http://pm411.org Project management internet radio show, discussion forum, methodology, templates, and webtools Wed, 13 Aug 2008 01:40:25 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 en ©Ron Holohan, MBA PMP http://feeds.feedburner.com/pm411org show@pm411.org (Ron Holohan, MBA PMP) show@pm411.org(Ron Holohan, MBA PMP) Management 1440 project management,pm,pm podcast,project management podcast,management,pmi,pmp,teamwork Project Management tools For new and experienced project managers. 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 Ron Holohan, MBA PMP show@pm411.org No no http://pm411.org/wp-content/plugins/podpress/images/pm411logo.jpg http://pm411.org 144 144 http://pm411.org/2008/08/11/us-olympic-teamwork-and-michael-phelps/ http://pm411.org/2008/08/11/us-olympic-teamwork-and-michael-phelps/#comments Mon, 11 Aug 2008 19:07:00 +0000 Ron Holohan http://pm411.org/?p=348 http://pm411.org/2008/08/11/us-olympic-teamwork-and-michael-phelps/feed/ http://pm411.org/2008/08/10/podcast-episode-034-managing-small-projects-part-1-of-2/ http://pm411.org/2008/08/10/podcast-episode-034-managing-small-projects-part-1-of-2/#comments Sun, 10 Aug 2008 22:07:36 +0000 Ron Holohan http://pm411.org/?p=289 http://pm411.org/2008/08/10/podcast-episode-034-managing-small-projects-part-1-of-2/feed/ http://pm411.org/2008/08/07/the-bigg-success-show-five-tips-for-more-effective-status-reports/ http://pm411.org/2008/08/07/the-bigg-success-show-five-tips-for-more-effective-status-reports/#comments Thu, 07 Aug 2008 18:49:15 +0000 Ron Holohan http://pm411.org/?p=300 http://pm411.org/2008/08/07/the-bigg-success-show-five-tips-for-more-effective-status-reports/feed/ http://pm411.org/2008/08/03/the-state-of-project-management-in-ethiopia-2/ http://pm411.org/2008/08/03/the-state-of-project-management-in-ethiopia-2/#comments Sun, 03 Aug 2008 06:10:43 +0000 Ron Holohan http://pm411.org/?p=259 http://pm411.org/2008/08/03/the-state-of-project-management-in-ethiopia-2/feed/ http://pm411.org/2008/07/28/thanks-for-your-patience/ http://pm411.org/2008/07/28/thanks-for-your-patience/#comments Mon, 28 Jul 2008 21:01:59 +0000 Ron Holohan http://pm411.org/?p=223 http://pm411.org/2008/07/28/thanks-for-your-patience/feed/ http://pm411.org/2008/07/01/podcast-episode-033-project-management-presentation-skills-part-2-of-2/ http://pm411.org/2008/07/01/podcast-episode-033-project-management-presentation-skills-part-2-of-2/#comments Tue, 01 Jul 2008 18:33:17 +0000 Ron Holohan http://pm411.org/?p=222 http://pm411.org/2008/07/01/podcast-episode-033-project-management-presentation-skills-part-2-of-2/feed/ 32:12 nbsp; http://www.pm411.org/wp-content/uploads/podcasts/pm411_033_2008-06-29.mp3 Click above to listen to the podcast! In today's second of two podcasts in a series on project management presentation skills, we conclude our discussion with ... nbsp; http://www.pm411.org/wp-content/uploads/podcasts/pm411_033_2008-06-29.mp3 Click above to listen to the podcast! In today's second of two podcasts in a series on project management presentation skills, we conclude our discussion with Joe Friedman, of the consulting group Zehren-Friedman Associates, Ltd.nbsp; Show Commentary In Part 1 of 2nbsp;Joe and Inbsp;discussed why people tend to become anxious when it comes to public speaking, how to overcome the jitters of speaking in front of a group, and the steps to take to prepare for an informational or persuasive presentation.nbsp; In Part 2, Joe and I continue our discussion on presentation skills with discussions on visual aids, basic delivery tips, answering questions during a presentation, and being prepared when interviewed by the media. nbsp;nbsp; Visual Aids Once you have put your content together as we discussed in Part 1, you need to determine what visual aids you want to use during your presentation.nbsp; As part of the planning process you need to determine what is the best method of getting your message across - will you be sitting, standing, using presentation handouts, or maybe a demonstration tool to help make your points during the presentation?nbsp; You also need to determine if your environment will allow you to use the method that aids you in the most effective way.nbsp; For example, if a particular room does not have the capability to allow you to demonstrate how you can blow up a car using only a match and a piece of string, you may need to find another room (or a nearby fire station). Frequently people create their visuals, especially PowerPoint slides, so that they can be "read" later by the attendees of the presentation or those folks that were unable to attend.nbsp; The problem with this approach is that the visuals now contain so much content that it is difficult to effectively present it.nbsp; The slides become too "wordy" with multiple sentences instead of bullet points, causing the audience to focus on reading your slides while you present rather than listening to your presentation.nbsp; Worse yet, presenters frequently end up reading each of the wordy bullet items to the audience, while adding redundant paraphrasing that causes monotony and overkill on points.nbsp; Can you say "Hello snooze-ville?" The solution to having overly wordy slides is to keep your visuals extremely simple.nbsp; If you need to provide supporting information, provide it as a separate appendix to your presentation rather than part of your presentation. Joe recommends the "five-by-five" rule:nbsp; use a maximum of 5 bullet points with no more than 5 words per bullet point on a slide.nbsp; Beyond Bullet Points by Cliff Atkinson also features some easy-to-apply techniques to help you clarify, visualize, and present your ideas using PowerPoint that stresses minimizing the amount of words on a slide.nbsp; By giving your audience a relevant graphic and limiting the number of words per slide you will be able to help them remember the message of your presentation better.nbsp; Also, stay away from the dancing baby graphic that eveyone seemed to love in the early '90's.nbsp; No presentation exists that can be improved by using that! Three Delivery Tips Here are three simple delivery tips to remember for your presentation in order to have the biggest impact on your audience: Stand up straight Look at one person at a time Speak loudly Once you master these three tips, you can focus on all 9 skills of presenting which focus on: Movement Stance Hands Gestures Eyes Volume Speaking pace Animation Non-words ("ums", "ahs", "errs" "like," etc.) You should practice your speech using pauses instead of non-words.nbsp; Also, practicenbsp;using pauses instead of "ums" or "errs"nbsp;during meetings, on voice mail messages, and with friends.nbsp; I personally would also like to recommend practicing elimination of non-words to those of you t... communication,,podcasts Ron Holohan, MBA PMP no No http://pm411.org/2008/06/23/motivational-theory-in-project-management/ http://pm411.org/2008/06/23/motivational-theory-in-project-management/#comments Tue, 24 Jun 2008 01:14:41 +0000 Ron Holohan http://pm411.org/?p=220 http://pm411.org/2008/06/23/motivational-theory-in-project-management/feed/ http://pm411.org/2008/06/09/podcast-episode-032-project-management-presentation-skills/ http://pm411.org/2008/06/09/podcast-episode-032-project-management-presentation-skills/#comments Tue, 10 Jun 2008 03:01:20 +0000 Ron Holohan http://pm411.org/?p=219 http://pm411.org/2008/06/09/podcast-episode-032-project-management-presentation-skills/feed/ 30:03 http://www.pm411.org/wp-content/uploads/podcasts/pm411_032_2008-06-08.mp3 Click above to listen to the podcast! nbsp; In today's first of two podcasts in a series on project management presentation skills, we welcome backnbsp; nbsp; nbsp; http://www.pm411.org/wp-content/uploads/podcasts/pm411_032_2008-06-08.mp3 Click above to listen to the podcast! nbsp; In today's first of two podcasts in a series on project management presentation skills, we welcome backnbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; Joe Friedman, of the consulting group Zehren-Friedman Associates, Ltd.nbsp; Joe holds a BSBA and MBA from Ohio State University and has over 25 years of sales, sales management and training / consulting experience.nbsp;nbsp;With many years providing sales and management training programsnbsp;at Northeastern Illinois University, First National Bank of Chicago, and The Executive Technique, a firm specializing in presentation skills training, Joenbsp;teamed up with David Zehren in 1993 to create Zehren-Friedman Associates, Ltd. nbsp;Their 13-person firm is entering its 18th year in business and specializes in teaching the "persuasive arts" of selling, presenting, negotiating and influencing.nbsp; Clients are in a wide variety of industries, from banking to healthcare to printing to advertising to services to manufacturing and everything in-between.nbsp; Joe is responsible for client development, program delivery, people development within the firm, and holds the title of CFO. Show Commentary People generally dislike public speaking because it tends to make us nervous; no one wants to look foolish, which creates even more us even more nervous.nbsp; With communication being 90% of a project manager's job, the ability to effectively communicate in front of an audience is a necessity. Ways of Overcoming Nervousness There are several things you can do as a speaker to help overcome nervousness. Be prepared! There is no substitution for preparation to help reduce nervousness prior to a presentation. By practicing your presentation, you will reduce the likelihood of tripping over your words and improve the chances of getting your point across to your audience. Understand that nervousness is natural and to be expected. Everyone gets nervous before a presentation to some degree. When it comes to nervousness, you actually are the one in control and you can decide whether you "use it, or whether it uses you." Try talking a little bit louder than you normally would. This will help "burn off" some of the nervousness and allow you to come across as more confident. Speaking louder than you normally would at the beginning is also a easy psychological trick to pull on your brain since if you hear yourself better, you will quickly hear the power in your voice and start to relax. Look at the entire audience one person at a time. Speak to the group, but make eye contact one person at a time just as if you were talking to each person individually. Most of us are more comfortable with one-on-one dialog than speaking in front of a group. Frequently when we are nervous, instead of