I hope today is the day you realize how strong you are, today you have the courage to stand up and speak in the meeting, Today you can look up and say and you want a better project, ask for a raise or stop comparing yourself and be proud of your career.
If you have been thinking about starting your blog- let it be today. Start your certification prep or decide on your next move, plan it well, keep someone for accountability sake and don't look back.
Just do it. Don't turn your decision today as another new years resolution.
Happy Women's Day!!!
I'm honoring the day by keeping myself in a happy space. I went for this dance recital the other day in honor of today ( See the Women's March partial banner in pink) that was dedicated to Rukmini Devi Arundale.
Book Review- Project Management in Real World (E Harrin)
Mar 5, 2012
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Book Review,
newbies,
Project Management,
Tips for aspiring PM's,
women in project management
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1 comments
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Divided into 5 sections and including topics like “Managing Budgets” to “Managing Yourself”, the book encompasses every topic that a project manager has to handle on a regular basis to fulfil their role as a project manager.
Sprinkled all over with real life examples, the author drives home every single point with graphics, illustrations, simple narrative without many of the tongue twisting jargons. Heady and compact with information this is not a one day reading. You will find yourself bookmarking the pages for reference later.
Every chapter begins with the definition, an example followed with Golden Rules and Hint for easy reading and reference. The example doesn’t necessarily always stick to IT, it goes back and forth in all domains from media to wedding planning to offshore projects and ways to provide incentives to your team.
This book is a fantastic read for everyone who wants to attempt their hands in project management or is in the domain ( to get a different perspective). In fact the book starts with a Glossary and is a great way to learn concepts and the reality of project management if you have seen projects happening from the outer circle or is planning certifications for the near future.
Who should read this Book?
- Newbies- Anyone interested in project management, this is a perfect read to step into the realities of project management. Book offers a detailed narrative on what happens in your dream job role.
- Project Management Students- Great examples that you can relate to the theories or the PMBOK chapters. The book displays how the formulas, theories and expertise keep the projects running in reality.
- Just Promoted New Managers-Great read to know how to manage teams, find solutions to complex problems and accounting, how much risk to take, how to get your team together.
- Ambitious Professionals- Anyone from any domain and position (job title) looking forward to impress your bosses and finding ways to make yourself stand apart and get more responsibility.
Why should you read this book?
- Real life examples those are easier to relate to than theories in the PMBOK.
- Examples from all domains, so everyone can relate to it and find ways how you can use project management in your everyday job or your field. You don’t have to be in IT to implement project management techniques. You also don’t need to know all chapters of the PMBOK to understand this, however if you have read the PMBOK this book might turn to be a great guide to see how all those theories really are implemented in reality.
- Expert comments on their insights and mistakes and how they handled it.
- From Peer Reviews to finding a mentor; the author covers it all. It’s a one stop guide/book for all project managers.
What’s the price and where can I find it?
$41.99 at Amazon US
21.05 (pounds) in Amazon UK
325(INR) in India
Who is the author?
The author is Elizabeth Harrin, who runs the award winning blog A girls Guide to Project Management and is currently the Head of IT Program Delivery and author of 2 books- Social Media for project Managers and Project Management in the Real World. She is also the director of Otobos Group which provides writing services to the business. You can also find her at this twitter handle @pm4girls
Disclosure: The links provided in this review are NOT affiliate links.
Fight it out- To achieve your goal
In all the work that spills into our busy days, we forget what
our team members can expect from us. Or for that matter what you expect from
your manager.
There are times works pushed down the alley because no one wants
to do it, you can’t say no or linger on with the last hope that if I take this
project, I will have access to the good one next time.
I hope the strategy works out for you, but sometimes in the
midst of all this and the effort you put in - it doesn’t. In those trying
times, try fighting it out- with yourself first.
Sometimes its so easy to convince yourself that they are
right- after all they are the ones with more experience or control/authority. I think it has to do
more with the imposter syndrome where we are so convinced with self- doubt that we take it for reality.
