How to celebrate project success on a small budget (Article) - 5/3/2019 9:02:34 AM
Back in my project days it was "work hard and party hearty." Generally, separate the two. As an added selection, while the project is in full swing, I find that going to a noisy restaurant without a separate room makes it rather difficult for the group to have open communication. It is much better to take breaks at the most critical times during the project of an hour or so with a caterer so that people can eat and relax before digging back into what needs to be done.
Ron
6 Tips To Reduce Stress As A Project Manager (Article) - 2/28/2019 9:44:17 AM
All good points. I don't recall being stressed as a project manager. Working hard together as a team often was quite relaxing, especially when doing something physical rather than mental like planning the never done before. I do recall getting angry, not stressed when I found that financial, legal or administrative superiors used their ego or their strict rules to overturn my "no"s into yeses, usually increasing the budget with little or no payback. I didn't stress much over it because it wasn't my fault that other people made bad decisions. Although some did come back to haunt me because others felt those faux paxs were my choice when they weren't. The price of responsibility.
Ron
When to look at changing your project management software (Article) - 1/29/2019 9:31:20 AM
This article is very dear to me from my own experience. I first learned about Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) from a small programmed learning booklet while an undergraduate in college. PERT was first used successfully for the Navy's Polaris Project and then most notably used for the Apollo project to the Moon. That project required scheduling and merging thousands of contracts with companies throughout the United States building the breakthrough items that were necessary to go to the Moon and return safely.
PERT could be done by hand and worked very well at keeping projects on schedule and making sure that side projects all arrived on time so that the overall project was not delayed by weak links. I used PERT for my doctoral program and completed it in two and a half years. The average time for completion by most of my contemporary students was around five years.
My first use of software was to use Excel spreadsheets to keep track of progress of the projects I had underway. Excel saved me a lot of time maintaining hand records. The first project software that I tried was MacProject, a rather simple and flawed program for the Macintosh personal computer. But I was on a network of computers and could share the formation easily. As you have stated, many more project software programs have been developed from the initial models like PERT.
While software generally saves time and effort, most software developers use upgrades and "training" to extend the life of their software and increase revenue. Two things happen: users start depending so much on the software that they lose sight of the project and waste resources on employees devoted to the software and not the project. Secondly, they spent way too much money on the software with constant upgrades, modules and other devices costing more with little gain.
The more a project manager can take control of the software and not require hiring outside help to run it and update it, the more that project manager will save for his/her company.
Ron
Finding a live in carer that will get on with your loved one (Article) - 1/4/2019 9:25:56 AM
Some good points made. Here in the United States, the Royals would not be a topic of discussion unless the person being cared for had originally come from England. Also you noted that in a "rota" system there would be multiple caregivers… But they would not be, live in, like your article suggests. While many live-in caregivers are on duty 24/7, they must be able to get their rest if the person they are caring for does not rest well at night.
The most important thing about a live-in caregiver is their character. Here in the United States, a complete background check is required. And, there should be a family member or trustee that oversees what the live in is doing with the elderly or disabled individual. Trust is probably more important than the care, itself.
Ron
Is Live in care cheaper than a care home? (Article) - 12/5/2018 9:45:02 AM
Caregiving here in the United States is very similar to what you describe in the UK, although the terms used may be different. For instance, what we call a caregiver, you call a carer.
I have one live-in, full-time, caregiver who is not in the house most days because she has a business and a shop that she tends to. Her responsibilities have gradually increased over the 25 years that I have hired her, largely by the hour. I also have two other part-time caregivers who I pay hourly to care for me, primarily at night in order to prevent pressure sores, my being too cold or too hot and other tasks related to my medicines and incontinence.
My expenses, while tremendous, are about one half of what I would have to pay in an assisted living scenario. I hire my own people through care.com where I can easily run background checks and have a ready pool of applicants if I need someone. I manage my own pay and supervision of my caregivers, also known as attendants. In a group home, I would be at the mercy of the manager of the home and their schedules. I would not be the owner/supervisor. However, if I become incompetent mentally, like so many aging people do, my form of dealing with my disability would not work.
You've done a good job of explaining the differences of the different types of care concisely and clearly. But it is only through experience that the best care can be found for each individual.
Ron
5 personality traits of a good project leader (Article) - 12/3/2018 8:53:07 AM
Having taught project management courses that both the undergraduate and graduate college level, I agree that these traits are essential for success in the field. I have experienced projects that failed, overran costs, or had many problems as a result of their management not having all of these essential qualities.
Ron
The importance of staying social as an elderly person - and how you can do (Article) - 11/1/2018 2:24:13 PM
Your usual good advice. I find as I age that getting out is really getting to be a problem. I have three caregivers so I have interaction with all of them and a little bit with a tenant. I am evolving and try new things but they are mostly things that I can do alone.
I do enjoy interaction with others here on AD. You have not interacted with me at all, but that's okay because I can't keep up with the contact that I do have. After about four years, I changed the solitaire game that I've been playing back to an older one and am now stuck with it. Should I change my solitaire game on the schedule? ;-)
Ron
What’s so great about live-in care jobs? (Article) - 10/7/2018 10:26:39 AM
I agree 100% with everything that you've written. Being a live-in caregiver is similar to old-style room and board housing, except there is no rent. Instead, there is pay. Of course, you may have all of the household chores like cooking and cleaning, but you would do that for yourself in an apartment, anyway.
The big advantage is that living in means that you are working 24/7. While you may not be "working" all those hours, you will generally be compensated for the hours that you put in. Since your expenses are very small--you won't even need transportation to go to work--you can save most of what you make. That's not possible with other work except the military.
Ron
How to help your project team manage themselves (Article) - 10/3/2018 8:33:39 AM
When I had a staff, we had weekly meetings where I set the goals and provided some of the management techniques we would use. I also asked every staff member to report to everyone else what they were doing so that we could ask questions and collaborate. It worked quite well and most of my staff members were very happy to be part of the team.
Unfortunately, I had to work for dictators who approaches things was, "My way or the highway." Many times their egocentric detailed approaches ended up failures and they were fired.
With the ability to have staff meetings online where collaboration can happen quite often, good things can happen. I recall the many times that just being able to make a three way call quickly solved problems that would take several calls, letters/memos or emails (computer copies and blind copies) otherwise to solve.
Ron
Is live in care too intrusive for your loved one? (Article) - 9/4/2018 8:48:05 AM
Live-in care is similar to having a tenant taking a room (and sometimes, board) in your home. It can be both very positive or very negative, depending upon who the caregiver is. I have had caregivers in my home for 26 years and tenants for 23 years. I just discovered a theft that took place sometime during 1996-98 of some minor property that I had stored in my bedroom closet and have not looked at until recently. But I've had several caregivers come and go as well as tenants, and there is only one tenant that I suspect of possibly doing that offense. I also had two contractors completely repaint and re-carpet my floors in 1998 and they may certainly have pilfered the items in the closet when they changed the carpet while I was at work.
For the elderly there is another problem. That is someone learning about finances and being able to get into them through the Internet, etc. While this is a great fear, family members should carefully monitor finances so this does not happen. Also, great care should be taken before hiring along with trial periods, checking references and doing background/criminal checks.
Ron
How to make the most of a small wedding budget (Article) - 7/23/2018 9:06:26 AM
I am appalled that many young engaged couples look at marriage as some sort of display of wealth and prestige. And, I believe it is more likely that the first marriage will fail rather than last, largely because younger priorities are not the same as when we grow older.
One thing you failed to mention would be to rent much of the wedding gear rather than buy secondhand. The only reason for keeping a bridal gown might be for the younger generation to use it.
As usual, some very good points to consider for those considering marriage.
Ron
When to say 'No' in project management (Article) - 7/20/2018 9:31:10 AM
I don't know if he had too many irons in the fire or not (I suspect he was seeing girlfriends), but an absentee project manager that I hired ended up eating two serious mistakes that he made. It was a siding and paint project. First, in spite of clear specification, he bought and installed the wrong siding on part of my house before I caught it. Second, he painstakingly took paint samples and tried to get matching custom paint for the trim that turned out to be too "pinkish" for me. I went down to the paint store and picked out a stock paint that worked out just fine. The cost overruns from these two mistakes cost him his profit.
I have also invested funds in a project related to a business that is very profitable. Unfortunately, the unforeseen hazards involved with renovating the site for the business resulted in a cost overrun of at least 200%. Fortunately, the project didn't fail with additional funding and actually has been quite profitable over time. If it hadn't been for the persistence of the business owner/project manager regardless of what it cost, the business would have failed.
Ron
The benefits of a live-in caregiver for people who have had a stroke (Article) - 7/16/2018 9:38:56 AM
I've had caregivers in my home for 28 years. Without them, I couldn't have continued to work for even to retire and continue to write fiction and nonfiction. Caregivers of stroke victims are generally, short time. While there are exceptions, most victims of stroke do not recover over time, but get worse and have other strokes--generally, die after having sex a debilitating condition. Individuals with severe disabilities can, and should, seek to have care in their own homes, especially if they are adults.
Paying a 24 hour a day live in caregiver can be expensive. The best way to approach it is to use a salary rather than hourly pay and to a boom room and board as part of the salary.
Ron
Want to retire early? Get your finances in order (Article) - 6/29/2018 11:00:22 AM
Good advice at the end with those six points. I'm retired, but had to work longer than I expected for good reason. If someone in their 20s sets their sights on early retirement, it is quite achievable. The longer anyone postpones saving for retirement, the less likely it will happen satisfactorily. I have known individuals retired early and then, one or both partners grew ill and ruined that early retirement. So one must also think about health if you are going to enjoy those long retirement years. People in their 20s often engage in risky, self-destructive behavior of many kinds that definitely impacts their health later on.
When I was partially paralyzed at 20, I was already on a good course of saving/growing my retirement options. But I knew that I would need more to retire and maintain myself. I wasn't even sure would offer me a job. I had to dip into my retirement early to hire people to take care of me and keep me working. Stock market downturns in 1989, 2001 and 2009-10, as well as a local real estate market bust in 1983-85, reduced greatly my retirement prospects. I have worked hard to recover and, in some cases have, while others, failed. I now have about five income streams to help manage my depleting resources. Luck played a bigger part in my gains and planning strategy played a bigger part in my losses.
