Despite being raised in a family that instilled fear in us everyday I have always known the power and much much more was within us. As I grew into adulthood & tried to make sense of all the craziness in my childhood I began to see miracles happening everywhere & I WAS POWERLESS TO STOP THOSE MIRACLES HAPPENING!
Like when I was 22 years old & I placed my hands on a work colleagues chest (who was my age I am now - in her 50's at the time) to relieve some intense pain she was having in her heart. We later found out her blood tests showed she had had a massive heart attack & should have been dead but all her heart tests showed she had the heart functioning of a 22 year old - my age at the time.
Or the time I drove my old car with black smoke pouring out the back of my car (I used to call it my Spiritual haze!!) through a police roadside check & not one of them saw me - not one of them & there was like 10 police cars & 20 policeman looking over cars they had pulled over. (I had been told to go another way but didn't listen to Spirit!!)
There were many car miracles that happened around that time because I only worked part time & worked the rest of the time as a GATEKEEPER & used to hang out in the HUGE cemetery across the road from where I lived assisting lost souls to go home. I didn't make or have a lot of money but GOD my life was a blast! And many miracles happened in that cemetery too.
A few years ago after the fires had come through the hills in Melbourne & nearly 200 people lost their life, there was reports on the news that a massive EARTH QUAKE was going to hit nearby & there had already been a number of tremors there........... When I checked with Spirit they told me it was because of all the grief that was being projected onto that area & Mother Earth was struggling................. Spirit then told me complete a new EARTH Chakra meditation they had just taught me a few weeks earlier & THEN TO TAKE THE GRIEF INTO THE CENTRE OF MOTHER EARTH & TRANSMUTE IT BACK TO LIGHT........................ Myself & a couple of Spiritual friends went out into the bush & did what Spirit asked................We never heard of the earth quake again.....................THAT IS HOW POWERFUL WE ALL ARE........ You all have so much power within you & we all do have the power to stop anything if we choose including earthquakes or natural disasters!!! We just have to choose the LIGHT...... the war has been won & all we need to do is step up into THE LIGHT.
Likewise about 6 months ago Spirit asked me to start doing some MP3 recordings to assist people to integrate the HIGHER FREQUENCIES of LIGHT pouring into Mother Earth at this time.........I personally could not see how this was possible in a MP3 recording.............. so I procrastinated!!! But as usual Spirit got their way as everything stopped until I began these recordings........... AND BOY HAS THERE BEEN CHALLENGES AS THE DARK SIDE HAS TRIED THEIR HEART OUT TO STOP THESE FROM GOING AHEAD......But as my American Indian friends say..... this is the very reason we must continue..........Because we are the ones we have been waiting for!!!
SO PLEASE EVERYONE........ if you need help integrating these HIGHER FREQUENCIES OF LIGHT............ PLEASE, PLEASE JOIN US ON THURSDAY NIGHTS where a bunch of powerful Spiritual beings come together to heal their Hearts, Body, Mind & Soul in a powerful, uplifting & joyous meditation......... This is not about fixing or healing anything.....these evenings are about raising your vibration so you can accommodate the higher frequencies of light pouring into Mother Earth so you can use them to do more GREAT WORK ON MOTHER EARTH..
Linggo, Disyembre 25, 2011
Lunes, Disyembre 12, 2011
25 Ways Project People Can Train Their Mental Flexibility
Projects are about humans. Deal with that! And when dealing, it’s a project manager’s flexibility that comes in most handy since not only does mental agility ensure you keep yourself actively thinking, using those grey cells, it means you have the resilience to adapt to the only constant in life… change. Jonah Lehrer, in his article; Aging Gracefully — It’s a Real Workout, refers to the studies conducted on the cognitive development of a ‘thinking’ mind.
So if your mum ever told you it would only gain you to use your brains for a change, it wasn’t far from what the scientists say today. Development of this essential flexibility for a good project manager demands a constant mental exercise, and sometimes just plain common sense. Let’s move on to the 25 ways to gain a flexible mind. Every item has a short link to an article on this blog, for if you want to explore that particular subject more in depth.
1. Ever wondered why the client needs a professional project manager? He can hire a team to do the job for him without paying you extra bucks but you still get the job of thrashing out ways to achieve a goal. You channel the scarce resources so they lead to one end aim that may actually be a moving target if the client decides on changes in the requirements. Similarly the coders themselves can be in a fix over something; maybe the big question would be ‘authority’ since projects are usually temporary set ups that move in different directions once the project is complete. It is your job to be able to communicate with all stakeholders and come out of a project with no losers. Work on your people skills and understand why they are needed. Soft skills make or break the aura of dependability around you, the very thing that lets the stakeholders trust you to get the job done for or from them. [more]
2. Self realization comes from self evaluation, if the process is never initiated a person can spend a lifetime in mediocrity and never really get to know himself. Watch for parts of your behavior that is there just to appear professional. Some people insist they cannot label humans, the assertion seems flawed when you consider how we put ourselves in boxes; conforming to notions, or expectations that become the group we wish to be in. Take for instance, your dressing for work. Managers wear suits. Period. Interestingly, while your suit may not have the brains to stitch itself, your professional appearance is important to your boss and for your team to be able to trust your professionalism. Flexibility does not demand that you try to stand out and refuse to wear the suits; it is conformation of the mind to plan-driven project management that means you compromise your flexibility for conformation, thus caging all resourcefulness. Never put your mind on autopilot just because you planned once in the distant past. [more]
3. Logic would say that if a certain number of individuals did something the way they did, it must have some thought behind it. That logic also dictates that to divert from those norms sets you out as a rebel but have you thought that the hoards of PMs before you could actually have been creating an aura for themselves? Doing things just to look important? To be an agile project manager, the challenge is to evaluate each norm and justify it to your best judge, yourself. Take time to explain your actions to yourself. Does that Gantt chart really help your planning? Is it really necessary for you to flaunt those precise two digit risk factors at the start of work when you know the project is based on variables? [more]
4. There is nothing more complex than managing a set of resources based on variables alone. For a project manager, there are no actual constants in the whole project situation. How many of us have been through projects that have even had the end goals changed when the client realized original aims were not viable? To stay on top of the game, a project manager has to realize he can never afford to stop learning since the only valuable experience is one you learn from, the rest is what you dragged through without any positives except the paycheck. Stay in active discussions with other PMs; you can even use their experiences to guide your own if you are smart. For the flexible mind, keep studying the complex cause and effect relationships because an otherwise simple 1+2 just never equals 3 in our field. [more]
6. Flexibility in communication skills is a great asset for a PM. Realize that using technical jargon in front of a non technical person will result in nothing but wasted time with neither of you any wiser. The same applies for languages. You can only gain when you exercise your mind so the suggestion is to learn to speak the language your listener understands, especially if you are going to be in constant contact with the clients or offshore teams. While it has many benefits, including getting a perspective in the conversation you could never get otherwise, it is not always possible to learn the language of your clients. You can, however, strive to get off your platform and communicate with your audience in a language they understand or at least adapt and be comprehensible. [more]
7. Be a project shrink; be your own therapist. Self reflection is one of the best forms of mental exercise. And seriously, just to get to understand your own ideas, try writing. Use blogging as a sounding board to build your network and interact with other project managers who can share ideas and views with you. Unlike the spoken word which at times gets frivolous, written word has to be a lot clearer so the reader gets your purpose of writing. Suddenly your charismatic personality does not matter, the gestures cannot be seen; your words represent you and your opinions. This makes for a thorough exercise, and there will be times when you will realize a particular point felt complicated only in conversing, while writing you will be able to rationalize much better. [more]
8. Meditate. No, I am not repeating myself. There is the relaxed reflective meditation and then there is the real process of meditation. Find your empty corner and at least start your breathing exercises. Once you are ready, you will know when to up the ante on the exercises. This approach to empty your mind and set it free from the constant chatter inside it will actually give you a new perspective to your job. And a freer mind that’s not being held back by needless bias always lead to better judgment and flexibility. [more]
9. Inspirations go a long way in life. Untamed ambition can be your worst enemy, but without ambition mastered by morals, there can be meaninglessness to life that sinks people like nothing else. Always look for things that inspire you, some sports provide great inspiration. While it can be anything that makes you want to be the best at what you can be, inspirations in your field can help more since you can directly relate with them. You Tube, for instance, can give you access to many inspirational speeches or interviews with people who have achieved goals they aimed for. [more]
10. Inspirations do not always come from real life successes. Situations can compare very favorably to television shows as well. Relate project scenes / scenarios to your favorite television shows. Mental flexibility granted through an active imagination will lead you to some unconventional yet implementable ideas, not to mention PM metaphors. The A-Team’s resourcefulness comes to mind and you start believing you do not need to be Superman, nor do you need super machines to get to your goals, it is all in the mind and how you adapt your environment to suit your project needs. [more]
11. Try to come up with three different metaphors for your project. This may sound odd to some, but there is hardly a better exercise for the mind than to look for similarities and think through the images you come up with. Interestingly enough, mental chess games of cause and effect relationships with your metaphors actually help you find creative solutions if your metaphors are truly applicable to your project. [more]
12. We need our metaphors and one of the best that cover the complexity of our situation is the fish pond with big fish as well as the little ones. The need for drainage and maintenance is the same as your need to keep your team’s environment free of toxic coworkers who just cannot help but pollute the team spirit. The survival metaphor applies, so does a lot else. Dwell on the idea and view your project or organization as a fish pond. Work out the similarities in your mind like the organizational structure of your organization and that of the pond, there is a lot you can learn from the little fellows. [more]
13. Half the challenge of adapting to a change is to understand the problem, and the rest is about implementation of plan B. To understand the hurdles in your way, the ability to empathize can be a huge plus for you. We have a natural tendency to be harsh in our evaluation when we are detached from a situation. Emotions just do not make sense until we experience them and therefore, I suggest practice putting yourself in another’s position when you are about to judge them because then you can actually be more fair in your evaluations. This, by the way, can also guide you in how to handle a team member in trouble because you can get a fair picture of the situation. [more]
14. As a project manager, you are a leader and your team looks up to you. To increase your resilience, as well as to enhance your team’s capabilities, think about your team. Work them out and try to understand their psyche as individuals and as a team. While they will work for the money, you can get more out of them cent per cent if they are motivated instead of when they are dragging their feet. Spend time with them; communicate in a manner that tells them you are a part of the team instead of someone there to pick out their mistakes alone. There are so many ways you can motivate your team, use them and in doing so, you will be motivating yourself as well. A motivated mind can think through anything. [more]
18. The ‘agile’ management theory takes on the oft asserted statement that change is constant. The preplanned management style, on the other hand, defines all the minute details before starting out; often needing to change plans when things do not go right. There will be times when either system fits a project perfectly but that won’t be often. True flexibility comes from not being fixed on one theory. It is the combination of both methods that ensures you salvage some periods during the project where you can relax the mind and avoid working it too hard, it makes for more stable working conditions as well. [more]
19. Deliberate every process element of your plan and mull over what it is supposed achieve. Waste of time is always a loss of a scarce resource to a PM. Instead of working out exact plans for development, figure out why you need each element of the process in the first place. Once you answer why a process exists, you can be flexible in how you implement the elements of the plan and you will be able to skip an element of the plan when it is actually redundant. [more]
21. Play with Google Earth, another interesting tool you can use to enhance your vision. You can zoom in or out like you would in your project’s overview, just to see if everything works together or not and you can focus on different fields of your project as well. The tool basically carries the analogies forward. [more]
22. Observation is a key to knowledge and for a project manager the toughest resource to figure out is the people he is working with. You cannot experiment with people’s emotions (that would be a bit drastic) but you can find models in simulation that follow essentially the same principles. Play The Sims to see how people react in different circumstances. Since the game is based on living conditions, social, personal and economic needs you can get a good overview to base further observations on. Don’t take this too literally though, most humans do not keep swimming till they run out of energy when you delete the ladder from the swimming pool! [more]
