10 Reasons Why You Can’t Miss PW&WCBA in Seattle

ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts is an event for all those needing to take charge, reduce risk and deliver results in a changing work environment. Learn how to elevate your skills, deploy technical innovation and collaborate across functions to become a more effective project manager or business analyst from industry leaders

Here are the top 10 reasons you can't miss PW&WCBA 2015:

1.       Project Portfolio Management - New Secrets Revealed
Barb Hurst, Manager, Project Portfolio, Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company, will help you uncover secrets on how to plan, communicate and rollout portfolio management as a valuable service in the real world (including the best day/time to present a new idea and influencing the influencers.

2.       Build Your Brand as an Emerging Leader
Uncover the three essential elements of an effective leadership brand and how you can scale up  your brand and advance your career with best practices from Jo Miller, Founding Editor, BeLeaderly.com, CEO, Women's Leadership Coaching, Inc.

3.       Decrease Project Risk
Drive project success through active risk management and get a better understanding of the relationship between project risk management and project success. Plus, Scott Reynolds, VP Senior Technology Project Manager, Bank of America will also share how you can increase your projects probability of success.

4.       Become a Change Leader            
Project Managers will come together with Lou Russell, CEO & Learning Faciiliator, Russell Martin & Associates to experience project collaboration and competition in real time. You'll learn how to complete difficult projects with and in spite of other teams, just like in the real world.

5.       Navigate Your Own Career Journey
A career in project management can take on many paths and is dependent on an individual's goals, interests and limitations. Join Rick Radice, VP, Federal Regulatory Exam Liaison, Prudential Financial as he shares different PM career paths and how to select what's right for you.

6.       Build a Project Management Centre of Excellence
CIBC Bank's Lindsey-Ann DePeri leads you through the journey of creating a CoE for Project Management, including establishing a value proposition, aligning staff and projects into a shared services portfolio, application of best practices and more.

7.       Master Your Presentation Skills
One of last year's top rated speakers, William Greenwald, Founder & Chief Neuroleaderologist, Windsor Leadership Group, returns to the PW&WCBA with the goal of helping you construct a great story while holding mastery of the stage.

8.       Explore & Analyze Data in 3D
3D data exploration is a new and promising field. Igor Peev, Senior Program Manager, Power Map for Excel, Microsoft Corporation will talk about how interacting and animating the data gives the user additional insights which are not available in the traditional methods of exploration.

9.       Scale Agile to YOUR Organization
Forrester Research examines new roles required to make a transition to Agile, address limitations that require a hybrid approach and talk about shifts that need to be made in budgeting and planning.

10.   Manage the Rate of Change in a Digital Driven Economy
Fredrick Redd, CEO, ASSAI Management Consulting reveals leadership strategies to keep pace with the rate of change that is ideal for leading projects, programs and organizations.

Download the brochure for full session details and speaker line up: http://bit.ly/1G6UIFN

Join us next month to explore what the future of project management and business analysis will look like. As a valued reader of our blog, you get an exclusive $100 off the current rate with code PW15BL. Register today: http://bit.ly/1G6UIFN

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Uncover the Promise of a PM/BA Partnership at PW&WCBA, Save $200 Today!

Earlier this year, ESI's Top 10 Trends in Business Analysis projected that BAs would become the common thread between business objectives and the projects designed to achieve them.*

The challenge, for both project managers and business analysts, now lies in the collaboration between the teams throughout the project phases. Are you prepared to managing complex projects with your peers?

PW&WCBA arms you with the skills you need to work across the project lines.

New Session Just Announced!

Understanding the Role of Business Process Management within Projects
Gurpreet Kanwar, Senior Project Manager, Information Management, NAV Canada

Business process plays an important role in successful project delivery and vice versa. We will identify how business process and project management relate together. We will review:

·         The difference between Project Management and Process Management

·         How projects can help in creating and improving the business processes

·         How Business Process helps projects to align with the organizational strategy

·         How Change Management plays a very important role to institutionalize the business process across the organization

·         How Project Methodology can be used in executing business process

·         Plus, don't miss Kathleen Hass, Principal Consultant, Kathleen Hass & Associates as she explores the New Project Leadership Model: The Promise of the PM/BA Partnership in a Complex World.

Download the brochure for full session details: http://bit.ly/1ULwTdg

$100 Early Registration Savings Expire today, September 11. Plus, as a valued reader of our blog, you get $100 off the current rate – That’s a total of $200 savings: Secure Your Spot & Save: http://bit.ly/1ULwTdg

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Practical Approaches to Change Management from Farm Credit Mid-America

Change is inevitable, that's a fact. And it's never easy. But if there's one thing we can learn in today's project landscape, it's that not adapting to change isn't even an option.

Project timelines are accelerating at an unprecedented pace and you're expected to work with brand new tools and solutions that weren't even available a few years ago - how are you and your teams coping?

 

PW&WCBA is Your Partner in Advancing Your Change Management Strategies:

Change is Tough: The Alternative is Tougher.  A Case Study on Organization-Wide Change Management Emphasizing Practical Approaches and Lessons Learned

Farm Credit Mid-America's Vice President of Process Improvement & Execution, Chuck Millhollan will lead you through a multi-faceted case study which incorporates strategic portfolio management, the practical application of Lean concepts in a service organization, a complex program impacting every employee in one of the largest associations in the Farm Credit System, and a multi-year change management initiative on the organization's Journey to 2020. Special attention is given to the practical tools and tactics the Farm Credit Mid-America teams have used to enhance delivery and change management.

