Feedback on the Webinar: Pareto, Patterns, Perception
Peter de Jager is a provocative Speaker,
Writer and Consultant. His primary focus in on how we manage change,
technology and the future. In addition to speaking at conferences
worldwide, he's also written monthly columns for Municipal World and
Computing Canada. His goal is always to question what we
think is so, and in so doing perhaps open up new opportunities. If you'd like permission to reprint any
of Peter's articles, please contact him directly. You can contact him at Or sign the Guest
Book and he'll get back to you. 
pdejager@technobility.com
Greetings, Investing time to listen/watch a webinar is risky business... I know that. You're busy, and time is precious. So the question is? Should you bother to attend any of the webinars we're offering on a monthly basis? It's a good question.
On Feb 28/Mar 1 2011 (time zone differences) we
offered two runs of 'Pareto, Pattern and Perception', we had about 290
people attend these webinars, after the sessions we asked for feedback. What
better way to help you decide whether to spend your time with us?
It's all below, the good and the 'bad' - though there are only 2-3
slightly negative comments amongst the pile of comments - see if you can
find them.
Cheers
Peter de Jager & Mark Mullaly
good work!
Interesting how Pareto Patterns apply to everything in life not just our workplace and we must rediscover what was determined 1,000s of years ago.
good session -- we need constant reminders of this stuff
Thank you, Peter, this was a great webinar! I liked especially the Bad vs Good in Change Management. I agree we need less of the Bad!
Interesting but do not see the segue from patterns to pareto principle; felt like two topics forced into one. Also common sense can only get you so far; sometimes specialists are required (maybe 20% of the time :))
These are great! Please keep up the great work!
An hour well spent.
"Thanks, Peter. Always enjoy your seminars. Enjoyed this one more than usual - lots of 'stuff' to consider! Found my mind taking off in different directions and had to force it back to your slide/discussion. May have to watch it again tonight.
I really like the quotes ! :)
It was good to hear and view the presentation. The value I receive from it is being able to disengage from the frenetic work environment I have decided to settle for and focus on some big picture concepts, frameworks from colleagues I respect. Thank-you.
"Peter,
As usual, very entertaining and there is always one really great gem!
Thank you for another one!
"Great webinar, thank you! - I took lots of notes.
"Important = common sense
Urgent = dollar and cents
In our microwave society urgent trumps important until important becomes urgent
Have a great day and thanks!
Great Presentation
Liked the red/teal slide. I might post that one above my desk, if I can get it to print and if that's OK with you.
I thought it was a terrific webinar. You are one of the best speakers. I always enjoy listening to all your presentations.
As always, it was an informative, interesting and entertaining hour. A statistician at heart, I was hoping for a bit more of the nuts and bolts of using Pareto as part of a problem solving toolkit. Still worth the time to hear what you did have to say about patterns and perception.
Superbly presented and and very eye-catchingly illustrated, thank you.
Good guy, but repeating himself.
Thanks a million for running this, it actually was a bit of a light bulb for me I think. The discussion on incrementally improving based on what you already know or can observe was the key.
"thanks for providing this webinar at a convenient time.
i liked the simple link between common sense and introducing change management. very well constructed and thought through.
do you have a schedule of topics that will be tackled over the coming months? do these webinars build upon each other?
i shall encourage my colleagues at pcubed to join next time.
thanks, matthew"
Thanks Peter & Mark. I found the seminar both interesting and worthwhile. I will be back! I also appreciated the confirmation that the Pareto 80/20 is more principle than a hard, universal mathematical formula as some appear to promote. Your view resonates with my experiences.
Great webinar! Very thought-provoking
Like it a lot - do you plan to do more AU-friendly sessions? I particularly like the way you brought things back to common sense, which, as we sadly know, is not very common...but you are right - the root question is: why do we do what we know we ought not to do? And yes, it's about our egos - but I've also got a
philosophical/religious answer to this which is a stronger than 'we are just idiots' (which is true, you know). keep up the good, thoughtful dialogues - it's good to be taken back to basics.
"Peter - Overall I enjoyed the hour, some good reminders, and I agree that Common Sense is key - it's just as I think it was Ben Franklin who said: ""Common Sense is not so common""...
