OMS Consulting Partners, LLC

Thanks to friend of the blog, Constantine Kortesis, for this contribution. It sure made me think... The following excerpt is from http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Med/Med.html "Despite its official founding in August, the Manhattan Project really began on September 17, 1942 when Col. Leslie Richard Groves was notified at 10:30 a.m. by Gen. Brehon Somervell that his assignment overseas had been cancelled. Groves, an experienced manager who had just overseen the collosal construction of the Pentagon, seized immediate and decisive control. In just two days he resolved issues that had dragged on for months under Compton. On September 18 Groves ordered the purchase of 1250 tons of high quality Belgian Congo uranium ore stored on Staten Island, and the next day purchased 52000 acres of land to be the future site of Oak Ridge. Groves was promoted to Brigadier General on September 23. By September 26 Groves had secured access to the highest emergency procurement priority then in exi...

At the heart of every large project is a small project trying to get out.

There's an old saying. "Never discuss politics, sex or religion in polite company." On the other hand, we all agree on many things. The earth is round (well, slightly spherical, actually), the sun rises in the east and sets in the west (actually the earth revolves around the sun), and the sky is blue (it really only appears blue to us). Well... you get the idea. Many aspects of project management do not seem to fit into the 'earth is round' category. What is the evidence? Here's just a few casual observations: 1. A PM on a popular professional networking site recently asked the question, " Does anyone really know what project management actually is? " Simple question, right? Nope! This has been the most popular 'discussion' (read: debate) on that networking site since it was launched about a month ago. This discussion/debate has more than 3x the comments then the #2 debate. And to add to the point, the #2 discussion is "There ...

"Right answers to wrong questions are just as wrong as wrong answers to right questions."

Entitlement. Back in the 80's, when I went to college, I had to work nights so I could afford to go to school during the day. Lots of 60+ hour weeks working swing shift at a trucking company + trying to handle a full load of Economics and Business Administration work was a huge challenge. I'm glad that young people can muster up that kind of energy, because I don't think I could do it now that I'm in my 40's. Early on in my college life, there was a woman in one of my classes who was doing basically the same thing I was; working nights to pay for college during the day. We commiserated because we were the two people constantly trying not to fall asleep in class -- not because we'd been out partying all night -- but because of working late. http://www.amanet.org/training/books/9780814478868.aspx I ran into that same woman as a junior or senior, and I still looked like the cat dragged something in. But, to my surprise, she looked well rested, groomed and tann...

Just today, the Gallup ® poll posted an article with this title: "Self Employed Workers Clock the Most Hours Each Week" http://www.gallup.com/poll/122510/Self-Employed-Workers-Clock-Hours-Week.aspx They asked, "In a typical week, how many hours do you work?" less than 35 hours/week 35-44 hours/week more than 44 hours/week And they grouped the answers based on what kind of job you have: Self-employed Private Business/Company Government Employee Non-Profit Q: Who puts in the most overtime? A: Self-employed people About half (49%) of 'self-employed' people work more than 44 hours/week More than a third (38%) Private Business & Government workers work more than 44 hours each week Less than a third (30%) of Non-Profit workers regularly work more than 44 hours/week Very interesting article, especially if you're thinking about making a change thinking that being self-employed will be 'easier' than working at a standard 'full time' job. I...

A friend from church recommended this book to me. I thought, "I've been doing this for 15 years, why do I need to read someone else's impressions of what it's like to be a consultant?". But my friend is a MIT grad, and a pretty good guy, so I ordered a copy on the internet . After just a few pages, I kind of got the feeling I was back in my childhood, sitting on the sofa next to my grandpa and he was telling me some great stories. Only thing is, I'm a grown up now, and this guy was telling me interesting, entertaining stories about how to be a better consultant. (I don't recall ever having consulting conversations with my grandfather.) This guy has not only 'been there and done that' in the consulting world, but he has a great approach to business and his stories are easy to remember and pretty humorous. Here's just a couple of the names: "The Law of Raspberry Jam", "The Lone Ranger Fantasy", "The Potato Chip ...