Exciting News| Relaunching- Connect
Today, I want to share some exciting news with you all.
This goes long back, few years after I started the blog. I felt it was wonderful meeting amazing project management professionals from all over the world and learning from them and being mentored.
I also knew that this is something that might be difficult for a lot of people to do, because you might not know whom to reach out to, or lot of times people are busy and perhaps don’t reply back to a mail of a newbie. I knew I felt very strongly about sharing the luck I had and how much I learnt just by talking to amazing people. And if I had the chance, so should so many others. This is specially true for introverts, who might not be as comfortable meeting up people over coffee or cold calling them for a chance to be mentored or learning about the profession.
Hence the “Connect” was born. It was free and the idea was to create an interactive design so you felt like you were at your work desk and had the freedom to be connected to newbies or experts from around the globe.
The best part was you didn’t have to find them and figure out how to communicate with them, we did all that work for you. When the PMOT community signed up and amongst them lots of senior folks who were happy to mentor newbies. You could choose virtual mentorship or in your city mentorship, where you select from your domain of choice (media, IT, construction etc) and the city/country incase you want to have face to face conversations and not limit yourself to emails/skype calls.
The site was launched because me and my two friends sat down and were super proud to get this done. It did well, lots of people signed up and it was still free.
For me it was important that the purpose of creation stayed, for anyone to help themselves move forward in their career. You didn’t have to shell out on subscriptions or payments to get the opportunity.
Paid completely with my own money, and encouraged and supported by many thats how it stayed, small tiny and humble. There was no marketing done except by word of mouth by people who used it or who wrote about it in there blogs. You could mentor here and probably claim PDU or SEU, saving you more money (if anyone had done it, can you please email us your story)
The site went down few months ago and honestly I didn’t even notice it initially and when I did, I had to take the time to decide if I wanted to bring the site back or let it go. There were people who had signed up (existing users), communications happening and I just thought its really a good website, and even if it helps one student every month, one newbie every day to figure out their career I should bring it back.
So, here it is- the site back and working. Yay!! The site stays as it is for now with new features coming soon.
If you have ever used the site or benefitted from it, please don’t hesitate to tell your friends. If you or someone you know would like to collaborate or may be sponsor for the day or put ads in the site that would be wonderful because then we can bring in more amazing features to the site and keep on paying it forward.
We are re-launching and yes it is still free. Thank you for your support.
(Pic courtesy:https://burst.shopify.com)
Interview the Co-Founder & COO of Wolf Flow
This is an interview with Jen, the Co-Founder
& COO of Wolf Flow; a Wisconsin based company. If you are like me and like productivity apps or
hacks, this might be for you. To understand about the unique concept and why
this software might be helpful, read the interview.
1. The concept looks wonderful, please tell us
what was the inspiration behind creating the software
I’m so glad you see value in the idea!
I previously worked as an Account Manager for an
advertising-technology startup in Los Angeles. In my position, I managed 12
clients who I spoke to daily either through email, performance calls, or
meetings. One afternoon in 2016, I was working on a global marketing campaign
that I needed a handful of resources to complete (multiple browser tabs, and
excel doc, and the client’s website).
Just when I had my desktop setup just how I
needed, I got a call from another client with an issue I had to address
immediately. I began pulling open new windows on top of my perfectly
organized desktop to put out the fire. When I was done fixing the issue, I
realized my desktop was now full of chaos and I no longer had the resources
open that I needed for my project. In this moment, I thought to myself, “Man..
If only I had something that allowed me to save groups of windows for each of
my clients, I could easily save where I left off for each letting me jump
between them easily.” That evening, I started to research what tools were out
there to help me with this paint point, but came up empty handed. From there, I
shared this frustration with Alex Coffin my co-founder, and he realized he
experienced this same frustration as a technical sales engineer.
Seeing as we both felt this frustration in our
roles daily, we decided to do something about it! We are both so passionate
about trying to make daily routines for professionals who work on their
computers more effortless and help them to work smarter. A lot of people
(including myself) have gotten into a mind state that we have to accept how
things are sometimes, I just finally reached my tipping point.
2. The fact that you are saving time by using
Wolf Flow seems amazing, did you always have time management in mind when
developing the software?
Time management is a bit of an additional
benefit to using Wolf Flow.
For us, the main problem we were trying to
tackle with Wolf Flow was alleviating the digital and cognitive chaos
professionals experience when trying to juggle so many different tasks, clients
or projects.
Companies continue to pile work on employees,
a lot of times more than we really can handle. Unfortunately, I don’t think
this will be changing. We wanted to create a solution that decreases the
mundane busy-work of having to minimize and shuffle through windows and tabs
when trying to switch between priorities, helping professionals have the
resources they need for any project, client or task at their fingertips with
the click of a button. With these smoother and quicker transitions is
when we begin seeing time being saved.
This time then can be used to either tackle
another project, learn a new skill, or even get home on time to have dinner
with one’s family. Wolf Flow also helps workers to be more productive by being
able to focus on one task at a time, instead of accidentally clicking on the
wrong tab and having their attention pulled away from what they were trying to
do in the first place. Wolf Flow’s Sessions ensures that you only have
the resources (windows and tabs) open for that task you are trying to focus on,
minimizing distractions.
