ProjectSteps

Office Gossip

2012-02-13T09:30:00.001-05:00

This Soviet war poster conveys the message: "Don't chatter! Gossiping borders on treason" (1941). According to Marilyn Haight, at BigBadBoss.com Office Politics “is the use of one's individual or assigned power within an employing organization for the purpose of obtaining advantages beyond one's legitimate authority.” Those advantages may include access to tangible assets, or intangible

The Perfect (IT) Project Manager

2012-02-06T07:13:00.000-05:00

I have a book entitled “What Makes a Good Project Manager” by James S. Pennypacker and Jeannette Cabanis-Brewin. In the book, there is a reference to a ComputerWorld article that discusses “The Perfect Project Manager”. The consensus of the article was in the world of Information Technology (IT) there are three general areas of Project Management competency: Technology, Business, and Behavior

Simple Problem Management Tips

2012-01-30T10:21:00.000-05:00

Stand up for your team members. If other team members, individuals, or groups outside your team are leveling unfair criticism on your team, get out in front of the issue and defend your team. Admit your mistakes. Do not allow pride or ego to prevent you from admitting your mistakes. Take charge when needed. Some situations will solve themselves; others may require you to step in. Know

Top Ten Project Management Trends for 2012 by ESI

2012-01-24T08:23:00.002-05:00

ESI Announces Top 10 Project Management Trends for 2012 Collaboration Gains Importance as Project Complexity Grows ARLINGTON, VA, USA – Jan. 5, 2012 – As the project environment grows in complexity, project management will require team, stakeholder and executive collaboration in 2012 like never before. On-the-job application of training, custom-made project approaches, innovative project

Ten Keys to Civility

2012-01-15T19:47:00.000-05:00

A local foundation here in Florida, USA has developed a set of "Ten Keys to Civility". These are a perfect set of guiding principles for the project manager. Click here to view their website and find out more. Respect Others - Honor other people and their opinions, especially in the midst of a disagreement. Think Positively - Keep an open mind and assume others have good intentions.Pay

Quick Tips for the New Week

2012-01-09T08:14:00.001-05:00

Get up earlier Go to bed later Work harder Finish what you start Learn one new thing Renew one contact Ask, "How can I help you?" at least once Make yourself visible Be of good cheer Say "Thank You" at least once a day Repeat tomorrow

Reminders for the Project Manager

2012-01-03T14:40:00.000-05:00

Show appreciation - thanking people for their assistance is not only the right thing to do it is expected. Listen effectively - think before speaking. Listen attentively. Make the person feel like they are the only thing you are focusing on. Give credit to others - always give credit where credit is due. Don't be negative - negative people can kill team creativity. Eliminate them from

Thought for the Day

2011-12-02T14:50:00.001-05:00

Obey the principles without being bound by them. Bruce Lee

Politics and Projects

2011-11-28T09:59:00.001-05:00

Here is a list of things to keep in mind when managing projects in a highly politicized environment: Learn to negotiate from a position of strength Do everything you can to educate those around you about Project Management. Stress the benefits and overcome the objections by pointing to your successes. Master the art of influence. Understand that masterful politicians are sometimes helpful

The Culture of Project Management

2011-11-07T11:07:00.000-05:00

Is the culture in your organization in chaos? A great first step an organization can take is to ensure that their project leaders are trained and fluent in the discipline of Project Management. Also, and most importantly, senior management must understand and embrace the value of project management, and commit to support the process of implementing project management throughout all levels of

PMO Checklist

2011-11-01T07:31:00.001-04:00

If your organization is planning to start up a PMO, you might want to look at the points below. Identify the participants and their rolesIdentify potential project team members as well as the major players in the user community that will test and except the final product or service. Ensure the Sponsor is engaged and has signed the Project CharterAssign the project manager earlyThe Project

Steve Job's Stanford Commencement Address - 2005

2011-10-10T13:02:00.000-04:00

Text of the Stan Commencement address delivered by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, on June 12, 2005. Video of Steve Job's Commencement Address I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation.

Things We Say...

2011-09-30T14:02:00.000-04:00

Wisdom from Dr. Bob Moordhead?

