PMcrunch

Many professionals are either “knowledge seeking” or “problem solving” – but, to their detriment, not both. You can create a one-two punch for professional effectiveness by combining “knowledge seeking” and “problem solving”. Let me show you what I mean by looking at some details of some popular bodies of knowledge today.

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What do you do when hopelessness seems on the horizon? What do you do when it appears you have tried everything and nothing is working? What do you do when it appears that you are at the end of the road?

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Networking has always been an important activity for everyone – especially professionals on the move. The fact is, no matter where you want to go, you can probably get there faster, and more efficiently, if you have a good network. Networking can also be a great deal of fun.

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The usage of IT and computers in the workplace has rocketed in the last decade.I challenge you to find one section of your organization that doesn’t rely on IT to function these days. Indeed, IT has been the core of the competitiveness of successful organizations.

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Depending on your environment, you may have some team members that seem like non-contributors, and in some ways actually get in the way. While I have never experienced this – or at least not for long – on the smaller more critical projects I have managed, I do see this on larger more matrix-oriented projects. The question is, “How can I handle this?”

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Using organizational charts in project-planning is very effective in a number of ways. One of the interesting things about organization charts is that they can benefit the project at various times in the lifecycle.

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FMEA is an important lean Six Sigma technique that has potential to be used in project management. While in Six Sigma it needs to be used at a very rigorous way, there certainly is some room for flexibility when used in project management. In either case, it is a good structured technique for analyzing problems and identifying solutions.

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After someone has been managing projects for some time and has achieved certification, he or she will feel more than comfortable with the basics. The big question is how can more experienced project management professionals continue to advance in skill and maturity by leveraging training. Let’s explore.

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While many project and program managers work on large multi-year projects, many of us also work on small to medium sized projects. In fact, while many of these small to medium sized projects last anywhere from weeks to months, larger projects and programs consist of a series of these small to medium sized projects. Let’s take a look at one of the most common problem solving techniques available for getting into rapid-action mode on these fast-moving projects.

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Leaders must be able to depend on their people — especially the commitments they make. Projects and programs are built on estimates from the people we depend upon. When there’s a pattern of delay, or poor estimates, intervention is required.

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