In addition to Chuck, also hear from:

• Lou Russell, CEO, Learning Faciliator, Russell Martin & Associates on The IT PM as Change Leader

• Myles Miller, CEO & Founder, LeadUp discussing Change Agents - Are You Ready for Change?

• Brunella Lahey, Senior Business Systems Analyst sharing how to Implement Global Solutions at a Fortune 100 Company

• Wayne Kremling, PMP, Senior Project Manager, The Boeing Company revealing Managing Risks, Issues and Opportunities with a Mitigation Burndown

• And much more!

To view the full agenda download it here: http://bit.ly/1EDAgB8

Join us in October and walk away with an action plan to increase your ability to manage projects during times of change. Register today with code PW15BL and receive $100 off current rates! http://bit.ly/1EDAgB8

We hope to see you in Seattle!

Cheers!

The PW&WCBA Team

@Project_World

#PW15

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PW&WCBA 2015 Full Program Now Available

The Fusion of Technology & Innovation

We've got news. ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts is coming back to Seattle in 2015! Download the just released brochure here: http://bit.ly/1GySTAo

As always, PW&WCBA has been designed to deliver the skills and knowledge you need to take charge, reduce risk and deliver results in a changing work environment. Hear how to elevate your skills, deploy technical innovation and collaborate across functions to become a more effective project manager or business analyst from industry leaders including:

·         The Walt Disney Company

·         Clark County NV

·         The Boeing Company

·         Champs Oncology

·         SUNY ITEC

·         Windsor Leadership Group

·         Bank of America

·         Prudential Financial

·         Mutual of Omaha

·         Forrester Research

·         Blue Cross Blue Shield Texas

·         Russell Martin & Associates

·         Microsoft

·         Assai Mangement Consulting

·         Women's Leadership Coaching

·         Farm Credit Canada

·         Denab Quality Systems

·         Kathleen Hass & Associates

Download the full 2015 PW&WCBA West Program for the full agenda and speaker lineup: http://bit.ly/1GySTAo

Join us in October and you'll walk away with tangible lessons to implement immediately upon returning to the office, increasing your value to the organization.

Plus, register by Friday, July 10th and save $300: http://bit.ly/1GySTAo

Cheers,

The PW&WBCA 2015 Team

@ProjectWorld

#PW15

Pwwbcablog.iirusa.com

Leadership Lessons: The Biggest Challenges Facing Leaders Today

I recently interviewed Mary Ann Bender of Allstate and Betsy Ballentine – Project Manager at Russell Martin & Associates, to talk about the ins and outs of leadership in today’s competitive business landscape. Both women are speaking at next week’s ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts conference - the premiere conference brand that delivers executive level program quality with an enhanced focus on collaboration between project management and business analysis disciplines.

Here’s what Mary Ann and Betsy had to say:

IIR: What is the biggest challenge facing project leaders today? How can they be overcome?

Bender: Budget continues to be a challenge in some cases; however, based on my experience the biggest challenge is the fear of availability issues or business impact due to the project or changes to the environment.

So, have a good change management process in place, clear and customized communication per business area, do a presentation of success measurements to officers and directors helping them understand how the project is helping the company and the businesses and if the project has cost savings, those must be presented too.  Divide the metrics and reports per business unit and make it as a healthy competition between them.

Ballentine: Multi-tasking is the biggest challenge. Constantly changing focus means that project managers are never getting any velocity on their projects. New highly-matrixed, job-sharing times demand leaner, more resilient tools. Get REAL!

Mary Ann and Betsy will be speaking at PW&WCBA in Seattle, WA taking place September 22-24th. The 2014 program is designed with courses for all training levels, a robust agenda, and most importantly tangible lessons which you can begin implementing the day you return to your office, making you even more valuable to your organization. PW&WCBA offers attendees 36 PDU/CDUs - that's more than half of the required credits necessary to maintain your certification in just one place.

To learn more or register for the event, click here:  http://bit.ly/1r4E6sC

Leadership Lessons: William Greenwald

In our next episode of the Leadership Lessons interview series brought to you by ProjectWorld &World Congress for Business Analysts, I sat down with William Greenwald of Windsor Leadership Group to discuss how to stand out in leadership,  what it takes to be a great leader, and the biggest challenges facing leaders today.

Today, ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts is the premier conference for advancing collaboration through practice. This year, PW&WCBA has not only changed locations but also drastically changed how the program is delivered- more than ever focused on practicality and tangibility, through visionary speakers, and focus areas that matter to you and your role and help accelerate future success.  At PW&WCBA, you will have the opportunity to join industry thought leaders as they re-examine how to identify opportunities and track their success, understanding what it means to be an effective leader in a virtual and multicultural world, and explore the future role of project managers and business analysts with the corporation.

Greenwald whole-heartedly believes in Gandhi's quote, "Be the Change that You Want to See.” According to him, too many leaders worry about uncontrollables or trying to change others such as peers, bosses, and spouses.

“Great leaders lead themselves before others...hence, by simply taking responsibility for your own behavior and being an exemplary role model in your corporation, community, and family, you will, by default, STAND OUT.”

Greenwald recommends that all new leaders start every conversation (at home and at work) with: "How can I serve you today?” This will begin to build a strong foundation of Servant Leadership that will ably guide decades of success as a great leader.  

