December 27, 2018December 27, 2018 Linky

What is Cognitive Computing exactly?

The purpose of this article is to help Project Professionals better understand the meaning of Cognitive Computing and how it’s disrupting business today.

CC describes technology platforms that, broadly speaking, are based on the scientific disciplines of artificial intelligence and signal processing. These platforms encompass machine learning , reasoning , natural language processing , speech recognition and vision (object recognition), human–computer interaction , dialog and narrative generation, among others
Wikipedia definition of Cognitive Computing (CC)

Cognitive computing makes it possible to process data much faster than humans according to research done by Ohio University. If you allow cognitive computing to transform your business, there are certain principles to adhere to, factors to consider for adoption and ways to integrate it into business.

Principles

Humans and computers are now interacting. In business, robots could help professionals as follows:

identify and avoid bias,
make well-informed decisions,
increase the speed and consistency of decision-making.

According to IBM, Artificial Intelligence (AI) should serve a distinct purpose. This purpose, whether it’s used in systems, products, or services, must always be under human control as AI exists to assist humans, not replace them.

A layer of transparency is required. For AI to work, business leaders need to trust the results. This means there must always be clear answers to AI usage, the data the AI handles, and AI is protecting the data and its insights.

Worker skills need to be enhanced. AI doesn’t work without humans, so business leaders need to support them by ensuring workers have proper training to work with AI in a safe, secure, and efficient manner.

Businesses using cognitive computing will likely have to create or be subject to various policies. This can be viewed as an extension of policies around data and privacy, which are continually evolving. In this case, proactively preparing policies could help combat fear, uncertainty, and doubt.

Adoption

IBM offers some ideas for adopting Cognitive Computing.

Develop a cognitive strategy to determine where AI should fit among products, services, processes, and operations.
Construct a foundation of useable and reliable data and analysis.
Another key strategical component is the use and proper configuration of cloud services.
Businesses must fine-tune their IT systems for cognitive workloads.
Finally, business must make sure the cognitive computing system is secure.

Steps to Integration

An integration approach needs to consider a few things.

Businesses must firstly determine what opportunities exist to create more engaging and personalized customer experiences.
They must also pinpoint specific data that can help them meet objectives but isn’t being leveraged.
Then calculate the cost of their organization relating to non-evidence-based decisions.
They also need to determine the benefits gained by detecting hidden data patterns.
Finally, they need to figure out their organizational expertise skill gap.

Below you will find an Infographic that provides a good summary of Cognitive Computing.

Ohio University

October 11, 2018 Linky

The Art Of Possibility – a Different Paradigm

By Linky van der Merwe

Recently I finished reading a fascinating book called: “The art of possibility: Transforming professional and personal life” The book is full of positive stories to attempt to change your perspective in life.

It’s about drawing a different frame around a set of circumstances that seem to block us in our daily lives, and seeing new pathways come into view. It’s about finding the right framework so that extraordinary accomplishment becomes an everyday experience. Ultimately, it describes a new practice for bringing possibility to life in an intellectual, but entertaining way.

My favourite parts of the book were the interesting stories about music and orchestras from the conductor who is also the writer, which beautifully illustrate his points. For the purpose of this article I want to share a poem and a story, but I would recommend reading the book as well.

A poem

The words of Marianne Williamson:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate,

Our deepest feat is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous –

actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people

won’t feel insecure around you.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.

It is not just in some of us: it is in everyone

And as we let our own light shine,

we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.”

Frameworks for creating possibility are illustrated throughout the book by means of stories. I particularly liked this story about Truth and Reconciliation because it took place in my country, South Africa.

Under the leadership of the Nelson Mandela government, The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was formed as a framework for the possibility of the integration of all aspects of society, with Archbishop Desmond Tutu as its chairman. The TRC offered amnesty to individuals who were prepared to tell the whole truth publicly and could prove that their violent deeds had been politically motivated.

The vision of the TRC: “a need for understanding, but not for vengeance, a need for reparation but not for retaliation, a need for Ubuntu (brotherhood) but not for victimization.” The Truth Commission served as a framework for possibility because the more truth was revealed, the more connection and deeper understanding emerged. It became a framework for the possibility of social transformation.

Mandela believed that the TRC helped to move away from the past to concentrate on the present and the future. It left the society free to take the next step.

