMBA learning module, Developing Basic Skills in Management and Leadership. This complete, "nuts and bolts", free training program is geared to leaders, managers and consultants who work with forprofit organizations. For Nonprofit Organizations: This topic is also included in the Free Nonprofit Micro-eMBA learning module, Developing Basic Skills in Management and Leadership. This complete, "nuts and bolts", free training program is geared to leaders, managers, consultants and volunteers who serve nonprofit organizations. Tell Friends! Local Professional Organizations! Spread the Word! Tell friends and professional organizations about these free programs! Advertise them in your newsletters and web sites so that others can save training dollars, too!

Introduction: "Control" Getting a Bad Rap?
Many People Are Averse to Management "Control" New, more "organic" forms or organizations (self-organizing organizations, selfmanaged teams, network organizations, etc.) allow organizations to be more responsive and adaptable in today's rapidly changing world. These forms also cultivate empowerment among employees, much more than the hierarchical, rigidly structured organizations of the past. Many people assert that as the nature of organizations has changed, so must the nature of management control. Some people go so far as to claim that management shouldn't exercise any form of control whatsoever. They claim that management should exist to support employee's efforts to be fully productive members of organizations and communities -- therefore, any form of control is completely counterproductive to management and employees. Some people even react strongly against the phrase "management control". The word itself can have a negative connotation, e.g., it can sound dominating, coercive and heavy-handed. It seems that writers of management literature now prefer use of the term "coordinating" rather than "controlling". "Coordination" Must Exist or There's No Organization -- Only an "Experience"

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Regardless of the negative connotation of the word "control", it must exist or there is no organization at all. In its most basic form, an organization is two or more people working together to reach a goal. Whether an organization is highly bureaucratic or changing and self-organizing, the organization must exist for some reason, some purpose, some mission (implicit or explicit) -- or it isn't an organization at all. The organization must have some goal. Identifying this goal requires some form of planning, informal or formal. Reaching the goal means identifying some strategies, formal or informal. These strategies are agreed upon by members of the organization through some form of communication, formal or informal. Then members set about to act in accordance with what they agreed to do. They may change their minds, fine. But they need to recognize and acknowledge that they're changing their minds. This form of ongoing communication to reach a goal, tracking activities toward the goal and then subsequent decisions about what to do is the essence of management coordination. It needs to exist in some manner -- formal or informal. The following are rather typical methods of coordination in organizations. They are used as means to communicate direction and guide behaviors in that direction. The function of the following methods is not to "control", but rather to guide. If, from ongoing communications among management and employees, the direction changes, then fine. The following methods are changed accordingly. Note that many of the following methods are so common that we often don't think of them as having anything to do with coordination at all. No matter what one calls the following methods -- coordination or control -- they're important to the success of any organization.

Various Administrative Controls
Organizations often use standardized documents to ensure complete and consistent information is gathered. Documents include titles and dates to detect different versions of the document. Computers have revolutionized administrative controls through use of integrated management information systems, project management software, human resource information systems, office automation software, etc. Organizations typically require a wide range of reports, e.g., financial reports, status reports, project reports, etc. to monitor what's being done, by when and how.

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Delegation
Delegation is an approach to get things done, in conjunction with other employees. Delegation is often viewed as a major means of influence and therefore is categorized as an activity in leading (rather than controlling/coordinating). Delegation generally includes assigning responsibility to an employee to complete a task, granting the employee sufficient authority to gain the resources to do the task and letting the employee decide how that task will be carried out. Typically, the person assigning the task shares accountability with the employee for ensuring the task is completed. See Delegation.

Evaluations
Evaluation is carefully collecting and analyzing information in order to make decisions. There are many types of evaluations in organizations, for example, evaluation of marketing efforts, evaluation of employee performance, program evaluations, etc. Evaluations can focus on many aspects of an organization and its processes, for example, its goals, processes, outcomes, etc. See Evaluations (many kinds)

Financial Statements (particularly budget management)
Once the organization has establish goals and associated strategies (or ways to reach the goals), funds are set aside for the resources and labor to the accomplish goals and tasks. As the money is spent, statements are changed to reflect what was spent, how it was spent and what it obtained. Review of financial statements is one of the more common methods to monitor the progress of programs and plans. The most common financial statements include the balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement. Financial audits are regularly conducted to ensure that financial management practices follow generally accepted standards, as well. See For-Profit Financial Management and Nonprofit Financial Management.

Performance Management (particularly observation and feedback phases)
Performance management focuses on the performance of the total organization, including its processes, critical subsystems (departments, programs, projects, etc.) and employees. Most of us have some basic impression of employee performance management, including the role of performance reviews. Performance reviews provide an opportunity for supervisors and their employees to regularly

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communicate about goals, how well those goals should be met, how well the goals are being met and what must be done to continue to meet (or change) those goals. The employee is rewarded in some form for meeting performance standards, or embarks on a development plan with the supervisor in order to improve performance. See Basic Overview of Performance Management.

Policies and Procedures (to guide behaviors in the workplace)
Policies help ensure that behaviors in the workplace conform to federal and state laws, and also to expectations of the organization. Often, policies are applied to specified situations in the form of procedures. Personnel policies and procedures help ensure that employee laws are followed (e.g., laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, Occupational Health and Safety Act, etc.) and minimize the likelihood of costly litigation. A procedure is a step-by-step list of activities required to conduct a certain task. Procedures ensure that routine tasks are carried out in an effective and efficient fashion. See Personnel Policies.

Quality Control and Operations Management
The concept of quality control has received a great deal of attention over the past twenty years. Many people recognize phrases such as "do it right the first time, "zero defects", "Total Quality Management", etc. Very broadly, quality includes specifying a performance standard (often by benchmarking, or comparing to a wellaccepted standard), monitoring and measuring results, comparing the results to the standard and then making adjusts as necessary. Recently, the concept of quality management has expanded to include organization-wide programs, such as Total Quality Management, ISO9000, Balanced Scorecard, etc. Operations management includes the overall activities involved in developing, producing and distributing products and services. See Quality Management and Operations Management.

Risk, Safety and Liabilities
For a variety of reasons (including the increasing number of lawsuits), organizations are focusing a great deal of attention to activities that minimize risk, avoid liabilities and ensure safety of employees. Several decades ago, it was rare to hear of an organization undertaking contingency planning, disaster recovery planning or critical incident analysis. Now those activities are becoming commonplace. See Crisis Management

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Employee Wellness Programs (diversity management, safety, ergonomics, etc.) Insurance Risk Management

Various Perspectives
Essays About the Relationship of Accounting and Control

Related Library Links
Note that several library links are included above. Controlling / Coordinating Implementation of Plans Evaluation Activities in Organizations Organizing (many kinds) Planning (many kinds) Quality Management Research Methods (Basic Business)

On-Line Discussion Groups
MGTDEV-L: Management Executive Development Discussions ODNET about organization development and change HRNET about human resources TRDEV about training and development

Used by The Management Assistance Program for Nonprofits 2233 University Avenue West, Suite 360 St. Paul, Minnesota 55114 (651) 647-1216 With permission from Carter McNamara, PhD, Copyright 1999 Library and its contents are not to be used to generate profits [MAP Home Page] [Library Home Page]

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Reprint permission

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Fred Nickols' Project History

Fred Nickols' Project History
The dated headings below (in reverse chronological order) identify the business entity through which I conducted my consulting practice during the listed time period. The bulleted projects under each major heading are grouped by client. © Fred Nickols 2002 - All rights reserved

The Distance Consulting Company (1997 Present )
The College of New Jersey
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Assistance Developing A Strategic Plan for The School of Business

Dell University
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The Autonomous Performer (Invited, Paid Presentation) Solution Engineering (Invited, Paid Presentation)

Jeslen Corporation
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Warner-Lambert: KM Intranet Resource (Prototype Site) Warner-Lambert: Knowledge Management (KM) Communication Plan Warner-Lambert: Community of Practice (CoP) Start Up Kit

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Arvin: Training Materials for Effective Sales Presentations Grant Thornton: The Consulting Business: Guided Self-Instructional Materials Grant Thornton: Problem Solving: Guided SelfInstructional Materials Grant Thornton: Time Management: Guided SelfInstructional Materials Ingram Micro: Study of Current Issues in Distribution Church of New Jerusalem: Telephone Interviews Related to Restructuring of Treasurer's Office Warner-Lambert: Executive-Level Briefing Book Regarding Knowledge Management (KM) Review Design of Strategic Planning Session

Independent Consultant (1984-1997)
Bell Laboratories
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QC Documentation: Positioning & Marketing

Community Mutual Insurance Company (Blue Cross & Blue Shield)
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Job Aids for Medical Claims Examiners Introduction of An Automated Claims Processing System PC-Based Claims Entry & Editing System PC-Based Job Aids & Training for Claims Coders PC-Based Medical Nomenclature to Code System Study: Medicare Claims Processing Operations

Educational Testing Service
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Design of Document Analysis Function Design of Document Analysis Workstations Design of Document Analysis Training PC Based

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College Code Inquiry System PC Based Customer Inquiry System Revision of QC Shop Structure & Process Study: Operations Functions

Monarch Resources, Inc.
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Roll Out of Variable Life Insurance Product PC Based Variable Life Administration System PC Based Life Insurance Sales Illustration Systems

Outcomes Development Corporation
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Outcome Selling Marketing Materials

Proprietary Product
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QC Auditor Performance Reporting System

Schear Family Clinic
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Study: Impact of New System on Clinic Operations

Systems Corporation of America
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GTE Basic Sales Training GTE Sales Management Training

President, Organization Performance Systems, Inc. (1979-1984)

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A. T. Kearney
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AT&T Corporate
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Analysis of Organizational Measurement Systems Needs Assessment for Corporate Planning Training

AT&T HRD
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Basic Management Skills (Videotapes) Evaluation of Job Definition Training Course Evaluation of Training Development Standards Getting Up To Speed Manual for New Managers Needs Assessment for Transition Management Tom Peters and The Excellent Companies (Videotapes) Planning & Controlling Work Workshop Problem Solving Workshop Time Management Workshop

AT&T Information Systems
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Information System Users' Job Aid

AT&T Yellow Pages
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Getting Up To Speed Manual for New Managers Study: Marketing Staff Requirements

Bell South
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Market Plan

Booz•Allen & Hamilton/Empire State Blue Cross &

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Blue Shield
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Medical Claims Examiners' Training Course Documentation of Claims Adjudication Process

C & P Telephone Company
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Performance Management Measures & Standards

CENTEC
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Database Designers' Training Course

Citicorp
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Documentation of Claims Adjudication Process Travelers Checks Claims Examiners' Training Course

Educational Testing Service
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Development of A Common Systems Architecture Documentation of Data Systems (Structure & Process) Documentation of Suspend Resolution Process Study: Feasibility of Algorithmic Application Financial Aid Assistants' Training & Job Aids Study: Cross-Divisional Operations (COPA & COD)

GENSCO
q

Proposal Preparation (Underwater Systems)

Hooper-Goode
q

Evaluation of Xerox's Professional Selling Skills (PSS)

http://home.att.net/~nickols/projects.htm (5 of 9) [5/28/2002 6:08:31 PM]

Fred Nickols' Project History

NYNEX
q

Corporate Performance & Productivity

President, Systems Corporation of America (1976-1979)
AT&T Long Lines
q q

National Account Managers' Training Course Sales Managers' Training Course

AT&T Marketing
q q q

Account Analysis & Planning Course Evaluation of Data Sales Training Course Systems Selling Training Course

AT&T Yellow Pages
q

Analysis of Yellow Pages Sales Crew Performance

C & P Telephone Company
q

Market Administrator's Program

Vice President, Consulting Operations (The Athena Corporation 1975-1976)

http://home.att.net/~nickols/projects.htm (6 of 9) [5/28/2002 6:08:31 PM]

Fred Nickols' Project History

AT&T Long Lines
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q q q

Analysis of Human Machine Function Allocation Paper: "Systems Development Process No Place for People" Computer Programmers' Course (COBOL/JCL) Systems Analysts' Training Course Total Systems Development Process: A Handbook

AT&T Marketing
q

Customer Systems Support Specialists' Training

Ortho Pharmaceuticals (J&J)
q

District Sales Managers' Handbook

Simpson Timber Company
q

Management Development Program

Xerox Corporation
q

Telephone Sales Training Course

Director, Training & Development (Manpower Development Services 19741975)

http://home.att.net/~nickols/projects.htm (7 of 9) [5/28/2002 6:08:31 PM]

Fred Nickols' Project History

Lipton Tea (Unilever)
q

Basic Selling Skills Training Course (Programmed)

Ortho Pharmaceuticals (J&J)
q

q

Product Knowledge Training Program (Programmed) Product Promotion Training Program (Programmed)

U. S. Navy
q

Shipboard Engineering Manual (Programmed)

Chief Petty Officer, Instructional Systems & Organizational Development Specialist (United States Navy 1955-1974)
So. Calif. Trades Council
q

Construction Supervisors' Contract Access Job Aid

U. S. Navy
q q q q q

q

q q

Guided Missile Research & Development Development of Extended Range Gunfire Procedure Instructional System Developers' Training Course Programmed Instruction Writers' Course Analysis of Organization Development Consultants' Curriculum Command Action Planning System (CAPS) Workshop The Navy's Human Goals Program Crisis Intervention Team

http://home.att.net/~nickols/projects.htm (8 of 9) [5/28/2002 6:08:31 PM]

Fred Nickols' Project History

Links to Other Areas of this Web Site
q q q q

Articles by Fred Nickols Distance Consulting Company Home Page Personal Resume

Contact Information
Fred Nickols 701 Highland Hills Drive Howard, OH 43028 (740) 397-2363 [email protected]

This page was last updated on February 8, 2002

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Main links categories · PM Products (291) Find all of the tools and programs you need to manage your projects here. Planning, tracking, quality, requirements and more! Configuration Management Issues Management Planning & Tracking Portfolio Management Product Demos Proposal Management Quality & Test Management Requirements Management Risk Management Web Based PM Tools

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Infrastructure Deployment Description: City of Albuquerque/ISD Infrastructure Deployment Project Plan Template Version: 1.0 Filesize: 271 bytes Added on: 10-Aug-2001 Downloads: 4680 Rating: 8 (3 Votes) Homepage | Rate resource | Report broken link | Details Project 2000 Description: Relatório customizado do MS-Project 2000, com sinalizadores Version: 2000 Filesize: 51 bytes Added on: 09-Jan-2002 Downloads: 2498 Homepage | Rate resource | Report broken link | Details RAD Description: Courtesy of City of Albuquerque/ISD - Infrastructure Deployment Project Plan Template Version: 1.0 Filesize: 521 bytes Added on: 10-Aug-2001 Downloads: 3250 Rating: 9 (1 Vote)

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Gerenciamento

Abaixo você encontrará ferramentas e técnicas para o Gerenciamento de Projetos através de planilhas em Excel® 5.0, modelos de relatórios do CA-SuperProject 4.0®, do MS-Project 2000® e apresentações em PowerPoint®. Clique nas figuras abaixo para obter os arquivos graciosamente.

Painel de Controle Em um único gráfico será possível consolidar as informações necessárias para o Gerenciamento do Progresso, da Eficiência, do Escopo, do Pessoal (rotatividade e hora extra) dos Custos, da Produtividade, do Risco (exposição e reserva ao risco), da Qualidade (retrabalho

http://www.alternex.com.br/~imsilva/newpage2.htm (1 of 7) [5/28/2002 6:09:55 PM]

Gerenciamento

por etapa do projeto) e identificar Problemas de Métrica. Painel de Controle foi elaborado em Excel® e importa dados do MS-Project 98®.

Curvas "S" com variação de progresso, custo e histogramas de recursos :

Curva "S" com variação de progresso e custo

Representação gráfica do projeto, em Excel, sob forma de Curva "S" das variáveis BCWS (COTA), BCWP (COTR), ACWP(CRTR), VC e VA - [email protected].

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Gerenciamento

Construção da Curva "S"

Software em DOS para construção da Curva "S" com uso de parâmetros e carga total dos recursos. Colaboração do Eng. Francisco de Assis Lara - [email protected], constante do livro "Manual de Propostas Técnicas" da Editora Pini - [email protected]

Construção da Curva "S" e histogramas de recursos

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Gerenciamento

Planilhas em Excel para construção de Curvas "S" com uso de diversos parâmetros para plotar a curva e carga total dos recursos para construção de histogramas. Colaboração de Paulo André Galo - [email protected]

Relatório customizado do Ca-Superproject - Clicando na figura, você obterá relatórios customizados para serem utilizados com o CA-SuperProject® 4.0 - [email protected].

Relatório customizado do MS-Project 2000® - Clique na figura e baixe o arquivo contendo relatórios para planejamento e controle do risco, do custo e do prazo com uso de sinalizadores e agrupamento de tarefas - [email protected] .

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Gerenciamento

Relatórios de Desempenho com Sinalizadores

Avalie seu conhecimento sobre o PMBoK - Clique na figura e baixe o arquivo contendo simulado com 120 perguntas, abrangendo oito áreas do PMBoK- www.pminfo.com.

