Small Business Blog from Atlantic Canada

Traffic Jams! For some it is the bane of driving. Accidents, construction, reduced speed zones are all some of the root causes. But did you know of Phantom Traffic Jams? For no apparent reason the traffic slows to a crawl. No accidents or lane closures and there is no easy way out. Researchers have linked such phantom traffic jams to traffic density and variations in driver behavior. A trivial reason such as a driver braking too hard, can cause a phantom traffic jam 8 to 10 kms behind. And this traffic jam takes a life of its own. You could spend hours within that jam. So what does phantom traffic jams have to do with WIP limits on Kanban for software development?

Kanban is a Japanese term that literally means “signboard”. in its strictest sense, it is essentially a scheduling system that “signals” what to produce, when to produce and how much to produce. As you will see, Kanban is a pull system. Work gets pulled by the people who actually do the work based on their availability. Kanban can lay over your existing process and asks you to follow just three basic principles:
Visualize your workflow, limit your work in progress, and only start new work when you have finished some existing work.

As I edge closer to the PMP credential maintenance cycle, I got a bit nervous about meeting the goal of 60 PDUs. I found one of the items in the Category 2 activities in the PMP Credential Handbook intriguing. The category in question is 2H.

What differentiates successful businesses from the “also ran” businesses. There are some very important lessons that we can learn from the “world’s most creative corporate playground”: Innovate the Pixar way. Some of the guiding principles of organizations like Pixar: Pursue leadership excellence at all levels, embrace speed is life, foster an inclusive culture, simplify and go, evolve immediately, do the right thing, celebrate remarkable achievements, technology innovation is our lifeblood, don’t take success for granted, earn customer and user loyalty and respect everyday, sustainable long-term and profitability are key to our success, we aspire to change the world

I was just on the Facebook group that opposes the sale of NB Power. While I was unimpressed with quite a few participants on the radio shows on this topic, I was equally unimpressed with the quality of comments on the Facebook group. They boast of 27,000 members but the quality of dialogue leaves a lot to be desired. Again very few intelligent discussions on the topic. It appears that politicians are whipping up an already disgruntled public into a frenzy over the deal. I am not sure as to why the Shawn Graham and his New Brunswick liberals make a rookie project mistake (or is it?) of not involving all stakeholders early on during the negotiations with Hydro Quebec. But I am not here to discuss politics. I am trying to determine if the proposed MOU is favorable to all parties involved. I made a case for the sale of NB Power in my previous post. Before we go about dissecting the MOU, it helps to understand the context in which this deal is about to be consummated.

Ever since the governments of New Brunswick and Quebec announced their MOU late October, the media and the people have been having a field day denouncing the deal. There are actually two decision points here. The first is to determine if NB Power needs to be sold, while the second is how to structure a deal, if it needs to be sold. Based on my analysis, I think selling NB Power might just be a good idea. Seriously guys, if you have any objective reason to oppose the sale of NB Power, I am willing to listen.

I have never felt miserable as I have felt over the last few days. Influenza is definitely not something to be inflicted with. Considering serious professional work requiring concentration and creativity acted as a catalyst to worsen my symptoms. So I took this opportunity to (sleep, yes) and also catch up on expanding my horizons. I endeavored to undertake those activities that involved no physical labor, I let my fingers do the walking during the waking moments. As part of my healing process, I also devoured Brad and Debra Schepp’s How to find a job on LinkedIn, … and other social networking sites, along with those bitter pills.

Your cash flow position is a reflection of how well you are doing your job as a leader. It is a measure of the success (or lack thereof) of the execution of your strategic intentions. Hence it is critical that you often put on your financial hat in addition to whatever other hats you wear. Think of cash flow as the pulse of your business. Just as a doctor uses your pulse rate for diagnosis, so should you be evaluating your cash flow frequently to feel the pulse of your business.

Guest post by Cameron Watson - Though the effort to understand the term “IT methodology” may appear to be long, winding and Greek to many, there is a difference between the “road” used to get to the destination and the “activities” that will be performed while on the road and heading to the destination. While most people will agree that it’s important to agree on the goal of a project, we tend to forget that agreeing on how we will achieve that goal is just as important.

The title for this post could very well have been, “How I improved my presentation skills in four easy steps.” I thought my presentation skills very above average. I certainly did not harbor the notion that I was a great presenter. But I thought I was at least above average. That illusion was, however, shattered after I viewed Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple Inc. in action. The desire to see Jobs in action was spurred when I read the book by Carmine Gallo, The presentation secrets of Steve Jobs.