Chapter 2: Technology of
Learning and Empowerment
Jim Burns
(FROM: Project and Process
Management)
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech
J. University
R. Burns
Outline for today…
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Alignment and Empowerment
Goal setting motivation and
methodology
– Vision and mission statements
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Getting Organized
Time management
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Covey’s Seven Habits
1. Be proactive
2. Begin with the end in mind
3. First Things First
4. Thing Win/Win
5. Seek first to understand, then to be
understood
6. Synergize
7. Sharpen the Saw
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
What does it take to be a star
at work (kelley)?
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High IQ? Positive attitude?
Satisfaction with job, boss,
company?
– These go on the front of the T-shirt--these
are potential energy
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
What goes on the back of the
T-shirt
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Don’t know, but here is what has to
happen in the middle
INITIATIVE
NETWORKING
SELF MANAGEMENT
– Career Management—you will change careers 4
times in your lifetime
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NO TUNNEL VISION, PLEASE
– Think unconventionally
– Example Software testing--a huge need—
– Example: conversion of legacy software
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
What else has to happen (in the middle)?
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BE A STAR FOLLOWER
TEAMWORK!! Teamwork!!
Teamwork!
– Teamwork makes the _____ work
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KNOW HOW YOUR COMPANY REALLY
WORKS
BE A STAR AT SHOW AND TELL
KNOW WHAT TO DO ON MONDAY
MORNING
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Focus on outcomes, not
activities
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Get to know the customer
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His needs, wants, values, priorities
How he is using your existing products
What he likes/dislikes about your products
How his requirements have changed
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Visioning, Goals and Goal
Setting
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Why its important
Why we don’t do it
Goal Categories, Concepts
Methodology
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
What this segment covers
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Personal Vision and Mission
Statements
Alignment of corporate vision with
personal vision
Why goals are important
Goal-setting methodology
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Later today we will talk about
getting Organized
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Stress, survival, structure, surveys,
statistics
Mind traffic, goals, decision making
How to manage your office
How to manage your phone
How to manage your TIME!!!!
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Vision Statements
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Begin with the end in mind-following Stephen Covey
Transport yourself 5 years into your
future and ask yourself, what you
would like your friends and peers to
be saying about you
Establish what is really important to
you, what do you really value?
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Vision Statements, Continued
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Your destiny
Your programming
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Why Vision Statements, Goals
are Important
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Goals are our view of the future
Set the direction of our life
– Without vision, its like driving down the road of life
and taking your hands off the steering wheel
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Program our Success Mechanism
Without them, we are living out of our
past
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Example VISION Statement
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By being a major provider of
Internet-based learning, I can
advance the general state of
knowledge and help professional
people become better at what they
do
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Goals and Alignment
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We need a vision statement so we can
ALIGN ourselves with our next
employer in terms of his objectives for us
RECRUITER WILL ASK: “what do
you want to be doing five years from
now?”
Alignment entails focusing on the
goals of the organization and
conforming your behavior toward the
achievement of those goals.
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Why Goals are Important,
Cont’d
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What do we mean by Excellence?
– Be focused on one or two areas
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Schuller: most folks’ goals are too low, too
slow
All great achievers are persistent goal
setters
Life’s biggest problem: NO GOALS
– Either you’re working on your own goals, or you’re
working on someone else’s
– Aim at nothing and you will surely hit it
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
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In the absence of goals, people often flounder
about, hoping to find something that will
interest them. Such people work just to pay the
bills; they neither enjoy nor excel at their jobs.
Without goals, people are driving down the
road of life but they’ve taken their hands off
the steering wheel. They become an accident
looking for a place and time in life to happen.
It is impossible for them to control the
direction of their lives without goals. One of
life’s biggest problems is the absence of goals.
If you’re not working on your goals, then you
will be working on someone else’s goals, that is,
if you’re working at all.
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Why we Don’t Set Goals
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Don’t understand importance
Don’t know how
Fear of Rejection
Fear of Failure
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
In-class exercise
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Sit back, relax and go into the inner
recesses of your mind
Write out five or six values that are
really important to you
– faith, family, friends
– power, prestige, professionalism, patriotism
– companionship, creativity, collegiality,
competence
– industry, initiative, intelligence, integrity
– well-being, honesty, respect, dignity,
faithfulness
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
2) Write out what attracts you,
what fascinates you, and what
needs
to
be
done
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today?
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Project Management
Requirements gathering
Analysis?
Construction? / design?
Internet/mobile/cloud app development
Testing Methodology
What do you really enjoy doing?