New Paradigm

After reading the book, I found myself looking at work problems differently, especially with project challenges and teams having difficulty to always cooperate smoothly. The frameworks in the book provide various lenses through which to look for alternative solutions to problems. Of course this can be applied to personal problems as well. I would encourage you to read it and find out for yourself.

Please subscribe to Virtual Project Consulting not to miss any future tips and articles!

September 27, 2018June 26, 2024 Linky

Women in Leadership – 7 Skills to Develop

By Linky van der Merwe

“My best successes came on the heels of failures.” -Barbara Corcoran

I like this quote from Barbara Corcoran, Founder of The Corcoran Group, New York’s largest real estate company. Barbara is an expert in the art of leading a team to success and in how to build a successful business. It’s a big statement admitting to failure as well as success.

In the Project Management industry many women have the opportunity to take the lead on projects and in most instances they excel in this role. They care about their team members and derive satisfaction from leading a team to successful delivery.

But how do women become successful as leaders? If you look around, you will find women who are successful leaders in every industry, from government to business, entertainment, and sports. Fortunately, there are leadership skills commonly found among women in leadership positions, and they can be developed.

According to Susan C. Foster, an Executive Coach and author of ‘It’s Not Rocket Science: Leading, Inspiring, and Motivating Your Team to be Their Best’ there are 7 leadership skills that stand out.

#1 Effective Communications

The ability to communicate effectively is arguably the most important skill for a successful leader and it’s not limited to speaking, but also include listening, writing and being able to read and use nonverbal language.

Many women are naturally good communicators, making polishing this skill easier as long as it’s done deliberately.

#2 Strategic Vision

Successful women leaders are able to influence other leaders and effect organizational change.

Women need to trust their own voices and learn to ‘Lean in’ more by sitting at boardroom tables with decision makers and executives, as per Sheryl Sandberg’s book by the same name. They can excel at uniting teams behind a common vision.

#3 Creativity and Innovation

Today’s business environment is all about uncertainty and competition. Successful women leaders bring creativity and innovation to the challenges by bringing diversity, different working styles, and viewpoints to their teams.

#4 Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand and manage our own emotions, and those of the people around us. Some key elements are self-awareness, motivation, empathy and social skills.

Although many emotional intelligent skills are part of how women are made up especially when also being mothers, these skills need to be consciously developed and practiced.

#5 Critical Thinking and Problem solving

Critical thinking to solve problems means asking vital questions around a problem, gathering and assessing relevant information, and coming to a well-reasoned conclusion. Successful women leaders think open-mindedly about their assumptions and possible consequences.

Women who are always running around wearing many different hats, have to make time for thinking and for being reflective so that better solutions to problems can be found.

#6 Confidence

Leadership is about having the confidence to make decisions based on a reasonable amount of data and then doing what you think is right.

While women may not necessarily be brought up to be overly confident, this is critical if you want to succeed in leadership positions – you need to have faith in your own ability to make good decisions.

#7 Trustworthiness

Successful women leaders are trustworthy, first and foremost. When you establish a climate of trust, your team commits to goals, communications improve, and ideas flow more freely.

Building good relationships cannot be overestimated, as the trust fostered in such relationships is what allows teams to excel and work better together.

Source: 7 Leadership Skills of Successful women

Some content was reposted and provided by Maryville Online Degree Programs.

More Leadership Resources

Maryville University Organisational Leadership site for Women – containing research and tools for women managers, executives and entrepreneurs, to develop your skills.

Resources for women in the business world– The information from Zen Business.com goes in-depth on females who have changed the entrepreneur world, how to go about starting a business, writing business plans, Business finances and many other resources.

Business and Development Guide for Women Entrepreneurs that includes a comprehensive list of business resources for women, including business plans, financing options, small business marketing resources and more.

August 22, 2018 Linky

How to Manage Different Generations at Work

By Linky van der Merwe

We all will soon find ourselves in the situation where there are 4-5 different generations in the workplace. Are you ready for that future at work?

Managing the mixture of ages, faces, values and views is an increasingly difficult task. According to the book: “Generations at Work: Managing the clash of Veterans, Boomers, Xers and Nexters in your Workplace”, the authors R Femke, C Raines and B Filipczak describe it as:

“diversity management at its most challenging.”

It helps to understand the impact of having different generations in the workforce. Know who they are and what motivates them and prepare for that future workplace. From Baby Boomers, to Millennials, to Generation X and Y.

