Magical start of the day of #PMICON18 at Los Angeles with spray painting and theJon Dorenbos takes us through the highs and lows of this life through some energetic tricks. One such snippet is here.

Key takeaways:

Have a vision in life and believe in magic!

Face the reality

Surround yourself with those who lift you up

Life is indeed a magic! I was all ready to spread the magic through the channel that I had at the congress as a speaker and as an SME at the “Ask the expert” started as soon as I stepped out of my room at the hotel. I guess my T- shirt said it all. 

I engaged in discussion across the hallways at the breakfast table, the linked- in corner, the awards gala dinner and at the community “Ask the Expert” booth.

Some discussions:

“There was a directive to implement JIRA company wide, we tried agile, but our people were not ready?”

Bingo! you got it, we need to focus on our people first. Agile is not only about tool implementation. Agile Methodology is a people-focused, results-focused approach to software development that respects our rapidly changing world. Focus on people first to bring the change in mindset for adaptive planning, self-organization, and short delivery times. Tools are just levers, Jira Software is an agile project management tool that supports any agile methodology, be it scrum, kanban, or your own unique flavor.

“We are into Workday implementation, one the first ever implementation for the healthcare, we tried agile but it did not work!”

Sure of course not all projects are suited for agile, it is up to the project manager to decide what can be agile, predictive or hybrid. For COTS implementation, we may not be full fledged agile on day one, but we of course implement some values of agile like faster feedback, inspect and adapt, and slowly and steadily e may want to look for more opportunities to be agile. Read more on hybrid methodology here

“I have started a new contract and I need to setup a process, there is no current process, how do you bring in agility here?”

No current process, that seemed scary at first, but as the discussion progressed, we agreed that there was a process which was adhoc. This needed to move to through the maturity level of Adhoc-> Repeatable-> Managed-> Adaptive-> Agile and DevOps. This cannot be achieved day one, but a project manager can assess the current situation and build in a road map for process agility.  

That evening the “Happy hour” became happier with some champagne, cup-cakes, lots of appetizers, in-promptu on the sofa expert discussions and networking with the attendees.

If you have not been able to sign up for the “Ask the expert” sessions, we are here till Monday, you still have time to sign up here, or just drop by for a more casual discussion at the “Ask the Expert” community booth in the exhibit hall.

And the end .. the PMI Professional Award Gala dinner, where the best and best of the project management is awarded. A retro musical by “Marilyn Monroe” and Dean Martin made this evening even more magical.

Are you ready for more magic on Day 2 ? Unable to experience this magic in-person at the congress?  Follow me on twitter , linkedIn or Facebook as I take you through this magical experience of #PMICON18 in the city of angels.

​My day started quite early as I wanted to get registered and sorted in time (read: eat as much of the PMI breakfast as I could and drink tea!). The badge collection process was Streamless and very quick. 

Moving into the keynote, Stephen Maye did the introduction keynote and motivating the project managers to really get the most out of the conference and making the conference not just about your company or industry, but also about YOU. Then the keynote was Jon Dorenbos who motivated the crowd with his infectious enthusiasm and lust for life.

After the Keynote, i went to the Ask the Experts area and it's been non stop since! Below is a picture of the LinkedIn area where you can have a profile check as well as a picture taken.

During the break, there's a full array of snacks available and there's plenty of Gluten Free and Vegan options. This is one area where the PMI does not scrimp on and one thing that really sets you up for a good session.

My sessions today have been varied! I've seen people who I met with Last year who gave me an update on their situation and how my advice last year helped. Here are a few summaries of the people i met:

Annette:

- Annette is brand new to Project Management and wanted advice about how to learn more about Project Management and being able to get the necessary amount of hours for their project. We spoke about training opportunities, chapter opportunities etc.

Tony:

- Tony was having a few issues with their team and wanted some advice for how to manage conflict resolution and build a good team environment when there is a lot of negative energy and atmosphere. We spoke about what they can do to make a difference as well as simple, key effective strategies.

Sally:

- Sally has established her own PMO and has been responsibie for leading a successful team to astounding growth... but now her company is throwing every problem child at her and it's becomign too much so we spoke about ideas, solutions and what she can do to manage expectations with key stakeholders.

Pamela:

- Pamela is looking for a career transition and has been looking at the best way to market herself within a very competitive market and area. We spoke about establishing her core values and USPs and what she can do to stand out against her competition.

.... and we're still not done! We're here until 5pm where we will start a "Happy Hour" where people can drop in and chat to us. We've already had several discussions in our comfy sofas where people have been asking about risk workshops, chapter ideas and what we're doing here!

It's not just the "Ask the Experts" that has been alive today. The PM Wars area has exploded and you can sense the competition that has been rising.

It's also been a great day to meet other projectmanagement.com members including one promised selfie! 

Today has been a great first day and it's only looking to get better as the conference progresses. Do you want to know anything else about the event? Let me know below!

(Note: Names used have been changed to protect privacy)

Sell Others on why The Project Matters!

Too often project managers do not consider the importance of socializing their projects prior to actually beginning the work on the project. It may be because they haven’t thought of the benefits of doing so or because they feel the project is assigned and already decided upon, so why bother. However, the most effective project managers - those who take a strategic approach to how they lead their projects - look at projects from both the perspective of the organization and the perspective of the individual - thereby understanding the benefits of socializing the project early on during the pre-planning stages.

