Gazza's Corner Podcast

Everyone likes to have choice. No, that's not quite correct. These days people demand choice, especially in the arena of consumer goods and services. The more choice the better, it would seem - or at least the manufacturers would have you think so, as you try to pick out a new cell phone from the hundreds of similar models available on any given day. Fotolia_43362365_XSBut the truth is we don't handle choice all that well. Choice means change and uncertainty - and offering too much choice can literally stop you in your tracks - or make you leave the shop dazed and confused, without buying anything. Listen to the podcast or read the full article on Gazza's Corner Blog.   

Cost-Benefit AnalysisA process by which you weigh expected costs against expected benefits to determine the best (or most profitable) course of action.http://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/cost-benefit-analysisA few years ago I was at a customer site in Independence, Missouri. It is a classic American town, sitting on the eastern edge of Kansas City. One of the advantages of working for a company with a wide-spread customer base was that I had the opportunity to visit a lot of different places. When money has been spent to get you there, you had better make the most of it - so you maximize the hours you spend with the customer. However, when the working day is done there is an opportunity for personal benefit and exploration as well. So wherever I went, I made sure to learn about the local history and try to see a few attractions.It's all about maximizing the value for the cost - which is the primary basis for cost-benefit analysis. In this case, the personal cost was not financial, but in tim

I recently attended an Outdoor First Aid course at Camp Waingaro, which is an old scout hall nestled in 19 hectares of New Zealand bush. Quite a long way from anywhere - or at least it felt like it when I found that I could no longer get a cellphone signal. It was a beautiful site, surrounded on three sides by a creek that wound its way down the valley.I initially thought it would be something of a refresher course, as I had attended first aid courses before, but in many respects this was an entirely new experience.Granted, the last in-depth First Aid course I took was over 30 years ago - but as it turned out I had remembered most of the basic concepts I needed to know over all of that time. The first day of the course was a lot of theory - with some practical exercises using CPR dummies, various bandages, how to deal with choking and so on. Of course, some practices and techniques have changed over the years - in fact, some first aid practices seem to change every few years as they learn more

Today's interview is with  Bryan Barrow, a widely recognized Project Management and Risk Management consultant and Speaker. Bryan is the founder of Nova Consulting Ltd in the UK. Over the past twenty years, he has worked with Project Management Offices, Project Directors and both public and private sector organizations, helping them to improve project planning and rescue troubled projects. He also provides coaching and mentoring to help develop the skills of the next generation of project leaders.Bryan is the author of The Project Planning Workshop Handbook, which introduces the Index Card Planning Method. He publishes his subscription-only newsletter Project Leadership Tips every month. Subscribe at bryanbarrow.com.Join us and listen to Bryan Barrow as he talks about the changing world of project management.Bryan Barrowhttp://bryanbarrow.com@Bryanbarrow

When I was in my late teens, I bought my first car. My friends were all doing the same - we all had our licenses and we wanted to put them to good use. Of course, not having a lot of money, we each ended up buying older, cheaper cars. I bought a 1974 Mazda RX4 from a family member, one friend bought an old Chevy Nova, another had an old sports car, and one had bought a 1977 Honda Civic.CC Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1973-1978_Honda_Civic_5-door_hatchback_01.jpgAll of these cars were made near the end of an era- close to the last generation of vehicles you could actually fix yourselves. All of them even had carburetors - no fancy fuel injection, and definitely no computer control systems. My car had only an AM radio, which I updated to AM/FM (but no cassette deck). When these cars were made, most computers filled a small room, and Personal Computers were not yet available.Wheels = Freedom Well, we were all very happy to have our own set of wheels, so we took good care of our ca

When I was a child, I didn't like sports. Well, that's not exactly true - I loved swimming and spent almost every day during my young summers in the water at our local pool, and was part of the swim team. Wrinkly skin, and a persistent smell of chlorine - it was a wonderful way to spend a good part of your summer's day. Besides, when your town had an outdoor pool that was only open for 3-4 months out of the year, you made the most of it. The rest of the year it was either too cold, or just plain closed, as the pool was left drained for 6 months of the year while the temperatures plummeted from freezing down to -40 degrees Celsius in the coldest months.In the winter, starting sometime in November, the outdoor ice rinks were getting into full swing. I spent a few winters trying to perfect long, graceful glides around the temporary oval of a Speed Skating rink on our Elementary school field, while my younger brothers were just starting getting into ice hockey at the PeeWee level.I think I managed

"Where there is no vision, the people perish..." Proverbs 29:18 One of the most important things you will do as a leader or Project Manager is to communicate a compelling vision to your team or organization. It not only sets the direction for the team and the project, it also begins to pull a group of individuals into a cohesive unit - and eventually, if all goes well, into a high-performing team.Without vision, all is lost - or has the potential to be, unless you bring things back on track. This not only applies to your projects, it applies to "real life" too, as I learned first-hand many years ago... Image (C) Fotolia 49516437Listen to the podcast or read the full article on Gazza's Corner Blog. 

