Tag Archives: management

Know when to fold ’em

No no, project management isn’t a gamble in terms of either winning or losing, but at any point after the initial planning phase, you’re continually measuring, gauging and thinking through options.  Most projects are longer than a poker game, so the cycle of evaluation repeats itself.  Do the goals we set at the outset still make sense?  Are we still going in the right direction or have we course corrected so many times that we’re in a trajectory perpendicular to the one we set out on?

… and know when to walk away.

I announced earlier on this blog that I was super stoked to be leading this year’s TEDxSquamish.  Now I’ve put this project to bed.  Within the two months that I was building the project, I met some really cool people in Squamish.  One of them was Craig, who is basically the godfather to TEDxSquamish – it was his blood, sweat and tears that brought TEDx to this town in the first place.  But then a series of Super Awesome things happened in his life and he had to leave the project.  I moved forward for another month but during this month things stopped flowing.

I had set a go/no-go regarding the team that needed to be in place in order for me to well, have a team to lead.  Especially in these volunteer roles, it’s easy to take on so much “cause I can”.  Yes, these are positions that I’m capable of doing but I can’t do them all.  A few people from the first year were available but most weren’t able to take on the commitment.

It was a tough decision.  I had spoken of that Go/No-go point so many times but I really didn’t believe that I’d be faced with a No-go.  Wow, I’ve announced this on my blog, I’ve affiliated myself with it on Facebook… but I know better than to continue with something just because I said I would.

Things stopped flowing.  My gut feel kicked in.  I knew that if I carried on, the work would pile up and I’d begin to resent the cause.  Nothing good can be born from a place of resentment… I’m not sure I have proof of that, it just doesn’t seem like something worth dabbling in!

However!  The Project Lead position for TEDxSquamish is now available.  If you believe you can build a team and see this thing through, I would love to attend.

Stop Apologizing

1

Sorry it took so long to get back to you.

That was the first line of the email, responding to a note I sent yesterday. Really? Was that a long time? It seems that in this day and age of instant notifications, we often place pressure on ourselves to respond instantly.

Don’t do that to your clients and customers. Leading with an apology changes the feel of your message. It implies that you could have responded sooner and chose not to. Shame on you for doing that, but it probably isn’t how the situation unfolded. What probably really happened was that you saw the notification come in, were involved in something else and responded when you could fully focus on the request. That’s a good thing. Typing “sorry” is a waste of your time.  Reading “sorry” is a waste of the recipient’s time – they care to read and learn the information you sent. Apologize when you’re late for a meeting, or have missed another scheduled item.

For the first time in years, my active client list is entirely Canadian.   I don’t think this apology-thing is Canadian specific though —  I’ve had email apologies for non-immediate responses from team members across the globe.

Here I am, three years of freelancing, 2.5 years since I founded Jocosity and I am just now launching my website. I’ve owned the domain for so long that it’s close to expiry.

I’m not going to apologize.

Sure, I wanted to get my business online sooner but it’s only now that I can really accurately describe my services and can speak from my cozy niche.

Celebrate with me!  It’s great to be here.