Project Management: July 2007 Archives

Earlier this year Ben Collins and Brian Fitzpatrick gave a seminar on Google TechTalks on the subject "How Open Source Projects Survive Poisonous". It's an interesting seminar and one can learn a lot from it since many of their points are valid even for none-open source projects.

» Continue to the Google video
» Search for more Google TechTalks

The Psychology blog has a short but interesting article about communication. When communicating persuasively, should one use face-to-face or email?

So, if you want to persuade someone with whom you have a competitive relationship - whatever your and their gender - email might be a better choice. On the other hand, if your persuasion attempt is aimed at someone with whom you have a more cooperative relationship, face-to-face could be a better choice. Unfortunately, it isn't always possible to see someone face-to-face, so it's very useful to be aware of the processes operating in both face-to-face and online interactions.

Continue to the article

Earlier this year New York Magazine published the article Can't get no satisfaction, also known as "Where Work Is a Religion, Work Burnout Is Its Crisis of Faith". From the article:

"Burnout is the illness of just about any averagely driven, obsessive New York professional. Bankers, high-tech workers, advertisers, management consultants, lawyers working in their mustard-lit honeycombed Hades--all of them are as likely to complain about burnout as schoolteachers and social workers. In 21st-century New York, the 60-hour week is considered normal. In some professions, it's a status symbol. But burnout, for the most part, is considered a sign of weakness, a career killer."

It's a must read for pretty much everyone. Project managers, chiefs, staff. You will get a historical overview of burn outs but also a deeper understanding of the psychology behind it. Hopefully it will open your eyes and make you take a closer look on your and your companies situation.

Continue to the article