Time Management | 7 Time Management habits

 

Ever notice that people don't talk about the weather any more? Now it's "Keeping busy?" And of course the answer is "yes." In this day and age of overdoing everything, time management is essential if people are to get all their work done and still have some fun. Read on for seven time management tips that will help you get yourself organized so that you will have more free time.

 

1. Beat the procrastination habit. Putting things off is almost never a good idea. Sometimes it is worth it to take a few moments to regroup and psyche up for a difficult or unpleasant job, but it won't get done until you get started. A similar rule of thumb for living is to "do the worst first." If you're dragging your feet about making a certain phone call, or tackling a messy job, think how good you'll feel when it's done!

 

2. Put things away when you are done with them. A big time waster for many people is looking for things that are misplaced. If you can get your equipment and paperwork organized, you can find anything you need in just a few seconds. But you must put the item back where it belongs when you are finished with it, or it will become misplaced. It's possible to spend hours or even days looking for an important piece of paper.

 

3. Delegate what you can. If your life is overloaded with things to do, look to see if there is someone under you who could take care of some of the easier tasks. For instance, the kids could help you with folding laundry or even answering the phone. At work, farm out those basic tasks to an underling if possible.

 

4. Establish routines. For many of us, time is wasted every day because we are trying to decide what to do next. When we get routines established, and even written down on paper as guidelines, it can simplify our lives and save time. For instance, you could begin your workday with tasks like check email, return phone calls, and check calendar for appointments. You could have a similar end of workday routine of tidying up your desk, writing out a list of things to do for the next day, and emptying the trash.

 

5. Say no or find easy options to volunteer activities. For instance, if it's your turn to provide snacks for your child's school event, consider buying cookies ready made instead of devoting several hours to baking and decorating special cupcakes. The same goes for pot luck dinners. Potato salad from the store is probably almost as good as what you can make, but takes a lot less time.

 

6. Use a timer to motivate yourself to work for a certain length of time. If you have a hard time getting busy with the work you need to do, sometimes it helps to simply set a timer for a short time, for instance 15 minutes, or maybe an hour if it's at work. Tell yourself you can quit when the timer sounds. Often you will be interested in the task by then. If you aren't, at least you've done a little of the task. Take a short break and reset the timer.

 

7. Think positive! Don't let yourself get bogged down in doubts about your ability to do the project, or about how long it might take. Chances are it won't be anywhere near as bad or time-consuming as you think.

 

Priority management can help you to better manage you time and workload.

 

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Time Management | 10 ways to effective time management

 

1) Know what you want – set goals.
Since you can’t change time itself, you need to change how you work with time. This can be done by making small personal goals to start with, moving to larger goals as you progress in your time management skills. For example, set a goal to not check your personal email while at work for one week. At the end of the week, evaluate whether you achieved that goal and add another one or try again.

2) Do what you need to – create a plan.
This is a more overarching goal, but something that can be implemented as part of a plan for time management success. For example, your plan for trying these time management tips might be to increase your productivity or to lower your stress levels.

3) Learn about yourself – where are you losing time?
For a week, track what you do every day. Take note of your activities, how long they took, and even the breaks you take for a personal phone call or for lunch. After a week, look at the areas that took up your time, and evaluate where you wasted time that could have been given over to more productive activities.

4) Use the available tools – write it down.
Time management tools are an effective way to give concreteness to your goals and the tasks you need to accomplish. Whether it’s through a diary or a computer program, physically manage your time by listing the tasks you need to do now and in the future.

5) Keep perspective – prioritize.
Each morning, look at the tasks you need to accomplish and prioritize them. Figure out which ones are urgent and which ones can honestly wait if you don’t have time for them. Do the important things first – don’t put them off, or you’ll be stressed and rushed at the end of the day.

6) Keep moving – create a routine.
If you have an established routine, you’ll be more able to complete your goals each day. When crises arise, move with them and deal with them – but don’t let them distract you for the rest of the day. Once you’ve dealt with the problem, get back on task.

7) Don’t dawdle – set time limits.
If you only need an hour to check your email, set a timer for an hour until you can get used to that amount of time. A day can be easily wasted on one thing if you let it, so this will ensure that you don’t waste extra time surfing around that could be spent on other projects.

8) Ask for help – delegate.
You don’t need to do it all yourself – no person is an island! Allow others to carry some of the burden for you, but be willing to help them along the way – that way your creative hand is still in the pot. You need to decide to delegate, and then just ask.

What’s the worst that could happen, someone would say no? It’s not the end of the world.

9) Know yourself – don’t waste time waiting.
Whether it’s standing in line at the grocery store, waiting for a doctor’s appointment, or even if you’re sitting in a lobby waiting for a meeting, realize that you don’t need to spend that time waiting. With a task list set out, bring something with you at all times that you can work on – a report to read, a notepad, your check book, or your PDA to check your email. Keep moving, keep working on those tasks. Don’t let a moment go to waste.

10) Be realistic – don’t get discouraged.
If you’ve set realistic goals and you’ve followed the tips outlined here, there may still be some days that you just can’t get everything done. That’s okay! There are only 24 hours in a day, and all you can do is work with them and manage yourself. Time doesn’t change – you can, and that’s really the best thing you can do. Realize that some days will be successes and others may be a little more disappointing. That’s life – and tomorrow is a new day!

Priority Management 

 

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Stakeholder Benefits | Feature, Function and Benefit

 

Top executives and stakeholders are often "sold" certain projects from within the organization. This normally happens, where a sales team first handles a project and then later assigns it to a project manager who "inherits" it.
The concept here is that the selling to the stakeholders actually continues once the Project Manager takes over. Because of this reality, the Project Manager must to some extent use sales skills and continue to build (and even sometimes repair!) the relationships with the stakeholders.
Most projects have numerous and diverse stakeholders. One of the first tasks of the Project Manager is to identify those stakeholders and establish a working rapport with them. The starting point must be to clarify expectations, initially set when the project was "sold", and to refine those expectations for the next phase. The Project Manager, in the end, must ensure that stakeholder needs are understood and will be met. In addition, systems must be put into place to ensure that they are providing regular input and feedback in the process of delivering the project. The Project Manager must continue to be attentive to stakeholder needs throughout the project, and there are a number of techniques for doing that.
One way that Project Managers can leverage sales skills to establish stakeholder relationships is to think in terms of features, functions, and benefits. Typically, there is one and occasionally a few stakeholders that are critical to the project. They may have a major benefit related to the core benefits of the project. In all likelihood, the Project Manager will be in touch with these select stakeholders on a very regular basis, and they will be included in most communications. The Project Manager keeps in mind the driving benefits that they want, and continuously communicates about the delivery of those benefits.
Since there are typically many other stakeholders, there often is a stakeholder who is not necessarily going to be one of the top beneficiaries of the project. By contrast, many stakeholders will benefit in peripheral ways, or, if they might benefit by avoiding integration issues that could result when the new project is implemented. Perhaps there is a data interface to that system that will enhance the system, or will at least permit the application to continue to be effective and relevant.
One way to think about these secondary stakeholder, like the primary stakeholders, is to think in terms of feature, functions, and benefits. Core stakeholders may see these features as covering all of the project's potential results; for the peripheral stakeholders, however, these features may be only a couple to a few. The key in using this thought pattern is to look at the features related to that stakeholder, break those features down into the important functions that those features bring to the table, and then as the final step, break down those functions into the actual tangible benefits that will be derived by that stakeholder.
As a first step, all stakeholders need to be identified, and their needs must be understood. With this information at hand, the key then is to think through the features, functions, and benefits of the project to each and every stakeholder, and to communicate that to each stakeholder. A side benefit is a much deeper understanding of the project, and even an expansion of the broader benefits of the project to the organization.
By thinking in terms of features, functions, and benefits for each stakeholder, a Project Manager can train himself to think in the terms of the stakeholders. This helps to recognize specific issues that need to be communicated to specific stakeholders, and also helps to identify the issues that are unimportant to stakeholders. Thus, it will helps to always think and speak of your stakeholder needs or interests. In order to properly deal with stakeholders, you must think and act like a salesperson would.

