Program Management and Leadership

As Stephen Covey has said, “Sharpen your saw”, you are bound to sharpen your leadership skills by reading  ”Project Lessons from the Roman Empire by Jerry Manus”. The author is not a historian but a PMP and experienced project manager who uses this book to identify several lessons that can be subjectively learned from a survey of the leaders of the Roman Empire. The lessons learned are subjective. The lessons learned are not complete are not summarized in a checklist or organized by Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) areas of study. The author is unclear how these lessons were identified since he has not studied each battle by its leader against Roman Empire aggressors. That is the not the reason to read this short book. I read it in 1 sitting, and was identify the numerous lessons that were called out from the success and failures of its leaders. Some lessons I found to be a stretch such as do not ask your resources to work “excessive” overtime. The Romans did not have this concept. The Romans did not necessarily believe in work life balance. Instead this book is rich in personal observations found from the author’s review of their contributions to humanity such as Roads, aqueduct, castles and forts as well as their use of succession planning. The author calls out the following lessons which relate to the human soft skill side of project management and if use can contribute to successful projects and programs.  I am always looking for lessons learned and ways to improve project and program success. Why do some succeed and others not? Is it the limitation of the project manager?

1. Document lessons learned.  
2. Document business need
3. Document reason for being
4. Project execution and alignment with objectives and needs
5. Balance roles with family
6. Encourage innovation
7. Continuously learn
8. Lead with compassion and competency
9. Be goal-oriented and adaptive
10. Ensure team is sold on the project
11. Don’t burn out team
12. Don’t give your team mixed messages
13. Be culturally aware
14. Plan for growth

These lessons are not new, but can be applied to your projects on an as-needed basis. Jerry, Another good read!

For a process to manage projects, programs and portfolios for enterprises sizes less than 1000 employees, a user or project manager should reference the PMBOK, PMI body of project management knowledge in terms of directing, organizing and controlling a project, irregardless of category, whether systems or not. That is the usual practice. Instead, the author supplied us with a primer to get us started and to reference the PMBOK to fill in the gaps in knowledge or assistance in those circumstances. This is not a top heavy, lingo-based  book of knowledge.

The author provides screenshots of templates which can be used to manage projects towards success. These templates  consist of status reports, change history control log. It is a good read and references the basic execution and controlling templates. I found it helpful since it refreshed my knowledge and referenced the key artifacts that I should use ikn managing projects at a small firm. The challenge is that these templates and metrics towards measuring success hav e to be tempered in a smaller size environment with less bureaucracy, and amplification of egos and political differences. These challenges of cooperation affecting performance occur in all firms, irregardless of size, but tips towards their alleviation are not mentioned. The book would have been one step better also if exhibits of the templates were supplied by the author.

The bottom line for recommending or using this book is that the author provides the key guidance one needs in managing projects at a smaller or even larger firm. These are universal in their application. They are:

• Know Your culture
• Get Your Mind Straight
• Champion the Vision
• Establish the buy-in
• Build Unconventional Leadership
• Master the Basics
• Tool Time
• Define Success (along with metrics and reporting process)
• Understand Your Stakeholders’ Needs
• Focus on the Big Picture.

These principles will not help you pass the PMP exam, but will ensure that you are process-oriented and pointed strategically and tactically towards ensuring success.  Bravo, Philip Diab!

Book Review by Larry Marks of Sidestep Complexity, Project Management for Small-and Medium-Sized Sized Organizations by Philip R. Diab

For a process to manage projects, programs and portfolios for enterprises sizes less than 1000 employees, a user or project manager should reference the PMBOK, PMI body of project management knowledge in terms of directing, organizing and controlling a project, irregardless of category, whether systems or not. That is the usual practice. Instead, the author supplied us with a primer to get us started and to reference the PMBOK to fill in the gaps in knowledge or assistance in those circumstances. This is not a top heavy, lingo-based  book of knowledge.

The author provides screenshots of templates which can be used to manage projects towards success. These templates  consist of status reports, change history control log. It is a good read and references the basic execution and controlling templates. I found it helpful since it refreshed my knowledge and referenced the key artifacts that I should use ikn managing projects at a small firm. The challenge is that these templates and metrics towards measuring success hav e to be tempered in a smaller size environment with less bureaucracy, and amplification of egos and political differences. These challenges of cooperation affecting performance occur in all firms, irregardless of size, but tips towards their alleviation are not mentioned. The book would have been one step better also if exhibits of the templates were supplied by the author.

The bottom line for recommending or using this book is that the author provides the key guidance one needs in managing projects at a smaller or even larger firm. These are universal in their application. They are:

• Know Your culture
• Get Your Mind Straight
• Champion the Vision
• Establish the buy-in
• Build Unconventional Leadership
• Master the Basics
• Tool Time
• Define Success (along with metrics and reporting process)
• Understand Your Stakeholders’ Needs
• Focus on the Big Picture.

These principles will not help you pass the PMP exam, but will ensure that you are process-oriented and pointed strategically and tactically towards ensuring success.  Bravo, Philip Diab!

So tell me what  makes a transformational leader? 

The author compares and contrasts the leadership styles of Franklin Roosevelt, Mikhail Gorbachev, Deng Xiaoping, Nelson Mandela, Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair, for example in this wonderful volume. The odd idea is that it does not present the leadership style at specific points in time in their styles, since this may change based on the issue or crisis which is faced or may be the defining moment to reacting to the stress. He does not bring in any business leaders or other NGO leaders.

