Commentary
23.04.2012
Commentary
Hi,
Of all the projects and programs we have delivered (and remediated), 98% of the people we worked for ended up with a promotion, or bigger job.
How do I know this? We’ve kept very good records of our clients and kept in touch so we know where they’ve gone and when. In looking over the past 13 (and a bit) years we can track the effect of successful projects and programs.
Perhaps even more interesting is that for the people originally responsible for delivering a project we later remediated over 80% have gone backwards. Ouch.
And even more interesting again, people responsible for two projects/programs needing remediation are no longer in roles (or employment) where they are in charge of projects and programs (in other words they’ve gone to the wilderness).
Just thought I’d share this information – makes me feel good to realise that we are career boosters!
Enjoy your day, Diane
Portfolios Programs Projects – simply making them happen
08.02.2012
Commentary
Good morning,
13 years ago today I got dressed and headed in to work to talk to my boss about coming back after a period of sick leave. You’ve probably heard me talk about the two meetings that took place that day. I walked away, came home and started RNC.
13 years. Wow, it seems both so recent and so long ago. read more
03.01.2012
Commentary
A busy year approached its end, Santa visited (via an inflatable boat, as you might have noticed), and clocks around the world ticked over to 2012 amidst a glorious global display of fireworks and 24 hour party celebrations. I hope you found time to rest, relax and re-energise, as I did. I also enjoyed searching for some thoughts and ideas to inspire you.
And here’s something I found…
From Colin Gautrey, it’s not only interesting reading, but as we return to our workplaces it is, quite simply, some sensible, straightforward advice to begin the year with.
read more
28.10.2011
Commentary
Some time ago, let’s say it was about 2066 years ago, give or take a few months, a certain well known Roman emperor needed to transport his army of 40,000 men, horses and project managers (outsourced PMs, of course) – from Gaul, across the Rhine River, and into Germania to have a look around. “And I want to get there in a hurry!!”, he demanded. But how? Well, perhaps the first thing his PM team did was provide a risk assessment, a mitigation plan, and ensure an effective strategy was in place, in the event of realisation of those risks.
Or maybe not. read more
28.08.2011
Analysis, Commentary
Peter Reefman loves his job – and he loves a challenge. He’s been a Project Manager for over ten years, and says that it’s precisely the satisfaction gained from overcoming challenges that makes being a PM such a great career.
Challenges such as resistance to change… Or being expected to manage a project with no control of finances nor any management of the vendor… Technology issues that could not be adequately addressed by a vendor but being told to use it anyway… Or even trying to deliver an effective solution when the solution had been picked before the requirements had been defined… Do these sound familiar to you?
Meeting such challenges and resolving conflicts have gained Peter many accolades from happy, indeed grateful customers. Part of the key to success is in achieving the right equilibrium between senior management and their vision, and the team members and their efficiencies, and Peter’s experiences in the world of PM have enabled him to shed new light on the often debated ‘Top Down v Bottom Up’ approaches.
Recently, Peter’s article, “Project Management – Top Down or Bottom Up” appeared in AIPM’s Project Manager magazine. In it, Peter presented some thoughts on these approaches to planning from a Project Manager’s perspective, and provided ideas and strategies that have helped create a better balance for all those involved.
Read a plain text PDF version of Peter’s article.
Click here to read the PDF version of the original article as it appeared in ‘Project Manager’ (The article was first published in the December/January 2011 issue of Project Manager, magazine of the AIPM (www.aipm.com.au).
In the meantime, Peter continues to love his job.
And his advice to others?
- Engage with your stakeholders!
- Listen to them.
- Try to get into their skin.
- Work at understanding their business drivers.
01.04.2011
Analysis, Commentary, Culture, Synopsis
Hi,
Change. Yes, it’s time to discuss this frequently used term that can cause grown PMs to run for cover. I prepared a presentation for a client to use with their management team (and yes, I slipped a couple of slides in there about RNC) to help explain and support the need to do things differently. Their challenge is that they continue with group training, team building exercises, culture surveys, etc, and yet projects and business, as usual, struggle… and change is stymied.
The presentation clarified why the old approach doesn’t work and that you can’t cause change unless the individual feels okay about it. It was a resounding success and we are now all focussing on the key building block of the organisation – the individual.
View my CHANGE presentation here.
24.03.2011
Analysis, Commentary
Hi, I recently rediscovered this article which I wrote nearly a decade ago, in 2002. It seems like yesterday, but of course, life and times were very different. We were on the cusp of a number of major political, financial, technological and environmental shifts. What were the challenges facing PMs in 2002? And today? Has the PM environment moved with the times? Let me know your thoughts too…. read more
16.03.2011
Commentary, Conferences
Hi again,
I know I promised this yesterday but instead I spent the time debating with myself about what to say. You see, in recent times I haven’t been going to project management conferences, preferring instead to go to the conferences where the people who ‘use’ project managers hang out. (And just for clarity please note that my use of the terms project and program, manager and director are interchangeable for these purposes – the people other people look to, to get things done).
However, I agreed to speak at the PMI Pharmaceutical project management conference in the US last week and was hopeful that things had changed. That perhaps the conversation would be around delivery rather than process and outcomes rather than tracking, reporting and analysis? read more
02.03.2011
Commentary, Conferences, Synopsis
Hi,
On Monday 28th February I presented a paper at the 2011 International Conference of the Association of Global Management Studies, which has just concluded in Las Vegas. The conference provided opportunities for networking and collaboration amongst scholars from academia, industry and government, and encouraged papers on any aspect of management and business. read more
08.02.2011
Commentary
We are 12!! I can’t believe it is 12 years since I decided to start my own really nice company (RNC). I won’t bore you by repeating the conception story here but I will tell you a bit about what I saw then and what I see now. read more