TAKE THE INTERSECTION OF
THESE
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
3) Now write out a vision
statement that provides a
GENERAL direction of where
you’re going in the next five
years, based on your five
most significant values
– (twenty-five words or less)
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Now we are ready to attack goals
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Goal Categories
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OVERALL GOAL
Service -- WHY Goals
Family -- WHY Goals
Job, Business and Career -- WHAT
Goals
Personal, Health and Professional -HOW Goals
HOW  WHAT  WHY OVERALL
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Goal Concepts
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Clear
Specific
Measurable
Present tense
Begin with the infinitive TO
Targeted to a specific milestone or date
• to lose weight vs. to lose 5 lbs in one week
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
About that OVERALL GOAL
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What would you do if you could not fail?
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What have you always wanted to do, but
have been afraid to attempt?
What activities give you the best feeling
about yourself?
If you had infinite resources, what would
you do?
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J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
DO IT--write it down--based
on your vision statement
your OVERALL GOAL
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Clear
Specific
Measurable
Present tense
Begin with the infinitive TO
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Perhaps you’ve heard of
SMART Goals
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S—Stretch
M—Measurable
A—Achievable
R—Reachable, Realistic
T—Timed
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
NO—Goals???
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Only 3% ever write them down
They (those who write them down) wind
up achieving much more
They wind up living 25% longer, surveys
show
The better I know what I want, the more
successful I’m going to become.
Visualize, dream and feel the image of
success
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Family -- the WHY GOALS --a
total of 1 or 2
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The future of the 21st century will be
your responsibility
How much time?
What will you do?
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Service -- the WHY GOALS -write 1
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The contribution of your
– Talents
– Time
– Finances
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Your community needs you
Your church, synagogue or mosque
needs you
Develop an outside interest that you
really care about
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Business/Career -- the WHAT
GOALS
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Make those 40-50 hrs a week at
work COUNT!!
Set 3 to 4 goals
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Examples of not-so-good
competency goals
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To increase my self reliance and
maturity
To improve my ability to handle
stress
To increase my ability to think “out
of the box”
To enhance my people skills
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Better competency goals
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To get through this day without
getting stressed out or getting angry
To applaud at least one deserving
person today
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Personal/Professional/Health - HOW GOALS – relate to
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Social/Interpersonal growth
Maintain the body
– To lose five lbs by Feb 15
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{You are your own self improvement
project}
Dress for success
Feel good about yourself
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
GOAL SETTING Methodology 101
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Establish Balance
Must be Written Down
Must be reviewed, revised
Must be motivated
Must be believed
Must have a deadline for
achievement
– Review your list of goals and set reasonable
R. Burns, Texas Tech University
deadlines for their achievementJ. now
Methodology 102
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Identify
– Obstacles
– knowledge required
– People, groups needed
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Make Plan
Set aside time
Work plan through time
management
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Writing Goals and Measuring
Performance
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Are necessary to “program” our
success mechanism
• According to Maxwell Maltz
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Before you can measure, you must
know what to measure
You won’t know what to measure
until you’ve set your GOALS
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
ONE MORE TIME……
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It is necessary to formulate and
write down your goals in order to
program your success mechanism,
which is your subconscious
When you program your
subconscious, it begins to look for
solutions for you…
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Time--our most precious
resource
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The tyranny of the urgent
Quadrant I
Quadrant II
Important, Urgent Important, Not Urgent
Quadrant III
Quadrant IV
Not Important, Urgent
Not important, Not Urgent
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Management of Time
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To do list
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At least once a week
Prioritize items
Don’t do anything that’s not on list
Use software
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
An example day in the life of
an IT professional
Coffee emails, voice mail, etc – 7:00 to 8:00
–no value added
Project status meeting—8:00 to 9:00 with 5
min of real value
Resource planning meeting—9:00 to 10:00
with 10 minutes of real value
Customers call 10:00 to 11:00 with 10 min
of value
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
More…
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Dog and pony show—11:00 to 1:00 no
value added
Trip report, calls—1:00 to 2:00, no value
added
Get node list from Bob—2:00 to 3:00, no
value added
Revise SW test routine per node list—
3:00 to 4:00, 1 hr of value added
DARN!! List is old, fix errors—4:00 to
5:00, no value added
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Summary of IT professional’s
day
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On the job 9 hours—worked hard
whole time, but only added 1.5 hrs of
customer perceived value and thus
value to her firm
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
An example TO DO List
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
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The Time Management Matrix
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The Stephen Covey Time Management Matrix is an excellent
planning tool that is simple and straight forward. Once you learn
the basic principles of organizing your activities according to the
principles of this tool, you will likely be able to eliminate a number
of timewasting activities and unproductive behaviors.
What Is It and How Does It Work?
Stephen Covey’s tools are designed to maximize your productivity
and eliminate unnecessary or irrelevant activities through a 4quadrant system.
After analyzing your daily activities, you will assign them to the
appropriate quadrant before evaluating where you need to make
changes.
