David Cotgreave

If you like David's blogs - he is now a published author - Straight Talk on Project Management (VOLUME III)- Free eBook. Why not download your copy today. http://www.stoneseed.co.uk/ebook David Cotgreave MBA, BSc (hons), PRINCE II, is Professional Services Director at Stoneseed, with over 20 years’ experience in IT Consulting. David has worked with organisations such as BT Engage IT and KPMG, before founding Stoneseed in 2009 and has gained considerable business experience whilst working with a wide range of organisations across the UK and Europe carrying out a range of strategy, review and implementation projects. David is currently responsible for leading the Programme and Project Management services offered by Stoneseed. Project Management as a Service (PMaaS) from Stoneseed offers clients access to Project Management staff, resources and tools at a flexible and predictable cost via a fully Structured Managed Service. www.stoneseed.co.uk

Written Articles

What's the P in your PMO

As 27% of CIOs predict increasing the number of IT contractors on their books – how not to get handcuffed to expensive retainers

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One of the greatest arguments for hiring contractors over permanent staff is reduced headcount – when work is quiet you want fewer \”bums on seats\” waiting for something to do. I am therefore surprised to find many companies are voluntarily tying themselves into contracts with contractors that effectively do this – create \”bums on seats\” […]

How to kill off your zombie projects

This Halloween: how to kill off your zombie projects

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Do you have them? Projects that set out with the greatest of intentions but which failed to deliver and because no-one ever put them out of their misery they stumble on devouring resources with every uneven step they take. Zombie projects. Most CIOs, Project Managers and Project teams will vehemently deny that they have them. […]

plug your pm skills gap

Five compelling reasons to plug your Project Management skills gap

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In the ever changing, lightning speed IT world, effective Project Management delivers operational excellence. As every company is now, in some way, an IT operation IT Project management is something that every company needs. It is, however, something that many companies do not have. Not completely. Do you find IT Project Delivery a challenge? A […]

How To Create Project Management Luck

When IT Project Management processes alone won\’t deliver, you need luck – three ways you can create your own luck!

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Have you ever toiled with a cursed IT Project? Imagine your server not arriving because there is a man standing on a gantry on the M1, shutting it for 28 hours. Imagine your kit arrives with American plugs. Imagine your lead architect getting stuck in Iceland because of a volcano erupting. Sometimes I wonder how […]

Stoneseed's Andrew Buzton accepts award from sponsor Chris Darlington of Mazars

Project Management Specalists Stoneseed Named Nottinghamshire Business of the Year

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    Project Management service providers Stoneseed win two awards, Nottinghamshire Business of the Year and Nottinghamshire Small Business of the Year award. Stoneseed Ltd, an independent provider of IT Project Management Services is delighted to be awarded the East Midlands Chamber\’s Nottinghamshire Business of the Year. The Business of the Year, sponsored by Mazars, rewards […]

MOTIVATION- WHY PRAISE PAYS

A promotion is nice, a bonus is quickly squandered, in IT Project Management, it\’s praise that pays

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When motivating IT Project Management team members, praise, gratitude and recognition for \’a job well done\’ can be as powerful as a raise, a bonus or a promotion. If not more so. Think about it yourself. Your monthly salary is what you\’ve earned in return for your services – that\’s what\’s owed to you! Nice […]

PM lessons to learn from the worlds best athletes

Six lessons that IT Project Managers can learn from the world\’s best athletes

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Possibly, like me, you have been hooked on an outstanding summer of sport. Regular readers of my blogs will know that I take inspiration from all manner of experiences and walks of life and I bring them back to use in my IT Project Management efforts. Inevitably, I have been immensely motivated by the athletes […]

child riding tricycle

Never, ever fear failure. Seven powerful lessons you can learn when your IT project fails

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I bet you can ride a bicycle now, am I right? How many times did you fall off whilst learning? How many plasters got applied to scuffed knees, how many times did you nearly go over the handlebars because you applied the front brake too harshly? How many tears? How many tantrums? None of these […]

Man looking at landscape

Is your project team made up of puppets or pioneers?

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I recently had the pleasure of working with two IT Project Teams who are paradoxically both very similar and very different. The first, I\’ll call them \’Team X\’ was struggling to deliver projects within agreed parameters and the second, \’Team Y\’ was hitting targets but was asking \’what else can we do to add extra […]

How to de-tangle your IT project

Five tangles that could be damaging your IT project – and how to de-tangle them

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I was just asked to cast ‘an experienced eye’ over an IT project that had gone off the rails. \”I think it needs more governance,\” the project\’s sponsor told me. What I found was a familiar sight, a project that was not failing through lack of governance but instead a lack of simplicity. The project […]