The pulse of Alexander Interactive

We’re more than halfway through the 2012 Paleo Challenge, and we’ve got a three-way tie on the leaderboard. At the midway mark Nick, Tim and I are in a neck and neck with Seth and Jess Dale trailing right behind waiting for a nice crisp soda or a neglected slice of cake to throw us off course.

With three weeks (but fewer pounds) under our belts, we’ve all gotten more comfortable in the kitchen by sharing more than a dozen Paleo recipes. My library of Paleo resources has grown. I’ve learned about ingredients that I never knew existed and have saved a heck of a lot of money.

While some of us were skeptical about certain dishes before we tasted them, everyone has been in love with the food. It has been refreshing to have a new homemade dish each day. There have actually been no repeated meals brought in for the entire challenge so far.

Across the board, everyone’s favorite part of the challenge has been cooking for each other. We’re even talking about continuing that tradition after the challenge. As Jess Dale put it, “It’s amazing, cost-effective and healthy to boot.” Well, to be completely honest, cooking has been everyone but Tim’s favorite part.

Tim’s favorite thing about the challenge?  Bacon.

We’ve each struggled with a few cheats here and there. Some things have been harder to give up than others – Seth is shouting “Diet Coke!” over my shoulder right now. And each of us have had to resist the delectable treats that always seem to make their way around the office.

Taking pictures of every meal and having a group of friends who we see every day has been a great way to keep us accountable. It’s brought us closer as a group and we’re all looking forward to seeing who comes out on top at the end.

While we look forward to the celebratory cheat meal late next week, the Paleo lifestyle is something that a few of us are going to maintain, with the 80/20 rule in full effect, beyond the challenge.  Eating clean feels good, so why stop?

1. Methodology

“It’s very important that a project manager has experience using a system or methodology of approach, and can document and communicate it to the team. People need to know what’s going to occur, when, where and how.”

My take: This is vital; I even mentioned it in my recent “Why Athletes Make Good Project Managers” post. To reiterate: As the PM of a project team you’re on the hook to ensure both the internal and external teams always know the upcoming key activities and who is responsible for each. Proactively sharing information without being asked helps guarantee success, and paying attention to your audience when communicating facilitates the information transfer.

While all PMs have their own methodologies of how to get things done, consistency between PMs within the same company is key. We all use the same templates and follow the same project lifecycle, and we’re always evolving our shared superset document with findings from recent projects. Succeeding is easier when there are no blurry lines.

2. Techniques

“With project experience we add tools and techniques to our tool belt. Those techniques are very beneficial for a project manager to share and pull out at specific times.”

My take: While this can be interpreted in many ways, here’s how I apply it: As time goes by and I accumulate more projects under my belt. I learn new ways of managing issues, risks, clients, internal resources, etc.; we all do.

At Ai, we’re encouraged to share our findings at recurring PM team meetings, and we’ve instituted mini-mortems at predetermined checkpoints throughout each project phase to capture both project-specific and company-wide findings. These mini mortems have proven extremely useful, and we share all captured information via our company wiki so we’re able to reference it later.

As we all gain experience, our tools and techniques evolve along with us, and it’s important to share our findings with each other so we can help each other grow.

3. Software

“The software that is used should enable project success. We are all familiar with the previous generation of project management software that was so complex nobody really used it, defaulting instead to paper or sticky notes. Today, project management software is very collaborative, often customizable, and widely available. Many also have social tools built-in to enable project collaboration.”

My take: At Ai we’ve definitely gone through a bunch of software to get us to where we are right now, in terms of what PMs use to run projects – We’ve narrowed it down to Basecamp, Harvest, Jira, MS Project, etc. I’ve been the guinea pig in testing out other software, with the goal of always seeking to gain further efficiencies when it comes to running our projects. The hunt is always on for something that isn’t necessarily more robust, but more applicable to the way we work here at Ai. One of the great things about Ai is that each team member has input. We’re not set in the tools we’re using now, and the exec team is always open to suggestions for improving the way we work.

4. Templates

“Developing templates that can be mobilized and quickly and effectively implemented is very simple today. The benefit to your team is that being able to reach for a template saves a lot of their time and effort. Templates also help to keep work processes more consistent and standard; your team will know what to expect and when.”