 

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Project Management | How MS Project Can help your Project

 

If any company knows how to operate efficiently and get serious results, it's Microsoft. Microsoft's infrastructure is built upon a highly project-centred environment, making Microsoft the ideal author of project planning software. The most efficient project-entered organizations are already utilizing the full range of Microsoft Project features to optimize efficiency. However, many more surprisingly don't offer any sort of "official" Microsoft Project training to their project managers. London based companies such as these, as well as companies that are just now exploring a project based business environment, can drastically streamline their processes with Project training for associates. There are plenty of tools and techniques to be learned in Project training. This article will focus on three areas where Project training will make the most drastic impact on the speed and quality of your business projects. Managing Calendars: One of the most important elements of managing a project is keeping all project members precisely on track. Project 2003 is nicely integrated with other Microsoft Office business tools and features such as the Microsoft Outlook calendar. Project training teaches MS Project users how to create project tasks that appear in the Outlook calendar alongside other appointments. After MS Project training, project managers can learn how to have up-to-the-minute project status information from their computer or PDA by using the integrated calendar tools. When all project members are up to date on the project status and project leaders can instantly assign tasks

to other group members as needs arise, project time can be significantly reduced. Programme Evaluation Review Technique (PERT): PERT charts are an important part of keeping a project on schedule and covered in the more advanced Microsoft Project training courses. The purpose of a PERT chart is to display the various tasks associated with a project along with their dependencies. Without PERT charts, it's difficult to identify if and where a project may have scheduling conflicts. Through Project training, project coordinators will learn how to use PERT charts to work out potential bottlenecks during the planning phase and identify them quickly once the project is underway. The sooner barriers are identified, the sooner tasks can be reassigned and the project can get back on track. Gantt Charts: Gantt Charts are a type of timeline that your project team will learn in two days of Microsoft Project training. By using Gantt Charts, project managers can visually track the progress of the project in relation to the planned timeline. Without a solid process for keeping on top of milestones, a project has a low probability of completing on time. Gantt Charts can be created with Excel or Visio, but for complex projects Microsoft Project is the ideal software medium. Through Project training, project managers will learn how to use the full range of functionality of Microsoft Project Gantt Charts. Learning how to effectively use Project through Microsoft Project training doesn't only save time at the level of the individual team member. In the game of business, the agility, speed, and precision gained through an air-tight project process are attributes that separate average businesses from the industry leaders.

 

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Time Management | The importance of Prioritization

 

 

No matter how one approaches time management, a few limitations will always be in place. There will only be twenty four given hours in any one day. One will need to sleep, eat, tend to hygiene and conduct other "prerequisite" activities. There will always be more things that one might like to do than there is time to do them. When one looks at that collection of limitations, it becomes very clear that proper prioritization is essential to effective time management.

 

Without quality prioritization of tasks, one would simply hop from one task to another without a great deal of rhyme or reason. Not only would that be glaringly inefficient, it would also result in some important tasks being left incomplete. Every time management expert will argue vociferously that one must learn to differentiate between the important and the optional and learn how to rank the importance of various tasks to help in their scheduling. There are a few factors to keep in mind when prioritizing the laundry list of items on one's "to do" list. Let us examine three basic principles of prioritization.

First, one must set aside an adequate amount of time to tend to critical aspects of their life that are unrelated to work. Time with a spouse and/or children, for instance would fall into this category. When prioritizing, one must remember to place a sufficient value on some of the things that give life a greater meaning.

Second, one must differentiate the essential from the important. Every day, one must handle truly critical tasks (in terms of one's work). These are the kind of projects that are the difference between a successful operation and absolute failure or significant decline. Meeting hard deadlines, working to grow a business, handling customer service and other tasks may fall into this category.

Third, one must be willing push the fast items toward the top. Fast items are those with an immediate or soon-to-arrive deadline. Sometimes these tasks will not measure up in importance to some of the critical jobs, but their immediacy imbues them with a higher level of priority. Missed deadlines and other similar errors can have a remarkably deleterious impact on a business even when the matter in question is relatively small. As you approach your priorities list, keep these three observations in mind. Setting aside time for pursuits other than business is a great idea. Understanding the difference between a critical situation and a somewhat important one can also help a lot.

Finally, recognizing your need to push through time-sensitive projects as quickly as possibly can reduce headaches, as well. Deciding which "to-do's" should come first is often the most important part of managing one's time. The decisions can be difficult and frustrating. However, they must be made in order to experience time management success.

 

Priority Management can help with all of your Time and workload management needs.

 

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Time Management | 4 key strategies

 

Time management is a concept that many people naturally have difficulty with, but with the right time management strategies, there is no reason why you cannot take charge of your time and change your life. Here are four time management strategies that need considering if you are feeling like you do not have enough time, or that you are not getting the most out of your time. By taking on just one of these strategies at a time, you can radically alter how effectively you manage time and hence how much quicker you’ll reach your goals.

1 - Simplify. There are a lot of different processes in your life that can be simplified as a means of managing your time better. Simplify how much stuff you have to cut down on the time you spend dealing with clutter, or simplify the number of tasks you have to do in a day so that you can space your tasks our more realistically. If you have complicated ways to handle certain tasks, consider working to simplify them as well. By thinking in this way, you can make many processes in your daily life more straight forward and less time intensive, which can save you a significant amount of time by the end of the day.

2 - Schedule Weekly Reviews and Re-Evaluations. By sitting down at some point during the week and looking at your time management effectiveness throughout that previous week, you can start to alter your routines and actions until they are more time effective. Every week you need to make a point to review your current time management plan and strategies, and re-evaluate them as necessary. What is working? What isn't working? This is an excellent foundation to begin from when further fine tuning the management of your time.

3 - Develop Routines. By developing routines, you will always have a good idea of what needs to be accomplished and when.

Routines are excellent at encouraging both action and momentum, so if you feel like you are not getting enough done in a day, or if you feel like your time management strategies could use a pick me up, developing routines may be just the strategy for time management that you need. Create routines for different facets of your life;  such as tackling morning duties at work, or weekly cleaning. When you do not have to speculate what to do because your routine is laid out for you already, you will find yourself saving a lot of time.

4 - Start Small. Time management is not something you can suddenly master. Instead, you need to start small by identifying the biggest time management problems that you need to tackle, and tackling each one individual. Chip away at your time management follies one by one until you see yourself saving time and getting more done. By taking things slow and starting small, you can better conquer your time management rather than simply becoming overwhelmed by everything involved in such a large life change.

 

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Project Management |A Prince2 Primer

 

PRINCE2, the abbreviation for Projects In Controlled Environment, is a process based method, derived from the initial PRINCE project management methodology. It is a recognised international standard, a registered trademark of OGC, deployed extensively by the UK government. PRINCE2 crucially assists with the optimal usage of resources and project risk management initiatives, thus securing for itself an eminent position in the overall relevance graph.
PRINCE2 is an enhanced version of the initial PRINCE methodology, which in turn was based on PROMPT, a project management method, introduced by the CCTA (Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency). PRINCE was developed in 1989, as a UK government standard for IT project management, and later published as PRINCE2 in 1996. While the initial model had a restricted adaptability, PRINCE2 is suitable for all types of management projects.

Methodological Overview

PRINCE2 as a method entails forty five sub processes, categorised into eight headings i.e. Starting Up a Project (SU), Planning (PL), Initiating a Project (IP), Directing a Project (DP), Controlling a Stage (CS), Managing Product Delivery (MP), Managing Stage Boundaries (SB) and Closing a Project (CP). As evident from the stated classification, PRINCE2 as a process driven methodology, focuses on a project’s organised start, continuation & completion. It renders the much desired standardised approach to the project, thus drafting a common platform for all concerned to proceed.
Moving over to the stage description, the SU stage undertakes the vital tasks relevant to appointing the project team, preparing the outline and thus defining the aim of the exercise. This also logically results in preparing a business justification case. The second stage i.e. PL begins with product identification & analysis. Successful completion of this task prepares grounds for a closer estimation of the overall effort required for goal achievement. The stage ends with finally deciding upon the relevant plan formats.
IP is the third stage of PRINCE2 methodology, which is an augmented level of the earlier SU level. This stage aims at preparing a substantial business case. Another key focus at this stage is planning the quality aspect and thus setting up the requisite project controls. Once this is accomplished, the stage also prepares the project files and assembles the initiation documents. The fourth stage, i.e. the DP level, dedicates attention towards the pertinent controlling aspect. This stage defines the authorisation process and more importantly provides scope for an additional plan, in case of a misfit. All relevant board guidance terms are covered at this level of PRINCE2.

Next is the CS step which defines the procedures to control individual stages. Work progress is assessed at this level to capture and examine the key project issues. Other tasks at this level include, reviewing stage status, reporting, planning corrective actions, escalating the experienced issues and receiving the completed work. CS is followed by the MP stage which accomplishes the acceptance, execution & delivery aspects of the work package.
The last two stages of PRINCE2 are the SB and CP. The former precisely defines the tasks which should be contained within various stages and includes defining the end of a stage, next stage planning, maintenance of log files and amendment tools. The CP stage is responsible for the final decommissioning of a project. The evaluation exercise and follow up action steps are included at this level.

Successful application of the PRINCE2 and thus the above elucidate stages, imparts a structured approach to an intricate project. Coordination becomes simpler and adjustment nuances are much better handled. With the PRINCE2 methodology appropriately executed, a project can be reasonably divided into various sub tasks and therefore successfully completed.

Project Management and the Art of War

 

Sun Tzu's The Art of War is known as one of the most respected treatises on military strategy in history. But the Art of War deals with more than just military strategy; it also addresses issues of leadership, management skills, decision making and team building which the modern Project Manager would do well to study.
Let's take a look at what Sun Tzu says are the five essentials for victory:
"Thus we may know that there are five essentials for victory:
1. He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.
2. He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.
3. He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks.
4. He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.
5. He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign."
I am sure many Project Managers are chuckling over that last one, but let's just look at these in turn and what they mean for today's Project Manager.
He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight. And how relevant to managing a project, when many things vie for your attention. One of the most critical skills a Project Manager possesses is the ability to prioritise and focus on what is important. Issues may be brought to your attention by team members which they feel need to be addressed urgently. But as Sun Tzu says, we need to know when to fight and when not to fight – some things need to be put on the back burner as they are just not as critical as other items impacting the project.
He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces. What a dream it is to manage a project with a strong project team. It happens rarely, but when it does, it is an experience to savour. More likely, you will have a team with a range of skills, from great to not so great. Rarely, you will get a team with very little relevant experience – and these are the greatest challenge. But what a sweet victory pulling off a project that no-one thought you could!
He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks. Sun Tzu touches several times throughout his book on the concepts of team building and team spirit. In any endeavour, whether it be in business, military or sports, the team that is cohesive, that has the same goal, and who are all positively striving and doing their best to achieve that goal usually win. Especially on a more challenging project, having a team that is motivated to successfully complete that project, against all odds, is worth more than getting extra budget or staff to bolster your team. A cohesive team, with a strong leader, can achieve things beyond what they could all achieve individually, due to their team spirit.
He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared. Effective preparation is the key to a successful project. Whilst we don't have an enemy on a project (well, not usually anyway), the project that is well prepared from the outset is better equipped to weather any storms that come their way during the project (and the storms always come)!
He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign. I must admit I did have a chuckle at this one. There is nothing worse than managing a project with a "hands on" Project Owner or Sponsor who means well, but really just gets in the way. That's not to say they shouldn't be involved – that's absolutely essential, but each to his skills, and the Project Manager is hired for their project management skills.
Sun Tzu goes on to say "He wins his battles by making no mistakes. Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of victory, for it means conquering an enemy that is already defeated". Again, the theme of preparation, but also now introducing the concept of discipline.
Discipline, or lack thereof, in my view is responsible for the majority of project failures. Whether that lack of discipline relate to managing costs or schedule, or managing the scope of the project, or managing the team members effectively. The Project Manager who has the discipline to hold fast to the project scope, budget and timeline whilst effectively managing their team will always deliver a successful project.
Sun Tzu also gives us sage advice on how we, as Project Managers, can fail our teams. "There are five dangerous faults which may affect a general:
(1) Recklessness, which leads to destruction;
(2) cowardice, which leads to capture;
(3) a hasty temper, which can be provoked by insults;
(4) a delicacy of honour which is sensitive to shame;
(5) over-solicitude for his men, which exposes him to worry and trouble"
Again, let's look at these in turn.
Recklessness, which leads to destruction. Recklessness equals poor discipline. All decisions made by a Project Manager should be sound and based on facts and experience. There is no room for recklessness in projects, as there is no room during war.
Cowardice, which leads to capture. I liken this statement to poor decision making. Sometimes a decision has to be made which is unpalatable either to you or to your team or Project Sponsor. But a brave (and effective) Project Manager makes a decision based on what needs to be done, not on what people want to be done.
A hasty temper, which can be provoked by insults. A workplace is not the place for anger or losing control of your emotions. As a leader, we have an extra responsibility to demonstrate to our team what constitutes acceptable behaviour. Losing your temper at work is never acceptable behaviour. If something rouses you to anger, count to ten under your breath, and then deal with the matter reasonably.
A delicacy of honour which is sensitive to shame. The Project Manager must put the project above personal feelings and emotions. They must always do what is right for the project, regardless of how that might make them feel or look to others.
Over-solicitude for his men, which exposes him to worry and trouble. Now Sun Tzu is not saying here not to have respect and empathy for your team. However, he is saying that as a leader you should not be so close to your team that it clouds your judgement. If you have ever managed a project where you had a good friend working on it, you will understand how uncomfortable this can become. Not only can you seem to favour this person in the eyes of others, but it can be very difficult to counsel good friends for poor performance without affecting the relationship outside of work. By all means be friends with your team, but keep the friendship professional, and never let it stand in the way of making the right decision.
This final point leads me to authority and respect for you as Project Manager. Without your team's respect, you have no real authority over them (except in name). As Sun Tzu says "When the general is weak and without authority; when his orders are not clear and distinct; when there are no fixed duties assigned to officers and men, and the ranks are formed in a slovenly haphazard manner, the result is utter disorganization". This is true in projects as it is in the military.
The Art of War has much to teach us as Project Managers. Sun Tzu has a great deal more to say about managing staff and effective team building which I will cover in a later article. Suffice to say, the basics of leadership and management haven't changed much over the millenia!

 

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Project Management | How to Adopt a Project Management Culture

Many organizations are "projectizing" and developing a strong and effective project management infrastructure. There are challenges along the way, and a number of approaches. However, regardless of the approach, changing the culture to be aligned to formal project management will involve aligning people, one by one, by empowering them with formalized project management knowledge. To accomplish this, organizations can do well to develop a granular approach to empowering their people through this projectization process.

Background
Projectization is a relatively recent phenomenon and is spreading rapidly. It is nearly synonymous with the idea, years ago, of electrification, where incorporating electricity into the physical infrastructure was taking place. With electrification, assets needed to be changed, thinking needed to be adapted, and people needed to be organized and train as part of a new infrastructure. While projectization is not so physical, it is part of the organizational infrastructure and demands the same amount of adaptation of thinking, organization, planning, and alignment, mostly of people.
Inputs
Organizational culture is one of the first inputs to this longer term process of implementing change to a projectized organization. Organization size is a key consideration. Another is sophistication level within the industry, especially on the part of suppliers and customers. Another key input is the operational structure of the organization: matrix versus hierarchical, process versus project orientation, and more. Another important input is the current skill level from top to bottom within the organization.
Outputs
Outputs of a projectization initiative will include greater alignment of projects with strategy and organizational goals, more purposeful implementation of projects, and more alignment of people. Another benefit may be increased ability to rotate people among various roles, producing cross pollination that helps bridge communication gaps. Other 'fallout' benefits are alignment of people around a common vocabulary and common set of concepts, more purposeful communications, and more aligned reporting.
Approach
A 'layered' approach is a good start at thinking about how to inject projectization into the organizational culture. What I mean by 'layered' is that the organization can be segmented logically into groups that will require certain predetermined levels of knowledge and competency in project management in order to achieve projectization.
In an organizational breakdown, a first step would be to map a new project structure to the current organization structure. In all likelihood, it will need to accommodate portfolio level management of projects and programs, as well as management of the actual programs and projects. Where these might fall within the organizational structure will be somewhat unique in each case, but will provide an early picture that indicates some needs.
Next, it is important to identify the roles that all stakeholders will play within this envisioned project infrastructure. What roles, many of them new, will need to be supported, and what knowledge and competencies will be required. For each competency, there will need to be a strategy, and the overall strategy will represent an integrated approach across competencies. Examples of relevant competencies will include Progam Management, Project Portfolio Management, and Project Management. One strategy is to set up levels of competency within each of these roles, and these could include criteria related to experience as well as certification. Depending upon the organization, more specialty roles can be defined around other competencies such as construction management, IT project management, Business Analysis, Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL), PRINCE2, and a myriad of other areas that might apply in an organization.
The key is to implement interaction and training for the various constituencies, and to make sure that training is aligned as a whole with organizational goals, and with the goal of feeding a projectized organization. Supplemental efforts can include training that helps smooth communication, collaborative sessions around achieving organizational goals, and unified awareness of stakeholder roles within the organization.
Measurement
Measurement of success can be tricky, especially since this is not at the outset an easy thing to measure! My suggestion is to initially measure progress in training or any other metric that you can initially track. As the program unfolds, metrics will emerge for measuring organizational progress. Some examples off the top of my head include: meeting metrics, project success metrics, cultural alignment metrics, project completion metrics, and project portfolio effectiveness metrics. Because clarity will come over time, it is a good practice to acknowledge that and keep the measurement fluid and let it unfold over time.

 

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Project Management | Portfolio Management and strategy

Project Portfolio Management takes place in between strategy formulation and implementation of the actual projects. Projects are supposed to arise out of Organizational strategy is intended to set the general direction and lay out the guidance for determining the types and which projects to implement. Project Management resides in the realm of implementation and comes onto the scene after the strategic direction has been set, and after the project portfolio has been determined and prioritized. The challenge is that there can be disconnects at the transitions among these phases, and the most important thing is to develop a feedback loop.

Typically at the highest levels within an organization, there is much study and debate over strategy, and eventually the direction is set. Hopefully this process includes an organized effort to gather information from throughout the organization, and to determine direction for the organization. That direction includes a set of guiding principles and generalized initiatives that provide the input for the project portfolio management, or PPM, process. This is a matter of organizing a large set of projects into a portfolio, then developing a system for managing and prioritizing the list of projects, with primary input from the strategic planning process. The final result at this stage of the project portfolio management process is input to the project management processes, in the form of the list of final projects to be implemented.

