Saturday, December 18, 2010

Career Advice for Project Managers

I have a team of people right now that all have sparks in them and on one-on-one discussions with them - most of them want to be project managers. I just know that all of them will become great project managers someday and I see myself as one of the few people who can help them get there faster...by telling them what mistakes I had and how I learned from them and hopefully they learn the lessons faster than I ever did...I figured that my own success is driven by them becoming great project managers in their own right so I always see this as a win-win move.

My team gets juicier projects and our sponsors know that even amidst of several high profile, complex projects - my team delivers.

One of the basic discussion points though that I think most people miss that is critical to their careers is knowing what they want to be when they grow up and I am not talking about people wanting to be VPs or even CEOs at some point in their lives but truly describing in detail how they see themselves becoming that person and what exactly are they doing by then and most importantly knowing what would it take for them to get from where they are now to where they truly truly want to be.

I always tell them that it is like using a GPS - their own career GPS so to speak.

1. Know in detail where you want to be (eg you typing the exact address in your GPS and not just the city)
2. Know exactly where you are right now (even the GPS does this first time you turn it on)
3. Know the milestones or critical turns that you need to remember along the way
4. Check every now and then if you are still on the right path
5. Expect surprises along the way and when they happen, be ready to take action and change direction if need be

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Situational Leadership and the One Minute Manager

In the book by Ken Blanchard, One Minute Manager, he talks about Situational Leadership. I could say that so far, this is the best theory I heard about management and leadership.

It does not come to us naturally as managers since we always think and say that to be effective, we have to have a management style that define us. This book would tell us that to be truly effective managers and leaderships, we should be able to flex to multiple styles to fit the development needs of our direct reports.

Does the direct report require direction or support or a mixture of both? This book tells us that our direct reports go through different development needs(D1 to D4) and that as managers, we are responsible for ensuring that our direct reports can be as productive as possible by providing them appropriate leadership styles (S1 to S4).

The book also tells us that the development needs varies by task and we should not label a person a D1 or a D4 without attaching the label to specific tasks.

At the end of the day - the book tells us that there is the golden rule (do unto others what you want done unto you) but there is the platinum rule - do unto others what they want done to them and the latter is the true measure of a true leader.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Be Interested to be Interesting - Listening Your Way to Success

One of the things that I value about my current company is that it values people so much so that it has a training program for managers geared towards developing them to become better people managers. What resonated with me the most today is the phrase "be interested to be interesting".

I have always found myself to be in the mood to solve problems so much so that when people come to me about a certain concern - my brain starts thinking about giving this person some advice on how to solve the problem as soon as possible thinking that it is after all what he came to me for - right? I realized today that may not be the best approach after all.

I learned that the best first approach is really to listen - and not just listen by saying "aha", "ok" or simply not talking. Listening is being fully engaged at that moment in hearing and understanding the other person fully. The first goal is to be truly able to paraphrase or summarize what the other person is saying as a statement without your own judgment or thoughts mixed into it.

Some tips I learned:

a. Have the word "you" in the first few words to indicate that what you are saying is not your thought but your speaker's thoughts and you are simply reflecting on what he said to ensure your speaker got his message to you right. Examples can be "From what I understand, YOU..." or "You are saying..."

b.Paraphrase - don't parrot. Don't simply repeat what the other person is saying but say it in your own words

c.Acknowledge the feelings, not just the content. An example would be "From what I understand, you are upset with your situation". You are not saying it is right or wrong to be upset but simply acknowledging what the other person feels.

d. Don't use it all the time. Assess whether reflective listening is the right approach for what you are trying to achieve, which may be providing the other person some room to process his own situation more clearly or allowing the other person to think himself through a solution. There are moments when a more direct approach might be required. Use your own judgment and sense of intent and appropriateness when practicing.

Saturday, October 30, 2010

The Project Management Circus: The Final Act - The Escape Artist

The show has reserved its best act for the last and entering the stage right now is the escape artist - who also goes by the name project manager on his non-circus performing days.

The escape artist thrills everyone and brings out that gasp in the audience as he always puts himself in situations that will kill a regular human being..but he is no ordinary person - he is the escape artist.

So what does the escape artist have in common with the project managers of the world? It is his ability to know his environment, use his knowledge and training to get out of tangled up situations and still come out victorious, alive ..and the to roaring applause of his audiences.

A project manager must always know his tools, his equipment to be able to manage his projects. A project manager must also train himself constantly on not only knowing the tools but also on how to use them and when. He must practice. Constantly.