My take: It took us a little while, and we’re still always evolving our documentation, but we’re definitely in a great spot with regards to having a central place for us all to access templates that we use over and over again here at Ai. Standardizing with templates helps to (1) ensure the internal team, no matter the project, is always seeing consistency between PMs’ documentation, (2) allow one PM to step in for another PM easily in times of need without having to relearn a certain way of doing things, and (3) save time!  Most likely, every document we’re creating for our projects has already been created on another, so no need to recreate the wheel every time.

Often these four tools are underutilized or taken for granted by entry level PMs. Learning to use standardized methodologies, techniques that maximize efficiency, software that is designed for the tasks at hand and time-saving templates are among the most important lessons that have helped me grow in my project management career. I use each of these four tools everyday at Ai.

The PM Hut is a great place to learn new strategies that will help both rookie and veteran PMs.  It’s also great to read articles like these that confirm tactics you’re already using.  You can check out more of their educational articles at their site, PMHut.com.

With the New Year almost two weeks behind us, the time when resolutions often fade and reality sets in is quickly approaching. Without accountability and the support of others, it can be tough to stay on track.

Enter the 2012 Ai Paleo Challenge.

How did this challenge come about?

Over the course of the past few months, Ai has accumulated a contingent of employees who all do Crossfit, a strength and conditioning program that promotes “constantly varied, high-intensity, functional movement.”  Crossfitters believe and have proven that a Paleo lifestyle fuels athletes to have the best performance during workouts as possible.

But Crossfit is much more than just a fitness regime; it’s a community. And no better way to stick to your New Year’s resolutions than by having the people in your community hold you accountable.

What is Paleo?

Paleo is a way of eating; it’s a lifestyle, not a short-term diet. The name Paleo comes from the word “Paleolithic”, and it’s often referred to as the caveman diet.   The concept is to eat like our ancestors ate, omitting major everyday foods like sugar, wheat, rice, corn, and dairy. The goal is to consume locally grown produce, and animals that eat and are raised naturally.

Put simply: You focus on what you can eat – meat, fish, nuts, seeds, fruit, and vegetables, keeping starch and sugar intake to a minimum. Consumption should be kept to levels that will support exercise but not body fat.

What are the Ai Paleo Challenge Rules?

Duration: The challenge will last for five weeks. From Monday, January 9 until Friday, February 10 all participants’ meals must be Paleo (some people doing “moo”-Paleo in which some dairy is allowed).

Cooking: Every week each participant cooks a Paleo lunch for their fellow challengers per a  cooking calendar agreed upon before the competition.

Scoring:  Different types of Paleo cheats are worth different amounts of points. The person with the lowest amount of points at the end of the challenge wins.

Note: The following drinks are allowed – 1 glass of red wine, 1 shot tequila or vodka, and unlimited coffee (as long as it only has milk in it) each day.

Blogging: All meals must be posted and labeled to a Tumblr blog daily (honor system in full effect). Snacks do not need to be included, but honesty regarding cheat snacks is expected.

Prize: At the end of the challenge, the group will go out to a big hearty meal – one big cheat meal . The winner will be treated to their food and drinks.

But in the end, as cliché as it sounds, we all win. And even though everyone reacts to eating Paleo differently, knowing that we were able to eat clean and stay away from processed foods for over a month is a victory in itself.

Who is competing?

Five Ai employees are competing, each of whom belongs to a Crossfit affiliate and is familiar with eating Paleo.

Follow us as we venture on our primal journey over the next month. Keep your fingers crossed for the benefit of our other coworkers and clients that we don’t take things too far (i.e. walking around the office barefoot, growing out our hair and/or starting to resemble apes more than humans).

May the best cave(wo)man win!

Be a leader.  Always be prepared.  Communicate.  Stay disciplined.

These concepts have been a part of my life since I was 10 years old, when I first stepped out onto the volleyball court.  At that age coaches must simplify the game and stick to the basics, no matter the sport; a fifth grader can’t handle much more.  Almost two decades later, with four years of Division I volleyball under my belt, and a half a decade into my project management career, I can’t help but look back and realize the same rules still apply.