focusing on conveying our presentation to each individual in the audience, we quickly scan the audience as we speak, and start wondering how our audience perceives us. Then the worry begins and we start making up stories about what the audience must be thinking about us. By not focusing on connecting with each individual, we start to spend too much time thinking about "us" rather than about conveying the content of our presentation. Then we start getting nervous. By spending 3-5 seconds "speaking to each person" in the audience we can come across as more comfortable and become less nervous at the same time. nbsp; Preparing for Your Presentation Although content is the most important part of you presentation, style closely follows it. nbsp;If you don't deliver the content well, we will likely fail in persuading or informing our audience based on our content. The following are the recommended steps in preparing for a presentation: Understand the time requirements that you have been given. Once you know the amount of time you will be given for your presentation, prepare just... communication,,podcasts Ron Holohan, MBA PMP no No http://pm411.org/2008/06/02/uncertainty-in-estimates-of-software-projects-fort-building-and-anything-including-a-toddler/ http://pm411.org/2008/06/02/uncertainty-in-estimates-of-software-projects-fort-building-and-anything-including-a-toddler/#comments Tue, 03 Jun 2008 03:03:17 +0000 Ron Holohan http://pm411.org/?p=214 http://pm411.org/2008/06/02/uncertainty-in-estimates-of-software-projects-fort-building-and-anything-including-a-toddler/feed/ http://pm411.org/2008/05/27/podcast-episode-031-pmos-and-portfolio-management/ http://pm411.org/2008/05/27/podcast-episode-031-pmos-and-portfolio-management/#comments Wed, 28 May 2008 04:10:25 +0000 Ron Holohan http://pm411.org/?p=212 http://pm411.org/2008/05/27/podcast-episode-031-pmos-and-portfolio-management/feed/ 19:07 http://www.pm411.org/wp-content/uploads/podcasts/pm411_031_2008-05-25.mp3 Click above to listen to the podcast! Recently I interviewed Nayan Patel, PMP, who works as a Corporate Manager of Portfolio Management for a major Healthcare ... http://www.pm411.org/wp-content/uploads/podcasts/pm411_031_2008-05-25.mp3 Click above to listen to the podcast! Recently I interviewed Nayan Patel, PMP, who works as a Corporate Manager of Portfolio Management for a major Healthcare Network.nbsp; I talked to Nayan about his role in creating and supporting project management, project management reporting tools, and project governance within his organization. Nayan Patel, a 16-year veteran of Information Technology, currently serves as the Corporate Manager of Portfolio Management for Baylor Health Care System, Information Services.nbsp; In this role he is responsible the project management and reporting tools, time reporting, and project governance.nbsp; Among his project management roles, Mr. Patel also serves as a consultant for strategic business processes solutions for the healthcare system, which includes value model realization for the electronic health record, the executive portfolio management, and has developed departmental logical-physical work flows of all system interfaces for the Baylor clinical infrastructure. Prior to joining Baylor, Mr. Patel delivered leadership and management experience for various technology and strategic solutions, led large development teams for mission-critical IT projects, and established project and quality management methodologies.nbsp; Previous senior management roles include experience at Verizon, 3dfx Interactive, and Texas Instruments.nbsp; Nayan received an MBA from Southern Methodist University in Dallas Texas, and a BSEE and MSEE from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. nbsp;nbsp;He is currently a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS), and the Project Management Institute (PMI).nbsp; He currently serves on the Board of Directors for DFW-HIMSS. Nayan describes Portfolio management as a means to allow an organization to look across a number of projects and determine how to prioritize, staff, and fund the projects.nbsp; Portfolio management also includes the tracking of progress of projects against their metrics. Frequently a governance board will review the portfolio and determine which projects to approve and which projects to reject. The PMO framework that Nayan works in helps to provide methodology, guidance, reporting, and templates.nbsp; In addition, there are some projects that Nayan's group specifically manages. The biggest challenges in setting up a PMO is user adoption of formalized project tracking and reporting as well as providing project governance.nbsp; The key is to make the PMO and its tools useable for the long term.nbsp; Changes promoted from within the PMO needs to be first examined for long term impact and sustainability within the organization.nbsp; To do this, Nayan often looks at any change in methodology from the point of view of a project manager and sees if it will in fact add value to everyday activities.nbsp; At the end of the day, if the change isn't adopted by users, then it is useless to the organization.nbsp; In creating a PMO, you need to start with something simple that will work, and then iterate and improve upon it over time. Within Nayan's organization, they use basic PMI principles with a 4 phase gate waterfall methodology of Initiation, Planning, Execution, and Closing.nbsp; The templates that they use then are further tailored to fit their project needs.nbsp; Their templates and methodology are also customizable to the size and scope of the particular projects. In Nayan's organization, the governance board reviews all project charters and requests on a weekly basis prior to any work starting on the project.nbsp; The board uses an internal weighing and scoring model with eight key metrics to help prioritize the projects.nbsp; Nayan recommends that metrics should based on quantitative data that allows for easy comparison across projects.nbsp; This also helps to get aw... organization,,templates Ron Holohan, MBA PMP no No http://pm411.org/2008/05/17/are-you-influencing-or-manipulating-your-team/ http://pm411.org/2008/05/17/are-you-influencing-or-manipulating-your-team/#comments Sun, 18 May 2008 03:11:45 +0000 Ron Holohan http://pm411.org/?p=210 http://pm411.org/2008/05/17/are-you-influencing-or-manipulating-your-team/feed/ http://pm411.org/2008/05/11/podcast-episode-030-pink-floyd-project-management/ http://pm411.org/2008/05/11/podcast-episode-030-pink-floyd-project-management/#comments Mon, 12 May 2008 02:50:43 +0000 Ron Holohan http://pm411.org/?p=208 http://pm411.org/2008/05/11/podcast-episode-030-pink-floyd-project-management/feed/ 8:17 nbsp; The British rock band Pink Floyd has held a significant place in my life.nbsp; I discovered Pink Floyd when the line "We don't need no ... nbsp; The British rock band Pink Floyd has held a significant place in my life.nbsp; I discovered Pink Floyd when the line "We don't need no education" from "Another Brick in the Wall" was ubiquitous on the radio waves and it definitely seemed to make a lot of sense to me as a rebellious 10 year old. Later while I was in junior high, my rather conservative father took me to my first R-rated movie, which was "Pink Floyd:nbsp; The Wall"nbsp; This somewhat awkward outing between a man and his son had a dramatic effect on me.nbsp; It wasn't just the darkness behind the music, the visuals, and the tormented rock star who began his decent into madness.nbsp; It was mostly because I actually saw my father in a whole new light - he could actually be pretty cool. So, after having Pink Floyd shape my early adolescence, it really came to be no surprise to me when I discovered much later in life an interesting (and somewhat eerie) connection between project management and what is considered Pink Floyd's magnum opus, Dark Side of the Moon. Pink Floyd's conceptual album Dark Side of the Moon was released in 1973 and spent over 14 years in Billboard's top 200 album chart.nbsp; The musical and technological experimentation found on the album, even its themes of money, time, and madness were all considered revolutionary at the time.nbsp; Even the album artwork has become iconic in pop culture. Much has been written about an effect known as "The Dark Side of the Rainbow" where apparently when The Dark Side of the Moon is played simultaneously with the classic film The Wizard of Oz, numerous images from the film appear to synchronize with the music and lyrics.nbsp; However, I have not been able to find any writings or articles on the also apparent associations between the album and the project management triple constraint of time, cost, and scope. Album Artwork The front cover artwork shows a triangular representation of a refracting prism, changing an input of pure white light into the product of all of the colors of the visible light spectrum. nbsp;The transformative "scope" of the prism allows light to be separated into its constituent parts by laws of refraction, most of which I have repressed from my high school and college physics classes.nbsp; But, what is interesting to us as project managers is that the album cover represents an equilateral triangle, similar to the equilateral triangle frequently used to represent the triple constraint of time, cost, and scope found in project management. Time It just so happens that The Dark Side of the Moon contains a track called "Time" that deals with the "refraction" of time that appears to occur as one transitions from life's beginning to end.nbsp; In other words, time has the appearance of speeding up as one gets closer to the end of one's lifetime. nbsp;Often at the end of one's life people find themselves saying, "If only I had more time." nbsp;I suggest that this even happens on projects.nbsp; How often do we "fritter and waste" upfront time in a project due to poor planning or requirement definition only to rush and try to make up the lost time later in the project lifecycle? Cost The sixth track on The Dark Side of the Moon is called "Money."nbsp; And even the line "Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash" appeals to the triple constraint's fundamental "Cost" constraint.nbsp; The more money your project is funded with, typically the more successful your project will be in meeting the other tenets of the triple constraint. Scope Wikipedia refers to scope within the context of the triple constraint as "requirements specified for the end result."nbsp; I believe that it would have been slightly too obvious if there was