WolfPack Wins

Hartford Wolf Pack won the ice hockey game last night. Game was slow at times, and was tie at two goals each before going into overtime.

My son and I had a great time. I am still not used to the "boo, boo, boo" at the visiting team. It is unsportsmanlike to cheer the roof off for the home team and boo the visitors. I guess it is part of the hockey culture. I am sure this behaviour would be frowned upon at Wimbledon games.

Visiting team goals are not recognized, but when the home team wins, the crowd goes wild, as you experience in this video clip of the winning goal.

Just as professional baseball players are taught to spit every time the camera focuses on them, I wonder why hockey players are taught not to shave? Also part of the culture, I guess.

As the ex South African at the game last night, I must say that it was far more fun than watching a five-day cricket test match in the blazing sun. The various performances keep the crowd engaged for the whole match, making it a very fun experience and everyone asking "When can we go again?"

Neal Whitten at Upstate New York PMI

I attended an excellent event yesterday at the Upstate New York chapter of PMI, in Albany New York.

Neal Whitten led the interactive workshop which focused on successful and effective project management behaviours.

I don't like everything that Neal says, because he doesn't accept excuses on his projects, even when project problems are clearly someone else's fault. The message is "Well, what are you doing about it?" Most project managers seem to a way to blame someone else, instead of working towards a solution. It is hard to look in the mirror and accept responsibility.

The Upstate New York Chapter of PMI did an excellent job of organizing this event. I was very impressed with everything from the location to the registration table and the room setup. Congratulations to the volunteers who must have put in many hours to create such a valuable and enjoyable experience.

If you get a chance, attend one of Neal's workshops. It is an excellent investment in your career.

Learning from Neal Whitten in

Learning from Neal Whitten in Albany NY.

The Prosperity Equation

Just finished reading "The Prosperity Equation" by James Ziegler. Well written - "Straight from the heart" book about some of his experiences in starting, building, and rebuilding his businesses and life.

It is easy and quick to read. If you could use some inspiration and motivation to follow your dream of building your own business, then get a copy for your personal library. If you are scared by the stories that James shares, then keep your day job.

If there is one thing lacking in the book, it is some depth about the time that business wasn't booming and his world wasn't working. I would like to know more about the few years that James was working through challenging issues, before business took off. What was the experience and what were the steps that led to solutions?

Either way, I recommend that you read "The Prosperity Equation" to expand your experiences and be aware of possibilities that life has on offer.

How to network in Person

So many of our daily interactions as project managers are virtual, that our in-person network skills can fall into disuse.

To brush up on your in-person networking skills, review these five tips for in-person networking. Focus on the person you are speaking to when you are networking at a project management chapter meeting, or convention.

Monorails and Project Management

I was fascinated by the documentary on monorails on TV yesterday afternoon. The Schwebebahn (Monorail) in Wuppertal, West Germany was built over 100 years ago and continues to demonstrate the following significant advantages of monorail transportation:

1. It is unobtrusive to traffic. Urban monorails run above the traffic, unlike buses and trams. They reduce traffic instead of adding to the congestion.
2. Provide inexpensive and safe public transportation which is a big advantage over buses and trams.
3. Is a tourist attraction.

Other monorails offer additional benefits.
1. They can be fully automated
2. They run silently, therefore can run close to urban housing, such as high-rise apartments in cities without the noise from heavy traffic.

Obviously, monorail transportation is an under-utilized form of public transportation and we should be erecting more monorail systems.

The purpose of this post is not about the benefits about monorails. It is about the lessons we can learn from monorails for project management.

Status reports are a part of project management. The amount of time and energy consumed to produce scorecards, dashboards and PowerPoint slides varies on your organization, and can be a significant drain on your resources.

However, think about the Schwebebahn as you go about reporting status on your projects this week. How can you make your weekly project reporting process:
1. Above the traffic? (Get the reports out, without congesting the resources doing the work?)
2. Fully automated? (Without manual copy-and-paste from Excel to PowerPoint?)
3. Inexpensive? (Outcome of point 2)
4. A tourist attraction? (OK - Maybe this objective is a little far-fetched, for a status report)


Look up the Schwebebahn on Google and learn about this amazing world of monorails. Then you will see the benefits of applying monorail concepts to your project management services.

Winterfest 2010

Photos from the trip to Winterfest in Jaffrey, New Hampshire this past weekend with boy scouts. Wonderful experience where the mounds of snow were welcome.

I always wonder about the poor souls who go to so much effort in vain attempts to catch a few elusive ice fish, (while ice fishing)

Mainfold tips for project managers and Toastmasters

Hot off the press - my March 2010 Newsletter containing tips for project managers and Toastmasters went out yesterday. Already received compliments for the value of the tips.