Star Wars and Project Management

I think the analogies between Star Wars and project management (PM) work are like the Energizer Bunny. They go on and on and on. =)

I found this article that Phil Bennett wrote about the similarities between Star Wars and project management. His children, when they were still small, asked him what did he do at work. This could have been quite easy to answer if he was a policeman or a doctor or a fireman. Necessity was indeed the mother of invention or if might say, creativity, thus the Star Wars metaphor in describing PM work was born from Phil's head.

I have listed below the salient points of the 3 Star Wars parallels that Phil wrote.

Context
Hans Solo was frozen in Carbonite in The Empire Strikes Back and then Luke and friends came to save him in Return of the Jedi.

PM Work Parallel
To "unfreeze" and save a project from "enemies," a project manager uses status reports, letters of executive support and corporate goals.

Context
"The Force" is one of the most ubiquitous concept in the Star Wars saga that it has become part of the pop culture, especially the phrase, "May the Force be with you."

PM Work Parallel
To bend the will of the people around a project manager much like "The Force," he can use strategic plans and stakeholders' sign-offs and support.

Context
The sequence of the Star Wars saga did not follow a linear path (from 4, 5, 6 first then moving to 1, 2, 3 later).

PM Work Parallel Project always tend to move in a non-linear path even if the Gantt charts are all finished and the critical path has been identified. If I may add here, projects are also susceptible to the Murphy's Law laying waste to even the best laid and organized plans.

C3PO and Job Hunting

I got this from {codesqueeze} using my preferred RSS reader, Google Reader.

This is another lessons learned derived from the Star Wars saga. Remember the scene in Stars War IV (A New Hope) when Uncle Owen was looking for a droid and he chanced upon C3PO. Here is a transcript of their conversation.

Uncle Owen: You, I suppose you're programmed for etiquette and protocol.
C-3PO: Protocol? Why, it's my primary function, sir. I am well-versed in all the customs
Uncle Owen: I have no need for a protocol droid.
C-3PO: Of course you haven't, sir. Not in an environment such as this. That is why I have been programmed in
Uncle Owen: What I really need is a droid who understands the binary language of moisture vaporators.
C-3PO: Vaporators? Sir, my first job was programing binary load lifters very similar to your vaporators in most respects.
Uncle Owen: Can you speak Bocce?
C-3PO: Of course I can, sir. It's like a second language to me. I'm a-
Uncle Owen: Yeah, alright. Shut up. I'll take this one.
C-3PO: Shutting up, sir.

Max Pool surmised that 3 simple rules regarding job hunting or even job security could be learned from this conversation. From these 3 rules, quoting him, "It is always better to gain new experience and skills; however, do not worry about lacking the knowledge of everything the universe has to offer. Proving that you know how to learn, unlearn, and relearn is the greatest thing you can offer an employer."

8 Management Lessons from Star Wars Episode III

Image drawn by hedbonstudios

While cleaning my hard drive today, I found this old PDF file I downloaded I think about 2 years ago. It was written by Vincent Chia circa 2005 and it was about the 8 management lessons that could be derived from Star Wars III: The Revenge of the Sith. Reading through it again, I couldn't help but smile, being a huge Star Wars fan myself, and nod my head in agreement to some of the lessons most especially that of Talent Management (Lesson 2), Performance Management (Lesson 3), Group Think (Lesson 5) and Succession Planning (Lesson 7).

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Management Lessons from Star Wars Episode III
(Friday, 27 May 2005) - Written by Vincent Chia

It is a widely acknowledged fact that George Lucas decided to release Episodes 4, 5 and 6 first ahead of Episodes 1, 2 and 3 because the latter episodes were more focused on action and less heavy on social and political messages. Do not get me wrong, I really enjoyed Episode 3. There was just the right balance of action, social and political messages as well as the right dose of tragedy. But if you look closely, you can also pick up some Management Lessons too. Here they
are in rough chronological order.

LESSON 1

Context
Chancellor Palpatine has taken control of the Republic Senate, rising to power as Chancellor through a series of political plotting as well as charismatic speeches. He subsequently assumes full control of the Senate by asking them to grant him emergency powers during the Clone Wars. Eventually he dissolves the Republic and turns it into an Imperial Empire. Democracy has failed because of the bureaucratic processes that the Senate has been caught up with. And this has enabled Palpatine to exploit it through his political plotting.

Management Theory
A Bureaucracy derives its authority from Rational Authority rather than Charismatic Authority. Thus, in making decisions, there should be laws and precedents to aid the decision process rather than be swayed by emotions. And while a Bureaucracy should follow rules, the rules should be part of its process rather than the be all and end all. When a Bureaucracy gets too caught up with its rules and forgets its function, then it has strayed from the ideals of Weberian Bureaucracy.

Lesson
A Bureaucracy begins to fail and break down when rational decision making is not practiced. This is further accentuated by its obsession and eventual engulfment in its rules and processes instead.


LESSON 2

Context
Anakin Skywalker is clearly a talented Jedi whose metaclorian count is higher than that of even Master Yoda himself. Still, it is not clear how Anakin is being managed as a Talent. But it is clear that the Jedi establishment will not bend one bit in its handling of Anakin. The suggestion is that he has been treated just like any other Jedi would be, even though he was the "Chosen One". He was even refused admission to the Jedi order in Episode I. Eventually Anakin betrays the Jedi and is turns over to the Dark Side of the Sith.

Management Theory
Talent Management is a fine process. The difficulty is usually in convincing an organization that the people they are nurturing are really the talents they seek. However when this is established beyond doubt, then these Talents need to be managed in a way for them to best benefit the company. Usually they require special nurturing that is beyond the bureaucratic setup of the organization. This is because if they do not receive this special nurturing, it is likely that they will seek greener pastures where they will receive this special nurturing.

Lesson
To bring out the best in your Talents, they need to be specially managed and nurtured, and not left to the established rules and processes of the organization.


LESSON 3

Context
Anakin Skywalker is appointed to the Jedi Council but not promoted to the rank of Master. All members of the Jedi Council hold the rank of Master. And the speculative reason for this is because he is too young. In truth, even his own master Obi-Wan Kenobi has realized that Anakin is more powerful a Jedi than himself, having saved his life on nine occasions. The frustration experienced by Anakin eventually plays a part in his growing distrust and impatience with the Jedi Council.

Management Theory
When doing performance measurement and performance appraisal, it is important to have Key Performance Indicators. And these KPIs have to be clearly communicated to the people being evaluated. Without this, performance measurement becomes unclear and this promotion and promotion prospects become hazy. This haziness gives rise to frustration and distrust.

Lesson
Promotion criteria and KPIs for performance evaluation should be clearly and transparently communicated to the people being evaluated.


LESSON 4

Context
Anakin Skywalker’s appointment to the Jedi Council was courtesy of Chancellor Palpatine. The Jedi Council make use of this closeness between Anakin and Palpatine to get Anakin to spy on Palpatine. However they do not trust Anakin fully with his mission and also limit his involvement in other future missions. This lack of trust culminates when Anakin tells Master Windu that Chancellor Palpatine is the Sith Lord. Windu clearly still refuses to trust Anakin and does not bring him along to deal with Palpatine.

Management Theory
The degree of trust between superior and subordinate is a case of whether you believe in Theory X or Theory Y management. There is no trust in the Theory X management style practiced by Master Windu and the Jedi Council. And clearly we see that this does not make for effective man-management as eventually Anakin, seduced by the dark side of the force intervenes and betrays Master Windu.

Lesson
A Theory Y management where a degree of trust exists between superior and subordinate is clearly a more effective management style than Theory X management, especially in times of crisis.


LESSON 5

Context
The Jedi Council is made up of a bunch of Master Jedis who have been on it since Episode 1. While most of the decisions are made by consensus, there does not appear to be much dissent or disagreement within the council members. So really whether or not the Council meets, the conclusion is likely to be the same. There are no devil’s advocates to question the wisdom of the Council.

Management Theory
While it is good to have consensus as a basis for decision making, it is important to have a fair bit of dissension and disagreement in the decision making body. This strengthens the quality of the decision that is made. And more importantly it prevents this phenomenon called "Group Think." Group Think is when a group of people have worked together so long that they begin to talk and think like each other. This may be good for corporate culture but it is not good for a decision making body which needs diversity of opinion to arrive at an optimal decision.

Lesson
Some dissension and disagreement is important in a decision making body or process, as it prevents "Group Think".


LESSON 6

Context
Led by Count Dooku, the Separatist movement starts to amass firepower to establish a military threat to the Galactic Republic. The Jedi Knights who are the traditional peacekeepers of the galaxy start to take on the role of Generals to lead the Republic’s Clone Army against the Separatist. Eventually they find themselves spread too thinly and in a role that is not suited for their training. It is indeed tragic that most of the Jedi get gunned down by the Clone Army, while leading from the front. Only Master Yoda who has directed his Clone Army like a General survived.

