http://pm411.org project management internet radio show, templates, and webtools Mon, 02 Jan 2012 21:37:46 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 The pm411.org Project Management Podcast is dedicated to help you at your job as a Project Manager or Program Manager, regardless if you have years of experience, or if you are just starting on your journey in Project Management. pm411.org is a place where you can come to find the latest in PM tools, PM Templates, PM tips, and PMI (PMBOK) methodologies that have been found to help others. It is a place where discussions can be had with project managers from around the globe and in every industry where project management permeates in our Project Management discussion forums. It is a place where you can find the best Project Management links to other sites dedicated to our wonderful profession. Ron Holohan, MBA PMP no Ron Holohan, MBA PMP show@pm411.org show@pm411.org (Ron Holohan, MBA PMP) 2007-2012 Ron Holohan Project management internet radio show, discussion forum, methodology, templates, and webtools project, management, pm, prepcast, management, manager, pmi, pmp, team, management, schedule, budget http://pm411.org/wp-content/uploads/pm411logo_itunes.jpg http://pm411.org/category/pm-topics/meetings/ http://pm411.org/2010/02/09/what-we-can-learn-from-undercover-boss/ http://pm411.org/2010/02/09/what-we-can-learn-from-undercover-boss/#comments Wed, 10 Feb 2010 04:39:23 +0000 Ron Holohan, MBA PMP http://pm411.org/?p=941 http://pm411.org/2010/02/09/what-we-can-learn-from-undercover-boss/feed/ 7 http://pm411.org/2009/10/05/announcing-mindjet-catalyst/ http://pm411.org/2009/10/05/announcing-mindjet-catalyst/#comments Tue, 06 Oct 2009 04:01:39 +0000 Ron Holohan, MBA PMP http://1927122623 http://pm411.org/2009/10/05/announcing-mindjet-catalyst/feed/ 6 catalyst,mindjet,mindmanager,mindmapping,online collaboration,pm 2.0,project management 2.0,scott raskin,virtual teams Today I am extremely excited about a major product announcement from Mindjet, the makers of MindManager mindmapping software.  In today's podcast I talk with Mindjet CEO Scott Raskin about a new collaborative Project Management 2. Today I am extremely excited about a major product announcement from Mindjet, the makers of MindManager mindmapping software.  In today's podcast I talk with Mindjet CEO Scott Raskin about a new collaborative Project Management 2.0 tool from Mindjet... Ron Holohan, MBA PMP no 18:04 http://pm411.org/2009/09/29/podcast-episode-047-schedule-killers-bad-multitasking/ http://pm411.org/2009/09/29/podcast-episode-047-schedule-killers-bad-multitasking/#comments Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:01:48 +0000 Ron Holohan, MBA PMP http://2086462238 http://pm411.org/2009/09/29/podcast-episode-047-schedule-killers-bad-multitasking/feed/ 6 behaviors,schedule killers,schedules,Teams Get the pm411.org Project Management Podcast Newsletter delivered by email for free! - Your email address and personal information are confidential and will never be sold or rented. - Today we continue our series on Schedule Killers – those tendenci... Get the pm411.org Project Management Podcast Newsletter delivered by email for free! - Your email address and personal information are confidential and will never be sold or rented. Today we continue our series on Schedule Killers – those tendenci... Ron Holohan, MBA PMP no 22:56 http://pm411.org/2008/04/14/episode-028-project-management-in-the-real-world-with-elizabeth-harrin/ http://pm411.org/2008/04/14/episode-028-project-management-in-the-real-world-with-elizabeth-harrin/#comments Tue, 15 Apr 2008 04:40:00 +0000 Ron Holohan, MBA PMP http://pm411.org/?p=202 http://pm411.org/2008/04/14/episode-028-project-management-in-the-real-world-with-elizabeth-harrin/feed/ 4 blogs,books Get the pm411.org Project Management Podcast delivered by email for free! - Your email address and personal information are confidential and will never be sold or rented. I recently had the opportunity to speak with author and blogger, Elizabeth Harrin, Get the pm411.org Project Management Podcast delivered by email for free! - Your email address and personal information are confidential and will never be sold or rented. I recently had the opportunity to speak with author and blogger, Elizabeth Harrin, of London, England.  Elizabeth is the author of the book Project Management in the Real World and has nearly a decade of experience in managing projects. She is a PRINCE2 practitioner and is trained in the Six Sigma process improvement methodology. Elizabeth has led a variety of IT and process improvement projects including those involving e-commerce, communications, and managing business change.  In addition to writing books, Elizabeth also writes the irreverent and popular blog A Girl's Guide to Managing Projects. During our conversation Elizabeth and I chatted about her book, her blog, and lots of other great stuff...   like extreme ultraviolet imaging space mass spectrometers! Project Management in the Real World Elizabeth decided to write the book that she had wanted to read when she started in the field of project management.  There were plenty of books on theory and techniques, but not too many on real-life experiences.  Early in her career Elizabeth found that by working closely on teams with other project managers, she was able to learn the trade quickly from others sharing their experiences.  So, with the goal of writing a book by the time she was thirty, Elizabeth decided to get information and experiences out of the heads of varios PM practitioners and into a book.  In writing the book, Elizabeth found people rather willing to share their experiences openly. One particular contributor, who was responsible for managing the assembly of mass spectrometers for measuring ultraviolet light images from space, was focused on directly eliminating every risk his project faced.  