23. “Quite frankly, in today’s highly competitive marketplace we have to touch base often to manage expectations and meet industry standards… so when rubber hits the road we can make it a plus for all stake holders and reinvent ourselves. If we have the courage of our convictions we can make this into a win-win situation for all stakeholders.” What did I just say? A lot, but basically nothing other than ‘hey, we can probably do it but we are not doing so well just now’. Clichés are a great way to hide the truth, or to obscure it, or present it in a manner that makes it vague enough to not be as glaring as the truth would be. Or sometimes it is used simply to avoid answering the question. Create a large list of your (or your colleagues) project management clichés, check when you resort to one. [more]
24. Mull over why your project / company or industry is located around the world the way it is. I know it is going into the basics but while you can, mull over the trends in the world. Why is your company outsourcing to the developing countries? Why are the jobs going elsewhere? Consider the effects of globalization and how it is affecting the environment around the world. [more]
25. We create our own categories; they are logical conceptions that a variety of individuals may agree on and base a system upon. When taught in management classes they become pseudo realities for project managers. We can subscribe to either view and stick to our guns all the way, or we can ponder the artificiality of ‘agile’ as well as ‘plan-driven’ management. Consider why we let these artificially imposed images dictate to us. This of course gets you back to your project goals; if there are no ‘agile’ or plan-driven projects, the job is as easy as getting the work done with the most effective method possible. [more]
Bas de Baar, blogging as “The Project Shrink“, is taking his message to the International Project Management community with a vengeance: “Projects Are About Humans, Now Deal With That!” With over a decade spent in the trenches as Software Project Manager within the publishing industry, running multi-national teams, he has a lot to talk about. Bas is the editor of SoftwareProjects.org, a website dedicated to all those people who make up IT projects. He holds a masters degree in Business Informatics and currently lives with his wife in the coastal town of Zandvoort, The Netherlands. His latest book, “Surprise! Now You’re a Software Project Manager“, was published in September 2006.
“Not only does an active mind have more cortical matter to lose — scientists refer to this as “cognitive reserve,” since the extra tissue serves as a buffer against cell death — but it also seems better able to adjust its activity in response to the insults of age. “The brain operates on a use-it-or-lose-it principle,” says Merzenich. “And the ability to cope with change seems to really be something you either use or lose.”"
So if your mum ever told you it would only gain you to use your brains for a change, it wasn’t far from what the scientists say today. Development of this essential flexibility for a good project manager demands a constant mental exercise, and sometimes just plain common sense. Let’s move on to the 25 ways to gain a flexible mind. Every item has a short link to an article on this blog, for if you want to explore that particular subject more in depth.
1. Ever wondered why the client needs a professional project manager? He can hire a team to do the job for him without paying you extra bucks but you still get the job of thrashing out ways to achieve a goal. You channel the scarce resources so they lead to one end aim that may actually be a moving target if the client decides on changes in the requirements. Similarly the coders themselves can be in a fix over something; maybe the big question would be ‘authority’ since projects are usually temporary set ups that move in different directions once the project is complete. It is your job to be able to communicate with all stakeholders and come out of a project with no losers. Work on your people skills and understand why they are needed. Soft skills make or break the aura of dependability around you, the very thing that lets the stakeholders trust you to get the job done for or from them. [more]
2. Self realization comes from self evaluation, if the process is never initiated a person can spend a lifetime in mediocrity and never really get to know himself. Watch for parts of your behavior that is there just to appear professional. Some people insist they cannot label humans, the assertion seems flawed when you consider how we put ourselves in boxes; conforming to notions, or expectations that become the group we wish to be in. Take for instance, your dressing for work. Managers wear suits. Period. Interestingly, while your suit may not have the brains to stitch itself, your professional appearance is important to your boss and for your team to be able to trust your professionalism. Flexibility does not demand that you try to stand out and refuse to wear the suits; it is conformation of the mind to plan-driven project management that means you compromise your flexibility for conformation, thus caging all resourcefulness. Never put your mind on autopilot just because you planned once in the distant past. [more]
3. Logic would say that if a certain number of individuals did something the way they did, it must have some thought behind it. That logic also dictates that to divert from those norms sets you out as a rebel but have you thought that the hoards of PMs before you could actually have been creating an aura for themselves? Doing things just to look important? To be an agile project manager, the challenge is to evaluate each norm and justify it to your best judge, yourself. Take time to explain your actions to yourself. Does that Gantt chart really help your planning? Is it really necessary for you to flaunt those precise two digit risk factors at the start of work when you know the project is based on variables? [more]
4. There is nothing more complex than managing a set of resources based on variables alone. For a project manager, there are no actual constants in the whole project situation. How many of us have been through projects that have even had the end goals changed when the client realized original aims were not viable? To stay on top of the game, a project manager has to realize he can never afford to stop learning since the only valuable experience is one you learn from, the rest is what you dragged through without any positives except the paycheck. Stay in active discussions with other PMs; you can even use their experiences to guide your own if you are smart. For the flexible mind, keep studying the complex cause and effect relationships because an otherwise simple 1+2 just never equals 3 in our field. [more]
6. Flexibility in communication skills is a great asset for a PM. Realize that using technical jargon in front of a non technical person will result in nothing but wasted time with neither of you any wiser. The same applies for languages. You can only gain when you exercise your mind so the suggestion is to learn to speak the language your listener understands, especially if you are going to be in constant contact with the clients or offshore teams. While it has many benefits, including getting a perspective in the conversation you could never get otherwise, it is not always possible to learn the language of your clients. You can, however, strive to get off your platform and communicate with your audience in a language they understand or at least adapt and be comprehensible. [more]
