The Cranky Middle Manager Show #011
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #011 (MP3 11.8MB 34:16Min)
Project Management with Dave Po-Chedley
Welcome to another Cranky Middle Manager Show. Today’s obsession is project management, and we’re talking to the guru of No Bull Project Management, Dave Po-Chedley.
0:00 Welcome to the show. Project management is not just Gantt charts, timelines and critical paths. It’s about communication. I’m obsessed with the study that 60% of IT projects fail because of bad communication. Since 80% of IT projects are communication installations that just drips with irony so I figured I’d talk to someone smarter than me.
2:50 The quote of the week is from Seneca- the politician not the city. Project planning is a complete drag and only slightly more fun than “Take a Fire Ant Home In Your Shorts Week” but how else are you gonna get where you’re going?
3:45 Welcome Dave Po-Chedley of Cambridge Consulting…
5:25 4 words you don’t want to hear… “oh by the way…”
10:50 What’s the balance between systemic problems and communication problems? Don’t run out and buy Microsoft office just yet.
13:30 What are the competencies a manager needs to have? It involves finding and feeding gorillas, believe it or not…
19:30 To certify or not to certify…
28:00 Resources…take a look at these:
Project Management Links
the Project Management Institute
What is PMBOK and why do I care?
and if you’re in the UK you might be interested in the Association For Project Management
29:00 Before you run out and buy project management software…
33:00 Dave talks about the importance of getting executive support. I’m going to be leading a web seminar on “Influencing Upstream- Mastering the Science of Persuasion”. Wanna listen in?
Thanks for listening to the Cranky Middle Manager. If you know training departments or companies that are willing to put a link on their intranet, drop the guys at The Podcast Network a line.
August 19th, 2005 at 7:43 am
Hey, I’m one of those IT types. We’re not so bad.
Actually, I find myself in situations like what you guys described as being typical of IT organizations. I also find myself being pushed into middle management from my more comfortable technical position. Well, I’m probably dual-hatting it, but that’s another discussion. Good stuff, and good resources.
Mr. Po-Chedley touched on my plight a little bit, and I wonder if it’d be a good show idea to discuss moving up into management from below. Some of us want to try to do it right before we get started. Not that I’d ask for an edition of CMM just for me, but if you think it’d be an interesting podcast, I would too, and I’d listen. Well, I listen to the podcasts anyway but still…
December 6th, 2005 at 12:31 am
IT Portfolio Management…
The measurement for return on IT investments has gone from yearly to quarterly and now sometimes even monthly. The velocity at which change occurs and the demand for innovation has caused many enterprise architects to think about IT portfolio managem…
March 24th, 2008 at 5:19 am
This is an excellent podcast, it’s so weird that I learn about it only now (apparently your podcast has been up & running since 2005).
It was interesting that you mentioned that over 60% of IT Projects fail, and the following article explains why (in my opinion, at least): http://www.pmhut.com/most-it-projects-fail-will-yours
Now about the certification, people are really segregated over this issue, and I’ve never seen anyone changing his/her mind the other way.
That’s all and keep it up! Great podcast!