MIDAS

Friday, March 9, 2012

How to Start New Projects

Every time you're given a new project, take these steps to ensure you're on the right track from the outset:

Taking Responsibility

Before you agree to take on the responsibility of managing a project, make sure there is adequate sponsorship, and that you have adequate funding and resources to complete it on time. Your gut feel should be that the project is achievable and that whatever happens, you'll have the full support of your Sponsor through the project. If it's not feasible or you lack support, then solve these two problems first, before you start out.

Clarifying the Scope

Great, so you've agreed to take responsibility. The next step is to review the scope of the project to ensure that all of the deliverables to be produced during the project are adequately defined. You don't want to get part way through the project only to find that your customer actually wanted additional deliverables that weren't planned.

So sit down with your customer and clarify all of the deliverables on day one. The complete set of deliverables forms the "scope" of the project and it's critical that you document these in as much depth as you can, before you get started.

The Deadline

A "Project" is an activity which must be delivered by a specified date. That date is usually called the project "Deadline". You need to agree the deadline with your customer, and it must be feasible to achieve.

Rather than agreeing on a fixed date, instead try and agree on a fixed timeframe for delivery. Set an "ideal delivery date" and a "last delivery date". Make the ideal delivery date achievable. That way, the last resort date, which may be a week, month or more later, gives you the contingency you need in case the project is delayed.

Setting Priorities

Now that you have an approved set of deliverables, scope and deadline, you need to set the project priorities. Do this by showing your customer the complete list of deliverables

to be produced, and ask them "if for whatever reason, we couldn't complete all of the deliverables on time then which could be done after the deadline, if any?". Push as hard as you can to get them to agree that some deliverables can be produced after the deadline if need be, because it gives you extra contingency for when you need it. Then ask your customer to prioritize the list of deliverables from highest to lowest so that you can align these priorities with the tasks in your plan.

Understand the Drivers

You really need to understand as much as possible about your customer's business to know why the deadline, scope and priorities have been set as they have. Ask your customer what's driving the deadline, why you can't reduce the scope further and why the deliverables have been prioritized as they have. It's critical that you understand the answers to these questions before you start out, so that you satisfy their requirements in full.

Also, document these conversations with your customer and get them to formally approve them. That way, you have a formal agreement of the scope, deadline, priorities and drivers at the outset.

How to sharpen your memory

London, Feb 19 (ANI): Doing exercise for up to an hour a day can improve memory and learning in children and the elderly, say scientists.

The researchers found that walking or cycling regularly for between six months to a year can improve memory and problem solving skills in the elderly by between 15 and 20 per cent.

They have shown that such exercise can also increase the size of crucial parts of the brain.

The scientists have also discovered that children who are fit also tend to be better at multitasking and performing difficult mental tasks than unfit friends, the Telegraph reported.

Professor Art Kramer, director of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois, who led the research, said their findings could have major implications for improving children's performance at school.

He said it could also be used to help the elderly combat memory loss in old age.

"It is a sad fact of ageing that our brain function decreases as we get older. Increasingly people are also living more sedentary lifestyles. While we know that exercise can have positive effects on cardiovascular disease and diabetes, we have found it can bring about improvements in cognition, brain function and brain structure," Kramer said.

"It is aerobic exercise that is important so by starting off doing just 15 minutes a day and working up to 45 minutes to an hour of continuous working we can see some real improvements in cognition after six months to a year.

"We have been able to do a lot of neuroimaging work alongside our studies in the elderly and show that brain networks and structures also change with exercise.

"Children also seem to benefit and we have found that aerobically fit children exhibit superior cognitive control to lower fit children," Kramer stated.

Work published earlier this year by his team showed that the hippocampus, the part of the brain involved in memory, of elderly people who exercised regularly for more than six months increased by two per cent, effectively reversing brain ageing by one to two years.

In the latest research, he also found that fitter children are better at crossing the street when distracted by music or holding a conversation on a hands-free mobile phone compared to those who were less fit.

He found that while the fit children could cross a road in a virtual reality simulation with ease when distracted, the less fit children tended walk at the same speed as the fitter children but misjudged the speed and distance of the computer generated vehicles.

"The low fitness kids were just as good at crossing the street when it was the only thing they were doing. If they were listening to music or talking on the headset, they performed badly. They often ended up with the screen going red to show they had been hit," Professor Kramer said.

"One way to look at it is that the high fit kids think more efficiently and so are better at multitasking," the researcher added.

The finding was presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting in Vancouver, and is due to be published later this year.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

How to negotiate your salary

Susan Adams | Forbes.com

I mentioned to an advertising honcho friend of mine that I was thinking of writing a story on how to negotiate salary in job interviews. My friend, who is in his 50s—we'll call him Don—was inspired to write me a 10-point memo on how he's done it. Don likes to play hardball.

