A Technology Lesson Learned from a Salesperson
“Nope, we can’t do that,” I said curtly to the potential client. I knew my team would not be able to fulfill their request, and as my colleague and I sat in that meeting, I prided myself in not committing to something our company couldn’t deliver. After all, I was the person responsible for delivering the technology that would be sold.
“Wait, wait, wait…” my colleague, ever the sales pro, said. “We may not be able to do that, but we will be able to do this instead…will that work?”
“Sure, that’ll be just fine,” said the potential, soon-to-be-paying client.
Write Every Email as if it Will Be Read in a Court of Law
One thing I’ve learned over the years is to type every email as if it will be read in a court of law. In those uncomfortable situations when the bottom falls out of a business relationship and companies end up in court…the written word is typically given more credence than people’s memories. That is why it is critical (especially if you are customer facing) to review, re-read, edit, and review again any correspondence that leaves your desktop.
Are You Able to Sleep Through A Storm?
What qualities are necessary for a Project Manager to be successful? Leadership, organization, and being detail-oriented all come to mind. However, for a Project Manager to be truly successful, they need to be able to sleep through a storm.
I heard a story a number of years ago about a Farmer who was looking to hire someone to assist on the farm. He went through interview after interview, but just wasn’t able to find the right person. Eventually he interviewed Pete. The only skill Pete listed on his resume’ was the ability to sleep through a storm.
How to Keep Your Presentations from Going Off-Road
There’s no telling how many presentations we sit through in our careers. Some good, some not so good. What exactly is it that separates the good from the bad? Is it slick graphics, a good story, or cool transitions?
Sure, these all have their place, but what really sets a presentation apart is a high “what’s in your head vs. what’s on the screen” ratio. In other words, what’s in your head about a subject should be exponentially greater than what you present about that same subject.
Why is this important?
3 Great Tools to Increase Productivity
“If all you have is a hammer everything looks like a nail,” goes the old trope. How do we apply it in business? If your problem-solving toolkit is limited, then the solution to very different problems will all look the same.
For example, let’s say you are highly proficient with Excel.
Need a tool to track when people are available across different organizations for an on-site meeting? How about Excel?
Need a tool to identify and prioritize a list of initiatives? Excel should work.
Need a tool to put together a quick project plan? Let’s use Excel.
Stop Thinking of E-Mail and Instant Messaging as Real Communication
ve worked in a number of environments where people are sitting directly across from one another…and days will pass without one word being said. Rather, E-Mail and Instant Messaging have become the proxy for Real Communication.
E-mailing and Instant Messaging have become the preferred method of communication. The vast majority of people really don’t like ‘talking’ to each other. While E-Mail and IM have their place, it has had a negative impact on the quality of communication that is necessary to keep projects on track.
So, when it comes to communication, I’ve found the quality has increased by implementing the suggestions below:
I’m Sorry…I was Mistaken. Thank You.
I almost fell out of my chair the first time I heard this come out of a Project Managers mouth. How could this be? Project Managers don’t make mistakes. They know everything about everything. This guy didn’t, and he ended up being one of the most effective Project Managers I’ve worked with.
There is an assumption that a Project Manager who comes into a new project will immediately know all the details, relationships, nuances and history that make up the project. Some PMs perpetuate this myth by pretending to know all of this information and falling back on strategically placed buzzwords to get them through. This has the potential to backfire, and this Project Manager knew it.
4 Reasons Why the Last 2% of a Project Take Forever to Complete
“Begin with the end in mind” and “It ain’t over until it’s over” are two expressions that highlight the importance of closing a project out and crossing the finish line. It’s your job as a project manager to make sure that deliverables, activities, and processes are in place to ensure a project’s graceful and successful end. But why is it so difficult to bring projects to closure? There are a number of reasons why this is the case:
3 MORE Traits of Project Managers that Stand Out From the Crowd
“Begin with the end in mind” and “It ain’t over until it’s over” are two expressions that highlight the importance of closing a project out and crossing the finish line. It’s your job as a project manager to make sure that deliverables, activities, and processes are in place to ensure a project’s graceful and successful end. But why is it so difficult to bring projects to closure? There are a number of reasons why this is the case:
The Pros and Cons of a Functional Project Manager Resume
The functional project manager resume focuses on skills and experiences and downplays the employment aspect of your career. This is good for project managers that may be new to the workforce, or have gaps in their employment history. Interestingly, gaps in employment are not nearly the black mark that they used to be when employment was high. Nearly everyone has been affected by recent downturns in the economy and understands that even good people are affected by companies going out of business or downsizing.
What are some of the pros and cons of a functional project manager resume?
A Different Thought on Who Should Have the Final Say in Software Deployment
Most development shops are set up in such a way that once QA has signed off, then everything should be just fine. QA is usually active of the last phases in the IT Project Plan, and has one of the toughest jobs. However, I’ve seen some development companies leave the final call (if not joint final call with QA) with the Support Center, the group that handles customer calls and issues. One person who runs a call center says, “Every call that comes in is an indictment against the software.” His goal is to mitigate and minimize as many of these calls as possible. This is the group that is on the front lines, hears the angry customers, and is responsible for helping them solve their problems. Unfortunately, the solutions many times take the form of “workarounds” that may or may not ever fix the problem the proper way.
3 Great Examples of Bad Project Management
The following stories are true; only the names have been changed to protect the (not so) innocent. There are a lot of good Project Managers out there, but there are also some not so good…no, there are some really bad Project Managers, who have, by hook and by crook, somehow ended up in a position of authority and reigned down their terror on those unfortunate enough to work under them.
Learn from the stories and stay away from any tendencies you may have to manage this way.
Managing Your Own Tasks as a Project Manager
Project Managers are great at managing tasks for others, but what about when it comes to keeping themselves organized? Below are a few suggestions that may help.
Start with Your E-Mail Application
A great place to start is with your own tasks. There are meetings to plan, flights to book, agendas to put together, and reports to complete. Demands come at us fast and furious, and other people depend upon us to arrange these things in order for them to move forward. The last thing you want to be on any project or in any organization is a bottleneck.
6 Ways to Help Your Team Get Their Jobs Done
Part of your job as a project manager is to keep others organized. Some project managers may reason “I did my part and put the project plan together. Can’t they just follow that and know what tasks they need to do next?” Newsflash: a lot of people don’t read, can’t read, or won’t read a project plan. Yes, it’s hard to believe that as a project manager with all the preparation you put into it, but many times project plans go unread and unused.
You have two choices at this point. You can either become incensed and furious that nobody respects your plan enough to read it…or, you can change your strategy and help people understand what tasks are next for them to accomplish.
What It Means to Push Back as a Program Manager
Part of your job as a project manager is to keep others organized. Some project managers may reason “I did my part and put the project plan together. Can’t they just follow that and know what tasks they need to do next?” Newsflash: a lot of people don’t read, can’t read, or won’t read a project plan. Yes, it’s hard to believe that as a project manager with all the preparation you put into it, but many times project plans go unread and unused.
You have two choices at this point. You can either become incensed and furious that nobody respects your plan enough to read it…or, you can change your strategy and help people understand what tasks are next for them to accomplish.
How to Plan a Project for Closure
recently discussed 4 Reasons Why the Last 2% of a Project Take Forever to Complete. If you are plagued with a similar problem, keep the suggestions below in mind to make sure your next project comes to a graceful end.
Begin with the End in Mind
There is definitely value in keeping the end in mind when it comes to closing out a project. Up front, establish and define your project objectives, objective measures and specifications—emphasis on objective.
3 Ways You Can Push Back as a Program Manager
Our last post, What it Means to Push Back as a Program Manager, discussed why it’s important to say NO at times. One area where this skill is very important is within your own organization. The following are some scenarios and possible remedies to these situations if you encounter them as a program manager:
3 Benefits of a Project Management Office (PMO)
A Project Management Office (PMO) is a department or group of people that defines and maintains standards related to project management within an organization. More importantly, as an extension of defining and maintaining these standards, a PMO is responsible for the successful execution and implementation of projects that fall under their jurisdiction.
An enterprise-wide project management office is beneficial for the following 3 reasons:
Even Trains that Have Left the Station Can Go In Reverse
I heard the expression that “the train has already left the station” as an indication that, despite certain things not being right, nothing more could be done to correct the project. This statement piqued my curiosity…can a train, with miles of cars attached, go in reverse? I have it on good authority (a train engineer) that a train can indeed go in reverse.
It’s a fact that everyone is extremely busy, probably too busy. Because of this, many have developed a checklist mentality. As soon as something is checked off their list, regardless of how Complete or Right it is, it becomes “the train that has already left the station”.
Below are three options for problematic trains that are headed your way.