Project Management War Stories

PM War Stories #50 - Presentation Tips for Project Managers

Download PMW_0050_Presentation_Tips.mp3 (4.7 MB)

As project managers, we are continually making presentations – whether it's informally at internal team meetings or formally to steering committees, project sponsors, or to external stakeholders or clients. Yet many project managers don’t include presentation skills training in their annual sign-up letters or professional development plans.

Here’s 10 tips to help project managers make more effective presentations.

1. Know your audience.
2. Words matter. 
3. Provide a roadmap.
4. Time management.
5. Weave in examples whenever possible.
6. Make it interactive.
7. The slides are not the presentation.
8. Speak with conviction.
9. Socialize your presentation with key stakeholders in advance.
10. Be prepared for questions.

Well I hope you enjoyed these tips and would encourage you to share your own by posting comments on our website or emailing them to pmwarstories@gmail.com.

Music Notes

1.     The opening of the show – “Torn Jeans”

2.     The closing of the show – “Lazy Day”

 

 

PM War Stories #49 - PMO Performance and Behavior

Download PMW_0049_Perf_and_Behavior.mp3 (19.5 MB)

As PMOs have evolved and matured, they have augmented their competencies to include things like vendor management and risk management in their portfolio of processes.  Additionally, they have developed skills and capabilities to handle complex project situations and balance project portfolios in the face of ever changing organizational and business environments. Many PMOs have now reached a point where an increase in performance means “Just work harder”.

But given the implementation of process improvements, best practices, etc., PMOs are facing barriers to improvement. Organizational dynamics and organizational effectiveness may represent an untapped opportunity for PMOs to enhance performance.

In this episode, I’m sitting down with my friend and colleague, Mel Bost, to discuss the relationships among PMO structure, behavior, and performance.

We invite you to answer this question: Do you think PMO structure influences behavior which in turn drives performance? Let us know your thoughts at pmwarstories[at]gmail[dot]com.

Music Notes
1.     The opening of the show – “Perspectives”
2.     The closing of the show – “Lazy Day”

 

Technical difficulties resolved

Apologies to our loyal listeners. We were unable to publish our podcast in June due to technical difficulties. We are pleased to report that the problem has been resolved.

Originally we were going to publish a two part series on PMO performance and behavior with Mel Bost in June and July. To get things back on track, we are going to publish it as a single podcast in July. We thank you for your patience and support.

 

PM War Stories #48 - Three Guiding Principles for Project Managers

Download PMW_0048_Guiding_Principles.mp3 (5.8 MB)

In this episode, I share three principles that have helped me throughout my career.

Let’s face it, as project managers time, scope, and budget are often much easier to manage than the people associated with our projects. How effective your people skills are, can impact the fluidity and success of a project. So here’s 3 principles to keep in mind during your next project.

1. Never eat at a place called mom's;
2. Never play poker with a man named doc; and
3. Never get into a fight with someone who has more scars than you.

I hope you enjoyed these principles and encourage you to share your own principles by posting comments below or emailing them to pmwarstories(at)gmail(dot)com.

Music Notes
1.     The opening of the show – “Torn Jeans”
2.     The closing of the show – “Lazy Day”

 

PM War Stories #47 - Best Practices in Project Lessons Learned, Part 2

Download PMW_0047_Lessons_Learned_p2.mp3 (19.6 MB)

In this episode, I’m sitting down with my friend and colleague, Mel Bost in part two of a two part series on project lessons learned.

Mel has over 30 years of project management experience and authors the blog Mel Bost PMO Expert which summarizes successful behaviors of project managers working in a PMO setting as well as the structure and actions of a real PMO. Today Mel will be sharing his experiences and insights on the project lessons learned.

Music Notes
1.     The opening of the show – “Catwalk”
2.     Interview with the industry insider – “Wild Card”      
3.     The closing of the show – “Lazy Day”

PM War Stories #46 - Best Practices in Project Lessons Learned, Part 1

Download PMW_0046_Lessons_Learned_p1.mp3 (17.6 MB)

In this episode, I’m sitting down with my friend and colleague, Mel Bost in part one of a two part series on project lessons learned.

Mel has over 30 years of project management experience and authors the blog Mel Bost PMO Expert which summarizes successful behaviors of project managers working in a PMO setting as well as the structure and actions of a real PMO. Today Mel will be sharing his experiences and insights on the project lessons learned.

