Sometimes we have a lot on our plate and we just don’t know where we might want to start first. It’s always good to know that we’re making worthwhile investments, but with a laundry list of things to do, where do we start first? It would be foolish to analyze the ROI of every single item and then pick the…
Everything happens for an opportunity
Today, in the midst of an unfortunate event, a new friend and I found something good come out of something bad. I blurted “there’s probably a reason why we met today.” But I caught myself and corrected myself. Instead I said “No, there was an opportunity.” As we were working through the difficult situation I was determined to make something…
What your customer isn’t telling you: micromanagement
For a variety of reasons, customers will be motivated to reduce your involvement: They perceive you as too expensive, regardless how you charge for your service. They have to pay an hourly rate for your involvement and they want to minimize cost. They’re much more aware of your hourly cost than the loss of their time. They see a disturbing…
Trust and accountability
Trust ultimately is a function of people doing the right things. We place trust in people that do the right things. Accountability determines what people will do. If we reward people for something, they’ll do more of it. If we punish people for something, they’ll do less of it. If we are accountable for determining what people are accountable for,…
Interview: The journey to my book Commitment To Value
I sat down with Jochen Krebs of Agile.FM to discuss my book Commitment To Value: How to make technical projects worthwhile. In the interview I explain the journey that led to my book and I share some additional thoughts beyond what was covered in the book. Enjoy! Agile.FM interview – Wes Higbee
What will you become?
Another hit on the display across the street: What will you become?
What your customer isn’t telling you: additional opportunities
If you look at any job listing, you’ll see that people focus more on skills and tasks than on results and outcomes. It’s human nature to put things into buckets and people tend to be put into buckets based on skills. Your customers see you in a bucket too. Just like their employees. It’s possible you have other skills they’re…
What your customer isn’t telling you: full-service
I’ve moved several times in my life and every time I move I’m frustrated with the lack of vision in moving companies. It seems to be a race to the bottom in terms of price and service. Most moving companies only offer a tiny slice of what you need. You can get someone to pack your boxes and load the…
Checklist: do I really need this report?
If you want to know if your report is worthwhile and not just going to tell you that the ship is sinking, use this checklist: What would you do if you didn’t have the report? What’s the purpose of the report? (in two or three sentences) When the report indicates a problem, is it too late to do something about…