The question is, "How can the intentions developed in the strategic planning process continue to live in the project implementation phase?" The answer, I believe, is very practical and simply involves creating a clear feedback loop to the project portfolio management process, which should then be empowered to provide the relevant information back to upper management at the strategic level. This provides an opportunity to monitor projects against intentions, and not just against performance parameters within the project itself. It also allows for mid-stream adjustments to actions taken early in the cycle, based on changing external conditions, or based upon project execution assumptions that might now look incorrect.

Looking at this as a purest, one could reduce all of this down to what a single individual would do, and perhaps identify some disconnects in the process. Let's say that and individual had decided to build a playhouse for the back yard. Presumably, this individual is not only party but also central to every decision that has been or will be made about the play house - at the strategic, portfolio, and project management level. It will not be difficult for this individual to carry through on project management level decisions with the perspective of the strategic and portfolio management levels, since it is all in his/her head. He/she will have the opportunity to made mid-course correction based upon new knowledge gained as the project proceeds, and this could include items such as increased cost, change of priorities, more time than expected, and more.
By designing the feedback loop into the project portfolio management process, we are designing in the advantage that the individual has on a smaller project. That advantage is something that is practiced effectively in many organizations, and is also unfortunately not practiced in some that suffer from disconnects between high-level decisions based on strategy and implementation level-actions and resulting experience. Since the only certainty is uncertainty, conditions will change, and it is important to build effective feedback loops into our project portfolio management processes.

 

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Time Management - The Key To Opening Success In Your Life

Focus is a key component when it comes to time management. Loss and gain can be achieved when it comes to implementing the use of time management. Many individuals have heard of the "Pareto Principle". Perhaps you have not heard this term used? It is the same as the "80:20 Rule". This little rule actually makes a lot of sense when it comes to time management. It states that when an individual puts forth the effort to do something, and it is not managed appropriately in the terms of "time", 80% of that activity will only produce approximately 20% of the results intended. Then, if you flip the coin, and do something that is managed appropriately in the terms of "time", then it will produce 80% of the results with only 20% of effort put into it. This rule clearly outlines the fact that time well managed is time that is more productive.
Many individuals fail in the area of time management simply because their perception of this concept is out of line with what is appropriate. These individuals often view time management as a restrictive set of rules that must be adhered to or less negative consequences will arise. When this type of outlook is taken, it often results in failure. While it is important to understand that there are many core essentials when it comes to time management, these are not meant to be negative, but constructive. Some of the core essentials include scheduling time as appropriate and necessary, setting goals that are relative to the outcome that you wish to achieve, creative planning, and being able to prioritize appropriately.
When it comes to being successful in time management, it is important to know and understand that certain skills are required in order to succeed. Not only are these skills important to the success of time management, but they are also important when it comes to growing as an individual. These skills include the following:
- The ability to make decisions
- A high level of emotional intelligence
- Skills in critical thinking
- Multitasking skills
If you have a good grasp on the skills mentioned above, you are more likely to succeed when it comes to time management skills.
Time management can be included in every single aspect of your life. It is important to appropriately balance both your personal and professional life when attempting to manage your time. If you make a point to do this, you will be much more effective in every area. Many do not realize that it is actually necessary to take the time to make sure that there is a delicate balance between their personal time, as well as their professional time. If you manage one, the other will simply fall into place. Just remember, the secret to managing your time does not rest in the ability to stay busy, it rests in the ability to produce results in every single aspect of your life!
There are generally six areas that personal and business coaches focus on when individuals seek professional assistance for time management development. These areas include the following:
1. The Physical
2. Social
3. Career
4. Intellectual
5. Spiritual
6. Emotional
If you are attempting to increase your time management skills, it is important that you focus on these six areas as well. By doing so, you will find that it is relatively easy to accomplish all that you set out to each and every single day.
The following details steps that you can take in order to get a better grasp on your time:
1. First, it is always important to plan in advance. At the bare minimum, it is important that you carefully outline the things that you must do each day, prior to starting your day.
2. When planning your day, it is essential that you prioritize your tasks.
3. If you must, keep a detailed list of the things that you must complete during the day in order to ensure that you do not lose track of your time.
4. Learn to say "no" to commitments that you find will hinder your productivity and time.
If you follow the tips listed here, you will soon find that managing your time is a simple task.

 

Technorati Tags: time management,productivity,success,efficiency,management,productivity.

Project Management skills for Non Project Managers

Professional Project Management is becoming more pervasive, much like "electrification" did during the era of proliferation of electricity. "Projectization" is occurring throughout the workforce and organizations worldwide. Most of the emphasis I have seen is on professional project management. However, most people will not be professional project managers, but rather will be team members, support personnel, subject matter experts, department managers, C-level executives, and the like. This article explores what is being said about this broader workforce in a projectized world.

The essential question is, "What knowledge level about project management do non-project managers need to have in order to function effectively on professionally managed projects?" One parallel situation over the past 25 years has been the proliferation of computers. Virtually everyone in the work force has needed to acquire at least a user-level knowledge of computers and a variety of software packages. This has included understanding the basics of Windows and MS Office, competence in using the internet, and the ability to use a variety of applications. Similarly, a basic level of knowledge is required to function effectively in a projectized world. Here are 5 key areas of focus for non-project managers to be effective in the world of projects:

1. A project has a beginning and an end, with smaller beginnings and ends in between. - Understanding the anatomy of a project can help to distinguish between other things that actually are not projects, but may be termed such. This will put a non-project manager onto the same page conceptually as a professional project manager.

2. Understand the difference between the plan for a product and the plan for a project. - This is one of the most common misconceptions. This often occurs for those with deep technical abilities, which often makes workers more "product centric". They mistakenly think that a clear description of the product, whether written, in drawings, or some other representation is enough. The problem is that there are many issues and challenges surrounding that product that are in the realm of "project management", not "product management".

3. See that all projects need to be, at some level, an implementation related to the overall objectives of the organization. - Everyone in an organization should have a pretty good, albeit general, idea of where the organization is going. If that is not true, it may be a failing of upper management as often as an employee or associate. What is important here is that, given the assumption that the individual understands in general terms the overall objective, directives, and current initiatives of the organization, that they have the basic sense to ask and seek to understand how the project aligns with those objectives.

4. Recognize that projects are budgeted in terms of time, money, and resources, and that they need to achieve objectives within constraints on these resources. - This is a basic fact of life, and scarcity as a concept is one of the foundations of economics. A mature awareness of this fact should spawn a curiosity and awareness that there are constraints on all projects, and should encourage questioning on the part of any team member about the constraints on their given projects. Awareness of project constraints on the part of team members is a healthy development for any project manager.

5. Understand what a stakeholder is. - Stakeholders are anyone who is affected by the project. Recognizing that there are many potential stakeholders will raise awareness of risks and opportunities. Stakeholder awareness should become second nature to project managers and non-project managers alike as part of a projectized culture.

