PMI Global Insights

“Every industry and every organization will have to transform itself in the next few years. What is coming at us is bigger than the original internet and you need to understand it, get on board with it and figure out how to transform your business”

— Tim O'Reilly, Founder and CEO, O'Reilly Media

The world is transforming with light speed, it is getting better and progress is coming faster than ever, which means the quest for perfection is our projects is at it’s limit and beyond? So how would the projects of the future look like ?  What would the role of a project in this uncertain future ?

These are the questions that keep coming back to me, as I notice an evolution of a revolution around me.

Keeping the above in mind, I planned my schedule for #PMIEMEA18 congress as follows:

Key Note: Rowan Gibson - Winning in the Innovation Economy

Key Note: Inma Martinez - Developing Creative Approaches to Artificial Intelligence in the Workplace in the Times of Accelerated Digitalisation

Augmented Project Management? Why ‘Less Is More’ When Facing Complexity in Projects

Transformers: Navigating Complexity in Projects of the Future

Off-site Learning Session: Airport Berlin Brandenburg BER

Digital Transformation: Leading Organizations to the Promise Land

Reforming Transfer of Knowledge on Projects of the Future

Open Forum : Leading Effective virtual teams

Want to know more on the projects of the future?  Have any questions which I can ask on your behalf in these sessions?  Please shoot out here or direct message me. I will be there at #PMIEMEA18 Congress to share insights into the “Projects and Project management of the Future”

Follow me here, facebook, twiter and linkedin as I take you through the #PMIEMEA18 experience from May 7 – May 9 Berlin

#PMIEMEA18 is coming up very soon and there are a lot of preparations going on in advance. As someone who will be speaking at the conference for the first time, I'm really excited to be able to present my topic to the audience but I'm also extremely excited to be presenting alongside some absolutely fantastic speakers and knowledgeable experts there!

I'll also be there as part of the Social Media crew helping to bring the conference to those who are unable to be there in person. I'll be sharing my personal experience and highlights from the sessions that I'll be attending and allowing you to follow the conference online.

Before you come to Berlin:

Make sure that you've read through the entire conference schedule so that you've got an idea of what you're looking to attend. I'd also recommend bringing enough Business cards to share out with people at the networking events. 

Monday:

• If you're a first-time attendee to PMI conferences then I can highly recommend that you attend the "The first time attendee orientation", It'll be a great help to understand how the conference works and how to make the most out of your conference.
• The Keynotes are always a great way to kick off the conference and this year looks no different! Rowan Gibson gives a great talk about: Winning the Innovation Economy and the mindset that we need to adopt for being innovative.
• I'll then head to: How emotions can impact your success as a PMP. This is a topic that I think that a lot of us can learn from and it'll be something that you'll be able to apply immediately after the conference.
• After lunch, I'm planning to go to: Augmented Project Management. Why Less is more when facing complexity in projects. I think that this topic will give some key takeaways for a wide variety of Project Managers.
• The next session I’ll be going to attend is a personal favourite topic of mine: Better your Project Management techniques via Lean Six Sigma. I really love learning about Six Sigma and how it can be applied to existing Project Management techniques.
• The last session of the day will definitely be one to keep you on your feet! Agile droplets in a waterfall world will aim to show you when and how agile practices could be applied to your projects /environment.

The conference doesn’t end there. Please don’t forget to check out the evening networking opportunities. The evening events are not only a great way for you to mingle with your other Project Management counterparts but they’ll also be a great way to learn more about Berlin’s fascinating history!

Tuesday:

Tuesday is going to be a packed day but it'll be a busy one for sure!

• I'm really excited about the Offsite learning experience at the Berlin Brandenburg Airport. I've been following this project for several years and it'll be a project where there is a lot to learn from.
• After lunch, I’ll be presenting a topic called: Dude, where’s my control? Transitioning from a Project Manager to a Scrum Master. This is a great session if you’re thinking of becoming a Scrum Master or alternatively if you’re going through a transition yourself.
• The next session for me will be: Tips and techniques for managing those difficult project stakeholders. Dana Brownlee is a really fantastic speaker and I can’t wait to hear her thoughts on this!
• Happy Hour is an hour that you should definitely NOT miss. This is a great opportunity to network with your colleagues and wind down from an intense day of presentations.

