Surprise! You

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Surprise! Youre The Project Manager!!!

• IPMA Professional Development
• April 19, 2006
• Diane Vasarkovy, Wolf Consulting

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Learning the Hard Way

• Its always hard
• You arent alone
• All projects are different
• All projects are the same
• Good news there ARE common ingredients for
  success

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A Typical Story

• Innocent Line Worker
• Take a Little Initiative
• Boom! The project reward.
• Growth Potential
• Seasoning Opportunity

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PM is Just Another Duty.

• NOT!
• A Whole Other Discipline
• Lots of Training
• Years of Experience
• But, you start tomorrow..

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My Seven Best Mistakes

• How We Learn
• Every Pain is a Gift
• Embarrassment, the Real Motivator
• Experience is the Best Teacher

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1. Wheres The Sponsor?

• Mistake absent or uninvolved sponsor
• Success refuse to start without one
• Success get role straight
• Success plan communications
• Success obtain commitment

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2. Wheres The Team?

• Mistake non-dedicated project team
• Success 100 dedicated core team
• Success report only to PM
• Success they want to be there
• Success team includes business folks

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3. We Started Last Month?

• Mistake not having a REAL start
• Success clarity of assignment
• Success clarity of scope risk
• Success buy-in all around
• Success excellent expectations set
• Success exercising leadership

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4. I Didnt Study Law

• Mistake fixing all project variables (time,
  money, quantity, quality)
• Success one must remain unfixed
• Success dont get cornered
• Success fall on sword if needed

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5. He Said He Was Done

• Mistake believing what Im told
• Success show me
• Success why
• Success what are we missing?
• Success cross-checking
• Success trust, but verify

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6. Why Did They Do That?

• Mistake not setting expectations about behavior
• Success set behavior expectations
• Success talk about expectations
• Success call bad, reward good
• Success walk that talk

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7. Cant We All Get Along?

• Mistake professionals leave their emotions at
  home
• Success be open about feelings
• Success talk about feelings
• Success dig deeper
• Success dont fake sincerity

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Ingredients for Success

• Insist on what you need to succeed
• Be specific about it
• Use clear language about behavior
• Ask for commitment
• Use partnership model
• Escalate swiftlytogether
• Model openness, honesty integrity
• When youre in troubleask for help!

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Questions?