Category: Brain
The secret ingredient for power skills – a pinch of neuroscience
Why describe neuroscience as the secret for power skills? Some figures make you sit up, others stop you in your tracks. At a current investment of $20 trillion per year on major projects, we are ‘flushing $13 trillion down the drain. Practitioners find people problems more challenging to resolve than technical problems – by a…
Read More →Neuroscience for Project Success: why people behave as they do
Neuroscience for Project Success: why people behave as they do, the latest book from Carole Osterweil and the Association for Project Management is available to order here. Imagine understanding how the brain works. What if you knew what drives emotions, behaviours and decision making – in you and others? If all actions were informed by…
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When High Performance Turns Toxic
We asked about building high performance project teams and found a recurring theme of brutal cultures and mental health issues Whilst this CEO was interested in leadership on major projects, (big budget infrastructure, engineering and IT projects for example), we see a similar pattern in many sectors. The lessons are universal. They apply outside…
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Stop speaking about human factors in project management
Speaking about ‘the human factor’ and ‘the human element’ in projects is no longer helpful. The term is far too amorphous. It’s been a useful fig leaf and it’s coming off in the wash. I’m not blaming anyone. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. Stop for a moment. Can you imagine asking an engineer to…
Read More →Neuroscience for Better Projects – advice for IT professionals
Neuroscience for better projects. Carole Osterweil writing in ITNow offers this advice to IT professionals. Take time to understand how the human brain works and you can enjoy higher productivity and better project outcomes with less complexity and less stress. How does neuroscience lead to better projects? Harnessing the power to deliver …
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It’s a Stressful Time – Here’s What You Can Do For You and Your Team
It’s a stressful time – here’s what you can do for you and your team. Carole Osterweil speaks with Andy Kaufman in episode 291 of the People and Projects Podcast Carole and Andy explore how leaders and project managers can draw on ideas from Project Delivery, Uncertainty and Neuroscience to walk through the fog…
Read More →What does neuroscience have to do with project management?
What does neuroscience have to do with project management? Elise Stevens of Fix my Project Chaos explores the whole arena with Carole Osterweil Listen to Carole’s reply here Points raised in this podcast Understanding how the brain works helps us understand human behaviour. Our brain’s number one priority is survival, so our brain…
Read More →Change Requests – Your Response to them Matters
Change requests – handle one badly and you can trigger a stress cycle that adds layers of complexity to project delivery. Stakeholders changing their minds can be exasperating – especially when you think you’ve finally tied everything down! Everyone in the project profession recognises the risk of scope creep. Far fewer recognise that their…
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4 Steps to Make Complex Projects Easier to Deliver
4 Steps to Make Complex Projects Easier to Deliver We’re still creating short-order cooks. They can make anything on a limited menu… but modern projects require Masterchefs – and as a profession we’re not geared up to develop them These words, spoken five years ago by a leading light in the project management community,…
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