Maybe my attention strayed - but I am not sure you did a great job at tying the concept/fact of patterns to the patterns of failure or success in projects. It almost seems to me you could have skipped most of the Pareto section with this presentation and spent more time on the project patterns of failure & success. Thanks - T"
This was my first webinar with you. I appreciate the effort to accommodate
the time zones (I am in Japan). I think the lesson is a valuable reminder... we already know the answer in many cases... we shoulda oughta wanna... but we don't. So, accept the consequence or lead the way we know is better.
Excellent thought provoking presentation Peter. It does come down to the discipline of doing what you know is right!
Perhaps a 'moral' metaphor might be a powerful? You don't refrain from stealing things
because it is convenient, you do it because it is the RIGHT thing to do! Why not apply your morals to your day-to-day role?
Have a good day!"
It is a great presentation. Informative and useful. Thank you for your effort. Do keep it up.
Enjoyed the session very much. There is always something to pick up what can be put into practice right away. My best 'nugget' was in a previous session about not stoping at the obvious solution but to think about at least 2-3 more. I started doing that right after and have every now and then a 'thank you Peter' moment.
Cheers!
thanks Peter - this is the 1st session i have attended of your material and I enjoyed the laid back, non nonsense approach. Your materials were kept simple which made improved the learning effectiveness. Thanks again.
Appreciate the time zone friendly timing.
Good content and slides
As always, great discussion - very much enjoyed and thanks for the Aussie/Kiwi time!
I thought this webinar was really great. I wish my CEO would listen and apply!
Excellent Stuff. Great points regarding "Common sense". FYI, My quote "Common sense is NOT common". You had made a BIG point, in putting in perspective regarding many training sessions that there are NO BIG SECRETS (except trainings, where NEW Core concepts are taught). I've felt many times, that I knew ALL Key the points of a training.. SO, the TAKE AWAY for me is "HOW DO I COMMUNICATE to the stakeholders about WHAT NOT DO do, if there has been a Precedence of FAILURE"... HOW to AVOID the RED STUFF! THANKS
"Thanks, will consider attending a future aus lunchtime session again
Appreciate the time and effort"
"Thanks for providing us in Australia and New Zealand an opportunity to listen and participate in your valuable webinars session. Love to have more in the future. Keep up with the great work
Sorry I joined late but it was excellent and it reinforces lessons learnt. I appreciate the opportunity to attend in A/P time. I hope this continues to be successful for all concerned
"The thing i have got mention is, you said we all know the thing but it is not in pattern and we are not doing the actual things what we know if we think.
That's the very nice speech. It will help people to improve their life in each step of day to day management. Thank you very much
Excellent, thoroughly enjoyed it. Well done Peter!
Agree there is no BIG SECRET.... but it's a great session to re-enforce some of the common sense in life! Thank you for creating this session for the Aussie/Kiwi.
Hi Peter
many tx - back to the earthquake recovery jobs.
Excellent to be reminded to do more
HI Peter, great presentation (again :-)) It is always good to go back to the basics and
realize that things can be simple if you allow them to be. I liked the ant trail example and how that plays into project management and day to day business.
I also appreciate the special Australia/NZ webinar time. I do hope you got the participant numbers to warrant you to continue using this time a lot.
Balance was excellent. ""there is nothing Common about Sense"" was my catch line for my staff.
The idea being to elevate common sense to elite status. I share your views.
The Webinar was very good. Presentation style was conversational and easy to relate to, very clear diction. I would attend more of this caliber.
As you say, much of it is common sense, but you conveyed it with eloquence and superb graphics. Thank you. The timeslot was also greatly appreciated.
Very interesting - more strategies for managing our managers from the bottom up wanted! Thanks!
Thanks for doing a special one for Australia, it is much appreciated.
I found it interesting and as you mentioned, its 'common sense' based what we know. A good point you made is that we tend to think the solution must more complex then it is to protect our egos. I agree totally with this. I now look for the common sense approach using the 'Good Change List'. Excellent presentation.
Thanks for that
If we hadn't just had a monster earthquake I'm sure you would have a lot more Christchurch people join!"
Thanks Peter, it's great to see common sense and wisdom being promoted over big secrets and information. If only common sense was a little more common! Am looking forward to your next webinar.