Competence in understanding and incorporating the above into day-to-day activities can bring project skill "ownership" to non-project managers such that they are very effective on most projects. In fact, they will likely be able to manage portions of projects or small projects on their own.
There are many other topics that can be of interest to everyone in the organization. In the quest to become "projectized", and organization needs to be continuously educating everyone in the organization. Indoctrinating everyone in the basics of project management is part of that. The results will be more successful projects, smoother functioning teams, and alignment across the organization within the important function of managing projects.

Priority Management 

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Project Management | Benefits Mapping and Projects

 

 

Business or organizational strategy is intended to drive all decisions within an organization. It provides a direction, a rallying point, and a litmus test for decisions at all levels. Hence, it only stands to reason that strategy would drive the projects, programs, and the project portfolio management process. Good projects map well to organizational goals. In fact, the best organizations make sure their initiatives are in alignment with their strategic plan. Whether for project initiation or for simply evaluating how the value of a project fits within the organization, becoming familiar with the strategic plan is invaluable.
Background
Here is some background on strategic planning, project management, program management, and project portfolio management.
There are many approaches to strategic planning. One approach is to think through these 5 points for the organization:
1. Vision - where the organization wants to be in the future
2. Mission - purpose, or why the organization exists
3. Values - organization's culture and priorities
4. Goals - results that the organization desires in carrying out its mission 5. Tactics and Initiatives - actionable behaviours and initiatives supporting all above
It is important for project managers to understand where their project fits into the organizational strategy. What organizational goals does it support? Does it support the organization's vision and mission? How are the organization's values being expressed in the execution of the project?
It is equally important for a program manager, with responsibility for an initiative, or program, which involves several projects, to understand how the program supports the organizational strategy. The program manager needs to make sure the individual projects align to organization strategy, and that the project set as a whole that make up the program support that vision.
Project Portfolio Management is concerned with selecting the projects that best support the organization's vision and strategy. PPM works with a list of candidate projects and assembles critical data on each, such as cost, resources, purpose or objective, expected return, risks, and more. With a formal strategy in hand, assuming there is one, the PPM process involves mapping the products to the various elements of the strategy. One of the keys with such data is to be realistic by checking assumptions versus actual on projects and programs in the portfolio over time. Establishing the appropriate parameters for this data is important to accomplishing the desired results.
What the PMI Says About Portfolio Management
"The Standard for Portfolio Management" published by the Project Management Institute (PMI) states that in order to be successful, the portfolio management team must:
1. Understand the organization's strategic plan.
2. Establish determining factors for managing the portfolio based on the strategic plan.
3. Consider all of the organization's projects, programs, and other portfolio components.
4. Follow agreed-upon processes.
The standard clearly articulates the importance of the relationship between strategy and project portfolio management!
Working Together By Thinking "Outside the Box"
Project managers develop plans to execute the projects in the portfolio, and then lead the effort to implement the plan. Likewise, program managers develop plans for their programs, but they do it for a higher level entity that contains many projects. In each case, the Project Manager or Program Manager "owns" his/her project or program. It naturally follows that portfolio managers "own" their respective project portfolios. The element that MUST tie the portfolio managers, program managers, and project managers together is strategy, which often requires some "out of the box" thinking on the part of the respective managers. Strategy needs to be the common thread through the project portfolio, programs, and projects.
By taking "ownership" of a portfolio, program, or project, professionals are addressing the "what". So how can they "think out of the box" within the overall organizational context to be more effective? The answer is by being driven by the "why" by clearly understanding the link to strategy. Maintaining that tie throughout implementation is a challenge, and can be supported by devising feedback processes to ensure that everyone is aligned with strategy. Each area needs to produce metrics that map back to the stated strategic initiatives of the organization, and communicate those metrics among the project portfolio management team, project teams, and program management teams on these metrics to "close the loop".
Call to Action
The project portfolio management team, project teams, and program management teams need to take ownership of the "why" as well as the "what" in order to ensure their actions are aligned with the strategic direction of the organization. They need to be intimately aware of organizational strategy, and if there is no formal strategy, they need to devise one and verify it as formally as possible. They need to think "outside the box" by mapping the projects and programs back to the strategy, and taking ownership of the whole process.

Project Management | 6 Tips To Prince2 Success

In order to have success with project management, there are several things you will have to focus on. Unfortunately, it does not come easy for everyone. You have to work at it to make sure you properly handle everything that needs to be taken care of. Here are seven tips to having success with project management.

1. The three dimensions
When seeking out to have success as the project manager, there are three dimensions you will want to focus on. The first of the three is time, which you must take seriously. It is up to you to make sure the project is completed in a timely manner. The second dimension is budget because as you know, nothing comes for free. Make sure you look at everything closely and stay within the budget. Lastly, quality determines how much of a success the project had.
2. Planning

In order to make sure that you can accomplish all three dimensions, it is essential you plan extensively. The plan could very well change over time, but it is vital you plan everything out before starting anything. Planning is one of the single most important responsibilities of the project manager. You want to have a detailed, systematic, and team-oriented plan that will lead to a successful project.

3. Urgency
As the team manager, it is up to you to show a sense of urgency to the rest of the team. Nothing will get completed unless you are on top of the ball. Projects have certain time limits, money limits and other issues to be cautious of. Because of this, it is essential that you stay on everyone involved to make sure the project moves in the right track. Regular status checks, meetings and reminders are essential.

4. Get it right the first time
It is understandable to make mistakes from time to time, especially when you are on a time constraint. But it is vital you do everything you can to complete the project efficiently the first time. You do not want to say you wish you could have done it better. Make sure you have enough time to complete the project correctly without having to change anything after.

5. Hire the best
Just as with any profession, it is up to you to hire the best people to get the job done efficiently. Take the time to look at all of your options so you have the best to complete the project. You want to acquire the most skilled, most experienced, and best qualified people for the job. In addition to hiring the people that are most qualified, you will also have to handle the unpleasant task of letting some people go. There are going to be times when people are not working up to par, and it is up to you to put people in their place.

6. Set priorities
It is not uncommon in project management to have to take on several different responsibilities and teams at once. At times, it can become frustrating trying to handle several projects all at once. Therefore, it is up to you to set your priorities straight and figure out what responsibilities and projects mean the most. You want to look at which projects have the most impact and which can be put on the side-burner momentarily.
When attempting to have success with project management, there are several things you will have to do. It is up to you to make sure the most qualified people are working, they are working with urgency, and you are prepared to lead them to a successful project. Take the tips listed in this article into consideration so you can have success as a project manager.

 

Priority Management

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Project Management | 10 Eternal Truths

No two projects are the same but acknowledging these truths of project management might help you deal with the uncontrollable.

1. Your project plan will change.The sooner as a project manager you learn to except that your project plan is not the declaration of independence but rather a living, breathing document open to misinterpretation and change the sooner you can get on with the important business of dealing with those miscommunications and changes.