3. Tell us the top 3 advantages of using Wolf
Flow?
1.
Minimizes the chaos
o Going back to my story - the biggest benefit to using Wolf Flow
for professionals is not having to deal with the chaos of having lots of tabs
and windows open at once (all for different tasks). Wolf Flow helps to organize
resources to minimize the chaos.
2.
Task-Switch
Efficiently
o With all of our shifting priorities and different hats we need
to wear at work these days, Wolf Flow helps people transition between these
shifting priorities efficiently. People no longer need to search for that
window they are look for, but instead can find what they need, when they need
it.
3.
Recover More Quickly
o Interruptions are inevitable in the workplace (externally and
internally). By being able to save the state you were in for a client,
project or task to a Session, ensures that you can easily pick back up right
where you left off. That way if a client calls and you have to switch gears
quickly, you can easily save the resources you were working on into a Session
and click into that client’s Session (who just called) to tackle the new
issue. Resources are always saved even if you close out a session,
allowing you to jump back into your project or task days, weeks or months later
right where you left off.
4. Can users who the Opt the free version,
always have it free? or is it limited time offer?
Our free tier will remain free!
Our mission is to help the average
professional, and with that we don’t want to have cost get in the way. Our free
version allows you to use the software indefinitely (with free updates), just
with limited features. The biggest limitation for the Free tier is being
limited to 2 Active (open) Sessions at a time.
However, people can still create and save an
unlimited amount of Sessions.
From there we have our Power Tier $4.99/month
that adds in hotkeys for more control and Silent Mode to help your focus.
And our top Pro Tier at $14.99/month has
Automated Time Tracking and Analytics. We are super excited about this feature
as its the first of its kind. You don’t have to start or stop anything like you
do with other time tracking tools. All you have to do is work within your
Sessions and we automatically track for you.
You can also pull reports for customized time
frames by day, week or month that show you how much time you spent in each
Session.
I will also mention that our Power and Pro
tiers have a 30-day trial and we also offer enterprise discounts.
If you would like to know more details about the software, I
suggest you give this link a read
Side Note: If you liked the interview, you might like these too
If you would like to be interviewed or showcase a product,
please write to steppingintopm (at) gmail.com with the subject line- Product/Software/Book
review request.
(Pic courtesy: https://wolfflow.io/ website)
Product Round Up for June
This month I thought I would share my love of reading and few of my all time 7 fav books with you. Let me know if you like the list and share some of yours.
The mentioned books are all from my personal collection (hardcopy and kindle versions) and not sponsored or gifted by the Author or the Publishing House. However, some of the links used here are affiliate links which means if you buy anything using the links, I make a little bit of money at no extra cost to you. this helps me run the blog and bring amazing content to you.
You are a Bad Ass - First Impression of the book can be found here
Tools of the Titans - Tim Ferris is another of my favourites and I try to read all of his books, to read a brief review click here .
The Checklist - I am a big fan of Atul Gawande and have read a lot of his books, this one is the first of his that I read and loved it. The review is right here.
Code of the Extraordinary Mind - to know more about the book, click here.
The Sleep Revolution- An impulsive airport buy on my way to Goa, this book taught me a lot about sleeping and a lot that comes with it. If you are way busy with your life and think sleep is the thing I can manipulate and few cups of extra coffee will work, think again and read this
When Life becomes Breath- the book left me sleepless for a week, if you need. reason to be grateful for your own life and stop complaining read this . This is not fiction, its real life.
Holocracy - If you are into Agile and new findings and case studies, this one will get you for sure. The book is about creating an organisation without managers. Zappos is one of the few companies that adopted this model and there have been numerous writings about it on the web. Read the blogpost about it here.
Thank you for reading and supporting the site.
(Pic: Soma Bhattacharya)
June| Article Round Up
So, its Monday and you are looking for some inspiration to start your week right, here are some round ups of great reads to lift up your mood and set you up for new challenges.
- If you are interested in technology, this is a very interesting read on how “Microsoft kicked off the second phase of its experimental underwater data center project Wednesday, submerging a shipping-container sized data center with 864 servers near the Orkney Islands in Scotland.”
- If you work in an Agile environment, this is what you should know and why millennials are your dream audience . Here's another one in the same line
- If you are looking for some great reads for this summer, this list might interest you.
- Technology and love for food comes together for this start up that’s been inspired by moms cooking, all about Buttermilk for you and how Indian food doesn’t need hours of stirring anymore.
- So you manage a team and often are overwhelmed by the work and managing conflicts, this read is about making decisions in a company withno managers.
- Want to be that genius, read here how to uncover your true potential
- Anthony Bourdain’s news broke my heart, I fell in love with cooking after watching his episodes years ago. This articles is a wonderful read for those us is who love food and will not hesitate to try a new restaurant for the love of a new cuisine.
- If you are bad with long term goals or keeping new ears resolutions, breaking it down into small bites might be your thing, read this one if you like to read about personal journeys plus how to manage your financial goals.
The article round up for May can be found here.
