Functional or Matrix – Yea or Nay?
I’ve worked in a number of different companies with different organizational structures to support the delivery of projects. While all...
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martyschwan
Aug 9, 20212 min read
What Should a PMO Be and Do?
When I tell friends that I work in a PMO, their first question is always “what is a PMO?”. For those not familiar with what a PMO is (or...
The Cultural Nomad
Aug 6, 20213 min read
What’s That Cultural Appropriation We Keep Hearing About?
The concept has been in the headlines during the past few years and is becoming more and more controversial. Let’s start with a few...
martyschwan
Jul 30, 20212 min read
The Value of Communicating the Whole Story
Those of a certain vintage (like myself) have grown up watching the Simpsons. One of my favorite lines is the “Purple Monkey Dishwasher”...
The Cultural Nomad
Jul 22, 20213 min read
How far into the future do we usually think?
And I don’t mean the future as in crystal ball future. To better explain, let’s start with an anecdote. I was talking with a friend, and...
martyschwan
Jul 12, 20212 min read
How to Develop Team Trust
One (but not the only) common thread among successful project teams is the ability for team members to trust one another. Not just trust...
The Cultural Nomad
Jul 9, 20213 min read
Indulge… Good Thing or Bad Thing?
Indulgence was added as a dimension of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory (IND for short) in 2010, making it its newest dimension....
martyschwan
Jul 3, 20212 min read
Productizing Your Implementation – Part 2 – Budget Management
Tracking the budget of a project is the most visible high priority task for a project manager. Luckily, it’s also the most automatable...
martyschwan
Jun 23, 20212 min read
The Importance of Requirements and Test Case Mapping
Testing is probably the most critical phase of your project, whether you are developing a custom solution or implementing a COTS...
The Cultural Nomad
Jun 10, 20213 min read
Uncertainty isn’t a quality. Or is it?
UA index in national cultures, according to Hofstede
martyschwan
Jun 7, 20212 min read
Work Yourself Out of a Job
No. This is not a post about how to gloriously quit your job (sorry!) – this is about how you do your job more efficiently to make the...
martyschwan
Jun 7, 20212 min read
Tips for Developing a Succession Plan
Succession planning is an often-undervalued task when it comes to organizational management. Learning the job of your boss and teaching...
martyschwan
May 31, 20212 min read
How to Delegate
As we move up into progressively senior positions in our career, we move from being ‘doers’ to ‘delegators’. For many (myself included)...
The Cultural Nomad
May 28, 20213 min read
Masculine and Feminine Cultures: Not Exactly What You Would Think
Continuing the overview of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory, we get into the masculinity index or MAS. This dimension has evolved...
Brittany Fisher
May 14, 20213 min read
Are Freelancers Right for Your Company?
Recent data show that the percentage of freelancers in the U.S. workforce is increasing. It is likely that, at some point, you will have...
The Cultural Nomad
May 14, 20213 min read
How Many I’s in Individualism?
The individualism index, or IDV, is the second of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory that we will overview. The complete name of this...
martyschwan
May 10, 20212 min read
Tips for Avoiding Teams Fatigue
These days everyone is probably used to the ‘new’ grind of working from home which means a lot more conference calls than what you’ve...
The Cultural Nomad
May 6, 20212 min read
What’s your culture’s PDI?
The power-distance index, or PDI, is part of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory, one of the first attempts to measure the differences...
Brittany Fisher
May 5, 20213 min read
FAQs and Answers to Clear Up Cybersecurity Confusion for Business Owners
When you’re a busy business owner or manager, cybersecurity may not be one of your top priorities. Unfortunately, letting cybersecurity...
martyschwan
May 3, 20212 min read
Building a Solid WBS
The first step to building a solid project budget and plan is to create a sound work breakdown structure (WBS). What a WBS does is two...
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