Curated Video
Top 10 Ways to Keep Calm and Carry on - 10 Tips
The slightly annoying 'Keep Calm and Carry On' wartime poster parodies are near-ubiquitous these days. As a Project Manager, your job is stressful. But, there’s no doubt that calm optimists will always do better than frazzled pessimists,...
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Should a Project Manager Get Involved in Contract Negotiations?
Should a Project Manager get involved in Contract Negotiations? This is the essence of a question I was asked. If we leave the negotiations entirely to procurement teams, then decisions will be based on: • Procurement rules • Simplistic...
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How to Remember Names: The Top 7 Ways
Are you one of those people who 'just can't remember names'? The fact is that almost everybody can. It's just that we either don't choose to put in the effort, or we don't know the techniques. So, here are my top 7 ways to remember...
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Project Cost Management and Self Preservation
Project Cost Management is a popular topic. Not because people enjoy it, though. Mostly because people don’t know how to do it. And it’s not part of many Project Management training courses. My history with Project Cost Management is...
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Top 15 Management Skills that Project Managers Need to Master
What are the most important non-Project Management skills for Project Managers to study and master?
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Solving Problems in the GRAY AREAS of Projects
We often encounter tricky problems in our projects. And what can make them difficult is that the issues involved are not simply black and white; good or bad. Sometimes they are a little murky: shades of gray. 'Managing in the Gray', by...
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What is NEUROSCIENCE?
These days you may be hearing a lot about neuroscience in business, leadership, and Project Management. But what is neuroscience? A useful working definition in our context is: Neuroscience is about understanding how the brain works, so...
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You are Your Choices | Bite Sized Project Management Thought from Seneca
Seneca was an early first-century Roman stoic philosopher and dramatist. He asserted that ‘You are Your Choices’. Well, he may not have said it, but it is widely attributed to him and there are many variants. I think this means that the...
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Fight a Battle More than Once | Bite Sized Project Management Thought from Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher was a late 20th Century British politician and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. She knew that ‘You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.’ Salespeople know that you may need something like 7 contacts,...
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6+1 Risk Management Strategies... in 60 seconds
A quick bite-sized introduction to the 6+1 Risk Management Strategies in 60 seconds
Curated Video
QD, QC, QA: 3 Quality Processes... in 60 seconds
A quick bite-sized introduction to the three quality processes in 60 seconds: 1. Quality Design (QD) 2. Quality Assurance (QA) 3. Quality Control (QC)
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What are Risks and Issues?.. in 60 seconds
A quick bite-sized introduction to Risks and Issues in 60 seconds
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Success usually comes to... | Bite Sized Project Management Thought from Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau, the American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher, said that 'success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.' Henry David Thoreau was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and...
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Two Approaches to Solving Project Problems
I had an interesting conversation last week, with an experienced Project Manager. I remembered a similar discussion with another PM, at the end of last year. And it left me comparing the approaches the two of them had taken to solving...
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A Live Dragon | Bite Sized Project Management Thought from JRR Tolkein
J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, said that 'It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near one.' J.R.R. Tolkien was not only the author of The Lord of the Rings and The...
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The 'Silly Question' | Bite Sized Project Management Thought from Whitehead
Alfred North Whitehead was an English mathematician and philosopher. He said that the 'silly question' is the first intimation of some totally new development. What a marvelous quote: The 'silly question' is the first intimation of some...
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If it's Not an Unambiguous Yes... [How to Avoid Disappointment]
A simple thought from me today. It's something I often tell people in live training. If it's not an unambiguous yes... Treat it as a 'no'. An Unambiguous Yes... So, that means: • 'maybe' • 'I thinks so' • 'In principle' • 'Ye-e-e-s-s-s'...
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How to Create a Risk Management Plan
Risk Management is a big topic. But at its core is your risk management plan... How will you deal with a particular risk? Eight Steps to Create a Risk Management Plan 1. Clarify what the risk is Characterize it, describe it, evaluate it,...
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Vacation Preparation: Leadership Priorities when You're Leaving the Office
Vacation preparation is not just packing your bags; it's leaving everything tidy. So, at vacation time, what are your leadership priorities when you're leaving the office? If it's vacation time, know this: Your project won't stop while...
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In Praise of Quality: Why it Should Matter to You
For many project managers, quality management is not the highlight of your profession. You know that you need to understand quality. And, of course, you need to deliver it. But that hardly makes it a source of excitement. Put Quality at...
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What is a Residual Risk & What is Secondary Risk?
In this video, I answer the questions what is Residual Risk and what is a Secondary Risk? And along the way, we also need to understand the term Inherent Risk too. Inherent Risk, or Underlying Risk This is the risk level you start with,...
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Noble Objection: Top 10 Ways to Say NO
How can you make saying "NO" into a positive thing that can give you more time, less stress and a sense of control over your life? The answer is to transform it from a short word into a two-letter acronym: N.O. – standing for Noble...
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What is Float? And, What is Slack? in Project Management
In this video, I will answer the question, what is float? Or, if you prefer, what is Slack? (not the software) Float as schedule flexibility It is the amount of time a project activity can slip before it has an adverse effect on another...
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How to Use Machine Learning in Project Estimating, Scheduling, and Planning
Machine learning is one form of Artificial Intelligence. And it is starting to be used in project estimating, scheduling, and planning. Machine learning is a generic term for programs that can use data to form their own rulesets and...