Season's Greetings 2014

As 2014 comes to a close this is the perfect time to thank you for your continued support throughout the year. Season’s Greetings and Warm Holiday Wishes from Deanne and the team at Unlike Before Website Email UK +44 7817 500 593 Whitepaper Resources IT +39 3664 537 897 Copyright Unlike Before Ltd 2014 all rights reserved

Project Management Around the World – A Kiwi’s View from Europe

This post is part of the #PMFlashBlog initiative originally kick started by Shim Marom and taken forward into round two by Mark Phillipy, The Sensible PM. The twist this time is that readers will be taken on a 7 week journey as people involved in projects around the globe blog about project management where they live. 

This topic posed a challenge for a number of reasons... 

#PMFlashBlog Take Two!

Get ready for 7 weeks of FlashBlogging on ‘Project Management Around the World’

The first #PMFlashBlog led by Shim Marom was such a huge global success Mark Phillipy has organised a sequel with a twist. Each Monday for 7 weeks PMFlashBloggers around the world will release their posts about ‘Project Management Around the World’. Those in North America will publish in unison on 3 March followed by Europe on the 10^th, Australia and New Zealand on the 17^th and so on.

This rolling schedule means we can highlight where we are in the world and the influence that has on how we practice, promote and deliver project management. Each week there’s further opportunity to connect with and listen to the bloggers as they share their thoughts and experiences on the Google+ PMHangout expertly hosted by Mark.

With 50+ project management bloggers already involved there’ll be loads of information and some eye-openers about ‘Project Management Around the World’.

My #PMFlashBlog post will be out 10 March so why not subscribe to my feed, follow me on Twitter, and add the #PMFlashBlog tag to your twitter stream now.

Don’t miss #PMFlashBlog Take Two!

Practical Project Governance - 4 Traps to Avoid

Governance of projects and initiatives can be a mixed bag. Many see it as a necessary evil; another process and set of meetings that clogs calendars, adds cost, and delays progress. Yet those who understand good governance know it’s an essential part of delivering business value to an organisation. 

Some will be nodding their heads in agreement but it’s what they do next that matters. If all they do is talk and point out others failings, they’re not making any contribution towards improvement. Without action these questions will remain unanswered - Why is governance so time consuming? Why don’t our initiatives line up with our strategy? Where’s all the money going? Why are we really doing this? When will we realise business value from all this investment?

An organisations culture has a large part to do with this cycle of frustration and making changes takes time and and serious commitment. There are however some areas that with a little effort can deliver big benefits. So if you are interested in steps along the road towards good governance, here are 4 traps worth avoiding: