Guessing is not a strategy: How to build decision velocity with AI and real-time data
June 10, 2026 | Live Webinar
Viewing Posts by Jim De Piante
Project Planning for Career Success
Categories:
Career Development
Categories: Career Development
| In my December 21 post, I suggested that to have successful careers as project managers, we must manage projects effectively. And that depends on solid planning. Imagine two project teams, Team A and Team B. They take on exactly the same work. Team A does a poor and hasty job of planning, and the project manager commits to complete the work in 12 months, at a cost of US$1 million. Team B does a more careful job of planning, and the project manager commits to complete exactly the same work in 14 months, at a cost of US$1.2 million. Teams A and B deliver precisely the same result, at the same cost, in the same amount of time. Total project duration: 13 months. Total project cost: US$1.1 million. But consider how they're evaluated: "Project Team A Exceeds Budget by $100,000, Delivered Late. Project Manager is Fired." "Project Team B Delivered Early and Under Budget. Celebration in Honor of Project Manager." The essential difference between a well-managed project and a poorly managed one is, in my estimation, entirely in the planning. Planning is about the creation of expectations. In this case, expectations were created and then either fulfilled or not, with all other factors being equal. What do you think: Does successful project planning create a successful project management career? |
How Do You Define a Successful Project Management Career?
Categories:
Career Development
Categories: Career Development
| The criteria for what constitutes a successful project are pretty clear: full scope delivered on time and within budget. Consider how a "failed" project is characterized: Press reports of conspicuous project failures declare "the project was several years late." Or, "the project overspent by so many millions of dollars." But what does it mean to say that a project was late? Late with respect to what, some arbitrary date by which all such projects are supposed to be completed? And what does it mean to say that a project overspent? Overspent with respect to what? Some arbitrary amount that all such projects are supposed to spend? The fact is that both of these values -- project completion dates and the budget -- are not arbitrary in the least. These values are determined by the same person who is responsible to not exceed them: the project manager. Let's look at that. The project manager determines the project completion date and the budget. The project manager then manages the project so as to not exceed those values. Why, then, should a project ever be late or over budget? Think about it. We have it made! We get to say when and how much -- we simply have to meet those commitments. Our destiny is in our own hands. How can we fail? And yet ... we fail. I can hear the rebuttal now: "The schedule and budget were imposed by management, or the client or the sponsor." No they were not. You were given "targets." If you accept those "targets" as your budget and schedule commitments, you are setting yourself up for failure. As the project manager, you are responsible for determining the schedule and the budget. If you cannot bring them both in line with targets, the sooner you say so, the better. Success also means not failing. Quickly killing a project that will never meet targets is a good way to avoid failure. Alternatively, you can negotiate changes in targets for scope, schedule and budget so that it's possible to succeed. Regardless of your personal criteria for a successful career, success as a project manager implies success in managing projects -- and that means meeting commitments that you make. How do you define a successful project management career? |
Beyond Superficial Networking
Categories:
Career Development
Categories: Career Development
| In a previous post, I wrote about sincere questions as the most powerful tool for learning about a person. Oftentimes, we stop asking questions too soon. After a few superficial inquiries, we don't start seeing the affinities, so we don't dig deeper. This is exactly the wrong thing to do. Think in terms of layers. The most superficial questions are in the first layer: Where are you from? Where do you work? Where do you live? First-layer questions aren't usually enough to help you find the leads to uncover a real likeness. It's the follow-up questions that allow you to penetrate the next layer. I've found that if you can "mine" a line of questioning down about six layers deep, you will surely strike gold. If you ask someone where they're from, for example, and they say, "Little Rock, Arkansas, USA," you might think, "I have never been there, so we have nothing in common." You might then move on to another superficial question or end the conversation completely. Or, you could reply, "Isn't former U.S. president Bill Clinton from Little Rock?" This might induce a response like, "Actually, he moved there after he became attorney general, but I recently saw him speak at the PMI® Global Congress." Ah ha! You've struck gold. Now you can ask more questions. "You were at the PMI congress? So was I. What did you think of former President Clinton as a speaker? Did you see any other presentations you liked?" By eliciting the simple fact that this person had been at congress, you opened up many more possibilities for deeper questioning. Any of these could be a potential source of further questions. Try it. With practice, you'll start to notice a spectacular phenomenon. You will become quite skilled at sensing where the "gold" lies. And you'll begin to discover you have affinities with practically everybody. |