It’s a pity that so much talent is wasted because of the
failure to be recognized, nurtured and sponsored . I remember being in a meeting where a new director had walked in and told us
how one of his craziest decision turned out to be the most profitable. He
interviewed someone for a position in one his companies before where skills didn’t match but he liked the
fire he saw in the girl to make it. She needed the job, had lost her husband
and the job is all she wanted. He hired her inspite of the mismatch- a gamble
he took based on his intuition. And never regretted, turns out she learned the
ropes and was the best employee in a year and stayed with the company.
Lesson- never assume about someone before you give them a chance.
Lesson- never assume about someone before you give them a chance.
Be sure about your goals and if you are side tracked, don’t blame
others for thinking that you are not serious about it. Fight it out- for the chance you deserve with yourself, your
team or your boss. Don’t allow anyone to second guess your abilities.
When it comes to you- give someone a chance. Help them be
who they are and what they want from their work. If you can’t be the mentor or give them a job or a project, at
least help them find one. Refer to friends and colleagues, sources of information and allow their dreams come true.
If nothing else, its good Karma!
If nothing else, its good Karma!
Interview with a Project Manager & his Tea Business
Tony Gebely works in IT- thats how I met him. He also has been working with small tea farmers in China, Japan, India, Nepal, and New Zealand to secure the best hand-crafted teas possible at fair prices for the Chicago Tea Garden.
He's great guy (yes, I know him) and love the tea (I have ordered from his company while in Chicago. Tea is awesome, so is the story that comes with it).
He has been sucessfull (click here for reviews/press coverage) , is running his business and who better to interview than someone who has been doing 2 things successfully. A project Manager in tea business!
To read more about the company and know him, see his blog.
You worked in IT and then you decided to start your business- why?
I wanted to be on a path where I could one day be my own boss and make my own hours. Also, being in the tea industry, I’d be able to travel to tea origins, so I gave it a go.
Why Tea?
I fell in love with tea while backpacking through Asia in 2005 and again in 2008, I started Chicago Tea Garden in 2010. I found that there is a huge lack of respect for tea in American culture, and I wanted to help forge an understanding of tea and it’s roots.
You are one of those very few people who still have a regular full time job and are successful in the business? How do you split and manage your time between the two?
This is very difficult, I have a full time job, I’m writing a book, and I’m running the business. The weeks for me are very busy I usually have 12-14 hour working days from Monday – Friday, every now and then I’ll spend a weekend day working or holding a tea tasting, but for the most part I relax on the weekends.
Has your experience in IT or project management really helped you in your business? Do you plan through everything?
Yes, my experience in IT has helped tons, it’s a web-based business so I treated the entire build-out like a project and still do. I’m working on version 2 of the website right now. Early on, I realized that since I’m a one-man team, every single thing I do has to be well planned out and be 100% effective if I’m going to compete with tea companies that have entire teams of people working for them.
3 things you wished you knew when you started your business.
1.There is no such thing as free time unless your mind is also clear during your free time.
2.How long it takes to become profitable.
3.All about the mess that is business tax law. Ugh.
How is running a business different from running a project?
It isn’t really. A business is just a collection of small projects. When one is done, another starts, and there can be many going on at once. I use Asana (used to use basecamp) just to keep track of all fronts of the business.
He's great guy (yes, I know him) and love the tea (I have ordered from his company while in Chicago. Tea is awesome, so is the story that comes with it).
He has been sucessfull (click here for reviews/press coverage) , is running his business and who better to interview than someone who has been doing 2 things successfully. A project Manager in tea business!
To read more about the company and know him, see his blog.
You worked in IT and then you decided to start your business- why?
I wanted to be on a path where I could one day be my own boss and make my own hours. Also, being in the tea industry, I’d be able to travel to tea origins, so I gave it a go.
Why Tea?