If a project manager does not know his tools well enough and does not have experience in managing complex projects - he might just be one of the casualties waiting to happen in this great art of being an - escape artist.

Friday, October 22, 2010

The Project Management Circus: Act 3 - The Juggler

The juggler is one of the most common acts in the circus as it is in project management.

How many times has a project manager been thrown into a situation that he only does not need to balance between scope, cost and schedule but balance as well his emotions vs leadership, balance between his team's productivity vs team morale  - even balance between himself vs his project? Somehow the idea of juggling a chainsaw, a bowling ball, a torch, a 60 lb jug and an axe while blindfolded and riding a unicycle - on a tightrope seems simpler to do right?

The key to success in this act is to always know what are the things up in the air (the tasks), what is the first thing you need to catch(what is the priority), when do you need to catch it (the schedule), how will you catch each one without hurting yourself(the process) and should you be the one to catch it in the first place (the skill of working the matris).Most importantly - always trust that your knowledge will carry you through and this is where experience comes in. The more experience you have in balancing all the aspects of a project - the more the act becomes second nature to you - so much so that you can manage to wow the crowd even when you are blindfolded.

Lesson learned - don't shy away from project tasks that seem bigger than you think you can do now - always believe in your ability to stretch your comfort zone and you will soon find yourself juggling not only tasks - but juggling several million dollar projects all at the same time.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

The Project Management Circus: Act 2 - The Lion Tamer (Project Sponsor Management)

The lights go out for a few second and there is a booming voice that announces Act 2.

A spotlight shines on the person coming into the cage and inside the cage were several lions.

The person has a whip on one hand a chair on the other and he has treats in his pocket. He has been here before and he knows the lions well - each one of them. He knows not only their names but their personalities as well. He knows what makes them tick. He knows he needs them to succeed. He knows they need him to control the chaos that can happen without him. He waves his hands to his spectators as if in victory even before the show begins.

The booming voice announces him as....The Project Manager.

Each project manager deals with this situation for every new project - facing the project sponsors and working with or through them to ensure project success. What does he need to succeed in this initiative?

1. Sufficient knowledge of who the sponsors are and where they belong in the hierarchy of the organization - the pack order.

2. True knowledge of what is their stake in the project - not just what they publicly say - but what their internal agenda is.

3. Knowledge of their comfort levels, risk tolerances and when thrown into a corner - which would they primarily protect if they can only choose one - scope, cost, schedule or quality?

4. Knowledge of their pain and pleasure points which may include what information does each one want to hear, when and how and what motivational triggers can be pulled if the project manager wants the sponsors to "jump through hoops'.

5. Understanding the defense mechanism of each one. When provoked - will Lion A run away and will Lion B attack? If the project manager knows who will go into the offensive as a defensive - he needs to make sure he knows how best to defend himself.

Balancing between sponsor motivation (the treats), punishment(the whip) and defense(the chair) is a key skill that each project manager should develop. It is so much better to know how to manage them that to find your head trapped between their jaws.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

The Project Management Circus: Act 1 - The Tightrope Walker

I have heard several people in my career say that project management is easy - just give someone a project, resources and a goal and all he has to do is create a plan and monitor it to completion.

This is similar to what I hear from my co-spectators when I see a circus.

Truly, Project Management can be like a circus - in more ways than one and the performers are the project managers.

Take the tightrope walker as an example. What does he need to do anyway? He only needs to walk from end to end - how difficult could that be? Let see...

A tightrope walker, like a project manager, to succeed in his endeavor, would need to

a)know first where is his starting point - including information about how high he is from the ground, is there a net below him, how strong is the post he will stand on before he begis the walk, what is the length of his balancing pole,  how hot the spotlights can be, etc... - much like project initiation

b) know where his end point is and what is the definition of success (eg making it to the other side alive maybe in 5 minutes), what resources does he has to reach the other point (eg does he have a pole to hold on to and use as a balance), how many steps would he most likely need to take and how much can he trust his resources(eg his rope quality, his pole quality or the net quality if he falls). At the same time, he must know the pace he needs to take and how to take the steps - much like planning, contingency allocation and resourcing

c) know how to traverse the rope and keep his balance ensuring that he checks at each step whether he is on the right track or not. He must also know what to do when something goes wrong along the way(eg an ant is biting his armpit - sometimes called management pressure - or when his rope starts to shake because of a sudden wind gust - sometimes called sponsor wind) - much like project monitoring and control

d) know what to do when he gets to the end - if he gets to the end - including putting the pole down first (let go of resources), ensuring both his feet are really on the other end and raising his arms and waving to his adoring crowd - much like project closure and team celebrations.