indeed a track on the album simply titled "Scope."nbsp; Those that know Pink Floyd know that "the obvious" is just not a theme usually found in their repertoire.nbsp; However, there is a three-and-a-half-minute instrumental jam on the album known a... pink,floyd,dark,side,of,the,moon,project,management,pm411.org,triple,constraint,roger,waters,david,gilmour,business Ron Holohan, MBA PMP no No http://pm411.org/2008/04/28/podcast-episode-029-project-cost-budgeting/ http://pm411.org/2008/04/28/podcast-episode-029-project-cost-budgeting/#comments Tue, 29 Apr 2008 02:59:02 +0000 Ron Holohan http://pm411.org/?p=204 http://pm411.org/2008/04/28/podcast-episode-029-project-cost-budgeting/feed/ 28:11 furniture VidenovToday,nbsp;I have a special treat in store for you.nbsp; Todaynbsp;I am going to let you preview one of the 89 PM PrepCast episodes that ... furniture VidenovToday,nbsp;I have a special treat in store for you.nbsp; Todaynbsp;I am going to let you preview one of the 89 PM PrepCast episodes that we offer through The pm411.org Project Management Podcast!nbsp; Today's episode is on Project Cost Budgeting which is, of course, one of the many PM processes withinnbsp;PMI's Cost Management Knowledge area.nbsp; During this episode, Cornelius Fichtner, of the PM Podcast, walks us through the difference between Cost Estimating and Cost Budgeting. Thennbsp;discusses usingnbsp;the project schedule, the WBS, parametric estimating, the cost baseline, project funding requirements and other topics you need to understand to successfully pass the PMP. Cost Budgeting is concerned with rolling the cost of individual work packages up to a total project baseline cost that can be monitored as part of the project's overall performance. Cost Budgeting Process Inputs In order to estimate the project budget needed successfully, Cost Budgeting uses several process inputs including: The Project Scope Statement The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) The WBS Dictionary Activity Cost Estimates Activity Cost Estimate Supporting Detail Project Schedule Resource Calendars Contract And the Cost Management Plan Each of these inputs are required when using the tools and techniques to estimate the overall project cost. Cost Budgeting Process Tools and Techniques Some of the tools and techniques used in Cost Budgeting include Cost Aggregation, Reserve Analysis, Parametric Estimating, and Funding Limit Reconciliation. Cost Aggregation is simply estimating the cost estimate for each of the project schedule activities and work packages.nbsp; These can then be rolled up and "aggregated" to various cost management levels by using the WBS and combining the various related work package costs.nbsp; These are then further rolled up into the various control accounts and finally the overall project cost.nbsp; Simple enough, huh? Reserve Analysis creates emergency or contingency reserves.nbsp; An example of such a reserve is the Management Contingency Reserve.nbsp; These reserves are for unplanned, but required, changes to project scope and cost.nbsp; These reserves are used for risks to the project that have been identified as "unknown unknowns".nbsp; These reserves are not part of the project cost baseline, but should be included in the overall project budget.nbsp; Since they are not considered a part of the project cost baseline, they are not used for earned value calculations.nbsp; Think of Reserve Analysis as your extra money you keep in your checking account to prevent you from accidently bouncing checks to pay for your daughters highly variable wireless phone bill.nbsp; So, BTW did or didn't Bettylou break up with her b/f?nbsp; Parametric Estimation always reminds me of using a cookbook recipe and changing it slightly to either feed more or less people. nbsp;Basically you use an actual measurement from a similar previous project to estimate the cost of the current project.nbsp; For example, perhaps a previous project had a labor rate of $40/hr for 2500 hours for a total project labor cost of $100,000 .nbsp; You estimate through Cost Aggregation that this new project will take approximately 4000 hours.nbsp; By using parametric estimation with the same labor rate, you estimate the total labor cost for the new project to be approximately $160,000.nbsp; That's a lot of pies! Funding Limit Reconciliation is about "smoothing" out project expenditures to prevent sudden periodic over expenditures from occurring.nbsp; Fund disbursement is discussed early with the customer to determine the when exactly work can be scheduled to prevent over spending during a particular period.nbsp; If it is determined that Cost expenditures are constrained, then the Project Manager needs to know what effect this has on the overall project schedule and resources. Cost Budgeting Outputs The output... PMPreg;,preparation,,cost,budgeting,,pm,methodology,,podcasts Ron Holohan, MBA PMP no No 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 http://pm411.org/?p=202 http://pm411.org/2008/04/14/episode-028-project-management-in-the-real-world-with-elizabeth-harrin/feed/ 35:39 Get the pm411.org Project Management Podcast delivered by email for free! - Your email address and personal information are confidential and will never be ... 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.nbsp; 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.nbsp; 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...nbsp; nbsp;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.nbsp; There were plenty of books on theory and techniques, but not too many on real-life experiences.nbsp; 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.nbsp; 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.nbsp; 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.nbsp; When you are talking about a pound;30 million project, you cannot risk finding a problem once the spectrometer has been assembled and has been launched into space.nbsp; 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.nbsp; 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.nbsp; 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.nbsp; When you and your stakeholders have open communication, it is far easier to get things done.nbsp; Unfortunately sometimes you will run into people that have their own hidden agendas or "play people off each other" to get things done.nbsp; Stay clear of playing these games.nbsp; These behaviors are not good for building team relationships or morale.nbsp; 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.nbsp; Project managers are often times the "unsung heroes" of project delivery.nbsp; 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.nbsp; In cases where projects do not meet their deliverables, then the project manager is often blamed.nbsp; That is just one of the unfortunate truths of project management.nbsp; So, it is important to sometimes "blow your horn" by showing that you are a practitioner of project mana... communication,,meetings,,pm,books,,pm,links,,podcasts Ron Holohan, MBA PMP no No http://pm411.org/2008/04/12/having-a-robust-governance-process/ http://pm411.org/2008/04/12/having-a-robust-governance-process/#comments Sat, 12 Apr 2008 17:35:32 +0000 Ron Holohan http://pm411.org/?p=199 http://pm411.org/2008/04/12/having-a-robust-governance-process/feed/ http://pm411.org/2008/04/12/quantum-mechanics-buddhism-and-projects/ http://pm411.org/2008/04/12/quantum-mechanics-buddhism-and-projects/#comments Sat, 12 Apr 2008 16:55:33 +0000 Ron Holohan http://pm411.org/?p=198 http://pm411.org/2008/04/12/quantum-mechanics-buddhism-and-projects/feed/ http://pm411.org/2008/03/31/podcast-episode-027-12-steps-to-better-team-organization/ http://pm411.org/2008/03/31/podcast-episode-027-12-steps-to-better-team-organization/#comments Tue, 01 Apr 2008 02:30:26 +0000 Ron Holohan http://pm411.org/2008/03/31/podcast-episode-027-12-steps-to-better-team-organization/ http://pm411.org/2008/03/31/podcast-episode-027-12-steps-to-better-team-organization/feed/ 26:51 In today's podcast we talk with Suzanne Babb of the Let's Talk Organizing podcast to find out how project managers and their teams can become ... In today's podcast we talk with Suzanne Babb of the Let's Talk Organizing podcast to find out how project managers and their teams can become more organized. For over 20 years, Suzanne has been helping people organize their lives so that they can spend more time and energy doing the things that are most important to them...nbsp; Like listening to the pm411.org Project Management Podcast or mastering "Slow Ride" on Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock! As an organization consultant, public speaker and former radio talk show host, Suzanne has been fortunate enough to work with individuals and corporations throughout America, Canada and Scotland.nbsp; Suzanne has been running her Let's Talk Organizing business for six years. Suzanne's business focuses on organizing home-based to Fortune 500-sized businesses by looking at their systems and customizing the systems to the individual.nbsp; Let's Talk Organizing goes beyond just implementing a set system for everyone.nbsp; Everybody is different:nbsp; Your thought process is most likely different than others, so Suzanne first tries to determine if you are an inspirational thinker or a logical thinker and what systems might work best for you. Below arenbsp;12 ways that Suzanne recommends that project managers and their teams can get better organized. Determine what information you need easy access to so that you can have it at your fingertips when someone calls you or asks for information. You need to have one "special workspace" at your desk where you can focus on your project and keep it maintained and organized. Try to keep everyone on your team on the same email client platform.nbsp; Microsoft Outlook is a good choice because of its easy organization capabilities and features. You can set up Outlook email rules to help you manage and maintain your email.nbsp; For example, every time you receive an email from Sally you can have it go right into her folder automatically so it doesn't clutter up your inbox. In Outlook, you can also arrange emails by message thread so that you can quickly find the latest and greatest email by conversation and date.nbsp; To do this simply go to your toolbar in the Mail view, select View #62; Arrange By #62; Conversation.nbsp; Then you can reduce your inbox size by deleting the previous emails in the thread that you don't need. Making sure that everyone on your team uses consistent formats in the email