I fell in love with tea while backpacking through Asia in 2005 and again in 2008, I started Chicago Tea Garden in 2010. I found that there is a huge lack of respect for tea in American culture, and I wanted to help forge an understanding of tea and it’s roots.
You are one of those very few people who still have a regular full time job and are successful in the business? How do you split and manage your time between the two?
This is very difficult, I have a full time job, I’m writing a book, and I’m running the business. The weeks for me are very busy I usually have 12-14 hour working days from Monday – Friday, every now and then I’ll spend a weekend day working or holding a tea tasting, but for the most part I relax on the weekends.
Has your experience in IT or project management really helped you in your business? Do you plan through everything?
Yes, my experience in IT has helped tons, it’s a web-based business so I treated the entire build-out like a project and still do. I’m working on version 2 of the website right now. Early on, I realized that since I’m a one-man team, every single thing I do has to be well planned out and be 100% effective if I’m going to compete with tea companies that have entire teams of people working for them.
3 things you wished you knew when you started your business.
1.There is no such thing as free time unless your mind is also clear during your free time.
2.How long it takes to become profitable.
3.All about the mess that is business tax law. Ugh.
How is running a business different from running a project?
It isn’t really. A business is just a collection of small projects. When one is done, another starts, and there can be many going on at once. I use Asana (used to use basecamp) just to keep track of all fronts of the business.
Thanks Tony.
Interview with Scrum Coach- Dhaval Panchal
Dhaval Panchal is a certified SCRUM coach and trainer based in Seattle. With a background in software development, business analysis, lean office implementations, system architecture, and project management – he has moved on to become a successful coach. While his background in project management still helps him out, his greatest payback as a coach is the opportunity to interact with people from diverse backgrounds and learn from them.
You worked in IT and then moved to SCRUM coaching, tell us how this happened?
You worked in IT and then moved to SCRUM coaching, tell us how this happened?
Fresh out of college I was hired by one of the tech giants in the Indian IT space. Within the first four years working with them I was completely burned out and mostly disheartened with the antiquated management practices and “chalta hai” management approach. The morale was extremely low and many passionate intelligent peers either escaped to B-Schools or found alternative employment opportunities. I was prepared to leave the IT industry but was hopeful that there is a better way. I interviewed and got hired by my present company (8 years ago). They were pursuing scrum and extreme programming (XP) as alternatives to build software.
I started scrumming and played variety of roles in the projects that were outsourced to us. In each of our outsourced projects I actively pursued and attempted to influence my client’s understanding of scrum. So in many respects I have always been coaching.
I started scrumming and played variety of roles in the projects that were outsourced to us. In each of our outsourced projects I actively pursued and attempted to influence my client’s understanding of scrum. So in many respects I have always been coaching.
To me coaching is a skill and not a title. With the explosive adoption of scrum in the IT industry, for the last 5 years, I have been involved in change management helping to transition organizations to an agile business and delivery model. My coaching skills are extremely useful in helping my clients cope with the pain that accompanies any organizational change.
Do you enjoy working as a coach- 3 things you wish you knew when you started coaching.
Do you enjoy working as a coach- 3 things you wish you knew when you started coaching.
- Listen more talk less -We all have two ears and one mouth. It took me a while to realize that I should be using them in the same proportion. Earlier as I would engage in a conversation when hearing the other, mentally I would be calculating a response even before the other person has finished speaking. This analytical bent was a huge handicap and as I have progressed to improve on my listening skills I now tune into the person speaking and their context to appreciate their situation. Often times people talk themselves through their problem and appreciate my patient listening that helped them through.
- Coach the person not the problem- IT is a problem solving field and the industry is self selecting for people who can solve problems. This has ironically led to a common pattern. “most people in our industry can tolerate a problem but cannot live with a solution that they do not understand.” This erodes trust and is detrimental to people’s ability to own and resolve their own problems. As I engage with my clients in complex IT and people change management issues I intentionally stay away from prescribing solutions and focus on the person and help them sharpen their problem solving skills. It is more about teaching a person to fish than catching a fish for them.
