consulting

Robert Koshinskie

Are You a Collaborative Project Manager?

minions-croppedThe current issue of Clinical Researcher includes an article that discusses how Project Managers influence parallel planning and collaboration between research sites and sponsors.

The article reveals the criticality of a well-run clinical trial, noting that trials that did not have a patient enrolled within the first two months were “significantly less likely to achieve” their their enrollment targets “despite the length of time the trial remained open“.

The authors make several common-sense observations on parallel planning and collaboration between managers who are co-managing a project, including:

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Robert Koshinskie

Consent for Better & Faster Decisions

While exploring governance in business over the past couple of years I encountered both Sociocracy and Holacracy.  Both of these approaches to governance have been associated with self-directed groups, and both have wrongly been identified as forms of anarchy.  I’ve read about these approaches, attended introductory workshops, and participated in discussion groups –  but I don’t claim expertise (I’m not a trained facilitator in either Sociocracy or Holacracy).   I have applied some of what I’ve learned in daily practice, particularly consent decision-making which I feel can lead to better and faster decisions.

What is Consent Decision-Making and Why Use It?

The basic idea behind consent decisions (aka formal consensus) is that the consent process splits the difference between autocratic decisions that are quickly mandated, and endless debate as can be encountered in group consensus decision-making:

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Robert Koshinskie

“We’re Trying our Best” Practices?

I have a reference manual on my bookshelf entitled, Successful Marketing Planning.  Produced by a former employer as a compendium of marketing “best practices”, it is well made with thick paper and color-coded tabs, and oozes confidence.  But here’s the thing.  The manual makes no reference to any actual successful marketing project that resulted from following the practices, I don’t recall any examples of successes that were presented with training that accompanied the manual, and I knew of no other manager who had claimed success thanks to the best practices as stated in the manual.

Not one.

Best_core by Dieselducy via Wikimedia Commons
Best Core by Dieselducy

In fairness, there may have been well-documented successes attributable to the practices that were never revealed for some reason or by oversight, and the failures of which I was aware could have been due to poor execution of the practices.   Who’s to say if the practices in my manual, or any best practices, actually “work” or not?

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