7. Be a project shrink; be your own therapist. Self reflection is one of the best forms of mental exercise. And seriously, just to get to understand your own ideas, try writing. Use blogging as a sounding board to build your network and interact with other project managers who can share ideas and views with you. Unlike the spoken word which at times gets frivolous, written word has to be a lot clearer so the reader gets your purpose of writing. Suddenly your charismatic personality does not matter, the gestures cannot be seen; your words represent you and your opinions. This makes for a thorough exercise, and there will be times when you will realize a particular point felt complicated only in conversing, while writing you will be able to rationalize much better. [more]
8. Meditate. No, I am not repeating myself. There is the relaxed reflective meditation and then there is the real process of meditation. Find your empty corner and at least start your breathing exercises. Once you are ready, you will know when to up the ante on the exercises. This approach to empty your mind and set it free from the constant chatter inside it will actually give you a new perspective to your job. And a freer mind that’s not being held back by needless bias always lead to better judgment and flexibility. [more]
9. Inspirations go a long way in life. Untamed ambition can be your worst enemy, but without ambition mastered by morals, there can be meaninglessness to life that sinks people like nothing else. Always look for things that inspire you, some sports provide great inspiration. While it can be anything that makes you want to be the best at what you can be, inspirations in your field can help more since you can directly relate with them. You Tube, for instance, can give you access to many inspirational speeches or interviews with people who have achieved goals they aimed for. [more]
10. Inspirations do not always come from real life successes. Situations can compare very favorably to television shows as well. Relate project scenes / scenarios to your favorite television shows. Mental flexibility granted through an active imagination will lead you to some unconventional yet implementable ideas, not to mention PM metaphors. The A-Team’s resourcefulness comes to mind and you start believing you do not need to be Superman, nor do you need super machines to get to your goals, it is all in the mind and how you adapt your environment to suit your project needs. [more]
11. Try to come up with three different metaphors for your project. This may sound odd to some, but there is hardly a better exercise for the mind than to look for similarities and think through the images you come up with. Interestingly enough, mental chess games of cause and effect relationships with your metaphors actually help you find creative solutions if your metaphors are truly applicable to your project. [more]
12. We need our metaphors and one of the best that cover the complexity of our situation is the fish pond with big fish as well as the little ones. The need for drainage and maintenance is the same as your need to keep your team’s environment free of toxic coworkers who just cannot help but pollute the team spirit. The survival metaphor applies, so does a lot else. Dwell on the idea and view your project or organization as a fish pond. Work out the similarities in your mind like the organizational structure of your organization and that of the pond, there is a lot you can learn from the little fellows. [more]
13. Half the challenge of adapting to a change is to understand the problem, and the rest is about implementation of plan B. To understand the hurdles in your way, the ability to empathize can be a huge plus for you. We have a natural tendency to be harsh in our evaluation when we are detached from a situation. Emotions just do not make sense until we experience them and therefore, I suggest practice putting yourself in another’s position when you are about to judge them because then you can actually be more fair in your evaluations. This, by the way, can also guide you in how to handle a team member in trouble because you can get a fair picture of the situation. [more]
14. As a project manager, you are a leader and your team looks up to you. To increase your resilience, as well as to enhance your team’s capabilities, think about your team. Work them out and try to understand their psyche as individuals and as a team. While they will work for the money, you can get more out of them cent per cent if they are motivated instead of when they are dragging their feet. Spend time with them; communicate in a manner that tells them you are a part of the team instead of someone there to pick out their mistakes alone. There are so many ways you can motivate your team, use them and in doing so, you will be motivating yourself as well. A motivated mind can think through anything. [more]
- Process vs. Content: Usually it is the management that swoons over the planning of a project and the people actually implementing the plans want to focus on the content. Don’t generalize though, individuals differ.
- Reference Group: Find out who aspires for what status; programmers will usually have role models in their field, managers in theirs The source of inspiration tells you how the person thinks.
- Change versus Status Quo: Some people embrace change, and others hang on to the status quo as long as they can. You have to motivate both types, especially the latter because they will be the ones losing their beloved set ways when you need to adapt to a change.
- Defined versus Creative: Know who likes to conform to the plans and who wants space to exercise creativity. Usually the status quo wants to conform; the creative ones look out for change.
- Group versus Individual: Some people work best when left alone at their work, give them the objectives and they will come out tops, putting them in team conditions hampers their productivity, the opposite is valid for those who work best with others.
- Future “Present” Past Orientation: Some cultures dwell in their past, some think present is everything and then there is still another belief that the future can be honed to your desires through impeccable planning. Each stance grooms different personalities and it is up to the PM to recognize them.
- Time-Plentiful vs. Time-Is-Money: There are two types of people; one that believe what is good today will be so tomorrow as well. That no fuss approach is a contrast to the view that time is money; each moment wasted is a loss.
- Respect For The Man: Just being the boss in some cultures will get your respect, which may actually mean you never get ‘no’ for an answer, in other cultures you will have to earn the respect and in still others, you can earn your respect and still never be able to get things your way unless you happen to be able to convince your team.
- Me vs. Us: Your project team’s capabilities depend on how they gel and think as a team. There is a world of difference between those that operate as individuals and those that work as a team.
- Spelling Everything Out vs. Its Only Natural: Similarly qualified people can have different views to what is taken for granted and what needs explanation. One programmer might want you to go into each minute detail to know exactly what you want; another might take it as an offense that you are explaining the petty stuff.
- Doing Everything At Once Or One Thing After The Other: Not everyone responds to multitasking well. Some work systematically while others may start everything and get different modules ready for compilation at the end.
