tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6285897220539176114.comments2023-09-08T07:32:47.546-07:00Harley's Blog: A forum for Project, Program, Change and Interim ManagersHarley Lovegrovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07582475433969671354noreply@blogger.comBlogger130125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6285897220539176114.post-72364718995713610502011-07-07T05:51:48.061-07:002011-07-07T05:51:48.061-07:00Well i think these days Interim Management is the ...Well i think these days <a href="http://manatnet.com" rel="nofollow">Interim Management</a> is the temporary provision of management resources and skills. Interim management can be seen as the short-term assignment of a proven heavyweight interim executive manager to manage a period of transition, crisis or change within an organization. In this situation, a permanent role may be unnecessary or impossible to find on short notice. Additionally, there may be nobody internally who is suitable for, or available to take up, the position in question.John Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02135172396362686454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6285897220539176114.post-27793319264050367112011-06-29T03:05:07.830-07:002011-06-29T03:05:07.830-07:00really nice article thanks alot for sharingreally nice article thanks alot for sharingAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6285897220539176114.post-41679561523436530762010-07-02T04:44:49.385-07:002010-07-02T04:44:49.385-07:00The other key question that vendors and customers ...The other key question that vendors and customers should be asking themselves is “did we assume that extensive requirements were collected and correctly documented from the most pertinent and pivotal parties?”Project Management Softwarehttp://www.project-drive.net/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6285897220539176114.post-20791064765465654272009-12-22T23:50:26.161-08:002009-12-22T23:50:26.161-08:00I used Blogger for over a year and found it to be ...I used Blogger for over a year and found it to be a very good first platform but there were some limitations in layout and small things like not being able to write a blog in advance of automated publication. For example I like to publish my blog on the same day every week, so if I know I am going to be away on that day, I can write it in advance and it will publish automatically. <br /><br />My present platform is not free but I find it better suits my needsHarley Lovegrovehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07582475433969671354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6285897220539176114.post-4645128510023493992009-12-22T12:25:16.982-08:002009-12-22T12:25:16.982-08:00Harvey - what were you reasons for moving the blog...Harvey - what were you reasons for moving the blog from blogger? What can you say about the advantages of the new blog platform?Charleshttp://blog.titaniumconsulting.co.uk/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6285897220539176114.post-63268034979350564092009-08-29T05:54:36.387-07:002009-08-29T05:54:36.387-07:00I appreciate the labor you have put in developing ...I appreciate the labor you have put in developing this blog. Nice and informative.Dikihttp://www.rnbresearch.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6285897220539176114.post-53458400891517895772009-07-03T08:27:35.820-07:002009-07-03T08:27:35.820-07:00It appears indeed that innovation is a concept tha...It appears indeed that innovation is a concept that everybody talks about without ever bothering to give it a precise meaning. I attended the launch meeting of the European Alliance for Innovation the other day. After several hours of discussion, nobody was able to define innovation. I tried to make up a definition on the spot. Here it is: "innovation is the process whereby an entreprise - the engine of the economy - puts itself into the position to generate wealth in a sustainable manner". I am not sure what this attempt is worth... However, it appeared important to me to link innovation to the economic cycle and more particularly to the entreprise as driver of the economy. In my mind, I envisaged innovation in parallel with "creativity" (the process whereby an artist - the driver of the artistic cycle - puts himself into the position to generate beauty in a sustainable manner). Is it correct to link innovation so strongly to the economy and wealth generation? I think it is. After all, patents that are meant to serve as proof of innovativeness also foresee that their "holder" is solely entitled to reap wealth from his innovation for a given period of time...<br /><br />The Oxford Dictionary merely refers to innovation as the act of "bringing in new methods, new ideas". A rather bland definition for a concept around which International Conferences gather for hours at end...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06574921634254800998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6285897220539176114.post-41476889597185787502009-06-23T21:23:29.974-07:002009-06-23T21:23:29.974-07:00I guess the article shows how important change man...I guess the article shows how important change management is even for "small" changes; the question is: do small changes really exist? Thanks for the article.