May the best team win………

north-koreaWhilst the football may not have lived up to the hype so far we have still seen a couple of excellent team performances. So what is it that makes for a great team performance whatever the situation ?

* A leader who doesn’t just tell the team what to do but who provides a vision and who communicates that goal to the team by clearly outlining the task at hand and how it is to be achieved.

* The team are all pulling in the same direction putting individual disagreement behind them.

* The rewards of success are shared equally amongst the team members.

* There is no “finger pointing” if someone makes a mistake and the rest of the team rally round to support the individual.

* The Team leader provides all of the tools and instructions neccessary to complete the task.

As we enjoy the World Cup see which teams exhibit these qualities and measure their success.

The best team may not have the most outstanding individual players but the best team will win.

chris@projectsguru.co.uk

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United States of ChinAfrica…..

cinafricaRecent data from the IMF supports the view that China and Africa are becoming increasingly entwined as trading partners as China exploits the vast mineral and material wealth of the African continent in return for Capital Investment, machinery and technological know how.

The massive growth and change in China’s economy over the last decade have seen it increase in global power to the point where it begins to overshadow the U.S.A and Europe.

chinafrica2Whilst the U.S and Europe have been mired in recession the Chinese rescue package has ensured that growth in that country continues at a rate of around 10%.

This growth can only be sustained by the continued supply of mineral wealth and mined resources, hence the involvement in Africa.

So, should those of us in the Western democracies be concerned about China’s increasing involvement in this vast continent ?

As China has expanded and exported it’s own particular brand of State Capitalism it shows no signs whatsoever of either promoting or developing democracy.

If Democracy, free speech, tolerance and egalitariasm are to be encouraged as Africa develops as a continent perhaps the U.S.A and Europe need to be more proactive in developing and sustaining their economic development programs in Africa to ensure, by the end of the decade, we aren’t looking at the United States of ChinAfrica.

chris@projectsguru.co.uk

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Don’t fear failure…..

jigsawWe are conditioned to fear failure. We must succeed at all costs. Throughout our schooling we are expected to pass our exams with flying colours and to fail is to be labelled as useless.

This fear of failure is stifling and killing our ability to innovate. Thankfully many individuals overcome this conditioning and realize that failure paves the road to success. The secret is to NEVER GIVE UP. To fail is perfectly natural and through failure we improve and succeed.

Any product innovation will fail many times but with an attitude of continuous improvement you will eventually succeed with a product which exceeds all expectations.

For inspiration about new product development success and persistence in the face of failure read the inspiring story of Charles Goodyear the pioneering inventor of vulcanized rubber.

Don’t fear failure – Strive for success.

chris@projectsguru.co.uk

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New Product Development….

productLifecycleis vital to maintain a companies revenue growth. All products have a similar lifecycle which ends with declining revenue although the timescale between introduction and extinction may be anywhere between a few weeks to decades.

Unless New Product Development brings a steady stream of products to market the companies revenue will gradually decline.

Of course it is vital that the products being developed have a clearly defined market otherwise the costs of development will outweigh any increase in revenue.

Being in touch with the customers needs is the only way to increase the rate of success.

chris@projectsguru.co.uk

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We’re flying tonight…

BAplane2The planes are flying again over Europe as the restrictions imposed due to the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud have been lifted. But are the scenes experienced over the last few days a bleak glimpse into our collective futures ?

It is commonly acknowledged that oil reserves will not last forever but maybe less well known that the period of peak oil production is upon us and in the near future demand will begin to exceed supply. So what are the possible consequences:-

oilgraph1) Oil is like any other commodity and as demand exceeds supply price will increase. This was seen before the financial crash of 2008 when Oil peaked at $147 per barrell. It is current around $82 per barrell.

2) GDP growth is directly dependent on oil supply. China is currently growing at around 10% per annum – this cannot continue.

3) There is no readily available alternative. Biofuels represent a tiny percentage of total fuel volumes and use up valuable land resource which could be used to grow food.

4) We will experience increasing cost of food and other essentials.

5) Air travel will become the preserve of the rich. This can already be seen in the UK with vastly fewer people taking foreign holidays following the financial crash.

6) Our world will shrink; the global village we have experienced since the 1960’s will shrink as travel costs reduce our ability to roam.

