The Critical Path

We are less than a week from PMXPO 2018, being held on Thursday, March 22nd. This year is the 11th annual edition of the show, now in its second decade and still the largest virtual event in project management. This year's PMXPO is packed with great new sessions and opportunities to learn, network, earn PDU's, and broaden your perspective on project management - all for free!

This year’s sessions include a keynote by Joel Cohen, Emmy-winning writer and producer of The Simpsons, titled "The Simpsons: There's No "I" in "Innovation" (oh wait, there's actually two of them)...Lessons in Innovation from the Most Successful Show in TV History." In addition there will be sessions on imagining the future of PMOs, hacking agile for digital agencies, and highlights from PMI's 10th global project management survey, the 2018 Pulse of the Profession®.

If you haven't registered for PMXPO 2018 you can follow this link to do so now! It's open to all ProjectManagement.com users, be sure to invite your colleagues and peers!

Project Management Motivation: Tips for Earning the Respect of Your Team: Keeping your team motivated is key to any successful engagement. An online article linked from PM Port notes resources available for project managers to hone their leadership skill sets. The article provides tips on being transparent, over communicating and listening. Visit PM Port for more of what’s happening in the world of project management.

Can You Believe It? The PMXPO 2018 Virtual Event is just two weeks away!!! So that means there’s plenty of time to register for the live event on 22 March! We broke our attendance record again last year, and want you to join us as we start our second decade of the largest virtual event in project management! Whether you’re a seasoned PM or new to the field, it's your opportunity to learn, network with thousands of your peers, earn PDUs and a badge, and broaden your perspective on project management—all from the comfort of your home or office. And best of all, it’s all free!

You definitely don’t want to miss our Keynote Presentation—The Simpsons: There's No "I" in "Innovation" (oh wait, there's actually two of them)...Lessons in Innovation from the Most Successful Show in TV History, presented by Joel Cohen, Emmy-Winning Writer and Producer of The Simpsons.

Register Now for PMXPO 2018!

Don't forget to………

For many of us throughout specific parts of the world, March 11th is the start of Daylight Savings Time. Be sure to set your clocks forward one hour!

We encourage you to check back for future updates within the Critical Path blog, and thank you for all of your feedback and engagement!

Keep up the good work!

Award Nominations Are Due!

Time is running out to nominate your peers and projects for excellence. Submit your nomination by 1 March 2018. NOMINATE »

Reminder! There are five exams changing in 2018

The Project Management Professional (PMP)^® and PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)^® exams will be the first to change on 26 March. All the information you need is available on https://www.pmi.org/update-center.

• PMP and PMI-ACP exams: 26 March 2018
• Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)^® exam: 21 May 2018
• CAPM pilot exam period: 12 March–20 May 2018 (deadline is 6 March)
• Program Management Professional (PgMP)^® exam: 25 June 2018
• PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)^® exam: 25 June 2018

Are you looking to improve your leadership skills? Maybe you’re struggling with implementing change within your organization. Whatever the case, the PMI Store has resources that will help you move the needle on your projects and in your career.

• Research has told us that all change happens within organizations through projects and programs. Find out how you can bring about change through projects and programs with titles such as How Successful Organizations Implement Change, The Business of Portfolio Management (our December 2017 Book Club selection), and The Practitioner’s Guide to Program Management.
• Great project teams are led by great project leaders. In turn, this helps you deliver great projects. If you’re looking to enhance your project leadership skills, check out Responsible Leadership in Projects: Insights into Ethical Decision Making or 9 Habits of Project Leaders.
• Want to test your knowledge of The PMBOK® Guide – Sixth Edition? Check out the official Q&As for the PMBOK® Guide-Sixth Edition to see how you measure up. Or master the art of supplier management with Project Procurement: A Real-World Guide to Procurement Skills.

Whatever you need, the PMI Store has something to help you succeed!

We are excited to announce the ProjectManagement.com February book club! The book club provides an opportunity to participate in webinars and discussions around selected books relevant to the overall practice of project management. The book club occurs in three parts:

1. Opening pre-recorded webinar which will be used to introduce the book. During this 30 minute pre-recorded webinar, the author will provide a high level overview of the concepts in his/her book, familiarizing participants with the information.
2. Discussion thread on ProjectManagement.com with input from the book club host and author. During the last week of the discussion, questions will be collected to present to the author in the closing webinar.
3. Closing Q&A live webinar with the author responding to questions submitted both through the online book club discussion thread and during the webinar. The webinar will be a panel style discussion with open dialogue between the moderator and the author.

The first 25 PMI members registered for the closing book club webinar will receive a complimentary copy of the book and will be notified via email. Additional participants will have the opportunity to purchase a copy of the book at their own expense. 

All community members will be able to view the book club opening webinar and participate in the discussion forum. We will evaluate the content of each opening and closing book club webinar to determine the eligibility and breakdown for PDUs.   

Our book club book for February is Implementing Positive Organizational Change – A Strategic Project Management Approach by Gina Abudi, MBA.

Gina Abudi has 30+ years' experience in providing consulting services and training/education with a focus on projects, process and people to mid- to large, global organizations. She is President of Abudi Consulting Group, LLC and an adjunct faculty member at Granite State College. She blogs regularly at GinaAbudi.com. Gina is the lead author of Best Practices for Managing BPI Projects (J Ross Pub, 2015) and author of Implementing Positive Organizational Change (J Ross Pub, 2017).

About the book:

In today’s increasingly competitive global marketplace, organizations that do not regularly undertake change initiatives will find it difficult—if not impossible—to continue to be successful in the long term.

Most organizations only launch change initiatives when forced to address some pain, such as decreased revenues or profits, where the sole focus is on the benefits to the organization. Often, the people side of change management is overlooked, causing 60-70% of these efforts to fail.

Implementing Positive Organizational Change explains how to develop a continuous improvement culture of change that will be perceived by employees as a positive opportunity to create something new, exciting and valuable, instead of something negative to confront and resist. This comprehensive guide describes how to communicate with and engage stakeholders and employees to gain buy-in and support, and outlines a strategic project management approach that helps ensure successful implementation and desired results.

Our February book club host is David A. Maynard, PMP.  Dave is a native New Yorker who after graduation from college, traveled to Houston to work for NASA at the Johnson Spacecraft Center, where he worked for many years. 

He participated in the Shuttle avionics architecture design, the “glass cockpit” development and in crew training.  Incrementally David’s level of responsibility increased, becoming a Senior Engineer, Project Engineer, Project Manager and Program Manager.

After leaving NASA, Mr. Maynard was asked to become the General Manager of Systems Management Inc. (SMI) in Orlando, FL. whose mission was to turn-around troubled projects, programs or operations. 

David teaches Project Management at Purdue University, Fort Wayne (IPFW). He is active in the PMI-Northeast Indiana Chapter of which he was a founding member. He volunteers for PMI in various capacities.

To register for the closing live book club webinar, please visit the webinar page on ProjectManagement.com, find the book club closing webinar and click on the “Register for this webinar” link.

Please visit the book club information and discussion on the Project Management.com books page. 

For additional questions, please visit the ProjectManagement.com Book Club FAQ page.