6. It's better to invest time than to spend it
Stop trying to manage time. Time is not something we spend;
it's not a resource we can horde or a precious jewel to display. Time is life;
our life, our energy, our passion as it expresses itself in the world.
Instead of treating time as a thing to spend, we should consider our actions in terms of the kind of life they build for ourselves and others. Every day we face choices about how we shape the world that our co-workers, employees, and managers live in. Once we accept that, we can create genuine change.
7. Bolster morale though consistent measurement
It is easy, even tempting, to tell people that we will know
success when we see it. I hear it all the time in my consulting practice with
predictable results. People who do not know how they will be measured perform
poorly. Those who know that the standards change from one person to another (and
depending on the manager's stress level) simply assume success is not possible.
We have to tell people what we want and expect from them. Otherwise, how can they possibly perform?
8. Failure is always an option, so fail early and often
Motivational speakers aside, most of us know that failure
happens. Success is difficult to achieve and fleeting in the world of IT. It's
not always fun, and frankly it's pretty unpleasant, to go from meeting to
meeting in which executives chant "failure is not an option."
We should embrace failure. In fact, we can turn this reality of our work lives to our advantage. If we cause doomed projects to fail early in their lifecycle, we can free up resources to deal with projects that have a chance of success. It isn't a terribly popular approach, but it does create the opportunity for success. It also exposes all the risks we take, daily, in the name of making a profit.
9. It's important to appreciate the difference between a target and a
deadline
A target is just that -- something we aim for. If we miss the
target, odds are good someone will be embarrassed but nothing overly bad will happen.
Targets generally come from corporate political discussions and seem terribly
important at the time.
A deadline, though, carries some kind of financial or legal consequence for the company. Failure to meet a deadline can land the team, the department, or the corporation in some kind of serious jeopardy.
Targets we can miss from time to time. Deadlines we should take very seriously.
And there we have it. Nine things we can focus on to make 2007 a better year than 2006, even in the face of the turmoil ahead. Good luck and have a Happy New Year!
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