ASK MAGAZINE For Practitioners by Practitioners - PDF document

ASK MAGAZINE: For Practitioners by Practitioners 44 ay, ASK talks with Tim Flores Tim Floreshas been a key project manager and leader at NASA Ames ResearchCenter for the past 10 years. Mr. Flores is currently completing aMaster of Science degree in System Design and Management at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology. ASK MAGAZINE: For Practitioners by Practitioners 45 .Wy,y,y,.Yy,y ÒBefore I came to MIT, I was constantlytrying to learn more about project man-agement and how to be a better leader.Ó 46ASK MAGAZINE: For Practitioners by Practitioners y,.We. ÒIÕve always tried to stave off dissen-sion, so I will take the time to sit downand explain to anyone the decisions IÕmmaking when they donÕt understand.Ó ÒBy spending more time questioningthe customer early on, thatÕs a betteruse of your time and theirs.Ó ASK MAGAZINE: For Practitioners by Practitioners 47 .Yy. ASK MAGAZINE: For Practitioners by Practitioners 44 Technology (MIT). be everywhere at once.I lovay,it was like they invent-ve much ASK talks with Tim Flores Tim FloresMassachusetts Institute of Technology. ASK MAGAZINE: For Practitioners by Practitioners 45 choice..WIt's funny,school I could havOkay,but there must havI changed a lot when I went into the Army. I got some discipline andmyself like,'Today,or this week,I'm going to speak in front of a group if I get the.You'vewas a member of the Tiger TWindver the trainingand we ran the train-.What'sAt NASA we havenvironment. Ythe way you review things. In private industry,depending on the size of the com-pany,yve process guidelines to follow. For example,a mid-size software company I know of, ÒBefore I came to MIT, I was constantlytrying to learn more about project man-agement and how to be a better leader.Ó 46ASK MAGAZINE: For Practitioners by Practitioners Did you ever feel like a fish out of water with these other project man-thought,'Okay,really. In govis very much in the eye of the public.We like to think of ourselves as setting thever-constrained.you achieve results in government,it doesn't always matter how you got there. Ie.Whenit safely,the ability not to play by the rulesHopefully,Well,lem is you must solve.problem you thought it was,

and then you find out you have to make many adap-customer early on,that's a better use ofyour time and theirs.The key is asking theright questions early.More often it's persuading your team,getting them to see the big pic-ture,aysPicture.' Y ÒIÕve always tried to stave off dissen-sion, so I will take the time to sit downand explain to anyone the decisions IÕmmaking when they donÕt understand.Ó ÒBy spending more time questioningthe customer early on, thatÕs a betteruse of your time and theirs.Ó ASK MAGAZINE: For Practitioners by Practitioners 47 .Yhopefully they understand your decisions. If they understand why I made a deci-.When you have dissen-sion in the ranks that's alwaalways tried to stave off dissension,so I will take the time to sit down and explainto anyalways agree with me,but they appreciate the effort I'm making and that mattersy. 46ASK MAGAZINE: For Practitioners by Practitioners Did you ever feel like a fish out of water with these other project man-thought,'Okay,really. In govis very much in the eye of the public.We like to think of ourselves as setting thever-constrained.you achieve results in government,it doesn't always matter how you got there. Ie.Whenit safely,the ability not to play by the rulesHopefully,Well,lem is you must solve.problem you thought it was,and then you find out you have to make many adap-customer early on,that's a better use ofyour time and theirs.The key is asking theright questions early.More often it's persuading your team,getting them to see the big pic-ture,aysPicture.' Y ÒIÕve always tried to stave off dissen-sion, so I will take the time to sit downand explain to anyone the decisions IÕmmaking when they donÕt understand.Ó ÒBy spending more time questioningthe customer early on, thatÕs a betteruse of your time and theirs.Ó ASK MAGAZINE: For Practitioners by Practitioners 45 choice..WIt's funny,school I could havOkay,but there must havI changed a lot when I went into the Army. I got some discipline andmyself like,'Today,or this week,I'm going to speak in front of a group if I get the.You'vewas a member of the Tiger TWindver the trainingand we ran the train-.What'sAt NASA we havenvironment. Ythe way you review thin

