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I view the PM role akin the role a sweeper plays in curling. A good PM will clear the path for others on the team to do what they do best. Sometimes that's wran

by nicw 14y ago

I view the PM role akin the role a sweeper plays in curling. A good PM will clear the path for others on the team to do what they do best. Sometimes that's wrangling with devops so the developers can keep programming, or it's calling a meeting with stakeholders to brief them on potential issues before they get out of control. A good PM is offensive, not reactive and thats why a lot of times it seems like they're just calling meetings. They're generally the only person that interacts with all the different teams (management, QA, dev, IT) and so they can see the upcoming roadblocks. IF they get those solved beforehand that's worth some $$$ :)

otoburb 14y ago
I always think of "hand-eye coordination". Hand = Developers Eye = Customers, Marketing, C-staff (read: stakeholders) Coordination = Project managers
patrickyeon 14y ago
Just a tip, if you want to keep with your sports metaphors, and meant to say "a good PM is on the offensive", you probably meant "a good PM is proactive (acts to solve a problem before it shows up)". Describing someone as 'offensive' is saying there is something about them that offends you.
- nicw 14y ago
  ha, you're right, thanks. I'll leave as-is so your comment doesn't look garfield-minus-garfield.
- roel_v 14y ago
  "To be on the offensive" means "attacking something" or "being aggressive towards something", not that the person who is "on the offensive" offends somebody in the sense that that somebody's feelings are hurt - http://www.thefreedictionary.com/go+on+the+offensive http://www.thefreedictionary.com/go+on+the+offensive . It's arguable whether or not a PM should be that aggressive, but I'd say his expression made sense.
  - vacri 14y ago
    "A good PM is on the offensive" and "A good PM is offensive" are two different comments, the latter much more ambiguous and easy to misconstrue.
    - roel_v 14y ago
      Yes that's right, because the person I was replying to used "to be on the offensive" I didn't go back and check, but yes the OP used "offensive" which is quite different. My bad.

by nicw 14y ago

otoburb 14y ago

I always think of "hand-eye coordination". Hand = Developers Eye = Customers, Marketing, C-staff (read: stakeholders) Coordination = Project managers

patrickyeon 14y ago

Just a tip, if you want to keep with your sports metaphors, and meant to say "a good PM is on the offensive", you probably meant "a good PM is proactive (acts to solve a problem before it shows up)". Describing someone as 'offensive' is saying there is something about them that offends you.

nicw 14y ago
ha, you're right, thanks. I'll leave as-is so your comment doesn't look garfield-minus-garfield.
roel_v 14y ago
"To be on the offensive" means "attacking something" or "being aggressive towards something", not that the person who is "on the offensive" offends somebody in the sense that that somebody's feelings are hurt - http://www.thefreedictionary.com/go+on+the+offensive http://www.thefreedictionary.com/go+on+the+offensive . It's arguable whether or not a PM should be that aggressive, but I'd say his expression made sense.
- vacri 14y ago
  "A good PM is on the offensive" and "A good PM is offensive" are two different comments, the latter much more ambiguous and easy to misconstrue.
  - roel_v 14y ago
    Yes that's right, because the person I was replying to used "to be on the offensive" I didn't go back and check, but yes the OP used "offensive" which is quite different. My bad.