Wondering if you can cut the mustard as a Project Manager? Well, just ask yourself which of these three types most closely matches you, are you the sort to: make things happen, have things happen to them or just sit around wondering “what happened”? If you’re not in then first category – forget a life as a Project Manager as you’ll never be prepared to take risks nor, indeed, be capable of managing risks or dealing with their issues.

Project Management Risks.

With the best will in the world at some point even a smoothly running project will not go exactly to plan. Even if it’s only a small problem it could quickly escalate into something that could derail the whole project – and so it needs dealing with quickly and effectively. This is where the Project Managers ability to assess a risk and deal with issues needs to come to the fore. First off don’t look around for someone else to blame for the problem – that won’t help solve it and will only serve to waste time and effort.

Plan for the risks and manage the issues!

Risks and issues.

Within your plan, remember that’s what we talked about last time, you should have identified the risks to your project – so a risk is something that might happen. If/when it does happen, then it becomes an issue to be dealt with. Again, within your plan you should have state the likely contingencies that will be necessary to deal with the risks you identified in the plan, so if/when the issue arises you should have a plan ready and waiting to swing into action. Having said that, as the project progresses some risks may become more likely to occur, so the action plan to deal with them will need updating as the project progresses. So, in summary, when it comes to risks and issues: Identify the risks, have an action plan to deal with the issues and then constantly monitor and manage them.

Risk And Issue Management is a post from: Enterprise Project Management

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Any Project Manager will believe that they are only as good as the plans that they make. They seem to live by the motto “he who fails to plan – plans to fail”.  This is, of course, a piece of advice that any manager would do well to heed, not just Project Managers. However, if asked to show a plan of how a Project Manager envisions the work progressing they will invariably produce a schedule, probably using a Gantt Chart, as they simply don’t understand the difference between a plan and the schedule they’re working to.

The difference between a schedule and a plan.

Round the world sailing - would she need a plan or just a schedule?

Useful and essential as a schedule is, it will ‘only’ set out the jobs to be done and the timelines in which to achieve them. This is, of course, an invaluable check-list to help keep things on track, but it by no means covers all of the tasks/events that the Project Manager needs to be aware of or control. These other things all come together to form the plan and will need to include things as basic as the aims and objectives of the project through to definitions of roles and responsibilities of the personnel, quality assurance procedures and the required resources etc. To make sure you create an effective plan, ahead of the schedule, consider the following aspects of developing a comprehensive plan.

The 5 elements of planning.

First of all make sure you clearly understand the project’s objectives by writing them down clearly and concisely in a way that everyone involved in the project will both understand and relate to. Secondly, to avoid the project being extended into developments beyond it’s scope, or that would delay the delivery of your schedule; be very clear in defining what the project won’t be doing. This ‘scope definition’ will help to ensure your sponsors don’t try to encourage project creep making the project a never ending task. Thirdly, have the deliverables defined. If your project is to install a new network make sure the deliverables will cover the objectives. It would be no use having all the hardware, software and network cabling sorted out, only to start the job and realize you need to improve the power supply! Number four follows on from this – make the resources you order realistic in quantity and quality. You’ll be under constant pressure to minimize costs, so planning the resources correctly from the outset will reduce the chances that you’ll have to buy inferior products if you later on realize that something is missing. Finally, make sure the schedule is achievable. Obvious, you might well think and yet so many Project Managers end up with projects that over-run! To ensure your project is achievable make sure the schedule covers the whole project, clearly identifies the key deliverable target dates of individual components/stages and make the tracking of the project and reporting on it as easy as possible.

Plan Or Schedule is a post from: Enterprise Project Management

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In the beginning was the project – and then came the Project Manager! If you’re not already aware – becoming a Project Manager does not necessarily mean being involved with a project from its inception. Invariably Project Managers are brought in to take control of a project after it has begun. This can be due to several factors ranging from the company/people who instigated the project suddenly realizing they can’t add the workload of project management to their existing commitments, through to a more serious and potentially dangerous situation for the Project Manager to inherit where the project has descended into chaos! Whatever the reason – going into a new Project Management situation your first job is to establish a credible plan.

You need a plan.

Any Project Manager that is truly worth their pay check knows that the foundation for all of their ensuing work is the plan they put into operation. It will be a very rare occurrence that the plan, if a plan exists at all; that you inherit from the project instigators will be anything like realistic or achievable. Having said that, this is of course the whole reason why you put yourself forward to manage the project – you are a high achiever that not only gets things done, but gets them done right and on time and on budget. How are you going to do that? That’s right – by developing the plan that will rescue the project.