"Thanks Peter - as you mentioned ""common sense"" There's a good book by David Maister (of the Trusted Advisor fame) called ""Strategy and the Fat Smoker"" which covers a lot of the similar ""if we know what to do, why don't we do it"" territory.
One of the issues he covers is that of ""short term benefit"" gazumping a long-term strategy. So an
organization agrees to focus only on a particular market, but cash flow is tight and an ""off strategy"" opportunity comes in - what do you do?"
I enjoyed the content greatly, and loved the common sense theme. I did not see a place to ask questions during the webinar, not that I really had any.
Excellent talk as usual. Now if I can only remember what was said. :D
Thank You so much Peter. What was excellent was how simple it was. Pareto. (Not your work into it of course). I really loved the quotes. The issue I have is finding that 20% common sense item. Sent you an article I found called: The Death of Common Sense. My company is going from Office 2003 (Skipping Office 2007) and jumping to Office 2010. Mostly doing the "Red" things and very little teal things. Not sure if it will work. 2 trainers 20,000 employees. Convert by the end of June 2011. Right!! Bob
Sometimes we need to be reminded about common sense. Thanks!
Interesting discussion at somewhat high level.
That was great. Very helpful topic. Took a lot of learnings.
I enjoyed the unexpected "open mic session" between you and Mark prior to the webinar... the
eclectic and conversation tone was very enjoyable. Thx!~
It seems that the more I read, experience, learn about leadership, change management, project management, etc, the more I discover I already know.
Feedback: making a shift from the 'theory' of Pareto and the fact there is no big secret, might have been useful to transition on 'getting into action'. You touched on why people/organizations don't do the teal, but capitalize on this message with focus on putting the effort in 20% of behaviours that will yield 80% of what we want. How to do this??"
First timer at your webinars. Did find the topics very interesting. A lot of truth in it. Looking forward to the next one.
good!
Peter, I notice that you have a lot of gray hairs,.. which means that you have had a lot of life experiences. :) I think a younger person may not have had the experiences that they can use on how to handle a particular situation or how to attack the problem. By the way I also have a lot of gray hairs too. I think your comment about not spending the time to use the best practices, is what gets people, who should know better, into trouble. Maybe they are thinking, I can get away with it this time.
Nice presentation
As always, I appreciate the direction you take on these subjects, even though they are common sense as you say. Common sense isn't always so "common." I learned a few new ways of looking at some things. Such as the red and teal concept. I'm unfortunately experiencing that dichotomy as we speak in one aspect of our business. Thanks for the "light."
"Hi Peter, thank you for the presentation. The topic is good 'around the coffee table' discussion ;-)
Enjoyed it."
"Peter -
Your timing with this session is quite striking. One statement that you made which has rung true was to be true to one's self. And walk away, if there is is a conflict in integrity with an organization. It may not be what you expected it, but it was helpful for me to not feel obligated to fix something that I have little influence over. Better to use my energies to find a more honest fit. Thanks
Great presentation. Nice to have the time management stuff re-inforced ("To-Do Lists", "Arrive Early"). Thanks again. And yes, it was fun.
good webinar today, other than the little hiccup at the beginning. Thanks so much for putting it together. See you next month
"Very interesting combination of topics. A touch of Management Vs. Leadership, some patterns and recognition, personal and corporate integrity, as well as the challenges of corporate culture.
Often doing the right thing gets blurred by doing things right.
"As is the advice of one of my superiors, see the big picture to fit yourself in better, understanding the patterns and behaviours will help us manage change better = be it life or project management!!
You had put it right. Good work."
This is the first webinar I have been to. I happen to be reading a few books that were backed up by your comments. This information will be useful.
The Q&A was very interesting this time. I like that fact that you just tell it like is is. Thanks.
A very information session that put things into perspective. Its nothing that we don't already know about but it was the logical demonstration of putting things into
perspective in a logical sequence that was most helpful
I enjoyed this...although it is common sense, somehow I need to be reminded of it every once in a while! Thank you.
it's was great! thank you for the presentation!