When you are talking about a £30 million project, you cannot risk finding a problem once the spectrometer has been assembled and has been launched into space.  However, instead of addressing risks by using a "textbook" approach of looking at the impact and probability of each risk occurring, the team looked at any impact as being unacceptable.  They had to adapt to the need that the impact of every single risk had to be eliminated as long as the probability of its occurrence was greater than zero. Office Politics and Self Promotion Office politics, as you can guess, is not something that Elizabeth recommends getting involved in.  Rather, she suggests being "organizational aware;" be astute and understand the background and motivation of your stakeholders, since they are critical to how you manage your project. Transparency is something that is very important when it comes to projects.  When you and your stakeholders have open communication, it is far easier to get things done.  Unfortunately sometimes you will run into people that have their own hidden agendas or "play people off each other" to get things done.  Stay clear of playing these games.  These behaviors are not good for building team relationships or morale.  Since most project managers have indirect line manager roles, burning bridges now with your team or stakeholders through office politics will only make your job more difficult later on. Self-promotion is something that Elizabeth feels is tricky to get right.  Project managers are often times the "unsung heroes" of project delivery.  If a project is on time, on budget, on delivery often times the team gets the majority of the credit, or even worse, stakeholders may feel that the team could have been pushed even harder.  In cases where projects do not meet their deliverables, then the project manager is often blamed.  That is just one of the unfortunate truths of project management.  So, it is important to sometimes "blow your horn" by showing that you are a practitioner of project management best practices, you share knowledge with others, Ron Holohan, MBA PMP no 35:39 http://pm411.org/2007/04/08/podcast-episode-003-managing-effective-meetings-part-2-of-2/ http://pm411.org/2007/04/08/podcast-episode-003-managing-effective-meetings-part-2-of-2/#comments Sun, 08 Apr 2007 22:33:10 +0000 Ron Holohan, MBA PMP http://pm411.org/2007/04/08/podcast-episode-003-managing-effective-meetings-part-2-of-2/ http://pm411.org/2007/04/08/podcast-episode-003-managing-effective-meetings-part-2-of-2/feed/ 2 In this week's podcast (part 2 of 2 on managing effective meetings) I discuss the practice of using standup meetings for your project teams.  Those involved in software development may be aware of standup meetings as part of the scrum process of agile... In this week's podcast (part 2 of 2 on managing effective meetings) I discuss the practice of using standup meetings for your project teams.  Those involved in software development may be aware of standup meetings as part of the scrum process of agile software development.  But, standup meetings can offer a variety of advantages in almost any setting over the standard "weekly team meeting" by providing: Shorter, but more frequent meetings to insure issues are addressed quickly.  Focus on short term (usually daily) goals of team members. Elimination of the need to publish meeting agendas and minutes. This podcast will also cover, What standup meetings are and whether they can work with your project team. How to effectively run a standup meeting. I recommend using either flipchart or adhesive-backed paper for capturing the four information buckets (Action Items, Decisions Made, Discussion Points, and Open Issues) during standup meetings.   I personally use 3m's Post-it Self-stick Easel Pads during my meetings where they can be easily put on a wall and moved. Enjoy! Ron   Get the pm411.org Project Management Podcast delivered by email for free!    Ron Holohan, MBA PMP no 19:05 http://pm411.org/2007/04/01/podcast-episode-002-managing-effective-meetings/ http://pm411.org/2007/04/01/podcast-episode-002-managing-effective-meetings/#comments Mon, 02 Apr 2007 02:25:49 +0000 Ron Holohan, MBA PMP http://pm411.org/2007/04/01/podcast-episode-002-managing-effective-meetings/ http://pm411.org/2007/04/01/podcast-episode-002-managing-effective-meetings/feed/ 0 When creating meetings for your team it is important that you: Determine if you need a meeting Determine the goal of the meeting Prepare for the meeting in advance Run the meeting effectively and follow up after the meeting - When creating meetings for your team it is important that you: Determine if you need a meeting Determine the goal of the meeting Prepare for the meeting in advance Run the meeting effectively and follow up after the meeting Although most of us already have way too many meetings, effectively managed meeting can mean the difference between success and failure for a project team.  In this podcast (Part 1 or 2 on Effective Meetings) I describe some techniques that I use in my own team meetings to insure success.  I have also provided an effective meeting minute template that allows minutes to be captured easily into 4 critical Key Information Buckets:  Action Items, Decisions Made, Discussion Points, and Open Issues.  Next week's podcast will continue on the topic of effective meetings and I will discuss the use of standup meetings. Enjoy, Ron Meeting Minute Template (Right Click and choose "Save Target As" to download .xls file)   Get the pm411.org Project Management Podcast delivered by email for free!    Ron Holohan, MBA PMP no 14:36