- I can always walk out- I take a lot of pride in my work and aspire to better myself. It took me a while to recognize that I do not have to be a good fit for everyone. Now I recognize situations and people better where I may not be a good fit as a consultant and choose not to engage.
Tell us any incident or moment of inspiration that has kept you in coaching.
Being a catalyst to help form high performing teams and great products is my passion and I have a lot of heart for enabling organizations and people to find fulfillment in their pursuit. Although there isn’t any specific moment or incident, it is an heart warming experience for me to hear appreciations from people who I had worked with many many months ago. To be remembered, recognized and appreciated for my work long after my work is done is my greatest reward.
Do you use your experience in project management for your coaching now?
Being a catalyst to help form high performing teams and great products is my passion and I have a lot of heart for enabling organizations and people to find fulfillment in their pursuit. Although there isn’t any specific moment or incident, it is an heart warming experience for me to hear appreciations from people who I had worked with many many months ago. To be remembered, recognized and appreciated for my work long after my work is done is my greatest reward.
Do you use your experience in project management for your coaching now?
Yes, my experience in project management is helpful for me to appreciate the context of PM folks who are interested in agile product delivery approach.
A lot of traditional PM style and approach is anti-agile and requires much unlearning to break away from the command-and-control mindset that fosters a belief in magic. Getting to deal with the day to day realities of product delivery and the challenges is overwhelming and the realities of innovative rapid product delivery cycles demand a high performing team of individuals as opposed to the “hero” project manager that saves the day.
Getting PM’s to abandon their heroic pursuits and collaborate as peers in a team based context is a challenge where my past background with PM comes in handy.
Where can we find more information about your coaching?
My blog: http://dhavalpanchal.com
Thank you Dhaval!
Thank you Dhaval!
Project Management News Update
The best of #PMOT articles here:
- Are Project Manager’s Pompous and Manipulative?
- The Brain of Sales Droid
- The project Portfolio Kanban Story
- Change Takes Ages: A Brain Based Model for making Change andLearning Stick
- Review of PM Exam Simulator
- Can I Earn PDU’s for Writing Project Management Article?
Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office - Book Review
I was shopping for another book (review to come soon) when I
spotted this one- Nice Girls Don’t Get The Corner Office- Lois P. Frankel, PhD; had a great review so decided to
add it to the shopping cart as well.
And I loved reading it (twice) and it’s a keeper.
Recently I read this article on Sheryl Sandberg here and more at NY Times,
so with this book and what women are
achieving I think the definition of “Nice” is ever changing! You can also see
this video of Sandberg talking about the balance of her career and family here.
The book with 268 pages starts with defining the workplace
as a game where learning to play chess can come in handy! The book formatted as
101 tips are individual chapters which make for easy read.
Throughout the chapters, the author emphasizes on building
relationships at work which are great way to network and use your job as a way
to grow and let others know about you. Men usually are more naturally tuned to
taking breaks and networking unlike women. Women take pride in being hard
workers and not good networkers.
She mentions that women shouldn’t take up low key
assignments and agree to making coffee and taking notes; building your career
is a lot more about choosing the way you present yourself at work! You need to give
reasons why you should be considered for the next promotion!
The book gives helpful tips and elaborates on the way women
behave in similar situations and can be far away from how men do. She also
suggests in most chapters, books and articles to read and refer and take away
lessons in bullet point for a quick referral later.
Investing in relationships is stressed over and over in the
book. I read this somewhere else (not this book) and I think wrote about it in
the blog as well, that keeping a budget for meeting people is also highly
recommended. And it’s a known fact that influencer’s network well! Sheryl Sandberg
hosts monthly meet ups at her place and has been doing it for sometime now.
Most #PMOT influencers I know are great at networking, a lesson to be learnt.
