Global Leadership

By Dr. Shree Nanguneri • April 13th, 2012

Enhancing PMP with Business Process Excellence Part III (Final Part of Series) Viable Lean Six Sigma Solutions to Validate Project Timelines and Increase KPI Linkage for PMP leaders Dr. Shree Nanguneri and Mr. Gustav Toppenberg   Meandering in a World Swayed by Certification: In Part I, we addressed the vitality of the linkage of a [...]

Enhancing PMP with Business Process Excellence Part II (of an III Part Series) Validating Project Timelines against Expected Changes in Customer Requirements Dr. Shree Nanguneri and Mr. Gustav Toppenberg Background for “Changes in Customer Requirement:” In Part I we initiated discussions on how the KPI needs to link with the business goals and objectives.  In [...]

Linking PMP Leaders’ KPI with Customers’ Success Dr. Shree Nanguneri and Mr. Gustav Toppenberg click to hear music Brief Introduction of the current PMP and LSS status quo: Whether we refer the PMP or LSS leadership success there is a clear process that is transparent as shown below: With the PMP space we are looking [...]

Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler.  - Albert Einstein (1879 – 1955) A close examination of the role of management on large and more complex projects has often spawned the creation of a new field to address particular issues. Recent examples include the management of human resistance on [...]

About one generation ago, management styles focused on the concept of a “happy worker is a good worker.”  Organizations focused on providing employees the amenities they needed to feel valued, in hopes of it leading to higher productivity.  The Hawthorne experiments by Elton Mayo found that changes in the workplace were welcomed and improved morale.  [...]

Project Management in a Brave New World Which level of proof do you require on your projects? Do you have a tolerance for ambiguity? Is it shared by your sponsor? What exactly does Red, Amber or Green mean? This article focuses on the difficulties of managing people and projects across functional areas, global regions and [...]

“The Guide is definitive. Reality is frequently inaccurate.” “I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” ‘The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy’ by Douglas Adams, would be over 30 years old today, a phenomenon born in London around the same time that the Project Management Institute (PMI) was created [...]

I was speaking with a project manager the other day who complained that his boss was always telling him to just get to the point. Translating complex issues down to a single point proved difficult for this person and the situation frustrated both the boss and the project manager. What makes one person comfortable focusing [...]

How might we apply the observations Richard Nisbett made in his book Geography of Thought to the project-driven workplace? Is there a Workplace of Thought? And, if so, can our understanding of the Workplace of Thought help us manage our project stakeholders more effectively? During my career, I made the transition from engineer to project [...]

Recently one of my clients sent a team of engineers to Japan. For most of the team this was their first visit to that country. Before going, they asked me to brief them on some of the cultural issues they might encounter. There is a long list of things to watch out for, from beer [...]

If all you are planning on doing at the next conference you attend is to learn something from the sessions and the exhibits, my advice would be to save your money, focus on your work, and ‘get the dvd’. As we all know, attending conferences isn’t just about the sessions, the keynote speakers, or the product demos. The values you attain from attending conferences are all in the periphery, they are about the ‘X Factors’, those that help you , your team and your company get ahead professionally.

Let’s get out of the dark ages and admit what we know. Project manager is a misnomer. We don’t manage projects, we drive change. Set aside the process and tactics associated with projects and you will easily separate those who manage projects versus those who lead. Leadership is not about your credentials or accomplishments; it’s [...]

Did you know Project Management is having a birthday? Well, sort of a birthday. It was 100  years ago, in 1911, that Frederick W. Taylor published Principles of Scientific Management. Early pioneers of project management, such as Henry Gantt, were followers of Dr. Taylor. Now, for historical accuracy, it should be noted that Dartmouth College [...]

Project managers work on various projects, sometimes traveling to various clients’ sites. You juggle many emails, calls, faxes and meetings during the week. When do you find time and how to prepare yourself mentally to learn something new like a foreign language? You’re on the road and you think you can’t learn a foreign language [...]

1.  If I just use music and media, may I give up studying grammar and vocabulary and quit my language classes? If you are still a beginner or intermediary student, you absolutely have to keep learning grammar and vocabulary. They are the foundations of any language. Using music, TV, radio and film as additions to [...]

Do you think of foreign language learning as sitting in your boring, stuffy high school Spanish class repeating “Yo me llamo. Tú te llamas. Él se llama” in Spanish? Boring, right? Having labored through many dull language classes, I have seen how ineffective rote memorization techniques alienated and discouraged students. Foreign language learning, as discussed [...]

Unfortunately, in many countries, especially English-language ones, foreign languages have not been taken seriously by educational institutions, parents and children. People who learned to speak a foreign language were few and far between and sometimes couldn’t use their languages professionally. This is changing. More and more students are learning “hard” languages like Mandarin and Arabic [...]

The rule of thumb is that the answer to most questions starting with “should everything be” is “NO”.
It’s the same with this question.
Effective communication IS time management. It isn’t a trade-off, such as this question seems to imply. Consider how much time you waste through misinterpretation, vague directions, mistakes and hurt feelings when you are not communicating clearly?
There’s much more to this than meets the eye, but here are five of six tips to effective communication AND time management?

Time is running and we’re all focused on getting the job done. When working on international projects, the speedometer is going 24/7 as distance and time zones create a relay race around the world. As the global project manager and tour guide, you have your project check list in hand. Clear objectives? Check. Roles and [...]

Last article we discussed some of the down-side to working remotely (either from home or from an off-site office). We discussed some techniques an employee can stay in the spotlight, even when they are not located in the same site as their reporting manager, cohorts or those making the salary decisions. Today, we’ll cover the challenges and solutions from the managerial position.

A primary concern for a manager is : as your team starts to grow apart in location, how do I assure the team doesn’t also “grow apart as a team”. How does one keep a cohesive workforce across both distance and time zones?

Until recently, it was an article of faith with me that I could not work remotely from my teams and be an effective program manager.  I relied on my ability to influence and cajole and evaluate in face-to-face interactions.  I rarely worked from home, because that would separate me from what was going on.  To [...]