2. If its not written down, it didn’t happen.  This works both ways. Things go wrong and when they do blame has to be dealt. Paper trails can be a useful way of passing the buck but they can also come back and bite you. You wrote the project plan- publish and be damned.

3. Over- runs happen Over-runs happen. This is exponential. If your project is scheduled at a day, it will take 2. If its scheduled for 6 months it will take a year. Ok this may be an exaggeration but the important thing is to make it clear from the outset that a timeline is a plan and when you do overrun remember, you’re not the first, you wont be the last.

4. What a client doesn’t know cant hurt them (but what a project manager doesn’t know can only hurt them)There will be times in your project where the whole picture may not be suitable for the client to see. Problems happen but a panicking client can compound them ten fold. Ask yourself, as a client what would you rather hear:The prototypes a mess, the lead engineers eloped with the placement student and I have started drinking on my lunch hour Or Were ironing out some kinks in the prototype and are on schedule for next week when Dave is back from annual leave. I have got a lunch meeting and will be back in the office in 3 hours.

5. Your project management software tells you lies.  Whether your project management software is a full bells and whistles package with voice activated Gantt Chart generation widgets or a beer mat and biro your project management software will lie to you because even NASA scientists cant quantify an equation which accounts accurately for incompetence, illness and IT.

6. You are essentially a human dart board.  You may be a skilled project management professional with years of multi-disciplinary experience but the sooner you realise that as project manager your role at least some of the time is to stand in the firing line and take the darts (and worse) that the client or project team fire at one another the sooner you’re skin will become thick enough that you don’t notice.

7. 60% of the time it works every time If your project relies on technology in any shape or form, which it variably will whether you’re building microchips or sending an email, at some point that technology is going to break or misfire and throw you off track. Because you’re not going to get your project plan signed off with a 2 week buffer because the server melted or the email got lost in the post you’re better off adding an extra week for testing.

8. Nobody expects the Spanish inquisition.  Fear and surprise are the two weapons which your stakeholders will use against you at some point in the life of the project. Whether its a deadline which absolutely needs to be brought forward 2 weeks or a change request which there is categorically no budget for, the important thing is to realise that such requests will come when you least expect them and when they will cause maximum disruption.

9. There are not 8 hours in the day.  OK so your average working week might not reflect this fact but the truth is the modern office environment is not conducive to maximum productivity levels from your project team.

10. Worrying wont get it done any faster.This might sound like a cliché from the pages of a self help book but its fair to say that time spent worrying is time which could be spent coming up with a solution or at least containing the flames.

 

Priority Management

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Project Management | Four Strategies for Selling Project Management in Your Organization

 

One of the common issues that we hear is "How do I get other people in the organization to see how important project management is?" This question is really related to how one sells project management to others in the organization. In general, the only way that others will accept project management is if they see the value that it provides. These four strategies are directed at demonstrating the value of project management to others:

1. Use the Credibility of Others
I don't know why this happens, but people will believe something they read in a newspaper, magazine or Web site over what a colleague tells them. This doesn't make sense, but if this is the case, then let's use it to our advantage. Find articles in popular publications that support the use of project management and use them to sell the ideas internally. One great source is Fast Company magazine. Their web site, www.fastcompany.com has all of their articles archived. One way to use articles is to send an article to other is the organization by e-mail about every 5-6 weeks. In the e-mail, say that you thought it was an interesting article and list a few key points that you liked, then provide the web link to the full article. Even if they don't read the full article, they will get the key points from your summary. It may take a while, but the ideas will start to make an impact and someone will come to you suggesting that you try project management because of some articles they read of where it worked in other organizations. Then you support them as if it was their idea all along.

2. Start Simple
If you try to implement an entire project management process all at once it will be too overwhelming and will end in failure. A better approach is to start with the two steps that we have found show value the quickest - team roles & responsibilities and a clear project scope. Two of the common problems in projects are team member being unclear of what they are responsible for and the team not being clear on what the project needs to deliver. By starting with a definition of each role and the related responsibilities, we can help team members better understand the unique contribution they will make to the team. When we involve them in developing a project scope statement, we help them to commit to a project that they clearly understand. These two steps can help project team members and sponsors to see the value of project management quickly, and once this is done, you will be invited to use more tools and techniques to help the project even more.

3. Use common language
It is easier for people to see value in things that they understand. If the terminology and language that you use is too technical or unfamiliar, people will have a hard time seeing the value in project management. Make sure you use words and phrases that are familiar to those you wish to reach. Find stories and examples from their area or from similar organizations so they see how it relates to them and what they do. You may have to explain some of the terms in project management in a way they can relate to before you can explain the concept. Examples that we have seen used include: project constraints being referred to as the box that the project operates within, and the time spent planning a project being seen as investing time up front to save time later similar to investing small amounts now for a financially secure retirement later.

4. Get referrals
Some people will trust the judgement of their peers, so one way to reach them is to have a referral from a satisfied client. When you do good work on a project for a client (internal or external), ask if they know any other projects that might benefit from some of the steps that you followed. If they can give you a referral, it is the highest form of compliment because they are willing to put their own reputation on the line for you. In this way, the person or project you are referred to will trust the value judgement of the referrer and transmit that value judgement to you and to project management. This may be the only way to reach some areas of your organization, but it is all dependant on the quality of the work that you do, so make sure you are managing the projects well.
Selling project management is not always going to be easy, but if you take the view that demonstrating the value of project management will sell the idea far better than anything we say, then using these four strategies will help you show that value and help others to conclude for themselves that project management is a useful, valuable approach for the organization.

 

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Project Management | A simple software primer

 

Project management and more importantly successful Project Management, can be much easier to achieve if the skills and talents of your project team are backed up by software that matches the needs of your organisation.  In this article we will explore the things you need to consider if you are looking for the right Project Management software.

 

The success of a project is often measured not only by whether it came in on time and on budget, but also what that how long it took and how much it cost.  In in ever more competitive business environment time and resource management become extremely important so companies seek to find a balance between getting the projects done and getting them done by utilising as small amount of resources as possible. This area of resource and time management is where Project Management software comes into its own.  The ability of software to track and manage both resources and cost  especially across a number of projects can help a Project Manager to successfully bring a project to conclusion as quickly and cost effectively as possible.   It is important to remember however that while good software may make managing your project easier it will not do everything for you and is not a replacement for good planning and processes.

 

So what are the key things you need to look for in your choice of project management software to enable you to determine which is the best piece of software for you and your organisation.

First and foremost I think is ease of use.  Although project management software is complicated your staff need to be able to use it.  Yes they may need training in how to use it but once they understand how it work it should not be a hardship for them to do the things that they need to do in order to run the project.

