flynn019

Quora Discussion Forum? Eh? The Forum will feature open, give-and-take discussions on a variety of cutting-edge social and business topics initiated by Douglas E. Castle . All are invited and encouraged to participate. Although I do not believe that Quora will displace Twitter or Facebook in the social media universe, I firmly believe that it is going to provide a wonderfully intelligent forum feature which will complement all other social media. I hope you'll be joining me here at http://QuoraDiscussionForum.blogspot.com . There will be polls, surveys, back-and-forth discussions on a number of controversial, current topics...and best of all, you will absolutely have a chance to express yourself through a very, very large bullhorn. If you say something clever, you might even be quoted. The Quora Discussion Forum will bring a whole new dimension of real-time interactivity to by all of us. Join us -- to sit down and be counted. Find out what others think. Let them know what yo...

As promised In " Project Management 2012: What's Coming... Part 1 ," here is the technologically -oriented sequel. Instead of dealing with leadership, communication and interpersonal skills , we will just be listing the technologies and ideologies with which every Project Manager needs to be familiar in order to dominantly position himself or herself in the PM contract marketplace in 2012. If you have just stumbled upon this post, please be certain to read the previous post (Part 1) at http://businessandprojectplanning.blogspot.com/2012/01/project-management-2012-whats-coming.html , and then click the "BACK" button in your browser and return to read this article. Before going any further, while being technologically competent and conversant are the minimal requirement for any type of remotely vertical career trajectory in the PM field, bear in mind that the emphasis (in these economically-troubled times, where quality employment placements are in short supply...

Project Management is rapidly changing, in terms of the availability of consulting contracts ('employment opportunities'), the expanded nature of the exceptionally good (i.e., eminently desirable) PM , and the new areas of special expertise which will require study and skill - sharpening . The field, and the nature of both the character and skill sets required of the best of breed Project Managers and Business Strategic Planning Officers has changed radically. Get informed and prepared NOW! Our old standby pals, Agile and Scrum , will no longer get us through the decision maker's filter...neither will obscurantism , tech-speak, leisure suits, and professionally-prepared resumes (i.e., generated through fill-in-the-blank-fields technology), or a strong recommendation from an influential old friend (who was just laid off due to budget constraints - oh, the irony!). For 2012 and beyond, you must 1 ) overhaul your personality and presentation skills, and 2 ) learn a new ma...

I am a fan of Mark Joyner and his organization (which is actually a school of thought ), Simpleology . He teaches by using the examples and quotations of persons of great accomplishment. Project planning and management have a great deal to do with the notions of probability and efficiency -- the picture below, culled from Mark's collection, is a great way in which to begin our discussion of navigating the Laws Of Probability - with two different approaches. One approach focuses on precision, refinement and utter dependability (a qualitative approach), while the second focuses on redundancy and back-up systems (a quantitative approach): For more information on Simpleology , visit Mark's site at http://www.Simpleology.com . In planning any business, project, operation (military, civilian or surgical), we, as analysts and managers are trying to achieve the most efficient acceptable result. The standards for "acceptable result" are specific, however to each and every ...

As a business owner or a project manager you are constantly called upon to find newer, more efficient systems and procedures for accomplishing objectives. You evaluate the nature of the need, research alternatives, either select or build an alternative, and ready yourself and everyone affected with plenty of advance warning before taking the new system or process "live." You might request rapid and aggressive feedback from users about any bugs or glitches in need of repair during the beta phase of the implementation. The beta phase notification is not only a wonderful excuse in the event that there is a problem; it also lowers users' expectations (good expectation management policy) and makes them a bit more wary and observant. While the above is generally true, there are several steps which should be taken during the 'changing over to the new system' process. Please consider these as words to the wise. 1) Keep the old system up and running. Don't tear it ...