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 …
Building Rapport – East and West Read More »
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 …
The Myth About Project Managers Read More »
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 …
A Century of Scientific Management Read More »
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 …
Learn a foreign language in between projects and on the go Read More »
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 …
Breaking the myths about language learning as an adult Read More »
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 …
Changing the way you think about foreign language learning Read More »
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. …
Why should project managers speak another language? Read More »
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 …
Give me some team spirit around the world Read More »
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 …
Project Management Unplugged: The Loneliness of the Long-distance Program Manager Read More »
Effective use of body language is a sure way to establish rapport with your audience during your presentation. Maintaining eye contact during your presentation is just one effective use of body language. Do you know what else you should do?
Now it is time to explore how these services and capabilities are viewed by the enterprise in terms of true business value and competitive advantage. Corporate development concerns itself with the management arm of the enterprise, setting the strategy and priorities, and ensuring that the enterprise wide investments are aligned with future strategic goals.
Now that the linkage between the delivery and operations of the service has been established and the PM understands how the service enables a capability, it is time to make the connection between the delivery team and the organization.
I believe that helping the PM understand EA and its links to Business Architecture (BA) will help to crystallize the role that their delivery team plays in the broader scope of the enterprise.
Linking Project Delivery in the early stages to business value can be challenging at best, due to changing strategic goals of the enterprise. Also, understanding the full life cycle of the delivered service, including the total cost of ownership and the end-to-end life-cycle of the service can be a difficult task to assume and communicate.
Kris Kringle had been wondering about a way to brighten up the winter season, and at the same time reward all the world’s good little children. He wanted to delight them, and exceed their expectations, making all their dreams come …
Santa, the Project Manager Read More »
As a member of the PMI Leadership Institute Advisory Group I have the pleasure to have an active part in the PMI Leadership Institute meetings that precede the PMI Global Congresses. This year’s North America Congress was in Washington DC …
