Archive for October, 2009

Are you an ethical consultant or manager?

29 October 2009

Jim Love, FCMC, Bob McCulloch, FCMC, Professor Candace T. Grant and Dr. John A. Estrella, CMC, PMPLast Friday, I joined Jim Love, FCMC, Bob McCulloch, FCMC, and Professor Candace T. Grant at a panel discussion on Ethics and Corporate Responsibility. The notion of being an ethical manager or consultant generated more questions than answers.

For the scenarios below, what “would” you do vs. what “should” you do? Why?

You discovered that the previous consultant fudged the numbers to justify the project. If you report it, the project will be cancelled. You desperately need the engagement to avoid defaulting on your mortgage.

For the same type of consulting work, is it fair to charge less for a not-for-profit client less vs. a large corporate client?

A hardworking student is just one point from getting a B in a management class. His employer will not reimburse him for the $10,000 tuition fees if he gets a lower grade.

Connect with Dr. John A. Estrella via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Balanced Scorecard and Portfolio Management

21 October 2009

Balanced Scorecard and Project Portfolio ManagementIn my previous blog, I suggested the potential use of project portfolio management (PPM) to achieve your own personal strategic objectives. Along with personal PPM, you can also consider incorporating a balanced scorecard—a strategic performance management tool.

Balanced scorecards typically include four general perspectives: financial, customer, internal process, and innovation and learning. If applied at the personal level, these perspectives can be replaced with personal, professional, community and financial to measure the effectiveness of your personal PPM.

Your personal perspective key performance indicators (KPIs) relate to your personal endeavours such as improved relationships, better appearance or excellent health. Earning a designation or getting a promotion falls within the realm of professional KPIs. Your desire to help underprivileged youth may be part of your community KPIs. Your financial KPIs may include getting rid of your debt or saving for retirement.

Connect with Dr. John A. Estrella via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Personal Project Portfolio Management

20 October 2009

Project Portfolio ManagementProject portfolio management (PPM) enables organizations to manage a collection of current and proposed projects. Using PPM, organizations analyze their portfolio to properly vet and sequence each project to optimally achieve their strategic objectives.

There is no reason why PPM cannot be applied by individuals particularly the solo practitioners or small business owners. Given limited physical and financial resources, individuals can use PPM to focus on personal strategic objectives such as improving one’s career, growing the business or penetrating a market.

By ensuring alignment of each project to the individual’s strategic objectives, less time will be spent on trivial projects or ineffective activities. Define your strategic objectives for the next few years. Come up with vetting criteria for your projects. Assess all of your current and planned projects. Focus your efforts on the important projects and set aside the rest.

Connect with Dr. John A. Estrella via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Single-Tasking: Suppress Stress, Ensure Success

16 October 2009

Project Management Single-TaskingDespite the proliferation of mobile productivity tools, do you find yourself working less or more hours? How was your stress level lately?

Multi-tasking forces us to accomplish too little of too many—which can lead to an inverse relationship in productivity and stress level. Instead of multi-tasking, focus your energy on one task and one endeavour at a time. Give it 100% of your attention and get it done.

Tiger Woods is a great golfer because he focuses on one sport—golf. You’ll notice that even a computer will slow down if you have so many applications that are running at the same time. If you close all of them but one, that one application will run much faster. What made you think that you can do better?

Stop multi-tasking and start single-tasking to suppress stress and to ensure success.

Connect with Dr. John A. Estrella via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

What Managers Can Learn From An Astronaut

11 October 2009

Project Redundancy Management
We met Space Shuttle Astronaut Robert C. Springer today at the Kennedy Space Center. His comment about “redundancy management” caught my attention. Redundancy management, a fancy term for backup plans, is crucial during the first 8.5 minutes of a space shuttle launch. He said that in some cases, they have backup plans, sometimes three levels deep, to ensure a safe takeoff.

On your projects, what type of redundancy management do you have in place? Although you may have a risk management plan, how deep is it? It’s always good to have a Plan B. But, based on Springer’s example, it may be necessary to have Plans C and D for mission critical aspects of your projects.

Take a look at all of your key project risks. If Plan B fails for those key project risks, what’s your redundancy management plan?

Connect with Dr. John A. Estrella via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.