Category Archives: Better Thinking

The Thinking Time Traveler

Posted on June 24, 2014 by donmcalister

Last week I attended the 13th annual In2:InThinking Conference, “Succeeding with Inquiry – Insights, Knowledge, Action,” held on the campus of California State University, Northridge near Los Angeles, California. This conference is a gathering of people from around the country, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Better Thinking, Life, poetry | 3 Comments

Knowledge, Truth and Power

Posted on May 18, 2014 by donmcalister

“They say that knowledge is power,” I said, beginning my introduction of the guest speaker at a recent Rotary Club of Moorpark, California meeting. “And,” I continued, “ I think you will also learn today, that Power is Knowledge.” “Power, … Continue reading →

Posted in Better Thinking, J. D. Power, Knowledge Sharing, Leadership, Life, Program & Knowledge Management, Rotary Club | Leave a comment

If Only We Knew What We Knew

Posted on March 20, 2014 by donmcalister

If only we knew what we knew, And it wasn’t locked up in the minds of so few. If only we’d captured the knowledge and shared. If only we’d done that, we might have been spared. All of the time … Continue reading →

Posted in Better Thinking, Knowledge Sharing, Life, poetry, Program & Knowledge Management | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Exploring Deming’s System of Profound Knowledge – Appreciation of a System

Posted on February 21, 2014 by donmcalister

For many years I’ve been interested in the work of W. Edwards Deming. In particular, I’ve been interested in Dr. Deming’s System of Profound Knowledge. For convenience, in the remainder of this post, I’ll refer to it as SoPK. While … Continue reading →

Posted in Better Thinking, Deming's System of Profound knowledge, Leadership, Personal Development, Program & Knowledge Management, Project Management | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Pursuing Discontentment in 2014

Posted on January 4, 2014 by donmcalister

At the beginning of the year, it’s probably cliché to write about our goals and hopes for the coming year, but I’m going to do it anyway. I’ve just completed my second year of retirement. The conventional wisdom is that … Continue reading →

Posted in Better Thinking, Life, Personal Development, That's Life | Tagged | 3 Comments

Tips for Managing Your Assumption Risks

Posted on November 5, 2013 by donmcalister

A major element of project management is the identification, analysis, and handling of risks. There are many types of risks that Project Managers must consider, but there is one type, that in my opinion, is not given the attention it … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Practices, Better Thinking, Program & Knowledge Management, Risk Management | 3 Comments

Better Project Initiation with Mutual Learning

Posted on July 29, 2013 by donmcalister

Project Initiation (PI) is a critical step in the project management process. An inadequate PI effort can put the project in a hole from which it can be very difficult, if not impossible, to escape. Poor PI leads to poor … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Practices, Better Thinking, Leadership, Personal Development, Program & Knowledge Management, Project Management, Risk Management | Tagged | Leave a comment

When Risks Must Be Treated As Issues

Posted on July 12, 2013 by donmcalister

Conventional Project Management wisdom is that risks are unfavorable things that could happen, but have not yet happened, whereas issues are unfavorable things that have occurred. Yet, in the real world of managing complex projects, thinking that there is a … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Practices, Better Thinking, Leadership, Program & Knowledge Management, Project Management, Risk Management | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Leadership Lessons from My Father

Posted on June 17, 2013 by donmcalister

    Since today, Sunday, 16 June 2013 is Fathers Day in North America; I decided to share a few things I learned about leadership from my father. I’m pretty sure that my leadership style and whatever I’ve accomplished as … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Practices, Better Thinking, Heroes, Leadership, Life, Love & Courage, Personal Development, Program & Knowledge Management | 1 Comment

Project Managers Must Know When to Break the Rules

Posted on June 5, 2013 by donmcalister

One of the major challenges, faced by Project Managers is achieving a workable balance between compliance with company policies, procedures and standard practices, and being responsive to external customer requests that require “bending” those rules. In theory, standard policies, procedures … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Practices, Better Thinking, Leadership, Personal Development, Program & Knowledge Management, Project Baseline Management | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments