14 October 2009 - Reflections of the conference - While I left the conference very tired, I left changed - never to be the same again. Over the last seven days I got to glimpse into a world that I knew nothing about prior to the conference. I heard things that I had never thought about or that I thought about but need valiation that I was on the right track. I connected with people throughout the world in a common theme - project management. Might I suggest if you get the opportunity to attend the Leadership Institute or the Global Congress, do it. You will grow in your knowledge and vision - you will return a different person. I will be blogging about some of the conference topics in more depth over the next few months. Your comments are welcomed. Thanks for allowing me to share my experiences with you!
13 October 2009 - What a day!! It started with a session on Personal Branding. Great stuff! Our speaker is working on a maturity model for Personal Branding. It was ground breaking info. You can learn more about our speaker and read his blog at http://dancecommunications.com/. I then attended a case study comparing the use of Lean and Agile project to a Waterfall project. This was a great session with enough detail to keep it interesting as well as get information that can be applied when you return to the workplace. The third session that I attended today blew my mind. The session was entitled Managing the Dance. Jack presented us with a glimpse into the future of project management. He stated that projects are becoming more and more complex and that old tools will not work. He discussed the linear vs. non-linear projects. DANCE stands for Dynamic and changing, Ambiguous and uncertain, Non-linear, Complex and Emergent in Nature. He challenged our current thinking. He closed his presentation by calling us to action to create the tools of the future to solve the complex projects of the future.
12 October 2009 - Today was a full day. I attended five sessions plus networking with old and new freiends. The last session of the day I attended was very intriguing. The session was entitled Reengineering the Triple Constraint. Angelo's premise is that the triple constraint no longer is robust enough in this complex project world. He introduced the Triple Value Constraint. It includes both the identification and decision opportunity cost plus schedule and delivery costs. This challenged the way I think about measuirng success and how I will choose projects based on this triple value constraint. Tomorrow will be jammed pack as well.
11 October 2009 - Good evening! I just finished attending the first day of th PMI Global Congress. This morning I attended a session on Using Social Medial in Projects. It was great to hear and see several of my favorite PM bloggers. Check them out.
http://www.thepmpodcast.com/ The PM Podcast
http://blog.softwareprojects.org/ The Project Shrink
http://www.pm4girls.elizabeth-harrin.com/ A Girls Guide to Project Management
The keynote session began in the late afternoon with a welcome to the conference. There are over 2400 attendees from 50 countries. Our keynote speaker was T Boone Pickens. It was an interview style presentation with Gregory Balestrero asking questions that the audience submitted. We learned a lot about the energy industry and some of the leadership principles that Mr. Pickens uses in his life.
9 October 2009 - Good evening! This is Kay. The second day of the LIM has finished. It was another day of meeting new people and many breakout sessions. The day started with a general sesion on the PMI Practioner Products and Marketing Tools. We reviewed member research and statistics to better understand trends. We also learned that PMI has a Facebook page and is on Twitter as well. If you get a chance, check out the PMI Facebook page. After the general session, I headed to my first breakout session. The session was entitled the Art of People Management. It was an excellent and a jam packed session. We reviewed team and leader attributes. We also learned the difference between teams and working groups. We then looked at Traditional vs. New Demands leadership model. Our speaker shared with us Five Common Characteristics of Leaders 1. Leaders have a vision 2. Leaders believe in themselves and what they are trying to do 3. Leaders are committed to keep moving and remove barriers 4. Leaders have a passion from believing in and loving what they do 5. Leaders are courageous.
Hi, this is Cathy! I attended a session entitled The Language of Management taught by Phil Bristol, PMP. He reviewed components of Emotional Intelligence and identified Behavioral Styles. These characteristics determine how we behave. He then described values or attitudes and passions. These determine why we behave. Perhaps most useful were these two tips: to discover someone else's styles, ask him/her what they find it easy to do. Also, noticing what words, tone, tempo, and volume a person uses can identify their style. Look for matches in the "slippery-slidey slope," and you will have the key to achieving productive interaction with that person. Download his presentation from www.pmi.org for details and start using the Language of Leadership to improve your team's interaction.
Hello everyone. Although Kay, Cathy, and I have been to many different fun events; there are some chapter housekeeping items to catch up on.
NWAPMI is part of Region 6 in the overall scheme of PMI U.S. What this means to you is that we are aligned with some major chapters in
PMI to share ideas and collaborate to provide value to you our constituents!! We have been working with several chapters to discover
new speakers, share ideas, and execute the best in component customer service. We also get to find out upcoming meetings where our members can find value. For example, next year the region 6 meeting will be held in Austin, TX. Also in 2010 the Global Meeting of PMI will be
held in Washington, D.C. In 2011, the Region 6 meeting will be in Kansas City, and the Global Meeting will be in Dallas, TX.
We also found out that each state's workforce group is activly engaged in helping members who may have experienced financial hardships due to unemployment. As a chapter, we will be investigating if this is offered to our chapter!
Our goal as a board is to serve you!!
8 October 2009 - Greetings from sunny Orlando! Orlando is the site of this year's North American PMI Global Congress and Leadership Institute Meeting (LIM). The LIM is a three day event for chapter leaders. There are over 700 leaders in attendance from 40 countries. It has been amazing to meet many of our fellow leaders from around the world. The focus of these three days is how to better serve our members and how to be better leaders. The day started with a great keynote address by Dr. Gary Bradt. The presentation was entitled the Ring in the Rubble (also the title of his latest book.) During the presentation, he gave us several tools to use in dealing with change. He also had us do exercises to drive home the points that he was teaching. One of my favorite tools that he gave us was the 10-80-10 Rule. Dr. Bradt stated that 10% of people embrace change, 10% never change, and 80% say, "Let's wait and see." He said that most of us focus on the 10% that never change when really our focus should be on the 80%. Leaders make change happen. Dr. Bradt's presentation was informative, entertaining, and he covered all learning types in his exercises. The tool list that he shared is something I will be using in my projects and my life. I look forward to hearing him speak at the closing session.
I attended three breakout sessions following the keynote speech. The first session focused on case studies to help solve issues related to chapter membership. The second session was entitled Simple Tactics for Tough Times. Its theme was leadership and tactics on growing as a leader. The last session of the day was entitled Professional and Social Networking for Results. The room was packed and we even had people standing. The speaker, David Kohrell, was dynamic. We looked at Social Networking tools and how to use them professionally and socially and how to balance both aspects of your image. More on this topic at a later date. Overall, I give my first day at the LIM an Excellent rating. Be back tomorrow with another review. Good night from Orlando!