Watch this video and let me know what you think in the comments.

August 15, 2018February 14, 2022 Linky

Productivity Experts’ Views on Peak Performance

By Linky van der Merwe

Recently I attended the Peak Work Performance Summit hosted by Dr Ron Friedman. Ron Friedman, PhD, is an award-winning social psychologist who specializes in human motivation and he’s author of the book: “The Best Place to Work”.

In the previous article: “What I Have Learned About Peak Work Performance” I shared some great takeaways from the speakers who were interviewed. In this article I’m going to share more views from well-known productivity experts.

Building an external brain

I was really impressed with how much I’ve learnt from David Allen, author of “Getting things done”. Here are two highlights.

He explained how we are bad at remembering, but good at recognizing. We need to clear internal mental space to make room for good ideas. Our head is for having ideas; not for holding them. That’s what he means by building an external brain – objectify it; get your head empty.

He’s also of the opinion that you shouldn’t take notes on a laptop. It’s better to write things down and to see lists visually rather than digitally.

Combat procrastination

People procrastinate because they feel out of control or uncertain about what to do or where to start. If tasks are described on a physical level of what to do next by using verbs, it’s much easier to have a kick-start. if not, you procrastinate and you have the nagging feeling of ‘when will I do this?’ So remember, put them all on your list with next actionable steps and review it regularly.

Essentials only

A few valuable lessons can be learned from Greg McKeown on determining what is essential and eliminating everything else. He authored the book: ‘Essentialism – Disciplined pursuit of less.

He explained that if you want to become distinctive; find out what makes you really good. Choose to be an Essentialist at work. Saying NO is a very important skill; but do it in a very polite way. Focus on what is essential, concentrate on getting that done well, as that will add most value.

Don’t use busyness as a badge of honour. When you are asked: ‘How are you? – choose to respond differently.

Instead of stating how busy you are and doing a million things, rather share a story from your life – like what you did yesterday with your children. Busyness may let other people feel you are more important, but could also make you look like you’re not in control.

Practices for the Essentialist

Create space to explore what is essential.
Every day write down the 6 things you want to do for the day; prioritise the list, cross off 5; focus on nr 1. Only work on what’s important now. When done, take the next thing.
Reallocate resources to the one thing that should get done; make it as effortless as possible

He’s starting a movement on how to become an Essentialist – so watch that space.

How to coach your teams

I want to conclude with the work of Michael Stanier, author of “The Coaching Habit”.

Learn how to coach your teams better by doing the following:

Listen a bit longer
Be slower to rush to action and advice
Probing more to find out what’s below the surface
Ask a question like: “what’s the real challenge here for you?” It puts the emphasis on the person, rather than the problem.

Look for leadership where you empower people to solve their own problems, and to be self-sufficient.

Have a few good questions. For example, in response to what a person is saying, encourage them by asking: “yes and what else?”
Understand the dynamics of behaviour change – habits are the building blocks.
Overcome the urge to give advice. Rather use the question: ‘what else?’ instead of telling the person what you think.

If you like the Peak Performance ideas and you want to know more, I have good news for you.

You can get Lifetime access to the ‘Peak Work Performance Summit’. You will have unlimited access to interviews with people who are sharing valuable information based on years of research for books and based on their real life experience.

Click here for the Peak Work Performance Summit Lifetime Pass.

August 17, 2017February 14, 2022 Linky

10 Leadership Lessons from Extreme Environments

By Linky van der Merwe

Do you know some-one who climbed the Seven Summits (highest peak on each continent) and skied to both the North and South Poles? Meet Alison Levine, a small person with a big heart for adventure. And not just any adventure, but extreme adventure that earned her the title of achieving the “Adventure Grand Slam”.

After listening to Alison Levine as keynote speaker at the PMXPO2017 I bought her book: “On the edge: Leadership lessons from Mount Everest and other extreme environments.

Here are 10 leadership lessons from her book that can be applied to projects.

#1 Approach to leadership

Alison starts off by saying that the development of yourself as a leader should be a deliberate, conscious process. People are not born leaders. It’s a ‘muscle that needs to be built.

Leadership is an attitude. Alison believes that we all need to be better leaders. If we put effort into that, we can have much positive influence on the people around us. I think this is especially true on projects. Empower the team to think and act like a leader. This means that we need to help them hone their skills, their knowledge and encourage them to think for themselves and to make critical decisions without always requiring input. Team members need to be able to carry on with the work, even if the leader becomes ill or is on leave.

