RESQBug.com – Geek Speak to English

I’ve been in several board meetings over the past month where the companies are having a killer Q2.  A year ago everyone was still pretty rattled from the financial crisis and there was plenty of belt tightening, consternation, and general anxiety.  By Q409 we’d had a number of companies we are investors in end the year strongly and their growth has continued into Q1 and Q2.

Over the past 15 years, I’ve sat through plenty of good meetings and plenty of bad board meetings.  I always try to acknowledge the efforts of individual executives when they’ve exceeded expectations and the full team when they’ve crushed it.  I’m not afraid to be direct and critical and I always speak my mind, but I try never to forget to praise people for their efforts.

When I reflect on my peers, some of the best VCs I’ve worked with are amazing at acknowledging the efforts of the entrepreneurs and management teams, especially when they are dealing with complex situations.  This praise isn’t gratuitous – it’s targeted, focused, and appropriate.  And over the years I’ve occasionally seen it offered up at exactly the right moment.

Unfortunately, the opposite is more common.  I often sit through a board meeting and watch in amazement as the VC investors socratically pick away at the management team, asking question after question but offering no substantive suggestions.  If the business is having an issue, or the CEO is specifically looking to try to work through a problem, this can be helpful.  But in the cases where the company has performed well, this is at best a tedious exercise in wasting everyone’s time.  At worst, it’s insensitive and offensive to a management team that has performed well, especially in a tough situation.  And often, it’s incredibly deflating and demotivating.

So, fellow VCs and board members, take a moment and remember that when people do a great job, it’s worth spending a moment acknowledging them.  Most of the folks I’m working with are busting their asses to create real companies.  They are making many sacrifices and tradeoffs to do what they do. A little pat on the back will go a long way, especially after three hours of questions.

With thanks to feld.com .  To see the original article please click here.

Remember, that the only dumb question is the one never asked. If you have any questions or comments, I look forward to them, please email or call me.

Cheers.

Allan

RESQBug.com Technical Services and PRAD Enterprise

“Managing Your Technology for Improved Workplace Performance”

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e: allan@resqbug.com

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This article is for information purposes only.  It is recommended that individuals consult with an IT professional before acting on any information contained in this article. The opinions stated are those of Allan Waddington and not a reflection of any company he currently works with or has in the past.

“If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.” -Red Adair

In a recent article in the newspaper, BP CEO Mr.Tony Hayward’s comment that the oil spill disaster was a ““low-probability, high-impact” accident” (Toronto Star, “Oil Slick could reach East Coast by July”, 6/3/2010) reminded me of an article I posted last year with regards to owning your project risk.  In the article, I asked whether you have adequately ensured that your project and your company can cover the recovery cost if your worst nightmare risk scenario occurs, because cost can be multifaceted.

The oil disaster is a perfect example of how risk on projects can go horribly wrong, and how certain types of risk are multi-dimensional.  While most project managers have to concentrate on the risk of cost and time overruns, the project risk on the BP Gulf of Mexico deep well drilling exposed a multitude of impacts stemming from a single risk event: ecological, bio-diversity, political, economic and public relations; not to mention damage to the future prospects of the company itself and to the fortunes of other companies considering deep sea drilling.

Without trivializing what has happened, it is useful to look at what we as Project Managers can learn from this event and take away and apply to our own projects.  While the risk event is certainly low probability (it is unlikely that this has happened under these conditions before) – the high impact is multi-dimensional.  I believe that this event shows that a high-impact risk needs to be weighted higher when the risk can be shown to be multi-dimensional.

Until next month, i remain,

Ken Waddington, P.Eng., PMP

K. Waddington & Associates Inc.  (Markham, ON)
kwaddington@kwai.ca
t: 416-689-7964
Website www.kwai.ca