subject line provides easy identification of topics and categories.nbsp; For example, you may use the prefix "Product Analysis:" for emails on a particular market analysis.nbsp; nbsp;You could even have a rule that stores emails with this prefix into a predefined folder.nbsp; So an email with the subject "Product Analysis:nbsp; Survey Results" could automatically be stored in your "Product Analysis" folder. You can categorize emails with multiple categories by right clicking the email in your Outlook inbox and selecting #62; Categorize.nbsp; This allows you to sort email by various categories that you set up.nbsp; You can even select a common category before sending an email. You and your team should archive paper files, emails and electronic files.nbsp; You want to also categorize all three in the same way.nbsp; If you store hardcopies of a document in folder "X," then you should also store similar electronic documents in folder "X" on your computer or team network, and related emails should be saved to folder "X" in your mail client.nbsp; This keeps all your files consistent and helps people find related documents. Using classification folders, which are actual file folders with file sections as well as a two-prong fastener, can help teams organize information about a particular project or client in one folder. Teams should create a "central command" area or what it commonly referred to as a "war room."nbsp; nbsp;The common area should include "master copies" of documents, a white board for brainstorming, and "foam-core" ... organization,,podcasts,,teams Ron Holohan, MBA PMP no No http://pm411.org/2008/03/25/be-accountable/ http://pm411.org/2008/03/25/be-accountable/#comments Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:57:59 +0000 Ron Holohan http://pm411.org/2008/03/25/be-accountable/ http://pm411.org/2008/03/25/be-accountable/feed/ http://pm411.org/2008/03/23/the-front-fell-off/ http://pm411.org/2008/03/23/the-front-fell-off/#comments Sun, 23 Mar 2008 07:26:29 +0000 Ron Holohan http://pm411.org/2008/03/23/the-front-fell-off/ http://pm411.org/2008/03/23/the-front-fell-off/feed/ http://pm411.org/2008/03/16/podcast-episode-026-the-meaning-of-life-or-at-least-of-process-groups/ http://pm411.org/2008/03/16/podcast-episode-026-the-meaning-of-life-or-at-least-of-process-groups/#comments Mon, 17 Mar 2008 02:18:27 +0000 Ron Holohan http://pm411.org/2008/03/16/podcast-episode-026-the-meaning-of-life%e2%80%a6-or-at-least-of-process-groups/ http://pm411.org/2008/03/16/podcast-episode-026-the-meaning-of-life-or-at-least-of-process-groups/feed/ 8:47 #160; So, do you know what the difference is between project phases and project management process groups?nbsp; I recently received an email from Emmanuel, and guess what?nbsp; ... #160; So, do you know what the difference is between project phases and project management process groups?nbsp; I recently received an email from Emmanuel, and guess what?nbsp; Emmanuel wants to know what the difference is between project management phases and project management process groups!nbsp; Wow, Good question, Emmanuel, and thank you for your email!nbsp; I like getting email, and I like getting email concerning project management topics even more.nbsp; I guess I am just kind of silly in that regard.nbsp; But, before talking about the differences between project phases and process groups, we need to first understand the difference between Project Lifecycles and Product Lifecycles. Product and Project Lifecyclesnbsp; A product lifecycle includes everything from a product's first concept to the point when the product is eventually discontinued and made into that EBay collectable that you are sure your Aunt Sally would love! nbsp;And within the product lifecycle, we have the project lifecycle.nbsp; The project lifecycle is a subset of the product lifecycle, where the product or service is developed and goes from initial concept to initial production.nbsp; So, to summarize, the Project Lifecycle is the process whereby the product is created, and Product Lifecycle is the entire life of the product.Confused yet?nbsp; Well hang on to your saddle as we start down the path of project phases and process groups.nbsp; Yee Haw! Project Phases Project phases are discrete sections of the project lifecycle that are established to help projects follow a common process methodology within an organization.nbsp; Not all organizations use project phases, although there are many good reasons to use them, including: Better resource planning Better deliverable tracking Project decision points throughout the project Tighter project control and risk management Earlier identification of problems And increased process consistency from project to project Process Groups Process groups are part of every project, whether we realize it or not.nbsp; The Project Management Institute defines the five project management process groups as Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing.nbsp; PMI states that "collectively, these five groups are required for any project; [they] have clear internal dependencies, and must be performed in the same sequence on each project."nbsp; A lot of folks interchange the phrase "project management process group" with "project phase" without really knowing truly what the differences are.nbsp; However, the PMBOK is quite clear that "Project management process groups are not project phases!"nbsp; Just like your brother Frank does not equal "rocket scientist".nbsp; Sorry Frank! True, some industries use project phases that resemble the naming conventions of process groups, but process groups are repeated throughout the project and even throughout a phase.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Guide to the Project management Body of Knowledge, 3rd Edition, 2004, Project Management Institute, PA, 2004, Figurenbsp;3-2 p40. Putting It All Together Let's use a simple example to demonstrate the difference between project phases and process groups.nbsp; Let's even choose an industry we are all familiar with - our lives!nbsp;Consider the lifespan of a person.nbsp; Would you agree that there are different phases within a human life?nbsp; You start off your life for the first 20 or so years in the Childhood phase.nbsp; You move on and enjoy the Young Adulthood phase between the ages of 21 and 41. nbsp;Then comes the Midlife phase from 42 to 62, nbsp;Elderhood Phase between 63 and 83, and then the Late Elderhood Phase.nbsp; Each phase in your life has certain milestones and deliverables, such as learning to walk and talk, graduating from school, getting married, having children, having grandchildren, sometimes even great-grandchildren, retirement, and then the day when you get to meet the great pro... PMPreg;,preparation,,pm,methodology,,podcasts Ron Holohan, MBA PMP no No http://pm411.org/2008/03/02/podcast-episode-025-successful-negotiation-skills-part-2-of-2/ http://pm411.org/2008/03/02/podcast-episode-025-successful-negotiation-skills-part-2-of-2/#comments Mon, 03 Mar 2008 04:54:01 +0000 Ron Holohan http://pm411.org/2008/03/02/podcast-episode-025-successful-negotiation-skills-part-2-of-2/ http://pm411.org/2008/03/02/podcast-episode-025-successful-negotiation-skills-part-2-of-2/feed/ 27:05 In today's second of two podcasts in a series on project management negotiation skills, we continue our discussion onnbsp;principled negotiation with Joe Friedman, of the ... In today's second of two podcasts in a series on project management negotiation skills, we continue our discussion onnbsp;principled negotiation with Joe Friedman, of the consulting group Zehren-Friedman Associates, Ltd. Joe holds a BSBA and MBA from Ohio State University and has over 25 years of sales, sales management and training / consulting experience. With many years providing sales and management training programs at Northeastern Illinois University, First National Bank of Chicago, and The Executive Technique, a firm specializing in presentation skills training, Joe teamed up with David Zehren in 1993 to create Zehren-Friedman Associates, Ltd. Their 13-person firm is entering its 18th year in business and specializes in teaching the ldquo;persuasive artsrdquo; of selling, presenting, negotiating and influencing. Clients are in a wide variety of industries, from banking to health-care to printing to advertising to services to manufacturing and everything in-between. Joe is responsible for client development, program delivery, people development within the firm, and holds the title of CFO. Show Commentary As discussed in Part 1, as you enter a negotiation, you want to try to start the process by "growing the pie" and creating a win-win outcome.nbsp; But what happens when that is not possible?nbsp; Then you should fall back to tactics in order to meetnbsp;your needs on your shopping list. What's this "BATNA" thing? Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In by Roger Fisher and William L. Ury describes the Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement, or BATNA.