Check out my full interview with William here: http://bit.ly/1rAY9MQ

If you’d like to hear more from William, don’t’ miss his sessions, “Creating Magic: Leadership and Service Excellence” on Monday, September 22nd at 10:45 am and “Story to Stage: The Art Behind the Science of Presentation Excellence” on Wednesday, September 24th at 2:00 pm. ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts 2014 is taking place this September 22-September 24, 2014 in Seattle, Washington. For more information and to register, click here: http://bit.ly/1wf3eOV

About the Author: Amanda Ciccatelli, Social Media Strategist of the Marketing Division at IIR USA, has a background in digital and print journalism, covering a variety of topics in business strategy, marketing, and technology. Amanda is the Editor at Large for several of IIR’s blogs including Next Big Design, Customers 1st, Digital Impact, STEAM Accelerator and ProjectWorld and World Congress for Business Analysts, and a regular contributor to Front End of Innovation and The Market Research Event,. She previously worked at Technology Marketing Corporation as a Web Editor where she covered breaking news and feature stories in the technology industry. She can be reached at aciccatelli@iirusa.com. Follow her at @AmandaCicc.  

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Will you be joining us at ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts?

In less than one month, hundreds of project management and business analysis executives will gather in Seattle to tackle some of their most pressing challenges from the project trenches at ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts. Will you be joining us?

PW&WCBA

September 22-24, 2014

W Hotel

Seattle, Washington

• PW&WCBA provides a 3-day experience designed for all training levels,  with a robust agenda and tangible lessons that can be implemented when you return to the office.
• Full Agenda Addressing Project Pain Points : Designed to meet the needs of YOUR industry, including a new Project Scheduling Lab, a focus on Leading High Performance Teams and Becoming a Person of Influence.
• In-Depth Workshops: This year there's even more workshop sessions to get hands on with topics, including Agile PM Training, Requirements Management Best Practices, Cyber Security, Emotional Intelligence and more. 
• 40+ Speakers sharing best practices and lessons learned from deep in the project trenches. Find out what works (and what doesn't!) from the best in the industry. You'll hear from Allstate, Bank of Montreal, Erie Insurance, IIBA, Kindred Healthcare, Microsoft, Quest Diagnostics, Starbucks & more. 
• A Look into the Future of Project Management & Business Analysis: PW&WCBA will prepare your team not only for the changes taking place in project management and business analysis, but also what's coming. The IIBA's Kevin Brennan and Clark County NV's Ricki Henry will share What the Future of Business Analysis will look like, while Kathleen B. Hass explores what the New Project Leadership Model looks like.
• 36 PDUs/CDUs to maintain your certification: that's more than half of the credits needed in just THREE days!
• Unparalleled Networking: PW&WCBA Connect allows you to see who's attending the event and begin networking before you arrive in Seattle. Plus, we've added a networking reception and the opportunity to sign up for group dinners to continue the conversation after the conference day ends.

Download the brochure for full details: http://bit.ly/1CJdpQv

Attendees to date include:

Visa Disney PMI AIG New York Life Insurance Allstate Insurance Centene Corporation Russell Martin & Associates Banfield The Pet Hospital Citizens Bank Solea Software Solutions ALLData El Paso Water Utilities Hampton Affiliates University of North Texas Health Science Center Hilti Inc McKee Foods Corporation ARGO Data Goodyear University of Connecticut Lonza Biologics Women's Leadership Coaching Inc New Directions Behavioral Health Federal Depositors Insurance Corp Kathleen Hass & Associates Inc ECMC Watermark Learning NyeCo Inc State of Wisconsin Reliance Home Comfort Microsoft The Boeing Company Starbucks Coffee Company Bank of Montreal International Institute of Business Analysis Federal Reserve Bank WEA Insurance AT&T Neiman Marcus Honda R&D Robert Bosch EBG Consulting Kindred Healthcare Inc ESI Fujitsu America Callisto Integration Edwards Lifesciences LLC Quest Diagnostics WEA Trust University of Regina Tyco Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco NASA Mars Science Laboratory T. Garanti Bankasi A S Stage Stores Clark County SITA Windsor Leadership Group LLC Human Systems International Plan Administrators Inc Washington State Department of Retirement Systems Insperity Canadian Blood Services The Pasha Group Buffalo State College Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Travelers Companies T-Mobile Continental Mills

Have you been following our Leadership Lessons Blog series? Head over to our blog to read up on our recent interviews with industry leaders themselves: http://bit.ly/1tcIZTB

PW&WCBA 2014 presents you with new opportunities to accelerate professional and personal development at the rate of change. Join us and make yourself more valuable to your organization.

Mention code PW14LI & Save 15% off the standard rate. Register today: http://bit.ly/1CJdpQv

All the best,
The PW&WCBA Team

@Project_World

#PW14

Leadership Lessons: Benjamin Locwin

I recently interviewed Benjamin Locwin of lonza Biopharmaceuticals to talk about the ins and outs of leadership in today’s competitive business landscape.  Locwin is speaker at the upcoming ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts 2014 conference in Seattle taking place next month. He will be presenting a session entitled, “Using Evidence-Based Practice for High-Impact Messaging.”

At PW&WCBA, you will have the opportunity to join industry thought leaders as they re-examine how to identify opportunities and track their success, understanding what it means to be an effective leader in a virtual and multicultural world, and explore the future role of project managers and business analysts with the corporation.

