Luigi Rondanini Consultant

When AI is still not up to its role... Is your girlfriend inside?

My latest article about this sensitive topic.

An advice for those who want to apply to #CivilService positions

In my long career as a professional in charge of a project, I've realised a fundamental truth: no two projects are ever the same. I've never run a project the same way twice nor applied identical solutions across different scenarios. Why? Because I've never worked with the same team or organisation or had the same issue twice. The desire to apply a single, "proven" solution to various problems doesn't align with the spirit of any project management framework. Each project is unique, shaped by its context, team dynamics, and organisational culture. Instead of trying to remember and replicate what worked in Company A with Team X, I've learned to focus on the issue at hand. Time moves on, people change, and companies evolve. What worked brilliantly last year might fall flat today. My advice? Embrace adaptability. Analyse each new situation with fresh eyes. Draw from your experience, but don't be bound by it. The most effective project managers can read the room, understand the unique challenges, and craft tailored solutions. Your toolkit should be diverse and flexible. Your strength lies not in applying a single method repeatedly but in your ability to select and adapt the right tools for each unique situation. This adaptability is crucial not just in project execution but also when discussing your approach with potential employers or clients. When asked for my view on handling a particular issue in meetings or interviews, I've learned to first ask about the context. Jumping straight into explaining how I solved a similar problem elsewhere can be risky. What worked in one environment might sound completely alien or inappropriate in another. There's a real danger of either minimising the challenge or proposing an over-engineered solution, which can be detrimental to securing a job or contract. So, my final advice: Before you write an answer, please ask some questions. Understand the specific context, constraints, and goals. This will demonstrate your adaptability and thoughtfulness and ensure that your proposed solutions are genuinely relevant and valuable to the situation at hand. #ProjectManagement #Adaptability #Leadership #ProfessionalGrowth

Product Owner vs Product Manager...

Agile is not only for software development.

#crowdstrike Following yesterday's mishap, let's call it like this, I have read of people accusing the developers, while some pointed the finger at the testers for not having spotted the issue. In my opinion, the issue could have been detected at many stages of the software development process. Let me list them in bullet points. 1. Requirements analysis 2. Design phase 3. Development/coding 4. Code review 5. Unit testing 6. Integration testing 7. System testing 8. User acceptance testing (UAT) 9. Performance testing 10. Security testing 11. Regression testing 12. Testing with staging or pre-production environment There are traversals for every stage, and hence bugs encountered in any of these stages can be addressed before it goes on to production. What these stages are, and how many there actually are can obviously depend on the specific development methodology (and practices) used by a team or organization. But, let's say it, it was a massive Eff Up! (continues in the comments)

Professionals often face the same challenge: to pursue what they enjoy or to meet their commitment to duty. Which comes first, work or love? Pursuing work aligned with our passions can lead to: ·      Increased job satisfaction ·      An increased level of creativity and innovation ·      A greater resilience in the face of challenges ·      A sense of purpose and fulfilment On the other hand, embracing our professional duties offers: ·      Stability and financial security ·      Opportunities for growth and skill development ·      A strong work ethic and reliability ·      Respect from colleagues and superiors In my experience, the most successful professionals find ways to combine passion and duty. Here are some practical options. ·      Seek roles that align with your values and interests ·      Find creative ways to inject passion into your daily tasks ·      Use your sense of duty to push through when passion wanes ·      Continuously learn and adapt to keep your work engaging And here’s how I have seen it myself. I've always wanted to see the world – even from a child’s perspective, the idea of a life of banking, sitting at a desk looking at numbers on screens, moving money around, handling payroll and cash and currency felt like the antithesis of my dream. No way. But I looked for a way to make the system work for me and not against me. I found it in opportunities to travel, initially in Italy and then abroad. In addition, I never stopped writing. Creative thinking and maintaining a beginner’s mind allowed me to combine banking, my day job, with my longing for travel. My story tells that, with the right attitude, we might discover that some things we would love to include in our lives can easily be accommodated with our professional responsibilities. Remember that passion alone is rarely sufficient for lifetime success and that duty alone can lead to burnout. The challenge is balancing the two so that you don’t stray too far from who you are or your talents but instead tap into your passions to do so sustainably for years to come. So what do you think? How can someone reconcile passion and duty on the job? Let me know in the comments section. #CareerAdvice #ProfessionalDevelopment #WorkLifeBalance

Driving Change in the Nose of Resistance My time at Company X. As an organisational change manager, I know firsthand that implementing changes can be hard work, particularly when pushback from management and staff is felt. Yet, how I was treated at Company X taught me some critical lessons on surviving and succeeding in these scenarios and driving successful transformation efforts. Upon arrival, it became clear that significant process improvements and structural changes were necessary to stay competitive. However, the prevailing mindset was one of resistance, with management and employees adhering to the status quo. Overcoming this resistance required a strategic approach, but the empathy I brought to the table truly made a difference. Here are the steps I followed: One of the first steps I took was to build trust. I did this by establishing relationships with key stakeholders, understanding their concerns, and meeting them where they were. This approach opened the lines of communication and laid the foundation for our future work together. Crafting A Strong Vision: Together with the leadership team, we created a robust vision for what this organisation could look like in 12-24 months. We discussed the benefits of change, such as better efficacy, happier customers, and getting up in the morning with a smile. Finding Change Champions: I looked for people who deeply understood what needed change and were prepared to advocate for that change. These champions of change helped generate momentum and advocated becoming a national pilot for others in their teams. Honest Communication: Communicating openly and honestly at least weekly was essential. I maintained transparency about the process with employees, addressed their fears and pains, and celebrated our progress. Training and Supporting: I offered training so employees could quickly adjust to the new normal. This balance was to foster training, mentoring programs, and continuous coaching to help all players emerge with the required abilities necessary for succeeding in a new habitat. These efforts helped move the needle from resistance to openness over time. With these changes, people started to see the value brought and how it benefited their working day, leading them to be more active in driving change. While it was not without challenges, I am pleased with what we achieved. The organisation was set up to allow it to thrive moving forward amidst fierce competitive pressures, both through streamlined processes and structure and, as importantly, culturally. If you are encountering change resistance at your organisation, remember that it can be overcome by patience and empathy, as long as you maintain a well-thought-through strategy. What do we experience or feel about managing change in tough times? Share your thoughts in the comments! #ChangeManagement #OrganizationalChange www.rondanini.net