ProjectNews - Keep it Simple to be Successful

I remember when Air Mail was the only option for sending mail quickly. Today, we communicate with a few keystrokes and the push of a button. Digital communication, such as email, instant messaging and texting allow us to stay connected and get things done quickly. But do communication devices help or hinder our business relationships?

Today's business landscape requires us to communicate with team members and business partners who are spread across town, the country, or around the world, raising new challenges for maintaining healthy, productive relationships.

Here are four simple email practices to keep virtual relationships focused and productive:

1. Be Concise. Do not make the message longer than it needs to be. Keep to the 1-minute rule. If your reader can't get through your message in 60 seconds, you are likely to lose his or her attention.

2. Deliver Quality. Use proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation; errors will discredit you in a heartbeat.

3. Use Structure. Since reading from a screen (and especially a tiny device) is more difficult than reading from paper, structure is very important. Use succinct sentences and short paragraphs.

4. Be Emotionally Clear. Email does not convey emotions as well as face-to-face or telephone interactions. Are you serious, kidding, frustrated, or euphoric? Always re-read your email before hitting the "send" button to make sure it represents your tone.

Need to capture someone's attention immediately? Send a text message. It commands attention and produces results. Texting is the only way I get the attention of my teenagers these days - imagine the possibilities in business!

Keep it simple to be successful.

Now its time for you to join the conversation - Share your ideas, suggestion and thoughts on what the successful project manager looks like on our LIVE discussion on LinkedIn.

Contributor: Lisa DiTullio (Lisa DiTullio & Associates)

If you have not yet subscribed to our complimentary ProjectNews newsletter, please click on the following link to subscribe: http://www.iirusa.com/optin. To catch up on old issues, or learn more about our PWWCBA conference, click here.

Resolving conflicts within your team

No matter the project size, when the going gets rough, conflicts seem to rear their ugly heads. As a Project Manager, its your responsibility to ensure that the projects get through on time and on budget, and sometimes the only barriers to this success is your team. Blame egos, blame bad reporting structures, blame whatever you'd like - conflicts are unavoidable. Thankfully, we have a reminder today on how to resolve these conflicts with Gina Abudi of ProjectSmart.co.uk. Abudi writes, that a great starting point is to sit down with the team members and listen to their complaints.

Check out Abudi's outline for the discussion:

Schedule a first meeting with the individuals who are having the conflict to discuss:

• What is (are) the issue(s)? Get it all out on the table - let them vent.
• What are their perspectives?
• Work with the parties to develop criteria for solutions to their conflict.
• Ask them to think about what they can do to get past the issue, or put it aside, based on the criteria for resolution they agreed to, in order to move forward with working together. What alternatives exist? This should happen overnight - let them sleep on it.

Abudi offers that subsequent meetings may be needed in order to resolve this conflict within your team. Be sure to check out the article for details.

Resolving Project Team Conflicts

How do you handle conflicts within your team? Let us know on Twitter @Project_World

Are you using Agile on personal projects?

Great article today from Michele Sliger who asked her Twitter followers whether or not anyone was using an agile technique to help them plan their individual efforts and if they were, what were they using. Sliger found that many of the respondents were using Personal Kanban. Find out more about Personal Kanban here. What is interesting about Sliger's piece is that she showcased a very practical, very "old school" way of organizing our personal time. As project managers, we are inundated with the next software, planning system or meeting style to get our project done on time and on budget. But how awesome is it to have something as simple as a Personal Kanban to keep track of all of the little projects that may not fall into the digital sector? What other techniques to you use to keep your personal projects going?

Be sure to check out Michele Sliger's blog for more information.

ProjectNews August Edition: Creating a Rescue Plan in Chile

August Challenge:
Rescuing the Chilean Miners

Each month we will present you with a HOT TOPIC CHALLENGE that will generate real-time discussion within the PW&WCBA community LIVE via the Discussion Module in our LinkedIn Group.

We'd then like YOU (the ProjectNews Community) to talk about, criticize, share and develop suggestions and improvements with your peers based on each monthly challenge. If you are interested in participating or would just like to hear what others are saying - join the conversation.

August Challenge:
How will Chile's national copper company, Corporación Nacional del Cobre, work to remove the 33 trapped miners from the mine?

Stakeholders:
Chilean government civil-defense and mining specialists, other government officials, Corporación Nacional del Cobre, Cia. Minera San Esteban Primera (the mine operator), rescue workers, drilling engineers

Topic for Discussion:
33 miners, trapped a half a mile underground in a San José mine since August 5, are still alive and currently waiting to be rescued. They are currently communicating and receiving nourishment through two holes drilled by rescuers. The miners themselves seem to be in good health and have hope to be extracted. The rescue effort is an ongoing process and is expected to last months.

There are many factors that need to be taken into consideration before attempting to extract the workers from the mine. Because the mine is an unstable environment there are far more risks that need to be analyzed and execution of this project must be done carefully to have all the men removed safely. Project factors that need to be evaluated include equipment to be used by rescuers, conditions of the mine, safety and health of the trapped miners and the rescue workers.

For the full story on the trapped miners in Chile, click here.

Now It's Your Turn:
If you were in charge of rescuing a group ,
• What factors would you consider before starting?
• Who would need to be involved in the process?
• How would you organize operation of this project?
• What steps would you take to try and prevent similar accidents from happening in the future?

Now its time for you to join the conversation -
Share your ideas, suggestions and thoughts on our LIVE discussion on LinkedIn.

Conclusions based on the articles, "Chile Prepares for Long Rescue Effort" from The Wall Street Journal..
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Your contributions are welcome!
We are always interested in hearing about new best practices, case studies or lessons learned. If you are interested in sharing your story in the next ProjectNews, please submit your ideas here.
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This Newsletter has been brought to you by ... ProjectWorld & The World Congress for Business Analysts USA

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November 8-10, 2010 | Walt Disney World Swan, Orlando, FL
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Meetings Drive Business

This is why companies need to continue to invest in business meetings. Not only will those who attend gain new and fresh perspectives from other attendees, but they'll hear from top companies who have lived by the same philosophy. Investment in yourself and innovation are the key to your business. What have you done recently to invest in your business?

Are you thinking of attending PW&WCBA this year? What would you expect to gain from the experience?

Meetings Drive Business