gs. In private industry,depending on the size of the com-pany,yve process guidelines to follow. For example,a mid-size software company I know of, ÒBefore I came to MIT, I was constantlytrying to learn more about project man-agement and how to be a better leader.Ó ASK MAGAZINE: For Practitioners by Practitioners 44 Technology (MIT). be everywhere at once.I lovay,it was like they invent-ve much INTERVIEW: TIM FLORES ASK talks with Tim Flores Tim FloresMassachusetts Institute of Technology. ASK MAGAZINE: For Practitioners by Practitioners 44 INTERVIEW: TIM FLORES ASK talks with Tim Flores Tim FloresMassachusetts Institute of Technology. Technology (MIT). be everywhere at once.I lovay,it was like they invent-ve much ASK MAGAZINE: For Practitioners by Practitioners 45 choice..WIt's funny,school I could havOkay,but there must havI changed a lot when I went into the Army. I got some discipline andmyself like,'Today,or this week,I'm going to speak in front of a group if I get the.You'vewas a member of the Tiger TWindver the trainingand we ran the train-.What'sAt NASA we havenvironment. Ythe way you review things. In private industry,depending on the size of the com-pany,yve process guidelines to follow. For example,a mid-size software company I know of, INTERVIEW: TIM FLORES ÒBefore I came to MIT, I was constantlytrying to learn more about project man-agement and how to be a better leader.Ó 46ASK MAGAZINE: For Practitioners by Practitioners Did you ever feel like a fish out of water with these other project man-thought,'Okay,really. In govis very much in the eye of the public.We like to think of ourselves as setting thever-constrained.you achieve results in government,it doesn't always matter how you got there. Ie.Whenit safely,the ability not to play by the rulesHopefully,Well,lem is you must solve.problem you thought it was,and then you find out you have to make many adap-customer early on,that's a better use ofyour time and theirs.The key is asking theright questions early.More often it's persuading your team,getting them to see the big pic-ture,aysPicture.' Y INTERVIEW: TIM FLORES ÒIÕve always tried to stave off dissen-sion, so I will take the time to sit downand exp

lain to anyone the decisions IÕmmaking when they donÕt understand.Ó ÒBy spending more time questioningthe customer early on, thatÕs a betteruse of your time and theirs.Ó ASK MAGAZINE: For Practitioners by Practitioners 47 .Yhopefully they understand your decisions. If they understand why I made a deci-.When you have dissen-sion in the ranks that's alwaalways tried to stave off dissension,so I will take the time to sit down and explainto anyalways agree with me,but they appreciate the effort I'm making and that mattersy. INTERVIEW: TIM FLORES ASK MAGAZINE: For Practitioners by Practitioners 45 choice..WIt's funny,school I could havOkay,but there must havI changed a lot when I went into the Army. I got some discipline andmyself like,'Today,or this week,I'm going to speak in front of a group if I get the.You'vewas a member of the Tiger TWindver the trainingand we ran the train-.What'sAt NASA we havenvironment. Ythe way you review things. In private industry,depending on the size of the com-pany,yve process guidelines to follow. For example,a mid-size software company I know of, INTERVIEW: TIM FLORES ÒBefore I came to MIT, I was constantlytrying to learn more about project man-agement and how to be a better leader.Ó 46ASK MAGAZINE: For Practitioners by Practitioners Did you ever feel like a fish out of water with these other project man-thought,'Okay,really. In govis very much in the eye of the public.We like to think of ourselves as setting thever-constrained.you achieve results in government,it doesn't always matter how you got there. Ie.Whenit safely,the ability not to play by the rulesHopefully,Well,lem is you must solve.problem you thought it was,and then you find out you have to make many adap-customer early on,that's a better use ofyour time and theirs.The key is asking theright questions early.More often it's persuading your team,getting them to see the big pic-ture,aysPicture.' Y INTERVIEW: TIM FLORES ÒIÕve always tried to stave off dissen-sion, so I will take the time to sit downand explain to anyone the decisions IÕmmaking when they donÕt understand.Ó ÒBy spending more time questioningthe customer early on, thatÕs a betteruse of your time and theirs.Ã