One way to help develop leadership skills in others is to give them greater responsibility to grow themselves as leaders. This will make the whole team more effective. Developing your own skills and the skill of others should be a never-ending process.

#2 Mentors

Engage with others who are more skilled than you are and learn from the best. Find mentors in your organization, people with experience and people you look up to.

#3 Go backward to go forward

The way Mount Everest is climbed is that climbers start at base camp and go up to Camp 1, then come back. Next they go up to Camp 1 and the following day to Camp 2. Then they go back to basecamp. Then they go up to Camp 3 only to come back down again. Then they go all the way up to Camp 4, sleep over and when the weather allows, they ascend to the top.

Her lesson from this is that there’s real value in going back to your starting point to regroup, to reposition yourself to be stronger before you can ascend to the next level. Even great athletes and sport stars focus on the fundamentals over and over again, by doing the same drills, not because they haven’t mastered it, but because repetition builds strength and enhances agility.

Therefore, reward and encourage progress in all forms, not just the obvious ones.

#4 Conflict management

On every project there will be conflict at some point making it a predictable component of group dynamics. It can be healthy to as it brings different perspectives. Conflict only becomes dangerous when it is unresolved.

It’s important to bring conflict out into the open. This is where communication is key. It’s essential to make team members feel valued and that his or her opinion matters.

#5 High Performance Teams

All women team to Everest — Source: Road & Travel Magazine

Alison shares an important insight on putting together a high-performing team. You want people who are good at what they do and who know that they’re good as that gives them confidence. This is called performance ego.

Another type of ego you want is team ego. A group is only a team when every member of the group cares as much about helping the other members as they care about helping themselves.

I have seen this on multiple projects before where a high-performing team contributes to hugely successful projects. When you put a team together, you need to look for:

Experience
Expertise
Ego

#6 Relationships and Networking

Developing strong relationships is critical to success. As a project leader you need to take the time and effort to connect with people at every stage of your career. Find people who will rally around you, encourage you and support. Attend those conferences and networking events; you never know which connections will lead to more success in future.

#7 Weak links

The way you deal with the weak link on your team often means the difference between success and failure. When you have to work with people who are as good as you are, those who can’t perform as well, or who don’t match your skills.

To compensate for a weakness is about leveraging hidden attributes in innovative ways that can move you and your team forward. As a leader you need to help every team member to become productive so that everyone on the team benefits.

#8 Build Trust and Loyalty

Never underestimate the importance of treating other with respect and kindness. Also take the time to get to know the people on your team as individuals. Get to know them on a deeper level. That will form strong bonds and people will know they matter.

Each person needs a different approach when it comes to helping them perform at their best. The more information you uncover, the more influence you can have as a leader. You need to adjust your coaching style based on the needs of your team.

The more dedicated you are to your team, the harder they will work for you and for one another.

#9 Complacency

Following the status quo, could be a mistake that businesses, teams fall prey to. Different situations call for different actions. As a leader you need to evaluate all the circumstances in order to know what you best move is.

Complacency can be characterized by not preparing, not making a move, not moving fast enough or not being agile enough.

If you’re busy with your 10^th or 50^th project, you still need to be alert, prepared and agile.

#10 Embrace your Failures

As leaders we need to own our failures. It’s important to learn from them as that is what really makes us grow as leaders. When we achieve something that we have worked hard for, we need to take a moment to reflect on it.

For many people it’s easier to avoid the risks of failure, unless we have failed before. Something about surviving past setbacks that increases our willingness to risk again.

If you’d like to read a book filled with adventure stories and lessons, don’t miss out on this exciting book:
On the Edge: Leadership Lessons from Mount Everest and Other Extreme Environments

April 27, 2017May 12, 2019 Linky

How Big Data Can Solve Leadership Challenges

Big data can be defined as ‘the large volume of data – both structured and unstructured – that inundates a business on a day to day basis’, according to research done by the University of Norwich. Data that modern businesses generate including web traffic logs, social media posts, blog posts, transactional data etc.

By understanding big data and analyzing it correctly, leaders can benefit greatly from the insights provided which will lead to better decisions and more strategic businesses. It can be used to extract insights on consumer behavior, market trends, revenue growth, as well as brand perception and reach; therefore solving diverse automation and leadership challenges.