The book is witty and funny with a lot of real life examples
like that of a woman stuck in a man’s world job, where she had to start smoking
to stop being considered a woman and being accepted easily by her peers. Although
she later said, she stopped smoking and with her credentials in place, she had
nothing more to prove. But those initial days, smoking got her easily accepted
among men.
The book handles regular work life example and states on the
required changes in behaviour or body language and things to be avoided. It’s always
not beneficial to keep your head down at work, sometimes it’s considered lack
of interest in leadership or taking more responsibility, instead they are
considered good workers who are then bogged down and delegated more work. While
the networkers and who take more breaks and tell about their interest in other
roles are given the chance to grow.
Your brand is important and this has been going on for some
time now. You are what you bring to the table as an individual and not the list
of companies you have worked before. Build your brand and let people know about
it. Getting a professional coach is recommended in the book, if you can’t
afford, find a mentor at least.
If you like something people do, don’t be shy to tell them
that and ask for guiding you, in most cases they reply back and help out. Especially
in the age of social media, it isn’t really difficult to get access. If you are
looking for people whose careers you want to emulate, ask them how they did it
or look at their Linkedin profiles- it will give you something to start with.
Take up volunteering opportunities, keep a watch for the
next job- the day you start a new one and start talking to people. I know one of my friend; based in Chicago who
is hugely successful and is constantly meeting friends and attending parties
every weekend, sometimes 3 in one day. Twice a year, she makes a list of all the people she has met and been
invited over to and clubs them into 3-4 groups of people who will get along
well with each other and over the next 4 weekends, invites them over for
dinner. I went for one and loved it very much. Over barbecue and dinner and a beautiful
home and pre-planned list of guests, they all get along well and talk about new
opening and job trends to more networking opportunities. You’ll be surprised
how many job openings are discussed over and candidates pushed for those.
Personally I think, don’t sideline yourself, I have seen
women in meetings who don’t sit, like to stand in the corners and never speak
in meeting even when they are given opportunities to. Somehow lack of taking
initiative and displaying their presence and opinions don’t allow them to get
invited to the next meeting.
Dress and make up plays a vital role, you can read up on
some tips here and Peter Taylor in his book The Lazy Project Manager also talks about the advantage of putting on a well cut suit to make your
presence known, if not everyday at least during meetings.
The book is a good read, must read if you will and definitely allows you to change positively and perhaps an avenue for a promotion or two!
Entrepreneurship- An interview with Debarati Goswami
This month, we take a look at a new venture that has taken a
leap of faith, moved countries and in spite of hardships kept their hearts in
one place.
Today we meet Debarati Goswami, the co-founder of Educocity and talk about her journey that has taken her
from the usual employee role to an entrepreneur. She talks about the hardships if being an entrepreneur
in India, the role that project management plays in their development process
and their plans for 2012!
·
You moved back from US to India to start your
own company- tell us about it.
My
husband Bappaditya and I were both working with Apple Inc. as consultants for
close to 3 years each, when the entrepreneurial bug bit us. After having been
located in the Silicon Valley for quite some time, the ‘big’ question was whether
we should start up in the US or in India. We listened to our heart and moved
back to India in late 2009.
We
wanted to do something in the education space because the roots of a society
lie in its education system. As everyone knows by now, our conventional
education systems are failing us miserably both in India as well as in first
world countries like UK & USA. We thought it’s about time to do something
so that students start taking interest in ‘learning’ rather than mere rutting.
The
need for a common platform where everyone associated with any educational
institution, be it students, teachers or parents can come together and create
an environment for learning was becoming more and more apparent. We wanted to
build a city for education (Educo is the root word for education is Latin) Thus
‘Educocity’ was born.
·
How well is a collaborative platform like this
one being adapted in India? Or is your target audience outside India?
GUIDE is a
cloud based, collaborative, Learning Management Platform from Educocity.com. GUIDE
stands for ‘Grow as YoU Identify Delight in Education’ and is all about making
the process of learning fun and enjoyable, delightful yet more effective than
the conventional methods.
