PMcrunch

If you want to learn to THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX…you need to TRAVEL OUTSIDE THE BOX Jay Abraham is a marketing guru who is especially popular in small business and entrepreneurial circles. Jay has made many millions for his clients…and himself – by thinking OUTSIDE THE BOX.

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I have worked on all kinds of projects.  I’m well aware that project requirements will pit you against limitations of all sorts.  Indeed, we all recognize that we operate in a world of constraints; however, sometimes WE are the biggest constraint of all.   This leads me to the question, “Is your project bigger than yourself?”

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Whatever kind of project we are working on, there is a good chance that there is a “thought-leader” somewhere. There could be a thought-leader related to design, related to problem set, or related in some way to the opportunity that the project represents.

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We are living in an age of “standardization”. It seems that everything is standardized, from processes and procedures to management practices across the board. While we, as managers, try to standardize much ourselves in order to reduce error, create efficiencies, build a common vocabulary, and enhance communication, what happens when things just don’t seem to be working the way we like?

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Project Communications plans provide project managers with the opportunity to think through how the various stakeholders and the project team will communicate with one another. I think a case can be made for thinking a little more broadly about this in today’s Web 2.0 world.

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Leaders know that great insights often come from the people doing the actual work. Faced with “higher level challenges,” leaders and leadership teams tend to lose touch with those doing the work. Whichever end you find yourself in this dilemma, whether you are on project team, lead a project team, or lead a program, take some time to refresh your thinking and “dismiss the hierarchy’, if only temporarily. It will help to keep motivation alive in yourself, your team, and your organization.

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As Project Managers, we are called upon to be leaders much of the time – and really should be thinking about it all of the time. Rather than suggesting that we merely “think outside of the box”, I am suggesting that we “think outside the project”, because, that might be a little more appropriate for the world we as project managers are traveling in. The keys to better leadership performance – and this is a very individual thing – probably lies in our thinking outside of our project.

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