The #PMOT E-book


A Guide: Stepping into Project Management (welcome to the #PMOT circle), the upcoming e-book is almost ready, getting it’s finishing touches.

I always knew it would mean a lot of work to get it done; however I might have underestimated the hours it would take me to get there. So, the date is August.

I still have the cover page pending, last minute touches and editing is in full flow. I have deleted more while editing than writing and turns out it does take a while to get the hang of it.

So, what should you expect in the coming months?
  • E-book Publication-A step by step guide to get into your dream role of a Project Manager.
  • English isn't your first language-Like the blog, this E-book is in simple  working English, no jargon's, straight communication that allows newbies and fresh graduates from all over the world to understand what is required to get into Project Management.
  • Expert Comments- Project Managers, Coaches and Trainers share their secrets in getting into the industry.
  • Price-Keeping the newbies in mind, the e-book can be downloaded at a very reasonable $2.99 (Download will be available in pdf format). Payments through Paypal. All you have to do is click a button and you don’t need to have a Paypal account to buy the book.
  • Free Google Hangout 30 minute session- On September 2 (Sunday): How to find your #PMOT mentor. The time will be announced later in the blog and via twitter. This interactive session is open to 8 people only based on first come, first serve basis. Please email me at steppingintopm@gmail.com to reserve your seat with the subject line: Reserve me for “How to find your #PMOT mentor. This is open to all, irrespective of the fact whether you have bought my book or not. The reservations start today.
  • Next Session- This will be announced in August, after the book publication. This session is only for people who have bought the book. Your full name and email id will be required to make your reservation for the session. Details of the session will be announced in the blog and in the e-book. Stay tuned.
  • New Hashtag Introduced- Called #SIPM, this hashtag has been introduced to enable you to follow all updates from the book, sessions and posts in the blog.
  • Giveaway- Two E-Books will be given away in August (for free) through the blog. Stay tuned for announcements.
  • Reviews- If you have a Project Management blog and would like to review the book, please ask me for a free copy. Email me with your blog URL with the subject line: SIPM Book review

 Have questions, want to advertise in the book or just want to say hello- email me or find me at twitter  at @Soma_b

Learn Free


I have been reading Scott H Young  for a while now.

I love what he has done with his blog and his latest challenge is finishing a 4 year MIT computer science course in 1 year without attending classes. Go Figure.

So, I thought this lecture of his from TED about the education system was worth listening to.


Education costs a lot, but what a lot of us are trying to do is to get as much as possible free resources available to all of you.

For your project management understanding, try the following:
  • PMChat  -Held at every Friday 12 pm EST; Robert Kelly and Rob Prinzo bring out hundreds of project management professionals where topics are discussed and debated on. All you need is to follow #pmchat over twitter. Try it today.
  • Friday Sessions with Samad Aidane- Samad Aidane from Guerrilla Project Management is doing Friday sessions about various topics on project management. It’s an informal way of talking about a specific subject and then continuing with FAQ sessions. It’s a great tool for everyone looking forward to learn the ropes of the profession faster. And it’s free. Today’s webinar details are here .
  • SIPM Community - A global platform to get your mentor, internship opportunities or follow a project manager for a day. New experts and newbies register every day. A free resource to get you going.


·       If you are not free on Friday’s and can’t attend these live, ask for recordings or just follow the hashtag to read it up later. It’s rather simple really and I think it’s time all of us started taking advantage of the free resources and help we have.

(Pic Courtesy: Google Images)

Fear- Is your friend

Jul 26, 2012 | 0 comments |

Fear is your greatest companion.
A little fear does no harm.

In fact it’s good to be a little scared of getting on to your next challenge. Most people are scared of doing things first time like bungee jumping, going to your first job interview, emailing your hero, trying to do something extraordinary.

You can either be scared by not doing what you have been planning or just be scared and still do it scarily and be thrilled later on achieving your goal.

“Many of us let fear get in the way of long-term goals, and that's not good. But it's a mistake to think the solution is to overcome fear in general. You can't (at least, not without a temporal lobectomy)”.  
                           - Lifehacker

What do you want to do?

Here are 5 ways to face the fear, accept you are scared and still go ahead:

  • Accept that you can’t change it- Waiting it out for weeks or months, won’t let the fear go away. Faster you accept it, better it is for you. If you still need to get it done, just go with the fear and still do it.
  • Believe in yourself- Write down why you need to get this done. Once your thoughts are clear, chances are you will be able to do it even though you are scared. Too scared, keep the thought written in your purse, glance it once in a while and try the positive reinforcement.
  • It’s ok to fail- Everybody has bad days and it’s all right to fail. Just go for your next certification or job interview or make some drastic changes in life and even if you fail, now you know the idea won’t work out. You will need that closure to move on in life.
  • Finding an alternative- if you can find an alternative which might sound a little more scary, gives you more confidence or is within your comfort zone, go for it. Confidence in getting something done will allow you to take on complex challenges.
  • Talk to someone- Find someone who has done similar tasks or taken up challenges that were scary. Talk to your mentor or read up other people in your profession; listening or reading about them and their failures will make it easier for you. No matter how successful you are, there has to be failures on the way.


