Why Projects Fail...

There is an old saying "failure to plan is planning to fail". I just read an article, which I am not referencing because it provided bad advice. It said if your project isn't moving along just start activity and develop the plan as you go. Seriously. I have had to fix projects precisely for that reason. You must have a project plan with clear goals.

The article went on to state that meetings are a waste of time and don't achieve anything and you should just have informal huddles! I bet they wouldn't even agree to that in football. Meetings don't achieve anything when they aren't properly planned, don't have a purpose, when no one takes notes and when actions aren't assigned. I was fortunate enough to have belonged to a Toastmasters' Club way back when and I was taught Robert's Rules of Order which include the proper way to run a meeting. I recommend both Toastmasters and Robert's Rules. Take responsibility, show some leadership, have goals, assign tactical activities and for pete's sake plan to succeed.

Good Hosts Listen

Last week I attended the "Print in the Mix" conference, well, the last few sessions but I felt like I had a good understanding of the whole conference because of the host. The host was Evan Solomon, Journalist/CBC Broadcaster and Author. Evan showed that the most important skill for a host is listening and then having the ability to quickly summarize. He was also very gracious in thanking speakers and ensuring they were acknowledge. Audience members asked him questions because he is such a credible source of information and is very eloquent. Who ever thought of getting him as a host should be congratulated. He even had a Bill Gates anecdote - people at Microsoft realize the value in face time with Bill that they understand they must be quick and succinct in putting their ideas and requests before him because face time has high value. So we're not ready for digital to fully take over yet. And yes, there still is a place for print.

Ride the Viral Wave

I love brilliance. The "Localtvmatters.ca" campaign has hired Dave Carroll, of the United Airlines breaks guitars song on YouTube fame to sing in their tv spots. The song is simply the cable song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKLS6sNKRGU - give it a listen, its pretty good. It has had almost 22,000 views on YouTube so far. Brilliant.