Undoubtedly, you may have to highlight the benefits of socializing projects to your project sponsor and other key stakeholders if this is not common practice already within the organization. Let’s look at an example. I was called in to work with a client who, about 5 months previously, had launched a project to change processes in how they captured and input client data to enable for improved marketing. They never socialized the project first. The end users, on average, had been doing the job in a particular way for about 4 years. Old habits die hard - no one wanted to change what they had been doing; it worked for them. It was 5 months already into the project when I was called in to help correct the situation - progress was very minimal. I recommended they step back and start again - this time taking some time to socialize the initiative and talk about the benefits to the organization as a whole, the departments affected and the individuals. First, however, we needed to do a bit of “repair work” to smooth over feelings.

Benefits of Socializing Your Projects

When we take the time to socialize projects before we actually start the project, we provide individuals with a “heads up” about what is going on and why. In this way, we provide a sense of comfort around the changes that will happen. It helps us to:

• Better manage expectations throughout the project
• Secure buy-in and commitment earlier on in the project
• See where we might be missing something that could cause significant rework or even project failure later on
• Convey to individuals that we are interested in their ideas, suggestions, thoughts, comments about the project
• Improve efficiencies and effectiveness in managing the project during execution
• Increased acceptance of the project upon implementation

I consider socializing the project to be part of the “define” or “pre-planning” phase of the project. It helps me to find out who is supportive of the project and who I’ll need to spend some more time with to make them comfortable and convert them to champions. Depending on the size and complexity of the project and the number of individuals impacted within the organization, I may plan for anywhere from two weeks to a few months to socialize an initiative.

Selling Socialization to Executives

If you are in an organization that has never socialized projects before launch, you may need to sell it to the executives. This is not as difficult as you think. First of all, in most cases, as a project manager, you know about projects coming along before they are actually ready to start. Begin socializing the project then if you can do so. When I’m working with clients to help them develop more effective and efficient ways of managing their projects, I make sure that plans include involving project managers very early on in decisions to initiative projects so that, prior to actual launch, time can be set aside to socialize the initiative. Rarely do we cut into project time. And, when we do cut into project time, we have shown, time and time again, that by socializing up front, we actually spend less time on the back end managing expectations of those impacted and get much more commitment which enables to improved management of the project throughout execution. Additionally, we have found in some situations, that by socializing the project, we learned a few things we did not know that would have derailed the project down the road.

Frequently we look at projects from the perspective of the organization’s view. We understand how the project will benefit the organization and why it is the right thing to do now. We tend to forget about the individual. The individual is the one who will be impacted by the project in some way. We need to consider the project from the perspective of the individual, who, while certainly concerned about the organization is also concerned about him/herself. It’s only natural. Going through this person’s mind are questions such as, “What will happen to my job?”  “Will I be able to do the role when it changes?” “What if I don’t have the skills I need?” “How can I handle all of this when I have so much going on personally?” These are all valid concerns of individual employees and the most successful projects are run by those who work with the individual to address these concerns through a variety of ways, such as:

• All staff, or all hands, meetings
• Departmental meetings
• Small focus groups
• Surveys
• “lunch and learn” sessions
• Emails
• Posters in the hallway
• Company portal (intranet)
• Internal newsletter

These are just a few ways to socialize the project throughout the organization. Always choose a variety of ways to reach the largest group of people.

Summary

Take the time to socialize your projects prior to their actual start. You’ll find that you will increase the commitment and support for the project which only makes your job of managing the project much easier in the long run. The benefits are many and well worth the extra effort involved. Remember also, that, periodically, throughout the project, as a best practice, continue to socialize it by checking in with individuals to be sure they are still on-board and feeling good about what is going on.

Announcement!! 

Based upon the comments on previous blog posts, I've spoken with the other "Ask the experts" and we've agreed that during our free time at the conference to answer questions. Depending upon audio quality, this may be through Q&A in a blog post or video uploads to Twitter. 

So, have you got any questions for:

- David Maynard 

- Priya Patra

- Dan Furlong

- Gina Abudi

- Emily Luijbregts?

You'll have seen in previous posts what we specialise in, so please leave your questions below before this Friday (5. October) so that I can prepare some great Q&A for our online community. 

“Would we still need project managers in the digital future? “A question that came up from the audience in a panel discussion at the PMI Global Conference 2017, Chicago. We concluded the discussion on the note, Yes we would still need project managers as they are the driver of the “car" (project), no matter how fast the car goes. Project managers are the #ChampionofChange, who keeps track of the scope, engages the team and manages the stakeholders.

The skills would need to evolve through continuous learning to drive the change in the disrupted future.

PMI Global Conference 2018 is one such conglomerate of thousands of project managers for 3 days of learning, the learning opportunities to augment our skills to be a true #ChampionOfChange

An Ocean of endless learning opportunities for

Playground sessions and special attractions: PM Wars, wellness sessions, hands on labs, advancing your career and building a personal brand.

Ask the expert: An expert group of project management professionals would be present onsite to solve our queries, get tips on projects, project management career path, you name it. You could sign up for Ask the Expert sessions here.

Learning sessions: Mesmerizing key notes and other power packed learning sessions. I would be leading a session, where I would be exploring a new lifeline for project managers “Ask the crowd”.

#517a Who Wants to Be a More Successful Project Manager? Here's Your New Lifeline: Ask the Crowd!

Curious to know what it is all about?

Follow the #AsktheCrowd on twitter and linkedin to know more.

So are you ready to dive in?  I am, Please check out my agenda here

Again, if you not able to make it to the Conference, keep watching this space and follow me on twitter , linkedIn or Facebook for insider insights, attendee experience and much more !