Simulado para PMP

Relatório de Progresso - Relatório em Word, constando das seguintes informações: atividades realizadas (previsto x realizado x desvios), atividades programadas e não realizadas, problemas

http://www.alternex.com.br/~imsilva/newpage2.htm (5 of 7) [5/28/2002 6:09:55 PM]

Gerenciamento

encontrados, inclusões/exclusões no escopo - [email protected]

Relatório de Progresso - Gráfico de bolhas em Excel, constando das variações conjuntas de custo (acréscimo e redução) e prazo (avanço e atraso), com opção de sinalizar o impacto no projeto - [email protected]

Programação e Controle de Materiais e Equipamentos Incorporados ao Projeto Uma forma, simples e completa, de planejar e controlar materiais e equipamentos incorporados ao projeto, é através de gráficos, produzidos em Excel®. Disponível para download. [email protected]
-

Caminho Crítico - planilha em Excel para cálculo e simulação do caminho crítico - autor - John

http://www.alternex.com.br/~imsilva/newpage2.htm (6 of 7) [5/28/2002 6:09:55 PM]

Gerenciamento

Sacks

Planilha para cálculo do caminho crítico

Desenvolvimento de Sistema de Apoio a Logística de Transporte - A partir de metodologias de desenvolvimento e técnicas de gestão, é apresentado em PowerPoint, modelo para o desenvolvimento de Softwares. Colaboração de Anderson Garcia - [email protected]

Programa de Métricas - Medindo Para Poder Melhorar - São apresentados, em PowerPoint, os elementos básicos que deveriam estar presentes em um programa de métricas de uma empresa que esteja empenhada na melhorias de seus processos de desenvolvimento e manutenção de sistemas. Colaboração de [email protected]

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Home | Forum | Links | Special Offers | Templates | Events | PM Jobs | News | Reviews Reviews: Easy RM Version 1.05 Posted by: Tom Kappel on Thursday, May 23, 2002 - 04:24 AM MDT Project Managers and Business Analysts are constantly searching for some method of gathering, identifying, capturing, and synchronizing project or business requirements, especially in the early initial stages of the project life cycle. It was with that in mind that I eagerly looked forward to studying and reviewing Easy RM software (RM for Requirements Manager, of course.)
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Reviews: PERT Chart EXPERT V 2.0 --Update Posted by: Tom Kappel on Thursday, May 23, 2002 - 04:19 AM MDT Mr. Spiller of Critical Tools took great exception to my comment about finish date calculations – proclaiming quite vociferously that the system does calculate a valid schedule and critical path. I repeated my testing and encountered mixed behavior with no discernible pattern. Given Mr. Spiller’s defense of his product, I uninstalled and re-installed the software. Following that, I found that PERT Chart EXPERT did perform consistently as advertised – correctly calculating the finish dates and schedule duration with no further difficulties.

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Reviews: Building A Project Driven Enterprise Posted by: Tom Kappel on Monday, May 06, 2002 - 08:18 AM MDT Building a Project-Driven Enterprise by Ronald Mascitelli provides project managers with a set of waste-slashing and profit-boosting tools that are applicable to any industry.
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Reviews: PERT Chart EXPERT Version 2.0 Posted by: Tom Kappel on Monday, May 06, 2002 - 07:47 AM MDT PERT Chart EXPERT is positioned like its sibling product, WBS Chart PRO, as a standalone planning or an add-on to MS project (Project 4.1a, Project98 or Project2000).
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Projeca Release 7 Review from Tenrox Corporation

Posted by: Tom Kappel on Friday, May 03, 2002 - 03:45 AM MDT Projeca from Tenrox Corporation has so many features, processes, modules, and functions; it would take a large book to completely cover everything this program can do. You know, one of those big 6inch thick books, which is about the amount of information I had to wade through to provide you with this brief review. As with all my reviews, I am going to tell you what the program is, what it costs, and what is of importance and value to project managers.

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Reviews: The Project Manager's Survival Guide Posted by: Tom Kappel on Thursday, April 04, 2002 - 08:13 AM MST The Project Manager’s Survival Guide was originally designed as an outline for training project managers. It was then turned into a fullfledged presentation and training program in projection screen layout format. The book was then created from the on-screen layout and has remained true to that design. In other words, there are lots of pages full of numbered and bullet-pointed lists throughout the book.

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Miscellaneous Stats Greetings to our latest registered user: cmkoberlein 4010 Members 220 Stories Published 6 Total comments 0 in Queue 525 Web Links 38 Downloads 12 Reviews 2 FAQ's 12 Answers 21 Forums with: 283 Topics 619 Posts 1070145 Page views since: June 2001

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Reviews: Software Project Management Kit for Dummies Posted by: Tom Kappel on Thursday, April 04, 2002 - 08:09 AM MST This book by Greg Mandanis with Allen Wyatt is an information packed book that is well written, well organized, and comes with a CD full of handy and valuable project management templates—35 of them to be exact.
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Reviews:

Project KickStart 3 - from Experience In Software, Inc.

Posted by: Tom Kappel on Saturday, March 23, 2002 - 07:33 AM MST

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In many instances, the difficult area of planning any project is just getting started. Project Kickstart, from Experience in Software, may have just what you need to get you started.
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Reviews: PIVOT Version 4 Posted by: Tom Kappel on Saturday, March 23, 2002 - 07:27 AM MST Toolboxes. Chances are if you're any type of DIY enthusiast, you probably have your fair share of them, whether you spend your weekends at leisurely do-it-yourself projects or more lofty, long term aspirations. As a project manager, you're also probably well acquainted with the evergrowing collection of PM tools. Perhaps you've used a number of them. Maybe you have a specific favourite to which you've pledged your allegiance. Are you looking for a new toolbox? Enter PIVOT - Project Integrity and Verification of Operations Tool.
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HK to Offer Project Management Courses in Greater China (0) Friday, April 26

Reviews: The Relationship-Enterprise Posted by: Tom Kappel on Saturday, March 23, 2002 - 07:19 AM MST This book is very good. As a PM in the CRM space trying to feel my way towards a clear methodology for the breadth of a CRM project/programme, McKenzie's clear and thought provoking writing maps a path way towards some clear deliverables, project steps, and particularly pitfalls.
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· Branham declares
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Independent Canadian Software Companies (0) Monday, April 22

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· Launching Version YZPM 5.0 todayEnterprise Project Management Software (0)
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· Speed to Market software selected by DESI Labeling Systems to ensure 100% custom (0) · Pharmacia and Medtronic expand Speed to Market's software license after initial (0)
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Management Kit for Dummies (0) Tuesday, March 26

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· ALLPM Today, Issue 40, March 2002 (0) · Showcase Your Project

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By Treating It Like A Brand (0) Saturday, March 23

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Search results Easy RM Version 1.05 Contributed by Tom Kappel Posted by tomk on Thursday, May 23 @ 04:24:21 Topic: PM Tools & Technology (No comments) PERT Chart EXPERT V 2.0 --Update Contributed by Tom Kappel Posted by tomk on Thursday, May 23 @ 04:19:31 Topic: PM Tools & Technology (No comments) Building A Project Driven Enterprise Contributed by Tom Kappel Posted by tomk on Monday, May 06 @ 08:18:41 Topic: PM Tools & Technology (No comments)

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PERT Chart EXPERT Version 2.0 Contributed by Tom Kappel Posted by tomk on Monday, May 06 @ 07:47:19 Topic: PM Tools & Technology (1 _COMMENT) Projeca Release 7 Review from Tenrox Corporation Contributed by Tom Kappel Posted by tomk on Friday, May 03 @ 03:45:03 Topic: PM Tools & Technology (No comments) The Project Manager's Survival Guide Contributed by Tom Kappel Posted by tomk on Thursday, April 04 @ 08:13:27 Topic: PM Tools & Technology (No comments) Software Project Management Kit for Dummies Contributed by Tom Kappel Posted by tomk on Thursday, April 04 @ 08:09:46 Topic: PM Tools & Technology (No comments) Project KickStart 3 - from Experience In Software, Inc. Contributed by Tom Kappel Posted by tomk on Saturday, March 23 @ 07:33:27 Topic: PM Tools & Technology (No comments) PIVOT Version 4 Contributed by Tom Kappel Posted by tomk on Saturday, March 23 @ 07:27:52 Topic: PM Tools & Technology (No comments)

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The Relationship-Enterprise Contributed by Tom Kappel Posted by tomk on Saturday, March 23 @ 07:19:43 Topic: PM Tools & Technology (No comments)

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PERT Chart EXPERT V 2.0 --Update :: ALLPM - The Project Managers HomePage :: The Project Managers HomePage

May 28, 2002

Home | Forum | Links | Special Offers | Templates | Events | PM Jobs | News | Reviews Reviews: PERT Chart Posted by: Tom Kappel

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Topic PM Tools & Technology Mr. Spiller of Critical Tools took great exception to my comment about finish date calculations – proclaiming quite vociferously that the system does calculate a valid schedule and critical path. I repeated my testing and encountered mixed behavior with no discernible pattern. Given Mr. Spiller’s defense of his product, I uninstalled and re-installed the software. Following that, I found that PERT Chart EXPERT did perform consistently as advertised – correctly calculating the finish dates and schedule duration with no further difficulties.

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PERT Chart EXPERT is positioned like its sibling product, WBS Chart PRO, as a standalone planning or an add-on to MS project (Project 4.1a, Project98 or Project2000). System requirements are minimal: 16 MB RAM, 3MB free disk space and a 486 processor. Supported operating systems covers the broad spectrum of the Microsoft desktop from Windows 95 through Windows ME and XP. The program is network compatible, claiming to run on all major networks though that claim was not tested during this review. The installation was simple and straightforward with few options to configure and not glitches in its operation. I initially installed the product without the link to MS Project. After working with the system in standalone mode, I followed the brief and accurate manual installation procedure and within 2 minutes WBS Chart and MS Project 2000 were happily exchanging data. The application mimics the now familiar standard desktop, making it easy to navigate common functions. Upon start up, you are looking at a blank screen. Not immediately intuitive is how to add the first task, right clicking on the

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PERT Chart EXPERT V 2.0 --Update :: ALLPM - The Project Managers HomePage :: The Project Managers HomePage

blank page displays a menu with 7 options, 5 grayed out – none of which are insert task. The Edit menu has the Insert task option and pressing the Insert key also creates a new task. Once a task exists and is selected, right-click gives you the option it insert row, insert column, and insert task as well as cut, copy, paste and formatting options. The Insert Row and Insert Column menu options are a bit confusing at first, given that my expectation was to deal with tasks in relationship to each other. The reference does accurately represent the operation, which is strictly positional creating white space above or to left of the mouth cursor. Creating dependencies between tasks is the heart of a PERT chart. This is done via click and drag operation, click on a task and drag the cursor to the successor task. Double clicking on the dependency indicator opens a dialog box where you can set the dependency type to FS, SS, FF or SF with a lead or lad time. Clicking and dragging to white space has the unexpected behavior of creating a successor task at that location, while leaving you with no means of abandoning an operation as would happen in MS Project. Task position has 2 modes, manual and automatic. The system defaults to automatic, but manually moving a box “locks” the task positions and puts the system in Manual mode. From this point forward, all tasks will be displayed wherever they are inserted on the page. You can reset all or selected tasks to automatic, though this occurs through two separate menu options. When creating a PERT chart from MS Project, where if the PERT chart is locked, you manually moved a task, then any tasks subsequently added via MSS Project will be added to PERT chart and “automatically placed in the most logical position, relative to the locked boxes.” Transferring the PERT chart to MS Project was as easy as clicking the Goto MS Project icon. If you installed PERT Chart EXPERT standalone, you’ll be prompted to create the icons in MS Project. Agreeing to the options, added macros and menu icons seamlessly with appropriate explanations, warning messages about macros and a means of canceling at several steps. Saving the Project file, creates a link between the PERT Chart and Project files that causes data to be transferred whenever either file is updated, the transfer occurring when you change windows ensuring that that documents do not get out of sync. This auto-fresh is a configurable option that can be turned off so that only changes, rather than then entire file, are transferred. This is a valuable timesaving option that would better serve the user if it defaulted to OFF.

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The Group By feature provides the ability to view the PERT chart by MSP Summary tasks – elements that are not generally visible in a PERT chart. This is a useful view of activities that allows you to see relationships between task groups. Other Group By options include Resources and user defined fields. A time scale can be applied to the PERT Chart, however even with this feature; the placement of tasks – most notably those with dependencies on summary level tasks - does not accurately match the schedule The ability to trace the PERT chart is another useful feature that facilitates validation of the schedule and relations. Trace can be executed, forward, backward or both and limits the display to the tasks the lead up to or follow the highlight entry. Based on the selected view, this lets you see that tasks, time scales and/or resources that affect a given schedule element. Trace can only be released by rerunning Trace and clicking the Show All Task Button or Clicking the Trace button on the main menu, which also serves as the indicator that Trace has been applied. The major drawback to this product, one it unfortunately shares with WBS Chart Pro, is its inability to compute Finish Dates based on duration inputs. This makes its claim of being a standalone-scheduling tool a gross overstatement and invalidates the usefulness of time scaled views of the schedules. In summary, PERT Chart Expert offers no discernable advantages over the MS Project Network view with its ability to filter data and is inadequate as a basic planning tool since it does not accurately calculate duration. Mr. Spiller of Critical Tools took great exception to my comment about finish date calculations – proclaiming quite vociferously that the system does calculate a valid schedule and critical path. I repeated my testing and encountered mixed behavior with no discernible pattern. Given Mr. Spiller’s defense of his product, I uninstalled and re-installed the software. Following that, I found that PERT Chart EXPERT did perform consistently as advertised – correctly calculating the finish dates and schedule duration with no further difficulties. While not a replacement for more full featured schedulers, PERT Char EXPERT is a viable basic planning tool. For managing a project, you’ll need to link your PERT Chart to MS Project to see the full impact of resource allocations and changes in finish dates based on work and % percent complete.

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PERT Chart EXPERT V 2.0 --Update :: ALLPM - The Project Managers HomePage :: The Project Managers HomePage

PERT Chart EXPERT Version 2.0 Critical Tools, Inc. 8004 Bottlebrush Drive Austin, TX 78750 512-342-2232 www.criticaltools.com Reviewed by: Pam Oppenheim, PMP Pam Oppenheim is an experienced program and product manager with extensive cross-industry expertise. She has successfully established Program Management Offices, run multi-million dollar programs and developed strategic plans and their measurements. Pam can be reached at [email protected]

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Building A Project Driven Enterprise :: ALLPM - The Project Managers HomePage :: The Project Managers HomePage

May 28, 2002

Home | Forum | Links | Special Offers | Templates | Events | PM Jobs | News | Reviews Reviews: Building A Posted by: Tom Kappel

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Topic PM Tools & Technology Building a Project-Driven Enterprise by Ronald Mascitelli provides project managers with a set of waste-slashing and profit-boosting tools that are applicable to any industry. The book is well organized and written in an easy style that uses an assortment of pictures and graphs to illustrate the principles of what he terms Lean Project Management. It belongs on the shelf of any project manager who wishes to “strip waste out of a project team’s daily activities, while achieving the highest possible quality and value.” As project managers, our job is to schedule meetings, provide status reports, reassure customers, monitor the progress of our workers, maintain project plans, identify scope creep – the list goes on and on. But have you ever thought that traditional project management techniques might contain inherent wasteful practices that are really hidden obstacles to full productivity? Have you considered that a slight tweaking of many of the methods we incorporate as project managers could result in a drastic increase in productivity? Wouldn’t a project manager be more valuable if he or she could complete projects early with fewer resources and under budget? Obviously, the answer to these questions is a resounding “Of course!” But the next question is “how?” Mascitelli answers that question in his discussion of Lean Project Management. Before outlining the twelve “lean methods” which comprise almost fifty percent of the book, the author devotes the first five chapters to identifying the five most common areas of waste. The goal of these chapters is to help the project manager “learn to see waste” before applying one (or more) of

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the twelve waste-reducing “lean methods.” Here are the titles of these first five chapters: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) The Five Principles of Lean Thinking Time Batches and JIT Information Minimizing Transaction Costs Defining Standard Work Lessons from Information Theory

The theme of these five chapters is similar: to identify potentially inefficient activities in the project lifecycle, evaluate them, and revise or eliminate them completely. For example, chapter two identifies an organization’s approval cycle as a potential “Time Batch,” an instance where important information is kept from proceeding to the next phase in the project’s lifecycle. How many of us managers have watched precious time waste away while we waited for a certain report or purchase order to jump through the appropriate hoops en route to being approved? When building a “project-driven” enterprise, approval cycles identified as inefficient “time batches” are to be modified, if not eliminated. This will ultimately promote the efficiency of a project and reduce the costs to the customer and/or company. These five chapters show the reader how to identify such waste traps If there is one reason to buy this book, it is to have the following twelve lean management tools in your project manager toolbox. Whether the book is tucked under your arm in the heat of battle or sitting on your shelf as a reference, these twelve tools make the book worth every cent of its $39.99 price. As I said before, the bulk of this text’s 368 pages are devoted to these “lean methods.” Here they are: 1) Testing for Customer Value 2) Linked Tasks and Customer-Defined Deliverables 3) Urgency-Driven Stand-Up Meetings 4) Real/Virtual Project Rooms 5) The “Waste-Free” Design Review 6) Staged-Freeze Specifications 7) Visual Control and Communication 8) Standard Work Methods and Templates 9) Risk Buffering and the Critical “Core” 10) Dedicated-Time Staffing and “Superteams” 11) The Reservation System 12) The Value-Added Scorecard

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In addition to providing clear, easy to understand descriptions of each of these methods, the book outlines a step-by-step procedure for implementing them into your current project. For example, in the description of the Reservation System, Mascitelli takes a simple principle used in restaurants and applies it to the world of project management. Imagine making a reservation at your favorite restaurant and then running errands for the two hours preceding the designated time. You then arrive at the right time and your table is ready. Without a reservation, you might stand around for up to two hours waiting for a table. Now imagine this in the project lifecycle. Instead of two wasted hours, two very unproductive days could fly by as you wait for, perhaps, a deliverable from another department. If you had been able to control this timing, those two days could have been used for activities more productive than waiting and doing nothing. The point, obviously, is to eliminate queues and wait times. It all sounds simple in theory but the real challenge is implementing this into one’s ongoing business process. The great thing about this book is that it first provides a high-level illustration of the principle followed by an easy to understand graphic comparing a before an after model. The section ends with a step-by-step methodology for implementing the Reservation System in any organization. The last three chapters of the text combine the twelve methods of lean management with the five areas of waste reduction. They explain how to overhaul any organization’s project management procedures. These include the following: · Creating a Lean Product Development Process · Mandates for a Project-Driven Enterprise · A Step-by-Step process for Slashing Waste. The author spends a lot of his time consulting to companies and assisting them with sweeping changes that ultimately reduce waste, increase productivity, and lower costs. My guess is that he charges at least $200 per hour ($1600/day) to do this. Considering the informative and easy to read nature of this book, it will probably take you eight hours to read, the equivalent of one day of Mr. Mascitelli’s very expensive time. So take a first step toward increasing productivity and reducing waste. Even if you don’t incorporate all of his techniques, this book is a sound investment at only $39.99, or $1560.01 more efficient than hiring the author personally. Building a Project-Driven Enterprise

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ISBN 0-9662697-1-3 368 pages; hard cover; 2002 Technology Perspectives; Northridge, CA Author: Ronald Mascitelli Review by: Michael DiCarlo Michael DiCarlo is a freelance writer from Leesburg, Virginia. He works for a major telecommunications company in various highly technical project positions. He has had a number of his stories, essays, and poems published and he is hard at work on his first novel.

