The Emperor's New Clothes

My friend Amy was telling me about a project she was on. Being new to the industry, she had asked her project manager (PM) for more information on a term. The PM blustered through an explanation. My friend left the conversation, still not understanding.

The next day, Amy decided she would go back to the PM and ask some more questions. Amy told the PM she just didn’t get what the term meant. With that, her PM admitted she didn’t really know either. They decided to look into it together.

When Amy told me about this situation, I thought of the story of The Emperor’s New Clothes. Sometimes we are afraid to admit we don’t know something because we are supposed to be the expert. (In the story, everyone can see the Emperor has no clothes but the only one who will say this is a young child.) However, admitting to not knowing something is really a sign of strength. After all, who knows everything?

Probably even more importantly, the manager admitting her lack of knowledge built more trust with Amy. Only by admitting we don’t know can we grow, both personally and professionally.

Grow Halifax with Project Management Skills

We are very pleased to be partnering with the Halifax Chamber of Commerce to promote the value of project management in Nova Scotia through the Grow Halifax initiative.

To support you, we are offering these different project management programs in Halifax.
(dates updated June 26, 2017)

Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification
This course is 10 half days and designed specifically for people who intend to obtain their PMP certification.

• September 21 - November 23 (8:30 AM to Noon each Thursday)

The Project Management Fundamentals
This course is for people interested in applying project management concepts immediately to their work. It is recommended that participants interested in taking the PMP Certification course take this course first.

• July 24-26, 2017
• September 25-27, 2017
• November 20-22, 2017

Navigating Project Success: Applying Project Management

This program is for business owners and those who work for them on projects. It is especially useful for those who have the responsibility to ensure their projects are completed on time and on budget.

• December 4-8, 2017

Please express your interest at brendaniel.com.

What is the PMBOK?

The articles I write have to do with project management. The document upon which I base much of my viewpoint is the Guide to Project Management Body of Knowledge, or PMBOK (pim-bok) for short. This article gives a short overview of the PMBOK. I hope you find it useful if you are preparing for your PMP exam, and maybe you will find it informative if you are not!

The PMBOK is a document that basically describes how to manage projects well. This book has an appendix (annex) that describes the order of managing a project. However, the main part of the PMBOK is organized by knowledge areas and their related processes.

You could think of a knowledge area as a topic. There are ten such topics that the PMBOK consists of: integration (putting it all together), scope, time, cost, quality, human resources, communications, risk, procurement and stakeholders. These are the areas we need to consider when managing a project.

There is a chapter for each knowledge area.

There are also forty-seven processes, with each process belonging to a process group. There are five process groups: initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing. The process groups and processes represent what we, as project managers, do in a project. Each chapter lays out the processes that relate to the knowledge area, in order of process group. The processes discuss inputs, tools and techniques, and outputs.

Examples of processes are: Develop Project Charter, Manage Project Team, and Identify Risks.

I hope this description has been of use to you. For more information, you can purchase the PMBOK online (Amazon works well, or through pmi.org). You can also find the PMBOK in many bookstores.

Managing Projects the PMI Way

Most projects have many moving parts. When you’re in charge of all those parts, you need to stay on track and be organized.

I am very proud to have taught the three project managers referenced in the Halifax Chamber's Business Voice magazine this month. Knowing how to manage projects 'the PMI way' helps projects large and small. Continue reading this insightful article (pdf).

The Project Tribe

I listened to a fascinating interview of Sebastian Junger on CBC Radio the other week. Mr. Junger is an award-winning journalist and author. His most recent book - Tribe - talks about the war veterans who return home and experience PTSD. His findings are that it is the lack of closeness they feel when they get back, as compared to the friendship they felt while serving, that causes stress.

Junger claims the individualistic nature of modern society lacks the community we have evolved to need.

Applying this to working in projects, isn’t it the good feelings we have by working together that bring out some of the best experiences of project work?

I know, for me, achieving a goal as a team is much more powerful than achieving it on my own. I believe that is part of what Mr. Junger is getting at in his book.

All the best to you and your project "tribe"!

Click here for more information on Sebastian Junger and the CBC interview.

Always Tell Why...

I recently fractured my ankle and got a cast on it at the hospital. They gave me a little booklet saying not to get the cast wet. However, I didn’t know why and didn't bother to ask.

In the next few days, it was pouring rain and I had a few classes to give so I was out and about. Even though I covered my cast with the required green garbage bag, it got wet on the bottom. On the weekend, my foot was starting to get pins and needles and it didn’t stop. I did know this was a sign to contact Emergency. So I called 811 and they said go in right away.

When I got there, they chastised me for getting the cast wet. It turns out my cast was a gremlin. (Never get it wet! Thank goodness I didn't feed it after midnight.) It was no longer a cast, but a piece of wet plaster, and not helping my ankle at all.

If I had known why a wet cast was a problem, I would have gotten into the hospital a lot sooner.

The moral of this story is always tell why (and if you're not sure why, ask!)

A Successful Person

A few weeks ago while I was visiting my mother in Newfoundland, she received a letter in the mail. It was a note from a doctor’s office saying she had an appointment for an urgent blood test. She had told me about the appointment, but it wasn't till I saw the letter that I realized it was urgent.

When I mentioned to my mother about the urgency, she shrugged and said, “I’ll deal with it when it comes.” I was impressed.

A lot of people become obsessed when they think they might have a problem, especially with their health. Not my mother. I would guess she did a quick rundown in her head about the options and alternatives, and decided her plan of action - which was to take it as it came.

I was going to write about how my mother’s situation is a perfect example of risk analysis - identify the risk events, figure out the probability and impact, and determine your response. And then I saw this article, and thought, “Hey, my Mom is one of those “successful” people.” (Of course, I already knew that!) She did exactly what the article said. So, whether the success is making money or achieving a happy life, here’s some research: How Successful People Stay Calm.

Happiness is... being a Project Manager

There is a lot of research on happiness these days. One of the latest books to come out on the subject is by Shawn Achor - Before Happiness. Mr. Achor gives five strategies for being happy. I found these strategies to be similar to those required for being a successful project manager:

1. Use success accelerants - signals that tell your brain success is possible. I would liken this to collecting metrics in a project; with measurement, we have guidance on what to do to achieve success.
2. Set meaningful goals. What is a project if not a goal to be reached?
3. Eliminate as much as possible the negative emotions of fear, pessimism and doubt. This sounds like providing the vision and leadership that any project needs to be successful. When pessimism starts to abound, find ways to cut it short and turn it around.
4. Share your good feelings of happiness with others. Hopefully that would happen in any team environment. I have certainly been in environments where one person's happiness inspired and buoyed a whole group (and cases where the opposite was true, as well).
5. Focus on the positives rather than the negatives. I don’t think I have seen any successful team where there was a focus on the negative!

So, a happy person can be likened to a successful project team. How does your team line up?

Inspired

On April 3, my company is starting up a program where senior executives will tell their stories. These leaders have inspired me by their generosity of spirit.

The executives giving these sessions are all busy people. They travel, they manage good-sized companies. All of them, when asked, agreed to share how they got to where they are.

Just considering this inspires me. That these individuals would be willing to take the time and present their tips, tools and advice. This isn’t about making more money or getting publicity - they already have enough of those.

So thank you, Halifax Executive Mentoring Series presenters!

If you are in the Halifax area and are interested in learning more about this series, please see halifaxleadership.com.

Positive Questions

Have you ever used affirmations? Have they given you results? I have read lots on the power of affirmations but must admit I have never really used them.

However, when I saw “The Book of Afformations” by Noah St. John, I was intrigued. Mr. St. John came upon a realization that our subconscious mind acts upon questions. If we pose questions to ourselves, things happen.

I was happy to test out this theory. For the past few weeks, I have reframed my thinking to be in the form of positive questions. I think, along the guidelines provided by Mr. St. John, “Why do I provide such great service to my customers?” Interestingly enough, using this questioning technique has coincided with many opportunities to prove my customer service skills.

This questioning technique can be related to projects. For teambuilding, perhaps the project team could think this way: “Why do we get our work done so efficiently? Why do we provide such great value to our customers and company?” These questions are starting points. Your team will undoubtedly come up with excellent questions themselves. Then, it will be interesting to see what happens.

It doesn't cost anything to use the technique and I would encourage you do to so. Let me know your results!

I thought I was a good listener...

I always thought of myself as a good listener. But recently I realized I wasn't the great listener I thought I was.

In the middle of answering a question in a class, I realized I hadn't really listened. If I did, I would have asked more questions to understand what the person was getting at. I wasn't satisfied that I provided the best answer.

So I decided to focus more on listening. Something most of us do every day - and something most of us don’t take courses in, unlike speaking or even writing. Research (my focus group of my kids) seems to say that most of us think we are pretty good listeners.

I was a bit surprised to find out that there is an International Listening Association. Pamela Cooper, vice president of the association, said:

"There's a misconception that when we hear, we listen, but listening is really hard work, and it takes a great deal of concentration."

Malcolm Gladwell said that listening well is a gift and that listening is difficult because the more you listen the more unsettling the world becomes.

I would agree. The more I listen, the more I think outside of my comfort zone. The more I focus on listening, the more I realize I have much to learn, and that there is much to learn from everyone’s point of view.

So - here’s to listening and learning.

Make Sure Opportunities Find You

I recently conducted a global webinar for over 1300 participants and received some great feedback and questions. One repeated question was: "How do you ensure opportunities do not pass you by?"

1. You need to ask. Easy to say, difficult to do. We seem to hesitate for fear somebody will say no. But if you don't ask, it is a definite no. Believe in yourself, your capability, and that confidence will prompt you to ask and open up opportunities.
2. Focus on your strengths. It is easy to let our weaknesses hold us back. A weakness is only defined because it is somebody else's strength. I'm not sure why - just because somebody is great at something, that defines us? Define yourself, focus on your strengths, and tell everybody.
3. Learn to say YES. We all have opportunities that come before us and many times it is easy to make excuses as to why we cannot partake. Although these excuses are valid short term, they will hold you back long term. This implies that you need to raise your level of risk tolerance but your increased confidence from focusing on your strengths will offset that.