<br />Regards,<br /><br /><a href="http://www.smoothsynergy.com/" rel="nofollow">"Laser Hair Removal in NYC"</a>Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17685863140100944976noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6285897220539176114.post-88536341634366333212009-04-27T02:00:00.000-07:002009-04-27T02:00:00.000-07:00Doesn’t this bring us back to the core argument of...Doesn’t this bring us back to the core argument of your "lawnmower" blog entry? Why should you mow your lawn on your hard earned weekends if you can delegate the task to somebody? And still you struggle with it yourself… Yes, the right thing is to delegate! Complex societies thrive on specialisation and delegation (exemplified by Henry Ford, but long present throughout history, remember the Egyptian pyramids). The problem with delegating in our “advanced” societies is that we have come to look at “human capital” as a liability rather than a resource. Manpower may not be at hand because, due to a weird twist in the modern human mind, we will “delegate” to machines long before we delegate to human beings. We don’t want to employ manpower because it is expensive. Even if it was available, it may not have much of an incentive to accept the work on offer because it is artificially kept up by our “social” system. Etc. Ants are the archetype of a working society. Human beings (in the Western world) have turned their back on work and purport to create a “civilisation of leisure”. As long as we do not understand that leisure will always be the luxury that we must earn through work, and therefore that we need to put “human capital” again at the centre of our societies (particularly in our surplus-generating corporate societies), our system will remain structurally in crisis. As long as reducing the headcount is considered as a useful if not necessary step on the way to rationalisation, there will be less and less room for delegation. Some of us will end up submerged with work (e.g. the clever self-employed) while others will lack the means of earning even their basic living through work… any work. Ants indeed have a lot to teach us about work ethics and solidarity, the two interlinked foundations of any “advanced” society.Philippenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6285897220539176114.post-35532687353351593602009-04-20T00:48:00.000-07:002009-04-20T00:48:00.000-07:00Dear Harley,
Thanks for the article which I guess...Dear Harley,<br /><br />Thanks for the article which I guess shows how important change management is even for "small" changes; the question is: do small changes really exist? I live in France and I confirm that removing the department number from car number plates is a massive cultural shift for quite a few! The reason is mainly that this number is now widely used, particularly amongst the young generation, to say where you come from. So you would say I come from 92, for example, an not Seine Saint-Denis. Personally I much prefer to say I come from an area than a number but that's not the way many people see it. I believe an association was even created to protest against that measure. So now as you mentioned, we will have the possibility of indicating the region (a region typcially includes 4-5 departments). All in all there are so many other changes and problems in France at the moment that I think eventually this will be arather smooth change process.Christophe Lastennethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14562056988010986291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6285897220539176114.post-31175629449200899272009-04-07T05:00:00.000-07:002009-04-07T05:00:00.000-07:00Indeed May is the best time of year to cut your gr...Indeed May is the best time of year to cut your grass. Sit back, relax and let it grow!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6285897220539176114.post-62562526144935823152009-04-04T03:33:00.000-07:002009-04-04T03:33:00.000-07:00Hi Harley,go to your neighbour, convince him of yo...Hi Harley,<BR/><BR/>go to your neighbour, convince him of your agony, help him to take his lawn mower in for a service, and then enjoy a good glass of white wine together with your wife and the neighbours !Yvo Brasseurnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6285897220539176114.post-37480342029353943902009-04-03T13:34:00.000-07:002009-04-03T13:34:00.000-07:00Hello Harley,Down here in Santiago de Chile labour...Hello Harley,<BR/>Down here in Santiago de Chile labour is so cheap that nobody with your type of professional background would dream about mowing the lawn (even in their wildest nightmares!)... Does that teach us a lesson?<BR/>For the rest, lesson No 1: mothers are always right. Yours seems indeed to be particularly fitting the axiom!<BR/>See you soon. Greetings from sunny Chile!