Explore every episode of the podcast Project Management Insights

People often confuse a Business Plan with a Business Case. Let me explain the difference in these two documents and remember that you need a business case as the foundation for ANY project that you want to undertake.

If you don't know how to write a business case grab a copy of my book 'How To Write a Strong Business Case' it has a step by step process to follow to write one, including a bunch of tips.

Is a change in BAU a project was a question that I was asked via my website some time ago. It's a topic I have a strong opinion about, and in this episode, I am going to explain why my answer to that question is Yes!

Back on November 27, 2018, I recorded an episode on Remote Team Management. Go back and have a listen to that episode to gain some valuable tips. Little did we realize at that time how remote work was going to change. In this episode, I touch on how to motivate your remote time now, and the keys to getting the best from them whilst they are working from home at this time. 

Don't panic! :) The reason I want to talk to you about this topic is that it could happen on your project and what I want is for you to feel confident in your ability to manage it if it does. Here is my list of six things that you need to do when your critical risk materializes.

You probably realize there are things you don't know. And, maybe you don't. It is not fun when you are in a situation where all of sudden what you don't know surfaces. Here are a couple of ways of handling those situations so you feel more confident and let like to be ignorant.

I want you to draw yourself a map of the groups that you will need to engage with for your project. Then consider, in terms of delivery, is each group green, red or amber (orange). This will help you determine where to focus your time and energy in order to get the delivery you want. It's a different way of leading a project.

#smallprojects #projectmanagement #business

Here are four ways that money is being wasted on a project and most lead back to that problem of not having a clearly defined business case or requirements. Of course, I am going to say that, because as you know they are key to projects being successfully delivered.

Where you focus your attention is the difference between managing and leading. If you want to be a leader it is time to look up and trust, delegate and to work with your team to deliver your project.  Take stock of how you operate and lead to succeed in 2021.

Start 2021 with a project review to health check where you are at on your project journey. Then take the time to revive team spirit and get everyone excited and back on track with what you are wanting to achieve. This is an important step after this holiday period. Doing these things will only add to the likelihood of your project success.

We often see meeting agenda's as a waste of time. Here are four reasons why one is valuable and it's not for the reasons that you probably think.

Let me know which reason you will find most valuable for you.

#Meetings #Business #Project Management

We don't acknowledge and appreciate our key resources enough, in my opinion. We only appreciate them when they are gone, or not they're working on our project any more. Let's explore ways to work so that we can mitigate what happens when/if our key resource moves on or leaves the project.

#Projects #Business

Firstly I want to ask you if you currently run a Project Kickoff Meeting? If you don't then here are the reasons why it's valuable to do so. If you do, then fantastic, here are four ways to make sure that your kickoff meetings are as successful as you want your project to be.

#Project Management  #Projects #Business

Have you considered that undertaking ANY project is a big risk to the project and therefore what you do, as a Project Manager, is business risk mitigation? I'm guessing not. Yet it is very important that you think about your project that way and do what is necessary to mitigate the risk and deliver successful outcomes for the business.

Did you know there is a 'right' amount of conflict to have on a team to make it work effectively? Too much and it doesn't work. Too little and there's no team cohesion either. Let's talk about what is the right amount and the impact of that.

#ProjectManagement #Projects #Business #Leadership

I am guessing you are looking at what a project is from the wrong angle and therefore only setting it up for failure? Why am I saying this, because most people look at a project from the outcome or delivery end, the 'how' first. What is really needed to set a project up for success is to fully understand the 'What' and 'Why'.

Often we can have a Project Sponsor that wants everything or wants to control everything. Or maybe they are difficult by not being engaged AT ALL.

In this episode, I am joined by Jennifer Jones as we talk about Jennifer's most difficult sponsor, one who wanted to know every detail of what was happening, and how she dealt with that.  And ultimately, what she learned about herself and her team in the process.