Check out what Locwin had to say:

IIR: How do you, as a leader, stand out in a crowd in this competitive business world?

Locwin: For this, leadership branding is critically important; I have my own leadership brand, and this constancy of message carries through all of the work I do with my teams.

IIR: What are characteristics of a GREAT leader?

Locwin: Listening, being empathic, and not being afraid to make the big decisions. To paraphrase Peter Drucker, an expert in a field has seen enough to be able to quickly appraise a situation and know what’s important to focus on.

IIR: How does a successful leader communicate?

Locwin: One word: Often. If a leader isn’t developing a strategy and communicating a vision, and then communicating frequent progress checks, no one knows what the status is of their achievement work.

IIR: What are the most important decisions you make as a leader of your organization or team?

Locwin: As an organization gets larger there can be a tendency for the “institution” to dampen the “inspiration.” How do you keep this from happening? By disentangling the chaos of the entire big picture and making the smaller teams still feel like critical cogs in the whole machine; It’s really a sense of scale in this case that demotivates. By making the goals and achievements real, tangibility can be felt.

IIR: How do you encourage creative thinking within your team or organization?

Locwin: Much of this is derived from Edward de Bono; Lateral thinking requires tools and techniques to encourage it often. I have developed these systems so that they frequently call upon the experts to continuously refine their work in new, bold, and creative ways.

IIR: How do you help a new employee understand the culture of your organization?

Locwin: Culture can only be felt or measured on a very broad scale; it’s how the business functions as a whole and in the context of its own unique ‘corporate memory.’ You can’t ‘train’ a new employee on the culture of the organization, he or she learns by interacting within it.

IIR: What is one characteristic that you believe every leader should possess?

Locwin: An understanding of behavioral psychology and fluency with statistical variation.

IIR: What is the biggest challenge facing leaders today?

Locwin: Diversity in the workplace with respect to different fluencies with technology and media. Being part of the ‘next-five-minutes’ forecasting model (which is to say that long-term forecasting as had been done for many decades in business is no longer relevant with such short time horizons now).

IIR: What is the one behavior that you have seen derail more leaders’ careers?

Locwin: Believing that natural variation doesn’t occur.

IIR: What advice would you give someone going into a leadership position for the first time?

Locwin: Stop. Look. And listen. Don’t go out and make decisions until you’ve taken stock on how the status quo is running; You’d be more likely to make things worse than better.

IIR: What are you doing to ensure you continue to grow and develop as a leader?

Locwin: Continuous learning. It’s all about adaptability.

Locwin will be speaking at ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts 2014, taking place in Seattle, Washington September 22-24th at the W Hotel. The 2014 program is designed with courses for all training levels, a robust agenda, and most importantly tangible lessons which you can begin implementing the day you return to your office, making you even more valuable to your organization. To learn more or register for the event, click here:  http://bit.ly/1p8VOGT

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Leadership Lessons: Silvanus David

I recently interviewed Silvanus David, SITA SOUTH AFRICA, to talk about the ins and outs of leadership in today’s competitive business landscape.  David is a keynote speaker at the upcoming ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts 2014 conference in Seattle taking place next month. He will be presenting a session entitled, “Cyber Security.”

Check out what David had to say:

IIR: How do you, as a leader, stand out in a crowd in this competitive business world?

David: I am a project management subject matter expert. I add value to the scientific knowledge base. I have something to offer that will make this world a better place than I have found it.

IIR: What are characteristics of a GREAT leader?

David: Humility is key. Focus as well – knowing how to keep the team focused and what is important.

IIR: How does a successful leader communicate?

David: Successful leaders communicate honestly. Good and bad news must be communicated.

IIR: Can you name a person who has had a tremendous impact on you as a leader? Maybe someone who has been a mentor to you? Why and how did this person impact your life?

David: My CEO, Mr. Freeman Numvalo. He arrived at the organization when it was at its lowest from an employee satisfaction perspective. His engagement with staff and his ability for getting people to start believing in themselves was “messiah” like. His focus on the vision and objective of the organization was always core and he was “outcome” and “impact” driven.

Image via Plexxi.com

IIR: What are the most important decisions you make as a leader of your organization or team?

David: Strategic direction of the team. Ensuring that the outcomes of Government are adhered to and supported.

IIR: As an organization gets larger there can be a tendency for the “institution” to dampen the “inspiration.” How do you keep this from happening?

David: Whatever we do has an impact on the service delivery for the citizenry of the nation. My team is inspired by knowing that the value they add makes the nation a better place for all.

IIR: How do you encourage creative thinking within your team or organization?

David: All for people to make mistakes within a controlled environment. Reward employees whose ideas thru creative thinking has added value to the organization.

IIR: Which is most important to your organization or team? (mission, core values or vision?) How do you communicate the “core values” to your team? 

David: Vision, Mission and core values are all important. The best way to communicate “core values” is by visibly demonstrating it.

IIR: How do you help a new employee understand the culture of your organization?

David: The best way to help a new employee is to have a comprehensive induction program for the new employee. Also, the new employees should be assigned to a mentor for a period of time.

IIR: What is one characteristic that you believe every leader should possess?

David: Every leader must know the end-game. And he must be able to change direction mid-flight.

IIR: What is the biggest challenge facing leaders today?

