Share
eBooks from Scott Berkun
All books and eBooks by Scott Berkun:
The Myths of Innovation
Myths of Innovation
by Scott Berkun
104 Chapter 7 and the boss replies, “Say something that stupid again and you’re fired,” no one will ask similar questions. All ideas about improving the status meeting, and perhaps improving anything, are dead forevermore. Or, more typically, if no ideas from anyone other than the manager are ever chosen, people will eventually stop proposing suggestions. Teams with scorched fields where creative jungles should be usu- ally have a manager to blame. The boss must attend to the life of ideas for all the people he works with, investing time and money to nurture their young ideas, granting room for them to breathe, and supporting the ideas’ development, delivery, and recycling (to make way for new ones). The environment Alan Kay, a member of the legendary group at Xerox PARC, said this about his manager, Bob Taylor: “His attitude kept it safe for others to put aside fears and ego
(2010)
Confessions of a Public ...
by Scott Berkun
106 Chapter 7 The secret to speaking to an audience without one actually present is to forget the studio and ignore the cameras (Figure 7-5). Go to a place in your mind where you remember the last time you spoke to a live, friendly, interested group, and match that style of behavior and enthusiasm. Speak as if that same audience is lis- tening, and you’ll be fine. Great hosts help you do this by feeding you energy and support, or even a softball question or two. All performers have a mindset they use when everything else is going wrong, and that’s what gets them through. Much like in public speaking, I learned from my experience filming at CNBC that I just had to switch off the worried part of my brain and laugh at how bizarre it all was. I bought the ticket by coming on the show—I should get
(2009)
The Myths of Innovation
Myths of Innovation
by Scott Berkun
2 Chapter 1 While waiting in the lobby of Google’s main building, I snuck into the back of a tour group heading inside. These outsiders, a mix of executives and business managers, had the giddy looks of kids in a candy factory—their twinkling eyes lost in Google’s efforts to make a creative workplace. My clandestine activities unnoticed, we strolled together under the high ceilings and bright-colored open spaces designed to encourage inventiveness. No room or walkway was free of beanbag chairs, Ping-Pong tables, laptops, and Nerf toys, and we saw an endless clutter of shared games, brain-teasing puzzles, and customized tech gadgetry. The vibe was a happy blend of MIT’s Media lab, the Fortune 500, and an eccentrically architected private library, with young, smart, smiley people lingering just about everywhere. To those innocents on the tour, perhaps scarred survivors of cubicle careers, the sights at Google were mystical—a working wonderland.
(2007)
Making Things Happen
Mastering Project Management
by Scott Berkun
I n many organizations, the person leading a project doesn’t have the job title project manager. That’s OK. Everyone manages projects in their daily work, whether they are working alone or leading a team. For the moment, these distinctions are not important. My intent is to capture what makes projects successful, and how the people who lead successful projects do it. These strategies don’t require specific hierarchies, job titles, or methods. So, if you work on a project and have at least some responsibility for its out- come, what follows will apply to you. And should your business card happen to say project manager on it, all the better. This book is useful in three ways: as a collection of individual topic-focused essays, as a single extended narrative, and as a reference for common situations. Each chapter takes on a different high-level task, provides a basic framework, and offers tactics
(2008)