#Project Management  #Projects  #Stakeholder Relationships #Management

You may, or may not, have a formal project pipeline. That's okay. Let's look at the best way to manage to have any new project just dropped on you, when you already have projects, or a project, that you are working on.  Back to visibility and prioritization which I have spoken to you about before.

#Project Management  #Projects #Small Business #Workload

Do you fear failure, even before you have started your project?  Perhaps you notice that your fear arises during your project work?

Fear doesn't work on projects. It has the effect of shutting down project success. Let's talk about why.

#Small Business  #Project Management #Projects #Business

We've shifted from the space of seeing people in the office to having them work remotely.  Do you trust that they are working and doing what they need to be doing?  It's a big shift for a lot of companies or businesses. And yet, in my experience workers who have the flexibility to work within their own time frames are more productive than needing to fit in the standard 9-5 business day.

#projects #business #workoutput #projectmanagement

Just as with normal face to face meetings you will find that people don't always interact and engage when you want them too.  It is, of course, more difficult when you hold virtual meetings unless they are something that has happened regularly in the past.

Here are three ways to engage people and include them more in your virtual meetings so they don't see them as a waste of their time.

#Project Management #Projects #Virtual Meetings #Small Business

There are four key things that will make a difference in how your TEAM performs and engages to get the work done for you on your project. In this episode, I talk about those four things and the difference they can make to team output.

#Project Management #Projects #Leadership

Life might not be easy right now, either for you or your team. Let's talk about what's likely to be causing stress and how you can work with that. And if you are one of the PM's that may have lost their job, what can you do to move forward during this time.

#Project Management #Projects

With the onset of COVID-19 the way we work has shifted. It's time to shift your thinking about connection and teamwork. Here are ideas for ramping up your communication and connection with team members so they stay productive and focused.

Unspoken assumptions are the things that make problems bigger, issues become risks and risks to materialize. So, learn how to ask the questions to uncover unspoken assumptions so you don't have any of these things happen. By uncovering the assumptions you create more clarity for the whole team, which makes your job a whole lot easier.

#Project Management #Leadership #People Management

It's not a great space to be in as a Project Manager, feeling as though you have no authority. I would question whether it's really authority you need or control. Let me share my ideas on how to feel as though you have more authority or control over what's happening, or have the discussion about shutting the project down.

#Project Management #Projects #Leadership #Business

You might not have realized that when people feel connected and appreciated they produce more work than when they don't. On today's episode, I talk to Dr Dave Schramm who is as Assistant Professor and Family Life Specialist at the University of Utah. He spoke to me about the importance of treating team members like family in order to get the best from them.

Dave recently gave a TedX Talk on The Secret Sauce for Business which elaborates further on this topic.

Often times we step into the role of being a Project Manager with little to no other experience in managing people. We might think that being a project manager is sexy and not consider that people management skills are really at the core of the role. Let's dive into the list I spoke about in the very first episode of Project Management Insights back in 2015 of the core skills you'll need to be a great PM.

Let's talk about those things that make the real difference to your success and they aren't during project implementation necessarily. Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez talks about the keys to setting up your project and how to finish it.  Once again we are not talking about the scope, schedule or budget.

Too often I see vendors selling the business a solution to their problem before a Business Case or Business Requirements have been developed. This spells disaster. Take the time to develop both your business case AND business requirements without your vendor involved. Then gather information from the marketplace. Don't waste time and money on letting a vendor sell you a solution before you truly understand what the marketplace has to offer.

In this episode George Freeman III and I talk corporate politics. You'll learn how to work with the politics to make it work for your project. Don't be afraid of it. It makes sense once you understand the why behind it occurring.

John Sheridan, author of 'The Perfect Business' discusses project culture with me in this episode. How it forms and the five ways to make the culture better. We talk simple tips that can easily be put in place on any team. 5 simple ideas that can make a big difference to team effectiveness. Ultimately the things that will shift a project to becoming easily successful and ultimately make your job easier.

