Last November I invited visitors to this web site and other PM discussion sites to share “one simple thing…” that could improve projects and/or project management (PM). Many smart people with lots of different PM experiences took the time to think about, then respond to, this invitation.  This free e-book anthology is a collection of these responses. It includes:

• Full-blown articles by guest bloggers published on this website
• Comments by this website’s visitors
• Comments posted on LinkedIn’s “PMChat” group
• Comments posted on this discussion on Focus (Focus.com).

My heartfelt “Thanks!” to all of you who were kind enough to create and share your thoughtful responses to this challenge!  And I hope you find this anthology to be a thought-provoking and valuable resource.

(Apple iPad users NOTE:  After you’ve downloaded this epub file to your computer, please see Using iTunes to add ePub files to iBooks for detailed info about loading the file onto your Apple device.)

[book excerpt…]

Best Practice: Consciously choose your attitude.

“We cannot choose our external circumstances, but we can always choose how we respond to them.”  — Epictetus in The Enchiridion

“From the most simple task to the most complex, if you are not in a state of either acceptance, enjoyment, or enthusiasm, look closely and you will find that you are creating suffering for yourself and others.”   — Eckhart Tolle in A New Earth

Take another look at the Tolle quote above. The selection in bold tells the whole story. The graphic below illustrates how one man’s thrashing against reality – his self-chosen misery – is creating suffering for himself and others!

So what should this guy be doing? Well, according to Tolle, he only has three choices.

1. He can accept his situation and stop wasting energy fighting against it. (This will allow him to think more clearly and figure out how to make things better.)
2. He can find something to enjoy about the situation.
3. He can become enthusiastic about the situation.

Any of these choices will make things better for himself and those around him.

Now when you think about it, he actually has a fourth choice: He can remove himself from the situation by simply quitting his job. That is, he can go somewhere else and do something else that won’t make him so unhappy. But if he can’t quit or remove himself, then he must accept, enjoy, or become enthusiastic about his situation. To thrash around against reality, bemoaning the situation and spilling negative energy all over other people, is simply stupid. Worse, it saps away energy that could be used to make the changes that could improve things.

So the next time you find yourself ranting and raving and thrashing around against reality, refer to the chart above.  See if you can’t reduce your stress and make things better for everyone around you by consciously choosing a different attitude!

There’s more about how you can “Consciously Choose Your Attitude,” in the 3rd part of The Project Management Minimalist… The People Stuff… You can also check out my 18-minute podcast, Consciously Choose Your Attitude. Download it from – http://www.inspiredprojectteams.com/?p=1026

Related Blog Posts, Podcasts, & More

• A New Earth: Are You Ready to be Awakened? (Eckhart Tolle & Oprah)
• Practice Mindfulness
• Consciously Choose Your Attitude
• Accept What Is
• 10 Specific Actions That Can Help You Become Happier
• Become a Project Management Minimalist

David Emerald, Creator of TED (The Empowerment Dynamic)

(The following article is part of our One Simple Thing…to Improve Projects series. It was contributed by David Emerald, the creator of TED — The Empowerment Dynamic.  David is the author of The Power of TED* book, an executive coach, and uplifting keynote speaker who lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife and business partner, Donna.

In a nutshell, TED provides a framework for building better, more empowered relationships. The Power of TED materials, as well as David’s workshops, are both inspirational and practical!  TED enlightens and encourages those who practice it to reach new levels of collaboration.)  

[A personal note: "I've found that TED provides a unique framework to view and improve both my business and personal relationships. I was so excited to share TED's potential for project teams that I created the blog post/podcast Shift from Drama to Empowerment. Thanks, David, for the wisdom & the inspiration!"  -- Mike Greer]

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My number one “simple thing” is to adopt a Creator Orientation.

Projects are put in place to create outcomes. However, in the process, problems are inevitably going to arise. When they do, they can easily pull us – individually and as a team – into what I call the Victim Orientation. In this mindset, which is often the “default” in organizations, we are problem-focused; anxiety-based and reactive.