David: Staying relevant to customer needs.

IIR: What is the one behavior or trait that you have seen derail more leaders’ careers?

David: Arrogance and the false belief that it is all about themselves.

IIR: Can you explain the impact that social media has made on you as a leader?

David: It depends on what interests you and what you are exposed to. Social medial can be very beneficial.

IIR: What advice would you give someone going into a leadership position for the first time?

David: It’s not about you.

IIR: What are you doing to ensure you continue to grow and develop as a leader?

David: Think hard about business and people.

David will be speaking at ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts 2014, taking place in Seattle, Washington September 22-24th at the W Hotel. The 2014 program is designed with courses for all training levels, a robust agenda, and most importantly tangible lessons which you can begin implementing the day you return to your office, making you even more valuable to your organization. PW&WCBA offers attendees 36 PDU/CDUs - that's more than half of the required credits necessary to maintain your certification in just one place.

To learn more or register for the event, click here: http://bit.ly/VPs7Ua

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Starbucks - More than a cup of coffee

As Project Managers and Business Analysts we are all exposed to different cultures working in various industries. ProjectWorld will be hosted in Seattle, Washington this year on the West Coast and many attendees will have the unique pleasure to experience an offsite learning session at Starbucks Corporate Headquarters. Attendees will gain insight into the unique Starbucks experience and culture.

Starbuck’s was originally about the coffee beans; they didn’t make coffee. Howard Schultz had a dream, bought Starbucks and eventually realized his dream. Several years ago Howard Schultz reached a turning point with Starbucks and in his book ”Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life Without Losing its Soul” he revisits how he turned Starbucks into an experience that would first be cultivated by his leaders (his managers) and then through his employees by (as he put it) “as managers we would put our feet in the shoes of our people.”

Starbucks has a corporate culture that encourages its leaders to create a unique culture for employees and for the employees to create a unique and personal experience for its customers.  

Starbucks has established five principles that employees follow and use in their daily lives at the company: The five core business principles are:

· Make It Your Own
· Everything Matters
· Surprise and Delight
· Embrace Resistance
· Leave Your Mark

It will be interesting to see how this translates to managing projects at Starbucks. If you have signed up for the tour you’ll be one of the lucky attendees to gain insight into how these practices are put into action in how they manage and deliver their projects.

Jan Asbjorsen, Program Manager, Law & Corporate Affairs, Starbucks Coffee Company will lead attendees on A Behind this Scenes Look at the Starbucks Corporate Headquarters. In addition to a private tour of the Starbucks world headquarters, attendees will hear from a cross-departmental panel of project managers (including store development, IT, retail operations, law and more), as well as walk away with a checklist of things to consider when determining how to size your projects, tools, organizations, success factors, etc.

PW&WCBA
September 22-24, 2014
W Hotel
Seattle, Washington

Download the brochure for full details: http://bit.ly/1nwdqM0
- See more at: http://pwwbcablog.iirusa.com/#sthash.gwf2fHBk.dpuf

 References:
Interview with Howard Schultz:
http://www.oprah.com/own-super-soul-sunday/The-Coffee-Culture-Howard-Schultz-Wanted-to-Bring-to-America-Video?playlist_id=47020

Leadership Lessons: Brian Duffy

I recently interviewed Brian Duffy of The Boeing Company to talk about the ins and outs of leadership in today’s competitive business landscape.  Duffy is a speaker at the upcoming ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts 2014 conference in Seattle. He will be presenting a workshop alongside Joe Reid entitled, “Requirements Management Best Practices at the Boeing Company.”

Check out what Duffy had to say:

IIR: Can you name a person who has had a tremendous impact on you as a leader? Why and how did this person impact your life? 

Duffy: The best leader I worked for rallied the organization around a vision, worked with the leadership team to collaboratively develop a strategic plan to move the organization toward the vision, and used project management principles to turn the strategic plans into project plans. That’s when I made a career change to move into a project manager role.

IIR: How do you help a new employee understand the culture of your organization?

Duffy: As a project office we have developed a team operating plans that describe our products and services and our intended use of management best practices to run the organization.  It helps orient new employees that we have a strong emphasis on creating value for the company.  We consistently ask our internal customers how specifically our products and services are helping them achieve bottom-line business results.   

IIR: What is the biggest challenge facing leaders today?

Duffy: I think leaders today need to recognize that the up and coming work force is entering the workplace better equipped to be more productive due to their technological savvy and with an ability to come up with wildly creative solutions to problems. The organizations that leverage that most effectively will rapidly see improvement in business results.   

Duffy will be speaking at ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts, taking place in Seattle, Washington September 22-24th at the W Hotel. The 2014 program is designed with courses for all training levels, a robust agenda, and most importantly tangible lessons which you can begin implementing the day you return to your office, making you even more valuable to your organization. PW&WCBA offers attendees 36 PDU/CDUs - that's more than half of the required credits necessary to maintain your certification in just one place.

To learn more or register for the event, click here: http://bit.ly/1tec13U

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Associated Bank Reveals Visual Thinking & Creative Problem Solving Processes for Project Management

FACT: 75% of the brain's neuroreceptors are devoted to processing visual information. That's 60x more than are devoted to hearing!

Project Managers and Business Analysts alike are accountable for understanding, and helping others understand, all aspects of a project. When planning, designing and communicating a project, sometimes words alone aren't able to provide a clear picture - that's where visual thinking and reporting tools can help.