How do you make sure your projects complete on time? When you set a deadline, you are supposed communicate it to everyone, right? Then, presumably,the entire team will work towards that date, vendor and client alike, to make it happen.That is usually what happens on most projects - you may be a little late on some target dates, a little early on others, but generally all of you are working towards the same dates, and hopefully the same priorities.But what about when it doesn't work out, and deadlines are missed repeatedly?Certainly you can apply contract penalties to a vendor, but that does not always help to achieve the desired effect of getting finished on time.(C) Fotolia_44112672 What do you do if it seems like part of your own team is disregarding your schedule? What if they seem to have a different sense of timing altogether, no matter how clearly you communicate the priorities and schedule?This can be particularly problematic as you near the end of the project, when there is still a

The Cost of ChangeWe have all heard about how the cost of change increases exponentially the further you are along the path of project delivery. If the unit of effort is, say, (1) at requirements stage to accommodate a feature change, in design it increases to (10x), in development it increases to (100x) and once delivered it may increase again to (1000x) or more. Or perhaps a different scale applies to your project, but you get the idea.The same rules apply when you are doing construction, when scope becomes set in stone - or at least in concrete. Changes are easiest when you are still talking with the architect and drawing up the first set of plans on a napkin, but after they have been formally submitted for review and approved by Council, it gets more complicated and costly. Any changes to the approved plans require rework by the architect, then a review by another dozen or so eyes, and when that is done, it needs to get re-approved by the city planning department. Oh, and to top it all off,

A few years ago I went on a fly-fishing trip with a group of work colleagues. I was working on a project in New Zealand, and we were going to be staying in an old company-owned holiday "bach" just outside of Taupo. You could book these properties for a weekend and pay a small fee. A basic type of unit - furnished with several beds, kitchen, TV, tables, chairs and couple sofas - nothing too fancy.We unpacked our gear, loaded up the fridge and headed back outside for fly-fishing lessons. My first ever lesson - and apparently you need to learn how to do it while on dry land (without a hook) just to get used to the back-and-forth action before you try it standing hip-deep in a river. Perhaps to make sure you didn't fall over while casting - or hook anyone around you.After about an hour of practicing casting, it was getting dark and our arms were getting tired, so we headed back in to get dinner ready and settle in for the evening. One of the guys was frying up dinner while the rest of us chatted and watched the l

You know the drill - anyone who has ever flown on a commercial airline has heard this announcement from the flight attendant, usually followed by a safety briefing video and a demonstration by the crew. Most of us briefly look up, see the flight attendant standing there, snug our seat-belt, glance up above our heads, and resume reading - or listening to music, whatever. Most of us ignore the actual briefing if we have flown more than a few times. Even the comment "you may have flown before, but this aircraft may be different than what you are used to, so please follow along with this safety briefing" is unlikely to gain more than a few curious glances. If the safety message is only a video, there may be even fewer people paying attention.We have become so used to distractions and the constant babble of noise around us in our daily lives, we learn to tune it out - and that can sometimes be a good thing. But how do you get - and hold - someone's attention, particularly if the message you hav

Let me ask you an important question:Have you Exploited your Project Team Today? Wait a minute, Exploit your Project Team? You are probably thinking - He can't be serious. That's a horrible, evil thing to do, right?You probably also have visions of unfair wages, an evil boss, overworked and under-appreciated staff, things like that. Unfortunately, that does happen - but it is not what I am talking about.You really should exploit your team - and a trip to the toy store made me come to view this as a viable management approach. Wisdom from the Toy Store While shopping for a birthday present for one of my children, I came across the following toy that you first assemble, and then play with: "Exploiter"? My initial reaction was to take offense at the words on the box. My second reaction was to take a photo. Translated instructions from a foreign country are often quite humorous, but it is less common to have the label or name of a product be so obviously "wrong". It was one of those you-have-to-se

Fifteen minutes of Fame - we all seem to want it, and according to some we are all due our fifteen minutes in the limelight. Well, maybe, or maybe not. I am sure that the law of averages has something to say about that, and more likely some celebrity out there is using up a whole lot of other people's 15 minutes. I am sure mine has already been used up somewhere, maybe yours too. Who knows? We all day-dream about what might be. However, instead of making the dreams a reality, we often squander countless minutes musing about a possible future - while instead we could have been doing something more productive towards that (or any other) goal. Other times, we are either delaying work on an unpleasant task, trying to put off the inevitable, or simply waiting until we "have enough time" to get the task done.The truth is that it is far more rewarding (and practical) to apply those extra minutes towards the things that you need to get done. Even better, apply the time towards the things you need