By adopting a Creator Orientation, we stay focused on the outcome(s) we are creating; are passion-motivated; and take the baby steps necessary to accomplish the project.

Baby steps can include solving problems. However, rather than merely reacting to the “problem du jour,” we can identify, prioritize, and get to the root cause of those challenges that must be overcome to create the outcomes we envision.

To learn more about the Creator Orientation, check out the TED Tools section of the TED website. 

Subscribe today & get a Bonus zip file containing 15 PM articles or tools in PDFform (88-pages total!) plus a 37-minute PM podcast!

View Previous Issues of the PM Minimalist Update Online:

• March 22, 2011
• April 13, 2011
• May 17, 2011
• June 21, 2011
• July 26, 2011
• August 12, 2011
• September 14, 2011
• October 25, 2011
• November 29, 2011
• December 31, 2011

Whoo Hoo!! The entire Project Management Minimalist Collection is now “in the cloud” and ready to download to your favorite e-reader, tablet,  or other mobile device.  The Project Management Minimalist book, Mentor (scripted meeting guides), Tutorial Videos, and MP3 audios can now be used with your Kindle, iPad, or any other device running the free Kindle App.   Use these team power tools to organize your project, run team meetings, train your PM newbies, educate clients & stakeholders, and generally stay on top of your PM game — Minimalist style!

Click here to see the full list of what’s available, brief overview videos, and links to product pages at Amazon.

Lindsay Scott

(The following article is part of our One Simple Thing…to Improve Projects series. It was contributed by Lindsay Scott. Lindsay is a Director of Arras People, the UK’s project management recruitment specialists.

Lindsay started the company with a colleague 10 years ago. Prior to that she worked within PMO for Hewlett-Packard in the UK. Lindsay also blogs at How to Manage a Camel on project management and recruitment issues. You can also follow Lindsay on Twitter @projectmgmt.)

[NOTE: Lindsay's organization is now conducting their Arras People Annual PPM Census. So stand up and be counted by completing their brief online survey.]

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“What is one simple thing that can improve projects and/or project management?”

 Put the emphasis on management back into project management.

‘Management’ and ‘manager’ are big words that are often overlooked when thinking about project management. So often we concentrate on the project. Yet in simple terms projects are all about people and if we want to achieve our goals, we need great managers, managers of people.  

Is it a simple thing to emphasize the management in PM? I think so — especially if it is considered during the hiring process when organizations are looking for new project managers.

When organizations set out to look for new project manager’s their job specification will include role and responsibilities, success criteria, essential and desirable skills, etc. However if we take a closer look at the job specification there will generally be an emphasis on project management techniques, methods, tools and qualifications. When it comes to the managerial competencies like leadership, team management, communication and conflict management, these are generally tucked away somewhere near the bottom of the specification.

The behavioural skills and characteristics that are required to be an excellent manager within this organization are often relegated to a bullet point or two! Is this because defining behavioural skills is hard? Or is it because we have got sucked into the project mechanics which are much easier to list?  Assessing these skills in an interview is harder still and that is why I believe so many organizations steer away from really focusing on them in any great detail.

Back in 2010, in Arras People’s Benchmark Report*, 1500 project management practitioners were polled on project management competencies. We wanted to find out which competencies were the most important to a project management practitioner. For a project manager, the order of importance (most important first) in competencies were:

• planning and organising;
• communication skills;
• relationship management;
• adaptability;
• leadership;
• the technical skills of project management.

The most important competencies from the project manager’s view are all the basic managerial skills you would expect to see in any good manager. In the 2003 book The New Manager’s Handbook seven skill areas were identified to perform the role of manager effectively. These were: communication, interpersonal skills, presentation skills, developing other people, change management, strategic management and time management. These are all important core skills that should form a firm foundation for the project manager.

So reconsider the hiring organization that is just about to select and interview candidates for a project management post: Are they putting the cart before the horse? Is the assumption all too readily made that a practitioner who can demonstrate “the technical skills of project management” will by default have the necessary “management skills”?