An ultimate project manager - the great US General said “A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow”.

Making that killer plan.

So your planning skills are required from the start of your commission, although planning skills are often acquired through experience and even common sense, there are some project planning basics that can be applied to any initial Project Management plan. The first thing to remember is that a plan is not a schedule but a concise document expressing what you are required to do and how you will achieve those things. The plan not only serves to list the objectives, resources and timescales, inspiring the confidence of all that read it – but it will also serve as a useful health check on what preceded your appointment helping you to identify problems and address them.

PM – In The Beginning is a post from: Enterprise Project Management

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As a busy project manager the last thing you need to happen is being involved in meetings that are unsuccessful to you, in terms of their outcomes. Going in to any meeting you have to know exactly what you need to achieve in it, and take away from it, in order for it to be a successful meeting. So, what can you do to ensure that you achieve your meetings objectives?

Personal skills.

Preparation is key to successful meetings.

Inter-personal skills.

Using a forceful personality, assertiveness, to effect push something through, should be seen very much as the last resort. If at all possible you need to get others in the meeting agreeing with you and understanding, or at least accepting, that your ideas are the ones needed for the project to progress correctly. (Notwithstanding of course that others may well make helpful contributions that can be incorporated.) To do this you need to ensure that from the outset of the meeting you have established objectives that are mutually agreeable to all around the table, preferably by building a joint agenda. In doing these things you can be confident that there is common ground on which all the participants will be engaged in. Thereafter – you need to present your case with the degree of clarity with which it was prepared, being quite comfortable in maintaining flexibility to any points made about it, being constantly alert to any negative body language or overtones in any responses to your case. Do give time for others to air their views too, but be sure to make your response one that finds common ground between their point and your objectives – in order to promote the sense of everyone benefiting from the outcome you desire.

Successful Meetings is a post from: Enterprise Project Management

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If you’re just starting out in your career as a Project Manager or are perhaps working as a Project Manager on a relatively small project, then you’ll invariably find yourself being directly responsible for more and more things, including directly recruiting, managing and trouble-shooting staff yourself. Whilst you will of course want to recruit the best staff and treat them all fairly – are you confident that you know about US employment law and how it could affect your recruitment and managerial procedures and styles?

So what does employment law say?

To answer that question definitively, unfortunately is virtually impossible at any one time – as the law is constantly open to interpretation. That doesn’t mean to say that Project Managers can make their own interpretations of US employment laws, but that as employment law cases are heard by the courts – the subsequent and various rulings can alter the way that US employment law is applied. The result of this is that just reading about US employment law is not enough to keep you abreast of how it is currently being applied. This means that, if you haven’t the time to personally keep track of the latest court rulings; that you can at least refer to an attorney who is an employment law expert.

Where to start with US employment law.

Don’t end up under the judge’s gavel on employment law.

Having said all of that – where should you start your understanding of US employment law? Firstly you need to know that US employment law is enshrined in four main acts: The equal pay act of 1963, The civil rights act of 1964, The age discrimination in employment act of 1967 and the Americans with disabilities act of 1990. These are all federal laws – however, they will all be backed up by local state laws too. As previously mentioned, the wording in all of those original laws will now be open to new and extended interpretations, but the general ethos enshrined in them remains the same. However, say someone with a disability applied for a post with you – you are not restricted to hiring them by anything within the relevant act. What you must do is be confident that, and be able to demonstrate that, you have given them due and equal consideration on their own merit and in relation to other candidates for the post. The simplest way to do this is simply not to ask or say anything that could be taken as being discriminatory. For example – advertizing a job requiring graduate status is fine, advertizing a job suitable for a recent graduate would not be. Why, well quite simply the latter statement implies you’re only looking for young prospective employees.

Know Your Employment Law is a post from: Enterprise Project Management

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It is often argued that leaders are born they are not made. Sufficient examples can be cited for both the arguments. However, history has been a testimony to the fact that several leaders have shown extraordinary leadership capability in later parts of their life. No one can become a leader unless and until he is able to influence others. A leader is one who is able to create a lasting influence in the minds of the people making them believe that whatever the leader is doing, it is for his own benefit.

One definition of leadership categorizes a leader as ‘X’ leader if he has an extraordinary personal leadership capabilities. The ‘X’ leaders have inner instinct to lead. They demonstrate their leadership ability by developing requisite skills and knowledge. They lead from the front and show utmost care for his followers. These leaders also do not hesitate in admitting his mistakes and learning from it. They constantly keep on innovating themselves. They are open to new challenges and are ready to adopt unconventional approach to achieve their objectives. These leaders also have the ability to take big risks.

