There is a lovely phrase that most writers know: “Kill your darlings.” When editing, throw out everything that doesn’t serve the story you are telling, no matter how in love you are or how clever you thought you were being. That’s true of writing, and it’s even more true of projects. We need to cut out everything that doesn’t serve the project. And sometimes we need to cut the project itself.
On Not Ticking The Boxes
It’s easy to get into a routine—and a rut—where the work that we do is just ticking the boxes. It’s a great deal harder to think about how the work that we do gets used, and what we need to do to make it as easy as possible for the work gets used. But doing so makes all the difference.
Just What Are You Waiting For?
When we are faced with large and uncertain projects, we often become entirely overwhelmed. And the larger the project, the more creative our forms of procrastination. Strategies to tackle the most important problems of all.
Kickstarter Is A Hell Of A Way To Raise Money
You can take the above headline a couple of different ways. And that is largely deliberate. If you are known, Kickstarter is a hell of a way to raise money. If you are unknown, Kickstarter is a hell of a way to (not) raise money.
Acknowledging The Planned, Embracing The Emergent
For some years now, the work I have done as a consultant has consciously tried to help customers recognize the difference between ‘planned’ and ’emergent’ in the work that they do, and particularly in the projects that they undertake. While the ideas have resonance, and people quickly appreciate the differences, gaining acceptance that they require […]
Making Big Projects Seem Small
I have something of a reputation as a procrastinator. Ill deserved, mind you, but present nonetheless. As an illustration… I have been working on my thesis since 2004. At least, I have been enrolled in a doctoral program in which the production of a thesis figures strongly as a required deliverable. While there were moves […]