Is “consultant” a dirty word? Many consultants get a bad name from the fact that they become indistinguishable from the organizational employees that they work alongside. How do you know that hiring a consultant is a good idea?
I Resolve to Be a Better Project Manager…Now What?
The beginning of the year is the time of making resolutions. This is usually followed quite quickly by the breaking of those resolutions. So what if our resolution was to become a better project manager? What then? There is a whole range of changes that this might contemplate. At the same time, there are any number of potential roadblocks that might derail us at the first turn. Doing something different requires defining both what “different” will look like, and determining our strategy for realizing that new way of operating.
Stakeholder Engagement, Not Stakeholder Management
Few project managers discuss stakeholders without in some way referencing the need to employ “stakeholder management”. Not only have we invented a dehumanizing four-syllable word for “person”, we’ve also now implied that they are people that need to be managed. Luckily, there’s a simple solution here. Read about three letters that make a lot of difference.
A Personal Approach to PM
How do we adapt in the face of consistency, or anarchy, or brutal regimentation? As project managers, the only thing that we really have control over is ourselves. Given this, how do we change our approach in a way that enables us to be effective in producing project results, rather than bashing our head repeatedly against an unfeeling and unchanging wall of bureaucracy? Here we take a look at adaptation in the face of organizational consistency.
Project Management on a Budget
There is a cost to project management. It is not free, and it is not magic. While it is difficult at times to calculate this cost, it is nonetheless an investment — and a line on project budgets that is exposed to extra scrutiny. When faced with project cuts, how much project management do you need — and need to ensure is in place?
Whose Scope Is It Anyway?
On time, on budget and to specification represent the traditional view of success in a project sphere. An exploration of insights into success and failure.