The Pmo Podcast

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story presents "Don't Miss the 11/15 PowerSteering Webcast - Finding the PPM Sweet Spot," presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™. For years, Jay Hoskins, the Director of Solution Consulting, has given presentations on business driven approaches to project portfolio management as has Susan Go, who is one of the PowerSteering PPM subject matter experts. PowerSteering is one of those leading PPM providers that recognizes that for most organizations a PPM initiative is far more than merely implementing a tool. The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo presents, "Top 10 PowerPoint Presentation Tips." Many people may think that good presenters were just born that way or are naturals at it, but I have found that not to be the case. Like with any craft, being good takes planning and practice. And in the case of giving a good presentation, it can also take having a good command and repertoire of some of the common and effective tips and techniques. So today, we have

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story presents "Daptiv Announces 2012 PMO Success Webinar Series," presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™. In the last few months, I have had the opportunity to work with and get to know the daptiv company a little better. Their marketing manager, Satish Kumar, reached out to us with an idea for a PMO Success Webinar Series. He invited me to join one of daptiv's PMO thought leaders, David Blomhorst, who heads the daptiv Services and Solutions team, to provide a series of four webinars aimed at helping people with their PMOs. The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo presents, "Sales people - don't confuse value with price discounts." Not long ago, in discussions with a service provider about renewal of services that were not performing, they used terms like value and ROI quite often and quite loosely. In fact, it was clear that we did not speak the same language with respect to what is an expense and what is a benefit. And from there, the discussions about

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story presents "Don't Miss the PM Solutions 2012 PMO of the Year Virtual Award Ceremony," presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™. Today, it is my pleasure to share with you the announcement of PM Solutions of their 2012 PMO of the Year Virtual Award Ceremony. What is the PMO of the Year Award? Well, it is just that. It is an award that is designed to annually recognize the best of the best PMOs. If your calendar permits, this is a must-attend event for PMO practitioners and enthusiasts. The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo presents, "CFO pleads, stop speaking project management mumbo-jumbo!" Last night, on my flight from Pennsylvania back to Orlando, Florida, I found myself sitting next to a CFO. Not long after the plane took off, I took out my laptop to do some work. I suppose the nature of what was on my laptop screen gave away my occupation, and after a few moments, my fellow passenger struck up a conversation with me. After pleasant introductions,

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story presents "Future of Project Management, an interview with Samir Penkar" presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™. Today, it is my pleasure to have Samir Penkar on the show to tell us about his project management site, Future of Project Management. Samir has grown from the trenches of project management and just like you and me. Samir strives to create commentary that is fresh, content rich and thought provoking. He likes to talk about the future, and to look into trends and to spot and identify opportunities. The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo shares, "Introducing a must read book, Green Project Management." Have you heard the term Green Project Management? Do you know what it is? Do you know the importance of Green Project Management both today and on into the future? Could you explain it in twenty seconds to your boss while on the elevator? Well, if you have answered no to any of these questions, and even if you haven't, then I am very happy t

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story presents "Is Your PMO Qualified?" presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™. I often get asked for tips for how to rapidly set up a PMO and for how to show compelling results within the first six months of the PMO that demonstrate, to everyone's satisfaction, the value of the PMO. But before getting to the magical roadmap of steps to set up a PMO, I always first ask a simple question. And that is, is your PMO initiative qualified? This, almost always, produces a blank stare, much like the proverbial dear in the headlights of a fast moving vehicle late at night. The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo shares, "Announcing a new green PM learning opportunity." I just received a nice email from Rich Maltzman, a wonderfully kind man and expert in all things PMO. Rich just told me about a new learning opportunity. Rich and his compatriots are running a very important 7 PDU online, instructor-led course with the Sustainability Learning Centre of Canada. By w

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story presents "Top Three Characteristics of an at Risk PMO" presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™. As many of you know, I am a big proponent of the concept of the Business Driven PMO. About a decade ago, after performing some basic PMO research, it became clear to those of us involved in the PMO research project, that the findings were showing a cluster of data in two distinct and measureable areas. At the time, we coined these to clusters Business Driven PMOs and Inwardly Focused PMOs. Today, we present the top three characteristics of an inwardly focused, at risk, PMO. The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo announces, "Introducing Samir Penkar's project management site, The Future of Project Management." In this PMO Podcast episode, I would like to introduce all of you to a very nice and smart man, Mr. Samir Penkar, who has a new project management site called The Future of Project Management. Samir is creating project management and PMO commentary t

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story presents "Top Three Characteristics of a Business Driven PMO" presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™. As many of you know, I am a big proponent of the concept of the Business Driven PMO. About a decade ago, after performing some basic PMO research, it became clear to those of us involved in the PMO research project, that the findings were showing a cluster of data in two distinct and measureable areas. At the time, we coined these to clusters Business Driven PMOs and Inwardly Focused PMOs. Today, we present the top three characteristics of a business driven PMO. The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo asks, "Is Project Risk Management tied to Personal Risk Management?" This last month, I have been spending more time than usual discussing Project Risk Management with peers, colleagues, and some of my PMO manager friends. Our discussions came about on account of each of us having some kind of personal project at home to manage. And what we discovered