Wednesday:

Wednesday morning kicks off and it’ll be a packed final day of the main #PMIEMEA18 conference!

• The first session I’ll be looking to attend will be: Delivering real value in Business consulting projects – the agile way. I’m really interested in how Project Managers can deliver real value and seeing if they can do this in an agile way.
• Wednesday afternoon will continue with some more strong topics! Fabiola Maisonnier will be talking about: Signs of Leadership: are you change resilient and emotionally mature? I think these sorts of presentations that will help others to increase their leadership skills and social awareness are going to be some of the more valuable sessions for attendees to attend.
• The closing keynote will give you a lot to think about. Inma Martinez will be presenting a topic called: Developing creative approaches to Artificial Intelligence  in the workplace  in the times of accelerated digitalisation. One reason why I think that this is so critical is because it brings the importance of the future of our profession to the forefront of our minds and shows us that we cannot avoid thinking and planning for the future.

#PMIEMEA18 has a packed program that will definitely give you the advantage. It’ll give you the tools to develop your skills and broaden your mindset. Moreover, it’ll give you the opportunity to meet other Project Management colleagues and enable you to widen your network.

So, which sessions are you looking forward to?

During the PMI EMEA Congress in Rome last May I had the opportunity to interview Thomas about Ethics. See the interview clicking in this LINK and tell us what you think about Ethics in your day to day job.

Some interesting case you want to share?

Thank you!!!

Hello PMI Family

Hope you are having a great work week after the hectic last weekend at the PMI Global Conference. It was great pleasure to see many of you there. PMI had multiple live events last week: Leadership Institute Meeting, Global Conference, Seminars World. No matter which sessions you were on, they were loaded with lots of practical experience nuggets.  

Do you have any thick binders that you got from some training that is gathering dust right now? I sure have many of those in my basement from early in my career. Now I have learnt how to make live training to work. Take one item and put it to work immediately till it becomes second nature.  I am going to get better at building on my strengths, use of technology, social media to improve my effectiveness and productivity and get better at project selection. Note that these are only the top 3 to start with. Like you, I learnt much more but I need to start somewhere immediately.

Yes, now that I have made it public, I am accountable to all of you to execute to the plan :-)

Think about what are your top three and share it. It will make you go thru the process and program your subconnscious mind to do something about it.

TIll I see you next time, stay connected.

It's been a week since #PMIcon17 started and it's been a time to reflect on a few things that were really visible to me during the conference that I think is valuable to share with the wider community.

1. Volunteering: A really valuable way to connect with others and give back to the community is through Volunteering. Either with your local chapter or with other professional organisations.
2. Talent Management: It's vitally important to understand your own worth in your organisation and also as a Project Manager. Make sure that you understand what you're worth and also where you can still develop as a Project Manager.
3. Innovation: Be innovative, be a 'bar raiser', 'thought provoker', 'change maker' and be this not just for one day, but constantly. Analyse what you're doing and what you can do better. What can your organisation do better? Are you thinking about how Project Management could be better?
4. Collaboration: As Project Managers we can be stronger within the community if we collaborate together to give more knowledge to each other. Are you collaborating enough?
5. Generational Project Management: Project Managers seem to have a longer more valuable shelf life than other industries and roles. During the conference, there was a great combination of younger Project Managers just starting their career with other more seasoned Project Managers who had so much knowledge and information to share. As an organisation and industry we need to be aware of this and work on sharing this knowledge together.

Personally, I felt that the Conference not only highlighted the opportunities that we have as Project Managers to learn and develop as stronger Project Managers but also showing the possibilities that are available in the PM world to contribute and grow.

What next?

Where will I be going from now? I'll be continuing to connect with everyone that I met to make sure that we can continue collaborating and sharing knowledge. I'll also be making sure that my 'contribution' to the Project Management industry remains involved, active and giving back just as much as I have been learning!

What will your contribution be? How can we collaborate together?