18. The ‘agile’ management theory takes on the oft asserted statement that change is constant. The preplanned management style, on the other hand, defines all the minute details before starting out; often needing to change plans when things do not go right. There will be times when either system fits a project perfectly but that won’t be often. True flexibility comes from not being fixed on one theory. It is the combination of both methods that ensures you salvage some periods during the project where you can relax the mind and avoid working it too hard, it makes for more stable working conditions as well. [more]
19. Deliberate every process element of your plan and mull over what it is supposed achieve. Waste of time is always a loss of a scarce resource to a PM. Instead of working out exact plans for development, figure out why you need each element of the process in the first place. Once you answer why a process exists, you can be flexible in how you implement the elements of the plan and you will be able to skip an element of the plan when it is actually redundant. [more]
21. Play with Google Earth, another interesting tool you can use to enhance your vision. You can zoom in or out like you would in your project’s overview, just to see if everything works together or not and you can focus on different fields of your project as well. The tool basically carries the analogies forward. [more]
22. Observation is a key to knowledge and for a project manager the toughest resource to figure out is the people he is working with. You cannot experiment with people’s emotions (that would be a bit drastic) but you can find models in simulation that follow essentially the same principles. Play The Sims to see how people react in different circumstances. Since the game is based on living conditions, social, personal and economic needs you can get a good overview to base further observations on. Don’t take this too literally though, most humans do not keep swimming till they run out of energy when you delete the ladder from the swimming pool! [more]
23. “Quite frankly, in today’s highly competitive marketplace we have to touch base often to manage expectations and meet industry standards… so when rubber hits the road we can make it a plus for all stake holders and reinvent ourselves. If we have the courage of our convictions we can make this into a win-win situation for all stakeholders.” What did I just say? A lot, but basically nothing other than ‘hey, we can probably do it but we are not doing so well just now’. Clichés are a great way to hide the truth, or to obscure it, or present it in a manner that makes it vague enough to not be as glaring as the truth would be. Or sometimes it is used simply to avoid answering the question. Create a large list of your (or your colleagues) project management clichés, check when you resort to one. [more]
24. Mull over why your project / company or industry is located around the world the way it is. I know it is going into the basics but while you can, mull over the trends in the world. Why is your company outsourcing to the developing countries? Why are the jobs going elsewhere? Consider the effects of globalization and how it is affecting the environment around the world. [more]
25. We create our own categories; they are logical conceptions that a variety of individuals may agree on and base a system upon. When taught in management classes they become pseudo realities for project managers. We can subscribe to either view and stick to our guns all the way, or we can ponder the artificiality of ‘agile’ as well as ‘plan-driven’ management. Consider why we let these artificially imposed images dictate to us. This of course gets you back to your project goals; if there are no ‘agile’ or plan-driven projects, the job is as easy as getting the work done with the most effective method possible. [more]
Bas de Baar, blogging as “The Project Shrink“, is taking his message to the International Project Management community with a vengeance: “Projects Are About Humans, Now Deal With That!” With over a decade spent in the trenches as Software Project Manager within the publishing industry, running multi-national teams, he has a lot to talk about. Bas is the editor of SoftwareProjects.org, a website dedicated to all those people who make up IT projects. He holds a masters degree in Business Informatics and currently lives with his wife in the coastal town of Zandvoort, The Netherlands. His latest book, “Surprise! Now You’re a Software Project Manager“, was published in September 2006.
Linggo, Disyembre 11, 2011
Biyernes, Disyembre 9, 2011
3-D model of rat brain circuit created
3-D model of rat brain circuit created
For a starting point, researchers at the Max Planck Florida Institute are focused on how the rat brain processes information gathered by a single whisker.
After six years and several million dollars, scientists have created a 3-D model of a rat brain circuit.
The accomplishment is a first step toward creating a complete computer model of the brain that will allow a deeper understanding of how our noggins work — and what causes them to malfunction, according to the scientists behind the feat.
For a starting point, researchers at the Max Planck Florida Institute are focused on how the rat brain processes information gathered by a single whisker.
They did so because studies in their lab and elsewhere have shown that a single whisker is able to detect, in complete darkness, whether a gap is safe to jump over and, if so, trigger the order to jump.
What's more, there's a specific region of the brain "that is dedicated to processing information from a dedicated whisker," Marcel Oberlaender, a researcher at the institute and the first author of a paper explaining the research in the journal Cerebral Cortex, told me today.
That region is called the cortical column, a vertically-organized series of connected neurons that form a brain circuit and an elementary building block of the cortex.
The cortex is the part of the brain responsible for many of the higher functions, such as memory and consciousness.
To build the model, the researchers studied the cortical column in awake and anesthetized rats as well as brain slices and then used computer software and other tools to reconstruct it.
"The model we built is really based on a complete reconstruction of these nerve cells," Oberlaender said. "So how the model looks in the end resembles how it would look in the real animal."
It is composed of 16,000 neurons, each of which can be divided into one of nine different cell types that has characteristic functional, structural and connectivity properties, he added.
The model can now be used to run computer simulations that show, in realistic detail, how signals flow within the brain. So, they can begin to understand, for example, what neurons fire as the rat detects the gap and decides whether or not to jump.
Until now, researchers have only been able to see how a single neuron or a small group of neurons interact during such a process. "We can now, in simulation experiments, mimic what is really going on in these circuits," Oberlaender said.
Going forward, the researchers should be able to use the methodology developed to build this model to add more parts to it, thus incorporating other brain functions such as the motor system that sends a signal down the spinal cord and makes the limbs move so that rat can jump over the gap.
More on brain science and technology:
- 3-D brain model could revolutionize neurology
- Test-tube brain aces 'plop' quiz
- 'Brain in a dish' may lead to stroke recovery
- Cat brain inspires computer of the future
- IBM unveils brain-like chip
- Breakthrough chip mimics human brain function
Prestige Microchef, A New Cooker For Microwave Oven Arrives
India's own home appliances company Prestige has come out with a novel pressure cooker dubbed as ‘Microchef’ that can be used in microwave oven. With this, the company hopes the usage of microwave oven would increase in India.