When you write a Business Case you are asked to show the 'Benefits' to be realized from undertaking the project. Why? Because that's what works for finance. What if we changed that and looked at the value to the business? Value as in, how will it change the people experience. How will the staff be positively impacted by the change?  How will the customer? It's a totally different way of looking at a project, from the businesses point of view. Something that doesn't happen currently.

There is no legitimate reason to rush a project. There may be reasons for needing a specific timeframe, and this still needs to be clear.

The more 'rushing' that occurs the more problems a project is likely to face. Don't put that added pressure on your team by specifying an unrealistic timeframe for delivery. It isn't worth it.

Sure, it's great to have the technology available to support you in capturing ideas and providing information to your team, but don't forget the value of the personal factor. Connecting with your team members in a meeting, celebration, for coffee or lunch, as a group is ten times more valuable than any technology will be. Why? Because people like to be treated as individuals and recognized as a human with feelings and capabilities.

My belief is that we don't look at a project as something that is set up to manage change and this is what creates difficulties. If we ground ourselves in first understanding what the change is that the business wants, then the process for us making that change happen is our project. And if we keep this outcome, the desired change, in our minds during the life of our project, we can't help but deliver what the business wants.

I know it's a crazy question and yet I'm going to guess that at least some of your project team aren't fully committed to the project. How do I know that?  They aren't performing, they aren't even really bought into what it is that you're doing on the project. If you or your team members aren't committed to the project, then how on earth can you expect to deliver on time, and on budget.

You may not think about the people around you, or that you know who could help you solve any major problem on your project that you haven't faced before. People like another Senior Project Manager, for example; or a Project Coach.  Consider the people that you know who could support you at one of these times and connect with them, so if you need their help and support they will be ready and willing to help.

Do you notice that a number of projects in your business/organization are started because someone has a budget to spend and someone else comes up with a bright idea?  The very worst reason to start a project. Let's talk about why that's the case.

Does it matter how large or small your project is in relation to how you manage it, or what it means to manage it? My opinion is no, it doesn't. Argue with me if you like.

The answer is ABSOLUTELY because the culture is the way that a TEAM engages and interacts with each other. Unless there are strong open, honest and trusting relationships built then it will definitely impact team output.

What should the relationship between the Project Manager and the Project Sponsor be like? It would say it needs to have trust, honesty, openness and clear communication at the core of it. Let's explore this relationship more.

My answer is No! What is more important is making sure that expectations and assumptions are spelt out so everyone knows what is required of them to help the group or TEAM to deliver. Defined roles are a safety mechanism that doesn't always add to inclusion.

Not engaging your stakeholders as you begin building your Business Case is going to cause your problems. Forget waiting until you are in full Project Planning mode. Get them involved as soon as you begin developing a Business Case.

Do you understand what's happening when people are being political? Do you even notice when this is happening? Let's talk about why people are political, within a team or organization and how you can change your interaction with them.

These seven tips will help you to put together a project schedule that is easy to work with and monitor. It's all about engaging the team and getting their help to pull together a schedule that is complete, realistic and with dependencies called out.

Have you considered the impact of your words or the language that you use in your interaction with others? Your language not only says a lot about you, but it also impacts on the strength of the relationship you have with others around you. Maybe it's time to begin to mind your language.

Do you notice people are just don't have the same level of understanding about the project as you do? There are reasons for that. Mark Steele talks to me about six reasons that he's found that make the difference, on a project. The difference between everyone being 'on purpose' and 'off purpose.'

I think we all underestimate the value of using a Gantt chart for our project. I know I've struggled when I've used Excel to set up a project schedule. Here are the 5 ways that a Gantt Chart can help you manage your project easier.

Needing to be right all the time gets you nowhere. People won't respond to you and give you what you want, no matter what you think. It's only when you're willing to meet people without any story of right or wrong that you really get what you want.

Each and every team member you have has their own personality, their own way of working. Sometimes that might conflict with the way you work, other times it might match your style. Jill Valdez provides some insights and tips on how to work with these different personality types.