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Typically, you would not acceptnbsp;a worse outcome than its BATNA.nbsp; For example, if I offered tonbsp;buy yournbsp;car for $1,000, then your BATNA would be $1,000 if you decided to "shop around" to see if others would offer you more for your car.nbsp; In other words, if someone else offered you $900, you could always fall back to the BATNA of $1,000 that I offered.nbsp; Another example of BATNA is the use of outsourcing.nbsp;nbsp;If I know thatnbsp;it would be easier tonbsp;get a capable resource for my project outside of the company than I could by workingnbsp;through internal functional managers, then guess what...nbsp; I would probably be more likely to use outsourcing.nbsp; If I needed to I could always fall back to my BATNA and use an internal resource. Personal Input Tactics Personal input tactics are a list of physical, emotional, ornbsp;psychological things that people do during negotiations.nbsp; One person may use anger as a tactic as opposed to perhaps positivity andnbsp;persistance.nbsp; These personal input tactics can be used in conjunction withnbsp;other negotiation tactics. The Games That People Play The reason that tactics exist in negotiations is to enablenbsp;you to get the things that they want without making concessions.nbsp; Each tactic falls into one of the three following categories: 1.) Pushing to get the terms you want 2.) Playing it straight 3.) Playing the angles Pushing to Get the Terms You Want Two tactics that fall within the "Pushing to Get the Terms You Want" category include "The Bogey" and "The Crunch". "The Bogey" is a tactic that usually starts with a complement, but then usually asks for a concession.nbsp; "You have done a great jobnbsp;getting things done on this project, but I would like to see you show up for more meetings," is an example of a bogey. "The Crunch" is a tactic that takes a tough stand to get concessions.nbsp; "You gotta do better than that on your offer!" is an example of using "The Crunch." Playing It Straight Onenbsp;tactic in the "Playing It Straight" category is "Delaying Your Position."nbsp; This is a positive tactic whereby you hold back on sharing your position until you completely understand the other party's "shopping list."nbsp; By delaying your position, you prevent the initial tug-of-war of positions that so frequently causes an escal... negotiating,,podcasts Ron Holohan, MBA PMP no No http://pm411.org/2008/02/25/join-the-pm411org-project-management-podcast-linkedin-group/ http://pm411.org/2008/02/25/join-the-pm411org-project-management-podcast-linkedin-group/#comments Tue, 26 Feb 2008 04:45:07 +0000 Ron Holohan http://pm411.org/2008/02/25/join-the-pm411org-project-management-podcast-linkedin-group/ http://pm411.org/2008/02/25/join-the-pm411org-project-management-podcast-linkedin-group/feed/ http://pm411.org/2008/02/20/podcast-episode-024-successful-negotiation-skills-part-1-of-2/ http://pm411.org/2008/02/20/podcast-episode-024-successful-negotiation-skills-part-1-of-2/#comments Thu, 21 Feb 2008 03:56:45 +0000 Ron Holohan http://pm411.org/2008/02/20/podcast-episode-024-successful-negotiation-skills-part-1-of-2/ http://pm411.org/2008/02/20/podcast-episode-024-successful-negotiation-skills-part-1-of-2/feed/ 28:05 In today's first of two podcasts in a series on project management negotiation skills, we discuss methods of principled negotiation with Joe Friedman, of the ... In today's first of two podcasts in a series on project management negotiation skills, we discuss methods of principled negotiation with Joe Friedman, of the consulting group Zehren-Friedman Associates, Ltd.nbsp; Joe holds a BSBA and MBA from Ohio State University and has over 25 years of sales, sales management and training / consulting experience.nbsp;nbsp;With many years providing sales and management training programsnbsp;at Northeastern Illinois University, First National Bank of Chicago, and The Executive Technique, a firm specializing in presentation skills training, Joenbsp;teamed up with David Zehren in 1993 to create Zehren-Friedman Associates, Ltd. nbsp;Their 13-person firm is entering its 18th year in business and specializes in teaching the ldquo;persuasive artsrdquo; of selling, presenting, negotiating and influencing.nbsp; Clients are in a wide variety of industries, from banking to healthcare to printing to advertising to services to manufacturing and everything in-between.nbsp; Joe is responsible for client development, program delivery, people development within the firm, and holds the title of CFO. Show Commentary As Zehren-Friedman Associates is quick to point out, history and literature offer many examples of persuasive but unprincipled characters - from the devil to traveling medicine men selling miracle cures to even modern day companies promising products and results that they can't deliver.nbsp; Likewise, without principles to guide persuasion and negotiations, both the methods and the outcome of negotiations can go astray. Using principled persuasion and negotiation skills, thenbsp;successful project managernbsp;recognizes and understands the legitimate needs of her counterparty, but is still able to pursue her own interests with energy and determination.nbsp; She knows that creative collaboration is a much more powerful tool than stubborn resistance, since many negotiations are best approached as problem-solving exercises rather than contests of strength and will. Project Managers frequently need to negotiate with team members, resource managers, as well as other project stakeholders.nbsp; A project manager that is a successful negotiator will be able to achieve two goals during negotiations: Get agreement between two or more parties Build relationships in the process During negotiations, project managers need to understand their own priorities as well as that of the counterparty in order to see if there are ways to meet each otherrsquo;s needs.nbsp; As Joe points out during our interview, the negotiations that most project managers are involved in are not like the negotiation that takes place when you buy a car.nbsp; The people that project managers tend to negotiate with ndash; resource managers, upper management, customers, team members, even bosses ndash; these are the folks that you work with or you will see again in the future. If ultimately you want to build relationships, the goal during negotiations should be to make ldquo;the pierdquo; as big as possible for both parties.nbsp; This is what is called in negotiation-speak as ldquo;win-winrdquo;. To be a successful negotiator,nbsp;four steps need to be taken. 1.nbsp; Planning This is the most important step in the negotiation process in order to prevent you from being caught by surprise.nbsp; What are your priorities?nbsp; What might be some alternatives that might be of value that you and your counterparty can exchange?nbsp; How are you going to ldquo;play the game?rdquo;nbsp; What are your strategies you plan on using if someone says ldquo;nordquo; to your requests? 2.nbsp; Opening Ceremony This step occurs when you are face-to-face with the counterparty and start the negotiation process with them.nbsp; This step helps to set the tone of the discussion.nbsp; Perhaps this could be as simple as starting with, ldquo;Hey, I need your help and Irsquo;m convinced we will be able to work something out toget... negotiating,,podcasts Ron Holohan, MBA PMP no No http://pm411.org/2008/02/11/you-choose-the-podcast-topic/ http://pm411.org/2008/02/11/you-choose-the-podcast-topic/#comments Tue, 12 Feb 2008 01:09:50 +0000 Ron Holohan http://pm411.org/2008/02/11/you-choose-the-podcast-topic/ http://pm411.org/2008/02/11/you-choose-the-podcast-topic/feed/ http://pm411.org/2008/02/03/podcast-episode-023-6-steps-to-successful-schedules/ http://pm411.org/2008/02/03/podcast-episode-023-6-steps-to-successful-schedules/#comments Sun, 03 Feb 2008 10:03:41 +0000 Ron Holohan http://pm411.org/2008/02/03/podcast-episode-023-6-steps-to-successful-schedules/ http://pm411.org/2008/02/03/podcast-episode-023-6-steps-to-successful-schedules/feed/ 8:57 Creating a comprehensive schedule is one of the more difficult activities that Project Managers face.nbsp; Schedule creation is often considered more art than science - ... Creating a comprehensive schedule is one of the more difficult activities that Project Managers face.nbsp; Schedule creation is often considered more art than science - and results often support this.nbsp; What is often more frustrating is that team members often find themselves on one team with a project manager that creates and manages schedules a particular way and on another team with a project manager with a different approach.nbsp; I often hear from people on teams, "why can't all project managers do things the same way?" If you have heard this on your team, perhaps it is time that you take a look at the way you and your team create your team schedules.nbsp;nbsp;Perhaps you are not taking a consistent step in developing team schedules that have been shown to work time and time again. There are tons and tons of resources out there that claim the perfect answer to your scheduling problems.nbsp; But, I believe thatnbsp;you can improve your chances for success just by following the six simple steps below.nbsp; Step 1:nbsp; Define the schedule activities Take your WBS work packages and decompose them further into schedule activities.nbsp; If you havenrsquo;t created a WBS yet for your project, you will want to listen tonbsp;Episode 4 on Work Breakdown Structures.nbsp; Take each WBS work package, and decide what activities are required to create that package.nbsp; For example, if your work package is "Configure New Computer Hardware," your schedule activities might include "set up network configuration," "install the video card," "install applications," and then "set up mail client." Step 2:nbsp;nbsp;Sequence the activities Remember back in grade school where you were given a bunch of pictures and you had to figure out their order.nbsp; You had to decidenbsp;which picture represented the 1st activity, the 2nd activity and so on?nbsp; Well, that is exactly what the second step is all about.nbsp;In second step we sequence the schedule activities by simply placing them in the order in which they need to happen.nbsp; For example, perhaps we need to install the video card first, then set up the network configuration, install application and then finally set up the mail client.nbsp;In some cases two or more activities can be done simultaneously.nbsp; Perhaps we can set up the mail client while other applications are being installed.nbsp;This is step is where we look at the different types of schedule dependencies such as finish-to-start, start-to-start, finish-to-finish, and start-to-finish to figure out how each of these activities relate to each other.nbsp; Step 3:nbsp;nbsp;Estimate the resources needed for the activity The third step involves estimating what resources will be required to accomplish each activity.nbsp; This includes estimating needed team resources, financial resources, and equipment.nbsp; These resource needs should be selected for each activity prior to estimating the duration of each activity which isnbsp;the next step. Step 4:nbsp;nbsp;Estimating the duration of each of the activities This step requires you and your team to analyze how long it will take to accomplish each of the activities.nbsp;These estimates can be quantified throughnbsp;the following tools: Expert Judgement - by conferring with someone who is familiar or experienced in what it takes to accomplish a particular activity. Analogous Estimating -nbsp;a top-down estimation approach is taken by looking at similar projects within your organization for estimates on how long a particular activity should take.nbsp; Parametric Estimating ndash; Basically this is scaling an estimate.nbsp; For example, perhaps you know it takes on average 10 minutes to install a software application.nbsp; If the ldquo;install applicationsrdquo; activity includes the installation of 6 applications, you can use parametric estimation to estimate that