“Prestige has always been on top when it comes to consumer preferences and Microchef is one such product which was created to suit the growing needs of Indian women,” Managing Director of TTK Prestige S Ravichandran was quoted as saying.
The cooker is made of superior plastic and also ensures preserving nutrients as the vessel is kept closed in the microwave oven.
“The speedy cooking in microwave oven ensures you save time and energy. This innovative kitchen appliance not only maximises the use of microwave oven, but also preserves the nutrients that are otherwise lost using a open vessel in the microwave oven. Discover healthy cooking like never before with Prestige Microchef,” Prestige said in its website.
The Microchef comes priced at around Rs.1,345.50 in the Indian market. The cooker comes in two shades- red and green. Prestige also sells the cooker online with Rs. 90 additional charges for shipping.
Miyerkules, Disyembre 7, 2011
If Facebook Made a Phone, Would You Friend It?
If Facebook Made a Phone, Would You Friend It?
Why would you want to buy a "Facebook phone," if—as is widely rumored—one is under development?
Here's why: if social networking is already the center of your online activity, a Facebook smart phone might be far easier to use. If a fraction of Facebook's 800 million users were to make the switch, they would represent a powerful market force.
The phone project was revealed in reports last week that said Facebook had forged a partnership with handset maker HTC and was planning to use a version of the Android operating system, which will be tweaked to integrate Facebook deeply into its services and will support HTML5 as a platform for mobile games and apps. The reports said the phone could take 12 to 18 months to reach market. Facebook is saying nothing about the project; a spokesman said the company would not comment on "rumor and speculation."
Already, Facebook's are among the most popular apps on most smart phones. The company says that its apps on different platforms have 350 million active mobile users. The problem Facebook confronts is that its product is not very deeply "integrated," in industry parlance, into the devices that people use socially every day to e-mail, send photos, and keep in touch with friends. It's just one of many apps people use.
For example, on an iPhone, if you open a Web page and click on the menu, you have the option of tweeting the link but not of sharing it on Facebook. That's because Twitter got itself integrated, and Facebook, for whatever reason, did not. On some Android phones, Facebook is integrated in this way, but it could be even better integrated into the devices.
To use an iPhone to send a link to your Facebook friends, you need to take more steps to open and use the Facebook app. And much the same problem pertains to reporting your location, sending a photo, playing games, or engaging in any of a host of other activities.
But on a Facebook phone, such functions could be the default option. And people would find it easier to use Facebook itself—making Facebook an even more titanic Hoover of personal information than it already is.
Facebook could go even further by directing all communications—including voice and text messaging—through its platform. And it could use that same platform to deliver content, including music and video, to users.
Martes, Disyembre 6, 2011
Archive for the 'Innovation' Category
John Sunderland, the former CEO of Cadbury Schweppes, often responded with a parable when an executive argued that the business could increase either margins or sales, but not both. Sunderland would remind the executive of a time when people lived in mud huts and struggled to get both light and heat: Put a hole in the side of your hut, and you let the daylight in, but also the cold; block the opening, and you stayed warm, but sat in the dark. The invention of glass made it possible to have both light and heat. He would then ask, “Where is the glass?”
Skipping Design Research Can Be Costly
Skipping Design Research Can Be Costly
Skipping design research can be costly. For example, high-end German automobile manufacturers were stunned when U.S. customers would not buy cars without cup holders. While drinking coffee in the car seemed unthinkable to Europeans, it wouldn’t have taken much design research to learn how important it is to U.S. car buyers. The manufacturers, forced to retrofit, created some of the most complex, expensive, unreliable and least user-friendly cup holders ever produced. Design research findings are not typically assembled in the form of data and reports but are instead stories and characters, often captured on video. Such findings resemble and evoke real experience more powerfully than data and reports can, vividly conveying the desired emotional connections between people, products and services, and they help a company to triangulate these findings with appropriate technologies and economic objectives.
Encouraging Creativity and Innovation
In 1945 the Raytheon Company faced a tremendous demand for magnetron tubes to power the new radar system used to detect enemy aircraft. One day when a Raytheon engineer named Percy L. Spencer stepped too close to a magnetron tube, he noticed that the chocolate bar in his pocket had melted.
Other engineers had noticed the same thing, but didn’t give it much thought. Spencer, on the other hand, despite having only a grammar-school education, was intensely curious. He tried placing popcorn kernels in front of the tube—and a few minutes later, for the first time since cave-dwellers tamed fire, human beings cooked food in a new way.
A year earlier, anyone might have laughed at the idea of Raytheon selling ovens driven by magnetrons to restaurants and, eventually, households. “Absurd!” “Ridiculous!” “We’re in the defense business!” The Raytheon organization took a chance and listened to Percy Spencer. He wasn’t just a resident weirdo providing comic relief—on the contrary, Spencer’s input was constantly solicited, and he eventually served as a senior member of Raytheon’s board. In this case, his idea was rewarded with a shift in production, and within two years the company took the first Radarange® to the market.
History books rightly credit Percy Spencer with the invention of the microwave oven, but in fact his story also includes dozens of unsung heroes, starting with members of Raytheon’s management. They’d hired and promoted Spencer despite his lack of education. They didn’t chastise him for playing with his food in the middle of a serious engineering laboratory. They listened to him and built the Radarange—and then they searched within that market for new discontinuities.
