Program Tactics #009 - Flow and Force "There is a time to let things happen, and a time to make things happen." - Anonymous Estimated reading time: 3 mins Leaving it up to chance If you're like me, you might have more projects than time or attention to manage and can't watch everything carefully. Which ones should you carefully manage? Which projects do you leave as low touch? The maximalist would be on top of everything and probably get burned out. The minimalist would be reactive to...
about 1 year ago • 3 min read
Program Tactics #008 - Timing is everything "Either you run the day, or the day runs you." - Jim Rohn Estimated reading time: 2.5 mins Are you timing your messages wrong? Let's take two program managers. They both have an important program that they're running and need to ask for an update on a deliverable from their team. One requests an update first thing in the morning. The other one sometime after lunch. One of them made a mistake in their approach. Timing makes all the difference Here's...
over 1 year ago • 2 min read
Program Tactics #007 - Soft skills don't exist “The soft skills are the hard skills.” - Amy Edmondson Estimated reading time: 3 mins Soft skills aren't real You've probably heard that program managers need soft skills in order to thrive in their role. In fact, I'm guilty because I often say they are one of the fastest ways to grow your career. The truth is soft skills aren't real, yet we're all expected to do them. We all know what hard skills are: they're tangible things like project...
over 1 year ago • 2 min read
Program Tactics #006 - The Vanishing Act “A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.” – Lao Tzu Estimated reading time: 5.5 mins When pain gets you promoted Okay, this tactic is a little spicy, and will probably be in the gray territory. Just promise to not be evil, okay? When's the last time you took a long vacation from work? Like 2 weeks or more? I mean the real kind where you uninstall your work apps and leave your laptop at home. No cheating. If you're putting in...
over 1 year ago • 4 min read
Program Tactics #005 - Smoke and Mirrors "You cannot wait for the smoke to clear: once you can see things clearly it is already too late.” — Michael Lewis Estimated reading time: 3.5 mins Clear the smoke and break the mirrors. If there's anyone in the organization that can destroy ambiguity, it's you (the program manager). Destroying ambiguity is a special skill you can bring to any organization-- one perfectly suited for a program manager. This is because we have to work with so many people...
over 1 year ago • 3 min read
Program Tactics #004 - Reputation "The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.” — Socrates Estimated reading time: 3.5 mins Program managers are judged twice Reputation: the beliefs or opinions that are generally held about someone or something. It takes time for for your colleagues to hold a belief or opinion about you, but that's half the story. If Bob the baker has a great reputation for baking cakes, it only tells us about his occupation and cakes. We...
over 1 year ago • 3 min read
Program Tactics #003 - Signaling Slippage Luke Porter "The backbone of surprise is fusing speed with secrecy." - Carl von Clausewitz Estimated reading time: 4 mins Don't shoot the messenger Program managers have to communicate on the good and the bad. We are uniquely suited to control the 'who' and 'when' of programs. Anytime there's a change in those variables, the program manager is responsible for addressing and implementing the correct approach to bring things back on track. One of the...
over 1 year ago • 4 min read
Program Tactics #002 - The Glue and the Grease Danil Shostak "Trust is the glue of life. It's the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It's the foundational principle that holds all relationships." - Stephen Covey Estimated reading time: 3.5 min. Program managers are the glue and the grease. By leveraging this concept, you'll learn how and when to accelerate your impact. The concept Glue is what brings people and stuff together, a leadership centric and soft skill approach....
over 1 year ago • 3 min read
Welcome to the first issue of Program Tactics, a program management and leadership newsletter. The first issue is finally here! In case you forgot what it is you signed up for, I distill a program management tactic in every issue that you can apply to your work or your career. I value your time, so let's jump into it. -Matt Program Tactics #001 - Shifting Sands and Shifting Scope Jeremy Bishop "You can't fight the desert. You have to ride with it.” - Louis L'Amour Estimated reading time: 5...
over 1 year ago • 3 min read