Management Theory
Every company and every person has a core competence. If that company or person engages in their core competence then they will reap the maximum benefit from their time and effort. Conversely if they engage in activities outside their core competence then they will not be optimizing their return on their time and effort. Furthermore, they may even experience a negative return.

Lesson
Always stick to your core competence.


LESSON 7

Context
As the Separatist start to open more fronts of conflicts across the Galactic Republic, the Jedis find themselves spread thinner and thinner. Eventually there are insufficient Master Jedis to handle the various conflicts as Master Windu is left alone to confront Chancellor Palpatine on Coruscant. This lack of numbers is an important factor leading to the demise of the Jedi.

Management Theory
Succession Planning is something that current management always delay. Perhaps it is with fear that grooming the next generation of management to take their place would result in their own demise. However a more enlightened management will treat this as a chance to find themselves in a more elevated role or realize that having more capable managers will allow the company to expand in size.

Lesson
If you as current management fail to embrace succession planning, you will eventually find yourself continually shorthanded and overwhelmed with issues.

LESSON 8

Context
Nearing the end of the dual between Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi on Mustafar, Anakin is on a raft in pool of lava and Obi-Wan is on the banks, uphill to Anakin. Obi-Wan tells Anakin that he has the higher ground and so he is clearly at an advantage as compared to Anakin. Anakin chooses to disregard this established wisdom and choose to believe in his personal powers instead. He executes a jump onto Obi-Wan and gets his legs and hands sliced off by Obi-Wan.

Management Theory
There are certain established wisdom in the field of business and finance. This includes Economics, Finance and Management Theories. Often these theories are pretty robust in their basis as they have been worked on and developed by some of the best human minds for the last hundred years. So it is usually not wise for people choose to depend on personal heuristics or personal judgement over these established wisdom. Put another way, there is real value in the
established wisdom that has been accumulated in the form of Economics, Finance and Management Theories in the field of business and finance.

Lesson
It is wiser to depend on Theory than to depend on your personal heuristics and judgement.

As One Door Closes, Another Window Opens

Image from Microsoft Office Clipart

This might sound ironic but when I read in the white paper, Talent Management in a Down Economy from Taleo about job creation during a recession,  it actually made sense. According to the article, it is a misconception that hiring stops during a recession. In fact, hiring continues and job opportunities are still available!

As a point in case, data derived from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed that in the 2nd quarter of 2001 when the the dot com bubble burst, 1.2 million jobs were lost. On the other hand, in the same period, 7.6 million jobs were created.

History is repeating itself again and the same case will be applied to the current global recession. Old jobs will be lost but, new ones will be created. These jobs are the by-products of new opportunities as businesses look for new markets to grow into, new products to develop and new services to offer. Likewise, new jobs will also be created when businesses go back to their roots and focus on core products and services. Recessions always provide that impetus for businesses to improve the overall strength of its current workforce by making it lean and efficient and at the same time infuse it with new, skilled talent.

I saw this trend starting here in the Philippines albeit the massive layoffs happening in several companies. As an example, one multinational company which shed numerous jobs in its financial department is currently expanding its support operations.

What is the lesson learned here then? Do not stagnate in your current job! Always look for learning opportunities in potential growth areas. This will give you the leverage to capitalize and grab potential job opportunities most especially during recessions. This will also help conquer that fear of being fired.

From my standpoint, the opportunities right now are in service management, business intelligence and process improvement frameworks (ISO, CMMI, Six Sigma). These 3 focus on the identification and implementation of opportunities in reducing costs without sacrificing quality while increasing productivity, 3 critical factors needed right now in this challenged business climate.

Firing a Bad Hire

I found this great article in TechRepublic's Blog regarding a first hand account from Benny Sisko on how he fired a bad hire. He listed 6 lessons learned on how to avoid having a bad hire and I interjected my ideas in some of the lessons.

1. Perform a two-part interview.
Interviews are best done more than once with two or more pairs of eyes and ears in each sessions. Each interviewer is coming to the session with his/her own biases and expectations and this ensures that all questions are covered with the applicant. If not all, at least the most critical ones. Some may consider this as a waste of time but compare it with the lost time in productivity and morale impact later on due to a bad hire, the extra time and effort is well worth it.