Ron
How to find the best live-in care agencies (Article) - 6/29/2018 7:01:24 AM
You're right Ron that it does work differently in the UK - some local authorities have approved lists of private carers (i.e. with criminal background checks) and they list the different services they provide and in which areas they are willing to work. But this information is not available in all locations and even when it is, it is not very well publicised.
Generally I am a great fan of our social welfare system here but in the case of finding carers, my own experience shows me that social services want people to use the public sector carers rather than private carers.
So even when you are funding the care yourself they make it difficult to find a private carer! Typically there is little support in finding a good carer privately so you have to use an agency.
How to find the best live-in care agencies (Article) - 6/28/2018 8:30:25 AM
I prefer not to hire from an agency except in a dire emergency where I've lost a caregiver and can't replace them in time. I have two or three agencies that I can call on and give me quick service.
Your questions are very good and get to the point. Some requirements in the UK are different here. I find that as long as I can do the managing for myself, I will do it. I'm not sure if care.com gives service in the UK, but here in the US, it provides me with a great deal of information on local caregivers seeking work. There are ready background checks available for both criminal and driving record.
Ron
How to delegate more effectively as a project manager (Article) - 5/21/2018 9:34:19 AM
Very good pointers and the way that I managed my projects. Unfortunately I was hired by a very talented, but paranoid, colleague who violated almost every one of those points you made. The results were often volatile.
First, he demanded loyalty to his agenda rather than the overall benefit of the work for the organization (in this case, a university). I bolted at that and eventually, he lost trust in me.
He often gave vague requests to see what kinds of ideas staff members would come with. If he found good ones, he assumed those as his own ideas. He would often pick two people to do a task without telling them that he had. The two people would often bump heads trying to accomplish the work. When confronted about it, he laughed and said, "The competition between you guys always gets better results."
He delegated nearly everything to staff or hired outsiders. However, there were pet projects that he held close so that no one else would have knowledge. Still, he did have time to micromanage some of his delegated projects, but not all. He was very good at taking away responsibility as soon as he felt that his loyalty was being challenged or that the person was not performing to his expectations. He often took my apprentices that were doing well and promoted them by having them work for him.
Ron
Working as a Live-In Carer: Have You Got What It Takes? (Article) - 5/3/2018 10:37:42 PM
Hi Ronald,
Yes very good advice about ensuring family, friend or trusted professional handles the financia affairs.
But how lovely to hear that you have had a caregiver helping you for nearly 26 years! That must be a relationship that's working well.
Here in the UK the idea of a live-in carer is not a very well-known one. People either don't know it's an option or assume it would be too expensive. Sadly that mean maony older people end up in (expensive) residential care homes - effectively living in one room. They have to leave behind many/most of their possessions and if they have a pet they usually can't take it with them.
I hope that when the time comes for me I will be able to stay in my own home and have someone come in or live-in, if necessary, to help me out.
New project managers, take note… (Article) - 5/3/2018 10:50:32 AM
I agree Ronald that not everyone can be a project manager - it takes a certain skillset and the right attitude. You also have to be able to deal with people at all levels too from clients, senior management and junior team members.
Something I like about project management is that you can work in all sorts of different industries - it's a good transferable skill.
New project managers, take note… (Article) - 5/1/2018 8:28:02 AM
Very good advice, as always. I don't think everyone can be a project manager. One must be forward thinking, goal oriented, and have some leadership capability in order to move projects along.
If one is capable of project management, it can be an excellent career choice in this age of rapidly changing job environment. A good project manager can always pick up another project when the last one is over. That way, the changing workforce environment is less likely to affect your career path.
Ron
Working as a Live-In Carer: Have You Got What It Takes? (Article) - 4/24/2018 4:59:56 AM
Some good advice for people who would be caregivers. We call attendants like this caregivers in the US. I have hired caregivers for me for 26 years. My primary caregiver who has become live in, has been with me nearly that entire time.
The two biggest problems I have are getting the caregivers to change familiar routine when necessary and, of course, the communication that is necessary to make changes and adapt to situations that may come up suddenly.
I would caution anyone hiring a live in to be very careful of them handling money, especially for someone who is aging and may be declining mentally. If family is unable to oversee financial matters, perhaps a trusted lawyer or accountant may be hired. A criminal check of anyone being hired is nearly essential.
Although I've hired through many means, recently I've found that care.com is a very good source for both hiring caregivers and for caregivers seeking employment.
Ron
Are You Delivering Customer Satisfaction? (Article) - 3/29/2018 1:42:00 AM
That's a very good point Linguidoor about focusing in employees because satisfied employees mean satisfied customers. That's true in many organisations but not in all, especially where companies constantly seek new customers and offer better deals to new customers. That approach is most likely coming from the top not from the regular employees.
Are You Delivering Customer Satisfaction? (Article) - 3/28/2018 11:45:33 PM
The good starting point is to focus first on the employees. Satisfied employees mean satisfied customers.
By helping millions of businesses learn more about their customers, customers are happy is good for your business.
