Jun 30, 2006 | blog
I was convinced of that today during a meeting at work. I’ve been planting the blogging seeds at work for several months, with some success at the IT management level, but was reminded quite aggressively by a coworker that some people have a real hard time with something new.
To some people, change brings disruption, uncertainty, fear, and anger. Obviously they don’t understand what a blog is for or what it can be utilized for. The reaction I experienced today has made me certain that there are some people that you simply can’t reach. Their ability to grasp new concepts and really understand the significance of the difference from existing ideas is a wall blocking their ability to learn new skills.
The amazing thing to me is that intelligent people actually fear things. Rather than take a minute or two and actually listen to a quick explanation or demonstration, they simply make knee-jerk assumption and move on, not knowing what they missed.
Oh well, more opportunity for me!
UPDATE: If anyone is interested in a tactic to address some of the things I’ve talked about here – check out Ann Michael’s post The Change Resistors: Snipers on her Manage To Change blog. There are some great tips on dealing with individuals who enjoy shooting down ideas simply because of lack of understanding.
Jun 30, 2006 | blog
This week was the week from hell. It just seemed like everyone was overworked, overtired, overstressed, and trying not to let it get to them too much. Maybe its the run-up to one of the biggest holiday weekends of the year, but work just seemed not to let up all week.
Ugh, glad to be out of the office and away from everyone for awhile – I think everyone needs it.
Jun 29, 2006 | blog
Ugh, I had to go back into the office this evening to work on one of the servers supporting our VPN system. The darn Integrity database got snarled up, and its still restoring.
This doesn’t bode well for my 8:30am meeting does it. 🙂
UPDATE: Guess I’ll just blog a few items as I catch up on yesterday’s news! Database restores can be so boring.
Jun 9, 2006 | blog
So I’ve been getting into project management the last 18 months or so, and its been quite a bit of fun. What surprises me, is that I really enjoy the work – it has been taking more and more of my interest in place of my passion for technology.
The thing that also stuns me, is that I’m actually good at it. Don’t get me wrong, I still have a LOT to learn about project management, methods, tools, tricks, organization, etc… Of course a person really never stops learning. The neat thing about PM work that I’ve found so far is how it streches me in a whole new direction that I’d never had to work towards in just a technology-focused position.
Now with that all said, the project I’m trying to get started and organized at work has me really twisted around. First, until recently it really hasn’t been a project, it has mostly been a skunk-works effort to get it done, and we’ve found as a department that we really need to formalize what we are attempting to do. So what is the project? Our Information Technology Lab Environment.
Of course we have a bit more long-winded name for it, mostly because of the complexity of what we are trying to do. The Lab has many parts, some are actually critical, others simply a support roll in that they’re used for research (obviously).
So what’s so hard you ask? You know, it really shouldn’t be difficult, and maybe its because of the way I’ve approached it. See, our group has worked on this little effort for about 2 years, suffling the responsibilities from one staff member to another. Each generating their own pieces of the puzzle, but not stepping back to look at the whole mosaic. Then we bring about a dozen team members together about 8 to 14 times and generate a ton of additional information.
What I’m babbling about is that I’ve got a ton of information, but have lost sight of the starting point. I’ve taken the group up to the higher levels where we can see how all the pieces fit together, but I’ve now got too much information to go back and actually morph what we’ve got into a true multi-year, multi-phase project plan. A seasoned PM would be able to do it in about half a week I suppose, but I’m still really learning the craft.
What I’m planning on monday, is to start from the beginning, writting the project plan, plugging in time, costs, resources, etc… Taking the wonderful mountain of information, drawings, concepts, and such that we have accumulated and using it as a research tool to answer the basic project questions that our Project Methodology asks. So for the two who ‘put’ the 800lb. gorilla on my back 😉 I think I’ve got it figured out how and where to start.
Jun 9, 2006 | blog
Well, I’m trying to decide if I should go to the Windows Connections conference this fall. It’s in Vegas, and I’m not really enamored of the place (of course I’ve never been there yet).
Looks to be a good conference, as the Connections ones usually are, with a number of great speakers (Steve Riley, Mark Minasi, Sue Mosher, Tony Redmond, Paul Robichaux). I’ve always had a great time at previous Connecitons, and the quality of the information, sessions, speakers, content, and location have been excellent.
Its being held at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas, so check it out if you are interested.
