One of the more interesting communication backfires of the last few weeks has been the widespread reaction to the Australian government’s chief business adviser, Maurice Newman’s ‘opinion piece’ in the The Australian newspaper: ‘We’re ill-prepared if the iceman cometh’. The construct of the article uses two rhetorical ploys that can be effective if applied subtly […]
Rhetoric can backfire Read More »
Project Management has it’s roots in a few key sectors, defence, IT, construction, and capital intensive industries such as energy and oil and gas. If you look at the awards issued by the APM over the past few years then most of the award winners are from these key sectors. However as project management matures
Project Management Around the World #pmFlashBlog: The Need for a Fresh Approach. Read More »
“Affairs are easier of entrance than of exit, and it is but common prudence to see our way out before we venture in” (Aesop 620 BC-560 BC). Projects are an arena that can be fraught with conflict. Disputes and ‘fights’ of all types occur, ranging from $million claims, through many types of negotiation, to personal
Your ability to successfully contribute to a project team depends a lot on your ability to relate effectively to people. Managing relationships is the core to managing; managing your managers, managing your team and managing other stakeholders. There are no neutral relationships; every relationship you have influences you and can lift you up or weigh
Dealing with difficult people Read More »
Beginning a new career as a professional project manager (PM) can be difficult, especially for those who have had no prior training in project management. Being a PM can be rewarding and interesting, but without the proper project management training courses, individuals are ill-prepared for all the difficult tasks and decisions that can arise in
Six Things all New Project Managers Should Do Read More »
A recent survey released by Parallel Project Management shows that attending a professional project management course provides a multitude of benefits, both for the project manager and the corporation. Statistics show that management training increases overall success rates for project completion. Past attendees of the Parallel Project Management Training Courses took a survey on the
Study Highlights the Benefits of Project Management Training Read More »
I realize I said “always” in the title and that’s probably a little misleading. Why? Because it’s just not possible. There’s no way we can guarantee that every project decision that we make as project managers on all of our engagements will be great decisions…or even good ones. However, there are things we can do
How to Always Make Great Project Decisions Read More »
As a Project Manager you are rather familiar with buzzwords such as ‘Return on Investment (ROI)’, ‘Risk Analysis’ and ‘Iterative Planning’ among a host of other terms that are commonly used in your day-to-day activities. In fact, when it comes to project management, there’s generally a lot of business jargon that gets bandied about. Allow
5 Human Hurdles in Project Management and Tactics to Overcome Them Read More »
Describing scheduling, Earned Value and financial management as ‘project controls’ is, I would suggest dangerous! The steering mechanism on a car is a control system, you move the steering wheel and the front wheels turn; and if the car is in motion its direction of travel is altered. Control systems cause a change. Altering the
Using Project Controls for Effect Read More »
Just a few short decades ago, project management wasn’t a part of the everyday business vernacular. Although it was practiced in some cases, we didn’t have a name for it and it wasn’t thought about very much. Then suddenly sometime in the 1960s the concept had a name and companies started hiring consultants and project
Trends in Project Management Read More »
