Voices on Project Management

In an age of hyperconnectivity and rapid-fire change, project practitioners can feel overwhelmed. Never fear. There are ways to stay ahead of the pack, according to keynote speakers during the final two days of PMI^® Global Congress — North America in Phoenix, Arizona, USA.

First, forget multitasking. “It turns out multitasking doesn’t exist,” said Daniel Levitin, a neuroscientist and author of The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload.

Constant task switching “comes at a neural cost,” he said. Instead, practitioners should try “unitasking,” focusing squarely on one mission for large chunks of time. And step away from the computer and the smartphone for a few hours.

“Highly successful, highly productive people get more done by actually shutting things off,” Mr. Levitin said. They know what’s not worth their time and don’t waste energy on minor decisions. “People who do that really do get more done, and the quality of their work is better.”

Tamara Kleinberg dared congress attendees to cultivate their innate capacity for innovation. The message was simple but powerful: With the right attitude and habits, anyone can disrupt the status quo with creative ideas.

“It’s about being annoyingly curious, always questioning, always challenging,” said Ms. Kleinberg, author of Think Sideways: A Game-Changing Playbook for Disruptive Thinking. “Great innovation isn’t in the answers, it’s in the questions.”

To “prime the innovative mind,” project managers should write down every idea, no matter how trivial or seemingly mediocre. Like the body, the mind needs daily exercise to reach its full potential, she said, urging attendees to “turn your office space into a gym of innovation.”

Ines Vazquez, PMP, walked away inspired. “I love the idea that everyone is capable of innovation,” said Ms. Vazquez, project manager, Boeing Co., Bothell, Washington, USA. “I used to think that I didn’t have that ability — but the only thing I need to do is exercise my mind.”

Vince Poscente closed out congress with a challenge to attendees: “How are you going to become more agile in a competitive environment?”

Author of The Age of Speed: Learning to Thrive in a More-Faster-Now World, Mr. Posente recounted his long-shot qualification for the Olympics just four years after taking up competitive speed skiing at age 26. He said he pulled it off by developing a 360-degree awareness of the sport’s risks and then choosing fun over fear.

Mr. Poscente urged practitioners to set their own bold goals and then develop the willingness do what the competition won’t.

The most important advice he ever received was just three words: have no regrets. In “a world that is getting faster and faster and faster,” Mr. Poscente said, it’s imperative to pursue the goals that deeply inspire us because project teams respond to passion. “How do we get people heading in the same direction?” he asked. “It’s that emotional buzz.”

A legend on the basketball court and in the business world, Earvin “Magic” Johnson understands how to build all-star teams.

“You’ve got to know every teammate. I know the strengths and weaknesses of everybody that works with me — what they can and can’t handle,” said Mr. Johnson, who kicked off PMI^® Global Congress — North America in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. “It’s about understanding how they can get to the next level. When they believe that you’re for them, then you can lead them.”

Mr. Johnson knows how to get teams to play at the top of their game: After leading the Los Angeles Lakers to five National Basketball Association championships, the Hall of Famer went on to become the most successful African-American businessman in the United States. As CEO of Magic Johnson Enterprises, he operates subsidiaries spanning the entertainment, foodservice and healthcare industries, among others.

Despite that track record, he never rests on his laurels. “I’m still learning, I’m still growing, I still have room for growth—and I know you do too,” Mr. Johnson told the 2,200 attendees gathered from 60 countries around the world.

Without that commitment to learning, project practitioners and their organizations risk being left in the dust.

“The marketplace is moving so fast. If you can’t adapt and adjust, it’s going to move right past you,” he said.

He urged audience members to conduct biannual SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analyses — for themselves and their businesses.

And before they begin planning projects, organizations must understand the environment they operate in. When his company gets a new contract, Mr. Johnson said, “we have town hall meetings and listen to what people say. And then we deliver what they’re looking for.”

To get the right results, organizations must go in with the right strategy — and then make sure team members are on board and have the right skills to get the job done.

“You have to sell your team on the strategy so they can be successful,” he said. “The best basketball players I know made their teammates better. Ask yourself, how can you make the people you work with better?”

Congress attendees appreciated the “magic tricks.”

"There's a lot of truth in his approach to life — of the importance of hard work and relying on the right people for the job,” says Harold Mosley Jr., PMP, director, project management processes, Zachry Industrial Inc., San Antonio, Texas, USA. “You have to set high expectations and get the right people to fulfill them.”

Talk about project management in action: When an electrical fire sparked a mass evacuation of the Sheraton Hotel in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, the PMI team had just hours to relocate its Professional Awards Gala. “That’s the power of risk management!” said Ricardo Triana, PMP, chair, 2014 PMI board of directors.

Against a chaotic backdrop, the team executed an emergency move from the Sheraton Hotel to the Convention Center. They quickly coordinated catering, set up the room and notified all attendees of the new venue. Despite the shift, the awards ceremony was a success.

The evening celebrated the best of the best in project, program and portfolio management. In a world characterized by rapid change, innovation is becoming a necessity in the business world.

Rio Tinto Alcan took home the top prize for its AP60 Phase 1 project. In a large-scale plant, the company implemented a cutting-edge smelting technology that produces 40 percent more aluminum at lower costs and fewer emissions.

The project team not only came in on schedule and on budget, despite a scope increase, it dramatically overhauled the region’s poor safety culture.

“I think it’s quite an achievement. It’s something we’ll remember for a long time,” said Michel Charron, project director, Rio Tinto Alcan, a PMI Global Executive Council member. He credited the passion and rigor of the team—including senior project manager Andre Noël, PMP—with driving the project’s success.

Winner Rio Tinto Alcan was honored with two other finalists.

Energy Systems Integration Facility at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado, USA: Smart risk management—including careful risk mitigation and a staggered release of contingency funds—allowed the project team to maximize the value of a US$135 million facility and supercomputer. Scientists at the facility now study the integration of renewable energy into the grid.

Access Health Connecticut, Hartford, Connecticut, USA: Despite fluctuating requirements and just 10 months to complete a project that would typically take three years, the project team built an online health exchange for Connecticut’s 365,000 uninsured citizens. The project exceeded federal enrollment goals by 245 percent.

For more on these projects, read PM Network^®’s finalist round-up.  Then, check out videos of all the finalists on PMI’s YouTube channel and extended inside looks in upcoming issues of PM Network^®.

Michel Charron credits the AP60 team's passion and rigor in winning PMI's Project of the Year Award.