Pages Per Day

[Ned Bedinger]

Jim Barrow wrote:

> 
> The project manager – and one-upper manager – gave us (are 
> you ready for this?) four days to complete the end-user guide. 
> The amusing part was that they scheduled five days to decide 
> on a table of contents, and two weeks for review.

> Four days.

Run, don't walk to the next meeting--it is going to be memorable and I 
think you'll enjoy it a lot. The project manager (PM, the one with the 
aggressive schedule) will be there, nervously eyeing those other 
managers. Don't stare, but yes, those are they eyes of prayer. PM is 
praying that the other managers will continue to provide their 
fellowship and support even after they've heard what is going to be said 
in the meeting.

This happens because you stayed loose and uncommitted to the desperate 
acts of reasoning that everyone expects you to present. You do know that 
the PM locker room was buzzing with $500 bets just before the meeting? 
The pool is several thousand ducats!

Oh! to be a fly on the wall in this meeting.

Fortunately for your team of writers, you called PM late yesterday 
afternoon and left a voice mail saying that you'd like time in the next 
meeting for PM to give a brief, specific explanation of how deadlines 
are calculated, with the current one as an example. For all intents and 
purposes, you said "No, this time let's see *your* numbers!"

And this is how to whip them fair and square, with business questions 
and business math. Got MBA?  You KNOW it isn't your numbers that are 
hinky.

Oh well, maybe PM will be better to work for after this experience.

Congratulations Jim!

> 
> I’m in the process of composing my response to this timeline but, 
 > short of responding with “dear project manager, since you were
 > obviously under massive amounts of narcotics during yesterday’s
 > meeting,” I’d like to come up with something that’s a little more
 > like metrics and hard facts.

I thought you said the PM was on uppers?  Anyway, I hope the pep talk 
helps you digest some of the baloney that PM is slicing for your team.

Ned Bedinger
doc at edwordsmith.com