Raytheon tried licensing the technology to other companies, such as Tappan Stove. (Its $3,000 refrigerator-sized microwave ovens were sold to customers with gigantic commercial kitchens, such as on ocean liners, that had to heat a lot of food quickly.) Raytheon then purchased its own domestic-appliance distributor, Amana Refrigeration, in 1965. In addition, Raytheon continually encouraged engineers to tinker with the magnetrons. Finally they figured out that an expensive, military-grade magnetron unit was somewhat over-engineered for the task of thawing frozen steaks and popping popcorn. They developed a smaller, cheaper, simpler, safer and more reliable oven for household use. Amana’s first countertop microwave oven, sold for $495 in 1967, represented a serious discontinuity in household kitchen behavior. In taking risks, Raytheon and Amana were uniquely prepared to take advantage of the huge societal discontinuities of the 1960s: urbanization, women entering the workforce and families devoting less time to meal preparation. Again, it seems obvious in retrospect: cheap and ubiquitous ovens, microwaveable food categories representing $75 billion in annual sales based on the premise of quickly thawing and cooking food. But at the time, the discontinuous mindset at Raytheon and Amana gave them long-term dominance in the home microwave oven business. There are plenty of other examples of unconventional thinkers thriving within traditional companies: Art Fry and Spencer Silver invented the Post-it note while working at 3M, and teams at Apple, amazon.com and General Foods invented the iPhone, Kindle and Tang, respectively. On the other side of the coin, there are also plenty of examples of people like A.P. Giannini—mavericks and free spirits who made their fortunes as entrepreneurs because they were not rewarded in traditional organizations. To encourage a discontinuous mindset, companies must have the proper reward structure to make the maverick’s suggestion of new ideas worthwhile.
Even today, many companies claim to encourage creativity and innovation, but their measurement and reward systems rarely support it. Creativity is messy. It leads to mistakes. (In Raytheon’s case, it took nearly 20 years of mistakes and “not-quite-enoughs” before the microwave’s big payout.) However, measuring results, rather than effort—and rewarding certainty, rather than potential—forces out the unconventional thinkers. It promotes those with modest aspirations, those who are slow and plodding. Reward mediocrity and you never exceed the mediocre.
Other engineers had noticed the same thing, but didn’t give it much thought. Spencer, on the other hand, despite having only a grammar-school education, was intensely curious. He tried placing popcorn kernels in front of the tube—and a few minutes later, for the first time since cave-dwellers tamed fire, human beings cooked food in a new way.
A year earlier, anyone might have laughed at the idea of Raytheon selling ovens driven by magnetrons to restaurants and, eventually, households. “Absurd!” “Ridiculous!” “We’re in the defense business!” The Raytheon organization took a chance and listened to Percy Spencer. He wasn’t just a resident weirdo providing comic relief—on the contrary, Spencer’s input was constantly solicited, and he eventually served as a senior member of Raytheon’s board. In this case, his idea was rewarded with a shift in production, and within two years the company took the first Radarange® to the market.
History books rightly credit Percy Spencer with the invention of the microwave oven, but in fact his story also includes dozens of unsung heroes, starting with members of Raytheon’s management. They’d hired and promoted Spencer despite his lack of education. They didn’t chastise him for playing with his food in the middle of a serious engineering laboratory. They listened to him and built the Radarange—and then they searched within that market for new discontinuities.
Raytheon tried licensing the technology to other companies, such as Tappan Stove. (Its $3,000 refrigerator-sized microwave ovens were sold to customers with gigantic commercial kitchens, such as on ocean liners, that had to heat a lot of food quickly.) Raytheon then purchased its own domestic-appliance distributor, Amana Refrigeration, in 1965. In addition, Raytheon continually encouraged engineers to tinker with the magnetrons. Finally they figured out that an expensive, military-grade magnetron unit was somewhat over-engineered for the task of thawing frozen steaks and popping popcorn. They developed a smaller, cheaper, simpler, safer and more reliable oven for household use. Amana’s first countertop microwave oven, sold for $495 in 1967, represented a serious discontinuity in household kitchen behavior. In taking risks, Raytheon and Amana were uniquely prepared to take advantage of the huge societal discontinuities of the 1960s: urbanization, women entering the workforce and families devoting less time to meal preparation. Again, it seems obvious in retrospect: cheap and ubiquitous ovens, microwaveable food categories representing $75 billion in annual sales based on the premise of quickly thawing and cooking food. But at the time, the discontinuous mindset at Raytheon and Amana gave them long-term dominance in the home microwave oven business. There are plenty of other examples of unconventional thinkers thriving within traditional companies: Art Fry and Spencer Silver invented the Post-it note while working at 3M, and teams at Apple, amazon.com and General Foods invented the iPhone, Kindle and Tang, respectively. On the other side of the coin, there are also plenty of examples of people like A.P. Giannini—mavericks and free spirits who made their fortunes as entrepreneurs because they were not rewarded in traditional organizations. To encourage a discontinuous mindset, companies must have the proper reward structure to make the maverick’s suggestion of new ideas worthwhile.
Even today, many companies claim to encourage creativity and innovation, but their measurement and reward systems rarely support it. Creativity is messy. It leads to mistakes. (In Raytheon’s case, it took nearly 20 years of mistakes and “not-quite-enoughs” before the microwave’s big payout.) However, measuring results, rather than effort—and rewarding certainty, rather than potential—forces out the unconventional thinkers. It promotes those with modest aspirations, those who are slow and plodding. Reward mediocrity and you never exceed the mediocre.
