Of Culture and Change

Advertisement [Contact Us](mailto:contactus@projectmanagement.com) [About Us]( [Update Profile]( July 11, 2018 As our new theme continues, we help you manage projects in a change-resistant culture and (gasp!) share why you shouldn't focus on corporate culture. We also look at the promise of artificial intelligence, explore challenges for new PMs and continue our journey with the unanchored project manager! Our Topic Teasers help you lead people to change, while our blogs take inspiration from Italian literature—and share three ways to track schedule performance. Plus, readers ask for help with micromanagers, interview questions and sensitive information in our forums! Advertisement [Be a victorious PMO with portfolio monitoring]( Strategic impact and benefits realization are to critical business leaders. PMO leaders that provide project and program health reports, including status on milestones, risks, costs, and resources, also raise PMO relevance with the positive impact of projects and programs. Read [Portfolio Monitoring](. "People place such importance on the external. It's disgusting." - Tab Hunter []PM HEADLINES [Why You Shouldn't Focus on Corporate Culture]( Corporate culture is critically important; it can be the glue that holds an organization together and is a powerful foundation. But that culture is a byproduct of how the organization behaves—not a driver of it. [Managing Projects in a Change-Resistant Culture]( It's essential that PMs assess the impact a project’s process and eventual outcome will have on organizational culture and the types of resistance likely to be encountered. This is no easy task, as most organizational cultures are not overtly defined. [The Promise of AI]( While speculation about the end point of relentless progression hints at an ominous future, the present-day promise of artificial intelligence needs examining so we can better understand what it can—and cannot—do. [The Unanchored Project Manager Vol. 3: Executing Life as an Unanchored PM]( There isn’t much of a blueprint for an unanchored lifestyle, which will open up the door to creative solutions that, with the proper mindset, you can have fun with. Now it’s time to get into the entertaining part of this series—executing life as an unanchored PM! [The Digital Age: What Challenges Await New PMs?]( Project managers who understand, acknowledge and live the ground realities of modern-day business are well poised for taking organizations through successful project executions. [The Cultural Reality for Project Managers]( In a world that is becoming ever more culturally aware, how do project managers balance respect for cultural sensitivity with the need to get the job done? "One of the most time-consuming things is to have an enemy." - E. B. White [Rethinking Project Management: From Best Practices to Next Practices]( Doing better relates to best practices; however, over the last decade, doing differently has become a norm. The rate of change is as fast as we continually exchange ideas, and thus we have to embrace a new paradigm and utilize next practices. [5 Words That Strike Fear]( It doesn’t matter how experienced you are as a project manager—there is one question you never want to be asked. As a newer PM, you just don’t realize how scary that question is… []TOPIC TEASERS Welcome to Topic Teasers, which tests your managerial prowess! In Vol. 108, we help with [Leading People to Change](: Question: Are they just making up new things for project managers to do these days? My boss now wants me to lead a team to create and introduce some major organizational change. I’m used to doing projects where there is something tangible to show at the end of it, and I barely lived through the last time we tried to change things around here. Isn’t change management a human resources function, not a project management one? A. Change is exciting and is a good thing to keep us from being bored. As the project manager, if you can keep a happy and smiling persona, regardless of your real feelings about the change, others will follow you and they will accept and use whatever you are substituting for their current processes. B. It is human nature to be resistant to change. You can create the best product in the world, but people are stuck in a rut remembering what they now think was a perfect product. Resign yourself to failing on this project (or just resign). C. Every project manager is in a sense a change manager. Most of the end results of our efforts result in internal or external customer changes, often attached to a new product, software or service that was the more obvious part of the project. Showing you can get acceptance, use and business value from your project results will set you apart. D. The CNIS (Change Now International Society) has a 14-step plan that has so far worked successfully in 92% of all large-scale corporate projects that have followed it. Download this from their site and follow it to the letter. You will be very surprised at the ease with which your change project achieves its goals. Check the answer [here](, and [send in your own question for consideration]( []THE PM POLL Is there a question you've been itching to ask? [Create a poll]( today to get some PM help from your peers! [Q: How concerned are you about the pending disruption caused by emerging technologies?]