Somebody said "Common sense ain't too common." I think what gets in the way is motives. If people are thinking about how to look good, common sense goes out the window. If people are thinking about what's best for business, common sense prevails. Also, happened to be reading your Truth Picks last night so more common sense related to quotes. Thanks for the insights.
"Hi Peter,
as you said it was all common sense, but anyway I appreciate that you reminded me about some valuable time management postulates. I practiced them less over the past few months.
"that was great, I enjoyed it. And of course I have learned a great deal.
And yes, it was all common sense :)
Regards from Ireland
Excellent!! I find your webinars so energizing; they apply to PM AND to life in general (is life more than "managing projects"??) Hearing an expert say that it's all common sense makes me feel like a genius, b/c I've believed that for a long time (and said it a time or two myself). I think you've hit the nail on the head when you say that we look for a 'magic bullet' instead of trusting our own guts b/c we want some place to lay the blame if we don't succeed. we don't want to take responsibility.
I haven't been able to attend for a long time - but made a concerted effort today - and it was worth it. Yes, it was "Common Sense", but i think you articulated it very well. I really loved the graphics, thought it was very visual and my takeaway was definitely the straightening of the journey.
Enjoyed and appreciated the variety of topics / thoughts that were tied together. It actually helped solidify some concepts for me that I hadn't thought of together before. Good real-life examples (e.g., ant trail) Well done!
Interesting discussion as always. Sometimes common sense doesn't seem so common, it was a useful reminder to look at what's worked in the past and do it again.
"Good presentation! Thank you.
Common sense is the ability to see something that lies in front of your eyes. (Thomas Huxley)"
Yes it's common sense, but it is still important to hear these things every now and then. Enjoyed the ants and Aristotle. True words of wisdom. Thx.
Great presentation - very clear and concise. Thanks :)
Great webinar: a breath of fresh air over lunch. I took note of the red and teal columns so that I can repeat the good actions and watch out for the red column!
"nothing is common about sense...
Worthwhile review of simple concepts. Thanks"
I like the approach you take that leads people to think and contemplate rather than absorb information. Thanks for such an interesting topic.
I really liked the presentation. I liked the style and it was encouraging. It is good to hear that 'you know this' and it is all common sense. I agree that we are typically so caught up trying to find the big secret that we forget the little things that are most important. It is a good reminder. I also liked the format of the presentation. The subject matter and presentation style work well together.
thank you very much. you do a great job.
I think you downplay the role of ""expression"" versus ""idea."" Repackaging/re-presenting common sense is a valuable skill in the presentation realm, akin to execution versus idea in the physical realm. We pay a lot of attention (and we should) to those who express ideas well, even if the ideas are NOT new.
Running out of space -- see email"
I liked it but it didn't go in the direction that I thought it would. Would be interested to know about the 80/20 rule as it applies to personal performance. i.e. 20% of salespeople make 80% of sales, 20% of executives receive 80% of compensation, etc. Why this winner take all aspect of our society?
Enjoyed it! Liked the Ant Hill comparison, loved the quotes you provided at the end of the webinar. Everyone needs to use the common sense they were born with, but, as a project manager, it is especially important to utilize this "tool".
"Peter and Mark,
Thank you for the presentation. I found it very useful. One advice that would be the hardest to follow is: do what you like to do at work. It isn't always given to us to do what we like, usually it is what the next project throws at us. However I will be focusing more on finding work I really like and performing well on all 20% that brings 80% of the benefits in any type of work situation.
Thank you once again"
good presentation. I liked the examples which highlighted how our innate knowledge of the subject matter.
Easy to comprehend and appreciate examples given to demonstrate message being communicated. Link to other topics - change management, leadership, and decision making. I would like to see some links to "EQI" topics as this is an area leadership is looking into for succession planning and career development. As well - managing the "aging" population with the younger generation. No so much the generation gap, but has pendulum swung too far?
Yes it was a lot of common sense :) but sometimes we need reminding since you can feel as though you should be doing something fancy, really earth shattering but common sense can get you a long way.
Thanks for a good presentation -
Interesting discussion of common sense. In hindsight, I was expecting more on the Pareto and Patterns. Good presentation
"Good seminar and very interesting.
"this the 1st one of your series that I've actually been able to attend and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks and I look forward to your next presentation.
Excellent presentation. I was impressed by how Peter packaged and delivered the information. I will definitely attend future presentations given by Peter.
"Webinar was great!!! Keep them up!
I think that more discussion on the 80% of the work we do that gives us only 20% of the benefit would be interesting. There is a difference between being busy and being productive. If people asked themselves 'what am I accomplishing today?' rather then 'what am I doing today?', productivity would rise substantially.
"Excellent presentation. Content was easy to follow and of course-made sense.
As I am relatively new to the Project Management world all of the information is critical to implement in achieving my goals. I will be
recommending it to my peers.
Thank you and I look forward to the next session."
At first I wondered where you were going with it, there seemed to be a lot of common sense:) phrases...then I realized that we were the ants who would eventually go in the straight line:) Good job!
Excellent presentation. Thank you for putting it all in context.
I always enjoy listening to Peter. Even if it is "common sense", it's reinforcement.
"This was the 1st webinar of yours I joined, but definitely not the last. Very original trains of thought, and most applicable indeed. I really enjoyed this. Thank you very much."
"Very interesting as usual. I missed a couple of minutes here and there and will try and catch them in the recording.
Thanks
Interesting presentation.
Interesting session.
Very interesting philosophical presentation. I liked the way you tied together the 3 subject items
"Outstanding Presentation. They are all informative and useful but this one was extremely entertaining. Maybe this topic hits home with me as I am a big time management fan. I agree with you though: keep it simple with a Todo list.
Thanks again!"
Very interesting...although I'll point out that as everyone's experiences are different there is no such this as common sense. Everything isn't common to everyone else and therefore what seems like common sense to some isn't obvious (or common) to others. Just a thought.
This was my first de Jager seminar. I was recently reviewing Chapter 8 of the PMBOK (Quality), and therefore had Pareto at the top of mind, so this seminar topic piqued my interest. Thanks for reminding us to use our common sense. It's an easy concept to 'forget'!
it was relaxing experience. I really do enjoyed listening
I always enjoy your presentations for the exact reason that was the theme of this one - Common Sense :-)
"Liked the different way of framing many of the things I tell myself and others.
Thank you"
Sure, it's all common sense. But it's good to hear common sense. To be reminded that we should use our common sense. Also, I like the six most common factors in success and failure of changes. It will be good to be able to pull out that list and use it to tell people "it's not just common sense - it's the collected wisdom of many people doing what we're trying to do."
Great as always Peter! I always get so much from your presentations. Your examples are so helpful. Thanks for all that you (and your team!) do!!
"Hi Peter - I enjoyed this one. It is common sense, but amazingly enough, we still find times to redo things even though we didn't have the time to do it right the first time. I got lots of reminders from this session and plan to keep some notes in a very visible spot to keep them fresh. Thanks for continuing to do the free sessions. Public purse strings have been tightened a lot for memberships and training dollars, and I would receive very little without your sessions."
Peter - I enjoyed it very much True it is all common sense :) It explains Michael Hammer, Steven Covey, Michael Porter, et al. Loved the quotes - one of my favorites is "Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent." -- Calvin Coolidge.
"Interesting to mix the idea of an eclectic subject with it also being common sense.
But nicely done, thanks"
I really enjoyed the webinar. I appreciate that the slide deck was not over populated with information and allowed me to concentrate on the dialogue rather than juggling both. Well done! Thank you.
Interesting topic. Liked the slides.
Very good presentation - as ever - very enjoyable to listen to and thought provoking...
Great webinar, looking forward for many more!
Enjoyed it and also your always upbeat enthusiasm. Good information. Helps us all to better see what we know ( Common Sense) and what is right in front of us. Thank you!
Very good. It was a lot of common sense, but we need to be reminded of the fact that much of management is common sense. Certainly most mismanagement can be avoided if a little common sense is applied. Thanks for taking the time and energy to share.
"Hi Peter,
Thanks for the information you gave us. While some of it is common sense (smiley) it needs to be heard and reinforced. I also received new information from you to put to use. Thanks again for your generosity.
"Thank you for providing this valuable service. I always enjoy your programs and think it is a true north setting at times, a different look, a different through away from the daily grind that helps reset internal focus.
Resources: