My own contribution to an upcoming book

As mentioned in my post of earlier this week I got the chance and honor to having contributed to a forthcoming book.  The title is “Corporate Bold:  What Every Corporate Professional Must Know”.  Information about this book can be found at http://www.corporatebold.com/cb.

From the official website: “Corporate Bold is a book about what today’s corporate professionals need to think about in order to thrive in tomorrow’s corporate structure. The book is currently under development and is slated to be published in Spring 2009 and will be available through Barnes & Noble bookstores and BN.com.

The book challenges many of the assumptions that may no longer be true. By providing specific steps that can be taken immediately to assess readiness, Corporate Bold aims to change the lives of corporate professionals in a powerful and positive manner. Corporate Bold outlines a strategy for success and gives the readers a larger and richer context to think from.”

My own contribution:  I am writing about the power of sharing information, teaching and empowerment.

I will keep you posted once the publication date is set.

Happy Holidays and Have a Good and Prosperous New Year!
Thomas

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Another excellent podcast on project management

Today I have found yet another excellent podcast on project management.  http://www.thepmpodcast.com is run by Cornelius Fichtner.  I highly recommend this podcast.

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A Recession = The Best Time to Start

Yes, we are in a recession. So what!? It is a normal thing in our economy. The severity may change and the present recession seems to become a big one. Still, this must not be a reason to despair, lament the present situation. Instead, it is the best time to start something new. Get rid of old patterns which did not work well, throw out old beliefs. Prepare the playing field for the time of the recovery and boom which will come. Build new vision, derive new objectives, review and test them, and then follow through. Once more it comes down to ‘defining vision’, the utmost characteristic of effective leadership. Second, encourage others, convince them of the value of your vision. Third, be fair and open to feedback. Especially during a recession. But again, look forward, learn from your mistakes and move on. Last but not least, deliver. Lay the seeds of results and success.

Is it that simple?  The guidelines certainly are.  Realization may take time, but that is nothing new.  So, yes, it is that simple.

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Busy December: a new project, 1 presentation, 5 prepared presentations, 1 publication

It has been awhile since my last post.  The reasons are simple:  a) I started a new project engagement, b) I was working on new presentations I plan to give in 2009, and c) I wrote a short chapter for a forthcoming book in 2009.

Talking about the presentations I plan to give next year, there are two major topics: project leadership and project recovery / rescue.  Hence, the papers I submitted to the PMI Global Congress 2009 which will be held in Orlando next October are the following:

The 4 Principles of Effective Project Leadership

The session outlines 4 simple and pragmatic principles of effective project leadership: building vision, nurturing collaboration, promoting learning and, last but not least, ensuring delivery. They are illustrated by examples of real-life project situations. In addition, it is shown how they relate to the PMBOK and the various phases of the project life cycle.

It Takes a Team to Re-Align a Project: Lessons From Rescue Missions

Project recovery missions are probably one of the most difficult challenges a project manager may face. Alone a project manager cannot handle such a situation. It takes a team to do so. The session will present practical tools, methods, exercises which can help the recovery team to quickly gain ground.

Yes, We Can: Lessons from Project Rescue Missions

Project recovery missions are probably one of the most difficult challenges a project manager may face. The session will propose a simple yet powerful approach to project recovery. It will present practical tools, methods, exercises which can help the recovery team to quickly gain ground in a rescue mission.

In addition, I have prepared another presentation on the topic of collaboration:

A Fool with a Tool is Still a Fool: Overcoming Possible Pitfalls of Introducing Collaboration Tools

Virtual team work is becoming prevalent these days. Consequently, collaboration within and across project teams becomes more important. Numerous tools promise to improve collaboration. Yet, a tool by itself is no guarantee for effective collaboration. The presentation will outline key factors for a tool to successfully help promote effective collaboration.

Last but not least, I prepared a lecture on team norming

Don’t Reinvent the Wheel: How to Prepare and Conduct a Lessons Learned Workshop

This session will help attendants learn simple steps how to set up and conduct a lessons learned workshop. The objective of the simulation is to prove the viability of the demonstrated workshop approach. The project chosen for the guided design is: “Preparing for the PMP exam”.

While all of these lectures are primarily prepared for the PMI conference I am looking for opportunities to give similar lectures and workshops throughout the year for interested companies and organizations.

Regarding the publication:  Next year a new book “Corporate Bold” will be published.  I am honored that I was asked to contribute a chapter to this book, entitled “Openly teach anyone willing to learn, what you do at work”.  I will let you know more about this publication in a future post.

Happy Holidays!
Thomas

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