Learning Curves

Mike Griffiths posted on the interesting topic of how we make improvements in our performance, the key point being that an individual’s performance is a function of their behaviour and their environment – or P = B x E. 

Reading this piece by Mike was timely, since I’m currently reading Gerald Weinberg’s ‘Becoming a Technical Leader‘ in which Gerald touches on the performance of leaders as well. Weinberg points out that our learning curves in anything we do (pinball, in his case) are not linear, and in fact, usually see declines in performance before significant positive increments. To quote Weinberg: 

There are plateaus, but you don’t really leap, you climb. In order to climb, you must leave the sure footing, letting go of what you already do well and possibly slipping downward into a ravine. If you never let go of what you already do well, you may continue to make steady progress, but you’ll never get off the plateau.

I’m always excited to be on a learning curve – in fact, I have left jobs when the learning curve flattened out, it means that much to me. Years ago, when working towards my professional mountain guiding exams, a close friend passed along something that he had received from his own mentor. He pointed out that our performance as leaders, both in the mountains and in our careers, is often a game of snakes-and-ladders, our improvements followed by strong doses of humility.

We start learning, we’re initially humbled by those around us with more experience. However, as we develop our own skills and talents, we become more confident and a little less humble. Then, we meet someone else, or take on another significant challenge, and suddenly realize just how little we actually know. It feels like we’re starting again, thus the feeling of playing snakes-and-ladders. However, we’re not starting all over again – we’re experiencing the ravine that Weinberg describes, before climbing up to the next plateau.

I’ve never forgotten that lesson, and everytime I find myself taking on new challenges and pushing myself to take on the next plateau, I think of my old friend. How do you feel about your own learning curve – is it an exponential curve (!) or does it have its own bumps and dips along the way?

Book Review : The Art of Project Management

I can’t recall the store in which I first picked up Scott Berkun’s “The Art of Project Management” but I do remember that I was quickly intrigued by it, and immediately bought it. The first edition has since been revised and published as ’Making Things Happen: Mastering Project Management ‘. Having read the first edition cover-to-cover, and after repeatedly dipping into specific chapters for a re-read, I can heartily recommend it as a great addition to the library of any project manager, whether you’re a newbie or an old hat.  

I was intrigued by the book primarily because of it’s style. Scott avoids the dry discussions on methodologies and processes and frameworks, and instead delves deeply into more pragmatic topics around project management such as decision making, how to make things happen, and the end-game strategy. With his background in application development management at Microsoft, it’s natural that he writes with a leaning towards managing software development projects, but many of the topics cross over to other applications of project management easily. His writing is easy to read, and most importantly for me, easy to recall later (my memory isn’t what it used to be).

Here are some takeaways of my own from the read that will perhaps give you a sense of the book:

• To Scott’s great credit, he invests two chapters on design and idea generation within project planning – where ideas come from, what to do with ideas once you have them, how to consolidate ideas, prototyping – exploring “the gap from requirements to solutions”. Since many projects fail from poor requirements and design up front, this struck me as a welcome addition to a project management overview. 
• It is interesting that the schedule chapter comes before the chapter on vision, but in the chapter there is a good discussion of three purposes to schedules, how schedules fail, a schedule is a probability, and good estimates come from good design.
• Scott delves into soft skills throughout the book – writing good specifications, specifying is not designing, decision making, management through conversation, relationships, how to get people’s best work (follow advice, inspiring, clearing roadblocks, roles, goals, teaching, asking), how not to annoy people, the benefits of good process, good email, good meetings, leadership and trust. All of this material serves as excellent reminders, and some of it is absolute gold.
• Some of the most interesting reading lies at the end of the book, as he discusses the tactical management of a software development project and writes about what do to when things go wrong, how to make things happen, prioritization, the middle and end game strategy, politics and solving problems, and my personal favourite, flying ahead of the plane.

Looking at the Amazon listing for this book, I agree that the book “doesn’t cite specific methods, but focuses on philosophy and strategy” – perhaps this was the facet of the book that originally attracted me, the more casual tone not unlike a mentor providing sage advice over a mid-afternoon coffee. I know that I’ll revisit the book on a regular basis – it will be ready at hand in my bookcase, and the cover will become ever more worn that it is already.

Reading: Blue Latitudes

Over the weekend in Vancouver, I just finished reading Blue Latitudes: Bolding Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before by Tony Horwitz. A book recommended to me by friends, it’s a well-written and enjoyable cross-over between 18th century marine history, following Cook’s adventures through the Pacific on three separate trips over a decade, and 20th century travelogue as Mr. Horwitz and his Aussie travel companion Roger follow in the footsteps of Captain Cook and visit the islands and lands visited and influenced by Cook’s explorations.If you like Bill Bryson’s travel writing, or have a strong interest in the early mariners, or you’re just looking for a strong bit of historical writing mixed with a large dash of wit and charm, this is an excellent read.

For me, I took away from it an enormous amount of respect for the exploits and determination of Cook and his crew under arduous travel conditions, and also a strengthened conviction that the travels of today need not be burdened by technological wonders (e.g. wrist-watch GPS and sat phones). Considering that his travels were executed with early chronographs, navigating primarily by sextant and the skies, the accuracy of Cook’s nautical charts and reckoning are something to continuously admire.

A current running underneath most of the book is the impact that Western exploration had on the “discovered” lands – both positive and negative. It is the commonality of all people, of our basic needs and desires, that rings true in the book. The ability of the explorers to fairly quickly befriend and enter trading relationships with native peoples from all of the islands visited, and carry on peacefully over repeated visits, suggests that getting along together is a lot easier than many think in today’s world.