Find more fascinating research on big data’s role and impact on organizational leadership and management in this Infograpic brought to you with compliments from the Norwich University’s Online Master of Science in Leadership program.

It explains the challenges posed by big data, how big data is utilized across organisations, how big data is fueling business growth, requirements for handling big data and some case studies.

Consider this research when you create your strategies for dealing with big data.
Norwich University Master of Science in Leadership Online

March 8, 2017March 31, 2019 Linky

Soft Skills for Project Managers

By Linky van der Merwe

Often in Project Management courses there is a big emphasis on the technical skills, also called ‘hard skills’ which are the occupational requirements that project managers need to do their jobs effectively. This would include the creation of tangible deliverables like a project schedule, project budget, status reports etc.

Soft skills complement hard skills. Soft skills are the important interpersonal skills you need as a project manager to accomplish work through other people. Soft skills are essentially people skills – the non-technical, intangible, personality-specific skills that determine your strengths as a leader, listener, negotiator and conflict mediator.

Developing your soft skills is equally important, but is often left to project managers to find suitable courses that would equip them with adequate soft skills like Leadership, Conflict Management and Emotional Intelligence.

Soft skills development

Why would you ask, are soft skills that important? Soft skills refer to behavioural skills – a sociological term relating to the cluster of personality traits and behavioural competencies that characterize relationships with other people.

Since projects are delivered or executed through people, your soft skills are like the glue that will hold the project team together when the going gets tough, for example when projects fall behind, or immovable deadlines are looming, or the normal stress coming from project delivery and dealing with issues.

At the end of the day a project manager wants a balance of hard and soft skills. Hard skills are more technical in nature where as soft skills are intangible and less visible. Soft skills are typically employed without the use of tools and templates. Soft skills can be taught, but they are typically honed by years of experience.

How to improve soft skills

When you set out to improve your soft skills as a project manager, there are 3 key things you need to remember.

Make the commitment to learn and improve
Put yourself in situations where you can practice various soft skills
Evaluate your progress and adjust as needed

At this point you may be wondering if there is a finite list of soft skills to focus on as a project manager. According to my research there are at least 11 soft skills that should be part of your make-up as a professional project manager. They are:

Leadership
Team building
Motivation
Communication including active listening
Influencing
Decision making
Political and cultural awareness
Negotiation
Conflict management
Emotional intelligence
Problem solving

Over the years I’ve published many articles on various soft skills. For more interesting articles with practical advice on developing your soft skills, continue reading about Leadership, Team build, Communication, Decision making and Emotional Intelligence.

If you are new to project management and you are serious about developing yourself as a professional project manager, please look at the Fast-track Growth Program which was especially developed for people like you in mind. It’s an online, self-paced training program for busy professionals which will give you the essential elements for project delivery. It’s the fastest way to grow critical Project Management competencies like technical and interpersonal skills, and becoming a confident project manager!

December 19, 2016August 25, 2019 Linky

Finish the race strong in 2016

John Akhwari from Tanzania represented his country in the Summer Olympic Games of 1968 as a marathon runner. During the race he suffered a fall that badly cut and dislocated his knee. Medical personnel bandaged his wounds and told him his knee required more treatment. However, Akhwari stood up and continued his race. An hour after the winner he crossed the finish line and when remaining reporters asked him why he continued running in his condition, he responded:

“My country didn’t send me 5000 miles to start the race. They sent me 5000 miles to finish it!”

My hope for you is that you will finish your year strong. It’s always a good idea to reflect on your past year, your accomplishments, what you’ve learned and what you’re grateful for.

As founder of Virtual Project Consulting, I want to share some of the books I’ve read in 2016 and to make you aware of the reviews I’ve done for a few really good project management books.

Book Reviews

The Conscious Project Leader by Colin Ellis from the perspective of how to create a culture of success for your projects, your team and yourself. Colin is also a speaker, writer and mentor on Conscious Project Leadership. One of his outstanding qualities, seems to be his sense of humour which makes for an engaging read.
“The Power of Project Leadership: 7 Keys to Help You Transform from Project Manager to Project Leader” by Susanne Madsen, is an easy read and it’s applied specifically to project managers who are seriously aspiring to become better leaders. The book will help make the transition from project manager to project leader.
“Leadership Toolbox for Project Managers, achieve better results in a dynamic world” by Michel Dion, is to help equip project managers to manage projects in a dynamic, complex and unpredictable environment. The book is focused on Leadership including self-awareness, vision, strategic thinking, decision making and interaction with others.
Project Management for SME’s by Gren Gale is written with small businesses in mind, is very practical advice and insight with regards to the application of project management as a discipline in the Small Business sector.

