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.

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.

What is the business of Project Management?

Latest free newsletter discusses the business of project management and comes with money-back guarantee if you don't see your organizational project management service in a new light after reading it.

What is the value of your project management service? (Hint - your value is probably not reflected in your paycheck).

Project management service has value that is usually not defined nor marketed. You need to see the value and market the value of project management services if you are to prosper. You must help sponsors to distinguish valuable project management services from bureaucrats calling themselves project managers. Otherwise you will continue to be a commodity.

How to be a good Director on the Board

You should serve on the board of directors for the non-profits that you believe in. As a project manager, you should be involved in your project management association and serve on the Board of Directors for your local chapter, at the least.

The Board of Directors is the responsible entity to govern the association and serve the members of the association. You should volunteer to serve your profession as a Director for your association.

If you are wondering how to fill a Directorship role, without being Bored in the Boardroom, then read my latest article listing the 16 Top Tips to keep Boredom out of the non-profit Boardroom.

New Year Revolutions

As I enjoy the last day of the New Year long weekend, reflecting on the activities of the past year and decade, my mind considers what can be achieved in the coming years. We overestimate what we can accomplish in the coming year, but severely underestimate what we can accomplish in the coming five years.

Here is food for thought on how we can revolutionize project management executions in the next five years.

1. Find innovate ways to communicate project status. Instead of the nauseating Green, Yellow, Red status on spreadsheet columns and 34 page PowerPoint status decks attached to three page status emails, lets find ways to automatically update project status from MS-Project to stakeholder iPhones for real-time status, and offer a the project manager's commentary on implications of status via MP3 for an executive to be informed of status on the daily commute or while working out in the gym. In other words, lets use innovative technology to mange innovative technology programs.

2. Focus on developing project leaders through professional coaching and mentoring. Stop relying on classroom style training and passing a text-based project management exam to develop exemplary and prosperous project leadership behavior. Archaic project management training programs and sorely lacking real-world effectiveness in developing project leaders of the future.

3. Educate project managers to manage their own time and set the example. Project managers should never complain that they "Have too much work and not enough time". If a project manager cannot schedule his/her own time, then how can he/she be scheduling tasks and durations for project team members with any credibility?

4. Train project leaders to identify and sell the value of their services. Project leaders should say "This project is worth $2 million dollars. The value of my management service is a mere $150,000. If you choose to manage it yourself or allow a bureaucrat into the building, then it will probably go over schedule and over budget, and ultimately cost you $3 million before you cancel the project. I recommend that you use my services, as other clients have wisely chosen to do". It is beyond amateurish to inform a project sponsor that you have no idea what it costs to manage a project successfully, but that appointing three full-time project managers working 50 hours a week will lead to a successful project. How can a project sponsor measure efficiency in this situation? How will you defend your position if a project sponsor receives a proposal from an outsourcing vendor promising to deliver the project with only two full time project managers in India? Project leaders need to understand and market the value of our services.

There you have it - let's see which of these New Year Revolutions can become reality over the next five years. Keep this posting and remind me to report back in 2015, via our portable hologram devices.

Compendium of study tips when preparing for your professional exams

After many requests to share my exam-preparation techniques, I have compiled them into an article. Hot off the press - get your copy today. Don't take your professional exam until you have reviewed this list of tips.

This is "Wayne's way to prepare for your professional exam", based on my decades of experience as student and instructor helping hundreds of adult students acquire professional education.

I encourage you to read Tony Buzan's books and work on use of mind-maps for exam preparation and also purchase a memory-improvement audio CD program.

Lessons from the ancient pygmy tribe in Africa to improve your 2010

Just posted January 2010 newsletter, with advice to improve your experience of 2010.

Read what the ancient African pygmy tribe's theme is 2010 and remove tolerations from your life.

How are you doing?

At the end of 2009, and planning for 2010, how are you doing? Have you developed new skills that make you a better project leader? What skills should you focus on developing in 2010?


Read my latest article to find out, and take the assessment to see which demonstrable project management behaviours influence positive project outcomes.

Announcing Mentor Program

People frequently ask for my advice on professional speaking, creating audio products and authoring their books. Although I willingly help out where I can, it has become too time consuming.

Therefore, I have created a mentor program now with two options to help people access my value in a way that provides equitable compensation and a win/win situation for both of us.

You can join the brand new mentor program here.

Professional Networking Tips for Project Managers

Hot off the press is my latest article. This is the first value provided from my new Samsung NC10 Netbook.

I am thoroughly impressed by this Samsung NC10 Netbook. It is an innovative development in the world of portable PC devices and has made notebooks obsolete. Who wants to lug around a 15 inch notebook when you have more power in a portable 10 inch netbook? My notebook has already been relegated to the basement for storage while the Samsung NC10 is the vehicle of choice to provide written value to all the project managers in the world seeking prosperity.

So, without further ado, here are the Top Networking tips for Project Managers. Read this article before hitting the vacation parties over the next week and get your professional network off to a super-start for 2010.

Why Prosperous Project Leaders Have A Coach

Do you want to know why top performers seek out and engage a professional coach? Find out the benefits that project leaders get from working with a coach.

Perhaps you know someone who would also enjoy these benefits?

From Inbox Captivity to Email Ecstasy

Are you frequently in email jail? Do you feel as if your inbox dictates your schedule and your "to-do" list grows longer with every incoming email? Is your email holding you hostage and preventing you from devoting time to address important project issues?

I just posted a series of three free articles to help you gain control of your email and confidently use email as a project communication tool instead of allowing email to be the master of your time.

If you are a project leader then you would benefit from reviewing your philosophy towards email, and learning new email strategies and tactics for email success. You cannot afford not to master email if you want to continue prospering as a project leader.

How to facilitate productive virtual meetings

Do you abhor attending conference call meetings that are unproductive? Do you want to learn how to facilitate productive and effective virtual meetings?

My latest article provides the twenty tips that superstar meeting facilitators employ to lead successful virtual meetings. Add these valuable skills to your repertoire and make sure to highlight them to your manager at review time.

2010 Reading list for Prosperous Project Managers

You need to continually expand your skills, and stretch your mind to be in a significantly better place when you start 2011. There is no time, nor excuse to be complacent with your career in 2010.

To keep you growing in 2010, I just released the official "2010 Wayne Botha list of recommended reading for Prospering Project Managers", free of charge.

Your 2010 Reading list should include:
1. "Tribes" by Seth Godin.
2. "Influence" by Robert Cialdini.
3. "Life Balance" by Alan Weiss.
4. "SPARK" by John M. Ratey and Eric Hagerman
5. "You're broke because you want to be" by Larry Winget
6. "The Black Swan" by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
7. "Brag!" by Peggy Klaus
8. "Neal Whitten's No-Nonsense Advice for Successful Projects" by Neal Whitten.

Feel free to obtain these books on audio programs, instead of hard copy if audio copies are available. I prefer audio copies of books so that I can learn while driving or working out.

Getting your next promotion.

Now that the economy seems to be improving, have you given thought to how you will take advantage of the upturn? If your income was hurt during the past tough economic situation, then now is the time to plan for a prosperous future.

To learn what you should do now, to get your next promotion, then read this month's newsletter. This is what I do to continue growing my network and preparing for my next promotion, and you should also constantly be preparing for your next promotion.

There is no time like the present, and there is no time to waste in getting started on these tasks.