Russell GeakeProject Management Consultant| Deciduous Partners LtdLostwithiel, Cornwall, United Kingdom
"Judge a man by the questions he asks, not by the answers he gives" so said Voltaire. I can't remember when I first read this - mid-teens possibly, but it has stuck with me, and been emphasised by Nancy Klein in Time to Think, Edward de Bono, Adam Kahane and many others and I have long had this particular question in my mind...so here it is out in the open -
What Is Your Favourite Question?
Why? Where and when did you use it last, (what was the scenario) and how often do you use it?
I'm really looking forward to hearing your answers and the discussions that might follow.
Questions I dislike
"who's fault was it?" In a team environment it is rarely one person's faults that something went wrong or didn't work out how you expected. I prefer "How can we make sure this doen't happen again?". It help focus on the what and not the who. Let's fix systems and processes to avoid the situation next time.
The other one is "Can we bring the go live date in because the VIP is visiting on that day" (or some other such "event" that needs to planets aligned! "Of course we can, what don't you want delivered or how much extra do you want to pay for the extra resources?" is my stock in hand answer unless it is totally unachievable and then a career limiting "No because..." is the answer! Saving Changes...
Richard HowProgramme Management Consultant| How Associates LtdHarthill, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom
my favourite question is
"what is the difference between a project and a programme" I often use it at interviews and I have had many varied answers including
"programmes have to have a director as the sponsor"
"I'm not sure what the difference is but when I say I am a programme manager I get a higher day rate"
and my favourite
"if a project gets too big for you to handle you call it a programme and get some project managers in to run parts of it, that way you get promoted to programme manager and they earn more"
Saving Changes...
I sponsor projects during their approval in a large department, and one of my favourites is 'What's your role? At this stage, are you a customer of the project, a supplier to it, or something else?'
It allows me to start the conversation about my expectations, and why at the start of the project, someone who might ultimately be a customer has to be a good supplier of the requirements and other information I need to craft the business case and technical foundation documents.
Similarly, someone who might ultimately be a supplier will be a customer at the initial stages of the project, and have to form a view about the completeness and accuracy of the technical and management documents, and how well they have been produced.
This role reversal is often a surprize, although I find that most people get used to it, even though it takes an occasional reminder.
Saving Changes...
Russell GeakeProject Management Consultant| Deciduous Partners LtdLostwithiel, Cornwall, United Kingdom
@richard - have you discovered the right time to ask for a title change?
@doug - that's a good one probably not asked enough, and yes, too often people don't realise that their role changes according to the scenario
any more?
Saving Changes...
Bruce LoflandSoftware Developer| SprintLenexa, Ks, United States
One of my favorites is, "What do you need?" I have found that most people are late with their tasks because they don't have what they need and are afraid to say so. I sometimes find out that the team member does not understand what the task is and is afraid to ask. I use this when I have trouble getting status of tasks. It does not point a finger at the person, it simply probes for a solution to a problem. The geeks on my teams are great at solving problems and respond well to this. I often get issues identified and taken care of this way.
I have 3 top questions starting a project:
- Who is the Exective Sponsor (where will the resources and politcal cover come from, who has P&L responsibility)?
- Who is the Business Owner (Who has the answers to what is really going to need to be delivered, who has the real CA/V answers)?
- Who will operationalize the deliverables (who will have to provide day to day support for product/service delivery and will have Quality responsibility)?
These 3 answers need to hang together and make organizational sense. If I can't get reasonably solid responses to these questions I will turn down the project or else I know I'm in for a bumpy ride. Saving Changes...
"What have you done and what can I do for you?" Saving Changes...
Mark GripResource Associate - Project Management Office| Connecticut Department of LaborWethersfield, Ct, United States
One my favorite articles is “Ask the Question, Silly!” by Andy Jordan January 10, 2011. In my opinion asking questions can only help. You can’t get far if you don’t know the answers.
After all “He who is afraid of asking is ashamed of learning” (Danish Proverb). By the way my favorite qustion is "How does this work" or "what can I do for you?"
Saving Changes...
Russell GeakeProject Management Consultant| Deciduous Partners LtdLostwithiel, Cornwall, United Kingdom
has anyone heard these ones...why haven't you finished this yet? when will it be finished?...or going back to being a five year old in the back of the car "are we nearly there yet?" Saving Changes...
Wai Mun KooPMO Director| Intergraph PP&MSingapore, Singapore
"Impartial observers from other planets would consider ours an utterly bizarre enclave if it were populated by birds, defined as flying animals, that nevertheless rarely or never actually flew. They would also be perplexed if they encountered in our seas, lakes, rivers and ponds, creatures defined as swimmers that never did any swimming. But they would be even more surprised to encounter a species defined as a thinking animal if, in fact, the creature very rarely indulged in actual thinking."