Once you know that being scared is ok and normal most of the times, research and plan your work well, remove any obstacles that you possibly can and then go for it. 

(Pic courtesy: Google Images)

The connection


Jobs, success, ambition, failure are all connected in some form or the other.

If you have noticed, I haven’t posted for a bit. In usual circumstances I leave a note with my return date. 

This happened suddenly, a block where I simply stopped writing. I would wake up everyday and think today will be the day and as the day went by I realised I didn’t want to write. Then a sudden emergency that took me away from I loved doing the most.

Of course, I have also been dabbling with a few ideas and it all seemed fun. It was rightful to get back to the blog, specially this month where I complete 4 years of blogging. Yay!

While reading for the last few weeks; I came across this that that most people as much as people hate failure, are also scared of success.

Who knew?

Well turns out there a lot of reasons why people fear success. It can come from their past experience


I think the main question here is to understand how you react to what:
  • What success means for you?
  • What do you relate with success?
  • Do those relations make you happy or fearful?
  •  If fearful, what are you thinking of?
  •  Is there a way you can get out of the mindset?
  • What do you really want from life?

It isn’t very difficult to understand what you are going through. Take some bold decisions based on what you think you should be doing and get along with it.

If you sort it out now, things will be much easier to sort out later in your career. By the way, did you know that Tuesday is the most productive day at work?

So, step up your game today and lotsa luck!

y the way, there's lots of interesting stuff coming up- the new e-book (Handbook for Stepping into Project Management) and what I am doing with my life now, my new public speaking life, a new study (pics coming soon), the "coffee break series" ready to make a comeback and what I have been thinking.

Stay tuned.

(Pic Courtesy: Google Images)

The Spark of Success- Do you feel it everyday?

Jul 2, 2012 | 0 comments |

Success is a little like wrestling a gorilla. You don't quit when you're tired. You quit when the gorilla is tired.” ~Robert Strauss via @MariSmith

Tiredness, burned out, not inspired, bored, routine job- this is something we all face in our job and careers.

I just read this article last week by Anne-Marie Slaughter and wow did it hit me strong. It’s going strong and there have been rebuttals from the NY Times as well.

So, make hay while the sun shines.

 How can you bring in your cent percent everyday to work?
What happens when you wake up one morning and can’t find the zing in you anymore? What happens when you realise you are not inspired today? So, who is responsible in bringing in the spark in our lives? The Employers, the Managers, the HR or is it Us?

To control your cow, give it a bigger pasture- This is a great quote from Zen Master Suzuki Roshi, talking about controlling your mind. I see the cow and her pasture as a form of allowing things to happen — instead of tightly controlling something; you’re opening up, giving it more room, a bigger pasture. The cow will be happier, will roam around, will do as she pleases, and yet your needs will also be met. The same is true of anything else — stepping back and allowing things to happen means things will take care of themselves, and your needs will also be met. And you’ve done no work (Taken from: Zenhabits)

Let it happen- It’s better to let yourself be; to do what you want to do than force to be something else.
Seriously, what’s the point of killing yourself?  Sometimes things just don’t materialize no matter what you do because you are not present in the “now”. You are just doing it out of habit.

A class I took long ago while in university- asked us what we would do if we had all the money we needed t take care of everyday stuff. That’s the real you. Ask yourself who are you? If you enjoyed doing things 5 years ago, not necessarily you will enjoy forcing yourself to gulp down the same stuff today.

It’s scary and difficult to give up what you are used to liking (like the salary or your peers or Friday nights after work drink). The freedom to choose many might argue is for the rich, the taken care of.....we have more excuses in us than we can think of. And we can pick up the purse and go shopping to spend half the salary of the next luxury couch or more clothes and gadgets.

If we have planned it well, we can take the few months and try out new things we have always wanted-to write the novel, travel the world, learn horse riding, start painting, work for a project manager and invest in yourself for once.

Forgive yourself- if you have always been on the go- it’s ok to make a wrong move, do what you like and stop working for 12 hours/day. It’s ok to socialize and be with your friends and not work in your next book for the next 2 hours.
It’s like fitness, if you have had that sinful piece of cake, just stop whining about it and get back to your routine form the next day.

Find the right partner- who will support you in your decisions; even Sheryl Sandbergmentions in one of her interviews  as the most important career choice is whom you will marry.

