SNEC-PMI Annual Conference - 2009

Today I attended the first workshop of our multi-day annual conference for Southern New England Chapter of PMI. Believe it or not, this is already the fourth annual conference, and I am glad to say that I have 100% attendance rate. The adjoining science center is still under construction, four years later - it sounds to me like they need some project managers over there :)

I chose to attend Lee Lambert's session and thoroughly enjoyed it, as always. He says, and I quote "If you are not making a difference, then you are taking up space". In other words, if you are following the process, filling out the forms and checking off the boxes, then you may not be adding value. You are most likely just taking up space, and soon may have no space to take up.

The people making a difference are those who are supplying data to managers to make decisions. These people are impacting decisions. These are the people who will always have space.

Lee also said "What saves your butt in project management, is the relationships that you have taken the time to develop". I fully believe that relationships are one of the keys to successful project management, and is not taught in the traditional project management training courses.

The best way to develop relationships, is to never eat alone. If you have not yet read the book "never eat alone", then I recommend that you pick up a copy.

Also, if you are not attending training sessions, and not developing your skills, then how do you intend to grow, and improve in the future. Do you want to continue doing the same old things you are doing now for the next five years? Read again what Lee said up above. Are you checking off boxes as you follow your procedures? Then you are taking up space. You can speculate what the result will be if you keep on taking up space.

Sorting fruit for Foodshare

Today, I had the pleasure of working with the youth group from my church to sort fruit at the Hartford Regional Market, on behalf of Foodshare. Foodshare is my favorite charity and I am glad to be able to help out.

Here is how it works. Wholesalers at the Hartford Regional Market donate produce to Foodshare, in large boxes, by the pallet load. Volunteers then inspect each item and discard the perished items while repacking the good items. The good items are then distributed through Foodshare's efficient distribution channel.

Let me describe the setting this morning: The sorting table is a 6 x 4 foot stainless table at waist height. A volunteer empties a box of produce onto the sorting table, and cries of "gross!!", "eeuuwww!!" and "Uhhgg!!" are utterred by the younger volunteers as moldy and squishy oranges are emptied onto the sorting table.

About 5% of the produce is perished. In a box of fresh oranges, perhaps two or three oranges are rotten, moldy or split open. The rest of the box contains perfect oranges. Our helping hands inspect each orange on the sorting table and put six oranges into a bag, which is then placed onto a fresh pallet, ready for distribution.

If it were not for Foodshare, then the 95% of good, edible produce would be wasted because it is not cost efficient for retailers to sort through it. Instead, because of Foodshare and willing volunteers, our team sorted about 1,800 pounds of produce this morning, in two hours.

The whole operation is simply outstanding and a win/win/win/win situation, which is why Foodshare is my favorite charity.

The producer's win, because the produce goes to good use. The wholesalers get a tax credit on produce that is not cost-effective to sell. Foodshare wins by receiving packaged, inspected produce, for no cost of acquisition. Volunteers win by being able to do their good deeds for the day, while building bonds with like-minded people in the community.

All the way around, I am proud to be part of the Wapping Community Church and Foodshare.

Never Eat Alone

I have finally made the time to read "never eat alone" by Keith Ferrazzi with Tahl Raz, after having it on my reading list for ages. I wish I had made the time years ago :)

I am impressed - this book is worth studying. The one word that stands out is "Audacity".

It beats out, by far, the "How to work a room by swapping 100 business cards" sea of books on the market. I always wonder how many of such authors have any lasting success from drawers full of business cards - I find card swapping techniques shallow and a waste of time, ranking alongside "elevator pitches" on my slimy-ness scale.

The authors take us through meaningful experiences from Keith's childhood - growing up in a blue-collar community and the benefit of his father's audacity, which resulted in achieving a top notch education.

The authors show the value of building relationships and how networks are instrumental in helping others, which also helps you. I relate to this concept, because much of my success in reaching dreams has been the result of personal relationships.

Up to this point, my relationship building techniques have been uncoordinated and crude. Now, after reading "never eat alone", I can refine my techniques and add more value to my network

This is an awesome book. I recommend that you add it to your "Books to read" list.

MPUG - Connecticut Chapter

Last night, I enjoyed a presentation by Mark Hall from William George Associates at the Connecticut chapter of MPUG (Microsoft Project User Group).

We heard about the wonderful features in MS-Project version 2007. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of it.

It was weird, and I felt so old. In 1997, I was a Microsoft Certified Trainer and working for a training company. My areas of expertise were NT 4 Operating System, Novell Netware, Internet Information System, Exchange and SMS. In this job, I travelled to Dallas, TX, Saudi Arabia and Holland.

Now, 12 years later, I find myself in a Microsoft office, half-way around the world. It was a reflective time, realizing how this life has incredible twists and turns. It was a deeply touching moment for me. These experiences have allowed me to help people around the world, while also expanding my understanding of humans and the earth we live on.

These experiences make me a uniquely compassionate Project Manager and allow me to coach to Project Managers to greater insights.

Oliver Wendell Holmes said that "The mind, once expanded to the dimensions of larger ideas, never returns to its original size."

This is true for me. Once I realized that I could live in the USA, it became my dream, goal and my reality. Similarly, the process repeated to publish my first book and become the foremost coach to Project Managers.

OK - enough of touchy-feely stuff :)

MS-Project 2007, especially the Enterprise Server edition, appears to be the Silver bullet for many enterprise-wide Project Management challenges - I am looking forward to a demonstration of the product. Even if it is a copper-plated bullet, it will be a better solution that multiple copies of Excel documents that we email to team members and managers as we deliver projects.

P.S. As we went around the room and conversed, we found that most of the audience augment their Project Management tool with Excel documents in order to reach specific purposes on their projects. "Long live MS-Excel for Practicing Project Managers!!"

Documenting Project Manager challenges

Do you believe in coincidence? Do you believe in the law of attraction? Whatever you believe in, the stars aligned this morning as I serendipitously studied the Sunday morning paper

I am working day and night at the moment on a series of articles for the the SNEC-PMI newsletter to offer solutions that help Project Managers be more effective in the real world. After we have studied the nice, neat, Pollyanna case studies for our certifications, then we usually find that the real world of project management is a tad different.

For example, in theory, a project manager gets all the appropriate documents signed by the appropriate stakeholders and then we happily go off to lunch. In the real world, people don't get back to you, are out of the office or have been abducted by aliens. Who knows what all goes wrong, but the fact is that it is hard to get some people to respond to your emails.

I am obviously not the only project manager with these challenges in the real world. Here is what Dilbert shares in today's Sunday paper: