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2009 Leaders & Managers Need Outstanding Soft Skills January 3, 2009

Posted by Rob in : Communication, Emotional Intelligence, Leadership , comments closed

I’ve always stood by the belief that strong people skills (a far reaching topic in itself) are critical to the success of any manager or leader, whether they’re a Project Manager or CEO. Certainly there are those who exist without those skills, but their success and longevity are often minimal, as we shall see below. (more…)

The Intergalactic PMO Chaos Theory December 28, 2008

Posted by Rob in : PMO , comments closed

The APM Programme Management Specific Interest Group recently published the following article I wrote:

I’ve observed the efforts of a number of organisations to build a PMO. In some cases, the term PMO is used with the letter ‘P’ interchangeably representing the words programme and project because no one seems to know whether they are building a programme or project office, or a combination of both. (more…)

The 5th Habit and Programme Communications June 11, 2008

Posted by Rob in : Communication, Emotional Intelligence, Leadership, Tools , comments closed

I thought I would post this article that I wrote for the APM Programme Management Specific Interest Group newsletter last year. (more…)

Leading with Empathy May 4, 2008

Posted by Rob in : Emotional Intelligence, Leadership , comments closed

The likes of Harvard, Stephen Covey and other respected names in business support the fact that leaders need to empathise strongly with their followers and care about what they are feeling. Good leaders give people what they need, and not necessarily what they want and leaders must balance respect for the individual with the task at hand. (more…)

Stakeholder Management April 21, 2008

Posted by Rob in : Stakeholders , 1 comment so far

Stakeholder Management helps us ensure successful change. It helps managers assess and manage the environment around the planned programme and brings out the interests of the stakeholders and identifies potential conflicts to assign a level of risk or challenges to the programme’s success. (more…)

Corporate blogging sense April 1, 2008

Posted by Rob in : Communication, Leadership , add a comment

It’s been a few months that I’ve been blogging from a professional perspective and I find it an ideal way to communicate with the many people that I’ve worked with in the past and to share knowledge. I was interested in Bain & Company’s recent article on how corporate blogging is have a serious impact on business, from many perspectives. (more…)

Programme Management newsletter March 8, 2008

Posted by Rob in : Programme Mgt, Publications , comments closed

ProgM is the Programme Management Specific Interest Group of the Association for Project Management and the British Computer Society. I have to say that the March issue of the the ProgM Newsletter is the best yet. The table of contents includes: (more…)

Risk management culture February 22, 2008

Posted by Rob in : Risk , comments closed

Most well run organisations will have risk managed at four distinct levels which are; Corporate/Strategic, Programme, Project and Operational. To do this effectively, a framework for managing risk needs to be designed and implemented to address the following:
(more…)

Source of Confusion in Changing Organisations February 19, 2008

Posted by Rob in : Change, Consulting , add a comment

It´s amazing in business life, we sometimes ignore basic facts. For example the need to communicate. Communicate and you will survive. (more…)

The Colour-Blind Executive November 8, 2007

Posted by Rob in : Programme Mgt , add a comment

I wrote this article for the British Computer Society’s Programme Management special interest group newsletter ProgM, which was published earlier this month.

Tony Blair Once Said; “I am pleased that one of its (the Improving Programme and Project Delivery Report) key recommendations - establishing Programme and Project Management ‘centres of excellence’ within departments - has already been endorsed by the Cabinet. (more…)

Geoff Reiss on Project Management Demystified June 2, 2007

Posted by Rob in : Publications , add a comment

I had a mail from Programme and Project Management guru Geoff Reiss whilst in New Zealand. His book “Project Management Demystified” has now become a best seller in the UK world of project management and the new 3rd edition should extend the already significant readership. It provides a very accessible coverage of all of the important techniques in an entertaining manner. (more…)

Black Slides April 29, 2007

Posted by Rob in : Communication, Tools , add a comment

Most of us have witnessed a few dreadful PowerPoint presentations in our time. I’m sure most of us are also guilty of giving presentations that we could have been done so much better. The Communications expert Bert Decker has published a really interesting article on his Blog about using black slides. (more…)

Why use a Methodology for Managing? April 25, 2007

Posted by Rob in : Documentation, Project Mgt, Standards, Tools , add a comment

Many Project Managers believe that to enjoy total project management success, you need to manage projects using a formal project management methodology. They say it helps give you direction, it saves you time and it improves the quality of your deliverables. But does it?

(more…)

It’s All About People April 18, 2007

Posted by Rob in : Communication, Emotional Intelligence, Leadership, People , add a comment

I’ve done a heck of a lot of interviewing in recent months; of people who have applied for Project and Programme Management roles. In this time, I’ve come across some superb CVs and spoken with some very articulate and switched on managers who display strong communication skills. I’ve also been lucky enough to have worked with all sorts of managers and leaders from various cultures and countries. (more…)

The Elephant in The Room - By Geoff Reiss April 12, 2007

Posted by Rob in : Benefits, Programme Mgt, Project Mgt , add a comment

This is the 100th article to be posted on the Blog and I thought it would be very fitting to have something extra special published to mark this milestone. I’m pleased that one of the world’s leading project and programme management mentors has this morning offered me this great article that he has just written. (more…)

It’s all in the PID April 6, 2007

Posted by Rob in : Documentation, PID , add a comment

The purpose of the Project Initiation Document (PID) is to define all of the major aspects of the project. Our lovable PID forms the basis for the project’s management and the assessment of overall success. It’s essential that the PID is constructed carefully and not simply thrown together just so that you can say “we have a PID”.

There are two primary uses of the PID: (more…)

Project Process and Documentation April 3, 2007

Posted by Rob in : Documentation, PMO, Process, Project Mgt, Tools , add a comment

There are many organisations that don’t have the luxury of a Project Office (PMO); or the extent to which a PMO can help project managers is limited due to capacity. Whilst this is, to a degree, the reason why many projects are run without proper documentation, it’s not the only reason. (more…)

Slow down or take a breath April 2, 2007

Posted by Rob in : Communication , add a comment

I was in Rome for the first time this weekend and of course I visited the Vatican, its museum, the Colleseum and Fontana di Trevi. Incredible constructions that the Romans created long long ago. I really was impressed.

(more…)

European Banking Forum - Prague March 27, 2007

Posted by Rob in : Events , add a comment

I was invited to the opening reception for the European Banking & Financial Forum last night. It was held in the Rytska branch of Ceska Sporitelna in Prague. A stunning building which matches the splendour of any Royal palace. Sasa Vondra, Jack Stack and others were present along with banking leaders from throughout Europe. The forum was officially opened by the CEO of Ceska Sportelna, Jack Stack and the Governer of the Czech National Bank, Zdenek Tuma. (more…)

2007 PMO of the Year Award March 26, 2007

Posted by Rob in : PMO , add a comment

I wrote this post a little while ago. As an update, the deadline for submissions has been moved to 30 March 2007.

I wrote about PMOs just a few days ago (PMO - who needs it). Today I came across a PMO award so I thought I’d write a quick post about this, especially as I’m such a big fan of good PMOs. The Center for Business Practices (CBP) is a knowledge centre based in the USA which captures, organises, and transfers business practice knowledge to project stakeholders.

(more…)

The 21km Project March 26, 2007

Posted by Rob in : Miscellaneous, Project Mgt , add a comment

I did the Prague half marathon on Saturday. I’m not much of a runner and I only decided to do this about 6 weeks ago so it was a bit of challenge for me. Especialy as my last half marathon was over 20 years ago! (more…)

Show me the money March 23, 2007

Posted by Rob in : Cost , add a comment

As any PM should know, Cost Management is the process of monitoring and controlling costs within a project and it enables you to:

- Determine the total cost of staff on the project
- Monitor the total actual cost Vs forecast cost
- Calculate total cost of undertaking each project task
- Identify current and potential overruns
- Monitor the consumption rate of the project budget (more…)

Thanks for subscribing. You’ll receive a confirmation mail in a few moments. March 19, 2007

Posted by Rob in : Miscellaneous , comments closed

Managing Your Physical Fitness March 18, 2007

Posted by Rob in : Physical Fitness , add a comment

From my early teens to my 30’s, I was a competitive international waterskier. Water ski racing is an exceptionally physically demanding sport so it was always critical that I was in good shape. If I wasn’t, I simply wouldn’t have won anything. Working out regularly and taking part in other sport, has therefore been an integral part of my life for most of my life. I also qualified as a fitness instructor and I’ve done my share of training people in the gym. (more…)

Accidental Project Managers March 15, 2007

Posted by Rob in : Project Mgt, Publications , add a comment

The term “accidental project management” is becoming more popular as more projects need managing and less PMs are available. In fact, Project Management is one of the most highly required skills in the IT world with opportunities increasing along with salaries and daily rates and there has never been a better time to be a ‘decent’ project manager. (more…)

Project Templates March 14, 2007

Posted by Rob in : Documentation, Project Mgt, Tools , add a comment

It’s been a few days since I’ve written a post here as I’ve spent some time on the water ski racing site I manage at www.skirace.net. I’ve also been really busy and on top of that, I’m training for a half marathon. So with my excuses out of the way, I want to write about project documentation.

Well actually, I just want to write about project templates because so many smaller IT organisations run projects each and every year and yet still lack a set of generic templates that their project and programme managers can use. (more…)

Paul Rayner on programme governance March 8, 2007

Posted by Rob in : Governance , add a comment

Paul Rayner is Chairman of ProgM, a Managing Consultant within LogicaCMG, and co-author of the Gower Handbook of Programme Management. He has written an excellent five page article on the subject of programme governance which I became aware of this morning when I received the March issue of the ProgM newsletter. (more…)

Programme Quality Management March 7, 2007

Posted by Rob in : Quality , add a comment

There can be long debates about the term ‘Quality’. Many experts have involved themselves in such debates, papers have been written and tempers have flared. I’m not going into that here but as any PRINCE2 PM knows, from a project management perspective, the UK’s OGC defines quality slightly different to ISO 8402. (more…)

Clown In Office or Chief Information Officer February 28, 2007

Posted by Rob in : Leadership , add a comment

1) Take a look at the world’s most successful organisations and you will find them using best practice frameworks with formal programme and project management in place.

2) Take a look at organisations that flounder around in total chaos with CIOs who seem to have no concept of programme and project management and often don’t even know the difference between the two.

Enough said - but I’ll add a few words around this. (more…)

A culture of process improvement February 26, 2007

Posted by Rob in : Process , add a comment

The management of IT is all about the efficient and effective use of people, processes and products - products being a blend of tools and technology. I want to write about process improvement here, which in a nutshell is a series of actions taken to identify, analyse and improve existing processes within an organisation; to meet new goals and objectives. These actions often follow a specific methodology or strategy to create successful results. (more…)