Photo impressions from Conference in Athens
Yesterday I received photos from last week’s project management conference in Athens. A project management conference and I am talking about mountains? True. The reason is simple: I am comparing a project to a mountain tour where the mission of the team is to reach…
„I“ and „maximizing profits“ vs. „Us“ and „satisfying customers“
Recently I attended a management meeting in which the roadmap of an organization was outlined. While the actual roadmap was convincing the presentation of the same was dismal and anything but convincing. What went wrong? – The presenter’s favorite terms were „I have accomplished such…
Leading without authority
„Even if they don’t call the shots, project managers can still have power over their teams.“ – This is the subtitle of a new article in the magazine „PM Network“, June 2010 issue. The article explains why project managers ought to try to forge relationships…
Out on a limb? Working for difficult clients – Cont’d
Dear Friends, I still owe you a response to the question what I ended up doing in the situation described in my previous post. Recall, the question I posed was, “What experience do you have advising clients which on the one hand asks you to…
Upcoming book
Today I have finished a new book proposal. I keep the title to myself – at least for the time being. Still, let me tell you about its content: The book is going to be about the 5 principles of effective project leadership and how…
Compromising in ailing projects – or – the acceptance of mediocrity
We are being taught that compromising is a good thing, rather than fighting for one position over another. But is this always true? I claim that in a situation of an ailing project, compromising paves the way to mediocrity if not even doom. Take the…
Team-Building as a Means to Re-Align a Project
The next PMI Global Congress EMEA held in Amsterdam May 18-20, 2009 is approaching. This year I will be conducting two 3-hour workshops on project recovery. The workshop is entitled, „Yes We Can: Team-Building as a Means to Re-Align a Project.“ Project recovery missions are…
Lack of Project Leadership: Asking for Multiple Project Plans for a Single Project
It may sound like a simple, maybe even simplistic question: how many project plans should you have for your project? Well, “one, of course”, you may answer. And you are right. 1 project -> 1 project plan. This is simple and basic project management knowledge….
Remember Lee Iacocca
A good friend of mine, James Bowman, Ph.D, MSEd, Director and Founder of MOTIVATE2B, has forwarded me this excellent read. Remember Lee Iacocca, the man who rescued Chrysler Corporation from its death throes? He’s now 82 years old and has a new book, ‚Where Have…
Lessons Learned – Effective Leaders Encourage Feedback Sharing
Conducting Lessons Learned workshop can be very valuable. Not just after a project finish, but during the course of a project. When conducting such a workshop, collect and sort the feedback of the team AND let the team prioritize its feedback. Experience shows that it…