Project management coaching and career development tips
It usually takes a few sessions after I start working with a new client before we establish a level of trust to go deep and personal. For those of you who have been following me for awhile, I think it’s time for me to share more personally. In August 2020, my wife and I arrived … Read more
In response to my post on How to Solve Stakeholder Management Problems, a reader responded that the term stakeholder has negative connotations to many Indigenous Peoples. In her comment, Denise Tregear suggested replacing stakeholder with the terms “Interested Parties” or “Partners” instead. While it’s true that words have many meanings and I struggle to write … Read more
Stakeholder management is the biggest pain point experienced by project managers. In my survey of project professionals, 80% of respondents mentioned it as a challenge or problem that poses risks to the success of their projects. This resonated with the broader PM community. When I posted the list of common stakeholder management problems to the … Read more
You already know that the biggest pain point for PMs is stakeholder management. What comes after? In my survey of project managers, the #2 biggest pain point was mentioned by one in two respondents. It is resource management, and it sounds like:• it’s hard to get resources for projects; we’re always competing for resources because there … Read more
Over the past several weeks, I reached out to project managers in my network and asked them what their biggest project problems were. The top pain point was mentioned by twice as many people as the second. Make a guess. What’s your greatest project challenge? If your answer is stakeholder management, you are in good … Read more
Are you a project manager
Or a professional cat herder?
Do you sometimes feel
Like a project babysitter?
As project managers, sometimes you are handed a poorly designed project that spells failure from day one. You immediately fall back on the triple constraints of scope, time, and cost. Then, if all you think about is how to cut costs and limit scope in order to deliver on time, you are squeezing your project. … Read more
Last week, Elon Musk mandated a return to the office policy for Tesla workers, “Anyone who wishes to do remote work must be in the office for a minimum (and I mean *minimum*) of 40 hours per week or depart Tesla.” What problem is Elon trying to solve? Those who refuse, “should pretend to work … Read more
Apps eat your time! How many notifications do you receive about offers and deals you don’t need? Each time you receive one of these, you expend mental energy to digest that offer and make a decision. Then you may delete that offer. Over time, I have added many apps to my phone which I no … Read more
Recently I got asked, what was the most challenging part of onboarding a new project management tool? Contrary to popular belief, technology is not the biggest problem. The success or failure to adopt the new PM tool depends on how the choice was made. Were users included in the selection process and broadly consulted? Or … Read more