RE: Justification for hiring and realistic deadline - pls help.

["Dori Green" <dgreen -at- associatedbrands -dot- com>]

I second all of Lauren's advice, and highly recommend ProjectKickStart4 -- intuitive and less than $200.

Every time my managers try to add another item to the smorgasbord, I bring out my top-level Gantt chart (Technical Writer as the top-level project) and ask them which subproject (Design ISO-compliant QMS, Write ISO-compliant quality manual, Write ISO-compliant process overviews & detailed work instructions, Train management, Train employees, Create & maintain company newsletter, Create & maintain company information kiosk, Create & facilitate corrective action/ continuous improvement system, Create & maintain employee quality improvement teams and facilitate those teams to engage employees into new Lean/Kaizen culture, etc.) they'd like to adjust/cancel/move into a future dimension.

We can make change itself a project and manage it -- and tools for doing so are abundant and people who can use those tools proficiently can find great jobs -- or change will manage us and we will stay stuck in the overworked and underpaid ghetto.

An approach that has worked for me:  "Boss, I need your help.  I'm frustrated because I want to give you my best work but I can't because...

   ...I'm overloaded
   ...a person or department is not responding
   ...my office is so cold my fingers are too stiff to type

...anything else that the boss might be able to fix.

Don't use the boss just to vent.  Only enlist their help with something they _can_ do something about.

Like buy you a good project management software program.

Dori Green
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