it will take approximately 6 times 10 minutes, or 60 minutes to install all the applications.n... pm,methodology,,podcasts,,scheduling Ron Holohan, MBA PMP no No http://pm411.org/2008/01/21/project-management-and-politics/ http://pm411.org/2008/01/21/project-management-and-politics/#comments Tue, 22 Jan 2008 02:47:09 +0000 Ron Holohan http://pm411.org/2008/01/21/project-management-and-politics/ http://pm411.org/2008/01/21/project-management-and-politics/feed/ http://pm411.org/2008/01/20/podcast-episode-021-team-collaboration-with-central-desktop/ http://pm411.org/2008/01/20/podcast-episode-021-team-collaboration-with-central-desktop/#comments Sun, 20 Jan 2008 10:26:22 +0000 Ron Holohan http://pm411.org/2008/01/20/podcast-episode-021-team-collaboration-with-central-desktop/ http://pm411.org/2008/01/20/podcast-episode-021-team-collaboration-with-central-desktop/feed/ 00:01:01 In episode 022 we feature our first pm411.org Project Management video podcast.nbsp; The decision to use video as the medium for this episode is to ... In episode 022 we feature our first pm411.org Project Management video podcast.nbsp; The decision to use video as the medium for this episode is to be able to show you some of the great features of a free team collaborative web application from one of our sponsors called Central Desktop.nbsp; It's the collaboration tool voted ldquo;Best of The Webrdquo; by Business Week.nbsp; Organize projects, share files and meet online.nbsp; And best of all, you can set up an account and use the tool for free! The tool is free for up to 5 team members, but if you do want to add 10 or more team members, pm411.org Project Management Podcast listeners get an additional 25% for plans with additional features and team members when they upgrade!nbsp; And if you do increase the number of team members, pricing starts at just $25/month for 10 members prior to the 25% pm411.org discount. Some of the advantages of Central Desktop over other collaboration software include: nbsp;nbsp; Quick Setup - No Learning Curve Central Desktop was created for business teams, not the IT department. No Technical Knowledge or Programming Experience Required Setup Workspaces in Minutes, not Months Choose From Templates To Jumpstart Your Project or Intranet Familiar Word Processor Like Toolbar (WYSIWYG Editor) Encourage the Entire Team To Contribute Achieve High Adoption Rates Enterprise Grade Search Data At Your Fingertips Search A Single Repository for Files #38; Documents Full Text #38; Document Search (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, PDF, HTML, etc...) Searchable Conversation Threads Search Across Multiple Workspaces Simultaneously Access Workspaces From Anywhere (Office, On The Road, Home) Real-Time Collaboration Web Meetings #38; Audio Conferencing Single Sign-On Access Collaborate with Customers, Partners, Vendors - In Real-Time Encourage Ad-Hoc Team Collaboration Share Screens, Remote Presentations Integrated Free Audio Conferencing Outlook Calendar Integration Online Docs #38; Spreadsheets Track Revision History and Document Versions Store online docs #38; spreadsheets in a secure, password protected workspace environment Create, edit and share online spreadsheets in *real-time* Import and export online spreadsheets to and from Microsoft Excel Create more than 30 types of charts (bar charts, pie charts, etc.) Access more than 500 formulas and functions Team Accountability Get Everyone On The Same Page Version-Tracked Files #38; Document Revision History Document Library (Check-In /Check-Out) Workspace Audit Trails (Page Level Revision History) Track Project Status (Scorecards) Set User Permissions For Each Workspace (View Only, Modify, Add/Delete) Centralize Communication Get Out Of Your Inbox Foster Online Group Discussions View Workspace #38; Project Event Calendars Personlized Dashboard Overview of Workspaces, Reminders and Overdue Alerts Instant Messenger Presence Integration (Skype (Voice Supported Also), Yahoo, MSN Messenger, ICQ, AIM, Jabber) Subscribe to an Interactive Workspace Activity Digests via RSS/Atom Secure RSS Authentication Supported So, get started for free with Central Desktop today with no obligation!nbsp; You can start setting up your workspace today by clicking here or by going to http://www.pm411.org/centraldesktopnbsp;. How about leaving us some comments on what you think about Central Desktop. nbsp;Get the pm411.org Project Management Podcast delivered by email for free!nbsp; - Your email address and personal information are confidential and will never be sold or rented. pm,software,tools,,podcasts,,teams,,video Ron Holohan, MBA PMP no No http://pm411.org/2008/01/18/project-management-at-macworld/ http://pm411.org/2008/01/18/project-management-at-macworld/#comments Fri, 18 Jan 2008 13:09:58 +0000 Ron Holohan http://pm411.org/2008/01/18/project-management-at-macworld/ http://pm411.org/2008/01/18/project-management-at-macworld/feed/ http://pm411.org/2008/01/13/special-my-organizations-product-development-process-episode/ http://pm411.org/2008/01/13/special-my-organizations-product-development-process-episode/#comments Mon, 14 Jan 2008 02:51:27 +0000 Ron Holohan http://pm411.org/2008/01/13/special-my-organizations-product-development-process-episode/ http://pm411.org/2008/01/13/special-my-organizations-product-development-process-episode/feed/ 00:01:01 Back in July, my friend Cornelius Fichtner from The Project Management Podcast, and I swapped podcast interviews.nbsp; Today's special podcast episode is a part of ... Back in July, my friend Cornelius Fichtner from The Project Management Podcast, and I swapped podcast interviews.nbsp; Today's special podcast episode is a part of that interview, brought to you by the Project Management Podcast, where Cornelius and I discuss how the companynbsp;in which I am employed as a Program Manager is organized, what processes it uses to develop products, and where I see opportunities for improvement. In my role as a program manager in my organization, I have five project managers that report to me and I help to plan, execute, and monitor/control the roadmap for the audio and accessory products that mynbsp;project managersnbsp;are responsible for.nbsp; I work in a Weak Matrix Organization, where team members directly report to a functional manager and indirectly report to one or more project managers.nbsp; This works fairly well, allowing project managers to focus on completing the project goals and the functional managers focused on insuring the product performance and fulfilling the project's resource needs.nbsp; I feel that I am fortunate that I work in an organization with a strong project management and development process.nbsp; Having a well-documented development process that loosely follows the methodology found in the PMBOK allows recently hired project managers get up to speed quickly at my organization. Our developmentnbsp;is based on anbsp;phase-gated process, which I believe allows closer project monitoring and controlling, as well as giving the management the clear ability to kill or redirect a project at key "kill-points" for those projects not meeting its deliverables.nbsp; My company also uses a Project Review Board which tracks the planned milestones of a project through a weekly status report.nbsp; If the project milestones are missed by more than 2 weeks, it triggers the team tonbsp;hold an interim phase review with the Project Review Board.nbsp; The Project Review boardnbsp;is composed of both program management representation and functional managers that can help to make decisions and clear roadblocks to get the team back on schedule/budget/scope.nbsp; This requires some discipline on the part of the project team to closely monitor and report their status on a weekly basis, but since instituting weekly status reporting and the Project Review Board teams have done a better job meeting their planned schedules, budget, and product requirements. Mynbsp;organization is always looking for ways of improving its processes.nbsp; One area that we are looking at is in developing a Project Management Office (PMO).nbsp; Product Development,nbsp;the division in which Inbsp;work,nbsp;is only one area that my company utilizes project management.nbsp; My company alsonbsp;manages projectsnbsp;within its Operations, Facility Management, andnbsp;Information System (IS) departments.nbsp; However, currently each of these areas really has its own project process and organizational assets - some more defined than others.nbsp; By developing a corporate-wide PMO,nbsp;I believe that we will be able to better meet the needs of all areas of project management within our organization through common methodology, project tracking tools, and coordination. Another area that my company is investigating is using Critical Chain Project Management to help better utilize and focus resources assigned to various projects.nbsp; Focusing solely on the project Critical Path has not always provided successful product launches for us.nbsp; This is especially true for those projects with resources that were assigned on many other teams. One of the biggest challenges that I face as a Program Manager within my organization is keeping the sanctity of the triple-constraint.nbsp;nbsp;Too often teams are asked to bring in dates without being allowed to change the project scope or project cost.nbsp; Often the thought is that teams should learn to "work smarter, not harder".nbsp; What is interesting is that we are lea... pm,links,,pm,methodology,,podcasts Ron Holohan, MBA PMP no No http://pm411.org/2008/01/05/earn-pdus-through-pmi-by-listening-to-the-pm411org-podcast/ http://pm411.org/2008/01/05/earn-pdus-through-pmi-by-listening-to-the-pm411org-podcast/#comments Sat, 05 Jan 2008 14:37:46 +0000 Ron Holohan http://pm411.org/2008/01/05/earn-pdus-through-pmi-by-listening-to-the-pm411org-podcast/ http://pm411.org/2008/01/05/earn-pdus-through-pmi-by-listening-to-the-pm411org-podcast/feed/ http://pm411.org/2007/12/31/podcast-episode-021-bonus-episode-how-to-create-new-year-project-resolutions-that-work/ http://pm411.org/2007/12/31/podcast-episode-021-bonus-episode-how-to-create-new-year-project-resolutions-that-work/#comments Mon, 31 Dec 2007 19:04:35 +0000 Ron Holohan http://pm411.org/2007/12/31/podcast-episode-021-bonus-episode-how-to-create-new-year-project-resolutions-that-work/ http://pm411.org/2007/12/31/podcast-episode-021-bonus-episode-how-to-create-new-year-project-resolutions-that-work/feed/ 12:00 This is a special year-end bonus episode of the pm411.org Project Management Podcast