Cross-Group Collaboration Training Tomorrow
With everyone back from vacation, my project has kicked into high gear. I've not been as good as I should be on posting, but things are a little crazy.
I will fill you in on a training session that I am going to tomorrow. It is called "Cross-group Collaboration" and is apparently one of the hottest classes at MS. I have learned that working as a PM at Microsoft requires working extensively with other groups (e.g., test, marketing, product management, documentation, localization, etc.) All these groups have different drivers, and although we are all working toward the same goals, it is sometimes difficult to get the other groups to work with the same urgency that you have, especially when they are getting similar requests from 10 different PMs.
This class will hopefully provides some tips about how to make this situation work for both teams. If nothing else, it ensures that all the PMs that are communicating and negotiating are doing so from a similar frame of reference.
I'll post later what I learned in this class. In the meantime, I'll mention that I've been re-reading the classic book "Getting to Yes" by Roger Fisher and William Ury. This is a great reference book for negotiating, and I can personally attest to the value of its recommendations.