7) There will probably be more conflict on a global scale as States compete for scarce resources.

This all sounds like bad news but there will be positive outcomes:-

1) Reduced consumption of Oil will reduce the amount of carbon generation and lessen the risk of global warming.

2) The crisis will force us to develop alternate energy strategies.

3) Being less dependent on “the black stuff” will enable us to take independent geo-political decisions less hindered by our current needs.

4) We will be more concious about re-use and less wasteful of resources.

We live in interesting times.

chris@projectsguru.co.uk

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Masterchef..lessons for PM’s #pmot

MASTERCHEFI don’t know about you but I love BBC’s Masterchef, not just for the food and the cooking skills but the lessons it has for Project Managers.

And before I hear you scream “not another popular T.V program – tenuous Blog link story” please bear with me, bear with me.

First of all I love the passion. The contestants exude passion about food and cooking, we experience the love of their craft and their pain when their expectations are not met. One scowl off John is enough to reduce the strongest contestant to tears. As project managers we need to display the same level of passion for our project deliverables.

Secondly I love the drama of execution as the dish is put together to arrive at the nominated time, cooked perfectly, presented beautifully and demanding to be eaten. The time management skills on display would put the best project manager to shame and if we could deliver our projects to the same standard we would be very happy PM’s indeed.

Of course, like any project, things can go wrong and mistaking sugar for salt will end in disaster, a lesson in attention to detail there.

At the end there is only one winner but the runners up all learn from their mistakes, another attribute of good project managers.

chris@projectsguru.co.uk

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All change at British Airways..

bacrashIs the current industrial strife at British Airways indicative of a poorly managed change process ?

Change which is imposed rather than negotiated is rarely successful. In fact any change process needs to go through fundamental stages to succeed and the unrest at B.A would suggest that these key stages have been ignored.

Change is inevitable but its successful implementation requires real management skills.

chris@projectsguru.co.uk
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No feedback is negative…

customer feedbackI was recently asked “how do you deal with negative customer feedback ?”

If you are interested in your customers (as every business should be) no feedback should be considered ‘negative’ and all feedback welcomed.

Customer feedback is an excellent source of improvement and should be welcomed at every stage of the product development process.

Samples should be supplied to the customer as early as possible and any feedback should be used to fine tune product development.

Get close to your customers and welcome their feedback, no one will appreciate this more than the customer themselves.

chris@projectsguru.co.uk

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Great idea…but why won’t it sell ?

stupidinventionThis is one of the most common questions in the world of New Product Development and is often asked after the developer has spent thousands of dollars in development costs.

Here are some possible answers:-

1) Who says your product is “great” ?  many  companies develop new products because they think it’s a great idea – unfortunately no one else does. It may seem obvious but New Products have to meet a market demand in order to sell. Just because your design engineer thinks its a great idea doesn’t mean anyone else does.

2) Does anyone know about your great new product ?  What is your Marketing and Advertising strategy. Unless your Innovation is publicised how will anybody find out about it ?

3) Is your product overpriced ?  What is the nearest competitor selling at ?

4)  Is it priced too low and perceived as cheap ? Ask yourself this question – When you buy a car do you buy the cheapest model available ?

5) What level of service and support do you offer with your product ? – Is the competition offering a better warranty or service.

All common sense but sense aint that common.

chris@projectsguru.co.uk

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The Brain Machine….

brainmachineThere has been lots of recent talk from politicians, particularly The Conservative Party, about rejuvinating British Industry. Indeed James Dyson, the renowned inventor of the bagless vacuum cleaner which bears his name, recently issued his  Ingenious Britain  report on the subject.

Such debate is welcome and well overdue. With manufacturing in the U.K shrinking to around 10% of GDP we urgently need a strategy which focuses on what we do best – Innovation.

There is no way we can compete with Far East manufacturers on cost (labor or Capital) but we can and do compete strongly when it comes to Innovative design and technology. This is partly due to our strong engineering history and professional project management skills. It is also down to our open and democratic culture which leads to a rigorous debate of ideas.

We have a wealth of scientific and engineering talent in the U.K which we can exploit to deliver new and innovative products to the worlds markets.

We need to rev up the Brain Machine.

chris@projectsguru.co.uk

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