When I was fifteen, I spent the summer visiting my relatives in Alberta. Nothing unusual about that, as we did that most summers. We would usually drive the nearly 14 hours to Calgary and then spend a few very enjoyable weeks visiting the grandparents, exploring the farmyard and visiting our many aunts, uncles, cousins and other relatives in the area. What was different about that summer is that our family divided up the visits, allowing us kids to each spend more time with our relatives, one-on-one. I spent a few days with my grandparents, and then one of my Aunts came to pick me up and drive me up to their farm an hour and a half to the north. My parents were going to pick me up later in the week to take me to the next relative.It was a hot, dry summer, which was not uncommon in the prairies. Her car was brown. Actually, it might not have been brown, it was just coated in so much dust you couldn't see the colour underneath. My grandparents waved from the front steps of the farmhouse as we rum

zom·bie \ˈzäm-bē\ noun 1. Formal.   a. the body of a dead person given the semblance of life, but mute and will-less, by a supernatural force, usually for some evil purpose.   b. the supernatural force itself  2. Informal.    a. a person whose behavior or responses are wooden, listless, or seemingly rote; automaton.   b. a person who is or appears lifeless, apathetic, or completely unresponsive to their surroundings.     c. an eccentric or peculiar person, markedly strange in appearance or behavior (sometimes confused with Teenagers).  3. Project Zombie.    a. a member of the project team whose behavior or responses towards the project are wooden, listless, or seemingly rote; automaton.   b. a member of the project team who appears directionless or wandering but is attracted by noise and activity.Zombies TodayZombies are currently very popular in the media; in the past 18 months alone there have been 32 zombie films created

I have, for much of my life, lived close to sea level. Most people don't think too much about altitude, unless they travel a lot, climb mountains, or are professional athletes. If you live near hills or near mountains, you might not even think too much about a hike or drive up a couple thousand feet, or a few hundred metres or even a kilometre in elevation above where you live. You might not even notice it that much, particularly if you are driving. If you are hiking, well - any trouble breathing you may have can usually be blamed on exertion, and that spare tire you may be carrying.Certainly, hiking in the mountains around Vancouver, Canada, or skiing at Whistler when I was younger, I never had any problems. The base was a couple thousand feet above sea level, and that was no problem at all. Taking the lift up another 3000 feet (900m) or so and skiing back down, perhaps I felt it, but as I was not that confident a skier I had other things on my mind, like avoiding the row of trees up ahead.The

Have you ever saved a life?In an emergency, can you do what it takes to help someone? Could you rescue them from a life-or-death situation? Perhaps you might think I am being a bit dramatic, but it's a serious question. Are you prepared? In July 1983, the 15th World Scouting Jamboree was held at Kananaskis, Alberta, in the shadow of the Canadian Rockies.  In December 1981, several members of our Venturer company were selected to attend the HikeMaster training camp in July 1982. If we passed the tests - physical and written, we would be part of a dedicated group that would be leading scouts from around the world on hikes and camps in the Rockies at the World Jamboree the next year. We were given plenty of warning so that we had time to prepare - and prepare we did.At 15 and 16, we were becoming reasonably experienced campers, and we all attended a St John's first aid course. We also had to do a weekend "solo" hiking pre-camp (no adult leaders), to help prepare us for being self-reliant a

A colleague of mine has no taste. None at all - either he lost it in early childhood or he never had it, he can't exactly remember. I am not being mean about his clothing or sense of style - I am being quite literal. His taste buds do not work at all. When he eats, there is only texture, no flavor. "Food is simply fuel" as he says it - there is no particular enjoyment to any particular food, just the satisfaction of no longer being hungry."How horrible," I thought, "to never be able to taste chocolate, fruit or delicious, exotic foods". And then a few years ago, as a side effect of some bug going around, I completely lost my sense of taste as well. Usually your sense of taste is diminished when you have a cold, as smell is a big part of the sensation. But it wasn't that - my taste buds actually stopped working completely - and the smell part of it went too. Nothing but texture was left - not even spicy food registered, other than some watering eyes.Fortunately it

Happy New Year - and welcome to your new project! The start of the calendar year often marks the start of new projects; the old year is done, the new year is fresh and full of potential. Everyone is rested from the break and raring to go...ok, perhaps recovering is the right word. However, it is still a great time of year to kick off new projects, with most people full of energy and optimism. Who knows - your New Year Resolution might even have been about your project. (Ya, right!)Many people finished up the calendar year with a lot of social activities and parties; the closer you got to the end of the year it seems the less work was done, or at least it was harder to get work done. I know exactly how tough it was - I was in the first month of ramping up on a new project, looking for information, while everyone else was winding down from the year and starting to disappear on holiday. Now it is a new year, people are returning from holiday, refreshed or recovering, in any case coming back t

Today's interview is with with Chris Cattaway, an expert in building successful teams.Chris's experience ranges from designing and project managing multi-million dollar telecommunications systems to leading disaster response teams in Africa and Asia. He is a PMP®, a Registered Prince 2 Practitioner, and graduated as an Otago (NZ) MBA in 2003. Recognizing that both hard and soft competencies are necessary for sustainable performance improvement he is also licensed and accredited to facilitate workshops using world-class psychometric typing systems. Using the Clarity4D model, Chris uses four "colour energies" - Red, Green, Blue and Red as a model for analyzing behavioral preferences and helping teams work together more effectively.Through his business, Global Achievements, Chris works throughout the Asia-Pacific region and internationally, "envisioning and catalysing transformational change" through capacity building for individuals, teams and organisations, and programme management.  Chris present