As a parallel to the book, I developed an excel spreadsheet to help you define good-enough goals and work towards those goals. The Nine Crucial Elements to Achieve Good-Enough Contentment Assessment includes an annual goal setting tab to help you identify what you'd like to achieve by the end of the year for each good-enough contentment element and put steps in place to do it. You can download the spreadsheet which you should use after reading the book.
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 My very first experience as a volunteer was when I worked in my then 2-year-old daughter’s Sunday school class. It was a simple job, well-suited to me. I kept them safe while acting like a 2-year-old myself. It was a lot of fun and filled a huge need.
Through the years, my volunteer experiences continued, including serving on director boards, running special projects, and coaching executives. Many of my experiences were fulfilling and beneficial, while others just weren’t a good fit. I learned that while the non-profits benefited from my volunteer service, I also benefited. It’s not only what I put into the volunteer jobs, it’s what I took away. To that end, I’d like to focus on what you as a PM can give in your service as a volunteer—as well as what you receive as a result. Read more at ProjectManagement.com.
Recently I wrote an article about creating a sustained lifestyle. In the article I introduced a concept which contrasts achievement (doing something meaningful that accomplishes a desired result which gives you joy) and stress (the degree of mental, physical, or emotional strain undertaken to achieve a desired result). In the model I define four different lifestyles driven by achievements and stress, as follows:
In 2004, I left Microsoft so Patty and I could homeschool our son Trevor. He was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at age five, and we decided as he was entering seventh grade that he would need more help than what his public school could offer. I was his math and science teacher for two years until he re-entered public school in ninth grade. After my homeschooling stint, I decided to focus on writing and consulting, and later Patty and I starting a publishing business. From that point until now, I have regularly been asked if I’m “retired.” At first, I would respond with a strong “no” due to my opinion that retirees spend their days on the golf course or playing bridge. Over time, though, I recognized I had to come up with a better description of what I do as a profession. It’s not a choice of either the golf course or the 8-to-5 grind. For me, it’s something I call sustained lifestyle.
So, what’s sustained lifestyle? Here’s the definition, then we’ll unpack it:  In the last installment of this series, I reiterated four key pillars a best-in-class product manager drives:
The article focused on aligning job descriptions to the new business system and the role the best-in-class product manager plays in ensuring the change is effectively managed. Next up is the process pillar. Read more at ProjectManagement.com. In The Best-in-Class Product Manager Part 1: The Policy Pillar, I defined four key pillars that a best-in-class product manager drives, as follows:
The article focused on organization-wide, division-wide and regulatory policies and how a best-in-class product manager incorporated policies into business systems implementations. Next up is the people pillar. Read more at ProjectManagement.com.
In my recent series, I outlined 42 questions a product manager should ensure are answered across the following software development life cycle phases:
The foundation of these 42 questions is based on a product manager functioning as something I call a business system steward, which at its core requires focus on four pillars:
In my experience, a best-in-class product manager ensures that all four pillars are at the forefront throughout the SDLC and that the resulting business system reflects alignment and, in some cases, tradeoffs among the pillars. This four-part series will deep-dive into what I believe to be critical policy, people, process, and technology factors that separate best-in-class from average product managers. This first part focuses on policy. Read more at ProjectManagement.com. 
This one is a bit of a departure from my typical article topics.
Recently I wrote a book about what I call “good-enough contentment.” It’s an allegory about a forty-something man who is unhappy with his life. After a magical train ride, he learns to define what contentment means in nine areas of his life: career, family, health, friendships, finances, leisure, spirituality, giving, and legacy. Writing the story caused me to look back at my own life--the things I did well and the many mistakes I made. It inspired me to write about nine nuggets that I wish I could go back in time to tell my younger self. Some I would have done the same all over again, others radically different. All, however, are worth putting down in writing to spur your thinking about things you need to start, stop, or continue. Here they are: |
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