5 posts tagged Management
A lot of emphasis is placed on communication in the workplace. Namely, how we should foster it, promote it, and open channels for it. However, not a whole lot is said about making sure that the message put out is the same message that is received.
As I’m writing this post I can hear a church bell ringing from outside my hotel room. The rings, one after the other, are giving me a sense of urgency - a feeling that I have to jot down my thoughts as soon as I can before they fade slip away into the nothingness that usually accompanies a good night’s sleep. So while I can still type with some sort of eloquence, I’d like to share some of my main take-aways from the first two days at eMetrics Toronto.
Now, keep in mind, none of this information is necessarily new or game-changing. In fact, much of it I’ve heard and read before from blogs and forums. But to hear it live, alongside peers, definitely gives it a new twist. And having the opportunity to hear stories about implementations gone bad and victories long forgotten, definitely adds that needed colour that the worlds of analysts often lack - helping us feel like we’re not alone in our data-crunching fortresses of solitude. Here are my top three take-ways thus far:
Don’t measure what you are not prepared to change - paraphrased from John Blackmore, IBM
I think this one will be a tough one to follow, but in a way I think there is some weight to this suggestion. I say this is tough because it is so “easy” to capture so much data about web interactions. Why not capture this event or that event? Why not capture this action or that action? Why not capture all of it… just in case? Half of me is this just in case kind of guy.I’ll be the first guy to admit that I’ve definitely forgotten a thing or two during my career, so having captured some data “just in case’ is like having a safety net. So I completely understand that view. However, how I understand this advice is that we shouldn’t “be lazy”.
Here me out. As consultants or analysts, if we simply capture data, just in case, we stop being part of the solution and revert to simply being data-collectors and *shiver* report generators. As professionals looking to find root problems we need to always be applying the scientific method, testing hypotheses, creating issue trees and generating insight. Our data collection, ideally, should be purposeful and targeted. Furthermore, there is another wonderful nuance to this bit of advice, being “prepared to change”. This implies there is buy-in to act on insight. This implies that there is an impetus for change. This means that what is measured matters in some tangible way to something that matters. Brilliant.
The web is just another marketing medium - again, paraphrased from John Blackmore, IBM
This is something that I preach all the time to whomever will listen. As much as I’d love to think that the web channel is a different animal, in the end, it’s just another marketing medium with its own intricacies. It won’t be long until web analytics reports will be lumped in with other campaign results. Also, speaking towards that last point, as Andrea Bertone from 360Training.com alluded to, to make analytics reports better accepted by upper management, take a cue from the reports from the other lines of business and/or channels. The web is a viable communications and revenue channel and, as such, it should stand shoulder to shoulder with the rest of the business channels. Having analytics reports in line with those of other business channels in terms of look, language and types of insights, will go a long way towards gaining web analytics the respect it deserves. This reporting discipline is something I strongly suggest that all web analytics professionals take because it’s only a matter of time before it’s forced upon us anyways.
People’s behaviours are similar regardless of the channel - paraphrased from Paul Tyndall, RBC
There is this notion that people behave differently depending on the touch point or channel a user is interacting with. While it’s true that the individual actions may differ - the behaviour doesn’t necessarily change. For instance, if I was an overly aggressive person, I would slam doors and yell on the phone. Different actions, yet the same behaviour: aggressiveness. While I appreciate it will take some time to categorize web behaviours according to matching offline behaviours, it definitely is something to work towards and it is something worth investigating and leveraging.
Despite my having page after page of illegible scribbles for what I like to call notes, I think these three messages stuck with me most so far and I’m hoping to learn more tomorrow. Until then… hmmm, I forgot what I forgot what I was saying - I guess it’s time for ….zzzzzzzzz
I recently passed the CAPM exam and became a Certified Associate in Project Management. Basically, the CAPM is a fancy title that means I understand the project management process very well but don’t yet have the prerequisite 4500 hours of PM experience to acquire the PMP accreditation. Many have congratulated me recently (thanks!) and have asked whether I was looking to one day do project management as a profession. Curiously to many, I said, “No, not particularly”. It’s not that I dislike project management. In fact, I’m a firm believer and proponent of it. It’s just that project management is only one dimension of where I want to end up and not the destination as a whole. So why do the CAPM if you don’t intend to be a project manager?
To signal that you are an effective team player.
The way that the PMI pitches the certification, the CAPM is for those that contribute to projects in various roles such as: subject matter expert, coordinators and sponsors. From experience, I can say that it is a comforting thought that I have a solid grasp of how things are being run - and can spot when things that are going well. The PMBOK (the Project Management Book of Knowledge that the CAPM exam is based on) provides certification holders with a framework to help them tackle many project issues such as scope creep or schedule compression. With this framework, in cases where there is no one leading a project, holders of the CAPM can step up and help quarterback the project. I’d be lying if I said I don’t enjoy being a go-to guy.