Other Books that I can recommend

“Mindset – changing the way you think to fulfil your potential” by Carol Dweck, a must read for people who want to have a growth mindset to help achieve success.
Lead with a Story by Paul Smith is about the use of storytelling as a leadership tool.
TED Talks Storytelling by Akash Karia gives 23 storytelling techniques from the best TED talks.
Act like a leader, think like a leader by Herminia Ibarra on how managers and executives can step up to leadership by making small, crucial changes in their jobs, their networks and themselves.
“Lean in – women, work and the will to lead” by Sheryl Sandberg, impactful for woman who want to be empowered to achieve their full potential.
The 12 week year by Brian P Moran for a boost in productivity.
“Procrastinate on purpose – 5 permissions to multiply your time” by Rory Vaden, giving insights on overcoming procrastination, improving self-discipline and increasing productivity.
“Surge – time the marketplace, ride the wave of consumer demand” by Mike Michalowicz for the entrepreneurs among us.

Virtual Project Consulting

On my project management blog I’m reaching almost 300 blog articles covering various topics like Leadership, Project Management, Change Management and Social Media for PM’s .

In 2016 topics included:

Innovation in project management,
Agile
Current trends in project management
Project basics – how to start a project, how to do cost estimation and budget development, project planning, decision making skills etc

Enjoy the read and remember to tell your colleagues who are looking for materials on specific topics.

Of course there are always listings of Events taking place all over the world, as well as recommended Project Management resources like Training, Software and Products. Don’t forget about the Podcasts! Our Project Success Stories are still growing and if you have a good story to share, please send it to me for publishing!

Growth Program for new Project Managers

Lastly, my flagship for the year, The Growth Program for New Project Managers. I would like to introduce this to as many people as possible in order to help new project managers to get up and running quickly. If you know of any “Accidental Project Managers” at your organisation, please refer them to this program. It will only take them a month to complete and extended coaching is also available.

Please subscribe to Virtual Project Consulting not to miss future articles, tips and success stories!

December 5, 2016February 14, 2022 Linky

8 Lessons in Innovation

By Linky van der Merwe

Recently I attended a Project Management Conference with the theme: “Harnessing the Power of Innovation”. As project managers we are in the position to create environments where people are creative and more innovative.

One of the speakers, Nneile Nkholise, the co-founder of Likoebe Group; a medical innovation company, spoke on the topic of moving away from an efficiency-driven economy to an innovation-driven economy, through innovation. The role of innovation has become explicitly important for any organisation with a vision to make an impact in the global market.

Nneile is one of 100 entrepreneurs out of the US who were selected to represent their countries at the Global Entrepreneurship summit, 2016. She shared 8 lessons to explain what innovation is.

Lesson 1: Journey

Learn about Jay Samit, an American digital media innovator, who pioneered advancements in music and video distribution, social media, and ecommerce. He is the author of the bestselling book, “Disrupt You! Master Personal Transformation, Seize Opportunity, and Thrive in the Era of Endless Innovation”. It is a fascinating story on the journey of innovation. You need to work on innovation every day and re-invent.

Lesson 2: Purpose

At Adidas they have the credo of “Impossible is nothing”. They believe you need to explore the power you have to change the world. Impossible is just temporary and it is potential.

Create purpose and find your passion, that is a sure path to innovation.

Lesson 3: Solve problems

By just focusing on everyday real-life problems, it will lead to much innovation and innovative products that provide solutions to difficult problems.

Think of Google Translate that provided a translator to 100 different languages.

Lesson 4: Bring new possibilities

Like the oldest television that came out, it brought about new possibilities. People were able to see news from all over the world and enjoy the creativity of entertainment at home.

Lesson 5: Learning opportunities

Things will change, but don’t let that scare you. Learn to learn and learn to learn fast. In today’s world there are many opportunities with technology and children learn to code from a very young age.

Lesson 6: Build Human networks

Innovation happens through Innovation Hubs. Innovation hubs are social communities, work spaces or research centers that provide subject-matter expertise on technology trends, knowledge and strategic innovation management, and industry-specific insights.

