goals

As Project Managers, I’m sure we’ve all seen the kind of scenario where there is a project team member who is generally uncooperative or can’t seem to get the tasks done on time – and the different approaches you can take in order to solve this problem. You can take the dictatorial “Do as I [...]

What’s panache? Its your distinction style. You know project managers who have a special sense of dash, verve, or flair? They seem to consistently pull off tough conversations with apparent ease and confidence. And they get noticed and get recognition and respect.

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Life is all about balance. Life and projects characteristics are not very different. Both life and projects deal with continuous change so the idea is to have a loose framework with enough structure that it provides a path to follow. If the structure is too tight or detailed you are doomed to fail [...]

Patal Fray was Project Manager of a very big and important project for his firm.  He was very proud to have been given this assignment and assured his VP that he would bring it in successfully, on time, if not ahead of time.

Technorati Tags: Accountability, career-planning, critical-success-factors, decisions, Ethics, goals, goodwill, Leadership, management, over-extending, professionalism, [...]

Quick: what’s the biggest challenge in cross-functional collaboration?  Bing!  Yes, “building trusting, open relationships” is correct!  Does that sound too Oprah-esque?  Let’s think about it for a minute.  How do you build trusting, open relationships in your cross-functional team, and why does it matter?
Let’s start with why it matters.  How successful will your collaboration be if each [...]

Ignoring the needs of real customers is just the start. When most project teams hear the shot of the starting gun, they leap into figuring out HOW to do the project – before they clearly understand WHAT the project is intended to accomplish, and what is expected of them. When goals are fuzzy, instead [...]

If knowing “HOW” to do something were enough we’d all be rich and thin. There’s always some reason why well-intentioned, educated, experienced professionals are doing the opposite of what they know makes sense. Frequently it’s because they are really busy, and can’t possibly do what needs to be done until someone ELSE changes [...]

Lilly Tomlin once said “When I was young I always wanted to BE somebody when I grew up. I just wish I’d been more specific.” Isn’t THAT the truth! Many project teams hear the shot of the starting gun and leap into figuring out HOW they will do the project before they even understand clearly [...]