2. Test the candidate.
Match the technical tests as close as possible to your technical requirements. If the position requires web development using HTML, JavaScript and CSS, give the applicant a test on how to develop a sample website using these 3 technologies. This will give you a pretty good idea on the skill level of the applicant without asking too many questions. In fact you can even go deeper afterward and conduct a code analysis to further probe on the logic and rationale behind his coding practices and framework.

3. Get more references and then get more references.

4. If he does slip by, coach, coach, coach.
Actually, even if the new hire is not slipping, it is worth it to have monthly or even bimonthly sessions to be more proactive if he/she is already encountering difficulties or only seeing potential problems in the horizon. These sessions will also serve as excellent feedback mechanism to level any expectations or misconceptions regarding assigned responsibilities.

5. Listen to the team.

6. Take the probationary period seriously and make it known that I intend to do so.

Firing: The Bad and The Ugly

Image from Microsoft Office Clipart

Firing is one of the sordid tasks that all managers must face and handle sooner or later. I had my own share in the past and these all evoked unpleasant memories. However which way you sugarcoat a termination, it would always be received negatively albeit temporarily. Unfortunately this will become more of the norm within this year rather than an exception because of the global financial crunch. Not a day goes by that I see news about a company reducing 10% of its workforce here or a company laying off off 3,000 employees there.

The Philippines is not spared even with the expanding offshoring / outsourcing opportunities coming in. I read in the news about Accenture Philippines which laid off 500 employees as part of a redundancy program. There was also the news about the "total shutdown" of Intel Philippines' operation affecting almost 2,000 employees.

In this regard, if you are faced with this dire situation, this might help you ease the tension and stress. I found this great post from Slacker Manager about a US News blog article that Alison Green wrote on how to fire someone. I very much agree with point #6 (Know you’re going to be emotionally drained afterwards) and what Slacker Manager added as point #7 (Don’t take it personally).

Firing always makes me "psychologically" sick. This is the reason why I always schedule this kind of meeting on a Friday so I have a chance to "recuperate" over the weekend. Likewise, whatever is said during the meeting, don't take it personally. Be like a Teflon-coated pan to ensure that nothing sticks to you since all the negative words that will be hurled at you are just the consequence of the outburst of emotions.

Hiring: Interview Questions

Image from Microsoft Office Clipart

The hiring process is littered with "dead bodies." I considered myself having a high "batting average" in getting great hires but unfortunately I also have my own share of wrong decisions.

From my perspective, hiring is a probabilities game. In order to increase the probability of getting great hires, I need to expand and refine the various tools and techniques I am using in the hiring process. The first one I would like to share here are the questions I use during the interview process.

Interview applicants are always showing their best feet forward during the interview process. As a result, it is my responsibility to ask the right questions in order to peel through these layers and probe deeper to reveal their true personalities and tendencies. I know volumes of books have already been written regarding this topic so I will not be focusing on them anymore.

My focus will be on the list of questions that I amassed through the years. I got these questions from a speed-dating website. It will come as a surprise to some but for me it made a whole lot of sense. In speed dating, a couple is only given 5 minutes to ask questions and assess if there is a fit or "click" between the two of them. As a result, these questions are quite pointed and the answers provided to them can serve as a foundation to deeper, probing questions.

Listed below is a sample of these questions and a small description about their rationale in a job interview situation.

Pursuit for Skills and Knowledge
I would like to know if the applicant is motivated in expanding his skills and knowledge outside that of the domain knowledge he is getting from work. This is usually reflected on the activities he is doing during his sparetime and the kind of books he is reading.

• When you have spare time, what do you do for fun?
• What do you do during weekends?
• What's the latest book you have read?
• What's the latest technical book you have read?

Attitudes and Values
I would like to know the priorities in life of the applicant, what drives or motivates him to work, who drives and motivates him, who influenced him to be him now.

• What do you cherish the most in life?
  
• What person has most influenced you in your life and why?
  
• What attitude do you have right now you want to change?
  
• How do you think you are viewed by others?

Education
I usually hire fresh graduates. As a result, I would like to know how did they perform in college since this could be a reflection on what would be their performance at work.

• Why did you decide to take up {course}?
• Tell us a little about how well you did in school.
  
• Tell us a little about your extracurricular activities.
  
• What were your best and worst subjects (favorite and least favorite)?
• Did you have a job while in college? If yes, can you describe the job and your responsibilities.