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story presents "Project Weavers, an interview with Matthew Weaver, President and CEO" presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™. Today, we have with us Matthew Weaver, an experienced project management trainer, consultant, and subject matter expert. Matthew is here to share with us his experiences and perspectives. The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo presents, "Green Fatigue." OKAY, I will be the first to say it. I am greened-out. I am tired of hearing about green this and green that. Okay, crucify me now. My green fatigue is not because of over use of the term, nor is it due to all of the exploitative things that always accompany if not take over such a cause, nor is it on account of government waste, abuse, and fraud related to all things green. I suppose the reason that I am so greened-out is that deep down I am a Deming enthusiast and process improvement advocate. The PMO Podcast™ Mailbag answers a listener question about earned value management.

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story presents "PMO in Brazil, an interview with Rodrigo Cezar de Oliveria, PM and PMO Subject Matter Expert" presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™. Today, we have with us Rodrigo Cezar de Oliveira, an experienced project management professional and PMO manager. Rodrigo is here to talk with us about PMO in Brazil. The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo presents, "Who makes project decisions; the project manager or the software developer?" Today, I have a question for all of you listening based upon a real life company. In this company, the software developer told the project manager that the planned time for the development of a particular capability was going to take an extra two weeks. The original planned time for this was eight weeks. So my question is who should make the decision to update the project plan with the new estimate for how long it will take to develop the software capability? The PMO Podcast™ Mailbag answers a listener question abou

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story presents, "PMO Manager Leadership, an interview with Ricardo Ferrero, Baker Hughes," presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™. Today, we have with us Ricardo Ferrero, an experienced business exectuive and PMO manager. Ricardo is here to talk with us about PMO leadership.   The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo presents, "What is a leader?" Many people advocate that a leader is someone who leads others. But what makes someone an effective leader? What is it about being a leader that some people do naturally and use to their advantage and others struggle with? Can you learn to be a good leader or do you have to be born with charisma, good looks, blond hair, blue eyes, and height? Simply put, a leader is a person who has vision, drive, and skills. The PMO Podcast™ Mailbag answers a listener question about a PMO that is at risk of being shut down. The PMO Podcast™ is sponsored by BOT International, the provider of Processes On Demand, a PMO Setup solutio

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story presents, "More on Project Closeout and Lessons Learned, an interview with Mel Bost, BOT International Practice Lead," presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™. Today, we have with us Mel Bost, a veteran in the PMO domain. Mel is here to share with us more perspectives on Project Closeout and Lessons Leaned.   The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo presents, "Prevent project manager burnout." Every now and again our project managers hit a wall. It happens, actually more than one might think. It can be difficult to tell the difference between a down day or two or two and something a bit more than that. But burnout, creative or otherwise, is a common problem, especially for those who work hard and continually function at a high level. Yep, that's our project managers. The PMO Podcast™ Mailbag answers a listener question about a PMO that is stuck in a rut. The PMO Podcast™ is sponsored by BOT International, the provider of Processes On Demand, a PMO Setu

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story presents, "The New Project Management Triangle, Part 2 - Business Acumen," presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™. Most project management professionals are familiar with the term, the project management triangle. In the traditional project management triangle, the three points of the triangle (scope, time, and cost) refer to the triple constraints. Have you heard of the New Project Management Triangle?  The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo presents, "Think outside the box!" Thinking outside the box is more than just a business cliché. It means approaching problems in new, innovative ways; conceptualizing problems differently; and understanding your position in relation to any particular situation in a way you’d never thought of before. We’re told to “think outside the box” all the time, but how exactly do we do that? The PMO Podcast™ Mailbag answers a listener question about evolving an IT PMO to an enterprise PMO. The PMO Podcast™ is sponsore

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story presents, "The New Project Management Triangle, Part 1 - Leadership," presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™. Most project management professionals are familiar with the term, the project management triangle. In the traditional project management triangle, the three points of the triangle (scope, time, and cost) refer to the triple constraints. Have you heard of the New Project Management Triangle?  The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo presents, "Why do we call them soft skills?" When I hear the term soft skills, I always and regrettably think of these skills as nice to have but not really necessary. But in today’s PMO environments, one could easily make the case that the so-called hard skills, technical project management, are really secondary to these all important soft skills. The PMO Podcast™ Mailbag answers a listener question about project success measures. The PMO Podcast™ is sponsored by BOT International, the provider of Processes On De