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Easy RM Version 1.05 :: ALLPM - The Project Managers HomePage :: The Project Managers HomePage

May 28, 2002

Home | Forum | Links | Special Offers | Templates | Events | PM Jobs | News | Reviews Reviews: Easy RM Version Posted by: Tom Kappel

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Topic PM Tools & Technology Project Managers and Business Analysts are constantly searching for some method of gathering, identifying, capturing, and synchronizing project or business requirements, especially in the early initial stages of the project life cycle. It was with that in mind that I eagerly looked forward to studying and reviewing Easy RM software (RM for Requirements Manager, of course.) To begin with and immediately, this program was different and a little strange. In order to test and evaluate this software with the free demo available on their web site, two separate zipped files must be downloaded. These files are and contain the following: * Easyrmcomplete_082001.zip • QuickStartGuide.doc • Easyrmdemo.srm • Easyrmcomplete_082002.gds * Gemcm_10d_082001.zip • Gemcm.exe • Gemcm.hlp This is where things go a little bit awry. The Quick Start Guide suggests that you need an additional third file called EasyRMDemo.zip in order to have everything necessary. I never needed or found this third zip file. Next they suggest that you unzip both files to a single directory called, “CI Demo.” Of course, unless you’re really smart and unzip and open just the .doc file to read, you’ve already unzipped the EasyRmComplete file somewhere and most probably in a directory you’ve created yourself. That’s what I did.

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News by tomk Microsoft Intel HotScripts Linux Manuals Linux Manuals HTML Standard Most read story in PM

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Okay, so now you have the .doc file and you read it and decide to use the directory folder you created yourself, or rename it to their suggestion—now that you know, and you unzip the second file, the GemCM file, in this same directory. Here are the next instructions directly from their QuickStartGuide: The installation procedure is as follows: 1. Extract the contents of the three zip files into the directory called ‘CI Demo’. 2. Double click on the file called ‘GemCM.exe’ 3. Once the ‘GEM Configuration Manager’ has started, select the tab called: ‘Install Components’. 4. Press the Browse button and navigate to the file called ‘easyrmcomplete_082001.gds’ in the directory called ‘CI Demo’. Please note that once you have all this done and you run the GemCM executable file, you must then also select the correct Install Component Tab and browse to the file to load the Easy RM program. My point here is, try doing this intuitively without having and following the Quick Start Guide. Now I don’t usually go into this detail on obtaining the program for review and installing it. Usually I jump right into the program itself and tell you the features, benefits, and cost and, of course, does it operate and do what it says it does. This program is obviously a little different and your first clue is this setup and install process, because once you’ve done all of this you’re ready to begin and be ready---FOR THE NEXT SURPRISE! Under the start menu you’ll find a new folder called GEM 1.0. In that folder, you’ll find another folder called Easy RM Integrator. Selecting that folder reveals a tab called EasyRMIntegrator and selecting that actually starts the program. By the way, there is an uninstall program under the original first folder. Okay! Ready! You start the program and here is that NEXT SURPRISE. Not one, not two, not three, but four separate windows open up on your desktop. Windows that you’ll probably want to resize to be able to identify each of them until you become very familiar with the program. The windows that open are: EasyRM EasyRM EasyRM EasyRM Integrator (the main program window) Glossary Requirements Manager Document Manager

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So, we’re ready to begin the program, but before taking that step let me speak a moment about the 13-page Easy RM Requirements Manager Document, which is the actual name for the Quick Start Guide. It has lots of screen shots and some instructions for you to follow, but is barely adequate. It has no depth of explanation of the process or how to use the various aspects of the program efficiently or effectively. I think they realize this, because there is an additional document available called Easy RM Requirements Manager—Methodology. This little 7-page gem does not come in the zip files so be sure to hunt around on the web site to find and obtain it. This document does explain the requirements gathering process of the initial project lifecycle and does show you where and somewhat how the EasyRM program works and fits into that process. Still, I certainly hope they provide something more, a manual or something, when you buy the program, because, in my opinion, what they provide is not enough. Next, let’s quickly cover the price of the program. Presently the current version of the program (V 1.05) is 70% off until June 1st 2002—which by the time you read this is probably past. It’s current discounted price for the complete program is $127.00 USD. I’ll let you do the math to figure out the normal price of the program. The upgrade, V 1.06, is programmed to be out soon. If you’re interested in buying after this review, do check the web site as prices constantly change from moment to moment. ON TO THE PROGRAM As I stated earlier, this program opens up 4 windows when you start the program and each of the four windows has a number of tabs to select as follows: • EasyRM Integrator is the main program window and has no tabs. It has the standard drop-down menus and they are, Database, Tools, Add-Ons, Reports, Options, and Help. • EasyRM Requirement Manager has four tabs: Dictionary, Model, Classification, and Decomposition. • EasyRM Document Manager has two tabs: Dictionary and Library. • EasyRM Glossary has four tabs: Dictionary, Model, Structure, and Topology. Now, to cut to the chase, is this program useable?

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This is a complex program as shown above with all the separate windows and tabs, but from a PM point of view, all this work is to accomplish only one purpose. The purpose of this program is to easily capture all the requirements of a project and present them in a useable form for documentation. So, the most important part of this program, after all the requirements management work, is reports. How does it provide the information out of the program to be used? And here is the rub! The demo program I evaluated provides you only with HTML output. They are composed of huge fonts of various colors and would require considerable work and effort to convert them into a presentable MSWord document or template. A document format or template that may be the standard for you or your organization. Oh yeah, this is also where they put the nag screens for the demo too. I do believe they understand where the value is of their program. I don’t know if the version they sell provides additional formats for reports and I don’t believe I care. Frankly, the bottom line for me is that this program is much to complicated, convoluted, expensive at full price, and too darn difficult for me to bother using. I want something easy! I’ll keep looking. That’s my recommendation for you too. Cybernetic Intelligence GMBH Luzern, Switzerland http://www.easy-rm.com [email protected] +41 41 4503639 Tom Kappel Reviews Editor Allpm.com Tom Kappel is a Virginia based freelance writer and photographer who was a contributing editor for an Internet magazine, Internet Voyager, and has published fiction and nonfiction in over 17 publications including Albuquerque Monthly, Vistas West, the LERA Writer’s Guide, College and School Planning and Management, and Computer User Magazine. In addition, Mr. Kappel has scripted a video production and is currently a Reviews Editor and book reviewer for allpm.com

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Project Management Productivity Checklist
Initial Project Fact Finding
1. Write A List Of People Who Will Have Information You'll Need & The Types
Of Information They're Likely To Have.

2. Build Rapport With Them By Reflecting Their Preferred Communication
Style.

3. Prepare At Least One Open And One Closed Probe For Every Topic You
Plan To Address.

4. Gather Information Until You're Sure About The Project's (1) Purpose, (2)
Outcome, (3) Value, (4) Potential Problems, (5) Your Responsibility & Authority, (6) The Budget & (7) The Deadline.

Getting Enthusiastic Help From Participants
1. Start Building Your Overall Influence Foundation By Sincerely & Proactively Developing A Supportive
Network.

2. Mini-Max Participant Outcomes You'd Prefer & You'd Need, Then Mini-Max A Range Of Commitment
You'll Request.

3. Use Priority & Ability Probe Information To Determine Whether A Potential Participant Needs Telling,
Selling, A Delegated Task Or Coaching/Training To Succeed.

Planning The Project
1. 2. 3. 4.
Get People Involved In The Early Planning Stages Of Your Projects. Explore Creative Solutions When Risk Is Low And Upside Potential Exists. Develop Draft Goal & Milestone Sequences As Early As Possible To Focus Project Team Input. Prepare Project Charts That Reveal Enough Detail So You Can Effectively Spot Potential Trouble & Proactively Manage Key Dependencies.

Prime Mover Review Meetings
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Keep Your Project Prime Mover Up To Speed On Results & Plan Variances. Prepare An Agenda & Objective(s) For Every Project Review Meeting (Initial, Periodic & Emergency). Avoid Meetings When Another Method Will Yield The Same Or A Better Result. Make Time To Prepare For & Follow Through On All Project Meetings. Have The Tact & Courage To Exhort, Present, Control, Summarize & To Ask For Specific Action/Resource Commitments.

Time Management For The Project Manager
1. Load Your Planner With All Key Activities And Outcome Dates. Refer To It Before Saying "Yes" To
Anyone.

2. Prioritize Planned Activities &, When Asked For Help, Clarify, Calibrate, Compare & Either Challenge or
Cooperate To Protect Your Plan.

3. Use Milestones To Reduce Procrastination; Hand Off Results When They're "Business Ready" To Control
Perfectionism; Use The Next Response Rule To Improve Listening.

http://commercial-solutions.com/pages/checklists.html (1 of 7) [5/28/2002 6:12:36 PM]

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Influencing Participants & Prime Movers
1. Anticipate Project Changes & Influence People To Keep Your Project On Line. 2. Learn Enough About Team Members To Identify Their Wants/Needs & To Work Participant Benefits Into
Your Projects. 3. When Influencing, Ask More Questions/Probes Than Usual. Best Case - Talk 30% & Listen 70%. 4. Welcome Resistance And Discuss/Problem Solve Objections In A Way That Builds Partnering Relationships. 5. Ask For Resources, Support And Commitments From Project Prime Movers & Milestone/Time Commitments From Project Players.

Presenting Project Results
1. Find Out About Your Audience's Expectations, Interests, Familiarity With The Project And Their Opinions
Of The Project Before Preparing.

2. Prepare A Presentation Goal First, Then Write Enabling Points That Support The Goal. 3. Select Facts, Evidence And/Or Expert Opinion That Support Each Enabling Point. 4. Be Sure To Use The Presentation For Interaction - Not Core Dumping.

Teamwork From Project Teams
1. Identify Your Participant's Team Maturity Level - Do They Identify With The Project And Each Other?, Are
They Motivated To Learn And Achieve?, Do They Trust Each Other And You?, Do The Communicate About The Project Frequently, Meaningfully And/Or Productively? 2. Find Things That You, As Leader, Can Start And Stop That Will Help Your Team Mature From Dependence Through Independence To Interdependence. 3. Emphasize Listening, Trust Building, Empowerment And Balance As Team Priorities.

Follow Through
1. Celebrate Project Team Successes During And At The Conclusion Of The Project. 2. Write Personal Thank You Notes To Individual Project Contributors. 3. Consider Debriefing The Team And Prime Movers - Harvest And Capture Lessons Learned.
Download a pdf version of the Project Checklist by clicking on any word in this sentence.

Sales Productivity Checklist
Territory/Strategic Planning
(First Things First) 1. 2. 3. 4.
Where Are My Key Accounts & What Is Their Growth/Profitability Outlook? What Are My Sales & Margin Objectives For All My Core Accounts? What Outcomes Must I Make Happen By When To Meet My Account & Territory Objectives? Who Are My Competitors & How Do We Stack Up In Terms Of Exclusives & Better Thans?

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5. What Sales Tools, Joint Call Support, Authority & Pricing Input Do I Need & How Do I Set It Up?

Prospecting
(Facts To Find) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Do They Need My Product Or Service & Do They Have The Resources To Pay? Are They Happy With Their Current Supplier? Who Is The Decision Maker & Who Are The Influencers? What Do They Do And How Do They Do It? When & How Do They Make Buying Decisions? Who Are My Established Competitors & What Are My "Better Thans" and "Exclusives." Have I Learned Enough And Told Them Enough To Ask For A Second Call And To Effectively Sell During It?

Call Planning
(Need To Know) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.
What Was My Last Call Objective? What Did I Learn And What Did I Promise During The Last Call In This Account? Have I Learned Anything Since My Last Call That Could Be Important To A Key Contact? What Is My Objective(s) For This Call? What Probes Can I Ask That Are Likely To Reveal Information I Need? Is There Anything/Anyone I Should Bring To The Call? Is There Anyone Else From The Client Company Who Should Attend? What Are My Key Contact's Call Objectives? Are There Any Objections I Can Anticipate? Where Is The Best Place To Have This Call (Client's Office, Lunch, Dinner, Etc.)? What Time Of Day & Length Of Call Is Best?

During The Call
(Things To Do) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Adapt To The Client's Style & Stay Focused. Let The Client Know Why I'm There. Do Less Talking Than The Client. Ask My Probes & Follow Up As Needed. Actively Listen For Main & Supporting Points. Restate & Confirm The Client's Key Points. Find Ways To Develop Relationships. Connect Customer Needs To The Ways I Can Add Value To An Ongoing Business Relationship. Close (On A Next Meeting, A Deal, Something).

After The Call
(Follow Through)

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1. 2. 3. 4.

Write Notes Or A Call Report (Objective, Analysis, Next Actions & Recommendations). Follow Up & Follow Thru Directly With My Management & Others As Needed. Do What I've Promised. Think About How To Develop The Account. Download a pdf version of the Seller's Checklist by clicking on any word in this sentence.

High Yield Training Checklist
Before Training
1. What Are The Specific, Immediate & Important Competencies You Seek? (What Must You Know & Be
Able To Do That Warrant The Training Investment?)

2. Is A Training Session The Best Way To Develop The Needed Competencies? (Consider A Book,
Coaching, Mentoring, A Video On The Subject, etc.)

3. Does Your Boss Agree With The Need For The Targeted Competencies & Is She Willing To Help You
Follow Thru? (Will She Prioritize & Hold You Accountable For Each New Competency?)

4. Can You Identify A Training Program With Training Objectives That Match Your Learning Objectives? 5. Will The Content And Activities Described In The Program Agenda Clearly & Convincingly Produce The
Targeted Learning Objectives?

6. Is There Assigned Or Recommended Pre-Work To Improve Program Effectiveness Or Efficiency? 7. Have You Prepared Need-Specific Work Situations To Work On In Class?

During Training
1. Did You Arrive Early Enough To Meet The Instructor And Discuss Your Learning Expectations? 2. Did You Review The Program Book Before The Class Began To Identify Key Training Areas In Advance? 3. Did You Write Your Notes, Ideas And Comments In Your Program Book To Avoid Loss & Make Later
Access Easy?

4. Did You Ask Questions Whenever Key Point Clarification Was Needed Or You Wanted To Know How A 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Particular Skill Could Be Applied To Your Situation? Did You Stretch Out Of Your Comfort Zone When Practicing New Skills During Group Role Plays? Did You Maximize Practice & Feedback By Volunteering For Whole Class Demonstrations? Did You Enthusiastically Participate During Large & Small Group Activities? Did You Provide Thoughtful Feedback To Other Small Group Participants? Did You Develop A Realistic Follow Through Plan Before Leaving?

After Training
1. Did You Meet With Your Boss As Soon As Possible To Review The Program Experience & Follow Thru
Plan?

