Talking to upper management about information technology resource consumption can be a tricky proposition. Resource consumption is complicated but upper management demands a simple story that makes business sense to them. This article explains how an effective manager of a storage management group frames the conversation.

I manage projects as an engineer. There are other people in my office that are sales people. They manage projects much differently.

Twenty percent of the participants arrive late to the weekly meeting you lead.

What do I recommend you do?

It's ironic that the Baseball Writers Association of America named Joe Girardi the National League's 2006 Manager of the Year. Giardi was recently fired by the Florida Marlins despite managing a young, low-rated team into contention. It seems his problem wasn't performance but rather communication. 

Are you overwhelmed by a mountain of email?

I suggest you take a page out of the playbook of my colleague Eric Sperley who knows how to ask for what he wants.

My article Drawing Out the Facts: The Art of the Discovery Interview was published in the July, 2007 issue of Better Software Magazine. The article explores how to conduct effective client interviews.

Are you in a relationship where no matter what action you take that you are admonished by a person whose approval you seek?

What do effective project managers realize?

Does management reject your ideas? A typical cause for rejection is a failure to frame the idea effectively. Frame your idea effectively and it becomes a proposal, which will demand consideration by management. What is the recipe and key ingredients for an effective proposal?

The social awkwardness of an extreme introvert -- a loner-- confounds most extroverts. Extroverts prefer using social interaction as a big part of the problem solving process while a loner prefers solving problems without social interaction.

Can a loner be a contributing member on a collaborative team?