Next month, at ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts, Paul R. Williams, former Vice President, Operations & Technology PMO Lead, Associated Bank, NA will share how you can leverage visual thinking in project management. He'll provide you with the tools needed for creative problem solving, task planning and reporting project-based metrics and results.

PW&WCBA

September 22-24, 2014

W Hotel

Seattle, Washington

In addition to Paul's presentation, check out these featured sessions:

 ·        Making Innovation Work: New Directions Behavioral Health

·         Story to Stage: The Art Behind the Science of Presentation Excellence: Windsor Leadership Group

·         How to Best Take Advantage of Cloud Computing, Microsoft

·         If It's Creativity You Want, Then Creativity You Will Get! Expert Facilitation that Fosters Creativity: Kathleen Hass & Associates

·         Reinventing Global Project Management - A Transformational Journey: 3 Tenants You Should Always Employ for Success: AT&T Business Solutions

Download the brochure for the full program agenda:  http://bit.ly/1l2GbGj

PLUS, PW&WCBA still has the PM and BA sessions that you've come to expect year over year.

Mention code PW14LI & Save 15% off the standard rate. Register today:  http://bit.ly/1l2GbGj

We hope to see you in Seattle!

All the best,
The PW&WCBA Team

@Project_World

#PW14

pwwbcablog.iirusa.com

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Leadership Lessons: Dr. Alicia Aitken

I recently interviewed Dr. Alicia Aitken , managing director Asia Pacific, Human Systems International (HSI), to talk about the ins and outs of leadership in today’s competitive business landscape.  Aitken is a keynote speaker at the upcoming ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts 2014 conference in Seattle. She will be presenting a keynote session entitled, “Benchmarking Risk Management: What Good Looks Like.”

Check out what Aitken had to say:

IIR: How do you, as a leader, stand out in a crowd in this competitive business world?

Aitken: Being authentic. Today’s world is full of leadership models, business school taught methods and processes. Leaders stand out by being authentic and true to who they are and who they are leading.

IIR: What are characteristics of a GREAT leader?

Aitken: For me, great leaders are those that are not only visionary but are able to bring people on the journey with them to share and understand the vision and inspire them to want to work towards a better future state. Great leaders take the time to know themselves as well as their team and work to leverage each team members’ strengths on the journey.  Great leaders lead with authenticity and courage.

IIR: How does a successful leader communicate?

Aitken: Often and in many different ways. People hear and understand in different ways, it’s important for leaders to work hard to find and use all the different communication techniques, one-on-one, group messages, email, notice boards, texting and most importantly, listening. 

IIR: Can you name a person who has had a tremendous impact on you as a leader? Maybe someone who has been a mentor to you? Why and how did this person impact your life?

Aitken: Dr. Lynn Crawford has been the most influential leader in my life. She has taught me not only about project management but how to succeed in life by following your passions, having the courage to live by your values no matter what, constantly reflecting on your own practice to ensure you’re always improving, to open doors for good people along the way and to have the courage to walk through doors opened by others for you and the good grace to thank you as you step through. 

IIR: What are the most important decisions you make as a leader of your organization or team?

Aitken: Who joins the team.  

IIR: As an organization gets larger there can be a tendency for the “institution” to dampen the “inspiration.” How do you keep this from happening?

Aitken: Encourage all team members to voice ideas and try new things and have the self-control when some of them inevitably fail not to get angry but talk through how we can learn from the lesson.  

IIR: How do you encourage creative thinking within your team or organization?

Aitken: I try to hire people with diverse backgrounds and diverse education paths so that my teams are mixtures of different ways of thinking. The mix of people generates ideas that spring from different origins which fosters creativity simply by coming at problems from different perspectives.

IIR: Which is most important to your organization or team? (mission, core values or vision?) How do you communicate the “core values” to your team?

Aitken: Core values are most important as they are the stable. The core values underpin the delivery of changing missions and visions over time. The core values are communicated both implicitly (I model them) and explicitly (I talk openly about what the core values are, how they manifest in behaviors and why we have them).

IIR: How do you help a new employee understand the culture of your organization?

Aitken: I talk to them. We are small enough that I can talk to everyone one-on-one. As we grow this will become less one-on-one and more through group sessions.

IIR: What is one characteristic that you believe every leader should possess?

Aitken: Self awareness.

IIR: What is the biggest challenge facing leaders today?

Aitken: I’m not sure there are challenges that relate to today in particular. Leadership is a base human need. It has been around for millennia and will continue into the future.

IIR: What is the one behavior that you have seen derail more leaders’ careers?

Aitken: Hubris.

IIR: Can you explain the impact that social media has made on you as a leader?

Aitken: It has given me one more mode of communicating and bonding with my team. It has slipped into the mix along with everything else we do.

IIR: What advice would you give someone going into a leadership position for the first time?

Aitken: Asking questions shows you care not ignorance – listening is one of the best skills you can employ with team members, clients and co-workers.

IIR: What are you doing to ensure you continue to grow and develop as a leader?

Aitken: I am constantly looking for people I think are good at things I am yet to learn and try to model from their example

Aitken will be speaking at ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts 2014, taking place in Seattle, Washington September 22-24th at the W Hotel. The 2014 program is designed with courses for all training levels, a robust agenda, and most importantly tangible lessons which you can begin implementing the day you return to your office, making you even more valuable to your organization. PW&WCBA offers attendees 36 PDU/CDUs - that's more than half of the required credits necessary to maintain your certification in just one place.