Failing to see the road to the future
Examples of those who fail to see the road to the future are often cited with hilarity. Take Harry Warner of Warner Brothers Studios, who commented in 1927 on the advent of soundtracks for moving pictures: “Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?“
Or take the senior management at Procter & Gamble when the disposable diaper was first suggested. According to diaper business folklore, P&G was conducting market research to find out what housewives liked about their cleaning products for soiled diapers. Inspired by comments of the form, “We don’t like anything about washing diapers,“ a P&G team came up with the idea for the disposable diaper. The team set about assessing the opportunity, estimating market volumes, projecting cash flows and profit margins, and preparing a presentation for P&G top management. The latter sat patiently through all the material, reviewed the market projections, and made it clear that they were impressed with all the work the team had done in analyzing the opportunity. “Just one question,“ they asked finally, “Where’s the soap?“
Or take the senior management at Procter & Gamble when the disposable diaper was first suggested. According to diaper business folklore, P&G was conducting market research to find out what housewives liked about their cleaning products for soiled diapers. Inspired by comments of the form, “We don’t like anything about washing diapers,“ a P&G team came up with the idea for the disposable diaper. The team set about assessing the opportunity, estimating market volumes, projecting cash flows and profit margins, and preparing a presentation for P&G top management. The latter sat patiently through all the material, reviewed the market projections, and made it clear that they were impressed with all the work the team had done in analyzing the opportunity. “Just one question,“ they asked finally, “Where’s the soap?“
Successful Failures
In a small pub in the highlands of Scotland a group of fishermen gathered one afternoon to swap tales over a round of ale. One of them stretched his arms apart to show the big one that got away. At that very point, a waitress walked past carrying a tray of full ale glasses. The fisherman’s wild gestures sent the tray smashing against the wall. The dark brew splashed on the white wall of the pub and began running down. The waitress and the fisherman tried to wipe the mess off the wall, but it had left an ugly dark stain. A man who had watched the whole scene from another table walked quietly over to the wall. With a brown pastel crayon he took from his pocket, he began to sketch. The entire pub watched in silent awe as a majestic stag with great spreading antlers magically took shape around the stain. The artist was Sir Edwin Henry Landseer, the top 19th British painter of animals.
Think Outside the Box
You are driving along in your car on a wild, stormy night, it’s raining heavily, when suddenly you pass by a bus stop, and you see three people waiting for a bus:
This is a dilemma that was once used as part of a job application.
He simply answered:
“I would give the car keys to my Old friend and let him take the lady to the hospital. I would stay behind and wait for the bus with the partner of my dreams.”
Sometimes, we gain more if we are able to give up our stubborn thought limitations. Never forget to “Think Outside the Box.”
- An old lady who looks as if she is about to die.
- An old friend who once saved your life.
- The perfect partner you have been dreaming about.
This is a dilemma that was once used as part of a job application.
- You could pick up the old lady, because she is going to die, and thus you
should save her first; - * or you could take the old friend because he once saved your life, and this
would be the perfect chance to ! pay him back. - However, you may never be able to find your perfect mate again.
He simply answered:
“I would give the car keys to my Old friend and let him take the lady to the hospital. I would stay behind and wait for the bus with the partner of my dreams.”
Sometimes, we gain more if we are able to give up our stubborn thought limitations. Never forget to “Think Outside the Box.”
Stop looking under the light for innovation
There’s an old story about a man searching for his lost keys under the light on a dark night, even though they were last seen elsewhere. When a passerby asks why he continues to search in the wrong spot, the man replies, “Because the light’s better over here.” Too often, companies search within their own sphere of knowledge rather than seeking solutions wherever they may be found.
The “Sneaker Game”
The date was December 9, 1934. The New York Giants were playing the Chicago Bears for the championship of the National Football League. The two teams were thought to be evenly matched, but there was a special factor that day that changed the dynamics of the game: heavy rains and cold temperatures had turned the field at New York’s Polo Grounds stadium into a virtual sheet of ice. The home team trailed 10-3 after two quarters and looked done for, as the visiting Bears were doing a much better job of slip-sliding up and down the field.
But in the Giants’ locker room at halftime, somebody had an idea. It had little to do with the sort of midgame adjustments that were common in football, such as changing offensive plays or defensive formations. This was completely different. The notion was that maybe the Giants would be more successful not by changing their game plan but by changing their shoes-specifically, by taking off their football cleats and wearing sneakers for better traction. A mad scramble turned up enough pairs to accommodate the team, and the sneakers ended up providing the Giants with sure footing that led to 27 second-half points and a 30-13 victory. The “Sneaker Game” became part of sporting lore.
The lesson to be learned from the Giants that day is that challenging the accepted way of doing things-daring to be different-is critical to progress and can bring great success.
But in the Giants’ locker room at halftime, somebody had an idea. It had little to do with the sort of midgame adjustments that were common in football, such as changing offensive plays or defensive formations. This was completely different. The notion was that maybe the Giants would be more successful not by changing their game plan but by changing their shoes-specifically, by taking off their football cleats and wearing sneakers for better traction. A mad scramble turned up enough pairs to accommodate the team, and the sneakers ended up providing the Giants with sure footing that led to 27 second-half points and a 30-13 victory. The “Sneaker Game” became part of sporting lore.
The lesson to be learned from the Giants that day is that challenging the accepted way of doing things-daring to be different-is critical to progress and can bring great success.
Biyernes, Disyembre 2, 2011
The 50 Best Inventions of 2010
Amtrak's Beef-Powered Train
Compared with its ultramodern counterparts in Europe and Japan, Amtrak is not a font of innovation. But on its Heartland Flyer — a daily service between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth, Texas — Amtrak is taking tentative steps toward a greener, low-carbon future. Since spring, the Heartland Flyer has been running on 20% biodiesel rather than the carbon-heavy diesel fuel on which Amtrak's other trains — with the exception of the electric Acela Express — currently operate. The biodiesel reduces air pollution and helps cash-strapped Amtrak save on fuel. And appropriately for a train in cow country, the biodiesel is made from rendered cattle fat. Biodiesel from beef burns cleaner than plant biodiesel, though it may not be scalable outside the beef belt.Google's Driver less Car
Is it an autoautomobile? An aut2.0mobile? Whatever you call it, Google's new Prius — tricked out with radar sensors, video cameras and a laser range finder — has driven itself 140,000 miles without an unscheduled meeting with a light pole. Other geek squads have been running driverless vehicles in the California desert for years, partly at the behest of the U.S. Department of Defense. But only Google can rev the petabyte-sucking mapping technology that guides its car along busy streets and highways. The goal is safety — an admirable one given the world's million-plus auto fatalities each year. Driverless technology is logical and efficient, and in the near future, it could transform your commute into stress-free transport on a motorized sofa. The sad part for road hogs: if Google is successful in marketing its technology to automakers, you may never get to flip the bird at another driver again.
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