It’s an interesting book since he compares political leaders such as Roosevelt or Ronald Reagan or Gandhi. The reader has to remember that the author is a political scientist. I cannot tell his political leanings, which is whether he is a democrat or republican or a Tory or other party. This is a great and is what makes this book a success.

He looks at each leader such as Disraeli or Reagan or Lyndon Johnson and determines what made them a success at the time of their leadership. He calls them “transformational leaders.”  They were on the spotlight and in charge at specific times in history when they made a difference. Leadership is opportunistic. Reagan was a great communicator, and was interested in the big picture, a motivational speaker, and a strategist. For good or bad, he delegated to his expert managers the governance of the government agencies such as George Schultz. What is interesting is that the author then looks at each leader and raises in some cases whether the leader could have been successful or transformational at a different point in time. Could Ronald Reagan have been just as transformational during World War 2 instead of Roosevelt? Is this revisionist history? Yes.

Successful leaders can communicate their strategy, can appeal directly to the public, be concerned about the public on a genuine basis, be strong, ready to implement the public’s wishes too, but able to take feedback. There are no perfect leaders such as there are no perfect people. The leaders mentioned by the author have serious flaws, but the author paints a holistic picture for the reader which is successful.

Book Review by Larry Marks of the Productivity Project, Proven Ways to Become More Awesome

As we approach a new year and as most companies, we are working on our performance reviews, we get to think how productive we tend to be. Depending on the work circumstances, type of firm and environment in which we work, we do not tend to think of ourselves as either productive or not. We have annual performance goals that we need to reach such as utilization percentages. We may not think of our overall performance as to whether we are using our time wisely.

There are many published markets that describe techniques how one can explore time utilization. But Chris Bailey has done them one level better. He is not one of those time experts or persons with extensive management or human resources experience. Instead, he obtained his business degree, and spent more than a year trying to explore on himself how to improve his productivity. He tested them too.

I found the Productivity Project useful for several ways. He goes behind the scenes and explores what makes someone productive; such as how much coffee one drinks, caffeine, or meals or exercise one does during the day or what time one wakes up during the day. He does not venture into the type of work one does and that is the variable since being a “thinking intensive” profession such as medicine, a health care professional may be on a different level productivity than an office worker. So, the type of work is the variable too. But the common thread and principle that the author recommends is moderation and experimentation. Moderation on the caffeine, meals and amount of sleep. The key also Chris Bailey mentions is that he spent over a year trying to know himself.  His book deals with procrastination, and asks the reader to understand why do they procrastinate. If it is a task that the person delays performing, then perhaps the person should work on that first.  Chris Bailey offers valuable approaches to improving one’s productivity.

For coffee or tea, experimenting with the level and combination of caffeine and decaf. For meals, he recommends light meals such as salads, and for exercise, he does not describe the type of exercise, but that one should exercise daily. He wants the person to be more cognizant of what they do during the day. He works to identify the problem tasks that take up most of the time. He found tasks such as:

Answering email

Answering meetings

Managing calendar,

Coaching people and business on productivity

Researching and scheduling travel, to name a few. But he found that when he started the day, that one should approach the day with the mindset of what he or she wanted to accomplish during the day, no matter what it is, to manage the time awake to accomplish these goals. That’s the key. He is goal-focused, and meals, any procrastination, exercise supplement and enhance the energy levels of the person trying to accomplish these goals. Chris Bailey has written a novel book that is engaging, though provoking and asks that the reader take an introspective look at themselves to be successful.

Lindsay Pollak interviewed many millennials to identify the qualities and requirements to become a manager or to realize a promotion or to accelerate their career. She had these conversations in order to document career advice for millennials.  She is quite well known as one of the Top 100 Websites for Your Career as accepted by Forbes magazine. This book is not intended as a leadership manual or technical manual. She provides advice primarily on building your brand. What are you known for? What is your reputation in your company, in your department or are you recognized as by your co-workers? She mentions that your brand, whether you are seen as polished, aggressive in your career, a team player will affect people’s opinion of your value to the enterprise.  She presents tools such as interviewing others such as your manager to find out how you are perceived. A one-on-one interview with your manager is successful. But remember this book is written from the perspective of someone managing their own firm. This is a different perspective than possible non-millennials who would rather work for a paternalistic firm. The techniques offered are whether one is a janitor, a project manager or drives a truck. She offers suggestions on how to deal with not reaching your goal too. The key that she offers is to find a mentor, someone who will not be challenged and threatened by your personality or skills and abilities. This is a technique that is written in many management books and applies to millennials and non-millennials. To find a mentor to help guide someone’s career is difficult. There are no job postings on LinkedIn, Monster or Glass Door called “Wanted Mentor”.  And someone has to want to be your mentor. She believes that someone has to manage up, network up and lead meetings. This type of skill depends on the firm-size too, and ability to present to not being able to threaten senior management.

I found the book helpful with key tips such as “Think outside the box, “practice what you preach.” And “you have to pay your dues.”  But as she notes if you offer to take on work or projects or offer innovative solutions or advice to your managers and it gets known then you will be noticed.  This book should be re-read annually at performance review time to ensure that you are reaching your goal according to your timeframe.