Archive for July 2008

Kimberly Wiefling had an article on Projects@Work (www.projectsatwork.com) giving us a taste of some hard-learned lessons when dealing with project sponsors.
I’ve always loved Kimberly’s sense of humor and highly recommend just about anything she’s written. This is a great example of education a la entertainment. Check out her book too, I own it and can [...]

I recently read an article on Project Connections, In Defense of the Project Management “Perfect World” by Carl Pritchard, PMP, EVP.
I thought it was an excellent article, with well-stated and supported points.
There are many theoretical frameworks for project management, quality, general management, etc. I’m convinced that above a particular threshold, all of them are nearly [...]

In an article at Projects@Work, Tom Mochal discusses how enhancement work not directly related to a project should be added to the managed portfolio. This way, the business can ensure that the dollars are being spent in the most effective way on these non-project activities.
I agree with what Tom is saying. A point I’d like [...]

Sorry, no direct correlation will be made to the Captain in Cool Hand Luke. Oh well, same topic (sorta). Project Management is 90% communication! How many times have we heard that one before?
I revisited a post titled “Silence : One of the Two Great Wastesâ„¢ : Is a Project and Career Killer” over [...]

Jim Sloane is a particularly adept person to provide an executive primer on organizational project management maturity.  There are a multitude of models and approaches for measuring organization maturity and the associated business benefits.  With the increasing number of tools and models available to organizations, it can be challenging to choose the best [...]

Too often, compliance and ethics training is little more than a rather dull necessity to minimize a company’s likelihood of litigation, indictment, fines, and jail time.  It’s all about damage control and risk management.  Narrow, reactive, negative.  Author and educator David Gill says, “Ethics is not just (or primarily) about cataloging and ranting [...]

One input I received while conducting focus groups and interviews about what managers want from the PMI NorCal Symposium 2008 is to hear about companies like Hewlett-Packard.  As an alumnus myself (22 years at HP), I appreciate the unique contributions established by Bill [Hewlett]and Dave [Packard].  I still remember the frankness [...]

Two current or former colleagues will join me at the  PMI NorCal Symposium 2008 on September 3-4 at Stanford University.
My co-author of Project Sponsorship and close friend is Alfonso Bucero.  All projects need an executive sponsor.  Upper management support for projects consistently surfaces as a critical success factor and sets the pace for [...]

What can we learn from case studies?  Plenty!
While Genentech sponsored a risk management initiative a couple years ago to improve risk identification, analysis, and planning, the results still appeared spotty in terms of widespread application by its project teams,.  But that didn’t stop senior project manager Melanie Ebojo.  With her experience in managing [...]

As a judge for the PMO of the Year sponsored by the Center for Business Practices, I was impressed by all the entries.  One in particular, however, stood out.  PMO Director at Accident Fund Insurance, Norm Buckwalter says, “Through our responsibility of leading the creation and execution of the strategic plan [...]

How do you keep an organization innovative, fast-moving, and productive when facing the relentless parallel needs of ongoing operations, servicing customers, sound project decision-making among opportunities, developing incremental product enhancements, and creating major new offerings – all in the face of inevitable resource constraints?
In a time when so many dot-coms went dot-bust, Cinda [...]

PMI Silicon Valley (www.pmisv.org) and Insights Learning and Development (www.insights.com) have partnered on a study to identify the current strengths and gaps in leadership and teaming effectiveness in Northern California companies.  Insights® is a global learning and development company working in partnership with leading organizations across the world.  Insights transformational learning solutions, delivered [...]

How do you fix a woefully underfunded government organization and implement over 50 significant citizen serving systems in less than 4 years?  What core values helped Honolulu rise to be ranked 8th in the United States in 2007 by the Center for Digital Government for the deployment of Technology?   How do [...]

The global business landscape is littered with expensive, well-intended strategies that don’t deliver value, often because leaders failed to identify and invest in the full range of projects required to support those strategies.  Co-author of Executing Your Strategy, Mark Morgan demonstrates what organizational alignment for strategic execution really means and how to engage [...]

Creating excellence IN project management is about viewpoints, insights, and practices on why, what, how, and who to optimize project-based work.  This goal is necessary because projects are the means to achieve almost anything in every organization.  Without good project, program, and portfolio management, achieving results is tenuous.  Traditional efforts are not sufficient [...]

Welcome to the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Land of Milk and Honey*, for highly intelligent, very creative, totally imaginative, always sincere, and, on occasion we hope for you, individually divine project mangers.  Thanks be to the God of your beliefs for your safe deliverance and arrival here.  As you known, or as [...]

“Hey, Jerry, YES you are…”
Dateline Carlsbad, CA: From the Thursday, May 29, 2008, edition of The Daily Journal serving San Mateo and greater environs, in the Business Briefs column, the following headline appeared: “Yahoo! CEO Jerry Yang says his company is not “UNDER SIEGE“.
Hey, Jerry, which rock are you hiding under?

The student syndrome is alive and well. I see it all around me, and I am no less guilty than any other.
Why do we put everything off until the last minute? Especially the important things?
I’ve recently read The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss, which has helped heighten my sensitivity to this phenomenon going on all [...]

What project managers can learn from being broad-sided on their blind sides
Project managers are highly intelligent, very creative, totally imaginative, 100 % sincere, and for those of you who have read Sacred Contracts by Caroline Myss, you also know that you are “individually divine.” I did not say religious, I said “individually divine.” I know, [...]

As the content and program director for the PMI NorCal Symposium 2008, I am biased but nevertheless excited as all get out about the lineup of speakers and activities for this event, happening September 3-4 at the Stanford Faculty Club in Palo  Alto, California (get more information at www.pmisv.org/symposium08).  Let me share with you some [...]

“WE WILL NOT BE BLUDGEONED INTO A TRANSACTION THAT IS NOT IN THE BEST INTEREST OF OUR STOCKHOLDERS”, Roy Bostock, Yahoo! chairman.
Yahoo! Inc. on Saturday ( July 12, 2008 ) rejected an offer to sell its Internet search business to Microsoft Corp. and leave the remainder of the company in control of billionaire investor Carl [...]