The Critical Path

We are excited to announce the ProjectManagement.com 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. **Premium and PMI-member exclusive** 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.  PMI members and ProjectManagement.com premium members will be able to participate in the book club closing webinar.  We will evaluate the content of each opening and closing book club webinar to determine the eligibility and breakdown for PDUs.   

Our book club debut book for March is Project Management, Denial, and the Death Zone: Lessons from Everest and Antarctica by Grant Avery.  Grant is the Founder and Director of Outcome Insights (O-I), a consulting practice specializing in the review of projects and PMO operating practices. Grant is an internationally certified consultant and recognised presenter on PPM capability improvement and business cases. He was previously a Director for KPMG and has over 20 years’ experience managing and reviewing high risk projects.  Earlier in his career Grant developed a unique perspective on the successful management of project and programme risks from the experiences he gained as manager of New Zealand’s Scott Base in Antarctica.  Grant has been PMP certified since 2001, and has an MBA with Distinction from New Zealand’s Victoria University.

About the book

Using lessons learned from recent research on personal and organisational risk taking, and case examples from Everest and Antarctica, this book provides powerful insights into the causes of project and program failure, and how to solve them. If you are a business executive leading change, a project sponsor, or a PMO or project manager, this is a book for you.

Our March book club host is Tolitha Lewis, PMP.  Tolitha has been a PMI Volunteer Leader since 2008.  She was elected as a Director to the PMI Information Systems Specific Interest Group (PMI-ISSIG) in 2008 and served until the completion of the the transition to a Community of Practice (CoP) in 2011. In 2012, Tolitha was appointed to the Leadership Team of the Consulting CoP, now referred to as the Consulting practice area, and has been a leader in the webinar program ever since.   Based in Indianapolis, Indiana, Tolitha is a Sr. Project Manager.

We are very excited about offering the book club program to our community!

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.

Unlike most people, this isn’t my favorite time of year.  I’m a winter girl.  Big fan of cold temperatures, brisk air and snow.  I’m always a little bit sad when it starts to get warmer and I have to say goodbye to my favorite seasons.

One of the things I do like about the change from winter to spring is the sense of a clean slate.  The opportunity to have a start fresh both personally and professionally.  It’s a good time for reflection and planning and maybe even revisiting any resolutions made for 2016.  It might also be a good time to take on new projects or at least consider what new projects might be on the horizon. 

It’s an opportunity for us to shed our winter coats, take a breath of fresh spring air and feel renewed.  Open the windows and let the spring air clear out the doldrums of winter. 

Personally I have an ongoing “project to-do list” complete with my projects I have to do and those I hope to do.  And as we work on objectives and business plans during this time of year, I’m looking ahead with excitement at the projects I have.

As we look forward to spring, what is on the horizon for you?  What are you looking forward to in the coming weeks/months?

Happy Spring!

Making connections on ProjectManagement.com is an easy way of building your network of professionals in the industry.  A professional network, it can be compared to LinkedIn but targeted to project managers.  When you make a connection, you will begin seeing the connected member’s activity in activity feeds on site (and they will see yours). This is a great way to drive awareness to your profile. You can converse with members through our private messaging system, although we do not permit the messaging system to be used for solicitation, self-promotion or advertising. So if you connect with someone you’re interested in following up with on a particular matter, you can click on their image/profile and send them a message.

What you do with your network is entirely up to you. Some members use it as a way of having a contact at a particular company to get information about employment opportunities or getting advice on how to handle a project (if they don’t feel comfortable posting about it publicly in the forum boards).  Some members collect connections simply to collect them (just like many people do on LinkedIn). Others prefer to only connect with persons they’ve actually met or had contact with.

Making connections and participating in the discussions on ProjectManagement.com is much like in any other online community – what you get out of it depends on what you put into it or what you are looking to accomplish by participating.  I use my connections to help curate content and facilitate member introductions if someone is requesting help.  The opportunity to continue to build a network in alternative forums is inherently valuable. But that’s just our opinion.  Whether you’re a seasoned PM or just starting out, you’ll find that making connections can help you develop yourself at every stage of your career.

To help build you network based on industry/filters, check out the Build Your Network Page.  To search through your network by name or date added, click on “Network” (it’s under your name in the gray navigation bar after “Profile” and before “Inbox.”

We encourage all of you to spend some time looking at the Build Your Network Page and making connections!

Innovation Week with @effective_pm taking place now through 3 DECEMBER!  Head to YouTube for great videos on improving your skills!

Virtual PMI Talent Management Conference. If you haven’t registered, you still have time! 

• What: This exclusive virtual event for PMI members will discuss essential insights into talent management.  PMI Members (who are PMI certification holders) can earn 6 PDUs.
• When: Friday 4 December 2015 from 8:30 AM ET to 5:00 PM EST.
• Where: From the comfort of your own home or office! Register now at PMI Talent Management Conference 2015.