To be an effective manager.
More important to me is the fact that the CAPM provides another view to things. In general, managers are either operations managers or project managers of some kind. Thus, a CAPM very much compliments an MBA quite well. Ever since my certification, I’ve been looking at operations management and consulting management in a new light. I feel I have a much more complete picture of things and feel more empowered knowing how to meet a deadline better. On top of this, it’s never a bad thing to have a solid grasp of project management as a manager. While you should be able to trust your employees, it never hurts to be able to recognize the warning signs of a project going off track.
To signal you are serious about your pursuits.
Do you absolutely need an MBA to be a manager? Of course not. Do you need a PMP to be a project manager? Again, no. So too, you don’t require a CAPM to be a strong contributor to projects. But I feel, if anything, it signals seriousness and intention in your career. While the CAPM certification is relatively new and not very recognized as of yet, at the very least it brings up the conversation with people who will ask, “What does CAPM stand for?”.
And I’m always open to starting new conversations.
Let me begin by saying that I kind of just lied to you. I promise not to make a habit of it, honest. The truth of the matter is that I am on FriendFeed - I’m just not that active on it. In fact, I simply just feed my Twitter updates into it, and put it on auto-pilot. Yes, I know, it’s an amazing tool, but so are so many other new applications/social-networks/websites/paradigm shifts out there. It’s just that I simply don’t care - and you know what? That’s OK. It’s also OK if you don’t care either. I won’t speak poorly of you, swear.
No time
There seems to be this belief by some that those on the web, ought to be on every new technology, and that we must be “innovators” (earlier than early-adopters). Personally, I like to keep up-to-date with recent developments in web design and web analytics, but that’s as far as I’ll really go. Sure, I’ll keep my ears open for new social networks, I’ll even create accounts to “check them out”. But if a new application doesn’t hook me in the first hour or so, I’ll ditch it - unless of course it gains wider appeal like Twitter did (hello Oprah!). In that case, I wouldn’t want to miss out on the party.
Of course, Social Media Experts (can the real Social Media Experts please stand up?) ought to be more up to date with all this, since this is their job - but it surely isn’t mine. For mere mortals like me, time is at a premium. With full-time work, part-time studies, and family obligations, it’s a wonder I even have time to blog anymore. Throw on top of that that I have to keep up to date with the fields I work in - and that’s plenty.
Motivation and Commitment
As with any new technology, features and promises of greatness do not guarantee widespread adoption. Most users tend not to want to learn how to use a new applications if:
A few years back, for what seems like a lifetime ago for me now, I was running a small company. One of our projects at the time was to build an online branded-email application targeting the local fashion industry. Back then, it was a pretty open niche, with no, or very few competitors. We felt there was a sufficient demand from the industry based on all the PR the fashion industry sends out before fashion shows, but we knew that the barrier against entry into this niche was low. We felt we had a window of opportunity, but we had to act fast. We had big dreams, but unfortunately, also shallow pockets.
We didn’t have the in-house staff to take on such a project and to finish it before the next Fashion Week, where ideally, we’d approach fashion designers and their PR staff with the idea. So we made the decision to outsource overseas. This is the story of how not to make the same mistakes we did.
My story
I put together a general requirements document, with screenshots and rough work-flows - it was quite thick. I then posted the project on an outsourcing website where outsourcing companies could indicate their interest and bid on it. I researched the bidders by sifting through their websites, and searching online for any comments made by their previous clients. Eventually I settled on one particular company located in India, signed a contract with them, and gave them a deposit. In turn, they gave me administrative access to their sandbox area where I could monitor their progress. Things were going well.
However, just a few days into the project, trouble arose. The quality of their work wasn’t up to snuff, and they seemed to be taking strange paths (read: inexplicably ass-backwards) to obvious solutions. Furthermore, due to the time difference, questions I had could only be answered a full day after the fact. In the end, after a month or so, the project was so off course and out of scope, I decided to pull the plug and cut our loses. (Tip: Always work a clawback clause in a contract for unsatisfactory work - they work wonders.)
What went wrong?
Now that I have had a few years to reflect on this experience, as well as a few MBA courses under my belt, I’ve finally been able to figure out where I misstepped, and compiled a short list of things you should take into consideration before you decide to outsource a project, not just to overseas developers, but to any outside company. Mind you, this list is not exhaustive, but I feel it includes some of the major concepts often overlooked by those looking to outsource.
Outsourcing Checklist