Be a Leader

There’s no question that the project manager (PM) is looked upon to provide direction and has the capacity to influence members of the team in the same way a sports team captain would.  In both instances, you’re a decision maker, have to be quick on your feet and always have the end goal in mind.  You lead by putting the team first, the passion you exude becomes contagious, and you know how to get the best out of others.  Enthusiasm, confidence and the ability to help facilitate points of clarity in times of uncertainty are vital both on the court and in the office.  You must have patience, understand and embrace the process and make team members understand the value behind everything the team does as a whole.

Always be Prepared

Ask any collegiate volleyball coach or player why he or she is successful and some portion of accomplishment will likely be attributed to preparation.  Before every volleyball match in college we reviewed game tape of our opponents and ourselves.  We’d write down and submit notes on what we saw, practiced daily, studied our tendencies and consistently worked on our mechanics to see what worked and what didn’t before the next match.  Different combinations of actions led to different results; the ones that worked were recorded and repeated, and the ones that didn’t were adjusted until they became the former.

Years later (not to say that I’m no longer active – enter: Crossfit) I’ve replaced my daily collision with a wood gym floor with a daily coffee, a keyboard and a process I follow that is always evolving based on the same concepts above.  Every client, project, and project team is different.  What worked for one client or project may not work for the next, but setting aside time to review lessons learned from previous engagements prior to starting a new project is a valuable exercise that is often overlooked.  Documenting wins and losses upon completion and referencing back to them is critical for future success, and no PM, coach, or player can argue that.

Communicate

On the volleyball court communication is fundamental. Whether it’s calling out hitters on the opponent’s side, non-verbally sharing play signals with teammates, or even engaging in self-talk to get you through to the next point, no one should ever have to guess what your next move is. The same holds true for me now.

As the PM of a project team you’re on the hook to ensure both the internal and external teams always know the upcoming key activities and who is responsible for what.  Proactively sharing information without being asked helps guarantee success, and paying attention to your audience when communicating facilitates the information transfer.

Stay Disciplined

Being a collegiate athlete demands sacrifice and therefore balance.  You’re juggling daily practice, traveling, classes, schoolwork and social time.  You must have the discipline to get things done within a given timeframe without sacrificing quality, and holding yourself and your teammates accountable.  Being a PM demands the same attention to detail and self-control. Between tracking multiple work streams, attending meetings, producing your own deliverables, and helping the team stay motivated you’re forced to constantly prioritize and hold yourself and the team accountable.

Being part of a team with a common goal is where I thrive.  By surrounding myself with people who are smart and driven will only help me grow, both on the court and in the office.  While many non-athletes are successful PMs, having the background in sport has helped develop my leadership and communication skills while teaching me to always be prepared and keep myself disciplined.  And I must admit high fiving coworkers and clients can go a long way too.

Last week David Ow, Director of Project Management, took the PM team out to our annual holiday dinner, a time to get out of the office and change the scenery for a few hours while reminiscing on the past year.  And while we definitely spoke about things other than project plans, budget updates and weekly status reports, it was hard not to reflect on what we’ve learned since the same time last year.

Although the PM team at Ai is comprised of people with diverse backgrounds and experience, as a team, we can all say we’ve learned to keep the following top of mind –

• Be fact-based.
• Espouse numbers as a means of supporting your position but remember that the numbers aren’t your position (in and of themselves). That is, critical analysis of what numbers, metrics, etc. are telling you is equally if not more important than the numbers themselves.
• Provide options and implications to those options in order to (a.) make a decision and/or (b.) help facilitate the making of a decision.
• Planning has to be realistic.  You can’t succeed if it can’t be accomplished.
• Champion “reasonable” and “realistic”, but remember it’s your job to figure out creative approaches to getting to the finish line.
• Think like it’s all on your shoulders, but remember that it’s not.
• You are a facilitator; a guide; a remover of obstacles; a creative problem solver; a generalist who people will come to for all of the answers – even if you’re not the right person… but you are not The Boss.
• You’re responsible for bringing the right people in at the right time and setting them up to do what they do best.
• Be flexible / nimble.  Even the best-laid plans go awry.  Even the most proven processes will go off-the-rails for a variety of reasons.  The true test of your mettle as a PM will be how you respond, react, and adjust in a timely manner.
• Celebrate success. Since projects are finite, they will have an end…no matter how far off that might seem at present.

Cheers to my fellow PM team members, and to our fearless team captain, David, who continues to guide us to the finish line time and time again.

Happy Holidays!