Don's tips include such advice as "If they've decided on you, you got 'em by the balls," and "Lie about your previous salary." Among other things, he suggests, go to your present boss, tell him you have an offer, and then "lie about how much the new job is offering and see if you can get more. Negotiate back and forth, depending on which company you want to end up with and how many bridges you want to burn."

So successful has Don been at manipulating employers that one year he wangled two different six-month severance packages. "I made 12 months in severance pay and worked only five months," he wrote.

But then at the end of his advice laundry list, he included a coda: "Of course, this was all then." He continued: "Now, I beg. I grovel. I take whatever anyone wants to give me. I suck up in ways that would shock others. I thank them profusely, lie to make myself younger and tell them about my nine sick kids so they don't fire me." One more thing: "If they make a cultural reference you don't get, just say, 'Whatever.' Apparently, that means you know."

What's a job seeker to do in the current, brutal climate? I interviewed three job search experts and found that Don's old tricks are not completely obsolete. Though none of my sources like the idea of lying to an employer, they all agree that some of his advice has merit, like demonstrating to an employer that you are valued by other employers and using severance pay as a bargaining chip.

First, about lying. "It's highly counterproductive," says Orville Pierson, author of The Unwritten Rules of the Highly Effective Job Search and a former senior vice president at the outplacement firm Lee Hecht Harrison. "The person you're talking to is going to be your next boss. Your career depends on your reputation."

Rusty Rueff, author of Talent Force: A New Manifesto for the Human Side of Business and former head of human resources at PepsiCo and Electronic Arts, agrees. Rueff says job seekers should be transparent about why they need to make a particular salary. "It's just like applying for a mortgage or a student loan," he says. "The hiring manager wants to know there's a rational explanation behind what you're asking for." For example, if a company wants you to move from San Jose to New York City and you have two kids in private school, go ahead and tell the hiring manager that you're going to be needing $68,000 to cover tuition.

Nevertheless, Pierson and Rueff add—and Roy Cohen, a veteran career coach, agrees—the salary discussion is most certainly a negotiation, and it pays to establish yourself as a valuable commodity desired by others. "It's all about demonstrating that you are the best person to help the employer address any challenges that may exist," Cohen says, "that you are going to change the course of history at the organization." He advises you to continue to demonstrate your value throughout the negotiation period, by offering solutions and strategies at meetings and in follow-up e-mails.

Cohen, author of The Wall Street Professional's Survival Guide, also says it's good to have competing offers, or at least competing conversations with prospective employers, and to let hiring managers know about it. "The only way you remain exciting to an employer is by giving the impression that you are dynamic and busy, that you're consulting and you have other conversations going on," Cohen says.

At the same time Rueff and Pierson advise applicants to appear humble. You should be confident, but not cocky, Rueff says. "If you look like an egomaniac, you're going to turn people off," notes Pierson. He suggests that you go to interviews prepared with stories to tell that illustrate your accomplishments and your values.

When you start negotiating, be well-prepared for that, too. First, think hard about what's most important to you, including salary and anything else, from the non-compete clause to the office where you'll sit. What are you willing to give up? What is make or break? For some applicants, the size of the paycheck may not be as important as vacation time. Severance is a good negotiating item, because it costs the employer nothing up front.

Then be sure to research your employer, educating yourself about perks, employee policies and general compensation practices. Websites like glassdoor.com can help. At glassdoor, you can find the compensation levels for specific jobs at thousands of companies. Using LinkedIn can be another efficient way to get background on a company.

How should you handle it when a hiring manager asks how much you currently make? Cohen says it often makes sense to use a delaying tactic, like saying, "I want to figure out if there's an opportunity for me here." Or if you're coming from a low-paying job, for instance at a non-profit, and want to make a lot more, you can say to the hiring manager, "I'm sure you know I'm coming from a lower-paying industry where salaries are not in line with the private sector."

Finally, negotiate in person whenever possible. Once you get to the salary discussion, the employer has decided she wants to hire you. Nevertheless, if you're sitting in front of her, says Cohen, "there's more of a commitment." It's a lot easier to get someone off the phone than to dismiss a prospective employee from your office. Stand your ground.

5 Minute Time Out Hourglass Stool for Naughty Children

Every child, even those who are considered generally well-behaved, need a time out every now and then, as punishment after doing something naughty. What better way to combine punishment and decorative form than with this kid’s hourglass stool which features a natural timer in the form of falling sand. It’s timed to fall from one compartment to the next in exactly 5 minutes making it easy to know when your child’s punishment session has come to an end.

The Time Out Timer Stool from Wisteria is based on the iconic sand timer which was a primary tool used to track the passage of time before mechanical clocks and watches. It is thought they were first seen in Europe around the 8th Century AD but from where they originated before that is unknown. The hourglasses, also known as sand timers, became popular instruments on-board ships where they became indispensable for determining distances and even lines of longitude. They were also seen in churches, factories, work places, and domestic homes where they were used to measure sermons, cooking time, and time spent on breaks from labor.

