Jy Maze Pt. 2
The conclusion of my podcast with the very engaging Jy Maze is now available from ForbesBooks. Listen on Apple or Spotify. Enjoy!
Jy Maze
Part one of this episode with Jy Maze of Maze Freight Solutions. Her passion ignited for shipping and logistics fueled by “toddler ambition.” Check out this episode at my Tenacity Rules podcast. You can also find it on Apple, Spotify and wherever you get podcasts.
Or Else!
Once, the leaders of the company I worked for committed the development team to a project with ambiguous requirements and a timeline that was impossible to meet. The underlying technology to be used was barely out of beta testing and the documentation for the technology was sparse. In the end, the technology was not capable…
My Best Tech Mentor
My husband is the best tech mentor I know. I changed careers from education to information technology in my late 30s. At the time, he had already been working as a software engineer for over a decade. As a new programmer who also had communication responsibilities, I loved how his advice helped me frame my…
Again, Innovate or Perish
Yesterday, I opened an email from Borders Books. “A Fond Farewell, Thank You for Shopping at Borders.” Empathetically, I felt Mike Edwards, the CEO of Borders, sincere disappointment. I felt genuine sadness for him. The sinking of the great ship. Goodbye, farewell. Did I contribute to their end? As a great lover of books myself,…
Informed Does Not Mean Intelligent
Just back from a business intelligence summit this week, I’ve been pondering the protestations of some business owners I know when the topic of BI solutions comes up. The most common responses I hear are: 1. We already have a great set of reports that I get on my Blackberry every day. or 2. BI…
Taking the Train for Business Travel
Three or four times a year, my husband and I travel across country for tradeshows or conferences that are important to our company. I don’t like to fly so we often drive. Of course the down side of travelling by car is that someone has to drive while the other person is free to work on…
Innovation Without Constraint
I recently wrote about innovation and change within an organization. I’d like to explore this topic a bit more with examples. When the innovation is viewed only as a change, there is an immediate conflict with the accepted standards or norm. I find it interesting that some organizations don’t handle the two movements in their…
Innovation vs Change
“Innovate or Die” Peter Drucker, I agree. One of the best things about my job is the opportunity to meet amazingly innovative organizations of all sizes. I’m fortunate that my company is able to carefully assess the projects we accept. I insist on protecting our company from good people with bad ideas and bad people…
You Shouldn’t Have to Ask to Control Your Project
Last week I taught a Project Management Professional prep course to a group of smart, hard working individuals anxious to bring order and control to their projects. Many times during the week I was reminded of the times early in my career where I struggled to gain control of my projects and responsibilities. I…
Survival of the Most Resourceful
A couple of years ago I spoke to a group of women business owners about how the lessons we learned as young ladies made us very fit as business owners. My intent was to help the women who had not been the original founders of the business but now found themselves with the responsibility due…
On the Benefits of Project Management Professional (PMP)
Today I passed my PMP exam and I am pleased with the effort. I’ve passed several Microsoft certification exams, but the PMP exam was unlike any of them. By comparison it was a marathon compared to running 15K. I have been managing projects for JUMP since 2001 and have completed the training offered by the…
Calculating Project Costs from the Hip
A big part of my job as a systems designer is to identify efficiencies that could be realized by the SuD (System under Design). We consider efficiency, net cost, and net benefit. In my experience, business leaders are very good at making decisions to reduce cost, but balk by and large in making decisions to…
Probable Efficiency
My work as an analyst provides many opportunities to help organizations create more efficiency in their systems. While understanding the business drivers and infrastructure is key to designing a good system, it is also essential that we understand the culture of the organization. I’ve come to realize that efficiencies that appear logical are not always…