While defining leadership it is imperative to understand that a leader is one who is effectively able to communicate with his followers. One definition of leadership defines leaders as natural leaders. These natural leaders are called charismatic leaders. The charismatic leaders have the potential to bring radical changes in the society.

Leaders need to monitor the environment continuously. They cannot just act locally but instead they need to have a broader outlook. They should be very flexible and adaptable. A better leader is one who is able to foresee the future and take steps to deal with it. Leaders can be nurtured also. It is for the leader to groom the future leaders for their organization. Proper training, guidance and responsibility help an individual to emerge as a leader.

It is often argued that there is not any single definition of leadership. Every leader in the past exhibited some unique trait, which made them the hero of their followers. Consistency of purpose is necessary. A fickle minded leader confuses his followers and takes them nowhere. A leader should lead a life of discipline. He should act as a catalyst and should not jump to take credit for any success. Once it becomes evident that the leader is behind name, fame and money, he loses the credibility and trust of his followers. A leader should show utmost restraint and patience. During adversity, he should create a positive environment around himself, which will motivate his followers. A leader should not only be visionary but he should be practical also. He should be able to establish a chord with his followers.

Definition of leadership is a post from: Enterprise Project Management

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In various professional courses like MBAs, business schools, the syllabus is incorporated with techniques of business leadership coaching. The key role behind such coaching is to familiar the future trainee CEOs with responsibilities, difficulties in the business world which they will face in future. So this business leadership coaching is one kind of disaster management program in corporate world. By using such coaching, the trainee students actually deal with how to take decisions in critical situations, how to make co-ordination among teammates, how to convince them in some of managerial disputes, how to make mutual understanding with employees and how to encourage and admire their skills and competence.

Apart from such internship and training program of business school, various renowned corporate houses, organizations organize business leadership coaching for their managerial level employees. These types of business leadership coaching program hold several advantages for the growth of employees and their organization.
By giving proper attention to such business leadership coaching, the CEOs and managerial persons find out their strong and weak points and they are facilitated with proper solutions on such negatives which assist them for contributing more in the excellence of their organization.

Also these type of leadership coaching endow with proper techniques which is useful for solving several kind of critical situation like employee strike, working shifts, problems regarding the salary of employees and other conditions of employees association.
Also such business leadership coaching facilitate some techniques the HR manager of the company about how to appoint key and eligible candidates for the company. That include how to check the business knowledge of the candidate by conducting technical, aptitude test. This coaching also gives idea about how to set a paper for various recruiting positions of the organization.

Also such coaching sessions really assists to increase the trustworthiness of the executives towards the ideology of the business organization and their kind attitude towards the welfare of the employees.

The business leadership coaching helps to enhance the leading quality of the executives. So that gives us idea about how to handle the employees for achieving the targets. By using such leadership coaching, we see the enhancement in the working stamina of the Employees. So that really helps to utilize the available working hours for making the enhancement in the production rate. Also such leadership coaching illustrate various inventive ideas which really useful for making development of the company.
By using the coaching techniques, the executives exactly knows what is the current position of their organization in the market.

In the business leadership coaching, the students are facilitated with how to take decision on any critical situation. For such important topics various techniques, mental and physical situation are discussed in the coaching session. Through this leadership coaching, the situational approach of leadership to such critical situation or dispute makes the condition safer.

Business Leadership Coaching is a post from: Enterprise Project Management

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However, what I learnt over the past couple months is, why it’s said that bigger companies are “arrogant” when it comes to responses to job applications.

I learnt with an increased number of job postings for my company that the quality of the application ABSOLUTE relates to the quality of the person applying for the job.

My submission requirements are not easy, but easy to read.

I want

• a CV
• some writing samples in german AND english
• and recently a filled out form where a couple of questions are to be answered (okok – it’s about 600 words to write I would estimate, but hell – people want a job)

I get

• 10% of complete submissions
• 90% crap

Yes, frankly NINE out of TEN persons applying for a full-time job are NOT capable to read a 2-line-requirement of things to send in.

Funny thing is, that in the beginning I started to answer them back to say “hey, please send in a a complete application, or there’s THIS missing or I’m still requiring THAT”… And one guy even wrote back “What’s still missing? I sent you all”

I must admit – I’m anoyed by so many crappy applications especially for full-time jobs located in Austria.

Frankly, today I feel this is in a direct correlation to the