It should all of the features you require in the one package, there is no point in purchasing a piece of software only to find that you then need to purchase another tool in order to create reports, or that you need specially written code to make your PM software talk to your financial software.   Check you features and compatibilities first it will save you a lot of money in the long run.

You should readily be able to find support material, either from the manufacturer or from third party’s and training should be available if necessary for your staff.

And most importantly it should be Project Management software, by this I mean you should be able to do all of the things that you need to do in order to run your project.   You should be able to produce, Gantt charts, network diagrams, pert charts etc.  There should be financial and resource tracking and the ability to create reports.  In short don’t try and use a piece of software that this not designed for the task of

 

It should however be easy to use and intuitive. which will help you make an educated choice when buying one? Besides covering all your project's needs, simple interface and intuitive printed reports, your new acquisition should meet the following criteria:

Features: In this category you need to look for task and resource management capabilities and the ability to match resources to specific projects.

Ease of Use: Although project management software is almost by definition complicated, it should however be easy to use and intuitive. Beauty lies in simplicity, and combining numerous features with the possibility to use them easily is a very important issue.

Project Management: This is one of the basic features, as this is what the software should really excel at. Organizing and managing project, resources, budgeting, evaluating and prioritizing should all be done with the interest of the organization in mind.

Now this is a basic walkthrough of what you should look for in management software. Of course, you know best what your company needs and it's priorities are. However, professional management must always be considered an important issue and each company owner should strive to attain a high level of professionalism. And with the help of management project software, you might end up doing just that.

 

Technorati Tags: Project Management software,Microsoft Project,Primavera,project management

Twitter | Making it work for you

When I first heard about Twitter—The Microblogging phenomena that everyone seems to be talking about at the moment I really did wonder what the fuss was about.  I thought it was interesting but it did not initially grab me.

Why would other people care about what I had for lunch, or who was at the airport and why someone was sad?  And why would a business become involved in this, what possible purpose could it serve?  Then  I though maybe it is about the cult of personality maybe it is about microfame and perceived short attention spans, I mean 140 characters did not seem like much.

What I have come to realise though is that, at its heart, Twitter is just a communication tool. Like the Web, and the phone and the telegram before it, it’s just a tool to let one person connect with another.

How Does Twitter Work?

Users have 140 characters to answer the question, “What are you doing?” If you join Twitter you can “follow” others, allowing their  updates to appear on your home page. They can follow you, with the same result or you can also direct message them, but always in 140 characters or less.

Twitter communications can be viewed and updated on the Web, through desktop apps, and on mobile devices. My two personal favourites being twitterberry and Tweetdeck, both of which allow me to interact easily whether at my desk or on the road.

Tweets (recent 140 character posts) tell you what people are having for breakfast, that they are worried about how their job interview went or that they are planning a romantic dinner with their partners.  These can sometimes be very weird indeed if you spend time looking at the public twitter time line rather than just your followers.

How Does Twitter Help You Work?

A growing number of people are beginning to using Twitter for business. And as I have said in pervious posts I am not talking about the internet marketers trying solely to increase their traffic. Instead more and more professional are using Twitter as a communications tool.

Here are some things that you might want to think about:

Follow industry leaders who post links to important resources and influence conversations

• Post questions for quick answers and answer others’ questions to establish your credibility and expertise
• Create links to your Web site or blog (don’t over do it!)
• Keep up on the buzz in your industry
• Network with like-minded people.

How to Find (The Right) People on Twitter

You can use Twitter search to look for subject that interest you and follow the people talking most about them. You can use third party sites and tools like;

• Mr Tweet: Finds and suggests like-minded people based on your tweets.
• Twellow: Searches based on location,categories and keywords.

How to Get People to Follow You

The more people who follow you on Twitter, the more influence and networking opportunities you have. It makes sense therefore to try and build a following. Here are some ideas on getting others to follow you:

• Follow them. Most people follow people who follow them as long as they are not just trying simply to increase followers for its own sake.
• Be discriminating with whom you follow. I find that if someone follows me and they only tweet about how hungry or tired they are, I don’t follow them back. The same goes for people who haven’t tweeted in a while.
• Complete your Profile. People rarely follow strangers, so complete your one-line bio and include a URL in the More Info URL section of your profile. I can't tell you the number of times I've not bothered to follow someone because I didn't know a thing about them.
• Add your Twitter feed to your blog or to other social media profiles. Having my Twitter feed linked to facebook and Friend has increase the number of people that I know who now use Twitter itself.
• Reply to people you are following, especially if they’re not yet following you. That’s a good way to engage someone and get them to follow you, even if they didn’t follow you immediately. Remember, though, some people have thousands of followers, and may not be able to respond to every reply.

Getting the Most Out of Twitter

While the guidelines of Twitter etiquette are still evolving, guidelines from other social media sites can used:

• Treat others with respect
• Participate
• Don’t just try and sell something.

 

Technorati Tags: Twitter,Social media,business,engagement,networking.

Making Outlook work for you | Where does Outlook open for you?

 

If the Inbox is the first thing you see when Outlook opens you are starting your day on a very reactive footing. You are beginning from a place that is all about responding to the requests (or demands) of others. There is the very real temptation to dive in and being working through our emails particularly those with that little red exclamation next to them. The real danger in this is the ease with which we can be side tracked from the other work that you need to get done today. How often have we become so involved with our email that we have almost missed a meeting or suddenly realised that it was lunch time and there was a whole pile of work that we had been hoping to get done still sitting on our desk.

So what other choices do we have, where else in Outlook could we begin our day that was less reactive and more, proactive, more about the work we had planned to get done before email reared its ugly head? What about the Calendar? If the Calendar was the first thing you saw when Outlook opened, rather than being focussed on reacting to emails you would see all of those fixed time commitment already in your day, those meetings and appointments already organised. If in addition to this you team the Calendar with the Taskpad (or ToDo bar) then not only are we seeing our fixed time commitments in Calendar, we are seeing our flexible time commitments for the day captured in the Taskpad. With this set up you will find yourself becoming more proactive every time Outlook opens.

There are a number of steps you need to take to achieve this new opening point for Outlook. I am assuming here that you are starting from your inbox, in the mail view.

1. In the navigation buttons in the bottom left hand corner click on the button marked Folder List.

2. In the folder list itself, click on the Calender. (The calendar should be showing a one day view)

3. With the Folder List and Calendar showing, click on the View button, in the drop down list that appears click on Taskpad. This should bring the Taskpad into view on the right of the Calendar, completing the picture.

4. To make this the place Outlook opens, Click on Tools, then option. In the box that appears click on the Tab ‘Other’, then ‘Advanced Options’

5. On the page that appears click on the ‘browse’ button next to start up in this folder. In the popup box simply highlight Calendar and then okay your way back out to your new front page.

Now you have set up Outlook so that it has become a proactive tool to better manage your time, communication and information.

 

Priority Management 

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