Why Doing Nothing can be Doing More

Nap Time Chris Mower Small

I'm amazed at how many work-a-holics there are in the world. Just today I read a blog post about a guy who was aggravated because he'd heard another man say he was just killing time. "How dare he!" the blog author thought as he considered clobbering the other man. "Doesn't he know that time is precious, and I don't have any of it? How dare he be unproductive and do nothing!" The blog author then proceeds to discuss all the things he does and how he as a serious businessman doesn't even have Keep Reading »

5 Ways to Trim the Fat from Your Next Project

Trimming Fat 001

If you regularly work with clients you understand how easy it is to let a project spin out of control and wind up fatty and huge… we call it scope creep, and before you know it the project's over budget and shipping late. Avoiding scope creep is a topic in itself, so instead what I offer here are a few ways to counterbalance scope creep and bloated projects. Most projects start innocently enough. Parameters are set, goals are defined, and work begins. The fat begins when someone says, Keep Reading »

30 Minutes. 6 Changes. 6 Letters.

Comcast Letters - ChrisMower.com

This story has a long history, so long that I’m starting at the end. There’s always room for process improvement, especially in corporate America. Even well-oiled machines need tweaking to keep them running smoothly. Comcast, my home telephone provider--yes, I said home phone, not cell phone (and yes, they still exist)--made changes to their customer's online account management system. This change inadvertently locked my online account keeping me from accessing my monthly bills which Keep Reading »