PM job site in London
If you are from London and from the project management fraternity, this might interest you- here's a new job site in the market specifically for project managers.
Improvement- checklist
If you have been working towards your goal for quite sometime now, have you sat back on a weekend and assessed how you have been doing? It is as important to know if you are in the right track as it is to work smart.
•Review your diary/blog and see where you were one year ago goal wise
•How fruitful has the journey been? Have you accomplished your benchmarks?
•Has the projects been in tune to what you want to work in and as?
•Have you taken a PM certification or are you working towards it?
•How many project managers have you spoken to?
•Has your networking grown?
•Do you have the same routine in work that you had a year back?
•Have you been recognized for team work, or leadership or initiative?
•List three things you have done in the last 1 year that has helped you grow and share it with friends.
•List 3 things you have to work on seriously this year.
•Mark your defining moment.
•What keeps your dreams fired up? Write them down and pin it to the wall.
•Where should you be in a year and in what role?
•Keep up the good work and as they say- you will be rewarded!
Exit strategy from Elizabeth
I read this few days ago and really liked it. Elizabeth as always is a fabulous writer, very catchy and her writings are injected with information.
If you are thinking of changing your job, this might be handy.
How to train your mind
If there is one thing that can be considered more necessary than building up your communication skills while trying to be a project manager, it has to be training your mind.
It’s the powerhouse, the inner core strength that will take you distances. When untrained, it’s the one that will be responsible for your downfall, the slips in your speech, one wrong action and the oops- you have done it again!
Train your mind by:
Reading more- Reading should not be limited to project management related books/articles only, don’t restrict yourself. Read anything catches your attention, browse through book stores often. You benefit by having a larger base of knowledge that will help you be much more innovative. Understand psychology or strategy - whatever gets your attention.
Toughest of times- It will be hard, it has to. But this is where you will hone your skill for the best. Staying composed in the most difficult of times will earn you that extra brownie later. Train yourself to find ways to soothe your nerves, vent out creatively and use that bursts of energy to re-channelize in something more positive- a way to get out of it. I jot down my problems and work it off like a puzzle. When I am too involved in the problem and can't think straight, I just sleep as much as I can for the next two days and I pick up the problem again later and to my surprise the intensity has weared off.
Be wise and bold- Use your opportunities wisely, be prepared. You never know when the opportunity will come and when it does, you shouldn’t have to pass. When I was learning to drive, a friend of mine told me something that I’ll never forget- never look at the car before you, always look two cars ahead; that way you know what will happen ahead of your time and you will be prepared. Work smart and get to know people.
Blow your own trumpet- If its all show and no work, this will not work. If you are really putting effort into something and doing well, make sure others know about it. You don’t have to be a snob, just make sure people are aware so you are in mind when they schedule the next resource for the special project. I put it mildly, I tell my Project Manager- Thank you for allowing me to do this, I really learnt a lot and if you are interested and have the time; this is what I did (show your work/email the matter).
Persistence will pay off- How long can you hold on to your dreams? More closer you are to achieving it the harder it gets. Train yourself, so you don’t disintegrate during the tough times. Diversify the energy, stay calm and be confident in your abilities. It helps me to read books I have been waiting to read or watch movies which inspire me a lot.
Build your confidence- There’s nothing like it. More you know about projects or the inner details of your scope of work, more confident you become. Get external help, talk to people with same job profiles, have as much as information you possibly can. Never be complacent about your job, there’s always something more.
Be Calm- Tough cookie to crack if you can master this. Everyone will tell you including your project manager with 20 years of experience that this is the toughest to achieve. This will differentiate the ready from the naïve. Pressure, conflicts, internal politics, work load, more responsibility, deadlines, miscalculations- nothing can wash of the calm from your face. Think deeply, find your strengths and weaknesses and work extra hours to know yourself. What triggers you and what you can do to stop reacting immediately? For me personally, I have tried to stretch out my reaction time. If I am mad, I write the email and let it sleep over night. I come back next morning and read the email over and over again , edit it and in some cases even delete it. Dont burn bridges, world's too small. Like one of my favorite professor told me- learn to keep a poker face, thats what my professor told me.
The Red Diary
While I have been running around for the last few days for some work (one of the reasons I haven’t been able to blog much), there’s something new I recently started.
It’s the Red Diary.
It’s really red and in China considered an auspicious color. A gift that was completely sidelined for long. It was stacked away with my folders and bunch of papers; waiting to be used for something special.
Then it just happened.
This weekend I bought a couple of good reads- Cold Steel by Tim Bouquet and Byron Ousey- the book about steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittals battle with Arcellor and The Making of Barrack Obama by Richard Wolffe.
Cold Steel is a gripping read, the hugeness of which can lead to sleepless nights thinking about the force behind it, the power of the strategies and most importantly the urge to do something on such a huge scale can blow your sleep to a thousand glittering stars.
That’s what happened.
Sometimes a powerful thought will come to you that you want to hold on to. That’s what you do with your Red Diary.
It’s the diary of your dream that you will need to reach your goals. It’s the awestruck moment captured in words, mesmerized by innovation and ideas. This is your true raw essence of thoughts, uncensored and the pure you in the most inspirational of moments captured.
