Articles - The Kelso Group - Information Technology and Management Consulting

Management and Motivation Part 3 - Exceptions and Special Circumstances

Kris Kelso — Fri, 21 May 2010 01:19:31 +0000

This article might be described as a great big disclaimer to Management and Motivation Part 2 - 7 Motivating Factors. In that article, I described several basic motivational factors I have observed in people over the years.

Reality, however, is rarely that simple. Here, I hope to add some texture to that discussion by discribing some exceptions and special circumstances where people are motivated differently than they might be otherwise.

Management and Motivation Part 2 - 7 Motivational Factors

Kris Kelso — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 21:40:20 +0000

In my last article, I explained that motivating people is a personalized task that has to be tailored to the individual you are working with.

Here are 7 different ways that people are motivated. These are certainly not exhaustive, and there are probably variations of each one that could be discussed further. But these are some of the more common motivational factors that I have seen:

Management and Motivation Part 1

Kris Kelso — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 10:34:58 +0000

One of the essential skills for good management - whether it be people management or project management - is the ability to motivate people. Countless books and articles have been written about motivational tips, tools, and techniques, but I would like to focus on the idea that people are motivated in individually different ways, and whatever motivational techniques you may use, the key is not to master a technique and use it on everyone; The key is to tailor an individual technique for each individual person.

Project Management Skills != People Management Skills

Kris Kelso — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 17:57:59 +0000

As a follow-up to my last article about management as a skill, not a career path, I would like to also point out that project management skills are not the same as people management skills. Just because someone is great at one type of management doesn't mean they are naturally great at the other.

Mangement is a Skill, Not a Career Path

Kris Kelso — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 19:02:15 +0000

Management is a skill of its own, not an extension of being good at a particular job. Just because a person is the senior member of a team does not mean he/she should be made manager of that team. And just because a person does not have all the skills to perform a particular job does not mean he/she could not manage a person doing that job.

Search Engine Optimization Can Drive People Away

Kris Kelso — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 18:31:14 +0000

A few days ago, I was looking at the website of a small company in this area. The design was so-so, but it was painful to read. At first I thought it was just not well-written, but then it struck me that this site had been SEO'd to death.

Search engine rankings are important to most businesses for a number of reasons, and that importance has given rise to an entire process and methodology known as Search Engine Optimization (SEO). It's the process of engineering your website (in particular, the text contained in it) to get the best possible ranking for specific search terms and "key words".

But if overdone, it can drive away traffic instead of generating it.

Project Management Fundamentals Part 6 - Trust

Kris Kelso — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:48:39 +0000

One of the most critical components of Project Management, which often goes overlooked, is the "trust factor". When people do not trust each other, they cannot operate efficiently - period.

Project Management Fundamentals Part 5 - Ownership

Kris Kelso — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:43:26 +0000

A key differentiation between top-tier and middle-tier project managers is one that is difficult to measure and even more difficult to teach. It's an attitude of ownership - taking personal responsibility and bearing the burden of the success or failure of the project.