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I decided to get out this week to do some face-to-face networking and didn't carve out enough time to write. I was able to meet and connect with several strong, women leaders looking to collaborate and make a difference. Excited to keep this energy going. If you have recommendations for fruitful networking and/or connecting events, let me know in the comments.
Articles will resume next week.
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 As a freelancer I am very aware of the need to schedule my day to make the most of my time. I love my paper lists and sticky notes to keep short term tasks front of mind. After reading the article How to Schedule Your Day for Optimal Productivity by John Rampton, I started to think about how I could apply these skills to help my clients perform more efficiently.
When working with stakeholders your goal is to ensure their participation with minimal effort required on their part.
When working with direct contributors the goal is to allow them to work as efficiently as possible. You can help them by creating schedules and organizing work around rational delivery instead of arbitrary milestones.
Above all, explain the "why". At all levels, clients are more enabled to make smart decisions if they understand the reason and impact of a goal, milestone, task, etc. When they understand the "why" they can help you by raising context you may have missed. At the end of the day we all want to get to the same place. There are tools to help us get there, but your most effective tools are the people you work with. Help them be effective and productivity will follow.  The trend of introducing AI into all manner of business processes is gaining speed. This week I have been exploring the potential of AI in project management. While AI has the potential to reduce the overhead of repetitive tasks, the crux will be understanding the output and using it intelligently rather than relying on it blindly.
One area I see AI being particularly helpful is evaluating the impact of introducing change. If I have a system to track work and I introduce a task, what is the overall project impact beyond the standard MS Project cascading slip? How does this change my schedule and resource allocations? Is there an opportunity to make up ground later by reallocating or reordering tasks? What are the tradeoffs of accepting the change? Is there a different way to introduce the change that would result in less risk? Understanding the risk and coming to the table with options makes having those difficult conversations easier. Another area AI may be beneficial is providing a project health reality check. Everyone has had that conversation with stakeholders where your gut is telling you there is no way the schedule is going to work, but the math works out so that's the schedule you get. AI could be useful in evaluating trends across projects and teams to provide data to back up your gut. Do some resources consistently under/overestimate their tasks? Are specific task types consistently difficult to estimate? Do some tasks generally have a greater failure rate or introduce a higher level of risk to a project? Are there seasonal trends that reduce capacity, and by how much? Do some clients require capacity exceptions? Having this data at your fingertips makes it easier to set and manage expectations. The bottom line is that AI looks like a potentially useful tool if it is used correctly. Like all tools, the user has to understand the capabilities and limitations of that tool. Using a tool incorrectly is only going to result in an undesired outcome. Your mileage may vary. Interesting reads:
Where do you see AI benefiting how you work?  As a sole proprietor, small business I've been struggling with the best ways to introduce myself and my services to the greater community. I'm a really good at my core services, but marketing and self promotion are not my forte. This year I would like to focus on cultivating my "elevator pitch". As an introvert, going up to random strangers at events and executing a concise pitch with confidence does not come easy. A quick Google search returns all sorts of advice on creating a "perfect" elevator pitch. There is conflicting advice on pitch length, key points, must-do's, and pitfalls to avoid. I fell it all boils down to: peak their interest, introduce the benefit you provide, and keep the conversation going. In the name of self improvement, here it goes, my elevator pitch. Feedback and constructive criticism welcome. My name is Kari Dreyling and I am known as a client whisperer and human fire blanket. I help companies assess and remove roadblocks so they are able to deliver value to their customers. My primary focus is on client management and technical program management but I have a broad background of experience to pull from. Are there any challenges in how your teams work? I may be able to help.  My goal this year is to become more involved in the technology community through short, weekly posts on topics that are important to me as a small business owner. Topics may range from challenges to small businesses, interesting technology, program management, or anything that strikes a chord with me that week. The intent is to publish these posts across several platforms with the hope that they will resonate with others and invite a conversation.
If there is a topic or question you would like me to tackle, let me know. |