Last weekend, I went to Minneapolis/St. Paul with my wife. I learned a lot about project management from the woodchuck and geese that I met on the trip. Let me explain. Your Learning Habitat My wife was away at her conference, where she is a cake decorating instructor. I took advantage of the opportunity to…
Month: September 2022
What exactly is a Definitive Media Library?
ITIL training describes configuration and service asset management as one key process in the ITIL Service Transition stage. It requires certain tools to ensure efficiency and effectiveness. ITIL online courses provide many tools that can be used to assist with the configuration and service asset management process. The Definitive Media Library, or DML, is one…
What Everybody Should Know About Project Management. I love it when this community connects. It makes me feel like there are real people out there behind my laptop screen. It’s amazing to see how you all fit in there. Technology is amazing. If you’ve been running your own business for more than a decade, how do you get into project management? How to get your foot in front – photo by Phos365 via Flickr C. D., a New York City resident, wrote to me recently to ask about this. I’m going jump in and out from first to third person. I’ve updated this to make it more robust than my original email to C. D. Here’s the Skinny C. D. She has run her own freelance business for many decades and it’s been great. But, it’s time to make a change. She has been involved in project management her whole life, but not in a formal manner. C. D. had read my post Run Away! C. D. had read my post Run Away! (And Other Helpful Advice for a Career in Project Management) to be sure she has all the qualities we discussed. “I have been managing projects for a while and believe I have a natural talent for it. However, I don’t have any formal training in the field and many of the industry terms that are used on SPOTO.com and elsewhere, are foreign to me. It’s been a joy to find so many information on the Internet, but it can be overwhelming to know where to start. C. D. in New York City Looks Like a Good Match To Me “It sounds like you have all the attributes of a great PM. I understand exactly where you are at. I was there 5 years ago. Although I had experience with managing many projects, I was primarily an operational manager and didn’t have any formal project management knowledge. Josh, I didn’t think she was trying to convince me that this type of work was right for her. Through our communication, I was able to see that she is a go getter, very intelligent, has the people skills, and the experience to move places very quickly once she gets her foot in a door. My Take: Get Your Foot in the RIGHT Door. This is something that many job-seekers forget, regardless of their role. Find an environment where you can thrive first. I have a lot of experience in looking for jobs (hey, it didn’t get fired OK). Having been laid off five times so far. I have never had to submit my resume to job boards. That was something I stopped doing a long time ago. When I started looking for companies (not jobs),? Things started to happen when I began networking to help others, not just when I was looking for a job. It is hard work but it produces results. There is no one-size fits all. 1)? 1.) Look for companies that are project-oriented. Are medium-sized to large companies geared towards completing customer projects best? There are many benefits to this:
This type of company will eventually reach a certain size. They will die otherwise. This environment is likely to be mentor-rich. In a company like this, you are more likely to receive formal PM training. You can join in a capacity you are already very comfortable with as a member of the project team; be…
What Every Project Manager Needs To Know About Project Leadership Guest Post by Rick Valerga. It was an honor to be invited to write a guest post for The PM Student. I have enjoyed reading his work. Josh reminded me to make my content more accessible to a beginner audience. Psst…here’s the secret What Every Project Manager Needs to Know is exactly the same thing that Every Expert Project Manager must know about project management! It?s simple. It can be summarized in one word: integrity. Integrity Defined I didn’t know that it would strike such an emotional chord, but my book’s definition of integrity was quoted by a few people. In my book, Integrity Defined I wrote that integrity means being truthful at all time, avoiding deception, acting ethically in all situations, especially when no one is looking. When you have to face consequences, integrity is most important. If there is one thing the project world is full with, it is consequences. Integrity in the World of Projects. Integrity is the foundation for a virtuous circle in projects. Integrity is a product that is built upon trust and transparency. Trust builds credibility over time. A project’s success is dependent on its credibility. It can speed up decisions and sponsorship. This is something that even experienced PMs forget from time to time. As a project manager, you must ensure the success and well-being of three key constituencies.
Your customers (who benefit from the project) Your team members (who do the designing, prototyping and producing) Your sponsor (who will invest the resources) You will be able to make all three successful if you align their interests. Integrity is what will allow you to best align them. Let’s say your project is high-risk and…
What does the PMBOK Edition update mean for your PMP
PMBOK webinar – photo taken by radiant guy via Flickr Christine, representing ESI International, emailed me this morning about a free webinar to help you navigate the differences between the 3rd edition and the 4th edition of the PMBOK guide. “The current, PMBOK? The Project Management Institute (PMI) has published the fourth edition of Guide?…