This children’s time-out stool is made from sturdy mango wood and contained fine white sand within the pair of hourglass bulbs. They are available in white or navy blue and are attractive in form and definitely highly functional as an aid in teaching your kids right from wrong. After the 5 minute time frame has elapsed, your child can return to playing or homework whilst the hourglass stool is placed back in the corner of the bedroom or playroom where it will complement existing décor and even become a stool used during non-punishment periods.

Friday, February 17, 2012

Window seats on planes can up the risk of DVT

Sitting in a window seat of an aeroplane during long distance flights can increase the risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT), doctors say.

A window seat is one of the risk factors for DVT in long distance travellers outlined in new guidelines by the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), which say that a person's individual risk factors for blood clots should be taken into account before being offered preventative medicines.

Other risk factors highlighted include being elderly, pregnant or taking oral contraceptives.

The experts also say that so-called '"economy class syndrome" is a myth, as the risk of developing a blood clot during a long haul flight is the same for those travelling in first or business class.

Deep vein thromboses are blood clots which usually develop in the legs. If a clot breaks away, it can cause a potentially fatal blockage in the lungs known as a pulmonary embolism.

The new guidance, published in the journal Chest, says the risk of developing a blood clot on a long distance flight is "very small" for most people, but was strongest for flights taking longer than eight to ten hours, particuarly in those with other risk factors.

Prolonged sitting, such as in a window seat of a plane, where someone is less likey to get up and move around, can also increase the risk of DVT.

Guidelines co-author Dr Mark Crowther from McMaster University, Ontario, said: "Travelling in economy class does not increase your risk for developing a blood clot, even during long-distance travel.

"However, remaining immobile for long periods of time will. Long distance travellers sitting in a window seat tend to have limited mobility, which increases their risk for DVT. This risk increases as other factors are present."

Smoking and obesity were also identified as risk factors, but the doctors said they found no "definitive evidence" that either dehydration or drinking alcohol boosted the risk of DVT.

Medical conditions which can put a person at increased risk include having had recent surgery, a family history of blood clots and having heart disease.

The guidelines recommend that all long-haul passengers should take preventative measures such as getting out of their seats and walking around, and calf muscle stretches.

In addition to this, people at higher risk of DVT should sit in an aisle seat if possible and wear below-knee graduated compression stockings, they advised.

The doctors also advised against the use of aspirin or any other anti-coagulant medication to prevent DVT in long-distance travellers.

Drugs which can prevent blood clotting should only be considered on an individual basis for those at a higher risk of DVT as the "adverse effects may outweigh the risks," they said.

Dr Gordon Guyatt, who chaired the panel of experts which drew up the guidelines, said: "There has been a significant push in health care to administer DVT prevention for every patient, regardless of risk.

"As a result, many patients are receiving unnecessary therapies that provide little benefit and could have adverse effects."

"The decision to administer DVT prevention therapy should be based on the patients' risk and the benefits of prevention or treatment."

Thursday, February 16, 2012

How to Deliver Challenging Projects

There are 5 classic signs of a "challenging" project. We’ve described them below and offer you advice for managing them:

Tight Deadlines

If your project deadline is practically unachievable, then here's what to do. First, try and get it delayed. If you can't, then immediately replan your project so you know by how much you will be late. If it’s more than 10% then try and find more resource to help you deliver it more quickly. And if you can’t get the resource, then reduce your scope. Identify non-critical deliverables and get your sponsor to agree that you can complete those deliverables after the deadline has passed.

Otherwise, you need to revisit the tasks in your plan to see if you can produce the same deliverables, with less tasks and effort than before.

Limited Budget

If your budget has been cut back, then try and find another sponsor in your business to provide the additional funding required. If cash flow is the problem, then negotiate with suppliers to take delayed payments. Use internal resource rather than external contractors, as they are usually cheaper. Rent equipment rather than buy. Re-negotiate with your suppliers to reduce their deliverables and therefore, their costs. And lastly, reduce staff overtime and offer them unpaid leave when they have down time.

Resource Shortage

If you don't have sufficient resource to complete the project, then take these steps. Review your deliverables and ensure you focus on the critical ones first. Try and find people in your business that can be succeeded to your project, without you being charged. If you can't, then you need to work incredibly smart. So take time out each day to prioritize your tasks and ensure everyone is spending their time wisely. Work extra hours if necessary, but don't burn out. You can only work smart if you’re "as fresh as a daisy".

Scope Changes
If your scope is constantly changing, then you need to nail it down. Start by identifying the tasks on the "critical path" and sticking to them, regardless of the change requests that arise. Identify your project priorities and get them approved by your sponsor. Make sure each priority is linked to a business objective, so that they are harder to change.

Being a Super-Hero

Does everyone expect you to be a super-hero by delivering your project with less time, budget and resource than you need? If so, don't worry - it's normal. The trick is to manage people's expectations, by under promising and over delivering. Keep people well informed, so they know what you'll deliver, how and by when.

By taking these tips, you can deliver challenging projects with a smile, and gain a reputation for super-hero like qualities!