Soft: gloves and fists

Thanks Glen for offering a new challenge, both on my site’s quality and on this specific topic. Thereby, let me define what is softer.

The first engineering lesson I received from my grandpa, a hammer smith. “Iron can be worked at the right temperature. Check the color and hear the softer sound of the hammer. Use force not violence”.

Building reality

The perceived reality is our reality. Sound crystal references like calendar, clock and money are entangled in a web of sensations. The biggest task of the manager is still using these elements to build a common and shared system where any stakeholder can find the “right” place for bargaining his/her own merchandise (money, skills or information) with the reasonable certainty that no big robbery has allowed, within the clear boundaries set by the Project Charter.

The importance of techniques

The role of facilitator (between producers, suppliers and future consumers) can be carried out only if the Project Manager’s skills are good enough for explaining and convincing of the feasibility of “plans”.

The key value is reliability – See document.

Better is our comprehension of the surrounding environment (where cultural aspects are seldom available on the books) easier we can make our assessments. They form the lattice where our promises are built to stand most of the foreseeable conditions (as stated in the Business Case).

Nets work just for their ability to be built and respond to the challenges in a mix of resistance, resilience and acceptance. All this is constructed using softer skills with other people and a bit harder skills (willingness) toward ourselves. It comes true during any negotiation; latching on an easy promise, with neither serious check nor working controls is a breach of our professional oath (see post )

Finding and removing the cause

In my experience, finding the reasons of the problems (delays, poor output quality etc.) is not very difficult. Usually, the easiest symptom to spot is the gap between people and the rules they set.

Like surgery, before any operation, it is necessary to assess the ability of the patient to recover. Therefore, any sort of knife, from bayonet to laser, need to be use with force. Not violence; it has to be played by ear too.