Guessing is not a strategy: How to build decision velocity with AI and real-time data
June 10, 2026 | Live Webinar
Managing Your Personal Brand
Categories:
Career Development
Categories: Career Development
In a reply to my previous post about the advantages of an employee adopting the mindset of an independent consultant, commenter Conrad Harrison said:In terms of going fully independent you have to go beyond the profession. Whilst people are seeking you out on the basis of profession, then anyone in the profession will do and can replace you. They have to be seeking you out: recognizing your uniqueness. That added value that only you can provide. Your uniqueness, this differentiating characteristic, is perhaps the most important part of your professional reputation, your brand. And you do have a brand. It might be good or it might be not so good. It might be very crisp or it might be fuzzy. It might be consistent or it might be ambiguous. It might be helping you or it might be hurting you. Whatever it is, your brand tells people what they should expect from you. Here are a few considerations I view as most important in managing the "Jim De Piante" brand, along with tips for cultivating your own brand: Little things matter. Every interaction with other people contributes to your brand. Often, it's a seemingly small thing, such as promptly returning a call, that can leave a lasting impression. Quality matters. As in all things related to reputation, it can take a long time to build a good brand, but you can destroy it very quickly. People talk about you. They talk about your work. You want to be sure they're only saying positive things. Consistency matters. When people think or talk about you, you want them to remember, think and say you can be counted on to do certain things a certain way. Whether you're an employee or an independent consultant, the project you're working on is going to end. Then what? Who will seek you out and why? I'd be interested to hear how you manage your personal brand. Read more from Jim De Piante. |
Generate Action in Project Status Reports
Categories:
Documentation
Categories: Documentation
| To keep project activities moving, I've been testing a strategy of having action generate action through status reporting. Here's what I've noticed that works: As it stands, the current status of a project or task either gives a call to action, which creates further productive activity, or it leaves things as they are. For example, a task status might say, "Completed the requirements document." While it's a valid update on the task, it only tells us something that is already in the past. Rewording your updates to generate a vision of current action is more helpful. Consider if the status update said, "Reviewing the completed requirements document with the business owner." By including the present tense, the status presents the same information, but it adds an action-oriented, current, activity-based standing. As a result of using present tense, I've noticed that the action of simply reporting on status has generated further action. It actually put me directly into the doing part of action, rather than talking about the action. Let's say I receive a status update that says, "Kim is getting the screenshots of the system alert message," or, "John is reviewing the requirements document with the business owner." From this, I would know to follow up with Kim on whether she got the screenshot and set a reminder to connect with John and find out how the review went. Review one of the status updates you've recently done yourself, or one that you received. Did it use the present or past tense? If the latter, what better results do you see possible by using the present tense? |
Delegate to Project Team Members and Coach Them to Succeed
Categories:
Education
Categories: Education
| Project managers have notoriously full schedules. As difficult as it can be sometimes, delegating is a must. While more than 80 percent of our time is spent communicating, the other aspects of the job are crammed into the remaining 20 percent. If we focus too heavily on individual tasks, we will crash into our myriad deadlines. This is where delegating becomes essential to leading successful projects. Personally, I would rather do everything myself than ask another team member to do things for me. But this attitude can lead to significant catastrophes:
First, tell team members the information that you need and give them a deadline. Prepare a template to make it easier for them and to ensure you get all the necessary information. For good measure, I might remind them of what I need from them 24 hours before the deadline. Delegation has a few benefits. First, you'll make your deadlines because you'll get the right information from the right sources, on time. Secondly, team members are exposed to structured work and reporting methods, and will see the significance of the work they contribute to the project. Finally, you'll increase trust within the team because of greater responsibilities, which can enhance self-worth for team members. What is your take on delegating? What tasks have you delegated to your team members? What positive impacts do you see from delegating tasks to your team members? |
Use Project Management Tools in the Right Context
| Recently I came across an ad for a project management technology application. It was a picture of seven robots in a group, which symbolized humans. The slogan read, "If your team looked like this, any PPM solution would work." It made me wonder how many organizations actually believe that technology applications do the work and produce results -- not humans. How many organizations and project managers sufficiently analyze their project needs and the compatibility of new technology to their organizations' existing set-up and processes? Companies often buy expensive project management applications and then force teams to conform and adapt to the application rather than customize the application to the needs of the people and project. But buying applications because other organizations use them does not by default mean you, too, will become a leader. Like with best practices, experience has taught me that technology and tools are valuable -- but only if they fill gaps and needs effectively. Technology is important and can increase efficiency, but in the correct setting and context. Projects are planned and executed by people -- therefore technology must complement and be understood by the humans who use it. Before investing in new project management applications, you must consider things like training, costs and your team members' willingness to use the tools. Otherwise it could amount to an expensive burden. What experiences can you share of failing to engage stakeholders before investing in technology? What factors should be considered before investing in new applications? |
Program Managers as Top Chefs
Categories:
Program Management
Categories: Program Management
| Given the lack of understanding about the work of program managers, I thought it would be helpful to explain their role by using a restaurant as a metaphor. Think of the kitchen as the project management office (PMO), menus as the programs and each dish as a project. The chef is the program manager. The restaurant owner and manager rely on the chef to create the menu, which has to reflect the restaurant's cuisine, but with a range of affordable (yet profitable) dishes. The chef must then supervise and motivate others to cook the dishes. Cooks are like project managers. They're responsible for executing the dishes designed by the chef and ordered by the customers. Other kitchen staff members are like the project team, helping create each dish successfully. Restaurant managers are like general managers in a project setting. They coordinate the different arms of the restaurant, supervise the staff, order supplies, take care of the accounts, pay wages and handle customer complaints. However, they rely on the chef to ensure the restaurant is successful. The restaurant owner, manager and chef meet regularly to discuss business. These discussions are the restaurant equivalent of strategic planning. The chef learns what's required of the menu (or program) and how much money is available to spend on preparing dishes (or projects). In a lot of companies, the owner, manager and chef are all the same person. Yet many people can't successfully perform all three roles. The restaurant owner and manager may want to be involved in the cooking, but it's far more effective if they have the support of a properly trained chef. The same is true in the business world. We need to spend time educating CEOs and general managers about the benefits of working alongside a properly trained program manager. Then we won't just have great restaurants, but great companies. What do you think? How does having a defined role of a program manager help organizations? |