2. Did You Solicit Coaching Help From A Boss Or Mentor To Help You Stay On Track With Your Follow Thru
Plan?

3. Did You Schedule Competency-Building Activities Into Your Daily Planner? 4. Did You Offer To/Actually Lead A Brown Bag Overview Of The Training Program High Points For CoWorkers?

5. Did You Review Your Levels Of Competency-Specific Improvement At Two, Four And Six Months-After? 6. Did You Provide The Company, Your Supervisor And/Or The Trainer With A Review Of The Program's

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Productivity- Enhancing Impact? Download a pdf version of the High Yield Training Checklist by clicking on any word in this sentence.

Team Excellence Checklist
Playbook For Coordination
1. What Is The Specific Outcome Or Activity That The Team Is Responsible For? (Are They Solving A
Problem (Solution), Resolving An Issue (Agreement), Or Testing A New Method (Preferable?)

2. Who Is The Team Sponsor & What Are The Performance/Outcome Standards? 3. Does The Team Possess Or Have Access To Sufficient Resources? (What New Equipment, Capital,
Support, Etc. Will Or Might Be Required?)

4. Is The Team Made Up Of The Right Players? (Are Team Mates Skillful, Knowledgeable And Innovative
Enough To Produce The Desired Outcome?)

5. Do All Team Mates Have A Roster That Is Dedicated Solely To Names, Numbers & Addresses Of The
Team?

6. Has A Plan Been Prepared That Clearly Communicates Expected Team Actions, Handoffs And
Outcomes?

7. Does Everyone On The Team Use A Planner To Schedule & Follow Through On Team Actions?

Fundamentals For Execution
1. Have All Team Mates Made Overt Commitments To Do Their Individual Best & To Work For Team
Excellence?

2. Do Bosses To Whom Team Mates Report Adjust Workloads & Priorities To Allow For Team Participation? 3. Do Team Mates Look For Improvement Opportunities & Bring Them To The Team For Consideration? 4. Do Team Meetings Include Only Those People Who Are Required In Order To Accomplish The Meeting
Objective?

5. Does The Team Leader Prepare & Distribute Team Meeting Summaries To The Entire Team & Others
Who Need To Know?

6. Does The Team Practice Consensus When Considering Issues, Opportunities Or Problems? (Everyone's
Opinions & Options Are Voiced & The Best Team Action Is Synthesized By The Leader.)

7. Do Team Mates Take Note Of & Comment On The Unique Contributions Of Others? 8. Do Team Mates Ask For Help Only When It Is Absolutely Essential?

Leadership For Direction
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Does The Leader Establish & Maintain A Strong Relationship With The Team Sponsor? Does The Leader Schedule & Protect Enough Time To Do All Of The Necessary Activities? Does The Leader Make Team Decisions When Necessary & Delegate Decisions When Appropriate? Does The Leader Use Plans & Performance Information To Anticipate & Pre-empt Problems Or Shortfalls? Does The Leader Support, Encourage & Have Fun With Team Mates? Does The Leader Identify & Remedy Conflicts Between Team Mates, Team Mates & Their Bosses & Others Who Might Impact Team Success?
Download a pdf version of the Team Excellence Checklist by clicking on any word in this sentence.

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Meeting Master Checklist
Before The Meeting
1. Is A Meeting The Best Way To Handle Your Communication Need? (Consider A Memo, Conference Call,
E - mail, Video Conference, Presentation, etc.)

2. What Must You Leave The Meeting With (A Decision, Commitment, Ideas, Consensus, etc.) In Order For It
To Be A Success? (After You Answer This, Revisit The Question Above)

3. What Is The Sequence Of Topics That Must Be Addressed In Order To Accomplish Your Meeting
Objective?

4. In What Ways (Discussion, Brainstorming, Planning, etc.) Must You Address Each Topic And For How
Long?

5. Who Must Be Present At Your Meeting For You To Accomplish Your Objective? 6. Where Should The Meeting Be Held In Order To Increase Comfort And Reduce Influence? (i.e.. You
Influence More In Your Office) 7. When Should You Meet And For How Long? 8. Have You Prepared And Sent A Detailed Agenda To All Participants?

During The Meeting
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Did You Arrive Early Enough To Prep The Meeting Room And Yourself? Did You Start The Meeting On Time? Did You Confirm That Everyone Received And Understood The Agenda And Is Prepared To Work? Did You Introduce The First Agenda Topic And Indicate The Preferred Way Of Addressing It e.g. "Generating Ideas Is The Approach I'd Like To Suggest With Our First Item, Sales Initiatives.") Did You Encourage The Less Talkative And Ride Herd On Monopolizers? Did You Alert The Meeting Members When Agenda Items Were Within 2 to 5 Minutes Of Their Allotted Time? (e.g.. "We've Got Five Minutes Left With This Item, So . . .") Did You Use A Concerns Flipchart To Capture Unfinished Business? Did You Summarize & Confirm Conclusions And Commitments? Did You Thank Participants? Did You Take Notes?

After The Meeting
1. Did You Complete A Short, Clear Summary Of The Meeting, With Emphasis On Decisions And
Commitments That Were Made?

2. Did You Distribute The Meeting Summary To Every Participant And Anyone Else With A Need To Know 3. 4. 5. 6.
Within 36 Hours Of The Meeting? Did You Begin And/Or Complete Any And All Of The Actions That You Committed To During The Meeting? Did You Follow Up With any Meeting Participant Who Made A Commitment? Did You Express Thanks To Any Participants Who Added Superior Levels Of Value To Your Meeting? Did You Probe Any Participants Who Were Unusually Quiet Or Who Expressed Reservations With Topics Or Outcomes? Download a pdf version of the Meeting Master's Checklist by clicking on any word in this sentence.

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COMMERCIAL SOLUTIONS TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT

WHAT EVERY PROJECT MANAGER SHOULD KNOW & DO
A PROJECT MANAGEMENT SKILLS SURVEY

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P RO J E C T M A N A G E M E N T S K I L L S S U RV E Y
Instructions: You can complete this Project Management Skill Survey in one of two ways; about yourself as a project manager or about this organization and how, in your experience, its project managers manage projects. Check one of the two boxes below. s s About me as a project manager - I’m thinking about my typical behavior as a project manager when I complete the items below. About my project managers - I’m thinking about the typical behavior of the manager of my project team. Check one box per item depending on how “typical” you believe the behavior is, from Always (does this behavior when managing a project) to Never (does the behavior).
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The Project Manager systematically gathers essential information (project objective, budget, timeline, available resources, shortfall consequences, outcome standards, level of organizational priority & support, etc.) from the Prime Mover(s) (people with the authority and resources to initiate and terminate the project). An adequate sample of project end users are asked to describe what:

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the best project result would be for them,

the minimum acceptable result would be (standards),

the bottom line impact of the project result would likely be, date they would like to receive the project result,

training they will require, if any, to use the result effectively and efficiently, and end users would be best suited to the role of beta testers of intermediate project results.

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The work environment where the project result will be used is carefully observed and the project manager asks end users to describe/demonstrate how the project result would be used.

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The Project Manager interviews an adequate sample of potential project participants, asking: what resources would be required to complete the project, who should and could participate in the project,

m o s what existing methods, products, services or technologies could be used to simplify or accelerate C
if any aspects of the project would be particularly difficult and/or prone to schedule or cost overruns, and what functions and/or activities should be part of the project plan. The project manager develops and negotiates procurement approval of a Needed Resources Budget that details every essential and non-routine resource (eg. equipment, vendor, raw material, Prime Mover approval, etc.) and when it will be required.

© 1998, Commercial Solutions Training & Development - All rights reserved

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Before beginning the planning process, the Project Manager identifies and meets with all project participants to describe and ask for input to the project objective, priority, timeline, potential problems, benefits and preliminary plans (Work Breakdown Structure and Task Schedule). The Project Manager asks project participants for preliminary commitments to complete their project tasks on schedule and to hand off an acceptable intermediate result. When a project objective can be upgraded (better result, lower cost, faster completion, longer commercial viability, etc.), the Project Manager effectively sells the upgrade to Prime Movers, participants and end users before or during the conduct of the project. The Project Manager develops a Work Breakdown Structure (project scoping), an appropriate project chart (P.E.R.T., C/PM, Gantt, etc.) and task lists before beginning the project and presents these plan elements to project participants for input and for specific performance commitments. The Project Manager develops a thorough documentation and review routine before the project begins and maintains both throughout the course of the project. The Project Manager methodically uses a time management/planning tool (Daytimer, computer-based scheduler, PalmPilot, etc.) to schedule and protect time required to effectively manage the project. Contingency plans are developed for anticipated problems when project shortfalls would have significant financial effects or when resources and/or participants would become unavailable if the project schedule was compromised. s s

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The Project Manager is able to persuade people to support the project using benefit-focused techniques. When benefit-focused persuasion techniques are ineffective and the success of the project is put in doubt, the Project Manager is prepared to and effective at generating project support by appealing to authority. Coaching is provided or arranged by the Project Manager for reluctant, underperforming participants before they compromise the project schedule. Delegation is only used with project participants who are not fully skilled in their assigned tasks but who are motivated enough to learn how to perform them successfully. Able but reluctant project participants are pre-sold on the project to gain their commitment and are regularly re-sold until their project responsibilities are completed.
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The Project Manager meets with the supervisor(s) of time-critical project participants to ensure that their participation in the project will be prioritized (competing assignments will not significantly conflict with project work). The Project Manager regularly meets with project participants while or just before they are scheduled to perform their tasks in order to:

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confirm their readiness to participate, arrange for needed resources,

get an update on their progress,

confirm their adherence to intermediate outcome quality standards, and/or

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n i a rto shorten the project schedule, the Project Manager: T Before complying with a request/demand nsshortfall potential of the request, reviews the benefits and theiproject o t u l discusses the request with impacted participants, and o S advises the requester l of the impact that shortening the project schedule would probably have. a i rc e The Project Manager regularly meets with and/or sends memos to all Prime Movers to update m
diagnose/remedy any problems or shortfalls.

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them on progress, budget, problems (real and potential) and remedies.

The Project Manager treats participants well; as if the success of the project and of the project manager’s career aspirations depend on their good will. The Project Manager plans for and supports an end-user hand off presentation, training package, user’s documentation, follow-through liaison and/or results measurement. Participants are thanked according to their unique contribution to project success, ranging from a personal “thank you” to a hand-written thank-you letter and/or personnel file commendation. A post-project summary is written and circulated that describes notable aspects of the project and lessons learned during the project.

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When you finish, please return this survey to me at the address to the right. If you’d like to discuss the results, be sure to include your phone number.

C S

Paul B. Williams, Ph.D.
Principal

COMMERCIAL SOLUTIONS
TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT
P.O. Box 38381, Dallas, Texas 75238-0381 214/503-1706 Fax: 214/341-1869 E-Mail: [email protected]

Website: www.commercial-solutions.com

timesurvey

Time Management Inventory
Just What Kind Of Time Manager Are You?

Instructions: Check the answer to each question that most closely describes your behavior (not your intentions) for each of the time-sensitive items listed below. Although this inventory is, largely, self-explanatory, if you would like to discuss your results and steps you can take to improve your efficiency or effectiveness, e-mail your inventory to us by pressing the SUBMIT button at the bottom of the page. Your answers and results summary will be held in strictest confidence. If you would like to discuss or correspond regarding your results, please reference your results release password (see below).

1. Can you readily recall all of your key work goals for the current and/or upcoming year? Sure! Some One What goals

2. Can you list three or more personal goals you've been consistently working toward? Absolutely! Two!? One Personal goals?

3. Do you consistently use a specific, portable daily planner? Always! Usually Sometimes What planner?

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4. Do you write a to-do list at the beginning of each work day? 1st thing! Usually Seldom Never

5. Do you write a to-do list at the beginning of non-work days? Definitely! Usually Seldom You're kidding?

6. Do you prioritize the items on your to-do list? Sure! Usually Sometimes Never

7. Do you complete your listed activities according to their priorities? Always Mostly Sometimes Priorities?

8. How effective are you at cutting off non-work interruptions? Super! Okay Fair Crummy

9. How effective are you at cutting off work-related, low priority interruptions? Fabulous Okay Fair Crummy

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10. Have you ever 'burned out' in a job or a voluntary activity? Never Almost Yes Frequently

11. What would a neutral observer say about your office/work area? Organized Uncluttered Casual Squalid

12. Do you have and use a filing system? Yes, always Yes, mostly Sporadically No, not really

13. How often do you 'lose' things in your office/work area? Never Occasionally Daily Help!!

14. Your boss delegates tasks to you that are Interesting Confusing Routine Impossible

15. How good is your boss at giving clear, comprehensive delegation instructions? Great Okay Could improve I'll take the 5th

16. Do you find yourself doing urgent but fairly unimportant tasks?

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Never

Occasionally

Too often

It's my life!

17. In meetings or conversations, do you ever find your 'mind wandering' instead of listening to what's being said? Never Sometimes Too often Frequently

18. How many files/pounds of paper are in your office/work area that you haven't looked through in the past 6 weeks? None A couple/2 oz. A dozen/2 lbs. Get the truck!

19. Do you procrastinate? Never Occasionally Too often Daily

20. Are you punctual? Always Usually Sometimes Never

21. Is your productivity diminished by incoming, relatively unimportant phone calls? Never Sometimes Too often Yes, severely

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22. Do you spend 2 or more hours per week in poorly planned/low priority meetings? No Occasionally Regularly More!!

23. Do you prolong poorly planned/low priority meetings? Never Seldom Sometimes Yes!!

24. Do you ever end a day in your present job with the feeling that nobody cares or notices your efforts? Never Occasionally Too often Frequently

25. Do you open/look through obvious junk mail? Never Seldom Sometimes Regularly

26. How much time would you say you spend waiting per week (in lines, while commuting, at airports, etc.)? 3 hours plus 2 hours plus 1 hour plus Under 1 hour

27. Would people who know you call you a perfectionist? No Not many A few Lots of people

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28. Do you "run out of gas" after lunch or at some other regular time of the day? No A little Occasionally Yes!

29. How strong is your tendency to think about what you're going to say next while in a conversation with someone else? I don't Occasionally Frequently Habitually

30. How long do you spend commuting to and from work per day? Over 2 hrs. Over 1 hr. Over 30 min. Under 30 min.

31. Do projects or complex tasks you're involved in ever 'bottleneck' - stop because of an unanticipated need? Never Seldom Occasionally Too often

32. How good are you at changing habits (like dieting, smoking, etc.)? Great Good Marginal Terrible

My name is:

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Please e-mail my results to: My results release password is:
Submit

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Life Management Survey

Instructions: Read each of the question(s) below and check the box to the right that most accurately describes what you've done to get ready for your future and what you normally do to make the most of your present. When you finish, read the scoring explanation below. Have you seriously reviewed your personal philosophy, values and beliefs lately? Are you confident that you know what they are? Have you discussed your thoughts on the subject with a significant other? Do you have personal goals (1 year, 3 years, 10 years?) and have you prioritized those goals? Have you discussed family goals and career goals with your spouse, children, parents, boss, etc. as appropriate? Have these discussions resulted in specific, mutually agreed outcomes? Have you broken down the big life goals into annual or semi annual goals? Have you developed action plans to meet these goals that are based on a realistic assessment of the resources you need and the resources you can access? Do your annual goals and plans have priorities? Have you set milestone dates to review your progress? Do you consistently use a scheduler to record intended activities and accomplishments? Do you refer to that scheduler regularly to determine what you should be doing and how long you should be doing it? Do you update and adjust your written schedule as urgent needs intrude on your plan? Do you have or are you building strong time use habits? Do you consciously try to stay focused on productive pursuits, adjusting as you sense a productivity decline? Do you review the priority (importance and urgency) of what you are about to do, what you are doing and what people ask you to do? Do you habitually consider the possible events in the future and make decisions that allow you to proact to them rather than having them force you to react? Do you think before you talk and listen carefully enough to avoid miscommunications? Do you pay enough attention to things outside your plan and outside your habit patterns to notice opportunities, threats, challenges and pleasures? Do you consciously decide to incorporate new possibilities as you see fit?

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Life Management Survey

Scoring Explanation: There comes a point in most people's lives when they realize that their time on the planet is not limitless AND that the time left is too precious to fritter away. But managing one's most valuable resource (time) requires more than a Daytimer© or PalmPilot©; it requires a comprehensive approach to deciding what you want to do with your time and how you're going to fight off any bad habits so you can do it. If you gave yourself anything other than straight "Yes" checks, you've probably got room for improvement. Click the red cloud below for a glimpse at one comprehensive approach toward Life Management.

Select A Site Section..

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COMPANY

Project KickStart

Goal driven, easy to use, guides users through the process of identifying goals, obstacles and resources while creating a strategic plan,won ZD www.projectkickstart.com software award, cheap ($99 per),

Experience in Software Corporation

IMS TurboProject www.turboproject.com

Cheap, easy and milestone driven, uses a "loose mode" for quick plan development.

