kdalen

Dates Are Liberating

By / February 1, 2023

Dates Are Liberating

Having dates tied to objectives or goals is liberating. 

When you know that something is due by Friday, you know exactly what needs to be accomplished to mark it as complete. Every other option or distraction should not even be considered. 

 

This is liberating. You do not need to unnecessarily burden yourself with the cognitive load of making decisions and weighing options. That is wasted time. 

Assign dates towards your initiatives and free yourself from your overthinking. 

On Pessimism

By / February 1, 2023

On Pessimism

Pessimism is indulgence. It is also easy.

 

Optimism is where the opportunity lies. It is also hard.  

 

But how can you not be optimistic when you look around at all of the advancement and all of these gifts we get to experience? 

 

Remind yourself that every generation has witnessed novel, harsh realities. But here we are marching on. 

 

I’d rather champion positivity than cower to negativity.

 

Resilient in the face of adversity. 

Culture

By / January 31, 2023

Culture

“Culture can be measured by the worst behavior that you tolerate.” – Tracey Fletcher

Design Is Versatile​

By / January 31, 2023

Design Is Versatile

Design is versatile. You can literally design anything.

 

A room. A website. Some furniture. A process. Your organization of the snacks in your pantry.

 

You don’t need to be a designer to design. Or rather, since anyone can design, everyone is a designer.

 

The embracing of design opens opportunities for creativity, efficiency, and just a more enjoyable experience.

 

For me, design felt like one of those labels you needed to earn. In some circles, that may hold true. But those are circles I don’t think I want to identify in.

Reduce The Friction

By / January 31, 2023

Reduce The Friction

Friction is the resistance.

 

Friction is the inaction.

 

Friction is the struggle of getting through the process. 

 

This applies to your habits. 

 

This applies to your customer’s experience. 

 

 

This applies to your thought process.

 

 

Identify where you are generating the most heat and put it to rest. 

Ryan Holiday & Chat GPT – Empowering Teams

By / January 28, 2023

Ryan Holiday & Chat GPT - Empowering Teams

Prompt: In the voice and style of Ryan Holiday, discuss how project managers can empower team members and stakeholders

 

 

Response: As a project manager, it‘s important to empower team members and stakeholders to feel as though they are contributing to the success of the project. This can be done by giving them the autonomy to make decisions and the resources to do so. By allowing team members and stakeholders to be involved in the decision–making process, they will feel more valued and have a greater sense of ownership over the project. It‘s also important to provide guidance and feedback throughout the project. Offering constructive criticism and support can help team members and stakeholders feel like their contributions are valued and appreciated. This will also help keep everyone on track and ensure that the project is completed on time and within budget. Finally, it‘s important to recognize the accomplishments of team members and stakeholders. Acknowledging the hard work that goes into a project can go a long way in motivating everyone to continue to work hard and reach the desired outcome. In summary, project managers can empower team members and stakeholders by giving them the autonomy to make decisions, providing guidance and feedback, and recognizing their accomplishments. Doing so will help ensure that everyone is working together towards a common goal and that the project is completed successfully.

 

 

Grammarly Score: 82

 

 

Reaction: Honestly, probably the most generic response we’ve received from so far. Content is agreeable and fine, but the voice and style isn’t that distinguishable. The only thing that seems to stick out as Holiday-esque would be length, in comparison to other responses.  

 

For more on Chat GPT click here (the response)

For more on Grammarly click here (the score)

For more on Ryan Holiday click here (the thought leader)

PMP – Empower Team Members & Stakeholders

By / January 28, 2023

PMP 1.4 - Empower Team Members
and Stakeholders

The Project Management Institute breaks down their body of knowledge into Domains, Tasks, and Enablers. Domain is the high level knowledge area essential to the practice, Task is the underlying responsibilities of the project manager in that domain, and Enablers are illustrative examples of the work associated to the task. 


Empower Team Members and Stakeholders is the fourth task under the PMI’s first Domain, “People”. This to me reads “Influence and Emotional Intelligence.” By the way we organize our meetings, communications, notes, tasks, and plans we not only properly support them and set them up for success, but we influence our team towards accountability. Again, all the ability with none of the authority. It doesn’t require much to set the example. Applaud the good, investigate the opportunities for improvement, and align the team towards a common goal. 


People Domain

Task 4 -Empower team members and stakeholders

  • Organize team around strengths
  • Support team task accountability
  • Evaluate demonstration of task accountability
  • Determine and bestow level(s) of decision-making ability 
For more go here.

Jocko Willink & Chat GPT – Defining Scope

By / January 18, 2023

Jocko Willink & Chat GPT - Defining Scope

Prompt: in the voice and style of Jocko Willink, talk about defining the scope of a project

 

 

Response: It’s essential to define the scope of a project from the very beginning in order to ensure success. You need to figure out what the project is, what its goals are, what resources you have available, and how long it will take. If you don’t define the scope, you risk going off track, running into unexpected problems, and wasting time and resources. Make sure you take the time up front to clearly define the scope of the project and plan accordingly. Mission first!

 

 

Grammarly Score: 94

 

 

Reaction: Well done! GPT came up with an incredible accurate definition of “defining scope” and put some inflection on the response just as Jocko does when he talks. There is a clear use of lists, you can sense the dramatic pauses. A disciplined undertone (this could be me hearing his voice in my head). The call out to “Mission first!” made me chuckle, but I’ll still give my tip of the hat. 

 

 

For more on Chat GPT click here (the response)

For more on Grammarly click here (the score)

For more on Jocko Willink click here (the thought leader)

1% Better

By / January 24, 2023

1% Better

It’s intimidating to think about, but 1% better every day for a year is actually 37% better by year’s end.


Wow, the magic of compounding.


But 1% better every day seems small, but it also invokes this guilt. “You’re too lazy to not get 1% better today?”


The thought of 37% better in one year is radical as well. “How am I going to aim for 37% a year when I struggle at 1% each day?”


The metric is not important. The action is what’s important. James Clear tells us if the scope is too large, scale it to something you can take action on. Now the goal may be 1% each day but some days it’s 0.5%, some it’s 2%, some it’s -1%. 


But the goal is constant action and habit building.


(0.5% better every day for a year is still 6% better end of the year)

Your PMP Journey

By / January 24, 2023

Your PMP Journey

Every journey is unique, do not compare your experience to others.


Everyone learns differently.


With the right mindset and tools, you can pass the PMP and get the most out of our certification.


The best time to start is now.


Getting your PMP isn’t the end, it’s the beginning.

 

For more on this topic, as well as my journey, click here.