Elizabeth Houck

A word about Coffee

Yummmy.

Okay, this is more than one word. I like – ne- love a good cuppa joe. My current fav is an Woman Owned Ethiopian Coffee Ethiopia Amaro Gayo

This exceptional coffee is exported through Ethiopia’s only female
miller/exporter, an exceptional woman. Asnakech Thomas is one of the
most inspiring figures in Ethiopian coffee today. Native to the Amaro
region, Asnakech decided in 2005 to return to her homeland to improve
coffee quality at her mill and in local communities.She is one of the
few people to travel weekly between Addis and the coffee areas. The
Amaro Mountains are a small range separating the communities of Amaro
on the eastern slopes from Nechisar National Park and the lowland
tribal areas of Arba Minch in southwest Ethiopia, Sidama region. The
local coffee varieties, relatively light population, waterfalls and
highland bamboo forests are among the many unique features of the
area.

All Amaro Gayo coffee is certified organic. Prices paid for this
coffee are at the extreme high end of market, social programs are in
the works including possibilities for assistance with capacity
building and coffee job creation, schools, clean water and medical
care.

Altitude: 5200 feet
Processing Method: Natural
Grade: Strictly Hard Bean
Species: Arabica

Cup Characteristics: thick body, chocolatey, dried banana &
blackberry. sweet rich chocolate aftertaste, very clean and consistent

Ski Patrol – ouch

Okay, so, I’m a lowly candidate for Ski Patrol. And, a National Ski Patrol at that – which means we are volunteers… Training is tough, in fact it is the most physically exhausting thing I have ever done. Our trainers say this candidate class isn’t very good, but it’s not for lack of trying. I’m on the hill by 7am, dressed in uniform and ready to go by 7:20, morning meeting, safety topic, hill status, work to be done, and at the top of the hill by 8:15am. Then it’s the grunt work also known as ‘zone work.’ We put out the slow signs, benches for the snow boarders, check every run, check every piece of bamboo on the hill, tighten or put up rope lines, check every sign and lift tower pad; check every sled pack and pull out all the sleds to be positioned at the top of every major run, working until 9 or 9:30, when we begin sled training for three or so hours, then if we are lucky we get 15 minutes for lunch, and then it’s an afternoon of medical scenarios, in the snow, until 3:30pm when we start closing the hill – starting with the backside, checking every run, taking down sinage, calling out for straggelers, etc. then the front side – this last until about 5pm when we head in change back in to civilian duds and head down the mountain – reaching the bottom of the hill about 5:30pm. Oh yeah, we do this in ski boots.

Bathroom breaks- if you are lucky, but be prepared to ‘drop trou,’ behind a tree, if you can steal the time. If something is wrong don’t even think about speaking up or complaining because you will be immediately shut-up, followed by some kind of hazing. And, don’t ask for help because you will be put down and put in your place, followed by some kind of hazing… Did I mention we are volunteers??

updating blog

updating test

My Dog can sneeze on command – yep, that’s my boy…

He learned this trick – does it 99% of the time under all circumstances. It’s a great party trick and works really well when panhandling for treats…

Talk – Feb. 10, 2010 How to lead a cross-functional team when no one is a direct report

http://www.meetup.com/PM-PM-SIG-SiliconValley/calendar/12525411/

Companies highly value the experience and skill of project managers who can work across all departments in an organization. How many times have you seen “ability to work cross-functionally” in job ads? As project managers, the more we understand how to manage cross-functional teams and how to encourage collaboration, the more successful we are and the more successful our projects will be. Learn the fine points from Elizabeth Houck as she presents her five-key methodology (Goal, Role, Responsibility, Accountability and Reward) for dealing with such teams.

SPEAKER: Elizabeth Houck, Principal, Blue Egg Partners

Elizabeth Houck is an innovative senior marketing professional with more than fifteen years of experience in all phases of product management, including technology product research and development and go-to-market strategy.

Currently a Principal of Blue Egg Partners, she provides consulting services in cross-functional team leadership that enable her clients to bring products and services to market on plan and within budget. Ms. Houck holds a BCS degree from the College of Santa Fe, Santa Fe, New Mexico. She has completed UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business Product Management Certification and is also a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI).

MEETING FORMAT

7:00am – 7:50am Networking & Registration

7:50am – 9:00am Program Presentation

Complimentary coffee, tea and soda with meeting admission. Join us 7-8am for a no host breakfast.

Bee’s gift to me!

A post a day – expectations?

Expectations are an interesting thing. My father always said, not having too many was a good thing. I agree. Thanks Dad.

Creating Accountability in Cross-Functional Teams

http://myventurepad.com/MVP/92416

Categories: Business Transformation, Leadership, Managing Technology, Managing People, Startups

Tags: startups, leadership, collaboration, productivity, team building, go-to-market, project management, product management, program management, avoiding pitfalls, international product teams, project teams, small medium business, virtual teams, blue egg partners, managing innovators and technology, cross functional teams, cross functional team management The 4th of the 5 Keys to Successful Cross-functional Team Leadership

Creating Accountability in Cross-Functional Teams

The 4th of the 5 Keys to Successful Cross-functional Team Leadership

Over the years, I have brow-beat, begged, babied, and over-rewarded just to get team members to be accountable – the fact of the matter is you can’t force accountability. Team members must make themselves accountable, not just to themselves but to the team. The level at which people are accountable to your project depends on their esteem and shared vision with the team, company and customer.

Accountability is the glue that holds cross-functional teams together – period. Google “accountability” and you get lots of lofty hints, practicum, and babble for making people accountable. Truth is, if a team member isn’t accountable, you CAN’T make them accountable. But you CAN address the symptoms before the first team meeting.

Team Accountability Exercise

Before the first team meeting, try this exercise: Simply ask all team members to email you a one paragraph overview of their primary roles and responsibilities on the team. Make it due a few days before the first team meeting. Some team members will complete the paragraph the day it is assigned, some when it’s due, some by the first meeting, and some won’t do it at all. This will give the team leader a spot on assessment of who will be accountable and who won’t before the first meeting. At the first meeting address accountability issues as a team, again in the goal setting process, and then on an individual basis as part of roles and responsibilities.

At the point that someone has missed a deadline, or shown other symptoms of an accountability deficit, the root cause can be traced to organizational, structural, personal or situational. The tools available to you depend on the root cause, the duration of the project, and the importance of the participant. If you triage the root cause early, and take necessary action to align the team to alleviate root cause, loyalty will be the result.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to accountability:

– Have a solid project plan in place. If tasks and deliverables are not communicated, documented, and measurable they are NOT accountable.

– Instill open collaboration and communication in and amongst team members. Team members accountable to their peers have a higher level of accountability.
– Inspire and motivate vision, innovation, creativity and performance in the team.

– Understand root cause of accountability deficit; take extenuating circumstances into account.

– Have the autonomy and authority as team leader to address an under-performing team member. (Important when the team member is not a direct report.)

– Rewards and consequences must be genuine and visible. (More on this in Key 5 – Reward)

Next time, Key 5 – Reward; and as always, your feedback, comments, suggestions are welcome.

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