Kidasa Software Milestones www.kidasa.com Windows, PowerPoint & MS Project compatible; full featured; $250ish, easy to use

CA-Super Project

Computer Associates International www.superproject.com

Task-driven planning tool; Powerful, multi module package; server-based capabilities for enterprise project management. Users view and update project data from their own home pages

SureTrak Project Manager

Primavera Systems Inc. www.primavera.com

Talks about goals, feature rich, $500 per, strong company; project setup wizard to assist new PMs, Web publishing wizard supports posting reports to Web pages. Uses goals, is full featured, $1,000 for 1 to 4 users; Report wizard helps develop customized reports. Has a resource assignment form showing a list of people who can be assigned to a task and how much of their time is available. More of a time management help for managers than bona fide PM software. Prints assignment lists by importance or due date for individuals or groups. Market leader & immensely feature rich; Hundreds of add-ons available. Includes resource leveling, multiple costs per resource, and cost rates that change over time.

Scitor Corporation Project Scheduler 7 www.scitor.com

Madrigal Soft Tools Delegator www.madrigalsoft.com

Microsoft Corporation Microsoft Project www.microsoft.com

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COMPANY

PlanView Inc PlanView Software www.planview.com

Designed for multi-project organizations; focuses on workforce skills and availability. Special capabilities to support project office coordination duties.

Primavera Project Planner Professional

Primavera Systems Inc. www.primavera.com A high end, multi-project application with extensive capabilities.

Welcom Open Plan www.wst.com

Calls itself complex (and is). Web based implementation that supports multi-project analyses. Supports risk analysis, 'What-if', crossproject data comparisons, etc. Many module-based capabilities; expensive, complex, meets SOP 98-1 requirements

ABT Corporation Project Workbench www.abtcorp.com

Artemis Artemis Views www.artemispm.com

Very powerful ; GlobalView organizes projects into interactive charts, graphs, and reports. Active Alert, uses predefined business rules to look for exceptions and trends in project performance. Project portfolio management allows managers to organize projects by department, LOB, or project manager.

Disclaimer: The information above comes from the web sites of the above software makers, from reviews in various web and print publications, from descriptions by users of the software and from personal experience. We are not responsible for factual inaccuracies and will gladly correct them when/if pointed out. Any additional comments or software addtions from users are welcome.

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Project Management Skill Sharpener

Navigate Our Web Site

If you're anything like us, you're not going to complete all 26 items in one sitting. To help you complete the entire sharpener and keep track of where you are, we've divided the sharpener into five sections of about 5 items each.

Click one button per item depending on how "typical" you believe the behavior is of you when you manage a project; Always ("I always do this behavior when managing a project") to Never ("I never do this behavior when managing a project."). If your answer is between "Never" and "Sometimes" or between "Always" and "Sometimes", click the appropriate 'white column' button. Item #1
I systematically gather essential information (project objective, budget, timeline, available resources, shortfall consequences, outcome standards, level of organizational priority & support, etc.) from my project Prime Mover (people with the authority and resources to initiate and terminate the project).

Item #2
I ask an adequate sample of project end users to describe what (a) the best project result would be for them, (b) the minimum acceptable result would be (standards), (c) the bottom line impact of the project result would likely be, (d) date they would like to receive the project result, (e) training they will require to use the result effectively and efficiently and (f) end users would be best suited to the role of beta testers of intermediate project results.

Item #3
I carefully observe the work environment where the project result will be used and I ask end users to describe/demonstrate how the project result would be used.

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Project Management Skill Sharpener

Item #4
I interview an adequate sample of potential project participants, asking (a) what resources would be required to complete the project, (b) who should and could participate in the project, (c) what existing methods, products, services or technologies could be used to simplify or accelerate the project, (d) if any aspects of the project would be particularly difficult and/or prone to schedule or cost over-runs, and (e) what functions and/or activities should be part of the project plan.

Item #5
I develop and negotiate procurement approval of a Needed Resources Budget that describes (a) what every essential and non-routine resource (e.g.. equipment, vendor, raw material, Prime Mover approval, etc.) that will be required for project success is and (b) when it will be required.

Segment Two
Item #6
Before beginning the planning process, I identify and meet with all project participants to describe the project purpose and to ask for input to the project objective, priority, timeline, potential problems, benefits and preliminary plans (Work Breakdown Structure and Task Schedule).

Item #7
I ask all project participants for preliminary commitments to complete their project tasks on schedule and to hand off an acceptable intermediate result.

Item #8
When a project objective can be upgraded (better result, lower cost, faster completion, longer commercial viability, etc.), I effectively sell the upgrade to Prime Movers, participants and end users before or during the conduct of the project.

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Project Management Skill Sharpener

Item #9
I develop a Work Breakdown Structure (project scoping), an appropriate project chart (P.E.R.T., C/PM, Gantt, etc.) and task lists before beginning a project and I present these plan elements to project participants for input and for specific performance commitments.

Item #10
I develop a thorough documentation and review routine before a project begins and I maintain both throughout the course of the project.

Segment Three
Item #11
I methodically use a time management/planning tool (Daytimer, computerbased scheduler, PalmPilot, etc.) to schedule and protect time required to effectively manage my projects.

Item #12
I make sure that contingency plans are developed for anticipated problems when (a) project shortfalls would have significant financial effects or (b) resources and/or participants would become unavailable if the project schedule was compromised.

Item #13
I communicate to participants, end users and resource providers clearly, unambiguously and frequently enough to maintain interest, involvement and support.

Item #14
I use benefit-focused techniques to persuade people (Prime Movers, Participants and End-Users) to support my projects.

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Project Management Skill Sharpener

Item #15
When benefit-focused persuasion techniques are ineffective and the success of my project is put in doubt, I'm prepared to and effective at generating project support by appealing to authority.

Segment Four
Item #16
I either coach or arrange for someone else to coach reluctant and/or underperforming participants before they can compromise my project schedule.

Item #17
I reserve the use of delegation for participants who, for whatever reason, come to my projects underprepared but who are motivated enough to learn what is required to complete their assigned project tasks.

Item #18
I pre-sell capable but reluctant project participants on my projects to gain their commitment and I regularly re-sell them until their project responsibilities are completed

Item #19
I meet with the supervisor(s) of time-critical project participants to ensure that their participation in the project will be prioritized (competing assignments will not significantly conflict with project work).

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Project Management Skill Sharpener

Item #20
I normally meet with project participants while or just before they are scheduled to perform their tasks in order to (a) ensure their readiness to participate, (b) arrange for needed resources, (c) get an update on their progress, (d) confirm their adherence to intermediate outcome quality standards and/or (e) diagnose/remedy any problems or shortfalls.

Segment Five
Item #21
Before complying with a request/demand to shorten the project schedule, I (a) review the benefits and shortfall potential that a shortened schedule is likely to have on my project objective, (b) discuss the request with impacted participants and (c) advise the requester (usually a Prime Mover) of the impact that shortening the project schedule would probably have.

Item #22
I regularly meet with and/or send memos to all Prime Movers to update them on progress, budget, problems (real and potential) and remedies.

Item #23
I treat participants well; as if the success of the project and of my career aspirations depend on their good will.

Item #24
I plan for and support an end-user hand off presentation, training package, user's documentation, follow through liaison and/or results measurement.

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Project Management Skill Sharpener

Item #25
I thank participants according to their unique contribution to project success, ranging from a personal "thank you" to a handwritten thank-you letter and/or personnel file commendation.

Item #26
I write and circulate a post-project summary that describes notable aspects of the project and lessons learned during the project.

If You Would Like A pdf (a printable version) Of This Sharpener, In Skills Survey Form, Just Click Any Word In This Sentence.

© 1999 Commercial Solutions Training & Development - All rights reserved

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Ability Adaptability Apathy Beliefs Business

Ability
Ability is of little account without opportunity.
Napoleon Bonaparte

They are able because they think they are able.
Vergil

The question "Who ought to be boss?" is like asking "Who ought to be the tenor in the quartet?" Obviously, the man who can sing tenor.
Henry Ford

Busy Change

Adaptability
One learns to itch where one can scratch.

Cheerfulness Common Sense Communication Education Firmness

Ernest Bramah

Make yourself necessary to somebody.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Future Genius Gratitude Habit

Adaptability is not imitation. It means power of resistance and assimilation.
Mahatma Gandhi

Apathy
Apathy is a sort of living oblivion.
Horace Greeley

Haste Humility Imagination Intelligence Judgement Knowledge Leadership Learning Logic
Anonymous

Nothing for preserving the body like having no heart.
John Petit-Senn

Beliefs
One person with a belief is equal to a force of ninety-nine who have only interests.
John Stuart Mill

Business
Business is like riding a bicycle-either you keep moving or you fall down.

Man Opportunity Power
Charles M. Schwab

A man to carry on a successful business must have imagination. He must see things as in a vision, a dream of the whole thing.

Praise Progress Quality
John D. Rockefeller
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Results Retirement Self-Improvement Silence Smiles Teaching Trust Time Understanding Unity Vision Wisdom Work
What we hope ever to do with ease, we must learn first to do with diligence.
Samuel Johnson

The substance of the eminent Socialist gentleman's speech is that making a profit is a sin, but it is my belief that the real sin is taking a loss.
Winston Churchill

Busy
Whoever admits that he is too busy to improve his methods has acknowledged himself to be at the end of his rope. And that is always the saddest predicament which anyone can get into.
J. Ogden Armour

It is not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?
Henry David Thoreau

Change
There is a certain relief in change, even though it be from bad to worse! As I have often found in traveling in a stagecoach, that it is often a comfort to shift one's position, and be bruised in a new place.
Washington Irving

He who rejects change is the architect of decay. The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery.

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Harold Wilson

Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.
Leo Tolstoi

Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.
Robert F. Kennedy

Cheerfulness
The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.
Mark Twain

Wondrous is the strength of cheerfulness, and its power of endurance-the cheerful man will do more in the same time, will do it better, will preserve it longer, than the sad or sullen.
Thomas Carlyle

Cheer up! The worst is yet to come!
Philander Johnson

So of cheerfulness, or a good temper, the more it is spent, the more it remains.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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I feel an earnest and humble desire, and shall till I die, to increase the stock of harmless cheerfulness.
Charles Dickens

Common Sense
The two World Wars came in part, like much modern literature and art, because men, whose nature is to tire of everything in turn, tired of common sense and civilization.
F. L. Lucas

Common sense is the knack of seeing things as they are, and doing things as they ought to be done.
Josh Billings

Common sense is instinct, and enough of it is genius.
Josh Billings

Common sense is only a modification of talent. Genius is an exaltation of it. The difference is, therefore, in degree, not nature.
Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton

Communication
The fantastic advances in the field of electronic communication constitute a greater danger to the privacy of the individual.
Earl Warren

Education
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There is nothing so stupid as an educated man, if you get off the thing that he was educated in.
Will Rogers

If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.
Benjamin Franklin

Education makes people easy to lead, but difficult to drive; easy to govern, but impossible to enslave.
Henry Peter Brougham

Only the educated are free.
Epictetus

Education is too important to be left solely to the educators.
Francis Keppel

Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy

I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.
Mark Twain

Firmness
Firmness of purpose is one of the most necessary sinews of character, and one of the best instruments of success. Without it genius wastes its efforts in a maze of inconsistencies.
Lord Chesterfield

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The superior man is firm in the right way, and not merely firm.
Confucius

Future
I never think of the future. It comes soon enough.
Albert Einstein

The trouble with our times is that the future is not what it used to be.
Paul Valery

Genius
Genius is an infinite capacity for taking life by the scruff of the neck.
Christopher Quill

Genius is entitled to respect only when it promotes the peace and improves the happiness of mankind.
Lord Essex

When Nature has work to be done, she creates a genius to do it.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Gratitude
There is as much greatness of mind in acknowledging a good turn, as in doing it.
Seneca

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Gratitude is the heart's memory.
French Proverb

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.
Cicero

Habit
The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.
Samuel Johnson

Good habits result from resisting temptation.
Ancient Proverb

Sow an act and you reap a habit. Sow a habit and you reap a character. Sow a character and you reap a destiny.
Charles Reade

Haste
Take time for all things: great haste makes great waste.
Benjamin Franklin

Make haste slowly.
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Latin Proverb

Humility
It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.
Saint Augustine

Without humility there can be no humanity.
John Buchan

Imagination
Science does not know its debt to imagination.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Imagination is a quality given a man to compensate him for what he is not, and a sense of humor was provided to console him for what he is.
Oscar Wilde

He who has imagination without learning has wings and no feet.
Joseph Joubert

Intelligence
The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.
F. Scott Fitzgerald

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When you don't have an education, you've got to use your brains.
Anonymous

Judgment

When you meet a man, you judge him by his clothes; when you leave, you judge him by his heart.
Russian Proverb

Everyone complains of the badness of his memory, but nobody of his judgment.
François de La Rochefoucauld

We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing; others judge us by what we have done.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Knowledge
Perplexity is the beginning of knowledge.
Kahlil Gibran

Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Knowledge is knowing that we cannot know.
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Ralph Waldo Emerson

Leadership
In the great mass of our people there are plenty individuals of intelligence from among whom leadership can be recruited.
Herbert Hoover

Leadership: The art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.
Dwight D. Eisenhower

The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men the conviction and the will to carry on.
Walter Lippmann

Learning
Acquire new knowledge whilst thinking over the old, and you may become a teacher of others.
Confucius

The secret of education lies in respecting the pupil.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Wear your learning like your watch, in a private pocket, and do not pull it out and strike it merely to show that you have one.
Lord Chesterfield

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He who adds not to his learning diminishes it.
The Talmud

I am always ready to learn, but I do not always like being taught.
Winston Churchill

Logic
Logic is the anatomy of thought.
John Locke

Logic, like whiskey, loses its beneficial effect when taken in too large quantities.
Lord Dunsany

Man
I am the inferior of any man whose rights I trample under foot. Men are not superior by reason of the accidents of race or color. They are superior who have the best heart-the best brain. The superior man stands erect by bending above the fallen. He rises by lifting others.
Robert Green Ingersoll

Man is a special being, and if left to himself, in an isolated condition, would be one of the weakest creatures; but associated with his kind, he works wonders.
Daniel Webster

The awareness that we are all human beings together has become lost in war and through politics.
Albert Schweitzer

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Opportunity
A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.
Francis Bacon

It is less important to redistribute wealth than it is to redistribute opportunity.
Arthur H. Vandenberg

Plough deep while sluggards sleep.
Benjamin Franklin

Power
Power will intoxicate the best hearts, as wine the strongest heads. No man is wise enough, nor good enough to be trusted with unlimited power.
Charles Caleb Colton

Power does not corrupt man; fools, however, if they get into a position of power, corrupt power.
George Bernard Shaw

There is no knowledge that is not power.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

In the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding on the back of the tiger ended up inside.

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John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Praise
I can live for two months on a good compliment.
Mark Twain

Get someone else to blow your horn and the sound will carry twice as far.
Will Rogers

He who praises everybody, praises nobody.
Samuel Johnson

Progress
There is no advancement to him who stands trembling because he cannot see the end from the beginning.
E. J. Klemme

I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing; and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency, and demoralization.
Petronius Arbiter

All that is human must retrograde if it does not advance.
Edward Gibbon

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I walk slowly, but I never walk backward.
Abraham Lincoln

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world, but the unreasonable man tries to adapt the world to him-therefore, all progress depends upon the unreasonable man.
Samuel Butler

Quality
The best is the cheapest.
Benjamin Franklin

There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper.
John Ruskin

It is the quality of our work which will please God and not the quantity.
Mahatma Gandhi

Results
The man who gets the most satisfactory results is not always the man with the most brilliant single mind, but rather the man who can best coordinate the brains and talents of his associates.
W. Alton Jones

Retirement
A man is known by the company that keeps him on after retirement age.
Anonymous

The best time to start thinking about your retirement is before the
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boss does.
Anonymous

The worst of work nowadays is what happens to people when they cease to work.
Gilbert K. Chesterton

Self-Improvement
People seldom improve when they have no other model but themselves to copy after.
Oliver Goldsmith

There is no use whatever trying to help people who do not help themselves. You cannot push anyone up a ladder unless he be willing to climb himself.
Andrew Carnegie

I tell you that as long as I can conceive something better than myself I cannot be easy unless I am striving to bring it in to existence or clearing the way for it.
George Bernard Shaw

Silence
Blessed is the man who, having nothing to say, abstains from giving wordy evidence of the fact.
George Eliot

Silence is the ultimate weapon of power.

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Charles De Gaulle

Smiles
Wear a smile and have friends; wear a scowl and have wrinkles. What do we live for if not to make the world less difficult for each other?
George Eliot

Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.
Mark Twain

Teaching
You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself.
Galileo

Who dares to teach must never cease to learn.
John Cotton Dana

The man who can make hard things easy is the educator.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Trust
Trust men and they will be true to you; treat them greatly and they will show themselves great.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Put your trust in God, but keep your powder dry.
Oliver Cromwell

Time
Time is like money, the less we have of it to spare the further we make it go.
Josh Billings

Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.
Benjamin Franklin

One always has time enough, if one will apply it well.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Understanding
There is a great difference between knowing and understanding: you can know a lot about something and not really understand it.
Charles F. Kettering

I can explain it for you, but I can't understand it for you.