Learning to enjoy work- Some people are bored more than the others. So, here are 30 things to do to stop being bored.


Remember, not all days will be the same and it’s human to go through ups and downs. Just keep in touch with your friends and mentors while you are holding on tight during the rollercoaster ride!

(Pic Courtesy: Google Images)

Coming up- Ebook

Jun 19, 2012 | | 0 comments |

Coming up very soon is the Stepping into Project Management (Welcome to the #PMOT World). 

It is on its way and will be available by the end of next month (July). The book is a step by step guide that’s answers all your questions and dilemmas about the project management domain and skill set and path you have to walk to do to get into it. Full of tips and interviews with people who have made it, their obstacles, the steering through office politics and getting the job title they have worked so hard for is a story that will be inspiring enough to venture on your own journey.  This will be published through the blog.

So, stay tuned.

Meanwhile create some space to have lots of templates tagged along with the book to help your journey get better. 


Want to learn more from real life Project Managers, check out the SIPM Community.

(Pic Courtesy: Google Images)

Step it up and out

Jun 1, 2012 | | 0 comments |

“I am not rich. I live in a 955 square foot loft in a very small town. My television (which is plugged into a Wii and a Blu Ray player) is about 26″ across, I think. I own one car. Most of my clothes come from the Men’s Wearhouse and Target. I eat well. I won’t deny that (as if my belly would suggest otherwise).


I didn’t get rich quick. Maybe some day after a few more years of working, I can get rich quick. That’d be cool. Like, you know, after 20 years of doing what I do, seeing a check with six zeroes once would be really cool. But that’s not what I do.”
                                                         - Chris Brogan 

Very few of us dare to live the dream, we didn’t set up a goal to travel 193 countries before turning 35 . Our goals are very basic- get a job, buy a car, a home, may be travel and be happy.

In trying to tick off the happiness list, we always look for the path taught to us for years- get your degree, an internship, followed by a job. Work hard, look up and keep moving. Buy bunch of things and don’t think outside the box.

It’s fine, till you get the itch.

That’s when things start changing and more often than not we suppress it. Taking the decision to be unconventional might be terrifying but refreshing for the people who see it from outside, like reading how Scott H Young is completing his MIT challenge . Or people like Jenny Blake, who have quit their job at Google to follow their own passion.

“The thought of going out on my own struck TERROR in my heart — and yet, once I made the decision I knew with 100% certainty that it’s the right thing to do. I’m still scared, but mostly hopeful and excited.”
                                                                                         - Jenny Blake

Sure, you can follow your calling and fail or you can try to dominate the world with your brilliant ideas  but there’s always this fear of the unknown. What if it doesn't take off, what is something goes wrong, what if I am not good enough. Rarely are we risk takers (take your risk assessment here).

So, they say : “Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.” - Peter Drucker

So, what are you doing with your life? Are you happy, do you feel fulfilled in your job, your everyday life or do you get the itch- to get out there and do something more.

You can scratch the itch along with your regular life, if you like to play it safe or you can just go out there and do what you have been planning to do all your life.

In most cases than not, things do figure out for themselves. Step out today.

(Pic Courtesy: Google Images)



Have a few seconds to spare- would you mind taking the poll to your right hand side? Thank you.
Want to learn more from real life Project Managers, check out SIPM Community - Connect.  

The distance- how close are you?


I came across this new term while doing the research on offshore project management= Perceived Distance.

A study by B. Aubert from his paper Information Technology and Distance-Induced Effort to Manage Offshore Activities talks about how “Perceived Distance” is considered the most imp influence when analyzing the effect of “distances” in the much hyped domain of IT Outsourcing.

It is obviously the space that parties in business feel amongst themselves. It might or might not be related to the real geographical distance between them. It has also been proved that sometimes inspite of the distance (location); some parties have had relative notion of “perceived distance” mush lesser than what reality was.

And it’s true. I had clients (in New York) whom I worked for from India and with the passing months the “perceived distance” decreased as the understanding and communication became much clearer. However the path to the decreased distance had some work put behind it.

Here’s how you can do as well:

  • There’s a person behind the job title- with today’s technology it’s much easy to know about the other person. Social networking sites especially Linkedin will always give you a little background. 
  • Understanding the business- know your role in the business side of things. How what you are doing will affect the bottom-line is an important consideration. This increases the chance to a better conversation and the fact that both parties (onsite and offsite) are emotionally involved in the delivery. 
  • Are they right or left brained- Graphics or numbers? See what they like and present your reports accordingly.
  • Why do they want from you?- Is there a gap and where is it? If you are aware of an issue and yet haven’t been able to pin point it- ask.
  • Are they micro managers- Do they like to know your every move? If they do, send reports as often as you can or simply call them up and give updated. This is more of a trust issues and will gradually lessen as they understand you more. They are simply trying to keep a tab on the cost.
  • What can you do to earn the trust-This is the most important of all. Learning what you can do to earn their trust can allow you to sleep better at night. Listen between the lines in meetings or read their emails carefully, you will find what you need. Provide the required, listen well, ask questions, don’t assume and you will be allright.


By the way, I did meet my client finally in New York in a coffee shop 1.5 years later and we are still in touch, though I have changed jobs and she is not my client any longer.

So, here are some updates in the PM world:


Actors- Should we imitate them?


"Once in a while, you have to take a break and visit yourself."
                                                                -Audrey Giorgi

We should be like actors.

We should have the liberty to choose our own projects.

We should have the luxury to take the time off to grow and connect with ourselves and others.

And we rarely have the time to do any of the above.

We just grab the next best offer (or job) that comes our way and sometimes it clicks, sometimes it doesn’t. And that’s when the problem begins- the unfulfillment of putting in hours without the satisfaction that we expected. Of course, there’s the money involved.

Our role in our job should align to our goal that we have set for ourselves.

If you are a project management professional living under years of pressure and worries, when was the last time you connected to yourself?

So, why disconnect from what we do- what we chose to do and what we love doing?

If all the happiness was derived from the job, then why do so many professionals start their own consulting firms, their blogs that grow into business, the books, the papers?

We as individuals have so much to offer, the desire to be challenged and the satisfaction of getting it done and influencing people. Why do we have the need to feel important with awards, more traffic to the website, displaying the subscriber list, hosting webinars, giving up full time jobs to follow the dream? What are really looking for?

Or is it just bad talent management?

It’s all about being more “you” and keeping it intact, it's about creating self identity that is not solely dictated by the organization we work for.

To keep on creating and progressing with or inner self, we use different strategies- we take sabbaticals, quit jobs, work on a side project, start a business and look for business partners.

By the way, did you know Harvard University first developed a sabbatical program in 1880 and if you are planning your own sabbatical here’s something to look at.

Most people during their sabbatical find out more about themselves , add new skills or simply bond with loved ones because having a real career and keeping it up is a tough job and sometimes a break is a breather to focus back on what you want to do, to re-evaluate your priorities and get going.

Believing in yourself is also directly related to your bank account according to a University of Florida study and there’s nothing wrong in looking for a dream job.

So, instead of opting for the next job, maybe we should have the option to choose our next project- to work in a domain we have been thinking or find and work with an expert and learn something worthwhile along with making money.

Why can’t we be like actors and choose our projects, complete one and move on to the next? Why linger on with jobs instead of being on the faster track of learning better? Why get stuck with the team that we are thrown into and not have the liberty to choose the team we want to work with?

Why should the actors have all the luck?

(Pic courtesy: Google Images)

Book Review- Overcoming Imposter Syndrome


Motivation and manipulating office scenarios are as important as your project management skills.
Getting my hands on Overcoming Imposter Syndrome made me realise how important is it and how most of us (if not all) have encountered it at some point in my life.

This 84 page e-book has been a soul revealing experience. To know that you are not alone and it’s a psychological trait that most people go through is comforting. It’s packed with information and is extremely well researched.

 “Imposter Syndrome is not a medical condition. It is a term for the feeling you have when you believe that you do not really know what you are doing.” 
                                                       -Elizabeth Harrin,  author.    

It’s the act of not being able to measure up to yourself and the feeling of being a fraud. The 5 symptoms of Imposter Syndrome are explained in the initial chapters. She also provides with a checklist test that identifies whether you have suffered from Imposter Syndrome and I guess it’s rather tough to not fall in the group.

I especially liked Geoff Cranes story and it’s so true on what we do in reality. How every single good work we do, is always because of some other reason.  

Section 1 is all about the Imposter Syndrome- what and how.

Section 2 is all about overcoming the syndrome and the author gives 10 ways to get it done.

Along with the book comes the elaborate action plan- the to do of course to get over your syndrome if you have figured out through the 84 pages that you have one too,

Who should read this Book?
 If you feel you earn more than you deserve- oh yeah, have you ever felt that? You get more than you are worth, that someday someone will figure out you are not worth your salary.
  • If you always have someone else to thank for your success- If you think if you are not responsible for your success. If you can’t take compliments and are embarrassed hearing about it because you know you are really not worth it.
  •  If you are always unsure about yourself and your capability- When everyone is better than you, you feel inferior and incompetent.

 Why should you read this book?

  •  So, you know you are not alone and of you identify your problem.
  •  Plus you get tons of information here, which will allow you to successfully overcome it.
  • That it happens to a lot of people and its not a disease, just work on it!

What’s the price and where can I find it?
You can find it here (Disclosure: This is an affiliate link)
 Price: 8 Pounds.