PMI Global Insights

The first day of the #PMIEMEA19 is already over. It is unbelievable. Reflecting back on the day's events I realize it is difficult to summarize without writing a book. I will try my best.

In the morning it was fun watching people network, reconnect with old friends, pick their badges and generally get ready for the conference. I also had a chance to connect with many new people. Of course there was Coffee, Tea and Biscuits. It is amazing to see that 800+ people made it to the conference.

Opening Session:

Beth Partleton, a PMI Fellow and 2019 Board of Directors Member led us through the session. In a video Jim Snyder, one of the 5 founders of PMI, reflected on the History of PMI. Jim's greatest memories of 50 years of PMI is all about the people. He is excited to see what the next 50 years will bring. 

Sunil Prashara the new PMI President & CEO reflected briefly on his first 67 days in office. His biggest first impression is also the people and the community spirit within PMI. He is truly impressed what is happening in the Chapters and especially with the Ireland Chapter putting this amazing event together. He promised to be available throughout the event and attend sessions with all of us. And sure enough I met him in some of the sessions I attended. I also managed to briefly chat with him and saw many others do the same. Yes he wants our input, reach out to him!

The first Keynote by Jamil Qureshi, was packed with information, tips & tricks in a very relaxed talk. Jamil the Scribbler, as he calls himself. In order to get amazing success in your life you only need to do a 1 degree change. Find that one thing you want to change a bit. The 3 principles that with change your life are simple:

1. Inner Dialogue - reflect and do the 1 degree shift

2. Check on your response to events in your life and see the outcome change

3. Look into the belief systems of yourself and others to see what is blocking you from being truly innovative. Dismantle these belief systems by using the "Rogue Monkey" to proof that the belief systems are wrong.

Influencing without Authority:

If you use IQ & EQ together you can easily have influence without having formal power. Norma Lynch& Pat Lucey how with the help of a influence plan, using 11 steps one can successfully influence stakeholders and with that project outcomes. This talk will come up tomorrow again.

HamdanBin Mohammed Awards for Innovation in Project Management:

These international awards were introduced by the Crown Prince of Dubai, to encourage innovation in the way project management is done. There are 8 different awards in 4 categories. Awards are given to Individuals, Organizations, Teams and Academia. There is full time team, that judges applications by clearly defined rules. Check their website for details. www. hbmaipm.com

Leading Change Adoption at a Glance:

Change projects are only successful, if the implemented is adopted. The What and the How needs to be sorted out. Adrian Mulvanerty reduced it to a simple formula, based on the William Bridges Model:

Q + A = E  

Q = Quality, A = Adoption, E = Effectiveness

His leading Change Adoption Toolkit offers 7 tools in 3 process groups. Check with him or the Schneider Electrics Website for the tools.

PM 2030: Your Project Management Toolkit for the Future:

Philip Diab led a Panel Discussion between Dieter Butz of Bosch, Hilary Baker of Airbus and Jim Robinson of the British Armed Forces. This discussion showed clearly that AI is not likely to replace project managers, since projects need the human factor of project management. However there seem to be clear differences between what the private industries need from a future project manager and what the armed forces expect to require.

Forecasting Project Performance with Control Account Value Analysis (CAVA)

Douglas Bower explained the principles of Control Account Value Analysis with practical examples and compared it to EVM clearly showing the advantages and disadvantages of each.

The day ended on a high note with a Networking Social, with fresh Guiness and wonderful snacks. Thereafter, those who had signed up and paid for Networking Tours left for the tours. I will talk about the one I attended in a separate Blog

As you can see the day is packed with information, different sessions and it is often difficult to decide which session to attend. The PMI Event App can guide you in selecting the sessions you want to attend.

I have learned a lot of practical things today

When attending a major conference or congress like the PMI EMEA Congress 2019 in Dublin is can be confusing which sessions one should attend. I have asked a few of my friends before how they chose which sessions they attend. Here are some of the answers I got:

1. Chose the ones being held by friends, or people I know first, then chose others by the topic I like.

2. Go through all the topics and choose the ones that interest me

3. Use the conference app and put in keywords.

4. It is so confusing and there are so many people I tend to attend those friends of mine attend. Go with the flow

5. Plan in detail, align with goals of what I want to read up on and then choose deliberately.

What method do you use to determine which sessions to attend?

I have used elements of all of the above before. All have their pros and cons. This time I am going as one of the Community Correspondents and am excited to be sharing my experience and my lessons learned with you. I am also looking forward to be working with Emily and the rest of the team to share the action at the congress with you

Please don't forget to follow me and my fellow representatives from the online Community for updates during the conference itself. They'll be announcing themselves during the next few days.