PMI Global Insights

By: Ahmed Zouhair
Project Management Training Consulting Corp. & The AZ Institute

I had the honor of presenting at PMI’s Virtual Experience Series 2022: 9 June, a global event attracting more than 28,000 attendees. Most of the sessions were very interactive and engaging. My presentation, “Using Project Management Skills to Be the CEO of Your Career” shared these key takeaways:

• Learn the ability to unlock your hidden project management skills.
• Application of the 3 P’s (Prioritization, Productivity, Performance) to your dream job.
• Application of the Double Diamond Design Thinking Framework.

I am responding to few questions posed during my presentation.

Question 1: What is the difference between vision and purpose?

The vision is a long-term aspiring wish like, for example, going to the moon and/or Mars. At the beginning, it looks unrealistic. While the mission is the steps you take to realize that vision, the purpose, however, is the “COLLECTIVE” feeling when you accomplish that vision. 

Purpose is when the values are driven by certain behaviors that create the kind of culture/tribe that is human-centric. And those behaviors create the feeling we want, not only when we have accomplished the big goals and achieved the outcomes we wanted, but in the process of doing so. For example, in his book The Infinite Game, inspirational speaker Simon Sinek compares a well-written vision statement to “a just cause.” When people believe in a cause strongly enough, they will do whatever it takes to make it happen. If you can get your employees to buy in to your company’s vision with a similar fervor, they’ll naturally show up and work hard for you every day. (A survey conducted by Dynamic Signal in 2017 revealed that employees who feel inspired by their employer’s vision statement are 18% more productive.) Sinek goes on to advise that your vision should be inclusive, resilient, and service-oriented. “Inclusive” means it is open to anyone who wants to help achieve the vision and does not leave anyone out. “Resilient” means your vision will be able to survive technological and cultural changes, or at least be able to recover and respond quickly. “Service-oriented” means that the focus of the vision is on the stakeholders—your customers, investors, employees, and partners. The best vision statements focus more on the communities you want to serve than on your business itself.

The purpose is always behind the reasoning of the question “why”. It is the reason why a person does something to reach an ultimate goal. For example, Patagonia’s vision is to “use of all its resources to protect life on Earth.” While their mission is “we’re in business to save our home planet,” their purpose is “We’re in the business to save our home planet.” As you can see, there is some overlap between the vision and purpose.

Question 2:  Outstanding presentation at the virtual experience series! That double diamond concept, fantastic - can it be explored any further?

Great question. I would highly recommend that PMI add design thinking in the upcoming PMBOK versions. Design thinking is a process for creative problem solving. It uses more imagination and innovation supported by one of my favorite quotes: "Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited to all we know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand” (Unknown).

Here are some resources for design thinking and Double Diamond framework:

• Design Council in the UK | https://www.designcouncil.org.uk/
• IDEOU | https://www.ideou.com/pages/about-us
• Google design school and university like Stanford University | https://dschool.stanford.edu/

I enjoyed participating, and my full presentation will be on demand through 31 January 2023. Visit Virtual Experience Series 2022: 9 June for more details.

By Dr. Ahmed Zouhair
EO & Founder of PMTC, Author, and Speaker

Did you know the market is shrinking, changing, and constantly being disrupted by FAANG?

Most organizations have their own unique project management terminology. They also have their own processes, methodologies, and tools that cannot typically be transferred from one organization to another. This can often result in chaos and confusion. The good news is that most of us have been doing project management all of our lives. Everything we do is a “project”: learning to read, making the team in Little League, playing a musical instrument, getting through college, finding our spouse, finding and keeping a job, and on and on. Most of us have been practicing project management without the awareness and knowledge that we are doing so.

My session in the PMI Virtual Experience Series: 9 June program is a practical and pragmatic guide to real-world project management for your job search. I will talk about the roadmap of your job search that would lead to land your job of your dreams. I will also cover how to manage your job search as a project using the Double Diamond framework.

I remember my first job in oil and gas was with the Mudlogging Company. I found the job listing in the Houston Chronicle. The only option we had was to mail our resume to the HR manager.  Companies are looking for people who can do the job and not the tools and templates like resume, and cover letters. They are looking for people who can communicate, collaborate, and work smart to get the job done.

Job fairs, newspaper ads, and cold calling are things of the past. Today 90% of jobs today are found through networking. As an example, my last six consulting gigs were found through word of mouth. Your job search cannot be done without the alignment of people, processes, and tools that will create a faster, better, and efficient roadmap. A roadmap is a gameplan showing where you are and what you want to do to land that dream job.

Key takeaways from this session:
•    Learn the ability to unlock your hidden project management skills
•    Application of the 3 P’s (prioritization, productivity, performance) 
•    Application of the Double Diamond design thinking framework.

Interested in learning more about becoming the CEO of your career? Join this session and register today for the PMI Virtual Experience Series: 9 June.