Little Thoughts…

Chapters 11 & 12 Thoughts

Chapter 11 is all about what to do when things go wrong, and pretty much things are going to go wrong and people can’t do anything to change that fact. I know I get really upset when things go wrong when I am working on a project and I know I must learn to calm down and assess the problem before moving ahead. Berkun gives his readers a list of things to consider when something goes wrong, and they are: calm down, evaluate the problem, calm down again, get the right people in the room, explore alternatives, make the simplest plans, execute, and debrief. I think this is a great list of steps to follow when something doesn’t go the way you want it to.

I just experienced something going wrong at work, this happened the middle of last week. I wasn’t to fault for the problem but it still effected me. The other designer who’s office is next to mine had forgotten some important text on a glass and the job went to production and somewhere around 75,000 glasses were produced. Part of the fault lies with the customer as well because they didn’t catch the problem either. As a result, my boss had a talk with both of us and we are going to have a short meeting to try and find a way to better proof our work before sending it off for production. I am going to try and come up with a few new ideas to present to the office. I hate it when problems like this happen, it’s even worse when I am the cause of them but they happen and I just have to learn how to better deal with them and approach a solution in a calm manner.

Chapter 12 discusses how being a leader is all about gaining other people’s trust as well as gaining your own trust. This is a HUGE deal out in the industry because the more trust people have in you as a PM the more they will be willing to work with you and enjoy it. Berkun also talks about how other team members will decide on their own once they have met you if they think you’re going to go through with your word or not. This entire chapter is very important because we’re going to use this information for the rest of our lives, as I said primarily out in the work force. I have already had to be a Project Manager for Via Media so I know what it’s like to want to have people trust you. I feel that once I gained the trust of my peers we worked along a lot better with one another and that the project got completed on time and efficiently.