Networking Tips for Congress
Categories:
PMI Global Congress 2010 - North America
Categories: PMI Global Congress 2010 - North America
| Learning is one reason for attending PMI® Global Congress 2010--North America. But there's another good reason to go, and I'm convinced it's the best one: to meet people and network. The things I've learned in congress sessions have been valuable and helpful, certainly. But some of the people I've met have had an even more profound effect. For example, as a result of meeting certain individuals at the PMI Global Congress 2006--EMEA in Madrid, Spain, a roundabout sequence of events led my wife, our five children and me on a two-year assignment to Rome, Italy. I'm often asked, "What did you learn at congress?" But no one has ever asked, "Whom did you meet?" Yet I'm sure that the people we meet have far greater potential to radically change our lives than the content of even the best presentations. Networking is about meeting people. Getting to know each other, finding common ground, staying in touch and, eventually, helping each other. Here are 10 suggestions to help you maximize the value of networking at this year's congress: 1. Bring plenty of business cards. Have them handy, but not too handy. You want to be prepared, but not seem overly eager. 2. Go through business cards from previous congresses. This will refresh your memory so if you run into previous acquaintances, you'll remember their names. 3. Consider contacting people you've met at previous congresses. If they're returning, make plans to reconnect. 4. Go on the congress web site and visit the Meet Attendees section. Look for people you might know and set up a date to meet in person. 5. Practice your elevator speech. Be able to describe your job briefly and succinctly -- short enough to deliver in the course of an elevator ride. 6. Attend the networking events and resolve to meet new people. Avoid hanging with the same people all the time. Give lots of people the pleasure of meeting you. 7. Take a genuine interest in others. When you engage in conversation, you'll learn more about them and uncover points of common interest. Ask questions and listen for the answers. (Learn more about dealing with people in my session.) 8. Don't hesitate to ask for a business card. If there's something you want to remember about that person, note it on their card right away. 9. Don't squander the opportunity to meet people. Your e-mail will be there for you to read at the end of the day. Don't let it prevent you from meeting the person who could change your life -- or whose life you could change. 10. When you get home, follow up. After a few days out of the office, you might feel like you need to get right back into work, but set aside a few minutes to reach out to the people you met. Long after this congress is over and much of what you learned in the sessions is long-since forgotten, you can still have a game-changing relationship with some of the people you met there. |
I Wish I Had
Categories:
Career Development
Categories: Career Development
| It's embarrassing how easily we slip back into former (bad) habits and how quickly we lose sight of our firmest resolutions. Perhaps if I go public once again with my resolutions, I can shame myself into adhering to them a little more faithfully. Last March, I blogged about career success and mentioned some resolutions I had made after I had been laid off more than a year previously. I revealed having written a page of resolutions called, "I Wish I Had." Many people asked for a copy, so here it is, along with my renewed commitment to all it says. I Wish I Had I worked for my employer for exactly 24 years and 5 months when I was told that I was being laid off. My departure date was originally set for February 26. This was extended until June 30. On June 30, I left as planned, signing the papers at 5:30 pm. At 8:30 pm, a different division obtained the final approvals they needed to offer me a job. They made the offer the following morning. I accepted. From the time I was notified until the time when I actually departed, I had time to reflect. Often I thought, "I wish I had done some things differently." Well, now I have that opportunity. I've decided to put those things in writing and I have resolved to do them, now that I have been given another chance. Therefore, I resolve to (more or less in order of priority): 1. Schedule time for my wife and kids as a first priority, not something I do when I get a free moment. 2. Take better care of my health and fitness as a first priority. 3. Take greater advantage of employment benefits. 4. Create greater separation between work and personal life.
5. Go to my employer's local facility more regularly to keep up with colleagues here. 6. Back up my data frequently. 7. Be better prepared to leave if this ever happens again
8. Be more selective in what activities I agree to do outside of work. 9. Be more selective in what extracurricular assignments I take on at work. 10. Be more proactive in finding "my next job." 11. Have some real mentors who take a genuine interest in my career. 12. Have mentors outside of work. 13. Care a lot about work, but not too much. 14. Be very proactive in my employer's career development process. 15. Blog. |