Those who know me will tell you I firmly believe a large percentage of our daily professional lives is allocated to managing projects. Here are ten things GREAT project managers do differently. 1: Protect Organizational Resources. Effective project managers protect the organization's finances, time, equipment, and PEOPLE. This responsibility often overwhelms junior project managers newly placed
You leave the military with plenty of awesome sayings and cliches: “Think outside the box.” “High speed, low drag.” “Every dog has its day.” “Nothing good comes easy.” “Spotlight ranger” “Tactical pause” “Blue Falcon” “Soup Sandwich” “The only easy day was yesterday.” (I had to put this one in so my Navy SEAL friends would
I'm a huge fan of the TV show Ted Lasso. My wife and kids laugh at me as the show is constantly on in my office beside my desk while I work. As a conservative estimate, I've probably seen the show's first two seasons around 25 times. To prove it's more than just mindless comedic
It may be due to my military background, or it may be because of my dad and the lessons of politeness he drilled in me. I don't know why, but I can tell you this: I hate being late. Late. What a horrible word. Do you realize each day consists of only 1,440 minutes? Though
There are few things more essential to success than your team’s abilities. Too many of us obsess over it. We pay coaches to guide us through unconventional approaches and spend tens of thousands of dollars screening for the “right” candidate to bring into the team. And I’m not arguing against that, but I’d like to offer
We all get the same 1,440 minutes each day. No exceptions. In that aspect, we're all exactly the same. Zero differences. The real difference is in how we get to spend these precious minutes. Specific amounts are beyond our immediate control: where we work, how we get to and from, and what we do while there. Forced Meetings,
Capturing lessons learned in real-time is vital to the success of your efforts. Far too many of us rely on broken systems to capture lessons as they occur. Due to the fast-paced corporate environments in which we live, we rarely have the time to go back and incorporate fixes to the problems we identified. Here
As we end the year, I just wanted to take a moment to give a shoutout to three excellent books I've just finished (and highly recommend). I read 100+ books each year but deliberately focus on powerful books just before the New Year to get my head straight. I must be honest and let you
Raise your hand if you've been in a meeting in which your innovative-leader-in-residence pitched the new "great idea." Keep your hand raised if you knew this newfound "innovation" was a horrible idea. Keep it up if you knew it would add work to a staff already completely over-tasked. Lastly, give me a 'hallelujah' if you've
When I hear project managers talk "stakeholder engagement," it usually makes me cringe. Too many project managers throw around buzzwords without understanding what they really mean. Sadly, they also adhere to antiquated or inefficient processes. Enough already. Let's start by defining what a stakeholder is. Project stakeholders are people, groups, and organizations who have power