My proposal is that we get back to basics. Hiring companies first need to look closer at their organizational culture and define better what kind of manager they need. “Cultural fit” is a term that is often bandied about to ensure organizations get the right people working for them. But in reality what does this really mean? What style of management works well in the organization? We need to benchmark our great managers to see what characteristics and skills they actually possess. What kind of teams do we have? How do these people like to be managed? What do our customers like about the people we have working for us?

The selection and interviewing process should be turned right on its head! It should focus on the core competencies of management before looking at the project-specific experience. We select interview questions that really focus on leadership, team management and relationships etc. We devise scenarios and tests that are aimed at really understanding the candidate’s core management skills first and their project management skills a close second. We take seriously any profiling tools that are out there that can give us a greater insight into personality, leadership style, team fit etc.

We place a greater importance on the core management skills that are displayed by the candidate and are evident throughout the recruitment process. Once we are satisfied that we have a great manager we can then move on and see if they’re also a great project manager.

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*2010 Arras People Benchmark Report – http://www.arraspeople.co.uk/assets/ckeditor/ckfinder/
userfiles/files/BenchmarkReport/ArrasPeople_PMBR_2010-4PRINT.pdf

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HELP WANTED WITH ANNUAL PM CENSUS!

Stand up and be counted! And help Lindsay’s organization by participating in the Arras People Annual PPM Census 2011. Go to:

http://survey.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_1B2NgaisSqiGgn2

Subscribe today & get a Bonus zip file containing 15 PM articles or tools in PDFform (88-pages total!) plus a 37-minute PM podcast!

View Previous Issues of the PM Minimalist Update Online:

• March 22, 2011
• April 13, 2011
• May 17, 2011
• June 21, 2011
• July 26, 2011
• August 12, 2011
• September 14, 2011
• October 25, 2011
• November 29, 2011

Mike Greer

Below are my “top 10″ favorite items drawn from all the PM articles, blog posts, podcasts, and videos that I published on this website during 2011.  

Some of these items I believe are important and worth a second look. Others were merely fun or gratifying to create and I want to share them again before they disappear beneath 2012′s articles. I hope you like these or find something here that is thought-provoking. Enjoy!”

– Mike G. 

1. Do-It-Yourself PM Certification: How to Document Your Skills & Get the Credibility You’ve Earned without Jumping Through Someone Else’s Hoops

   This is flat-out the most controversial thing I have ever written!  This “do-it-yourself” guide shows you why you ought to consider disregarding such certifications as PMI’s PMP, Prince2, etc. and how you can systematically inventory your own PM skills and provide a defensible self-certification.

2. Applying PM Minimalism: Manage Your Project with a One-Page Checklist!

   A simple guide to get you started managing your first project using the super-lean PM Minimalist approach. (Don’t be afraid. No truly important PM processes or principles were sacrificed in the creation of this Checklist!)

3. The PM Minimalist “Cut the Fat” Audit: Part 1, The Sources of Project Management Bloat

   Find out why your PM processes have gained so much weight!

4. The PM Minimalist “Cut the Fat” Audit: Part 2, A Project Management Weight Loss Strategy

   Follow these clear, specific steps to streamline your PM processes.

5. Seven Benefits of Local PM Certification:  Why Pursuing Locally-Relevant PM Skills Makes More Sense Than Buying Generic, External PM Certifications 

   Yep. This builds on the theme introduced in item 1, above (Do It Yourself…). But this time I’m talking to HR & training folks who might think it’s easier to “buy” generic PM certifications for their people than it is to create a locally-relevant, company-specific PM certification process. In this article, I challenge them to rethink that assumption.  

6. (5-min. video) Loops & Hoops & Waterfalls: A PM Minimalist Perspective on Agile, Scrum & … (Yada, Yada)

   A quick Google search will display HUNDREDS of lovely LOOPS AND HOOPS AND WATERFALLS presented as valid PM Life Cycles! Yikes! See for yourself! There are as many of these things as there are consultants and certification bodies to sell them!

7. (5-min. video) A Zillion Project Management Models & Why You Should Build Another One!

