Working at Warp Speed

Four simple laws of project management: “Everyone who must depend upon others to deliver results by a deadline should read this book.” —Donald M. Dible, co-founder, ProjectWorld
 
Everyone is a project manager—projects are what all of us do, day in and day out. Skillful project management is fundamental to survival in today’s warp-speed world. Yet it is often misunderstood, leading to unrealistic deadlines, poorly defined goals, and wasted time. 
 
The secret to successful project management, says Barry Flicker, is making and keeping clear commitments—far easier said than done in a time of complex, cross-departmental projects and sometimes unclear lines of authority. Through a story about people confronting daily frustrations on the job, Flicker demonstrates how shifting focus from blaming “the idiots out there” to examining one’s own behaviors and assumptions helps people to overcome obstacles. Working at Warp Speed shows how following four simple laws can transform workers’ most frustrating complaints from persistent barriers into potential breakthrough experiences.Preface
The Warp Speed Barrier Checklist
Introduction: Warp Speed in a Nutshell
1 Warp Speed Poisoning
2 Playing the Project Game
3 Seeing the Blind Spot
4 The Rules of Warp Speed
5 Work from the Zone
6 Shift from Racing to Pacing
7 Avoid Confusion through Inclusion
8 Fulfill Both People and Project
9 Words into Actions
Index
About the Author
Working with the Author“This book is too good not to be true. It renews your energy for working and living. For anyone who feels harried, WORKING AT WARP SPEED is an oasis. Stop. Read. Drink.”
—Tom Brown, Management General

“A real breakthrough and outstanding introduction to concepts that would otherwise remain hidden in the course of everyday work.”
—Colin Clover, manager of technical operations, Apple Computer

“Successful book publishing requires relentless efficiency to manage limited resources, talent, and time. The toughest part is getting everyone on the team on the same page and marching in the same direction. This book shows you how. I wish it had been available thirty years ago.”
—Dan Poynter, The Self-Publishing Manual

“Everyone who must depend upon others to deliver results by a deadline should read this book. Project management is people management, and here are the rules that make it work.”
—Donald M. Dible, cofounder, ProjectWorld

“By sharing the rules of warp speed with a team leader whose team was in full rebellion, I was able to help her quickly grasp the adjustments in her perspective and behavior that made the difference between success and either her dismissal or her team’s defection.”
—Ira Chaleff, president, Executive Associates

“Barry did an excellent job of putting a fire in me. I can’t wait to get back to work and start using these new ideas and techniques.”
—Conrad Canderle, SiRF Technology, Inc.

“Over the course of three and one-half years this program has successfully enabled us to blend the demands of those committed to unfettered creative flare and flexibility with those demanding systematic accountability for results. It has helped us maintain momentum, schedules, and—in this incredibly fast paced business—sanity!”
—Jerry Hunt, organization development manager, HAL Computer Systems

“I loved what I read and felt changed by it in a significant way.”
—Cindy Flaherty, project manager

“Thanks, Barry! Great class. It should be mandated to all Apple employees so everyone works on the same level.”
—Deb Pevarnick-Whitney, Apple Computer

“This is the best-written manuscript I have reviewed. From the very first words, Barry Flicker pulls me in with his concise language, rich insights, and passionate tone. It is a thrill to see such good writing. Over and over again I’d underline an especially insightful thought, then laughed with delight when I turned the page and found it high- lighted.”
—Kathleen Epperson, organization effectiveness consultant

“I felt the manuscript was exceptional. Its readability and organization were excellent. My own professional interest is in virtual organizations and I found the problems encountered by the team to be very realistic and the analysis of these problems to be accurate.”
—Linda Peters, University of Massachusetts

“Very well done! I can take a LOT out of this. Instructor’s knowledge of subject matter is guru status.”
—Scott Kowaleski, Xilinx, Inc.

“This book is filled with commonsense approaches to improve teamwork and work relationships. I can definitely see using this material in working with clients, or within my own work with nonprofit organizations.”
—Claire Taylor, director, Executive Search Services, The Management Center, San Francisco
Barry Flicker is founder of Basic Training, a company based in the San Francisco Bay area that offers a complete curriculum of courses in management and professional development to organizations intent on keeping pace with the rapid transformations of the global economy.
He has authored texts for courses on project management, collaborative negotiating, conflict resolution, nonlinear problem solving, meeting management, and effective communication. His work helps free people from the limiting assumptions and counterproductive behavior blocking their success. The immediate applicability of this approach has made him one of the most sought-after experts in Silicon Valley and throughout the country.Introduction Warp Speed in a Nutshell

Are you working at warp speed—too busy to plan, too rushed to communicate in anything more than e-mail snippets, and too overloaded to read all the e-mail you get? Do overlooked details lead to broken commitments and project problems?

Imagine what your life would be like if you could eliminate the overload; alleviate the struggle to meet “unrealistic” deadlines; reduce the constant firefighting, poor planning, and ineffective communication; and slash the endless time wasted in meetings trying to sort it all out.

It could happen! If only you could get everyone on your team fired up about your project, committed to its success, and pointed in the same direction. But how?

You’re about to meet five people who are asking this same question. They need to find an answer—fast. They have overpromised and underdelivered on their projects. Their customers are unhappy, and their time is about to run out. They feel discouraged. At times it seems the harder they try, the worse things get. If they can’t turn things around in six months, their next project will be finding work!2

Can anything really make a difference? They are skeptical. That is until they see for themselves, through a startling experiment, that they have been solving the wrong problem. Perhaps you have too?

Reading Working at Warp Speed could change the way you work forever. It’s distilled twelve years of project breakthroughs in leading high-tech companies, top universities, and government institutions into four hands-on rules that can deliver immediate results. These four rules are like the angel in Michelangelo’s block of marble—to find them we have only to chip away everything unnecessary. The chipping away takes some time and effort, but the results are well worth it. You will find that they dispel the myth that project management must be boring and highly technical. What’s more, they show how anyone can take advantage of this extraordinary system to lighten the workload and ignite the passion of any team.