Anonymous

Unity
There are no problems we cannot solve together, and very few that we can solve by ourselves.
Lyndon Baines Johnson

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Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments.
Psalms 133:1-2

A house divided against itself cannot stand.
Abraham Lincoln

For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.
Rudyard Kipling

We come to reason, not to dominate. We do not seek to have our way, but to find a common way.
Lyndon Baines Johnson

Vision
Where there is no vision a people perish.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Vision: the art of seeing things invisible.
Jonathan Swift

No man that does not see visions will ever realize any high hope or undertake any high enterprise.
Woodrow Wilson

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The farther back you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.
Winston Churchill

Wisdom
That which seems the height of absurdity in one generation often becomes the height of wisdom in the next.
John Stuart Mill

Pain makes man think. Thought makes man wise. Wisdom makes life endurable.
John Patrick

One of the greatest pieces of economic wisdom is to know what you do not know.
John Kenneth Galbraith

Work
A man is a worker. If he is not that he is nothing.
Joseph Conrad

Labor disgraces no man, but occasionally men disgrace labor.
Ulysses S. Grant

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About FloorPlan v7 "Thanks IMSI, this is GREAT!!! I added a quick exterior deck, punched some second floor holes in the walls, used the slab tool, and PhotoReal Rendered with Raytrace quality 9 ... 2 minutes and 37 seconds. What a fine job IMSI... this is great." Jack Zimmer, Architect About TurboCAD v8 "TurboCAD v8 has to be the biggest release of any CAD program in many years… Easy to learn and even easier to Master, simply the best CAD system available today!" Kevin Doucette, Metropolitan Drafting

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Web Site of KIDASA Software, Inc. - Publisher of Milestones Professional and Simplicity, project management, project scheduling, project tracking and gantt charting software.

Free Trial Software: Milestones Professional Milestones Simplicity Examples: See some innovative examples of Milestones at work. MS Project users: Convert one of your MS Project schedules into a presentation-perfect Milestones Professional chart. More Milestones Simplicity or Professional? See our comparison. DOD Contractors: Present all of your project details on one page. More Milestones Professional: The Fast, Easy Way to Schedule your Projects! "Milestones Professional is the best of its breed."

Visit our Solutions page to find examples of how our Milestones Professional software can be used to meet your scheduling needs.

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Web Site of KIDASA Software, Inc. - Publisher of Milestones Professional and Simplicity, project management, project scheduling, project tracking and gantt charting software.

Developers: Integrate our scheduling engine with your data. More USAF Praises Charts Space Technology Latest KIDASA News Overviews: Milestones Professional Milestones Simplicity More Movies

"Simplicity is a super-sonic way to create schedules for last-minute proposals!" PM Network Milestones Simplicity: Easy basic scheduling!

Milestones Simplicity or Professional? See our comparison.

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Web Site of KIDASA Software, Inc. - Publisher of Milestones Professional and Simplicity, project management, project scheduling, project tracking and gantt charting software.

Free Trial Software: Milestones Professional Milestones Simplicity Examples: See some innovative examples of Milestones at work. MS Project users: Convert one of your MS Project schedules into a presentation-perfect Milestones Professional chart. More Milestones Simplicity or Professional? See our comparison. DOD Contractors: Present all of your project details on one page. More Milestones Professional: An Easy, yet Powerful Scheduling Solution. "Milestones Professional is the best of its breed."

Visit our Solutions page to find examples of how our Milestones Professional software can be used to meet your scheduling needs.

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Web Site of KIDASA Software, Inc. - Publisher of Milestones Professional and Simplicity, project management, project scheduling, project tracking and gantt charting software.

Developers: Integrate our scheduling engine with your data. More USAF Praises Charts Space Technology Latest KIDASA News Overviews: Milestones Professional Milestones Simplicity More Movies

"Simplicity is a super-sonic way to create schedules for last-minute proposals!" PM Network Milestones Simplicty: Basic scheduling!

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Primavera Systems, Inc.

Learn how Allegheny Power is saving time and money on projects in a newly deregulated environment More customer successes

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Primavera Systems, Inc.

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Welcome to Scitor Corporation!

We apply our diverse engineering and technical experience throughout the National, Defense and Commercial communities. Learn how our corporate values combine with our proven technical expertise to help you succeed.

Leading the project management software market since 1982, Scitor’s Enterprise Project Management products and services ensure your mission success through project success.

Define, analyze, and dramatically improve your critical business and manufacturing processes with Scitor’s innovative Enterprise Process Management products and services.

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Management, scheduling software for resources, projects, staff.

Management, Scheduling Software by Madrigal Soft Tools

Who we are and what we do.

From Fortune 500 corporations and governments to small non-profit organizations.

™ Resource

Scheduling Software

Sophisticated, but easy-to-use resource and employee scheduling software for rooms, equipment, staff (technicians, professionals, health care workers, others), vehicles, rooms, or other resources. Whether your organization schedules resources by fraction of an hour or by the week, ResSched can help. ResSched reduces costs by minimizing time spent scheduling, improving resource utilization, and avoiding costly double booking and schedule conflicts. At the same time, ResSched improves service to your clients or staff by reducing the time it takes to make a booking or appointment. Now includes scheduling Web interface for easy access from anywhere. Try ResSched with a free, fully operational evaluation version.

™ Delegation and Project Management Software Single-User Multi-User If you manage or coordinate other people, whether they are staff, colleagues, contractors or suppliers, DELEGATOR can help you. DELEGATOR is an integrated delegation management, bring forward, performance tracking, and project management system that is oriented to line managers rather than project specialists. Try DELEGATOR with a free, fully operational evaluation version.

To learn more about our scheduling software, enter here If you use Netscape or MS Explorer older than version 3 please go to

©Copyright 1997-2001 Madrigal Soft Tools 1290 Broad St. #201 Victoria, BC Canada V8W 2A5 Voice (250) 733 2294 FAX (250) 733 2298 E-MAIL US

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SPEX PROFILE PlanView has very strong PM functionality, which includes dynamic Gantt charting and the ability to resolve conflicts by shifting tasks while respecting the time constraints and priorities. This is its most salient feature. Read the full report >>

ABERDEEN GROUP'S SURVEY RESULTS OF PLANVIEW CUSTOMERS Survey of PlanView customers shows an increase in resource utilization of over 17% and invoice cycle time reduction of four weeks.>> PLANVIEW WEB SOFTWARE VERSION 7.2 RELEASE See how PlanView's recent software release helps you optimize investments in projects, people, capital and knowledge>> BANK PUTS TRUST IN PLANVIEW TO MANAGE IT RESOURCES Bank Systems & Technology Magazine discusses a large bank's success with PlanView.>>

q q

ABERDEEN GROUP PROFILE PlanView was one of the few PSA suppliers to understand the needs of internal IT services organizations, and create a solution that meets the needs of individuals who require more detailed information than those just focused on projectbased activities. Read the full report >>

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Artemis International Solutions Corporation

Artemis International maximizing business performance Artemis International Solutions Corporation is the leading provider of enterprise-based project and resource collaboration solutions in the world. The company's 26 years of success are built on its proven ability to execute customer-driven applications at all levels of the enterprise - from the executive to the knowledge worker. For Global 2000 organizations involved in IS/IT projects, capital programs and new product development, our unique Business Management Architecture™ is a complete project and resource collaboration solution that offers total control of the entire project process. From high-level portfolio management to enterprise-wide project and resource management, our Business Management Architecture combines a feature-rich set of scalable software solutions with highly acclaimed consulting services. This powerful solution empowers employees to manage their projects and resources more quickly and intelligently, which maximizes business performance and transforms strategies into results. Artemis offerings

breaking news news and events See our latest PortfolioDirector customer profile ViewPoint now shipping! Click here for more information on our new Web-based project and resource collaboration solution

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Artemis International Solutions Corporation

Artemis launches new channel program Artemis rated "Excellent" in recent SPEX report View our new ad as seen in InformationWeek customer support Log in to the Artemis Customer Support site.

Artemis ViewPoint now shipping! Artemis MSP Gateway A new web-based approach to project Leverage Microsoft Project in a multiand resource collaboration. project environment. Artemis Views 5 available! Order your upgrades today, including enhancements to ProjectView®, CostView® and TrackView® - and much more! Artemis PortfolioDirector A Web-based, scalable solution to enhance your financial performance by reducing investment risks and cost overruns. Learn more about Portfolio Management from CIO magazine's article, "Do the Math", or by reading our white paper. Artemis Consulting A wide range of professional services to improve your project and resource collaboration capabilities. e-PAM Online Assessment Get a FREE online assessment of your project and resource collaboration capabilities. Educational Services Artemis offers comprehensive product and project management educational services.

To request more information about Artemis products and services: contact us online, or call 1.800.477.6648.

finland | france | germany | italy | japan | korea | singapore | united kingdom | united states | all locations

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Spreadsheet
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Database
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Solution Suites
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Microsoft Project 2000

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Microsoft® Project 2000 Overview
Microsoft® Project 2000 is the sixth Windows® operating system-based release of what has grown to be the world’s most popular project management software. It represents a new milestone for Microsoft Corp.’s project management offerings. Microsoft Project’s installed base, which is well over 5 million users worldwide, includes a wide variety of user types, ranging from general knowledge workers to expert project managers. Microsoft Project 2000 is the result of an enormous research and development effort focused on this entire spectrum of customers and offers major feature additions and enhancements. Microsoft Project 2000 provides knowledge workers with the flexibility to collaboratively plan and track projects and deliver the results their business demands. It is the single planning tool needed in an organization. In addition, a new companion product, Microsoft Project Central, is being introduced to work closely with Microsoft Project 2000. Microsoft Project Central is a Web-based collaboration tool, allowing two-way communication between everyone involved in a project and also allowing data access to anyone, even those without Microsoft Project 2000 on their desktops. With Microsoft Project 2000, Microsoft Project Central will make project management a much more accessible activity for a broader user audience than ever.

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Benefits
Improve team productivity by involving team members and other stakeholders in project management Increase the usefulness of Microsoft Project data for users Extend project management across the organization Visit the Worldwide Sites page for links to information on products available worldwide. Learn about Microsoft Accessibility. Information on exporting and returning U.S. products.

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Microsoft Project 2000

Microsoft® Project 2000 What's New
Personal Gantt Chart This renders Gantt views like those in Microsoft Project to outline each team member’s own tasks across multiple projects. Team members can create tasks; the project manager can approve those new tasks before adding them to the project plan. Once assigned by the project manger, tasks may be delegated from leads to team members or from peer to peer. Delegation can be disabled. Team members can show entries from their task list in the Outlook messaging and collaboration client so they can see all their project and nonproject tasks in a single location. Team members can report nonworking time to the project manager or can report nonproject time, such as vacation or sick leave. Managers can reduce time spent in administrative activities by establishing rules to automatically accept actual hours, percent complete or any information in a custom field. Users can create custom report formats and request and receive team member status updates that Microsoft Project Central automatically rolls into a group report.

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New Task

Task Delegation

Show Microsoft Outlook® Tasks

View Nonworking Time

Auto-Accept Rules

Status Reports

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Administration Module

This provides project administrators with more control over definitions of nonproject time, views, formatting styles and security to ensure consistency in project-management approaches and organization structure. Senior executives, managers and team members can access different views of projects, such as View Your Portfolio, View Your Project and View Assignments. Team members can take their timesheets and status reports offline and continue working on them from wherever they are. Users can quickly categorize and view rolled-up task and resource information in any way they need. Users can define their own outline codes instead of having to tie them to the outline structure of their project. They can use their custom outline codes to create alternate hierarchical structures for tasks or resources (e.g. with outline codes based on cost or job codes). Users can associate graphical indicators with the data in a custom field, so a particular image can be displayed in place of the actual data to easily spot potential problems. Users can independently set the use of the fiscal year for both major and minor timescales to display data in the specific timescale combination they need. Task-specific calendars let users create schedules that affect only selected tasks. Users can specify consumable resources such as lumber or concrete and assign them to tasks. Users can remind the team of deadlines and alert them visually if deadlines cannot be met. Users can employ user-defined picklists to restrict the values that can be entered into a custom field and simplify data entry with just a mouse click. Users can add custom formulas for arithmetic calculations, conditional testing and functions to be applied to custom field data.

Views

Offline Capabilities

Grouping

Outline Codes

Graphical Indicators

Fiscal Year in Timescale

Task Calendars

Materials Resources

Deadline Dates

Custom Fields: Value Lists

Custom Fields: Formulas

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OLE DB

With OLE DB (read only), other applications can access Microsoft Project data, making it much easier to integrate project data across the enterprise. Users can indicate that the duration of a given task is tentative by simply entering the duration followed by a “?” and return to the task at a later time to enter a confirmed duration. Microsoft Project now supports months as a unit of duration. Users can create plans that incorporate time-phased resource availability information. For example, they can show that a resource’s availability increases from 50 percent to 100 percent from one period of time to another. This clears the baseline or interim plan data for selected tasks or an entire project. Just as in Microsoft Office 2000, only the items that users use most often are prominently featured on the menu. Menus are easily expanded to reveal all commands and also expand automatically based on IntelliSense® technology rules. Microsoft Project Templates are easy to create and access. Users can drag the row line between tasks to set individual rows to differing row heights. Users can view the context of a task while editing it. Users can select the cells they want to populate, and the fill-handle feature makes fill up or down operations much easier. Microsoft Project can automatically save users’ work at a chosen time interval so they won’t lose valuable data if their computer inadvertently shuts down. Users can save to Web servers just as they save to network locations. For workgroup users, this feature provides another way to share Microsoft Project files globally.

Estimated Durations

Month Duration

Contoured Resource Availability

Clear Baseline

Adaptive Menus

Templates

Variable Row Height

In-Cell Editing

Fill Handle

AutoSave

Office Server Extensions Support

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Single Document Interface

Similar to Microsoft Office 2000 applications, Microsoft Project 2000 supports the Single Document Interface. Since each open project is an entry on the task bar, switching between individual projects is no different from switching between mail messages or Web pages. Users can specify a default save format (such as Microsoft Project 98) and default save path to easily save project data where and how they want it. Microsoft Project now supports thirdparty accessibility aids through Microsoft Active Accessibility® programming interfaces. Microsoft Project 2000 only installs the components users need — when they need them. Enhanced portability gives users the ability to log on to any machine in a networked environment and maintain their own personal settings and preferences. Microsoft Project can run on Terminal Server. A single executable worldwide makes deployment easy in multinational companies. Similar to Microsoft Office 2000, Microsoft Project 2000 supports COM Add-ins to extend Microsoft Project functionality.

Default Save Format and Path

Accessibility

Install on Demand

Roaming User Support

Windows Terminal Server Support

Pluggable Language User Interface

COM Add-ins

Improved Features
Scaling and Printing Users can print documents more efficiently and easily with new printing and scaling options and improved behavior of existing options. Project managers can assign task responsibilities and track project status across workgroups to keep the project on track. Users can use email alone, or with Microsoft Project Central, they can exchange project information at a Web site on their intranet or the Internet. This is where team members can see their assignments across projects, enter updates and easily send them to the project manager.

Workgroup

Timesheet

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Actual Hours and Percent Complete Tracking

Team members can track and report actual hours spent on each assigned task. Or, they can simply estimate what percentage of the task is complete when it’s difficult or unnecessary to track the actual number of hours spent on each task. Formerly the PERT Chart, this view lets users customize network diagrams with new filtering and layout options, increased formatting features and enhanced box styles. Users can display Gantt bars for all subtasks on a single task summary line. They can also display all Gantt bars rolled up for a summary task without having to select bars individually to roll them up to the summary task bar. It is now much easier to expand and collapse the task outline structure from the Show button on the Formatting toolbar. Users can calculate the critical path within each inserted project or across all inserted projects to see a single critical path for the overall master project. Users can gain better control and faster performance when leveling resources by taking advantage of new scheduling features such as Task Calendars, a wider range of priority values, project-level priority and contoured resource availability. Now there are 1,000 unique priority levels for tasks. The ability to assign project priority levels is new in Microsoft 2000. Users can format and number their WBS to ensure consistency and meet their project’s unique needs. Users can create higher-quality images with larger allowable sizes and better scaling. HTML Help is Microsoft's new standard for help systems. It provides easier interaction with procedural help and the application at the same time. Microsoft Project 2000 also allows users to add their own content to the existing help system. More Tooltips now help users to discover features more easily.

Network Diagram

Rollup Gantt

Task Outline Level

Cross-Project Critical Path

Leveling

Task and Project Priority

Work Breakdown Structure(WBS)

Copy Picture

HTML Help

Tooltips

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Project Open and Save

The Open and Save dialog boxes have Microsoft Office 2000 look and functionality. The new Microsoft Office 2000 Hyperlink dialog box is easier to use with the option of linking to frequently browsed pages or frequently used files. Database changes have been made to improve performance and access to data. Using a resource pool over the network has substantially improved performance. Users can create master projects with confidence that links to subprojects will be maintained if they move a project. Microsoft Project 2000 provides many new application-level events for task, resource and assignment actions. This makes it easier for project managers to control what happens and what users see when attempting certain operations. Microsoft Project Object Model continues to provide even more ways to customize.

Hyperlinks

Database Performance

Resource Pooling

Inserted Projects

Events

Visual Basic® for Applications (VBA)

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Microsoft® Project 2000
Requirements
To use Microsoft Project 2000, you need: Computer/Processor Hard Disk · PC with a Pentium 75 MHz or higher processor · 30-204 MB of available hard-disk space (30 MB for typical installation on system running Windows NT Workstation 4.0 with Microsoft Office 2000 installed; 204 MB for full installation on similar system without Office 2000 installed. Your hard-disk usage will vary depending on configuration.) · For Windows 95 or Windows 98: - 16 MB of RAM for the operating system, plus an additional 8 MB of RAM for Microsoft Project · For Windows 2000 or Windows NT Workstation version 4.0 or later with Service Pack 3 or later: - 32 MB of RAM for the operating system, plus an additional 8 MB of RAM for Microsoft Project · VGA or higher resolution monitor; Super VGA recommended · Microsoft Windows® 95, Windows 98, or Windows 2000 operating system, or Microsoft Windows NT® Workstation operating system version 4.0 or later with Service Pack 3 or later · CD-ROM drive · Microsoft Mouse, Microsoft IntelliMouse®, or compatible pointing device Additional items or services required to use certain features: · 9600 baud modem; 14,400 or higher-baud modem recommended · Multimedia computer required to access sound and other multimedia effects · Some Internet functionality may require Internet access and payment of a separate fee to a service provider · Windows-compatible network and MAPI-compliant mail systems required for mail functions · Windows NT 4.0 with Service Pack 3 or later, Internet Information Server 4.0, SQL Server(tm) 7.0, Oracle 8.x, or shipped Microsoft Database Engine required for Web-enabled workgroup functions · Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01 or later or the shipped browser module for Microsoft Project Central required for Microsoft Project Central

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Drive

s

Display Operating System

Peripherals

Miscellaneous

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To use Microsoft Project Central Client, you need a PC with the same configuration as above, with this exception: · 10-20 MB of available hard-disk space To use Microsoft Project Central, you need: Miscellaneous To use Microsoft Project Central Client, you need a PC with the same configuration as above, with this exception: · 10-20 MB of available hard-disk space To use Microsoft Project Central Server, you need a PC with the same configuration as above, with these exceptions: · PC with Pentium 200 MHz or higher processor · Windows 2000 Server or Windows NT Server version 4.0 with Service Pack 3 or later, and Windows NT 4.0 Option Pack · At least 128 MB of RAM · 100-150 MB of available hard-disk space (numbers indicate typical installation; hard-disk usage will vary depending on configuration) Visit the Worldwide Sites page for links to information on products available worldwide. Learn about Microsoft Accessibility. Information on exporting and returning U.S. products.

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Microsoft® Project 2000
Common Questions
List Of Questions: (Click a question to jump to answer section) What is Microsoft Project Central? I get the message "Cannot save to GLOBAL.MPT." What should I do? What's the relationship between timephased % Complete and timephased Actual Work fields? Actual work doesn't necessarily appear in the time period where I entered the percentage of completion. How is timephased overtime work distributed? Can I edit this distribution? Why does the timephased work in some periods change when I enter timephased actual work in other periods? How do I specify a working directory for Microsoft Project 2000? I chose the prorated method for cost accrual, but my per-use costs aren't prorating. What kinds of costs can I prorate? Does Microsoft Project 2000 work with Microsoft Outlook? How do I turn off the View Bar? How do I add or remove buttons from the View Bar? What fields have been changed? What fields have been renamed or changed? What are the new fields? How can I save a project file so that someone using Microsoft Project 98 can open it?

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Question: What is Microsoft Project Central? Answer: Microsoft Project Central is a Microsoft Project companion product that enables collaborative planning among workgroup members, project managers, and other stakeholders. With Microsoft Project Central, you and your workgroup members can exchange and work with project information at a Web site. Microsoft Project Central is available both as part of the Microsoft Project 2000 product and as a Microsoft Project 2000 client product. Anyone working with Microsoft Project Central needs a Microsoft Project Central license; however only the project manager/administrator is required to have a Microsoft Project 2000 license when maintaining a Microsoft Project Central database. All users must use duly licensed copies of either Microsoft Project 2000 or Microsoft Project Central.

Question: I get the message "Cannot save to GLOBAL.MPT." What should I do? Answer: This error message appears when the Global.mpt file that Microsoft Project is using is read-only and you attempt to change the default settings, formatting options, or macros. If you have changed default settings, formatting options, or macros, save Global.mpt to a folder where you have read-write permissions. If you do not want to

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save any changes, click Cancel in the dialog box. This does not cause loss of data.

Question: What's the relationship between timephased % Complete and timephased Actual Work fields? Actual work doesn't necessarily appear in the time period where I entered the percentage of completion. Answer: As you enter percentage of completion information for tasks or assignments, Microsoft Project calculates the timephased actual work values. For example, you can enter a percentage of completion that is completely outside the dates of the task, yet the actual work is calculated based on the task's dates.

Question: How is timephased overtime work distributed? Can I edit this distribution? Answer: When an assignment is first made, the Overtime Work field is blank. When you enter scheduled Overtime Work in the sheet portion of the Task Usage or Resource Usage view for the assignment, Microsoft Project calculates and distributes the scheduled Overtime Work across the appropriate period of time, and then enters the numbers in the timephased fields. You can edit overtime work only in the total Overtime Work assignment field; that is, the sheet portion of the Task Usage or Resource Usage view. You cannot edit its distribution over time.

Question: Why does the timephased work in some periods change when I enter timephased actual work in other periods? Answer: If you enter timephased actual work values that exactly match the scheduled work, then other timephased work values don't change. But if you enter a timephased actual that is greater than what was scheduled for that period, then Microsoft Project will use more of the remaining work and thus the remaining work will be moved in. For example, suppose you have 5 hours of work scheduled for day 1, 2 hours for day 2, 5 hours for day 3, and 5 hours for day 4. You then enter an actual for day 1 of 7 hours. Microsoft Project will change the scheduled work, combining days 1 and 2, and thus reduce the scheduled work from 4 days to 3 days. The scheduled work would now look like this: Day 1 with 7 hours, day 2 with 5 hours, and day 3 with 5 hours. If, however, you entered a timephased actual that was smaller than what was scheduled for that period, then Microsoft Project adds the remaining difference to the end of the scheduled work.

Question: How do I specify a working directory for Microsoft Project 2000? Answer: By default, the working directory for Microsoft Project 2000 is My Documents. You can specify another working directory on the Save tab of the Options dialog box (Tools menu).

Question: I chose the prorated method for cost accrual, but my per-use costs aren't prorating. What kinds of costs can I prorate? Answer: Microsoft Project 2000 does not prorate per-use costs. Per-use costs always accrue at the start of a task. By default, Microsoft Project prorates other costs so that cost accrual is based on the completion percentage of a task and distributed over its duration.

Question:

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Does Microsoft Project 2000 work with Microsoft Outlook? Answer: You can share information between Microsoft Project 2000 and Microsoft Outlook.

Question: How do I turn off the View Bar? Answer: On the View menu, click View Bar.

Question: How do I add or remove buttons from the View Bar? Answer: 1. On the View menu, click More Views. 2. In the Views list, click the view you want to remove, and then click Edit. 3. Clear the Show in menu check box.

Question: What fields have been changed? Answer: The following fields have changed in Microsoft Project: · Available From (resource field) · Available To (resource field) · Max Units (resource field) · Priority (assignment field) · Priority (task field) · WBS (task field) · Workgroup (resource field)

Question: What fields have been renamed or changed? What are the new fields? Answer: The following fields are new in Microsoft Project 2000. If you've used earlier versions of Microsoft Project, you'll find that these new fields can help you more accurately model your project. · Critical (assignment field) · Deadline (task field) · Estimated (task field) · External Task (task field) · Group By Summary (task field) · Ignore Resource Calendar (task field) · Material Label (resource field) · Outline Code 1-10 (resource field) · Outline Code 1-10 (task field) · Summary (assignment field) · Task Calendar (task field) · Type (assignment field) · Type (resource field) · Unit Availability (resource-timephased field) · VAC (assignment field) · VAC (resource field) · VAC (task field) · WBS Predecessors (task field) · WBS Successors (task field) · Windows Logon (resource field) · Work Availability (resource-timephased field)

Question: How can I save a project file so that someone using Microsoft Project 98 can open it?

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Answer: You can save the file directly to Microsoft Project 98 MPP format.

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Microsoft® Project 2000
Standard Pricing
The prices listed here are valid only in the United States. Reseller prices will vary. Note: If Open License Standard pricing is available for this product, the pricing information will appear on the Volume Pricing page. Full Package Product (FPP) Microsoft® Project 2000 Win32 English Service Release 1 North America CD Version: 2000 Part Number: 076-01689 Environment: 32-Bit Win Media: CD Estimated Price: 499.00 Notes: Full Package Product Upgrade (FPP) Microsoft® Project 2000 Win32 English Version Upgrade Service Release 1 North America CD Version: 2000 Part Number: 076-01693 Environment: 32-Bit Win Media: CD Estimated Price: 199.00 Notes: Upgrade Eligibility and Additional Information Upgrade Eligibility Only previous versions of Microsoft Project-not competitive titles-are qualified for the version upgrade; compliance checking is required. Visit the Worldwide Sites page for links to information on products available worldwide. Learn about Microsoft Accessibility. Information on exporting and returning U.S. products.

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Microsoft® Project 2000
Academic Pricing
The prices listed here are valid only in the United States. Reseller prices will vary. Note: If Open License Academic pricing is available for this product, the pricing information will appear on the Volume Pricing page. Academic Full Package Product (AE FPP) Microsoft® Project 2000 Win32 English Service Release 1 North America Academic CD SUL Version: 2000 Part Number: 076-01688 Environment: 32-Bit Win Media: CD Estimated Price: 169.00 Notes:

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Microsoft Project 2000

Overview Features System Requirements Common Questions Related Products Related Books Standard Pricing Academic Pricing Volume Pricing

Microsoft® Project 2000
Volume Pricing
The prices listed here are valid only in the United States. Reseller prices will vary. Microsoft Open License Pack (MOLP) Microsoft® Project 2000 Win32 English OPEN Level C OLP C Version: 2000 Part Number: 076-00951 Environment: 32-Bit Win Media: Non-specific Pool: Applications Level/Unit: Level C/2 Estimated Price: 358.00 Notes: Microsoft® Project 2000 Win32 English OPEN No Level OLP NL Version: 2000 Part Number: 076-01257 Environment: 32-Bit Win Media: Non-specific Pool: Applications Level/Unit: No Level/Non-specific Estimated Price: 371.00 Notes: Microsoft® Project 2000 Win32 English/MultiLang OPEN Level C Unknown Distinction OLP C Version: 2000 Part Number: 076-01514 Environment: 32-Bit Win Media: Non-specific Pool: Applications Level/Unit: Level C/2 Estimated Price: 422.00 Notes: Microsoft® Project 2000 Win32 English/MultiLang OPEN No Level Unknown Distinction OLP NL Version: 2000 Part Number: 076-01530 Environment: 32-Bit Win Media: Non-specific Pool: Applications Level/Unit: No Level/Non-specific Estimated Price: 439.00 Notes: Microsoft Open License Pack Upgrade (MOLP) Microsoft® Project Win32 English License/Software Assurance Pack OPEN Level C OLP C Version: Non-specific

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Microsoft® Project 2000 - The Product and Technology Catalog

Part Number: Environment: Media: Pool: Level/Unit: Estimated Price: Notes:

076-01787 32-Bit Win Non-specific Applications Level C/4 565.00

Microsoft® Project Win32 English License/Software Assurance Pack OPEN No Level OLP NL Version: Non-specific Part Number: 076-01866 Environment: 32-Bit Win Media: Non-specific Pool: Applications Level/Unit: No Level/Non-specific Estimated Price: 587.00 Notes: Microsoft® Project Win32 English Software Assurance OPEN Level C OLP C Version: Non-specific Part Number: 076-01941 Environment: 32-Bit Win Media: Non-specific Pool: Applications Level/Unit: Level C/2 Estimated Price: 208.00 Notes: Microsoft® Project Win32 English Software Assurance OPEN No Level OLP NL Version: Non-specific Part Number: 076-02002 Environment: 32-Bit Win Media: Non-specific Pool: Applications Level/Unit: No Level/Non-specific Estimated Price: 215.00 Notes: Microsoft® Project Win32 English Upgrade Advantage OPEN No Level OLP NL Version: Non-specific Part Number: 076-01443 Environment: 32-Bit Win Media: Non-specific Pool: Applications Level/Unit: No Level/Non-specific Estimated Price: 225.00 Notes: Microsoft® Project Win32 English Upgrade Advantage OPEN OLP Version: Non-specific Part Number: 076-00318 Environment: 32-Bit Win Media: Non-specific Pool: Applications Level/Unit: Non-specific/2 Estimated Price: 225.00 Notes: Microsoft® Project Win32 English/MultiLang License/Software Assurance Pack OPEN Level C Unknown Distinction OLP C Version: Non-specific Part Number: 076-01829 Environment: 32-Bit Win Media: Non-specific Pool: Applications Level/Unit: Level C/4 Estimated Price: 667.00 Notes:

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Microsoft® Project 2000 - The Product and Technology Catalog

Microsoft® Project Win32 English/MultiLang License/Software Assurance Pack OPEN No Level Unknown Distinction OLP NL Version: Non-specific Part Number: 076-01801 Environment: 32-Bit Win Media: Non-specific Pool: Applications Level/Unit: No Level/Non-specific Estimated Price: 693.00 Notes: Microsoft® Project Win32 English/MultiLang Software Assurance OPEN Level C Unknown Distinction OLP C Version: Non-specific Part Number: 076-01973 Environment: 32-Bit Win Media: Non-specific Pool: Applications Level/Unit: Level C/2 Estimated Price: 245.00 Notes: Microsoft® Project Win32 English/MultiLang Software Assurance OPEN No Level Unknown Distinction OLP NL Version: Non-specific Part Number: 076-01955 Environment: 32-Bit Win Media: Non-specific Pool: Applications Level/Unit: No Level/Non-specific Estimated Price: 254.00 Notes: Microsoft® Project Win32 English/MultiLang Upgrade Advantage OPEN No Level Price Diff OLP NL Version: Non-specific Part Number: 076-01606 Environment: 32-Bit Win Media: Non-specific Pool: Applications Level/Unit: No Level/Non-specific Estimated Price: 265.00 Notes: Microsoft® Project Win32 English/MultiLang Upgrade Advantage OPEN Price Diff OLP Version: Non-specific Part Number: 076-01603 Environment: 32-Bit Win Media: Non-specific Pool: Applications Level/Unit: Non-specific/2 Estimated Price: 265.00 Notes: Academic Microsoft Open License Pack (AE MOLP) Microsoft® Project 2000 Win32 English Academic OPEN No Level OLP NL Version: 2000 Part Number: 076-01255 Environment: 32-Bit Win Media: Non-specific Pool: Applications Level/Unit: No Level/Non-specific Estimated Price: 53.00 Notes: Microsoft® Project 2000 Win32 English/MultiLang Academic OPEN No Level Unknown Distinction OLP NL Version: 2000

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Microsoft® Project 2000 - The Product and Technology Catalog

Part Number: Environment: Media: Pool: Level/Unit: Estimated Price: Notes:

076-01531 32-Bit Win Non-specific Applications No Level/Non-specific 57.00

Academic Microsoft Open License Pack Upgrade (AE MLP) Microsoft® Project Win32 English License/Software Assurance Pack Academic OPEN No Level OLP NL Version: Non-specific Part Number: 076-01865 Environment: 32-Bit Win Media: Non-specific Pool: Applications Level/Unit: No Level/Non-specific Estimated Price: 84.00 Notes: Microsoft® Project Win32 English Software Assurance Academic OPEN No Level OLP NL Version: Non-specific Part Number: 076-02001 Environment: 32-Bit Win Media: Non-specific Pool: Applications Level/Unit: No Level/Non-specific Estimated Price: 31.00 Notes: Microsoft® Project Win32 English Upgrade Advantage Academic OPEN No Level OLP NL Version: Non-specific Part Number: 076-01444 Environment: 32-Bit Win Media: Non-specific Pool: Applications Level/Unit: No Level/Non-specific Estimated Price: 35.00 Notes: Microsoft® Project Win32 English Upgrade Advantage Academic OPEN OLP Version: Non-specific Part Number: 076-00319 Environment: 32-Bit Win Media: Non-specific Pool: Applications Level/Unit: Non-specific/2 Estimated Price: 35.00 Notes: Microsoft® Project Win32 English/MultiLang License/Software Assurance Pack Academic OPEN No Level Unknown Distinction OLP NL Version: Non-specific Part Number: 076-01797 Environment: 32-Bit Win Media: Non-specific Pool: Applications Level/Unit: No Level/Non-specific Estimated Price: 90.00 Notes: Microsoft® Project Win32 English/MultiLang Software Assurance Academic OPEN No Level Unknown Distinction OLP NL Version: Non-specific Part Number: 076-01951 Environment: 32-Bit Win Media: Non-specific

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Microsoft® Project 2000 - The Product and Technology Catalog

Pool: Level/Unit: Estimated Price: Notes:

Applications No Level/Non-specific 33.00

Microsoft® Project Win32 English/MultiLang Upgrade Advantage Academic OPEN No Level Price Diff OLP NL Version: Non-specific Part Number: 076-01607 Environment: 32-Bit Win Media: Non-specific Pool: Applications Level/Unit: No Level/Non-specific Estimated Price: 38.00 Notes: Microsoft® Project Win32 English/MultiLang Upgrade Advantage Academic OPEN Price Diff OLP Version: Non-specific Part Number: 076-01604 Environment: 32-Bit Win Media: Non-specific Pool: Applications Level/Unit: Non-specific/2 Estimated Price: 38.00 Notes: Visit the Worldwide Sites page for links to information on products available worldwide. Learn about Microsoft Accessibility. Information on exporting and returning U.S. products.

