Knowledge Transfer – An Investment
Throughout history, man has had to develop and refine ways to pass knowledge on from one human to another and from one generation to another. Two of the most common forms of passing on knowledge are to write things down or to simply pass the knowledge on verbally. Writing things down can take many forms with language and words being the most obvious examples but other forms such as pictures and music have also played a significant role in this regard. Written things have the advantage of...
Read More10 Things PM’s Should Have on their “Don’t-Do” List
Don’t react – always take time to think through the various stimuli coming your way and respond in a planful way Don’t manage by the seat of your pants – plan! Don’t sit – wander the floor, every day Don’t ignore your sponsor – sounds obvious but it happens Don’t stay home – visit remote sites, if not often then at least at the beginning of a project to get to know people Don’t defer to strong-minded team members – if you...
Read MoreA Contractor Boom?
I’ve been contracting for almost 10 years now. Those 10 years followed 10 as an employee. While contracting has its downsides, it really has been more enjoyable for me to be a contractor than an employee. I’ve made lots of good friends in the client offices I’ve worked in, I’ve had lots of challenge and opportunity, variety and since I tend to get restless quite quickly, the constant change has served me well. Recently, I’ve heard more and more full timer’s...
Read MorePracticing
During the past few weeks, I’ve taken some time off from “real work” to do some upgrading in the various areas my project management work requires me to have some knowledge. During this time off, it has become apparent to me that I’ve fallen into a terrible trap over what is an embarrasingly long period of time – years! This trap is that I have quit “practicing” the skills I use each day. When we think of professional athletes, entertainers, etc, we...
Read MoreBuilding Contingency into Project Plans
Building a project plan with no contingency metrics (for budget and timeline) is foolish. Yet PM’s do it all the time, this one included. Why? It can only lead to expanding budgets and timelines for projects unless they are almost completely understood at the time of the original estimate, which is almost never. By definition, a project is a unique undertaking. If it wasn’t unique, it would be operations and hence understood and repeatable. This uniqueness translates into...
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