Music Notes
1.     The opening of the show – “Highlight Reel”
2.     Interview with the industry insider – “Sprightly”      
3.     The closing of the show – “Yearbook”

PM War Stories #45 - Innovative Approaches to Define Business Requirements, Part 2

Download PMW_0045_Design_Thinking.mp3 (16.3 MB)

In this episode, I’m sitting down with my friend and colleague, Mel Bost in part two of a two part series on innovative approaches to successfully define business requirements.

Mel has over 30 years of project management experience and authors the blog Mel Bost PMO Expert which summarizes successful behaviors of project managers working in a PMO setting as well as the structure and actions of a real PMO. Today Mel will be sharing his experiences and insights on the power of design thinking.

Music Notes
1.     The opening of the show – “Kickflip”
2.     Interview with the industry insider – “Sprightly”      
3.     The closing of the show – “Yearbook”

PM War Stories #44 - Innovative Approaches to Define Business Requirements, Part 1

Download PMW_0044_Biz_Reqs.mp3 (21.5 MB)

In this episode, I’m sitting down with my friend and colleague, Mel Bost in part one of a two part series on innovative approaches to successfully define business requirements.

Mel has over 30 years of project management experience and authors the blog Mel Bost PMO Expert  based on his own experiences in developing and maturing PMO organizations with several major Fortune 500 companies.  Mel’s blog summarizes successful behaviors of project managers working in a PMO setting as well as the structure and actions of a real PMO. Today Mel will be sharing his experiences and insights on taking innovative approaches to successfully defining business requirements, including the power of design thinking.

Music Notes
1.     The opening of the show – “Collins Avenue”
2.     Interview with the industry insider – “Offroad”      
3.     The closing of the show – “Yearbook”

PM War Stories #43 - How having a 360 degree view of the patient can improve the quality of health care

Download PMW_0043_Marchese.mp3 (12.5 MB)

 

In this episode, Wayne Thompson sits down with Ross Kearns, the Director of IT and Finance at Marchese Health Care to discuss how his company created an accurate, actionable 360-degree view of the organization and its operations by implementing a single integrated enterprise resource planning system.

Marchese Health Care is an independent, community-based health care provider dedicated to the delivery of compassionate, patient-focused care. It provides a variety of health care services, including prescriptions, medical supplies and equipment; infusion services, and clinical knowledge.

With a rapidly growing number of patients and partners, Marchese had outgrown its disparate software environment and its resulting data silos, with finance, accounting, inventory, purchasing and sales spread across a number of systems. After doing an evaluation of enterprise resource planning vendors, Pronto Software and its partner, PSA, emerged as the finalist. Today, Ross will share with us his experiences and insights of selecting and implementing PRONTO-Xi.

 

Music Notes

1. The opening of the episode - "Torn Jeans"

2. The closing of the episode - "Electric Rodeo"

PM War Stories #42 - The Building Blocks for a Successful PMO

Download PMW_0042_PMO_Bldg_Blocks.mp3 (18.3 MB)

Today’s episode is sponsored by The Project Management PrepCast - the first and only PMP preparation podcast. Enjoy the freedom to study for the exam wherever and whenever you want, like during your daily commute. Simply download the PM PrepCast to your portable media player and click play. The PM PrepCast has been used by over 10,000 students and was created by a PMI Registered Education provider. Get your PMP Exam Prep for Just $99.97 from The Project Management PrepCast by clicking on the link in the show’s notes or visiting www. pmprepcast.com today.

Get your PMP Exam Prep for Just $99.97 from The Project Management PrepCast - the first and only PMP preparation podcast. Enjoy the freedom to study for the exam wherever and whenever you want, like in your car as you drive to work in the morning. Simply download the PM PrepCast to your portable player and click play. The PM PrepCast has been used by over 10,000 students and was created by a PMI Registered Education provider. Click here to accelerate your PMP studies

In this episode we are examining the components of a project management office or PMO and how to set up a successful PMO.

To do this, I’m sitting down with Cornelius Fichtner, who has over 15 years of project management experience. Cornelius owns and manages his own project management training company and in his spare time produces three audioblogs: The PM Podcast, The PM PrepCast and The PDU Podcast. He is extremely passionate about project management methodologies and PMOs. Today he will be sharing his insights and war stores around setting up a successful project office or PMO.

Music Notes

1.     The opening of the show – “Torn Jeans”
2.     Interview with the industry insider – “Highlight Reel”      
3.     The closing of the show – “Yearbook”