Ganesh SrinivasanGanesh PMO (PMP, PMI-SP, ITIL-F)| MNC BankChennai, India
Dear Members,
I have been given 30 mins slot to have one to one with my Big boss, who is visiting our ODC.
I need your suggestions / ideas for using this 30 mins productively and also to make a impression.
Ganesh SrinivasanGanesh PMO (PMP, PMI-SP, ITIL-F)| MNC BankChennai, India
Sorry missed to mention, this will be my first meeting with him. Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
The first thing you can do putting it in PMIism is to perform stakeholder analysis. You need to know your stakeholder (you big boss is one of them) to understand what she/he wait for you. On the other side, in my personal side, what I ever do and I recommended is: being yourself. If you do not have many opportunities to interact with your boss then being yourself. Saving Changes...
Thomas WalentaGlobal Project Economy ExpertHackenheim, Germany
Ganesh,
agree with Sergio that you might use PMI's stakeholder management knowledge area as a rough guide. In my view
1. try to get as much information about your big boss as you can, from the web (company and outside), from others and particular what others presenting to him can share
2. from this try to grasp what he is interested in most
e.g. is he focused on numbers, on people, on progress, on risks and privately in sports, does he have family, which car, which club/network, which university? - you might find some common ground.
and what he might not like, so you can avoid it
e.g. too many slides, paper (instead of electronic), men without ties and dirty shoes
3. try to get comfortable with what you are able to talk about, he will probably bring up a question you did not prepare for - so just know the stuff in the area you are in charge of
4. try to find some topics he might be interested in so you can lead (part of ) the discussion
5. prepare a clean professional comfortable outfit for that day, brush you teeth, avoid garlic
6. prepare for a short structured agenda about what be interesting for him (#1) and leave room for questions and discussions
Hope this give you some food for thought Saving Changes...
Senior Projects Manager | Field & Marten AssociatesNew Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
I can't think of anything else to add other than what my colleagues Sergio & Thomas mentioned which I totally agree with,
Try to answer to the question and do not elaborate more than you should because unnecessary elaboration opens the room for further questions. Saving Changes...
Why did they give you 30 minutes? Who gave you that 30 minutes? Obviously, that person thinks that you have something valuable to impart to the big guy. Ask them why they gave you 30 minutes, or why they asked you to appear on the schedule. That might give you some insight regarding the answers to the first two questions that Thomas identified. Saving Changes...
Bruce Gay Principal Consultant| Astrevo LabsPittsburgh, Pa, United States
Ganesh - Seconding a point Thomas raised, be prepared for your executive to bring up a question you did not prepare for. A common question that experienced leaders like to ask is: "How can I help with you with a problem you are facing." Be prepared to share an business issue/problem that you think the executive can directly influence. Make sure you communicate this in a factual manner. Saving Changes...
Thomas WalentaGlobal Project Economy ExpertHackenheim, Germany
Bruce, that is an excellent point. If he asks or not, be prepared to ask the boss for support.
Do not ask for yourself,but for your team or client.
Be aware, he wants to be recognized as being of value, so give him as many respect as you can. Saving Changes...
Ganesh SrinivasanGanesh PMO (PMP, PMI-SP, ITIL-F)| MNC BankChennai, India
Dear Sergio / Thomas / Rami / John / Bruce , Many thanks for your valuable inputs :) very helpful to me.
To Answer John, I'm a PMO and handling governance, I'm planning to talk on Current Scope and Future Roadmap on Governance. So Members Please let me know your kind inputs for the same.
My Agenda Plan : 5 Mins Intro 10 Mins Current Scope 10 Mins Roadmap 5 Mins Expectations from Big boss. Please help me if any changes i can make in this.
I'm very happy to get such valauble support from all of you :) This gives me a great feel that i'm in the right community and people are there to help me :)
Thanks from heart !
- Ganesh
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1 reply by M. Sahir A. Shatiry, PMI-RMP, PMP
May 02, 2016 9:28 AM
M. Sahir A. Shatiry, PMI-RMP, PMP
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Hi Ganesh..thanks a lot for your sharing. The learning point from your experience share some light for me too on handling presentation with big bosses.
Saving Changes...
Thomas WalentaGlobal Project Economy ExpertHackenheim, Germany
Hi Ganesh, you keep me thinking around that. Thanks for that.
Let me add some ideas about how you can prepare before I start thinking about PMOs.
8. once you done steps 1 to 7 (7 being the request for support mentioned by Bruce), prepare for your 1st 5 minutes in detail. Probably your boss is good at judging people so he will judge you on your 1st impression on him. So be honest. He will ask himself 2 questions: is this guy a danger for me and should I respect him. So make him comfortable and curious in that 1st minute. And think about a gift as a welcome, e.g. if the boss is a woman, put a real flowers on the table, if he is a man, a model of a car could be right or if he plays gold a set of balls. Respect him as a person by showing him you know something about him.
9. when preparing your deck, do not bother him with things in details he probably knows already (your business figures in detail, your escalations) - all he needs to know that you know the same level as he does - but tell him things he is not aware of (e.g. about opportunities in your city, competition he should be aware of, even a sports event if he is interested in that)
10. this is an opportunity for you, not only a threat. Think about what you could gain from it and make that happen.
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1 reply by Rami Kaibni
Feb 24, 2016 12:32 PM
Rami Kaibni
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Hi Thomas, This is great input ... I can't agree with you more.
Senior Projects Manager | Field & Marten AssociatesNew Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
Feb 24, 2016 12:29 PM
Replying to Thomas Walenta
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Hi Ganesh, you keep me thinking around that. Thanks for that.
Let me add some ideas about how you can prepare before I start thinking about PMOs.
8. once you done steps 1 to 7 (7 being the request for support mentioned by Bruce), prepare for your 1st 5 minutes in detail. Probably your boss is good at judging people so he will judge you on your 1st impression on him. So be honest. He will ask himself 2 questions: is this guy a danger for me and should I respect him. So make him comfortable and curious in that 1st minute. And think about a gift as a welcome, e.g. if the boss is a woman, put a real flowers on the table, if he is a man, a model of a car could be right or if he plays gold a set of balls. Respect him as a person by showing him you know something about him.
9. when preparing your deck, do not bother him with things in details he probably knows already (your business figures in detail, your escalations) - all he needs to know that you know the same level as he does - but tell him things he is not aware of (e.g. about opportunities in your city, competition he should be aware of, even a sports event if he is interested in that)
10. this is an opportunity for you, not only a threat. Think about what you could gain from it and make that happen.
Hi Thomas, This is great input ... I can't agree with you more. Saving Changes...
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