<BR/>PhilippeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6285897220539176114.post-70566958933564265092009-04-03T07:13:00.000-07:002009-04-03T07:13:00.000-07:00So practical, so true and so full of that look at ...So practical, so true and so full of that look at life that I love and am constantly trying to apply to my life, should it be the professional or the personal one. It is indeed not natural but we also have to consider that anything we know we have to do, should we even try hard to ignore it and dig it in our mind, is wasting some brain cells and some of our capacity to relax, focus, think, etc. <BR/>The accumulation of such small to big things can have serious consequences we usually don't consider: why am I so tired ? why do I react like this ? I'm so not able to focus today, etc. etc.<BR/>Making use of our calendar, to do list and reminders is the most efficient way to avoid all this, to keep some of our brain capacity free and make sure things are getting done indeed. Here as in a lot of areas, technology can help and some good tools do exist to help us (should anyone look for a good way to synchronize an Outlook, Google and an iPhone for multiple calendars, professional and personal ones, let me know :) ).Bertrand Potierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01996628129257834329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6285897220539176114.post-2410868589030245722009-04-03T05:48:00.000-07:002009-04-03T05:48:00.000-07:00I like the early May excuse, I hope there's some g...I like the early May excuse, I hope there's some good ecological or biological reason for it? I am also keen on saving the planet and lawn mowers do use a lot of petrol and release toxic gases and give off heat... but then again I cannot go back to using a scythe!Harley Lovegrovehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07582475433969671354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6285897220539176114.post-41139147743432457552009-04-03T05:25:00.000-07:002009-04-03T05:25:00.000-07:00Hi Harley,I learnt that the right time for the fir...Hi Harley,<BR/>I learnt that the right time for the first mown of the lawn in springtime is early May. <BR/><BR/>Maybe this is the excuse to stay away from your garden, having almost four weeks time to get the old maschine working or the choose a new one.<BR/><BR/>Have a nice and sunny weekend!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6285897220539176114.post-33480157945476772122009-04-03T04:07:00.000-07:002009-04-03T04:07:00.000-07:00The only excuse you would maybe be able to use on ...The only excuse you would maybe be able to use on your wife is that you had planned to buy her a gift on Saturday...<BR/><BR/>So here is my advice: call in a gardener, go to the city to grab some beers and a gift for your wife. Of course, she will expect something nice so don't mind spending a few extra euros. Go home, inspect your mowed lawn and enjoy a glass of white wine together with your wife.<BR/><BR/>Surely, being an interim manager the cost managing think was only a weak excuse? :-)<BR/><BR/>Greetz,<BR/><BR/>PeterPeter Vantieghemnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6285897220539176114.post-60380013332566531762009-04-03T04:03:00.000-07:002009-04-03T04:03:00.000-07:00The only excuse you would maybe be able to use on ...The only excuse you would maybe be able to use on your wife is that you had planned to buy her a gift on Saturday but this will cost so your lawn will still not be mowed.<BR/><BR/>Calling in a gardener seems like a good solution... It will enable you to get your lawn mowed, buy a gift for your wife, enjoy a glass of wine in the garden and.... get some extra tax deductible expenses :-)Peterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09081573235798880668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6285897220539176114.post-32699517986122411182009-03-29T02:59:00.000-07:002009-03-29T02:59:00.000-07:00Dear Sofie,It is amazing how many employers forget...Dear Sofie,<BR/><BR/>It is amazing how many employers forget that an interview is bidirectional, i.e. you are investing your time, at your expense to see if their opportunity might fit into your career plan - as well as they looking to see if you might be the right fit for them.<BR/><BR/>As you know I am strong believer in Vision, a company without vision is like a ship without a rudder - no one can be inspired to work in an environment where the corporate plans and ambitions can not be converted into a language that the employees can understand and be inspired by.<BR/><BR/>In your case, it is just possible that the interviewer was a bit struck by your question - an could not think quick enough on his feet, maybe he had never thought about the value statements of beverages! He may have been more of a sales person - who thinks interms of Targets and comissions - and probably only knows about unique selling points. Maybe there was an opportunity in that company to build a complete marketing strategy and to point the company on a much stronger path?<BR/><BR/>However, we only have a couple of hours to base our important career decisons on - so I guess your instincts told you to make the right choice.