A
conscious shift in pedagogical methods is taking place across the world. Pedagogy is changing from being prescriptive
(where the teacher teaches, the students only listen) to collaborative (where
teachers and students interact among themselves and absorb the knowledge) Collaboration
is no more a thing of the future, rather something we do day in and day out.
While various ’collaborative’ software products are available in the market today,
they are mostly content based. We believe GUIDE stands apart because it is a
platform that the users can use according to their needs instead of tying them
up with a specific set of contents.
India
has been under the influence of ‘prescriptive pedagogy’ for too long. However,
India is gradually opening up to the idea of collaboration within an
educational institution and taboos are dissolving. Some institutions are not
comfortable sharing their private data with the world. Also we have a
relatively young user base, most of them being school going kids. Hence, if
institutions want, they configure GUIDE as a walled-garden wherein the safety
and privacy of the users are not compromised.
India
is at the epicentre of our focus. However, at the same time, we are also
looking at other advanced markets, which are easier to penetrate without much
user training.
·
What have been the few challenges in working in
an entrepreneurial mode in India?
India
is still in a nascent stage when it comes to entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Professionally, the biggest hurdle we faced was amassing a seed-fund. No
investor is ready to invest in a concept and having at least a prototype in
place is a prerequisite for raising funds. Thus, boot-strapping is the only
viable option most Indian entrepreneurs are left with. This makes the process
longer and more difficult and we have seen a lot of people quit their
entrepreneurial journey over it.
Also,
in India, being an entrepreneur pushes you into a minority bracket and is still
considered as an unwise choice by the middle-class society. At times it can
take a toll on the family life, especially with parents and relatives. We are lucky
to have a very sound support system in place. For others, it might be even
tougher.
However,
the current scenario is improving in leaps and bounds and we are hopeful that
India will catch up with its western counterparts in a few years from now.
·
What does 2012 hold for educocity?
2012
is going to be the most crucial year that our venture has seen till date. We
have big plans lined up including an international launch. We are also looking
to raise some serious funds. For our venture hopefully this will mean an entire
new scale to operate in.
We
have also already roped in a few important customers and we will start
operating at these sites as soon as these institutes open doors for new
students in the 2012-2013 academic session.
·
In all these years trying to develop the
product, how have you managed the process?
Having
seen how a world class company like Apple looks like from within, we have been
very particular about processes and quality adherence from the very beginning.
We
try to keep the Product Management, Product Engineering and Service Delivery units all separate from
each other since most of the time they have conflicting interests.
We
also follow the Agile Scrum
methodology to keep our development cycles short. This essentially means an iterative, incremental framework for project management. Scrum is perfect for a
lean organization like us. It reduces our process overheads drastically and hence
the team is almost always able to deliver faster. It also acts as the perfect
remedy against deadline slippage due to scope creeps.
We
are also finicky about following checklists. Implementation checklist,
development checklist, quality adherence checklist, test plan checklist, you
name it we have it. This helps us to maintain the standards without much review
effort.
·
Tell me 3 things we should know about your
product.
We
call GUIDE from Educocity a virtual cloud campus on rent,
which essentially boils down to:
No software installation is required to start using GUIDE. It can be accessed
over a web-browser and low-bandwidth internet which makes it available anytime
from anywhere without being tied to a particular machine. If you want to try,
just hit educocity.com and go for a ‘Try GUIDE Demo’ option.
No upfront capital investment is required from the educational institution’s end. We
only charge on pay-as-you-go basis based on the total number of users. Thus,
GUIDE is especially suitable for small to medium institutions who do not want to
maintain in-house IT department.
GUIDE
is the most intuitive Learning
Management system you would have seen. The user interface is simple and
clutter free and you can get started from the word go. There are no steep
learning curves and hours spent going through elaborate learning manuals. We
believe in the beauty of simplicity.
You can also follow @educocity in Twitter or ask your questions, request a demo directly to @Debaratiz