   The title says it all… (Trust yourself: You already know what you need to know, grasshopper!)

8. How to Use Your E-Reader (iPad, Kindle, NOOK, etc.) to Sharpen Your Web Presentations

   These days, project managers are often called upon to make web presentations. See why that new iPad, Kindle, NOOK or e-reader makes a great “cheat sheet” to help you polish your on-screen presence.

9. Two New Videos: Quick Tours of This Website & My PM FREEBIES Website

   A couple of 5-minute video tours to help you find all the good stuff on this website (…PM Resources) and my new Project Management Freebies website.

10. One Simple Thing… to Improve Projects & Project Management
    

This is the first in a series of articles that attempt to answer this question: “What’s one simple thing that can improve projects and/or project management?”  

Note: As of this date, seven smart, experienced PM folks have been kind enough to share their guest blog posts in response to this question. Click here to see the entire “One Simple Thing…” collection.

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- FREE GIFT: DID YOU DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE E-BOOK?  SEE BELOW!! -

Holiday Gift for You: A Free Project Management Book for Your Kindle, NOOK, iPad or Other Tablet / E-Reader

I’ve just prepared two new versions of  The PM Minimalist Quick Start Guide: a “mobi” version (used by Kindle readers) and an “epub” version (used by NOOK, iPad, & nearly all other e-readers/tablets).  And you can get them both for free!

Robert Kelly

(The following article is part of our One Simple Thing…to Improve Projects series. It was contributed by Robert Kelly. Robert is a Managing Partner of Kelly Project Solutions, Co-Founder of the #PMChat Community on Twitter, and author of his own blog Kelly’s Contemplation.

Robert is a certified PMP with over a decade of experience leading global projects at some of the largest financial services firms, the second largest PC manufacturer, and the largest provider of open source software. Robert can be found on Twitter at @rkelly976)

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As I thought about Michael’s question “What’s one simple thing that can improve projects and/or project management?” I thought of communication, solid requirements, and value-added meetings.  Then I looked at what other folks were saying on the topic…. Andrew Budkiewicz mentioned a project management champion at the executive level, over at the #PMChat on LinkedIn Group.  Additionally, Kelly Kazimer and Lindsay Chaffee both provided some excellent posts on Time Valuation & Change Control, respectively.  After reviewing some of their insights and thinking more about some of the biggest headaches I have had to overcome, I finally settled on Roles & Responsibilities.  One thing is difficult!

Even with the economy forcing people to wear multiple hats, you would assume that the various functions would understand what they are responsible for….IT owns systems dev, legal owns Terms and Conditions, Marketing owns value prop and so on.  Unfortunately, many Project Managers find themselves on the other end of blank stares and the sound of crickets when asking about who will own the various work streams.

A modified RACI chart

Aside from the actual work being completed, many team members never truly understand what is expected of them from a communication, organization support, or collaborative perspective as a member of the project. It often seems as though they believe they are consultants or there as a courtesy.

Here are a few tips to help level-set the team and ensure they understand what is expected of them on the project.

1.  Most people have heard of a RACI/ARCI Chart…now use them!  Seriously, you need to document who is on the team and what their responsibilities are for the various deliverables. As with most things, this may evolve and needs to be revisited, but it has to be done early in the project. This will get some difficult conversations out of the way early and also gain the commitment BEFORE the workload becomes a reality and everyone begins looking for ways to ‘wiggle’ out.

2. In my experience, your project will have a resource assigned to represent their respective function with regards to approvals, capabilities, work effort, etc.  It is crucial that they understand their role in the communication plan for the project.  You never want agreement from Procurement in your project meeting and then walk into an Executive update and the VP of Global Procurement hearing the change request for the first time.  You need to ensure that the functional resources are each aware that part of their role and responsibilities as a member of the team is to regularly communicate with their respective managers and colleagues about the status of the project.  I get that you should have various project communications in-place, you should be networking, etc., but these folks have the relationships and are able to discuss concerns/politics more openly within their own team.  Their continued bi-directional communication between their function and the project team will help socialize the effort, gain adoption, and secure executive support. 