to show my appreciation to our faithful listeners. In this special episode I ... This is a special year-end bonus episode of the pm411.org Project Management Podcast to show my appreciation to our faithful listeners. In this special episode I provide you with some tips on how you can make sure your project team starts off on the right foot for the upcoming year. Usually around this time of year, I have found the holidays to be a good time to think about how my projects havenbsp;done over the course of the past year and what adjustments I'd like to make during the upcoming year.nbsp; Inbsp;think of this as a time to review project "lessons learned"nbsp;without beingnbsp;tied to completing a particular project milestone, but rathernbsp;as an opportunitynbsp;to reflect and to go back and see what things have worked well and what has not worked well on my projects.nbsp; Then I set goals on how I hope to improve my project for the new year. However, the new year goalsnbsp;I set arenbsp;different than justnbsp;setting typical new year resolutions.nbsp;nbsp;New year resolutions often seem to be made following a night of heavy partying and are usually a temporary way of showing penitence for the previous night's debauchery.nbsp; How many of us have said early on one New Year day or another that we would "never do that again" only to do it again the next year?nbsp;nbsp;But seriously, resolutions are usually not based on what is commonly known asnbsp;SMART objectivesnbsp;- where SMART is an mnemonic that stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relavant, and Time-bound. Let me give you an example.nbsp; There have been more than a few new year resolutions that some of us (names withheld) have broken in years past.nbsp; Maybe wenbsp;decided that in the upcoming year we were going to lose some extra pounds and get into shape.nbsp;nbsp;Our good intentions often failed because we didn't follow SMART objectives and we were not specific in our goal. Perhaps we set out to lose weight, but we may not have had a specific number of pounds we wanted to lose to indicate success. Maybe we didn't set up a consistent means of measuring and tracking our weight loss.nbsp;nbsp;Maybe our goal wasn't even achievable - it probably would have been a good idea to consult a physician on what your ideal weight should be rather thannbsp;expecting to look like that supermodel within a month.nbsp;nbsp;The goal also needs to be relevant - you must have the authority or the ability to make or influence the change and it needs to be relevant or important to do so.nbsp;nbsp;Being told by your physician that you need to lose weightnbsp;in ordernbsp;to prevent a heart-attack is different than already looking like Nicole Richie and wanting to take weight off.nbsp; This is not to make light of eating disorders, but some of these folks need to lose another pound like I need to grow another chin!nbsp; And finally, perhaps our failure was because our goal wasn't time-bound.nbsp;nbsp;Chances are that after the first couple of weeks of really trying to lose weight, you will start trying to trick yourself into thinking that you stillnbsp;have the rest of the year to lose the weight, so why rush? So now that we have looked at the wrong way of setting your new year resolutions, let'snbsp;go through the 7 step process of reviewing your past year's performance and setting SMART objectives for your project in the upcoming year. Step 1:nbsp; Decide what needs to change First, decide on a particular project that you want tonbsp;change and write down the things that you and your team did well during the past year and those things that need improvement. You may want to consider the following 9 knowledge areas in the PMBOK as a starting place for your project review: Project scope management Project time management Project cost management Project human resource management Project procurement management Project risk management Project quality management Project integration management Project communications management ... pm,methodology,,podcasts,,teams Ron Holohan, MBA PMP no No http://pm411.org/2007/12/29/now-view-pm411org-on-your-cell-phone/ http://pm411.org/2007/12/29/now-view-pm411org-on-your-cell-phone/#comments Sat, 29 Dec 2007 20:15:34 +0000 Ron Holohan http://pm411.org/2007/12/29/now-view-pm411org-on-your-cell-phone/ http://pm411.org/2007/12/29/now-view-pm411org-on-your-cell-phone/feed/ http://pm411.org/2007/12/28/podcast-episode-020-e-projectmanagers-website/ http://pm411.org/2007/12/28/podcast-episode-020-e-projectmanagers-website/#comments Fri, 28 Dec 2007 08:11:55 +0000 Ron Holohan http://pm411.org/2007/12/28/podcast-episode-020-e-projectmanagers-website/ http://pm411.org/2007/12/28/podcast-episode-020-e-projectmanagers-website/feed/ 14:41 In today's episode I talk with Dora Tarver of the e-ProjectManagers website, a great website for Project Management templates. Dora began her career as a Programmer ... In today's episode I talk with Dora Tarver of the e-ProjectManagers website, a great website for Project Management templates. Dora began her career as a Programmer / Analyst, soon becoming a technical leader and eventually a Project Manager.nbsp; She is a member of PMI, has published papers, and has spoken across the country for PMI including at PMI Annual Seminars #38; Symposium.nbsp; Dora has over 17 years expereince in planning, building and buying software and hardware for medium and multimillion-dollar projects. Her experience includes infrastructure management, project procurement, change management, risk management, team development, time #38; cost analysis, business analysis, project plan development and maintenance following PMBOK and Corporate methodologies. Show Notes: http://www.e-projectmanagers.com/ - Dora's project management website where her free templates can be found. doratarver@e-projectmanagers.comnbsp;- Where to contact Dora. http://www.dharmakaya.com/ - The Dharmakaya Meditation Center. http://www.freewebsitedesign.org/ - Where you can go to get your website created for free. http://www.enlightenedsource.org/ - Dora provides some internet business product reviews. Finally, be sure to look for the bonus year-end pm411.org podcast episode next week on the topic of things you and your team can do to make sure you get off on the right project management foot for 2008! nbsp;Get the pm411.org Project Management Podcast delivered by email for free!nbsp; - Your email address and personal information are confidential and will never be sold or rented. nbsp;nbsp; pm,links,,podcasts,,templates Ron Holohan, MBA PMP no No http://pm411.org/2007/12/23/itune-directory-issues/ http://pm411.org/2007/12/23/itune-directory-issues/#comments Mon, 24 Dec 2007 02:46:47 +0000 Ron Holohan http://pm411.org/2007/12/23/itune-directory-issues/ http://pm411.org/2007/12/23/itune-directory-issues/feed/ http://pm411.org/2007/12/10/podcast-episode-019-project-management-web-resources/ http://pm411.org/2007/12/10/podcast-episode-019-project-management-web-resources/#comments Tue, 11 Dec 2007 03:52:46 +0000 Ron Holohan http://pm411.org/2007/12/10/podcast-episode-019-project-management-web-resources/ http://pm411.org/2007/12/10/podcast-episode-019-project-management-web-resources/feed/ 43:52 In Episode 19, I have the great privilege of having twonbsp;ofnbsp;the top providers of Project Management internet content join me in anbsp;roundtable discussion on various ... In Episode 19, I have the great privilege of having twonbsp;ofnbsp;the top providers of Project Management internet content join me in anbsp;roundtable discussion on various project management web resources. Shawn Futterer,nbsp;PMPreg;, is a certified project management professional with a broad range of experience. He started his career in 1992 managing quality control projects for a small manufacturing company and is currently working in a PMO for a Fortune 50 telecommunications company where he supervises project managers for the North region. Over the course of his career, Shawn has managed projects of all shapes and sizes. Shawn has a keen interest in the methodologies, strategy, planning and operations. He has over fifteen years of hands-on project management experience and has led, consulted on or contributed to: process development efforts, various methodologies and multiple training programs. Shawn attributes a project managers success to their ability to provide a strategic view and a demonstrated ability to interact and communicate effectively with all levels of an organization.nbsp; Shawn runs the Project Management Learning Center as part of the TenStep Global Community. Cornelius Fichtner, PMPreg;, is the host of The Project Management Podcast andnbsp; The Project Management PrepCasttrade;. The Podcast is a general PM related podcast and the PrepCast prepares listeners for the PMPreg; exam.nbsp;nbsp;Cornelius worked as a Project Manager in his native Switzerland, in Germany and in the USA for the last 16 years. He received his PMPreg; credential in April 2004. He has led projects for a management consulting company, a national retailer and an internet startup company.nbsp;nbsp;Currently, Cornelius works as a project manager for one of the oldest financial service providers in the USA. His passions are project management methodologies and PMOs.nbsp;nbsp;Cornelius is also an instructor for the PMPreg; Workshop for his local PMI chapter and serves as the chapter's chair until the end of this month. He currently lives in Silverado, California, USA with his wife and their two computers. Show Notes: Web resources brought up during the roundtable discussion: http://www.maxwideman.com/ http://projectmanagementlearningcenter.com/ http://groups.yahoo.com/mygroups http://forums.pmhub.net/ http://www.manager-tools.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=10 http://www.websitetoolbox.com/tool/mb/pmfwebmaster http://www.allpm.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2#38;file=viewforum#38;f=6 http://projectmanagement.ittoolbox.com/groups/career/projectmanagement-career http://groups.google.com/ http://www.kadonk.com/ (Live project free viewer) http://www.pmconnection.com/ http://podcast.amanet.org http://www.pmhut.com/ http://www.pmstudent.com/ http://www.cuttingsedge.com/ http://projectized.blogspot.com/ http://techrepublic.com http://www.chiefprojectofficer.com/ http://www.gantthead.com/ http://www.techrepublic.com/ http://tenstep.com/ http://www.managementhelp.org/ http://www.12manage.com/ http://www.controllingchaos.com http://www.mindjet.com http://freemind.sourceforge.net/ http://www.openoffice.org/ http://www.projity.org http://www.e-projectmanagers.com http://www.pm411.org nbsp;Get the pm411.org Project Management Podcast delivered by email for free!nbsp; - Your email address and personal information are confidential and will never be sold or rented. nbsp;nbsp; nbsp; pm,links,,pm,software,tools,,podcasts Ron Holohan, MBA PMP no No http://pm411.org/2007/11/26/podcast-episode-018-leadership-and-teamwork-in-the-face-of-danger-part-2/ http://pm411.org/2007/11/26/podcast-episode-018-leadership-and-teamwork-in-the-face-of-danger-part-2/#comments Tue, 27 Nov 2007 01:37:43 +0000 Ron Holohan http://pm411.org/2007/11/26/podcast-episode-018-leadership-and-teamwork-in-the-face-of-danger-part-2/ http://pm411.org/2007/11/26/podcast-episode-018-leadership-and-teamwork-in-the-face-of-danger-part-2/feed/ 40:55 In episode 018, we bring you part 2 of Pete Goss'nbsp;story on various leadership and teamwork principles that he learned from some of his most ... In episode 018, we bring you part 2 of Pete Goss'nbsp;story on various leadership and teamwork principles that he learned from some of his most life-harrowing adventures.nbsp; In today's show, Pete Goss concludes his presentation with the outcome ofnbsp;his heroic rescue of Frenchmannbsp;nbsp;Raphael Dinelli during the 1996/97 Vendee Globe and his subsequent race with Team Philips. Show Notes: Close to the Windnbsp;by Pete Gossnbsp; http://www.petegoss.com/ Leadership and teamwork takeaways from Pete Gossrsquo; presentation: Communication is a 2-way street and it is important to encourage team members to always share their ideas. Life isn't easy - you just have to deal with things as they come along. Making the right choice is part of making tough decisions and as the leader of a team you will find yourself faced with them. You truly can do anything if you want it bad enough. If you assemble a group of individuals and they commit their mind, body, and soul to a clear and simple goal they will make it. Life truly hangs by a delicate thread. "The cancer of time is complacency" - if you want to do something, you must do it now. "Obstacles are what you see the moment you take your eye off of the goal." "Responsibility is the most powerful thing you have as a leader." Very seldom do people not rise to their responsibility - but it is your contract; this is your gift, your challenge, your opportunity. To improve internal communications, "Bad News Meetings" were held between 4 or 5 team members where they would identify the Problem, determine the solution, assign a clear budget and timeline and assign those responsible for carrying out the task. Rather than worrying about life as a glass half-full or a glass half-empty, simply make the decision to "drink the bastard anyway!" "Without trying and courage you will never get progress." "Keeping a clear eye on the goal will give you solutions in the middle of the chaos." "If you choose to drive in the fast lane, you have to accept the consequences at the beginning and sometimes you have to take them on the chin with as much dignity as you can." "If you can get your team to work in the same direction, then you can achieve anything you set your mind to." nbsp;nbsp; Leave us a voice message at (206) 984-3665 and let us know some of the adventures your team has been on! nbsp;Get the pm411.org Project Management Podcast delivered by email for free!nbsp; - Your email address and personal information are confidential and will never be sold or rented. nbsp;nbsp; nbsp; project,management,pm,pm,podcast,project,management,podcast,management,pmi,pmp,teamwork Ron Holohan, MBA PMP no No http://pm411.org/2007/11/12/podcast-episode-017-leadership-and-teamwork-in-the-face-of-danger-part-1/ http://pm411.org/2007/11/12/podcast-episode-017-leadership-and-teamwork-in-the-face-of-danger-part-1/#comments Tue, 13 Nov 2007 03:27:37 +0000 Ron Holohan http://pm411.org/2007/11/12/podcast-episode-017-leadership-and-teamwork-in-the-face-of-danger-part-1/ http://pm411.org/2007/11/12/podcast-episode-017-leadership-and-teamwork-in-the-face-of-danger-part-1/feed/ 31:48 Last week I attended the Planview User Conference in Austin, Texas which featured Pete Goss as the keynote speaker. nbsp;Petenbsp;is anbsp;world adventurer and author of ... Last week I attended the Planview User Conference in Austin, Texas which featured Pete Goss as the keynote speaker. nbsp;Petenbsp;is anbsp;world adventurer and author of the book, Close to the Wind. More astronauts have circled the Earth than the number of people who have sailed single-handed non-stop around the world without assistance. The most recognized of Petersquo;s races was the 1996/7 Vendee Globe non-stop single-handed round the world yacht race in his Open 50 yacht Aqua Quorum. Aqua Quorum was the first British boat to enter the Vendee and the only new yacht to complete the course in a year which sadly claimed the lives of two sailors, with only six of the sixteen starters finishing the race.nbsp; The race turned Pete into a national hero overnight for the dramatic rescue of fellow competitor Raphael Dinelli when winds of up to 80mph pounded Frenchman Dinellirsquo;s sinking boat. After receiving the distress call, Pete sent what may have been his last fax to his wife to explain what he was about to do and immediately turned round to rescue the Frenchman. He battled for two days to reach the near-dead Dinelli, who was extremely lucky to survive 48 hours in a freezing life raft. Pete, who scuppered his own chances of winning the race in order to save Dinelli, was awarded the MBE by HM The Queen and the Legion d'Honneur by the French President for his actions. In episode 017, we bring you part 1 of Pete Goss'nbsp;story on various leadership and teamwork principles that he learned from some of his most life-harrowing adventures. Show Notes: Close to the Wind www.planview.com www.petegoss.com Leadership and teamwork takeaways from Pete Gossrsquo; presentation: Good Leadership is all about challenging the norm. Good Management makes it more efficient. All one should look for in a team is a team full of leaders. You shouldnrsquo;t just take risks, but rather, you should embrace risks by properly preparing for them. ldquo;Knowledge dispels fear.rdquo; People often see successful teams as ldquo;luckyrdquo;, even if it required "18 hour days at 7 days a week" to be successful. Often times when you drill down into a successful team, what you will find is a group of people thatnbsp;is willing to create their own ldquo;luckrdquo; by putting their nose to the grindstone and having the courage to grab an opportunity when it comes past. If at particular milestones you are off course by 10%,nbsp;you can always identify that 10% and polish it to improve longterm performance. During your teamrsquo;s journey there will be problems and mistakes, but those mistakes can also be seen as lessons. Remember that the mistakes made on your teamrsquo;s journey can turn into the cornerstones of later success. Donrsquo;t cry over the mistakes, but rather celebrate in the lessons. ldquo;All the dirty washing stays on boardrdquo; ndash; donrsquo;t air your differences with those outside of the team. Trust takes time andnbsp;needs to come from the top.nbsp;nbsp;Trust can only come from example ndash; but once it does, then people on your team will feel comfortable to share their mistakes. ldquo;To win, you first have to finish.rdquo; Success comes from a clear and well-planned vision. The clearer your vision, the less likely you are to become lost. You do have to recognize that things will change as you move forward, and you need to be able to be willing to adapt your vision. But, unless your vision is clear from the start, you have no reference to make that change. ldquo;Anything new is difficult and anything that is difficult requires commitment.rdquo; ldquo;Unless you personally are absolutely committed to something, you cannot expect others to be committed with you.rdquo; Once you have lost control of a situation, all you can do is react. The key is to try not to lose control. ldquo;As you keep chipping away at life, you eventually come to a very clear and simple crossroads where you ... pm,books,,podcasts,,teams Ron Holohan, MBA PMP no No http://pm411.org/2007/10/29/podcast-episode-016-recent-updates/ http://pm411.org/2007/10/29/podcast-episode-016-recent-updates/#comments Mon, 29 Oct 2007 21:09:26 +0000 Ron Holohan http://pm411.org/2007/10/29/podcast-episode-016-recent-updates/ http://pm411.org/2007/10/29/podcast-episode-016-recent-updates/feed/ 14:02 Show Notes: In Episode 16, I cover some updates and news concerning the pm411.org podcast and website.nbsp; Specifically, I talk about: 1.) How the number of podcast ... Show Notes: In Episode 16, I cover some updates and news concerning the pm411.org podcast and website.nbsp; Specifically, I talk about: 1.) How the number of podcast listeners has grown over the past several months.nbsp; We nownbsp;havenbsp;listeners from all over the world, including: India Canada Poland Brazil the UK Australia Germany Finland Spain Russa Singapore France Taiwan The United Arab Emirates Japan Sweden Belgium Saudi Arabia Belarus Italy Colombia Iran Netherlands Ireland New Zealand Austria Jordan Denmark Portugal Hong Kong China Norway Argentina Turkey South Africa Malaysia Romania Bahrain Pakistan The Czech Republic Switzerland Chile Phillippines South Korea Egypt Morocco Nigeria Bulgaria Ukraine Sri Lanka Oman Qatar Macedonia Israel Mauritius (I had to look up where this country was located, since I was never great at geography) Indonesia Thailand Ghana Benin Peru Lebanon Afghanistan Uruquay Lithuania Luxembourg Puerto Rico Equador Slovakia Slovenia Tanzania Rwanda Bangladesh Vietnam Serbia Montenegro and The United states 2.) Inbsp;discuss some of RSS feed and iTunenbsp;difficulties I have beennbsp;having over the last few weeks and request any suggestions you may have on the resolving the issues. 3.) I share with younbsp;our newnbsp;message phone number from K7.net.nbsp; Our directnbsp;voicemessage line isnbsp;(206) 984-3665nbsp;and is available for your comments and questions.nbsp; I am really looking forward to any feedback on the show that you might have for me as well as any project management comments or questions you would like fornbsp;me tonbsp;address on a future show. 4.) And finally, I tell you how you cannbsp;receive for freenbsp;"15 seconds of fame" by creating anbsp;personalized "show bumper" that will be heard around the world.nbsp;nbsp;Ifnbsp;you are wondering what a show bumper is, y