Welcome to the Mindavation online project management
newsletter.
Our commitment is to share news about events in the world of
projects, tips & tricks of the trade, recommendations for reference and
inspirational materials, and Mindavation course offerings.
Yes, Spring is in the air, and as the weather turns, we all
have a tendency to daydream while looking out the window. Unfortunately,
our focus needs to be inside, so to help you stay on track, we bring you
Mindavation's September newsletter!
Free Template of the Month - Mindavation Project Control
Template |
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Each month Mindavation will offer a template from our Project
Templates CD free of charge. Don't miss out on this opportunity!
In this month's article we discuss hurdles to delegation.
The Mindavation Project Control Template helps reduce the
need for monitoring your requirements collection staff, by providing a
coordination vehicle that reduces requirements disconnects. This template
provides you with a common place to track requirements from project
planning through to testing and product verification. It can be used to
ensure the project stays focused on the purpose for which the project was
initiated, and helps ensure appropriate testing is performed prior to
release of the product to the customer.
Click to download |
Book Recommendation of the Month - Judgement: How Winning
Leaders Make Great Calls |
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Judgement: How Winning Leaders Make Great Calls by Noel M. Tichy and Warren G. Bennis
This book addresses senior leaders, but the tools and
approaches discussed in this well researched book are relevant for senior
project managers as well. Using personal experiences and direct
observation of successful leaders, the authors dissect their judgement
activities into a series of steps that we all can utilize to increase our
judgement capabilities. Good judgement calls rely on having clarity on
your approach and direction, what the authors call a "Teachable
Point of View", asking good questions of capable individuals and
following your instincts. Good judgement on a consistent basis involves
consistently seeking opportunities to mentor and teach people on your
teams to expand their vision and capabilities, therefore expanding your
own through the teams you manage.
The book provides significant detail (at times, more than
necessary) on plans and approaches used to alter the directions of major
business initiatives. The astute programme or senior project manager can
draw some strategic tools from these case studies. Key questions that can
be posed at various stages of an initiative, and an "operating
system" for launching and tracking a major initiative are just a
sampling of the tool structures that can be gleaned from this book.
The average reader will have to scale down the examples and
approaches to a smaller scope than discussed in this book, but the ideas
are applicable and the wisdom unquestionable for the project or programme
manager who wants insights on how to "think more broadly." |
Article of the Month - The Hurdles to Effective Delegation |
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By Bob McGannon, PMP
As businesses seek to tackle larger and more complex
projects, the wise project manager will increase their ability to
delegate effectively. This can be a very tricky game, as skills around
the world are becoming more scarce, and the pipeline of new personnel to
replace them is slowing considerably. Project managers need to overcome
the obstacles that get in the way of effective delegation, as a matter of
survival. Here we will explore the obstacles to effective delegation, the
cause of those obstacles (you might be surprised by a common cause) and
the way forward to more effective and successful delegation.
Hurdle #1 - "I don't have anyone with the correct
skills to whom I can delegate."
The first lesson that needs to be learned is that delegation is not a
five minute process - it is more like a five month process. As project
managers, we have "risen to the top" and have been given
additional responsibilities by our management. We can't expect those
around us that haven't been given that same level of additional
responsibility to possess those same capabilities. If they did, they
might be the project manager, and you might be reporting to them! Given
that the people that are reporting to us - to whom we might consider
delegating responsibilities - don't always have the skill we would
desire, it is up to us as project managers to correct this situation.
Thus, skills transfer to enable others to help us needs to come from US,
as project managers, and it does take time. When taking a new project
assignment, the forward thinking project manager will plan additional
time (even if it results in working overtime) to prepare their most
promising staff members to effectively receive delegated assignments. It
is the only way the astute project manager can prepare him/herself to
take on greater and more demanding assignments.
Click to read the full article... |
Mindavation Project Templates CD Available |
|
 Mindavation
offers more than 30 customisable project templates and tools to make your
life easier! The CD includes full project lifecycle templates and tools.
Documents are in MS Word, MS Excel, MS Project 2003 (and
Adobe). Modify each template to suit YOUR business and project needs.
Price (including shipping & handling): AUS$125. To order
call (02) 6273-8749 or email info@mindavation.com. |
COMING SOON - Mindavation Instant Surveys! |
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Mindavation newsletter subscribers will soon be getting the
opportunity to participate in quick, one question surveys on trends and
preferences of project managers across the world. Take 10 seconds, answer
our Instant Survey email and ensure your voice is heard. Look to your
inbox for your first Mindavation Instant Survey in the next couple of
weeks. |
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Mindavation's
Public Courses |
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Recovering
Troubled Projects
Mindavation is offering a public session of our Recovering Troubled
Projects class in Perth October 28-29. The course will be led by
Mindavation Director Bob McGannon. Recovering Troubled Projects is
designed for experienced project managers who are responsible for
recovering out of control projects. Attendees will learn techniques to
recover existing projects and to understand the early warning indicators
that a project is heading in the wrong direction.
Visit
our website for more information and click
here to register for this special public class offering.
Critical
Judgement
Bob McGannon will also be presenting Mindavation's two day Critical Judgement
class at PM Ed 08 November 27-28 in Canberra. Critical Judgement focuses
on how to design a "responsive" project by predicting where the
problem areas may be hiding and how to communicate with peers, team
members, and senior leadership in a manner that meets their needs,
challenges their thought processes, while using precious time
effectively. Early Bird discounts are available, so visit the PM Ed
website at the link below and register today!
PM Ed 08 |
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