3. As the PM responsible for the overall success of the initiative, you will often walk the tight rope of doing the work yourself (where you can) or letting poor performers flop.  I know, everyone reading this is the perfect motivator and never has team members that don’t pull their weight…I am talking to the few that share this experience with me.  It is very important that you are clear in making sure that your team members understand they must attend meetings (tell them when…1 time per week at X:00 am), remain engaged throughout the initiative,  provide accurate estimates and updates, and so on.   This falls into the project logistics and basic blocking and tackling, so you would think it is common sense….trust me it is not.  If they own a work stream and require a design session, then they own coordinating that session.  You can be an optional attendee but are not responsible for driving every work stream.

Two of the most frustrating aspects of leading projects are hearing “That’s not my job” or “Oh, I didn’t know I was supposed to run with that”.  If you can clearly communicate roles and responsibilities to your teammates and gain their sign-off early in the project, then you will head-off a number of issues right out of the gate.  A strong start is absolutely crucial to the success of any project. Gaining momentum, trust, and establishing yourself as a strong leader will position you to do that.

Have you got a new Kindle, NOOK, iPad, or other e-Reader or tablet computer?

To help you celebrate that cool new toy, I’ve just prepared two new versions of  The PM Minimalist Quick Start Guide: a “mobi” version (used by Kindle readers) and an “epub” version (used by NOOK, iPad, & nearly all other e-readers/tablets).  And you can get them both for free!

The PM Minimalist Quick Start Guide is designed to help you plan and manage your first project using the PM Minimalist approach.

The 38-page Quick Start Guide includes:

• Project Management Minimalist Quick Start Checklist – You can use this simple tool to plan and manage an entire project.
• Quick Start Post Mortem Worksheet: Audit, Adjust, & Keep It Simple! — You can use this tool to conduct a “post mortem” of any project and discover some “lessons learned” so you can do better next time.
• PM Minimalist Values Checklist — A one-page list of the 10 values that can help you think like a “PM Minimalist”
• PM Minimalist Values Explained – Full explanations and examples of each of the 10 PM Minimalist Values
• Learn More – Live (“hot”) links to online articles, downloadable documents, and audio/video media that provide practical advice for applying PM Minimalism (Note: If your reader is WiFi enabled, you could go directly to these links from the Quick Start Guide while you’re reading it.)

Click one of the links below to start your free download (… or get ‘em all, if you want to!).

• MOBI version: Click here to download the “mobi” version for your Kindle or other mobi-based device.

• EPUB version: Click here to download the “epub” version for your NOOK, iPad, or other epub-based device. (Apple iPad users: After you’ve downloaded this file to your computer, please see Using iTunes to add ePub files to iBooks for detailed info about loading the file onto your Apple device.)

• PDF version: Click here to download the PDF version
  (Note: PDF is the best choice if you intend to print hard copies of the pages on paper. It uses a fixed format, instead of the “flowing” text format of the epub & mobi files.)

Enjoy!  

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How to Get the Complete Project Management Minimalist E-Book for Your Device

Below are links to several places where you can purchase The Project Management Minimalist. Note that the complete book has over 122 pages of practical PM support, including: Quick Start Guide, The Nuts & Bolts (PM tools & templates), The People Stuff (Team Challenges), Taking Care of Yourself (Best practices for managing priorities, time, energy).

You can see a brief video overview & complete table of contents here:  http://michaelgreer.biz/?page_id=636

Links to Purchase Sites:

Get the complete Amazon Kindle version of The Project Management Minimalist:
http://www.amazon.com/Project-Management-Minimalist-Projects-ebook/dp/B004J17298

 Get the complete Barnes & Noble NOOK version of The Project Management Minimalist:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/project-management-minimalist-michael-greer/1102699378?ean=2940012618474

Get the complete PDF version of The Project Management Minimalist:
http://michaelgreer.biz/?page_id=636#PDF-Versions 

Get the complete, 122-page PAPERBACK version of The Project Management Minimalist:
http://michaelgreer.biz/?page_id=636#Hard-Copy-Version