What matters - giving ourselves time to THINK

We're all too busy - with long lists to accomplish every day, so many things that clamor for our attention. How do we KNOW we're getting results vs. just lots of effort? Do we ever step back from our to-do... Read More»

How Scope (control?) is handled (or not) in Agile

Here are two related questions I received from a site member about Agile, my answer, and Kent's and sanity check on my answer. These are great questions not just for a PM, but for an executive understanding of how it... Read More»

Why companies go to Agile development and management

The short answer I'm hearing is this: because they need to get better results and what they hear about Agile resonates with the problems that kept them from achieving results for their business customers. I have to agree - what... Read More»

How do we know whether our teams need Agile, and how do we go about it?

This week I’m at the Agile 2008 conference in Toronto along with Kent McDonald. I’m here to learn more about what the world is referring to as “Agile development” and “Agile project management” for my own edification, as well as... Read More»

Making Vacations a Company Project

(actually by DeAnna Burghart, filling in for a vacationing Cinda) As I write this, Cinda is exactly where she should be: the middle of nowhere. She has taken a much-needed vacation, which puts her a couple weeks ahead of me... Read More»

What does "Great PM" leadership look like?

I've talked in previous articles about aspects of being a great project manager, including what I view as business-oriented leadership: driving forward and leading the team to ensure that a project is launched, planned, and executed with alignment to business... Read More»

Great Careers for Great PMs

In my previous posts, I've provided my ideas about what constitutes a great PM. This time, I would like to bridge to what these ideas can mean for someone's overall career. Of course, it seems obvious that if you're a... Read More»

Perfection Not Required, Flexibility and Fit a Must

Today I want to tackle a couple of typical questions I hear about what a great PM needs to be (or not) and do. 1) Does a PM in a technical environment need to be "technical" themselves? 2) Does a... Read More»

Executive Views on Great PMs

So what DO executives think of us as project managers and what do they value? I know from conferences and other interaction with project managers that being valued by their executives is something of a holy grail—and seemingly not nearly... Read More»

Evolution of a Project Manager

What makes for a great project manager: one sought out for projects, one teams want to have in charge, one known for handling difficult projects with panache? What are the traits, actions, or capabilities that create pervasive success in the... Read More»