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Microsoft Office - Microsoft Project Home Page

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Tour Learn how you can successfully manage a full range of projects with Microsoft Project 2000. Features List See at a glance how Microsoft Project can help improve team productivity, increase data usefulness, and extend project management. Product Enhancements Guide Get all the details about what's new and improved in Microsoft Project 2000. How to Buy Ready to order? Here's everything you need to know.

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Tips and Tricks for Microsoft Project 2000

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Baselines
Clear a Baseline Plan Microsoft Project now includes the option to clear a baseline or interim plan on a project. 1. To clear baseline information for specific tasks only, select those tasks. To clear baseline information for the entire project, start with step 2. 2. Point to Tracking on the Tools menu, and then click Clear Baseline. 3. Click Clear baseline plan or Clear interim plan. To clear an interim plan, you need to select it in the list box. 4. Click Entire project or Selected tasks.

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Display
Change the Row Height of Individual Rows In Microsoft Project 2000, drag the row line between tasks to the height you want. Roll Up Tasks for the Entire Project In Microsoft Project 2000, you can easily display multiple Gantt bars on a single task line for the whole project. 1. On the Format menu, click Layout. 2. Click Always roll up Gantt bars.

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Tips and Tricks for Microsoft Project 2000

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Duration Units
Use Month as a Duration Unit Microsoft Project now supports months as a unit of duration. Typing 3mos in the duration field is recognized as three months. By default, a month has 20 days, but you can also specify how many days constitute a month. 1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Calendar tab. 2. Specify the number of days in the Days per month box.

Printing
Set the First Page Number of Printed Pages You can now change the number of the first printed page. For example, if your current project has ten pages, and you only want to print pages 9 and 10, you can now print them as pages 1 and 2. 1. On the File menu, click Page Setup. 2. On the Page tab, type the number you want in the First page number box.

Saving Projects
Auto Save Projects Microsoft Project now includes the option to automatically save a project file every few minutes. 1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Save tab. 2. Under Auto Save, click Save every, and then specify the minutes in the minutes box. 3. Click Save Active Project only or Save all open Project files. 4. If you want saving to occur without prompting, click Prompt Before Saving to deselect it.

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Tips and Tricks for Microsoft Project 2000

Templates
Create a Template You can now easily remove data such as baseline values from projects you save as templates. 1. On the File menu, click Save As. 2. In the Save as type box, select Template, and then click Save. 3. Select the options you don't want to include in the template. Use a Template You can now base a new project on a template simply by selecting the template when you create a new file. 1. On the File menu, click New, and then click the Project Templates tab. 2. Click the template you want. If you created your own template, you can click it on the General tab.

User Interface Functionality
Get Additional ToolTips You can now get ToolTip information on additional Microsoft Project user interface areas. r Pointing anywhere on the timescale displays date information in a ToolTip. r Pointing to truncated information in a cell displays that cell's complete content in a ToolTip. Use fill handles You can now use fill handles to copy task or resource information up or down in the sheet portion of any view, such as the left-hand portion of the Gantt Chart.

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Tips and Tricks for Microsoft Project 2000

1. Select the cell that contains the information you want to copy. 2. Click and drag the square in the lower right hand corner to highlight cells up or down. 3. Release the mouse button to fill highlighted cells with the contents of the original cell. Back to top

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Microsoft Project 2000 Articles

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Collaborative Tracking with Microsoft Project Central Comparing Project Versions in Microsoft Project 2000 Creating Calendars for Tasks in Microsoft Project 2000 Deploy Microsoft Project 2000/Project Central Internationally Developing Microsoft Project and Project Management Skills Grouping Tasks or Resources with Microsoft Project 2000 Incorporating Material Resources with Microsoft Project 2000 Increasing the Usefulness of Microsoft Project 2000 Data Microsoft Project 2000: Displaying Costs in Multiple Currencies Microsoft Project 98/2000: Introduction to Earned Value Analysis Microsoft Project Central Microsoft Project Central Language Packs: Setup Information Microsoft Project: Assessing and Managing Risks Microsoft Project: The Project Triangle Microsoft Team Manager to Microsoft Project 2000 Conversion Migrating from Microsoft Team Manager to Microsoft Project 2000 Scheduling in Microsoft Project 98/2000

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Microsoft Project 2000 Articles

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Sharing Custom Elements in Microsoft Project 2000/98 Files Sharing Files in a Mixed Microsoft Project 98/2000 Environment Status Reporting with Microsoft Project Central The Residential Construction Template in Microsoft Project 2000 Tracking Progress in Microsoft Project 98/2000 Using Custom Outline Codes in Microsoft Project 2000 What's New in Microsoft Project 2000

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Microsoft Project Central 2000 Update: SR-1 for Language Packs 30-May2001 Download Now! 1046kb / 7 mins Microsoft Project Central SR-1 Language Packs ensure that Project Central performs with complete functionality when you use the language packs for Project Central. Microsoft Project 2000 Update: SR-1 for MultiLanguage Pack 02-May2001 Download Now! 1628kb / 10 mins Microsoft Project 2000 Service Release 1 (SR-1) for MultiLanguage Pack will update languages you have installed with Project SR-1.

Update

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Microsoft Project 2000 Update: Service Release 1 (SR-1) Download Now! 10261kb / 62 mins Microsoft Project 2000 SR-1 provides the latest updates to Microsoft Project 2000. It is recommended that you install this update for Microsoft Project 2000.

26-Mar-2001

Update

Microsoft Project Central 2000 Update: Service Release 1 (SR-1) 26-Mar-2001 Download Now! 4644kb / 28 mins Microsoft Project Central 2000 Update SR-1 provides the latest updates to Microsoft Project Central 2000. It is recommended that you install this update for Microsoft Project 2000. Microsoft Project 2000 Converter: Import Team Manager Files 03-Aug-2000 Download Now! 191kb / 2 mins The Microsoft Team Manager Converter utility for Microsoft Project 2000 lets you import data stored in your Microsoft Team Manager 97 file to a Microsoft Project 2000 file in order to get you started using Microsoft Project 2000. Microsoft Project 2000 Add-in: Compare Project Versions Download Now! 292kb / 2 mins With the Compare Project Versions add-in for Microsoft Project 2000, you can compare two versions of the same project file and display the resulting information in a detailed, customized report. Microsoft Project 2000 Add-in: Euro Currency Converter Download Now! 732kb / 5 mins Use the Microsoft Project Euro Currency Converter to convert any cost field to euros and/or other units of currency, and then view the converted cost fields in your Microsoft Project tables and reports. Microsoft Project 98 Guided Tour Download Now! 616kb / 4 mins The guided tour provides a quick demonstration of many of the new features of Microsoft® Project 98. It demonstrates how the tools in Microsoft Project 98 provide more complete control over their projects and easier communication of project plans. 31-May2000

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Project Document: History of Project Management Download Now! 118kb / 1 min In the 20th century, as technology became increasingly complex, project management began to evolve as a separate discipline. This downloadable document goes into detail describing the history and development of the project management process.

12-Nov1998

Document

Project 98 Tutorial: Track Down Your Project 12-Nov1998 Download Now! 125kb / 1 min This article provides information on how to use Microsoft® Project 98 to learn how early work impacts later tasks, how to keep everyone working on the project utilized effectively, control your budgets, and manage change sensibly. Project 98 Tutorial: Online Users Guide Download Now! 4960kb / 30 mins The Microsoft® Project 98 Online Users Guide is a browser-based, updated version of the Microsoft Project 98 User's Guide. The guide includes an overview of new features, new product and upgrade installation instructions, and help topics. Project 98 Tutorial: Risk Assessment and Management Download Now! 122kb / 1 min Learn how to identify the risks to your project in Microsoft® Project. Find out how to evaluate and quantify these risks and how to resolve the problems that may arise from them. 29-Oct-1998

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Welcome to the MPUG-Global Home Page

Microsoft Project Users Group
Upcoming MPUG Events
May 23, 2002 - Silicon Valley - Launch June 4, 2002 - Ireland June 4, 2002 - SE Michigan June 6, 2002 - San Francisco Bay Area June 12, 2002 - Montreal June 18, 2002 - Chicago June 18, 2002 - Kansas City - Launch July 9, 2002 - Denver July 15, 2002 - Phoenix

- Global

Microsoft Project Users Group-Global (MPUG) was established in April 1997 to serve the needs of MS Project users. During the first year of its existence, membership demands drove expansion at a rapid pace. With Microsoft's approval, MPUG has since chartered multiple MPUG chapters globally. Currently, MPUG-Global has over 2000 members.

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Attend a Microsoft® Project 2002 Launch Event

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Microsoft® Project 2002 Launch Events

Attend a Microsoft® Project 2002 Launch Event (Starting June 2002)

Stay focused on strategic initiatives while simultaneously keeping tabs on endless tactical details. Impossible? Not with new Microsoft® Project 2002, the powerful project management solution that helps you master even the most complex projects. Come see for yourself at a launch event near you. Register today for a free event at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=7415. You'll see Microsoft Project 2002 in action and learn about special licensing promotions that will save your company money. Launch events begin June 2002. All attendees will receive an Event Kit that includes:
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A multimedia demo CD of Microsoft Project Professional 2002 and Microsoft Project Server 2002. Free trial versions of Microsoft® software. A $100 rebate coupon on Microsoft Project Professional

You can also enter a raffle for valuable prizes! Events will run throughout the month of June across the United States. Don't forget to go to http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=7415 to find an event near you.

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The MPUG-Global Store

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The MPUG-Global Store
MPUG-Global is selling Microsoft Project related books/software in association with Amazon.com. To order, click on the title, then add it to your shopping basket. Orders are filled and shipped by Amazon.com, so you can be assured of reliable service, great prices, and secure online ordering. Check back often to see what new Microsoft Project books are being featured on this page. Most books are sold at 20% to 30% off the listed suggested retail price.

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Microsoft Project 2002 Books Microsoft Project 2000 Books Project Management Books Microsoft Project Software

Microsoft Project 2002 Books

Microsoft Project Version 2002 Step by Step by Carl Chatfield, PMP, Timothy Johnson, MCP

Microsoft Project Version 2002 Inside Out (With CDRom) by Teresa S. Stover

Troubleshooting Microsoft Project 2002 by Bonnie Biafore

Project 2002: Effective Project Management in Eight Steps by Stephen L. Nelson

Microsoft Project 2000 Books

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The MPUG-Global Store

Microsoft Project 2000 Step by Step By Carl S. Chatfield, Tim Johnson

Dynamic Scheduling With Microsoft Project 2000 By Eric Uyttewaal

Using Microsoft Project 2000 By Tim Pyron

Microsoft Project 2000 Bible (Bible) By Elaine Marmel

Mastering Microsoft Project 2000 By Gini Courter, Annette Marquis

Effective Executive's Guide to Project 2000 By Stephen L. Nelson, Pat Coleman, Kaarin Dolliver

Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Project 2000 By Tim Pyron

Managing with Microsoft Project 2000 By Lisa A. Bucki

Managing Projects With Microsoft Project 2000By Gwen Lowery, Teresa Stover

Complete Idiot's Guide to Project 2000 By Ron Black, Reich Gardner

Teach Yourself Microsoft Project 2000 By Vickey L. Quinn

Microsoft® Project 2000 For Dummies® By Martin Doucette, Margin Douchette

How to Manage a Successful Software Project: With Microsoft Project 2000 By Sanjiv Purba, Bharat Shah

New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2000 by Lisa Friedrichsen, Rachel Biheller Bunin

Software Project Management Kit for Dummies with CDROM by Greg Mandanis, Allen Wyatt

Microsoft Project 98: Step by Step By Catapult Inc., Timothy D. Johnson

Project Management Books

http://www.mpug.org/bookstore.htm (2 of 3) [5/28/2002 6:20:42 PM]

The MPUG-Global Store

PSA: Professional Services Automation: Optimizing Project and Service Oriented Organizations by Rudolf Melik, Ludwig Melik, Albert S. Bitton, Gus Berdebes

A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge : 2000 Edition Project Management Inst Pubns

Microsoft Project Related Software

Microsoft Project 2002 Upgrade

Microsoft Project 2002

Microsoft Project 2002 Professional

Microsoft Project 2000

Microsoft Project 2000 Upgrade

Microsoft Visio 2002 Professional Upgrade

Microsoft Visio 2002 Standard

Microsoft Visio 2002 Professional

Microsoft Visio Enterprise Network Tools 2002

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Login Page

This section of the Website is for MPUG MEMBERS ONLY!!

If you are a current MPUG Member and have already applied for members only access, please log-in. If you are an MPUG member and need a user name and password please click here.

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With membership and access to this section you will see:
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Speaker presentations from all chapter meetings Microsoft Project related files Past issues of The Project Network, MPUG-Global's quarterly newsletter Past Ezines, featuring tips & tricks and the latest MPUG-Global news

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Login Page

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Microsoft Project is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Other products and companies referred to herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies or mark holders.

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Past MPUG-Global

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Past MPUG-Global News

Boston Meeting & Reception Co-hosted by MPUG/Microsoft Free Expo Pass to ProjectWorld East ProjectWorld San Jose - Recap MPUG at PMI Nashville - Recap MPUG Now PMI R.E.P. San Jose Meeting & Reception, co-hosted by MPUG/Microsoft (RSVP by Dec 10) Free Expo Pass to ProjectWorld (register by Dec 10) MPUG at ProjectWorld (Dec 12-13) MPUG-Global at Project World Boston - Recap Ireland Launches the First MPUG Chapter in Europe Orange County Chapter Set For Launch New York City Chapter Launch Washington D.C. Chapter Launch Cincinnati Chapter Launch MPUG at Project World 2000--Recap MPUG at PMI Connections 2000--Recap Nationwide MSP Users Meeting--Recap

http://www.mpug.org/pastnews.htm [5/28/2002 6:21:07 PM]

Cincinnati - MPUG Cincinnati Inaugural Meeting - November 11, 2000

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Cincinnati Chapter
Chapter Inaugural Meeting - November 9, 2000

MPUG's newest chapter got off to a great start on November 9th in Cincinnati. Despite a tornado warning in the area, turnout was strong. In addition to presentations by Chapter President Lynn Frock and MPUG-Global Executive Director Christine Buonocore, attendees were treated to an interactive session on Project Central by Microsoft Technology Specialist Melinda Curtis.

(L to R) Christine Buonocore, executive director, MPUG-Global, Lynn Frock, chapter president, Cincinnati Chapter, Chas Eddingfield, chapter vice president, Cincinnati Chapter, Bryan Mangum, communications director, MPUG- Presentation: Melinda Curtis, Microsoft Corporation Global, Melinda Curtis, Microsoft Corporation, Bob Mendlein, treasure, Cincinnati Chapter.

http://www.mpug.org/cincinnati/cinci11092000.htm (1 of 3) [5/28/2002 6:21:15 PM]

Cincinnati - MPUG Cincinnati Inaugural Meeting - November 11, 2000

Presentation: Melinda Curtis, Microsoft Corporation

Bryan Mangum, communication director, MPUG-Global, with prize winner Bob Eaton. Bob was awarded a copy of Microsoft Office Professional.

Cincinnati MPUG members

Presentation: Christine Buonocore, executive director, MPUG-Global

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Cincinnati - MPUG Cincinnati Inaugural Meeting - November 11, 2000

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Design Gallery Live

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Template Gallery

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Template Gallery gets you started with templates and sample documents. Instead of starting from scratch, download a template from Template Gallery. From calendars to business cards, marketing material, and legal documents, Template Gallery offers hundreds of professionally authored and formatted documents for Microsoft Office.

Office Home Get to Work Design Gallery Live Template Gallery Assistance Center Office eServices Office Update Product Updates Download Center

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Template Gallery

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Microsoft Office Assistance Center

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Office Columnists Go Ahead and Nest By The Crabby Office Lady Getting comfortable with Office means customizing it to suit your way of working. What are you waiting for? Write code to extend and automate Office XP tasks By Paul Cornell, Power User Corner Want to extend or automate features in Office, but don't know where to begin? Get started here. More...

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Microsoft Office Assistance Center

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New Articles Team Up on PowerPoint 2002 Presentations Team presentation coming up? Work together to get it done. Explore Public Folders in Outlook 2002 Share, track, secure, and archive information with Outlook.

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