How often do we hear or read that some organization or other purports to aim to exceed their Clients’ expectations? Are such statements mere puffery and sales pitch by some top-line grabbing salesman or are they genuine goals in line with the mantra of continuous improvement? And if we exceed somebody’s expectations are they happy about it? Continue reading
I was once asked by a non-English speaker; “What is a dashboard?” Our Client wanted a ‘dashboard’ summary of the monthly status as part of Project Controls for a ‘health check’.
I explained that cars have dashboards. Analogously, I told her that my first car (a Spitfire) had a ‘dashboard’ with a speedometer (marginally functional) to measure speed, temperature gauge (working) to warn of impending overheating, fuel gauge (temperamental) to let me know when I needed to top-up the tank, an odometer (erratic) to let me know how far I had travelled, plus a rev-counter that didn’t work. Continue reading
As a client have you chosen to manage the project yourself or leave it to your Contractor or have you decided to utilise a consultant? If it’s too much to do it by yourself and Contractors are, well they’re contractors aren’t they… you have little choice but to engage a Consultant. Continue reading
How many times do we experience the situation when something bad happens and the manager who feels they may be responsible has his, or her, moral-fortitude challenged? The challenged manager inevitably goes into self-preservation mode. “Can I duck for cover?” and avoid the flak is their first question. But, and as with most bad situations, there is no time so how can blame be diverted? Continue reading
It has been suggested that Stone Age man had a higher IQ than today’s modern homo sapiens. “That cannot be” says the modern man but, if one thinks about such an assault on our modern-day ego and self-confessed superiority, the alleged ‘primitive’ man was able to survive in extreme conditions, travelled the planet and set the foundations for today’s societies. Continue reading