New project management articles published on the web during the week of November 5 – 11, 2012. Dave and Sandra read all of this stuff so you don’t have to! Recommended:
- Mark Bashrum gives us some pointers on how to communicate with senior executives.
- Elizabeth Harrin reviews Chris Baréz-Brown’s book, “Shine: How to Survive and Thrive at Work.”
- Aaron Smith captures the key teamwork lessons in Dennis Perkins’ book, “Into the Storm.”
- Claudia Vandermilt looks at the advantages of developing leadership skills, to benefit both the workplace and individual, along with specific actions to become a great leader.
- David Williams notes the leadership skills of one James Bond, of Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Aside from killing people and romancing women, I mean.
- Tanya Combrinck replies to an article by Andy Rutledge, arguing that PM’s sometimes do more harm than good, by asking an “expert panel” what the role of a PM should be.
- Matt Alderton offers two model examples of project risk registers.
- Kevin Korterud looks at 5 overlooked project risks. Termites anyone?
- Glen Alleman finds an excellent counter-example, of how to not do project risk management, and offers a better way!
- Jonathan Feldman agrees with the recent Hackett Group study that concludes a project management office, done badly, is a waste of money.
- Vaughan Merlyn opines on the relationship between the PMO and the “accidental” project manager.
- Bart Parkins notes that change management is not optional, but in many organizations, still neglected.
- Kailash Awati tells the story of the grass and the cloud. Yes, it a fable. But so many business decisions turn out to be based on fables that I thought you wouldn’t mind.
- Joel Bancroft-Connors looks at the diminishing returns of continuing past “good enough” to perfection.
- Samad Aidane addresses the age-old question: MS Project or MS Excel?
- Alexandra Samuel notes that more employees are establishing their own “brand,” through social media and blogging. And it might be good for their employers, or it might not.
- Gary Nelson shares his thoughts on the “essential value proposition” we bring to our interactions with others. At our jobs, for example.
- Timothy Bednarz notes that credibility is the underlying basis for successful leadership.
- Cheri Baker has some ideas for improving her work / life balance. Like actually scheduling things besides work.
- Penelope Trunk (eventually) explains that productivity is about giving things up, to focus on other things. Hey, it’s Penelope – she writes like that.
- The PMI Career Central LinkedIn group was asked, what are the biggest differences between managing a “traditional” project and managing an “Agile” project?
- Shim Marom found a really cool infographic: a guide to preventing software project failure, which may or may not be completely serious.
- Rochelle Curbow Wheeler shares three lessons learned from watching horror movies that might be applicable to our projects. Pass the popcorn …
Enjoy! And to all my fellow veterans – peace be with you!
Thanks for these links – the Bond article was much better than I thought it was going to be! I would not have marked Bond as much of a leader as he doesn’t really have a team to lead. But as the article points out, he does demonstrate many leadership traits. I watched the latest Bond movie last weekend and it does feel much more as if he is letting things get personal, but that too was much better than I was expecting.
Glad you liked it, Elizabeth! I try to include at least one or two “whimsical” links each week, if I can find them. They’re usually at or near the bottom of the list. The James Bond article was a bit of a stretch, but I figured the release of “Skyfall” was reason enough to include it. Glad you liked it. The Missus insists we have to go see it this weekend – maybe I’ll write my own analysis of Bond’s approach to managing stakeholders.