To learn more or register for the event, click here:  http://bit.ly/1kA3cjq 

Related articles

• The Successful Reading List: 15 Inspirational Books for Success (strayer.edu)
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Find Out What’s New at PW&WCBA This Year

Have you heard the news?

PW&WCBA 2014 is making a move to Seattle. And the location isn't the only thing that's changed. We've added more in-depth workshop options (including Agile PM Training, Requirements Management Best Practices, Cyber Security, Emotional Intelligence and more!) and ALL NEW offsite learning sessions at the headquarters of Boeing and Starbucks!

PW&WCBA

September 22-24, 2014

W Hotel

Seattle, Washington

But have no worries, ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts still has the PM & BA foundations that you've come to expect:

·         3 Days Jam-Packed with Session Addressing Your Project Pain Points: We've heard your needs and have designed the 2014 program around YOUR specific challenges. PW&WCBA covers it all - including a new Project Scheduling Lab with Russell Martin & Associates, a focus on Leading High Performance Teams from NASA and Becoming a Person of Influence from Women's Leadership Coaching.

·         40+ Speakers sharing their best practices and lessons learned from deep in the project trenches. Find out what works (and what doesn't!) from some of the best in the industry. You'll hear from: AIG, Allstate, Bank of Montreal, Erie Insurance, IIBA, Kindred Healthcare, Microsoft, Quest Diagnostics, Starbucks & more.

·         A Look to the Future: PW&WCBA prepares you not only for the changes taking place now in project management and business analysis, but also what's coming. IIBA's Kevin Brennan and Clark County NV's Ricki Henry will share What the Future of Business Analysis will look like, while Kathleen B. Hass explores what the New Project Leadership Model looks like.

·         36 PDUs and CDUs to Maintain Your Certification. That's more than half of what you need in just one place!

·         Unparalleled Networking. PW&WCBA Connect allows you to see who's attending the event and begin networking before you arrive in Seattle. Plus, we've added 2 networking receptions to continue the conversation and learning after the conference day ends.

And that's just the beginning. Download the conference brochure for the complete agenda: http://bit.ly/X57epm

Check out the 2013 Executive Summary for a recap of last year's event: http://bit.ly/1zJL238

Join us at PW&WCBA 2014 and invest in yourself and become even more valuable to your organization.

Mention code PW14BL & Save 15% off the standard rate. Register today: http://bit.ly/X57epm

We hope to see you in Seattle!

All the best,
The PW&WCBA Team

@Project_World

#PW14

pwwbcablog.iirusa.com

Go Behind the Scenes at Starbucks for PM Best Practices at PW&WCBA 2014

Have you ever wondered how a company like Starbucks handles complex projects in a world-wide organization?

ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts 2014 is revealing those best practices.

PW&WCBA

September 22-24, 2014

W Hotel

Seattle, Washington

Jan Asbjorsen, Program Manager, Law & Corporate Affairs, Starbucks Coffee Company will lead attendees on A Behind this Scenes Look at the Starbucks Corporate Headquarters. In addition to a private tour of the Starbucks world headquarters, attendees will hear from a cross-departmental panel of project managers (including store development, IT, retail operations, law and more), as well as walk away with a checklist of things to consider when determining how to size your projects, tools, organizations, success factors, etc. 

Download the brochure for full details: http://bit.ly/1jlRmZL

Plus, you'll also hear:

·         From Leading a High Performance Team to Landing on Mars - Adam Steltzner, Lead Landing Engineer, NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover Project

·         Benchmarking Risk Management: What Good Looks Like - Dr. Alicia Aitken, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Human Systems International

·         Becoming a Person of Influence - Jo Miller, CEO, Women's Leadership Coaching, Inc. 

·         Big Data: Getting Past the Hype - Meta S. Brown, Author, Data Mining for Dummies

·         The Past, Present and Future of Business Analysis - Kevin Brennan, CBAP, PMP, Chief Business Analyst, Executive Vice President, IIBA

·         How to Best Take Advantage of Cloud Computing - Ben Armstrong, Principal Program Manager Lead, Microsoft

·         Debugging the Myths of Agile - The True Value of an Agile Process for You and Your Workplace - Bryan Winsko, Agile Project Manager, PMI

Mention code PW14LI & Save 15% off the standard rate. Register today: http://bit.ly/U1vWFa

We hope to see you in Seattle!

All the best,
The PW&WCBA Team

@Project_World

#PW14

pwwbcablog.iirusa.com

Related articles

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• Which Crowdsourced Ideas Did Starbucks Bring To Market? (psfk.com)

The 5 Best Free Project Management Tools

There are effective free project management tools out there - some are more robust than others, but all of them provide ways to collaborate and complete projects quicker. According to Digital Trends, here are the best free project management tools:

Trello: Trello is a project management tool designed to organize every component of your project into task cards. This tool is valuable in just about any environment, providing a simple means of creating checklists and assigning tasks to team members in real time. The tool allows users to share projects and attach documents to task cards, each of which syncs across compatible devices via the cloud. Also, users can adorn cards with photos, colors, and deadlines, and the software keeps a record of all activities for future.

