Project Connections Newsletter Archive

• Fearless Project Leadership
  As the project leader, PMs absolutely MUST tell execs how it really is. Kimberly outlines how to do it, fearlessly. From the project kick-off, where the project leader may not even be involved, to the attempted premature launch of a less-than-ready-to-ship product, projects run a higgily-piggily route. This real-world path rarely resembles the neat, tidy, well-defined process described in the PMBOK®.
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• Being Heard Above the Communication Blizzard
  Are your key project communications getting lost in the avalanche? Try these suggestions for climbing out of the drift.
  Is there any project manager among us who doesn't have a big old stack of email in his in-basket, a giant pile of unread documents on his desk, and an incessantly flashing "message waiting" light on his voice mail? Paper information is typically "filed" geologically, heaped layer by layer upon the pile until critical project documents are found somewhere in the Mesozoic Era.
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• Why Schedules Are Always Late and What to Do About It
  Five reasons your projects always seem to be late, and five things you can do to make this one different.
  When is the very first moment that you know a project will be late? For most projects, it's day one. My first project management text book proclaimed "A well run project takes from 50 to 100% more time to complete than predicted, and poorly run projects require two to three times as long as planned."
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• Lost in Translation: Crossing Cultural Gaps in Project Management
  Is your project team globally challenged? Seven things you can do to build project relationships that transcend cultural differences (and significantly boost your chances of success).
  As a project manager, it was difficult enough getting a bunch of people who were in the same room, spoke the same language and grew up in the same country to get on the same page. Now practically every project seems to be spread over two or three continents and four or more time zones. Welcome to project management in the 21st century global village!
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• Danger! Projects May Be Harmful to Mammals!
  How good PMs can fight the mobocracy of a project gone horribly wrong. Hint: It involves not doing anything-at least, not yet.
  I haven't quite put my finger on it, but something I've noticed about the human condition that retards our ability to be successful project managers. When we see someone else fail we assume that they're just stupid, but when we ourselves fail it's simply an honest mistake or bad luck.
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• The Politics of Tuna Sandwiches and Matrix Organizations
  "How can we manage projects more effectively in matrix organizations?" Why not make the organization more effective for the project manager!
  I've never been a slave to the status quo, so when I am asked how project managers can be effective in a matrix organization, I'm not necessarily quick to answer. To me that question is like inquiring into the political affiliation of a tuna sandwich.
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• Does this Hat Look Good on Me?
  Trying on de Bono's Six Hats can give your team a completely different outlook on your project.
  De Bono was intensely frustrated with the whack-a-mole approach to creative thinking and problem solving. He created this straightforward and elegant tool to encourage a more disciplined and repeatable method of generating results.
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• Attitude of Gratitude: Celebrate Project Success... and Some Failures, too!
  If you live long enough you'll eventually complete a project successfully. What's the best way for you and your team to mark such an accomplishment?
  Do your hard-working team members really need another T-shirt? Kimberly suggests over 20 creative project rewards, not one of which involves putting a company logo on anything.
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• Agile Methodologies: Age-old Ideas in Fancy New Clothes
  Do exotic new names make age-old best practices easier to swallow? A scrappy project manager will happily oblige.
  "... my marketing co-conspirators tell me that a lot hangs on a name. It occurred to me that the same may be true for integrated product development and world-class project management best practices."
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