Controlling Chaos

L'EM Strasbourg monte aux classements

L'Ecole de Management de Strasbourg est désormais classée parmi les 15 premières Grandes Ecoles de commerce françaises au classement annuel de l'Etudiant-l'Express (+10 places), du Figaro (+7 places - novembre 2009) et de Challenges (11e place).

L'EMS est la Business School de la première université de France. Ce sont 40 formations dans tous les grands domaines de la gestion, en formations initiales, continues et en apprentissage; 72 enseignants chercheurs et plus de 300 cadres d'entreprises impliqués dans les enseignements et la sélection des 1500 étudiants et 400 cadres formés chaque année. Certifiée ISO9001 version 2000, l'EMS est la première ESC à obtenir le Label Qualéthique® et appartient à la fois au réseau de la Conférence des Grandes Écoles et au réseau national des IAE.

Oops, it happened again!

A couple of weeks ago, in the latest Risk Doctor newsletter, there was a very interesting article about repeating mistakes. David Hillson sums it up like this:

If a risk happens once, that's understandable;

If the same risk happens twice, that's unlucky;

If the same risk happens three times, that's unacceptable.

People have a natural tendency to repeat their mistakes, either by letting the same threats happen repeatedly or by constantly missing the same opportunities. If you look around you, you will realize that this is happening all over the place, and it clearly tells that Risk Management is still overlooked in most businesses. Now there's value to add!

The Servant as Leader

I have been very interested in reading Bob Tarne's article in the last PMI Community Post about how to remove barriers by thinking servant first.

Recognize that you are a servant first and be there primarily to help your team. Use trust and empathy to identify and remove barriers that prevent your team from succeeding. Lead your team by coaching and active listening and avoid command-and-control approach. Focus on the development of your team members and build a sense of community among your team

Chaos, Stagnation and Progress

Yesterday, I had a very interesting chat with a colleague of mine, and he came up with a brilliant concept which I am here summarizing to quantify the amount of change an organization can (and MUST) cope with:

Change + Change = Chaos

Change + Stability = Progress

Stability + Stability = Stagnation

Top 5 Causes of Project Failure

The OGC has compiled a list of common causes of project failures. I have narrowed this down to what I clearly think is the Top5 reasons for a Project to fail:

• There is no alignment between the Project portfolio and the organization's strategic drivers and priorities
• There is no commitment or sponsorship from the organization's Senior Executives
• There is a clear lack of Project Management and Risk Management methodologies, skills and knowledge
• There is a poor Stakeholder Management with a clear lack of identification and engagement
• There is a poor Scope Management causing slippage and cost increases

OGC had four more in their list, related to procurement and other specific items (which I categorize into n°4), and they did not have n°5 (which is actually n°1 in most of the projects).

R.I.P. Les Paul

Another music legend bites the dust...

Ford Mustang 2010 configurator

For the launch of the 2010 Ford Mustang, the guys at Ford prepared a fantastic configurator, by yourself, or in community. The options are absolutely insane, unrivaled by any configuration tool I have ever seen, mixing stock and aftermarket parts, and the result can be stunning (like it or not). Have some fun and give it a try!

Gastronomie

Aujourd'hui, j'ai goûté au Koshari, le "plat national Egyptien": Des oignons émincés, brunis dans de l'huile bouillante; de l'ail pilé frit; des macaronis très cuits; des lentilles brunes; du riz; et de la sauce tomate poivrée et pimentée. Le tout servi avec une poignée de pois chiche. Je ne peux pas vraiment dire que c'est mauvais, mais c'est bourratif, et le piment camoufle toute autre saveur.

Mais que répondre à quelqu'un venant de ce pays où le Koshari est un des sommets de la gastronomie, lorsqu'il me demande "et en France, c'est quoi votre plat national ?", et comment décrire la richesse culinaire de nos Terroirs ?

Bleu, Blanc, Rouge

Top 5 Rules for effective Risk Management

• Manage your risks or they will manage you
  Risk management is not a passive process, you need to be on top of it.
• Commit your Top Management
  Show them the savings, quicker time-to-market, reputation increase and get their support.
• Say "NO" to the blame culture
  Share your risks with your boss, your customers, your suppliers, your colleagues, with everyone around you.
• Review risks outside the lines of business
  Have an independant Risk Review Committee who also defines and adjusts risk appetite at enterprise level.
• Learn from your mistakes
  Do not reinvent the wheel, use lessons learned and previous risk logs on similar areas