An icy reception

I visited the Kube Hotel’s ice bar on Saturday and did a vodka tasting, drinking vodka cocktails out of glasses made of blocks of ice. I started off being reasonably tolerant to the -10 degree temperature, but after half an hour I was starting to notice that my fingers, wrapped around my block of ice glass, were no longer there. I think that’s why you’re only allowed in for 30 minutes at a time. It was an interesting experience and I wish I’d been round the table when Grey Goose had come up with the project of installing a room made of ice, complete with sculpture of the Statue of Liberty. My IT projects don’t seem half as interesting, although I imagine the working environment in my office is much more comfortable than having to supervise a team carving blocks of ice.

As the glasses are not reused and fluctuations in the air conditioning units could cause the whole thing to melt away, it’s a never-ending job. Writing my project management book feels a lot like that. Just when I felt it was complete, I realise the scale of the work still to do.

The actual writing part of the book is now done, but, like the development phase of a project, it’s not over yet. There is still a list of tasks like editing, getting copyright approval, commissioning artwork, developing the index and agreeing the cover. I have only recently realised that as projects go, this is a long one, and will not actually be finished until I hold a copy of the book in my hands. Even then it will not be completely over, as the post-production part of the project will be signings and speeches – and eventually the build up to a ‘Phase 2’ – another book.

Nevertheless, despite the hard work, I am enjoying the process and now the writing part is out the way the other tasks, although many, have shorter durations and I can quickly see how things are progressing. So watch this space for the grand announcement in November…