Writing an Email for Your Task Lead
It may seem rudimentary, pointless, or like it’s beneath you. But, crafting a message for your task lead that accompanies the kickass deliverable you recently completed benefits both you and your PM.
Delivering Projects without Organizational Support
Even if you present a flawless pitch at inception, assemble the perfect team, and prepare high-quality deliverables, if the organizational appetite is not there, your project ultimately won’t cross the finish line. How do you combat a situation in which your project lacks organizational support? Here are some techniques to consider.
Solutioning and Project Management
When a colleague asked me to write about the difference between solutioning and project management, I knew that solutioning had transcended from a passing fad to a full-blown trend. Solutioning seeks to structure the problem solving process so that it is consistent, repeatable, and generates optimal results.
How to Issue a Data Call
One of the first tasks that junior project managers get assigned is to issue a data call to project stakeholders. Most find the task unimportant or unexciting, so they carelessly cut corners. Suddenly, the task has turned into a time suck that slows down the pace of the project. Here are some suggestions for issuing a high-quality data call.
Storyboarding for Report Writing
On the last few deliverables I’ve worked, we were having difficulty synthesizing the information in a coherent manner, incorporating perspectives from multiple authors, and organizing the content in a logical sequence for the reader to process. So, I’m trying a new approach. Here is our plan to storyboard as part of the report writing process.
How to Break Bad News
It’s not easy to share unpleasant news, but it’s a critical job function for project managers. If we don’t learn how to communicate risk effectively, we’ll never be skilled at what we do. So, how can we get better at breaking bad news?
How to Negotiate Salary
Despite the growing list of things we can and should talk about at work, money still remains a dirty word in many an American office. While our institutions struggle to mature to the point that we have salary transparency, here are some things you can do to support your quest to get paid.
How to Deal with a Difficult Sponsor
Project managers have to be well-versed in dealing with people. And, since we spend so much of our careers working with others, the odds practically dictate that we will have encountered a difficult stakeholder on one of our projects. But what happens if the stakeholder problem child is the one leading your project?
Product Review: Bridge24 for Trello
Trello is one of my favorite productivity tools—I use this free Kanban board application to track progress against my goals. So, when I came upon an application that advertises itself as an analytical extender for Trello, I had to test it out. Here is my review of Bridge24 for Trello.
Writing a Personal Mission Statement
I had always struggled to write a personal mission statement because I wasn’t clear how authoring such a statement would be useful in navigating my career path. I saw the urgency a few weeks ago while navigating a minor career “crisis” of my own. Below are some guidelines for writing a personal mission statement.
How to Manage a Proposal
In the project management world, there is nothing quite so rewarding—or quite so exhausting—as the opportunity to submit a bid as part of a competitive procurement. How do you apply project management principles to run a proposal well?
What to Do When You Get a New Project
When you inherit something midstream and need to get up to speed quickly, it can be challenging to ascertain what you need to do first. What’s worth learning (and doing) immediately? What can wait? Here are some things PMs should consider when taking the reins on a new project opportunity.