Asana: The app, available on both Web and mobile platforms, provides an iTunes-esque workspace housing a navigational sidebar offering projects, a user inbox, and features like Focus Mode and Milestone. When the state of a  project changes, users receive updates in their inbox, and can view which tasks still need to be completed using the Milestone component. 

Evernote: This tool is basically note-taking software formatted into different notebooks, serving as a personal project management utility as opposed to a collaborative one. However, as outlined in our guide on how to use Evernote, the software is capable of doing more than making a rudimentary list. The free service comes bundled with an enormous ecosystem of integrated apps. The tool lets you format notes into a visual presentation, or publish to a blog, allowing you to include photos and voice memos in the process.

Basecamp: The tool has an impressive track record with known companies, including Nike, Twitter, and National Geographic. Basecamp’s Web portal features a discussion board, and a to-do list, allowing members to comment on specific tasks, while serving as a streamlined hub for file sharing that you can integrate with your email. Basecamp features a calendar to stay on top of deadlines, and tracks progress on specific tasks. It also gives you the ability to upload collaborative files, and tweak the site’s granular controls to include information relevant to each individual user.

Google Drive: Every feature the aforementioned project management tools offer is available with Google Drive in some form. Considering that many people have registered a Google account, this makes sharing calendars, documents, spreadsheets, and maps easier than doing so with the other tools on this list.

Related articles

• 10 Must-Have Personal Project Management Tools (lifehack.org)
• Handy Project Management Tools (keithpwilliams.wordpress.com)
• 11 Web Tools to Effectively Manage Your Business Calendar (smallbiztechnology.com)

Leadership Lessons: Jo Reid

I recently sat down with Jo Reid, Senior Project Manager at The Boeing Company, to talk about the ins and outs of leadership.  Today, leadership is a hot topic among the project management community because a project manager’s role goes far beyond task-related deliverables. Although the project manager must be able to effectively manage goals related to time, scope and cost, the work does not stop here since the project manager must also be able to manage numerous issues and goals, and be able to lead the people performing them.  

Reid is speaking at the upcoming ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts 2014 conference in Seattle. He will be presenting a session entitled, “Requirements Management Best Practices at the Boeing Company.” This year, PW&WCBA combines professional training alongside real world practicality for richer, more holistic leadership development. It's no wonder it's become the actionable playbook for advancing PM and BAs for over a decade.

Check out what Reid had to say:

IIR: How do you, as a leader, stand out in a crowd in this competitive business world?

Reid: I do multiple activities to build and maintain my brand.

> For any project I am managing I make sure that all the homework has been done. Risk & Mitigations, all the finance, all the stakeholder relationships, etc. I make sure my presentations are clean and crisp, and that I have more answers than there are questions.

> I teach, I support workshops, and I coach.

> I chair steering teams. I take minutes and publish them.  I delegate, and praise my delegates for their successes. The more I try to make other people successful, the stronger my brand. 

IIR: What are characteristics of a GREAT leader?

Reid: Lead the way, but know when to get out of the way!

IIR: How does a successful leader communicate?

Reid: With a constant, consistent message, tailored for stakeholder needs.

IIR: Can you name a person who has had a tremendous impact on you as a leader? Maybe someone who has been a mentor to you? Why and how did this person impact your life?

Reid: Judy Churchill. I was a member of her PMO, and helped her define the organizational Project & Portfolio Management Strategy.  She was smart, knowledgeable, committed to standards. She as fair, tough, and always had her PM’s back. She had high expectations for performance, but was always there is you needed help. High bar – I miss her.  She died of cancer about seven years ago.

IIR: What are the most important decisions you make as a leader of your organization or team?

Reid: Scope, cost, schedule, and risk.

IIR: As an organization gets larger there can be a tendency for the “institution” to dampen the “inspiration.” How do you keep this from happening?

Reid: Keep the other PMs engaged and encourage constant process improvement.

IIR: How do you encourage creative thinking within your team or organization?

Reid: Lead them though the process of defining the problem, not the solution. I tell them they are the experts in their field and challenge them to find solutions. They never fail me!  I also make sure EVRYONE knows it was them that created the great solution!

IIR: What is one characteristic that you believe every leader should possess?

Reid: Integrity.

IIR: What is the biggest challenge facing leaders today?

Reid: Unrealistic performance goals.

IIR: What is the one behavior or trait that you have seen derail more leaders’ careers?

Reid: Lack of Integrity.  Putting themselves first at the expense of others.

IIR: Can you explain the impact that social media has made on you as a leader?

Reid: The industry I support has not embraced social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.). We have tried to introduce forums and tools, but use remains sporadic.  People prefer daily standup meetings – even if it’s across 12 time zones.

IIR: What advice would you give someone going into a leadership position for the first time?

Reid: Find a leader you respect and ask them to be a mentor to you.  Leadership is a journey, and having someone who can be a sounding board or help remove roadblocks makes the journey less arduous.

IIR: What are you doing to ensure you continue to grow and develop as a leader?

Reid: Talk to my mentor on a regular basis. She challenges me!

Reid will be speaking at ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts 2014, taking place in Seattle, Washington September 22-24th at the W Hotel. The 2014 program is designed with courses for all training levels, a robust agenda, and most importantly tangible lessons which you can begin implementing the day you return to your office, making you even more valuable to your organization. PW&WCBA offers attendees 36 PDU/CDUs - that's more than half of the required credits necessary to maintain your certification in just one place.

To learn more or register for the event, click here: http://bit.ly/1jtZtxB