<BR/><BR/>HarleyHarley Lovegrovehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07582475433969671354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6285897220539176114.post-32786676541725051332009-03-28T00:46:00.000-07:002009-03-28T00:46:00.000-07:00Dear Harley,I am not an Recruitment-specialist, bu...Dear Harley,<BR/>I am not an Recruitment-specialist, but to my opinion, the objective of job interviews, is about finding the right person for the job in terms of experience, knowledge, to the job done. But you also need 'the click', the (emotional) connection between interviewer and interviewee. I consider myself a passionate marketeer. Recently, I was interviewed by a general manager for a job as a marketing manager of a beverage company, who was only interested in my technical marketing skills (and communication skills). As I need 'passion for the brand' for optimal performance, I wanted to know more about the history of the company's flag-ship brand. What struck me: I was told where the factories in Europe are, but he couldn't tell we what the core values (5!) of the brand were. We were on totally different levels... Fortunately, another opportunity came up (though I was invited for a 2nd round), so I decided to quit the process. I wonder whether I would have been able to perform well in this environment, without 'a click' with my line manager. <BR/>SofieAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01870692142059027277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6285897220539176114.post-57212040916151614242009-03-12T14:07:00.000-07:002009-03-12T14:07:00.000-07:00Thanks for your comment and for sharing your story...Thanks for your comment and for sharing your story Peter. Indeed not everything we do in our life is necessarily logical and linked to our careers. The question for an employer is whether or not you will meet their needs and obviously reliability can be important. I imagine that you found another job and since then have been gainfully employed? Regards,<BR/><BR/>HarleyHarley Lovegrovehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07582475433969671354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6285897220539176114.post-35523119761408903462009-03-12T08:24:00.000-07:002009-03-12T08:24:00.000-07:00Harley,I just found a book that seems to expand on...Harley,<BR/><BR/>I just found a book that seems to expand on the idea of darwinianism and creativity you mention here in this article. Take a look at "Origins of Genius: Darwinian Perspectives on Creativity"<BR/>by Dean Keith Simonton.<BR/><BR/>Creativity is also summarised by Bob Sutton on his blog as: "(...) the most creative people actually fail more than their more ordinary counterparts, simply because they do more stuff."Peterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03175071691959708601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6285897220539176114.post-62565961034806301482009-03-12T07:59:00.000-07:002009-03-12T07:59:00.000-07:00Hi Harley,My carreer has been a bit creative and o...Hi Harley,<BR/><BR/>My carreer has been a bit creative and obviously, this reflects in my CV. I get some interesting reactions sometimes, but since you specifically asked for the worst interview stories, I'll tell you that one.<BR/><BR/>One day, I entered a company for a job interview and got a friendly reception by somebody from the team, who introduced me to the company activities and so on. He also said his boss would join in a bit later. Indeed, 45 minutes later, in comes this person who shakes my hand and introduces himself. He didn't know my name and while his colleague tried to continue his explanation, he interrupted saying he hadn't had the time to actually read through my job application.<BR/><BR/>That gave me and the friendly employee a few minutes to continue our interesting conversation. But it wasn't long before we were interrupted by the manager again. He found out from my CV that I had quit my job at a certain point to start a new academic study and he violently objected. He told me he couldn't for the world understand why the youth of today (I was 35 at the time, mind you) would just run off from perfectly good jobs for weeks or months to do things that are absolutely irrelevant to their further carreer. He urged me to explain what my study would bring me to my carreer.<BR/><BR/>Reflecting on this interview, of course the manager had a point, because my academic study wasn't really in the same field as my carreer had been until then. But his attitude, both towards me and his colleague as well as his lack of openness about alternative approaches to carreer building, disturbed me so much that I removed the company from the list of interesting employers.Peterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03175071691959708601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6285897220539176114.post-87155820128976284482009-02-23T11:39:00.000-08:002009-02-23T11:39:00.000-08:00I'd use Skype as much as you can. Reliable and che...I'd use Skype as much as you can. Reliable and cheap. Only not 100% mobile of course :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6285897220539176114.post-80346281818979506162009-02-17T12:35:00.000-08:002009-02-17T12:35:00.000-08:00HarleyThis assignment must be realy good if you ar...Harley<BR/><BR/>This assignment must be realy good if you are willing to tolerate this. Who knows what else to expect. Did you already get an internet connection so you can work in the evenings...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com