2011-09-12T12:47:00.001-04:00

The piece below by George Carlin Dr. Bob Moorehead (see here) has been distributed around the Internet for several years. I thought it was worth posting here again for people that haven't read it. Very profound, very true, very sad. "The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways , but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less,

Listen Up!

2011-09-01T08:31:00.001-04:00

I used to work for a guy that spent most of his time during staff meetings and one-on-one conversations playing with his Blackberry. He never really cared what others were saying because his responses to questions and his off-hand comments would always deflect to what he wanted to discuss and rarely would he address the other person's ideas or inquiries. I still think of him as one of the most

What is Your Leadership Competency

2011-08-22T14:36:00.000-04:00

Pass this out to your peers and have them send you their feedback. RATING SCALE - 1 – Strongly Disagree, 2 – Disagree, 3 – Neither Agree or Disagree, 4 – Agree, 5 – Strongly Agree 1. Effectively engages others to improve service delivery and follow-through on problem resolution. (Service Delivery) 2. Positively influences the team to translate customer needs into valued deliverables (i.e.

Project Sponsors Are a Risk

2011-08-12T10:52:00.000-04:00

Enterprise information technology (IT) applications can be difficult to implement, and often don’t deliver on their promises. Why is this? I believe the number one reason these projects fail to deliver on their promises is the lack of a strong, engaged, focused, and available executive sponsor. IT customers are demanding more from their technology, and want results that help them reduce their

In Search of Excellence

2011-08-01T13:11:00.000-04:00

Good post by Tom Peters the author of the blockbuster book "In Search of Excellence". Tom writes: "In response to a Tweet, I summarized In Search of Excellence—and thence the last 30 years of my professional life—in less than 140 characters. In Search of Excellence basics in 127 characters including quotation marks and spaces: "Cherish your people, cuddle your customers, wander around, 'try it'

Good Habits

2011-07-19T17:33:00.000-04:00

‘Your net worth to the world is usually determined by what remains after your bad habits are subtracted from your good ones.’ ~Benjamin Franklin

Organizations and Project Failure

2011-07-18T10:53:00.000-04:00

Studies have shown there are lots of out of control projects in organizations. One of the contributing factors to this fact is the lack of qualified project management professionals. Many organizations tag people and assign them to run projects even though they have little to no project management experience. We know that training alone does not make a project manager. It takes years of

Negotiating with Minimal Conflict

2011-07-06T13:24:00.001-04:00

In the book "Field Guide to Project Management" by David I Cleland, there is a discussion on page 282 about "Conflict in Negotiations". As the book mentions, PMI (the Project Management Institute) outlines eight project management functions that can be a source of conflict. To paraphrase from the book, the areas are: Scope: what is to be done (results, products, services) Quality: what

Good List of YouTube Videos for Business and Project Management

2011-06-27T17:36:00.000-04:00

I don't link to many external websites, but I like the list of YouTube videos Molly Cunningham has put together on her site. Click here to check out her site

Communication Tips

2011-06-27T08:02:00.000-04:00

How are your project communications? How do others perceive you? How do you perceive yourself as a communicator? Let us review some rules of communication that will help us better manage our projects. When making presentations know your: OBJECTIVE – Goal, Purpose, Destination LISTENER – Know facts about the group, the group expectations, the key people APPROACH – Premise, Strategy, Theme,

The Absent Executive

2011-06-21T08:15:00.000-04:00

Ever had a project that begins with strong executive/senior management support and over time that support fades? The symptoms of executive disintrest are: Executives/senior management don't ask questions during status meetings or stop coming to the meetings Executives/senior management lack a sense of urgency regarding "your" project Executives/senior management become more confused and/or

The Dozen Truths (for Project Managers)

2011-06-13T11:09:00.000-04:00

More wisdom from Tom Peters. Check out his website for lots more. 1. Insanely Great & Quirky Talent 2. Disrespect for Tradition 3. Totally Passionate (to the Point of Irrationality) Belief in What We Are Here to Do 4. Utter Disbelief at the BS that Marks "Normal Industry Behavior 5. A Maniacal Bias for Execution and Utter Contempt for Those Who Don't "Get It" 6 Speed Demons 7. Up or Out. (