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story presents, "Live from Adelaide, a post-PMO Workshop interview with Mark Duddy," presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™. Mark Duddy discusses some of the highlights of the Business Driven PMO Workshop and provides insights and advice regarding the PMO setup and maturity.  The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo presents, "Do you know Do?" When a problem comes to the PMO, what do you see, a problem or an opportunity..? If your PMO is like many of today's PMOs, then you know all too well that anything that looks like a problem, especially if it lives and exists across a number of the line of business silo organizations, it comes to the PMO. When this happens, your day and perhaps your PMO strategy has just been subject to a possible change in plan. The PMO Podcast™ Mailbag answers a listener question about whether or not project managers should remain in the functional business units or report to the PMO. The PMO Podcast™ is sponsored by BOT Internation

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story presents, "Live from Canberra, a post-PMO Workshop interview with Adrian Lejins," presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™. Adrian discusses some of the highlights of the Business Driven PMO Workshop and provides insights and advice regarding the PMO setup and maturity.  The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo presents, "PMO problems or PMO opportunities." Hello PMO managers out there. Do you know of a little company called Salesforce.com? Do you know what kinds of customers and business people use the products and services of Salesforce.com? And do you know of a new product from Salesforce called Do? Well, Do is a new Salesforce.com offering that is an application for project management. The PMO Podcast™ Mailbag answers a listener question about the career path of PMO managers. The PMO Podcast™ is sponsored by BOT International, the provider of Processes On Demand, a PMO Setup solution used by more than 1,000 companies.Request a Demo LoginThe PMO Pod

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story presents, "Live from Brisbane, a post-PMO Workshop interview with Charl Morkel," presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™. Charl discusses some of the highlights of the Business Driven PMO Workshop and provides insights and advice regarding the PMO setup and maturity.  The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo presents, "How to deal with an arrogant executive." Arrogance is defined as conceit, self-loving and egotistic. In general, arrogance is self-confidence on drugs. Many executives do not know the distinction between leading and controlling. Arrogant executives never gain the respect of their followers. Arrogant executives often behave as dictators, insensitive, rulers and tyrants. These types of executive can, and often do, have negative effects on the quantity and quality of work generated by employees. So, how do you deal with an arrogant executive? The PMO Podcast™ Mailbag answers a listener question about whether or not iPADs, iPhones, Blackber

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story presents, "Live from Wellington, a post-PMO Workshop interview with Rommy Musch," presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™. Rommy discusses some of the highlights of the Business Driven PMO Workshop and provides insights and advice regarding the PMO setup and maturity.  The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo presents, "Negative levels of maturity." How many times have we started off a discussion about PMO maturity with the assumption that when we start a new PMO, the maturity level of the PMO is Level 1? But what if the true starting point for maturity is not even at Level 1 on the maturity scale? Is this possible? Well, not only is this possible, but it is quite likely. The PMO Podcast™ Mailbag answers a listener question about the number of projects that should be assigned to a project manager. The PMO Podcast™ is sponsored by BOT International, the provider of Processes On Demand, a PMO Setup solution used by more than 1,000 companies.Request a De

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story presents, "Live from Sydney, a post-PPM Workshop discussion with Peter Forrester about portfolio optimization," presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™. Peter discusses some of the highlights of the Business Driven PPM Workshop and provides insights and advice regarding the practical application of project portfolio optimization techniques.  The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo presents, "Be cool under pressure." Have you ever had problems with your project? Have you ever had difficulties with your project team? Have you ever lost your cool in front of others? Well, one of the skills that separate good project managers from great project managers is the ability to be cool under pressure. The PMO Podcast™ Mailbag answers a listener question about whether or not leadership should be in the plan and budget for project manager training. The PMO Podcast™ is sponsored by BOT International, the provider of Processes On Demand, a PMO Setup solution used b

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story presents, "Live from Melbourne, a post-PPM Workshop interview with Melanie Marx and Rob Harding," presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™. Melanie and Rob discuss some of the highlights of the Business Driven PPM Workshop and themes and areas of the workshop that casted a light on how to set up an effective, business-driven, project portfolio management function within an organization.  The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo presents, "Salesforce launches PM application." Have you heard of Do.com..? It is a free collaborative service that allows users to launch projects, assign tasks, and invite others to join and collaborate. Do.com can be used with any email address or client. The PMO Podcast™ Mailbag answers a listener question about about how to set expectations with management for how long it will take to get the PMO up and going and to mature the PMO to higher levels of capabilities, performance, and outcomes. The PMO Podcast™ is sponsored by B

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story presents, "Live from Perth, a post-PPM Workshop interview with Lorraine Pestell and Daniel Keddie," presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™. Lorraine and Daniel discuss some of the highlights of the Business Driven PPM Workshop and themes and areas of the workshop that casted a light on how to set up an effective, business-driven, project portfolio management function within an organization.  The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo presents, "Things often get worse before they get better." One of the PMO community folks that I have enjoyed working with over the years and learning from as well is my colleague at BOT, Mark Duddy. And one of his PMO presentations that is my favorite is a presentation that he gives, based upon a number of research sources, that talks about the typical roadmap and path of maturity for most PMOs.  The PMO Podcast™ Mailbag answers a listener question about tips for making a project management methodology more suitable for sm