Take a look at the diagram below. Notice that the quadrants
reflect 4 different types of activities: Important and Urgent,
Important and Non-Urgent, Non-Important and Urgent, and NonImportant and Non-Urgent.
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J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
The Personal Software
Process
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Watts Humphrey has developed this
Who is Watts Humphrey??
– The guy who first proposed the
CAPABILITY MATURITY MODEL
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This is looking at your personal
processes and improving them
www.sei.cmu.edu
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
PSP—Personal Software
Process
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Personal measures
Process discipline
Estimating and planning
Quality management
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Time Recording Log
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Another useful tool for tracking time is a time
recording log, which is kept at the end of your
notebook. The form for a time recording log is
shown in Figure 2.9. Each line of the log
should include the following information
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Date. The date you performed the activity
Start. The time you started the activity.
Stop. The time you stopped the activity.
Interruption Time. Any time lost due to
interruptions
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Figures 2-7, 2-8, 2-9
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These show how to keep a record of
how you spend your time…
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Stress--how to reduce it?
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Goes up if you’re not organized,
31% say
Stress goes down 32% after you get
organized
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Survival--the name of the
game
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Boss will keep whoever is getting the
job done
Downsizing--outlasting the next guy
Rightsizing--giving the appearance
of strategic relevance
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
The Balance Wheel
Work
Learning
Spiritual
Physical
Family
Social
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Structure Changes
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Change has become rampant
From Adam Smith to Michael Hammer
Walls are coming down
We are becoming more integrated
Trust (good faith) is becoming a way of
life
– Between a company and its suppliers
– Between a company and its customers
– Across functional departments within the firm
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Structure Changes, Continued
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Content of work itself has changed
In 1950, professionals’ work was
50% mental, 50% physical
Today, professionals’ work is 85%
mental, 15% physical
85% of work is knowledge-related
What are the implications?
– High moral, ethical standards are necessary
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
in the workplace
Standard of Living
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Was doubling every 22 years; now
may not be doubling at all
Should we be concerned? Maybe
Work time is up 20%, while leisure
time is down 32%
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Organizations
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Used to be large, monolithic hierarchies
Today, much of the hierarchy has been
eliminated
Firms have organized around projects
and processes and utilize TEAMS to
accomplish and manage these
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Teams
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Usually small, so individuals cannot
hide or get lost
Peer pressure keeps everybody
performing
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
A Typical Work Year--Tyranny of
the Urgent
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Phone interruptions, meetings, off. visits
14 wks in meetings, 4 wks of which are
wasted
4 weeks playing telephone tag
3 weeks making unproductive calls
6 weeks instructing staff
8 weeks looking for stuff on desk
10 weeks for job-related real work
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Decisions
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We make roughly a 1000 of them a day
Are we focused?
Do we know what we want to get done?
If we procrastinate, we wind up with
crisis management
Our plate is too full
We’re telling people no all the time
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Mind Traffic
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Do it
Write it down
Remember it
Forget it
After 10 cycles,
– stress goes up
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Lists--to do
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Keep them in your
calendar/appointment book
PDA’s are becoming very popular
Only 35% make a list, surveys show
Read it/prioritize it
Consistent every day
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Desk
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Clean desk
– Paper is distracting
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Sort paper into four stacks
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trash
files
delegate
TO DO
You need holding files
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Phone
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Get answering machine
Screen calls
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Covey: be driven by the
compass and not by the clock
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Find more time to get the important
but not urgent things done
Get away from urgency addictions
Become a weekly planner
Put the important stuff in there first
Be conscious of YOUR roles
Become true north professionals
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Conditions for empowered
professionals
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Personal/organizational trustworthiness
– Character and Competence
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Trust
Win/win agreements
self-directed individuals/teams
aligned structures and systems
accountability
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Time Management, according to
Watts Humphrey
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You will likely spend your time this week
much the way you spent time last week
To make realistic plans, you have to
track the way you spend time
To check the accuracy of your time
estimates and plans, you must document
them and later compare them with what
you actually do
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
More TM, according to Watts
Humphrey
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To make more accurate plans,
determine where your previous
plans were in error and what you
could have done better
To manage your time, plan your
time and then follow the plan
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Still more TM, according to
Humphrey
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Categorize your major activities
Record the time spent on each major
activity
Record time in a standard way
Keep the time data in a convenient
place
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
CONCLUSION: Be guided by
your personal vision/mission
statement every hour of every
day
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
FINAL REMARKS
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The Main Thing is keeping the Main
Thing the Main Thing
Personal and Professional
Productivity
• What we all must attain
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University
Others
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A leader inspires others to work on
his/her goals
There is no such thing as a self-made
man/woman
J. R. Burns, Texas Tech University