( - Extremely - Highly - So so - Minimally - Not at all TRAINING SPOTLIGHT We are the Project Management Success Center. 'PMP® Certification' is only the beginning - partner with us on large 'IT Project Implementations' by joining the group of passionate 'PMP® Professionals' on a Mission to Deliver Value to our Clients. [Learn More]( [Search for your solution on our Training Finder]( []BLOG IT Voices on Project Management by Lynda Bourne & Ramiro Rodrigues What one person knows will be different to what everyone else knows. Why? Lynda shares how [Information is Subjective](. Plus, in spite of state-of-the-art gadgets and collaborative communication tools, we feel increasingly burdened with more responsibilities and response requirements. Ramiro ponders more in [Please Read (Urgent)!]( Project Management for Future Leaders by Walter Ginevri While holding a project management workshop, a young participant asked our blogger to suggest a good book about the project management profession. Walter looks at [The Best Code of Ethics From a Masterpiece of Italian Literature](. The Money Files by Elizabeth Harrin Welcome to another installment of "What’s New in the PMBOK Guide®—Sixth Edition"! Up next: [What’s New in Project Resource Management Part 3: Acquire Resources](. And in her latest video entry, Elizabeth shares [3 Ways to Track Schedule Performance](. Easy in Theory, Difficult in Practice by Kiron Bondale Teams will become more change resilient as they mature, but there is a natural limit to the volume of changes that any team can absorb. Kiron shares how [Responding to change shouldn't mean teams face continuous change!]( Game Theory in Management by Michael Hatfield In a very real sense, the whole of project management can be seen as a revolutionary concept. That's why Michael implores us to [Beware the Asset Management Paradigm](. Plus, [Okay, My Organization Has a Culture. Now What?]( PM Nerd by Kevin Raney Professional development has a lot of different definitions depending on who you talk to. What Kevin struggled with was learning more project management skills after a long day of serving as a program manager. He shares [My PMI Learning Community](. PM View from Rail Transit Programs & Projects by Henry Hattenrath Henry concludes his series with [Part 7]( about a second book that affected the development of his skills in the business of managing projects and program of projects: Human Factors in Project Management by Paul C. Dinsmore. The Critical Path by Kimberly Whitby Can you believe 2018 has surpassed the half-year mark? PMI has been busier than ever…rolling out exam changes, publishing new books and articles, and traveling the world producing fabulous events. Kimberly shares [July Community News You Can Use](. []Q & A Did you know that help is just a click away? Our discussion forums give you access to the ProjectManagement.com community: more than 500,000 experienced minds and growing! Ask your question today or stop by to help out other members in need of advice, including these recent and ongoing discussions on... [The Last Straws]( "What are the top 3 things that would make you quit a project?" [Managing Sensitive Information]( "I’d love to hear how others are managing access to dynamic, potentially sensitive information, but hopefully without hiding information away in a dusty vault or generating excessive admin overheads." [Best Questions]( "What are the top management interview questions?" [Micromanagers]( "I have come across senior project managers who assign tasks to other project managers or coordinators on their projects then try to micromanage those tasks themselves. Have you come across such behaviors?" [Defining a Good PM]( "What does it take to be a good project manager? I would love to hear from all gurus." [Death by Reporting]( "How do we make our project reporting more meaningful in project development and still keep senior executives satisfied? There are many tools available, but what do we consider the most essential, and how do we ensure accurate information is communicated?" "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." - John Quincy Adams []PM ON DEMAND Did you know that we have an extensive library of PDU-earning webinars? Here's just one of the latest valuable offerings you can check out... [Managing Uncertainty in Megaprojects]( The capacity to adapt to uncertainty during the life of the project is crucial for megaproject performance, but it is often overlooked as a capability. Using a case study of the construction of a US$20 billion dollar project, the presenters show that project leaders play an important role in recognizing when a plan needs to change—and then navigating the path onto a new project plan without disrupting the delivery of the project. As always, your feedback and suggestions are welcome. How can we make your experience better? Is there something you haven't been able to find? Something you want to see that we don't have yet? [Let us know](mailto:cameron@projectmanagement.com). We'll handle it. If you do not wish to receive ProjectManagement.com's PM Insider Newsletter, you can [unsubscribe here]( or send an email to unsubscribe-pminsider@reply.projectmanagement.com and let us know. We will exclude you from future mailings. 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