Zacharias Beckman
What you won’t get out of your certification
Certification programs are more about demonstrating your competency than about learning how to manage. Consider this: PMP and IPMA certification takes you through a process guide and a comprehensive examination that you can easily enough learn in a few weeks. I always recommend learning the bodies of knowledge, so long as you are fully aware of what you’re getting… But be aware of what you are actually getting. Here are a few things that your certification program is definitely not going to teach you.
The good (and bad) about Project Management School
I’m frequently asked what I think of certifications such as the Project Management Institute’s PMP, or its other programs. The PMI’s Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) represents a strong reference guide, and one that I turn to when appropriate as a process guide — but its very strength as a reference text also makes it a poor companion for someone looking for a comprehensive project management methodology. There’s a host of information you won’t get in school (not even from a top tier management school, let alone a certification program you can cram for in less than two weeks).
Broken RSS feed is fixed!
Oops, sorry folks — looks like something changed over the holidays, and our RSS feed was broken for a little while. It’s back online so please resubscribe by visiting http://www.rational-scrum.com/feed — and sorry for the inconvenience. We’ll have a few great articles coming out this month so stay tuned.
Managing with blinders on
Most managers today have blinders on when it comes to solving the problems of complex projects: They are lost among the trees, and can’t see the forest for what it really is. Too many project managers are focused on the day-to-day problems of the project and have lost sight of their overall strategy. So, with KPMG telling us that nearly 70% of projects are failing to meet their goals, what’s the real solution? What’s the one thing that’s going to make the most difference?
In search of silver linings
Every enterprise, big or small, knows that cloud computing is going to be part of their business. Small companies use it every time they turn to QuickBooks Online, Google mail, or a hosted Exchange server. Large companies are increasingly being attracted by the promise of zero hardware costs and ease of deployment. Yet there’s still [...]
Training versus development
When it comes to leadership development, you can’t “train the leader.” Leadership requires too much contextual differentiation, innovation, and innate skill. These are qualities that can be developed, but not absorbed from a training session.
How to shift from survival mode to growth mode
Jay Goltz’ article in The New York Times is spot on: “[Einstein] said that the definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Too often, I think that’s really the definition of small business. Whether it is continuing to hire the wrong people because of a bad hiring protocol, [...]
Is being too wired destroying creativity?
Research shows that multitasking employees who are constantly bombarded with information are less creative and less focused.
Getting paid: A talk by Mike Monteiro
Mike Monteiro, co-founder and design director at Mule Design, recently gave a talk on getting paid and the value of having a well designed contract. As he says in this entertaining and very informative, spot-on talk: “Excuses vary – from ‘We ended up not using the work’ to ‘it’s really not what we were after.’” He [...]
Team-based performance is key, but only works with team input
Tammy Erickson’s recent blog post in the Harvard Business Review on Rethinking Performance Assessment is a spot-on article. She focuses on the value of team-based reward systems and how such systems only work if team feedback is part of the process. The article points out research suggesting that simply moving to a team-based reward system is an insufficient [...]
Connect