If there are three types of people: 1) Those who talk about it …. 2) Those who want it … 3) Those who make it happen …. We need to decide who we want to be. As project managers we are in a position to be the type of people who make it happen.

Lesson 7: Global responsibility

In September 2015, 193 world leaders agreed to 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development. If these Goals are completed, it would mean an end to extreme poverty, inequality and climate change by 2030. Click here to find out more and to help share the Global Goals.

We need to keep the global goals for sustainable development in mind on all the projects we undertake.

Lesson 8: Embrace it

There is evidence of innovation in the products all around us. Support your local entrepreneurs and use their innovative products.

A few examples of innovative products are:

SaferMom is a social enterprise that addresses the high maternal and infant mortality crises in Nigeria. SaferMom delivers vital health information to new and expectant mothers using interactive, personalized low cost mobile technologies, including SMS and voice calls. The purpose is to help mothers have access to quick, affordable and hassle-free healthcare.
Mellowcabz – Mellowcabs manufactures, and operates new electric mini-cabs that provide an on-demand, flexible and affordable taxi/transport service in cities. These services can be provided through our mobile app, call-center or website. It has dual income sources, passenger fares and selling advertising space on, and in the vehicles. They are equipped with on-board tablet computers, which offer an interactive experience to the passenger.
PAN Test Kit for precision testing Malaria PAN/PF rapid test diagnostic test kit with a shelf life of 24 months.

Please subscribe to Virtual Project Consulting not to miss future articles, tips and success stories!

November 3, 2016February 14, 2022 Linky

Thoughts on PMI Global Conference 2016

By Louise Worsley, a non-US attendee

The Project Management Institute Global Congress in North America is big!

Nearly 3,000 attendees from 67 countries representing some 1,368 organisations.

Just to give you a feel – the European equivalent PMI Congress in Barcelona attracted some 100’s of attendees. And at other related events; the International Institute of Business Analysts had 1,400 attendees at their global conference in Las Vegas (2015,) while the Association for Change Management Professional achieved just 1,100 attendees at their 2016 global conference in Dallas, Texas.

The brief initial survey, conducted via the excellent conference PMI App, suggests that attendees valued the learning from the sessions and the networking almost equally. In speaking with delegates, I found that a big incentive for attendance was to get PMI PDU points quickly and efficiently. All delegate attendance in sessions was recorded, and within weeks of the congress, it was added to attendees PDU records.

Picking the ‘good’ sessions is important

Over 100 sessions were available over the three days, divided into the three streams of ‘leadership’, ‘technical’ and ‘strategic and business management’. Given the varying length of the sessions (ranging from 1 hours to 1.5 hours) and the scheduling approach, the maximum number of session you could attend over the three days was about 9, plus the three keynote sessions. Attending the ‘good‘ sessions was thus pretty important, but as I heard some delegates comment – the choice process was a ‘bit hit and miss’. Popular sessions filled up quickly and places in the room were limited. By the second day, wise delegates had adopted the habit of simply getting to their preferred sessions very early.

Agile and soft skills attract audiences

Although the actual numbers and overall feedback have not been released yet, my feeling is that the big attractions were the Agile sessions (10 sessions) and the streams in leadership around communications and the soft skills. Sessions like Sherri Thomas, speaking on “Career Stories for Project Managers” inspired comments on Twitter (#PMIcongress) with her statement:

“Make connections with those who inspire you, teach you new things, or promote your ideas.”

Lessons and language from the keynotes

Perhaps the most discussed sessions were the keynotes. Not surprisingly given the San Diego venue (the home of the USS Midway and Top Gun) there was a military theme to the first session, with the ‘Afterburner’ consultancy team, made up largely of ex-military aviators. This was an upbeat and inspiring discussion of project management using a military flying metaphor, and had some great linguistic take-aways.

Task saturation leads to mistakes
Project managers need a bias towards action
Don’t wait for the perfect
We’re drowning in data but starving for information

For me, the highlight of the conference was the keynote presentation by the Canadian, Sue Gardner – a former executive at Wikimedia; and named one of the most powerful women by Forbes. Her statement:

“Good project managers don’t expect other people to adapt to them.” clearly caught the attention of a number of Twitter users.

She argued that disruptive business models such as Itunes, Uber, Airbnb, Amazon, Bitcoin have changed the ways we listen, ride, stay, buy and pay. As she puts it “software is eating the world” and IT is increasingly moving from a staff function to a line function, where it directly contributes to the strategic value of the business.