Easy you say? Maybe...up until you are truly the one walking the rope.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Red Pill or Blue Pill? (Living in the Matrix)

Most of us, unfortunately, were not given the choice that Neo was given in the movie The Matrix and we typically either land in a matrix environment or not.

I lived in both worlds and I can attest to the fact that whichever organization structure you are in - they all have their pros and cons. I can say, though, that it is the matrix environment that required me, as a project manager, to develop some specific skills that allowed me to navigate it.

Why is it tricky to navigate? For one, aside from your immediate project team, most of the people you need to be successful do not directly report to you. That means that, chances are, their priorities are different from yours and they can derail your project with less of a concern in terms of performance reviews - as long as their real boss agrees with them. There is also this need to have more communication channels which open your team up to a lot of possible miscommunications.

So what skills did I need to succeed in this environment?

1. Influence - John Maxwell, in his book, Developing The Leader Within You actually said that "Leadership is Influence" and never is it more apparent than in a matrix environment. Unlike a direct report, you need to influence more a person or team that does not report to you to buy into your plan and work with you to succeed

2. Communication - Communication takes on a deeper meaning in a matrix environment since it is the glue that keeps everyone pasted onto your objective as you try to move everyone to the goal and as I mentioned, I realized that in a matrix environment,  there is a need to have more communication channels laterally since one characteristic of a matrix environment is that the org chart is a lot flatter but broader.

3. "Ball Handling" - The matrix was created for several good reasons and one of them is to allow expertise to develop in a group while allowing these experts to work in your projects - sounds good but this requires that, as a project manager, you should know when to pass the ball and to whom. This message got imprinted on me in a workshop when excepts of the movie Goal! - The Dream Begins was shown to us.

4. The ability to see the bigger picture - There were times that I needed to admit that truly my project was less of a priority than a project my matrix team was working on and I had to give way and replan my project because at the end of the day - the question is "which project stands to give the company the best possible benefit vs cost". Some days - that project is not yours.

So why does the matrix still exist amidst the complexities it has? It is only the matrix environment that allows a company to have the expertise and flexibility to execute projects through different resources. For it to be as productive as possible though - the matrix must move as one as a project manager - you are one of those people that steer it.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

What Difference 3 Seconds Make

Have you ever seen how politicians, CEOs and other famous people react during an interview after being asked an important question? They pause... for at least 3 seconds.

This 3 seconds technique is a very basic method but you would see it differentiates the mediocre interviewee from the great ones. Why is that?

The 3 seconds technique gives you sufficient time to

a. control your emotions. 1 second.
b. complete the translation of the question and straighten your thoughts. 1 second.
c. form in your mind how you would like to deliver your response with your intent in mind. 1 second

The 3 second technique gives its user better credibility and control and it gives the message better form and impact. Truly - what a difference 3 seconds make.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

And the Sponsors Said "Let There Be...A Project". And There Was.

Everusince I was a young boy, around age 7, I have always been drawn to the power of the engineer to create something...a bridge, a house, a new material..even the next type of fuel. My favorite toy was even the LEGO.

I was so attracted to the idea of creation that I eventually graduated from the university with a Mechanical Engineering degree, finished 4th on the National Board Examination and I was so excited when I created my first professional design in Autocad and I saw it constructed and working - it is like fatherhood in a way when you see your creations at work.

I eventually entered the field of Information Technology due to its promised career acceleration and for awhile I missed the adrenaline rush of creation ..until my career eventually took a turn and I started managing projects.

Project creation and management brings back the thrill of creation for me. You start out with an idea - a thought. You then proceed with defining the framework on how to realize the project benefits..create your team..draw up the project plan and execute it to completion.

I am so addicted to the thought of project success that I envision it fully from the start and I guess that is one of the things that I learned from being an engineer - you have to see your final product in your mind even before you begin lifting your pencil to draw.

I have always lived by three words since I was an engineer and these words still carry me to success today - Conceive...Believe...Achieve.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

The Beauty of the RACI

The RACI chart is a standard document in most projects and I would say that it should be a standard in ALL projects ..but what is a RACI chart anyway?

RACI is an acronym and different organizations have different takes on what each letter means and that is why as a project manager, you should be aware of the standards of your client's company with regards to a RACI chart - take the time to ensure you have the right definitions because it can cause confusion later on. It is usually created when a project has just been conceptualized.

Typically RACI stands for Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed. In other organizations, it can mean Responsible, Approver, Consulted, Informed or even Responsible, Approver, Coordinator, Informed. Whatever it can mean, it always answers the need to know who are the people responsible in defining and delivering the project and what is their role in EVERY task in a project. Most RACI chart requires there is only one R for each task or only one A for each task if the A means accountable - a good practive to have.

I recommend having a template of all the possible task that a project can take vs lumping them into generic work that may cause issues later on. The template can then be "customized" based on what a project requires. Remember - a task that says "complete the design document required for all data interfaces" is much more trackable and thus controllable that a task that says "complete design documents".

What is the importance of a RACI when you have a solid, trustworthy team? Each project is unique and in my experience, there is always room for assumptions and one assumption that team members usually make is that if the task is unfamiliar to them - then it might not be theirs and will taken cared of by another team member. Another situation is when the task can be performed by more than one person in a team - you can either have a case of two people doing the same work or noone doing the work.

By having a RACI chart from the start, you ensure that each person knows their role, the extent of their role, what they are expected to do in each task, if any, and how they relate to other people and their roles - a perfect recipe to prevent roles and responsibilities issues later on.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Motivation and Team Advertisement

We all know that self-worth and recognition motivate employees more than salary although the same people would most likely say "salary" first when directly questioned.

One of the most basic way to motivate your team and improve their careers (and yours at the same time) is to recognize their achievements and allow them to develop their sense of self-worth. Always remember -even if you are the project manager, the successful delivery of a project is not due to you but because you worked with your team.

Here are some ways you can do this:

1. Give your team a wide-enough playground to play in. You can opt to define the limits of how much authority they have to decide on a project task but allow them sufficient space to be creative in the way they can deliver the task.

Resist the temptation to micro-manage and allow yourself to have a bigger role - a coach. Direct them with regards to the what, when, why and who of the project but give them space to define the how. Micro management of a project should only be considered when the project is already at a risk level that is too high for any tolerances.

2. Give them opportunities to self-advertise. If you are the only mouthpiece the project has and all communications are only going through you - you can become one of the most dreadful cause of delay -> a communication bottleneck.

By giving your team opportunities to present their ideas and communicate directly with senior management and major stakeholders, you bolster their sense of self-confidence, develop their thought processes, allow senior management the opportunity to know the names of your teammates and allow the stakeholders to recognize your capacity to form, build and manage an excellent team.

3.Make a splash for every worthy success. Don't just gather everyone together for a drink or lunch - for really worthy success stories, including the achievements of key milestones - make a splash about it! Send a communication to stakeholders, commend your team and state the new benefits or capabilities that your team has just delivered! If there were huge challenges surpassed through the leadership of individuals, mention it.

Always keep in mind that you are only as successful as the team working with you to deliver the project.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

The "3 Whys" and its Power in Scope Control and Management

One of the most successful tools in your PM toolbox should be your "3 Whys".

It is a conscious process of not advocating your thoughts or countering an idea until you have been able to at ask your client aat least 3 Why questions.

An example scenario is when your client would ask you to add something in scope.

A series of Why questions can be the following set and all of them will help you to a)understand your client's motivations in making the request, b)determine the perceived value of the request from the client's perspective and c)give you sufficient knowledge to start a negotiation discussion if need be.

1. Why do you want to add that to the project's scope?
2. Why do you think that by adding it it will add value to the project's outcome?
3. Why do you think that by not doing it we will jeopardize the success of the project?

There are several PMs who rush to a decision or conclusion when a change in scope is requested without fully evaluating the true nature of the request and if it can truly benefit or not a project and its outcome.

By asking at least 3 Why questions (and more if need be), you will not only place yourself in a better position to assess the request but it will also give your client that reassurance that you are interested in more than simply execution.

It is a well known fact that one of the common questions in the PMP exam is the question of what should a PM do when a scope change is being requested. Remember - the most no-no answer is to simply say no.

A good PM should always assess the impact first of the request and the "3 Whys" gives you that good start.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

The Lion, The Witch and the Project Manager (How to Manage Scope Creep)

The Lion - the stakeholders who roar the most and try to add scope without willing to add resources or bend to new schedules. They hope that since they are the supposed Kings of the Jungle - the only thing they need to do is roar loud enough and whatever wish they have will come true. They sometimes also go by the names of sponsors or key stakeholders.

The Witch - the stakeholders who brew several potions or stories to get you to support the scope addition and with her magical spellcasting, she tries to have you understand that what she wants is truly as natural as breathing and that to not support it is foolishness. She also uses her craft to convince you that the natural addition should not result in any schedule or cost changes. They sometimes go by the names end-users or business partners.

The Project Manager - the lone knight who has to protect the project and the team from the Lion and the Witch and what is the secret weapon you say? The Sword of Truth.

As a project manager, we all know that adding scope cannot have a zero effect on the other constraints, you can minimize them but zero impact is rare, most notably impact to schedule and costs. By stating the truth, the Lions can be silenced and the Witches can be bound.

Question the benefit vs costs of adding the request to scope. Ensure all stakeholders are aware of the impact of the addition and ensure that if the addition is agreed upon - that the decision was not made because the Lion roared nor because the Witch spellcasted but with full clarity powered by the Project Manager's truth.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

And My Knees Still Shake...

Today is another workshop day and this time for project requirements that require the participation of several global representatives from different regions.

I have participated in several of these in my lifetime. I coordinated several of these and I led several of these types of workshops as well and today was the simplest one I will participate in in the past 3 years - I only need to welcome the team, give them the vision of the end result, tell them why this project is important to the company, my team, and me and yet - my knees still shook prior to the talk - the same knees that shook during my first ever public talk. This time though - there is a difference. I knew it would happen and I knew how to control it.

Unknown to my team, I was actually preparing for the 30 minutes of talk for a few days now - forming the structure in my head, deciding what I needed to say and what I need to accomplish. I probably played the whole thing in my head for several hours already- each time tweaking - each time enhancing - I made sure I knew what my message should be, how to impress that message to the audience I knew would be there and ensure they leave knowing how important the project is and more importantly, how important they are in ensuring its success.

That is my mission - get them not just on board the boat - but rowing - rowing like no man has rowed before - rowing with a determination to reach the destination I need us to reach with ferocity and perseverance.

I need them to be partners, not spectators. I need them to be fully engaged, not a temporal being. I need them to know that without them, this project will not succeed. I need them to know that they are the team that will see this to the end - and that we will succeed together or fail as one.

I know that during this project, as the rest I led, problems will pop up, conflicts will happen but after today - they all know that we are all responsible for each other, for the project and for the company.

My knees shake no more...

Monday, September 13, 2010

Estimating Project Costs based on One-liner Scope Statements

A lot of project managers typically encounter situations wherein they are asked to give a high level estimate of cost and schedule for certain projects during the initiation process - much too early to have the detailed requirements that most PMs would need to give an accurate estimate. Some companies go through this exercise to plan for next year's budget.

In my experience, these numbers are typically used for planning purposes or initial feasibility assessments and the following formula has shown great success in this exercise so far for the software development projects that I lead.

1. Base project costs which include labor (direct and indirect), hardware costs(whether purchased or leased), software licenses, separated by capitalizable costs and expensed costs which may differ based on your company policy +

2. Risk Costs (which is the amount required to recover the project and only for those risks with a 25-50% probability of happening that is identified as risks that are still recoverable - anything more than that is not a risk - it is an issue!). This risks reduce/increase as the project develops. The total of 1 and 2 is then multiplied by

3. A factor as contingency (which is dependent on how much you know of the project at the point of estimation although I typically use the following: 30 - 40% for one-liner scope statements and more if less is known and 20-30% for more developed requirements). This contingency reduces as the project develops. The new total is then multiplied by

4. A factor for management contingency and the factor that typically works for me is 10%

Some things to remember:
1. Labor rates may vary but you can use a blend rate for estimation purposes
2. Labor rates may increase/decrease over the time of the project so blend with this in mind
3. Ongoing Support and Maintenance Costs considerations including depreciation for the capitalizable items

Sunday, September 12, 2010

KNOW your team

As a project manager, I would argue that KNOWing your team is one of the most important thing you should do, especially if you are a program or portfolio manager who will have several projects running at the same time with different stakeholders and the only consistent, binding link you have with all these projects is your team.

How do you know your team and how do you use the knowledge? I typically ensure that I have or can get the following for each of my team members:

1) Basic Information - name, experience, expertise, skills, education - all your general resume-level information. This is his "what was and what is" information.
2) Career Goals - and based not just on "where do you think you are in 5 years" type of questions. A person may be an expert today at a certain skill but is dying to get out it and hates doing the same thing again. This is his "what is the future he wants to see" and can it be in your team.
3) Work Preferences - is he the type of person who prefers to work alone or in a team setting. I have seen individuals who excel when doing some tasks all by themselves. Don't discount them immediately out of your team if you know he has a fit in your team.
4) Culture Fit - will he fit with the "culture" of the overall team, including yours
5) Leadership Potential  - regardless of what role he might play in your team, although this comes more in handy when you are a program or portfolio manager obviously. This also is an important input in your "9-box" analysis of your team which is anothe topic in itself
6) Current Rate and perceived self-value growth rate
7) Unique traits and situations - for example - does he have any pet peeves that may affect his work?

Knowing the above for each of your team members and knowing your project - you can now do your "mission impossible" team selection and formation ensuring that each role is critical and that each player playing the role will complement the rest of the team.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

I did everything the PMBOK says and yet my project was still a failure. What went wrong?

First and foremost, it is a major - MAJOR - mistake if you think that the PMBOK is THE one and only project management bible that will solve every problem in every situation. Even PMI has a section in its book that says “Anyone using this document should rely on his or her own independent judgment or, as appropriate, seek the advice of a competent professional in determining the exercise of reasonable care in any given circumstances”.

Second, if you did everything the PMBOK says - chances are you don’t really know what you are doing. The PMBOK is very helpful in providing the industry with tools and best practices that you may and can use to help you in managing your project BUT you have to use your experience, knowledge of the project and sensibility to know which tools would be the most appropriate to use for a particular job. Imagine that you are a carpenter and you have a truckload of tools - would you use all or even most of them - say to put up a drywall? Of course not. Same with the PMBOK.

What can help make your project a success then?

1. Know as much as possible about what you and your team need to deliver.
2. Be extremely familiar with the environment you will be working in and what assets and resources are available to do the project
3. KNOW who should be on your team and we are not talking here about simply knowing their names and roles. You should know them sufficiently enough to know how to lead and manage them to success
4. KNOW yourself, your capacity, your experience and what is required of you as a leader and manager to deliver your objectives with your team
5 Understand the tools and know which tools you need and how to use them properly to help in executing the project.


Ultimately, it is not the PMBOK that determines the success of a project but the project manager.




“PMI”, the PMI logo, “PMP”, “PMBOK” are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc. Excerpt from PMBOK above copyrighted 2008, Project Management Institute, Inc.

Friday, September 10, 2010

The Great Differentiator

I was asked today by one of my team members the following question - "what makes a great project manager?" Is it his ability to consistently deliver projects on time, on budget, in scope, with quality and with full user satisfaction?

I said "All those qualities make a project manager but not a great one".

A lot of project managers can claim all those in all his projects and I would argue that if the KPIs for a project manager are simply doing all these, he has but achieved the basic expectation of a project manager.  Every project manager, or those who claim to be one, must strive to AT LEAST do all these.

The great differentiator in my opinion between the good project manager and the great project manager lies in HOW he executes his projects to achieve his objectives - his leadership and people skills.

A project manager can deliver a project on time, on budget but he did so through intimidation, fear or extreme politics. A project manager manager can deliver his projects on time and on budget but he failed to nurture and sustain productive relationships within and outside of his team in the process. He could consistenly deliver his projects on time, on budget and yet at the same time - consistently breed distrust and disloyalty by claiming all the glory to the dismay of his team.

At the end of the day - what makes a great project manager? It is the one who can consistently deliver his hard deliverables through excellent leadership and people management skills.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Start Digging!

I finally decided to find the time to extend my daily grind and start a project management blog.

Everyone says that I can't seem to stop talking and living project management so I thought I would give them an additional source of inspiration (or pain depending what boat you are on on this topic) by also writing about it.

Just to give you a short blurb about me and then lets have a contest later to see how you think I actually look like (relax - the prize is not a dvd of me talking project management!) - I have been living in the planet called project management for more than 10 years now - years before the acronym PMI even became popular in my native country and even before I even heard of MS Project. You might be saying - how old is this guy? Remember those 5 1/4" floppy disks - I actually used them to boot my PC to program in BASIC!

I have managed projects on a country level, a region level and on a global level - and maybe if anyone needs someone to manage a project outside the global I would also volunteer for that. I am passionate about creating and seeing my creations work its wonders.

For me - project management is not work - it is a way of life! I would argue that everything you do daily can be patterned around project management...and in this blog - I will show you how it revolves around my daily life.

Time to start digging!