This article focuses on the framework of project management. Just what are the components that go into building a successful project? How are we defining project success? Here are a few answers to these questions: On time. The product is delivered according to schedule. Some projects are essentially worthless if they aren’t on time. In…
Tag: Project Manager
Project Management Is Industry Independent, Project Managers Are Not
This industry independence has been a major factor in the development of project management as a discipline, but that independence doesn’t extend to the people practicing the discipline. While project management is industry independent, project managers must not only know how to operate in business and project environments, they must also be well acquainted with…
The Evolution of the Project Management Discipline
From the time humans first worked together to build a shelter or cultivate a crop, there have been projects and project management. Yet it has been only since World War II that a formal project management discipline has emerged. During and immediately after the war, the U.S. government was engaged in enormous weapons development projects.…
Managing Projects, 6 Challenges You Should Know
Work that is unique and temporary requires different management disciplines. Because managing projects have different characteristics than ongoing operations, they pose a brand-new set of challenges. Here are some of the challenges that project managers could face: Personnel. Every project has different personnel needs. The number of people needed—and their different skill sets—is different for…
11 Tips For The Aspiring Manager
As a new manager, how do you get to grips with your company, which may or may not be perfectly formed strategically? As consultants often do, we thought of creating a checklist of things that an incoming leader should do. Then we thought again. ‘Ask all the dumb questions. Because you can.’ Doug, Invester, Former…
5 Ways to Improve Project Success
Project management has been called both an art and a science. Below, you will see how mastering the science of project management provides a foundation for the art of leadership. The reasons to improve project success are common to both. There is no question that the best project managers are also outstanding leaders. They have…
Increasing Pace of Change in Project Management
There is another trend favoring project management, which is as strong as the new employment paradigm and probably even more inevitable. This is the increasing pace of change. Tom Peters is gung ho about this topic. His books and articles repeatedly beat the refrain that the economy is shifting, innovation is rampant, and “doing it…
Project Manager in a Changing World
“I need help!” A human resources manager for a large west-coast health maintenance organization (HMO) was inundated with requests from employees wanting their job codes changed to that of project manager. “Everyone is responsible for projects,” she explained, “but that doesn’t mean everyone is a project manager. Just what is a project manager and why…
Bennis Transformational Theory – Leadership Theories Series
Use Bennis transformational theory to develop a vision for your organization based on values and beliefs and not management-speak. Following interviews with a range of leaders Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus identified four strategies that leaders should use when trying to transform their organizations. These are shown below. Strategy 1 Develop a clear and understandable vision…
Bass Transformational Theory – Leadership Theories Series
Use bass transformational theory to identify the values and beliefs that you need to display to be recognized as a transformational leader. Bernard Bass built upon the work of Burns to develop an expanded and more detailed version of transformational leadership theory. Bass Identified what he called the 41st: Idealized influence refers to the charisma.…