Following this, she poses her challenge: “How can large organisations that are trapped between the ‘sunrise stages’ and ‘sunset stages’ transform themselves to provide new disruptive business model innovation?”

Thinking of attending the next Congress?

The 2017 PMI Global Congress is in Chicago. Not quite such a glamorous venue as San Diego, and I suspect this may affect the numbers attending.

Interestingly, this will now be known as the PMI Global Congress (dropping the title North America) which does beg the question – are the European global congress being abandoned, or are they no longer ‘global’?

I won’t attend next year. I think one global Congress every 3-5 years is probably enough. Also, I find that hearing local stories and meeting local contacts is possibly more valuable, and hence I would prioritise the South Africa and Southern hemisphere conference in Australia and New Zealand.

Should you be thinking of attending the Congress in Chicago, here are my suggestions:

Research the speakers and sessions well beforehand. Of the five sessions I managed to attend (I was also speaking at the event) only two of them were really valuable. I didn’t pick the right sessions. Partly this was because I just didn’t know the names. Sherri Thomas, for example, is clearly well known in America for her book “Bounce back” and articles in the Huffington Post. If I had found this out before hand…
Make connections before the Congress and seek them out once there. The PMI App provides the names of all the attendee at the Congress, but in most cases, this does not include the company and nationality information. I was particularly interested in seeking out attendees from the African continent and certain industries. Bar peering at 3000 name badges – this proved very difficult to achieve.
Be prepared to use the conference backchat on both Twitter and the PMI App – this had some really interesting additional information and potentially provides a way to make connections.

And finally, if Chicago is just too far, don’t forget the next PMSA National Conference in Johannesburg, 9-12^th November. I will be there launching my book “Stakeholder-led project management: Changing the way we manage projects” and will be happy to share more experiences from the PMI Congress.

March 21, 2016August 25, 2019 Linky

Leadership: 3 Important Activities Managers should do Daily

By Jacob Haney

Every new manager needs to know the three key activities they should be focusing on, which will make them successful as leaders.

Those three keys are:

building trust
building a network and
building a team

It is very rare that managers actually find the time to do all the work they have planned to do. Their time is mostly used to solve unexpected problems and to make sure that their team finishes their work on time, up to the standard and on budget.

Managers can sometimes feel desperate because urgent daily work hijacks the time they would use for their on-going work as managers and leaders. So, they push these key activities back. But, these activities are fundamental and substantial for a manager who wants to function effectively and be a good leader.

#1 Building Trust

To be a successful leader, you need to be able to influence others, and in order to achieve that, trust is the key. You cannot influence someone who doesn’t trust you. So, a manager needs to create a trustworthy relationship with everyone he or she is working with. To achieve that, they need to demonstrate the two basic components of trust; character and competence.

Character

Basic action and decision on values beyond self-interest and caring about work and the people who do the work. That’s character.

Competence

Competence understands the work well enough to make valid decisions, and having the courage to ask questions when something is not clear. If employees believe in your character and competence, they will put their trust in you.

#2 Building a Network

Every team of employees depends on the support of other people and groups. Effective managers need to build and maintain a network of people and groups that will help their team achieve their future goals. This is actually the main issue that troubles many managers because they believe that networking is a kind of manipulation, where they need to pretend to like someone just because they need something from them.

Try to go above that, because without networking, you will limit your capabilities. Build a network honestly, openly and with the right intent. This will benefit all sides.

#3 Building a Team

In order to build an effective team, team members have to be bound with a common purpose which is based on shared values. The bonds between members need to be strong so that they believe that they are all succeeding or failing together. A good team needs to have rules of engagement.

Smart managers and leaders combine all of these elements and then they manage through the team. In an ideal situation, team members value their membership and they’ll do everything in their power not to let others down.

Good Manager to evolve and develop attributes of Leadership

This now brings the question of when will the managers be able to focus on these activities and still do their every day’s work. The answer is that the three keys are not just some tasks you can put on your to-do list. Strong and effective leaders lead and manage their daily work. Managers need to continuously and intentionally evolve themselves over their career to fully develop the attributes of a leader.

About the Author:

Jacob Haney is a content writer at Research Optimus which provides research and analytics services to businesses in the United States, Europe, Australia and New Zealand from startups to corporates to medical research firms.
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