Top 7 Project Management Myths Debunked
This is a Guest Post by Fred Wilson, who is an Agile & Software Consultant at Ntask. He work with teams to
streamline workflows and enhance team collaboration. He is also an avid reader and
often write about productivity, project management and collaboration.
Project management defines an altogether different
experience for every professional. Different projects have different
requirements when it comes to an approach or framework, the resources,
budgeting and even documentation.
However, despite the evolution of project management
strategies and frameworks, projects often get overshadowed by practices and
methodologies that may not contribute as efficiently as assumed.
Due to some uncertainties - or shall we say project
management myths - teams often miss out on implementing best practices and
approaching their projects in a truly effective manner.
I tried finding out some of the common myths that exist when
it comes to project management. These are the 7 most common myths I found:
1. Project Managers
can fix everything
No, project managers cannot have a fix for every single
issue.
Moira Alexander is the author of LEAD or LAG: Linking
Strategic Project Management & Thought Leadership and the founder of
Lead-Her-Ship Group with more than 20 years of experience in business and
project management.
According
to Alexander, although project managers may be experts and keep the
workflow in progress and teams and stakeholder sin sync, they are not
magicians. This is why it is important for project managers, stakeholders and
sponsors to be flexible enough to identify when a task or a project cannot go
further and put an end to it instead of spending more resources trying to fix
it.
2. Agile is the best
Agile has proven
to be very effective than other frameworks for most teams. However, it is
not the ultimate solution to each project. Bola Adesope is a seasoned management and transformation consultant.
According
to Bola, both methodologies, Agile and traditional Waterfall have their own
strengths and weaknesses. There is no good or bad approach. Instead, each
project requires a tailored approach depending on various factors, such as client
requirements and feasibility.
3. You can use a
template to manage all projects
Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all in project management. There is no one fixed method for all projects. According
to Moira Alexander, every project is unique and can be affected by many internal
or external factors, including timeline, work pattern, available resources and
culture.
Even slight alterations can result in significant
repercussions at later stages in a project development cycle. For this reason,
every project needs to be planned and executed differently. Applying the exact
same approach, techniques, tools and work style does not guarantee success.
4. Risk management
guarantees 100% risk-free projects
Risks are a part of every project; big or small. Effective
project management comprises of efficient risk management. This may include
identifying potential risks, their corresponding impact and likelihood as well
as how to mitigate these risks.
According
to Bola Adesope, usually the risks identified and addressed earlier in the
project cycle can be resolved more efficiently with lesser chances of
resurfacing. However, risks continue to occur throughout the project cycle and
need to be consistently monitored and regulated.
Even following the exact methods recommended in the project
management body of knowledge (PMBOK, 2013) cannot guarantee a successful
project. It can, however, improve the team assessment and focus throughout the
project development cycle.
5. Project Management
is easy
Lauren Ebsary is an experienced project consultant. Ebsary
came across people who believe project management can be accomplished by
just about anyone. However, there is a lot more required in handling projects
other than professional skills. Each situation calls for a different set of
expertise and approach to handle a project. For this reason, to be an effective project manager, a
professional project management certification is required whether it involves
project members or project management career-oriented people.
6. Planning is
unproductive
Planning is an important part of any project.
For some people, it seems more efficient to just get on with
it. According
to Paula Martin, CEO, International Matrix Management Institute, this myth
has infected most of the organizations due to a belief that "real work is implementing or building
something and planning is just that upfront stuff we don't have time to bother
with.” She adds that in reality, planning is a significant part and
it ensures everyone is heading in the right direction. It promotes
accountability and in essence, implementing with a plan is wiser.
7. There is no room
for change
From the inception of a project to its delivery,
requirements can change at any stage. This calls for effective change
management strategies. Hear it from Change Management Consultant, educator and author,
Paul Roberts. According
to Roberts, a lot of time and effort goes into identifying a project,
establishing the funding and time for delivery.
This makes us reluctant to accept any change. However, this
can backfire as when we fail to identify the need for change or to accommodate
it, it can result in ill-timed and lower quality deliverables. He adds that although projects should be carefully navigated
from the beginning, it is also imperative that there is room for managing
change if need be.
Agile| Technical Conference| India-Bangalore
If you are a learning and likes attending conferences, here's one coming up in Bangalore (India). to know more about the organizing committee, click here.
Here’s what the Technical Agility Conference is all about:
In today’s environment, everyone is seeking for the luxury of stability but very few of the organizations succeed to achieve it.
Today’s market is completely volatile and unpredictable where you never know what’s gonna happen next and the common question across all the mind is “How do I do this?” The Technical Agility Conference gives a platform to meet, share & discuss with the experts around the globe under one roof where you’ll learn the meaning of Technical Agility, what it means to your organization, and what does it take to lead your organization towards true
Technical Agility, which is fundamental to achieving true Business Agility. The Three Pillars of the conference: Culture & Collaboration - Enterprise Agility Product Stability & Reliability - Built-in Quality Fast Delivery - Time to Market Conference details:
Conference Date : August 10-11, 2018
Website: http://tac2018.com/
(Pic Courtesy: google images)