Josh
The Not So Quiet Genius of Herb Wasserman
Herb recognized that clients are “snot-sucking bastards with the IQ of lumpy fucking gravy.”
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ASTUTELY OBTUSE
Snark, insight, and strong language
Welcome to Astutely Obtuse, a site dedicated to discussing the obvious in a snarky way. The business world and project management aren't the optimistic utopia often expressed by colleges and instructors with certification bodies. Astutely Obtuse is our way of discussing what happens when things go to absolute shit.
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Jer
- May 20
- 6 min
Why Your Project Team Sucks: Your Stand-Ups are Alive, with the Sound of Jargon
Prioritization by categorization probably isn’t going anywhere.
Josh
- Aug 21, 2023
- 12 min
Case Studies | The Toxicity of the Shitty
Is that fucking toddler being enabled by the CEO? Are the people being promoted incapable of saying no?
Josh
- Aug 14, 2023
- 7 min
Gaps, Bridges, Just-The-Tip, and New Kinks: Why Only Going Half-Way Will Fuck You
My first question was why an organization would just try to recreate the shitty manual process
Astutely Obtuse Staff Writer
- Apr 24, 2023
- 7 min
Beyond Agile: Part 3 | Introducing the Theatre Model
A few years ago, I was introduced to a novel methodology called the Studio Model. It’s a true work of genius and is a fantastic place...
Astutely Obtuse Staff Writer
- Apr 17, 2023
- 10 min
Beyond Agile: Part 2 | The PMO: Definition of a Diva
Now that we’ve discussed some of the key and support players in a PMO, it’s time to start to define what players you need when you are...
Astutely Obtuse Staff Writer
- Apr 10, 2023
- 13 min
Beyond Agile: Part 1 | Slow Your Roles
The very first thing we need to discuss here is one regarding what roles are important to fill when forming a new project team. We are...
Astutely Obtuse Staff Writer
- Apr 3, 2023
- 3 min
Beyond Agile: Part 0 | Before We Start
I would like to register a complaint with the Department of Standardization of Business Best Practices, Pomposity, and Cursed Fro-Yo...
Jer
- Mar 16, 2023
- 9 min
Your Project Teams Sucks: Part 7 | Your Processes are Bad, and You Should Feel Bad
If a process is so loosely defined that I can make a valid argument that something isn’t my job, even if it is, you have a problem.
Jer
- Mar 13, 2023
- 6 min
Your Project Teams Sucks: Part 6 | You Follow the Philosophy of an Aging Rock-Star
How does an octogenarian piece of shit fit in with your project team sucking?
Astutely Obtuse Readers
- Mar 6, 2023
- 8 min
Tales From the Fringe: He Didn't Just Say What I Think He Did, Did He Edition
We asked various project professionals to share their horror stories. We asked, “what is a time a client said something that left you...
Jer
- Feb 19, 2023
- 8 min
Your Project Team Sucks: Part 5 | The Perfect Hire: Listen All Y’all It’s Self-Sabotage
They don’t actually care about your experience, they just use it as shorthand for “doesn’t need instruction.”
Jer
- Feb 8, 2023
- 7 min
Why Your Project Team Sucks: Part 4 The Whirlwind Romance with Tech-Debt
I told our PM that if we don’t do it the right way now, we’ll never get around to it. It’s just how we work, tech-debt is never revisited.
Jer
- Feb 2, 2023
- 6 min
Why Your Product Team Sucks: Part 3, Everything is an Emergency-Top Priority
“If everything is an emergency top priority, then nothing is an emergency top priority.”
Sound familiar?
Josh
- Jan 28, 2023
- 4 min
Cordially Combative: Dealing with a Client Who Thinks They are the Main Character
It goes way beyond being passive-aggressive. It’s just aggressive; aggressive wrapped up in a delightful Disney Princess voice.
Jer
- Jan 25, 2023
- 6 min
Why Your Project Team Sucks: Part 2 Your Product Owner is Secretly Detective Colombo
He wasn’t paying attention during the planning phase because he was thinking about quitting.
Josh
- Jan 24, 2023
- 5 min
Strategic Misrepresentation or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Lie
I say pizza shouldn't be on fire, but, you say, it's better than it showing up raw, frozen, or not at all!
Jer
- Jan 16, 2023
- 8 min
Why Your Project Team Sucks: Part 1 The Trust Gap
There’s a line in the email that stands out that leaves me distressed: “I can’t seem to get the developers to do what I want them to do."
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