Project Portfolio Management

The PMO is under constant pressure. From maintaining standards for project management practices to planning and delivering projects – the PMO needs to be in constant sync with strategy and business outcomes. This PMO blog category provides numerous recommendations from experts to encourage top down and bottom up planning, improve processes, promote stakeholder satisfaction, and ultimately eliminate silos to advance the PMO function. Get expert advice on the pros and cons of adopting a continuous planning model. Experts will also share real-world advice on choosing your next Project Portfolio Management tool and how to #BeThatPMO your business needs.

The Minimalism Trend Needs to Go Below the Surface

Walk into the lobby of almost any technology company today and you’ll get the same feel. It can be in New York or Los Angeles or Hong Kong or Berlin. There’s a spareness. Clean lines.  A neutral color palette. Every object in sight serves a clear purpose. The streamlined look suggests order, inside and out....

How Executives Can Become More Effective Leaders by Leveraging Communication Psychology

“Effective communication, in turn, enables us to psychologically connect better with others, win people over, negotiate better and establish better alignment.” (Jan de Jonge, business psychologist) It is no secret that effective communication is a key leadership (and life) skill required for being able to better connect with people across the organization’s hierarchy, with customers,...

Effective Ways to Reduce the Stress Level of Your Team

Stress in the workplace has been a common theme for decades and technological advances have done little to alleviate it. It is estimated to cost American businesses up to $300 billion a year and with “always on” e-mail, it means that there can often be nowhere to hide, destress and recharge for under-pressure employees. For...

Who is a Project Sponsor?

A project sponsor is an important link between a project team and other stakeholders, including more senior executives. We have already addressed how to identify a project sponsor, so here we will focus on what their roles and responsibilities are. These can vary depending on the industry and type of project, but can generally be...

Putting Continuous Planning Types to Work

Welcome to the finale of our four-part series that reviews the types of planning organizations have at their fingertips to convert strategy into results. At the beginning of this series, we discussed the importance of developing plans that are dynamic and continuous in order to adapt to change. Now, we will summarize the different types...

Why Digital Transformation Doesn’t Start with Tech

Every business claims it’s acting aggressively to seize the potential of digital technology. But through a combination of overuse and inaction, “digital transformation” in the mouths of many has become an empty cliché. As we approach the cusp of the third decade of the 21st century, the digital age has reached maturity. It’s time to...

Roadmapping: An Essential Planning Practice to Deliver Outcomes

In part two of this series, Strategic Planning: The Types of Planning That Bring Your Strategy to Life, we reviewed the first three planning types from the eBook, “Planning Deconstructed: 5 Types of Planning Crucial to Delivering on Strategy with a Dynamic and Continuous Approach,” covering financial and budgeting project plans, strategic planning, and program...

The Dos and Don’ts of Flexible & Remote Work as a Benefit

With the incredible improvements in both technology and internet speeds, having a team made up of remote workers scattered across the globe is becoming normal practice. Even in more traditional, “brick-and-mortar” operations in a single location, offering employees the opportunity for flexible remote work is common practice. Depending on your point of view, these flexible...

The Business Case Against Too Much Email

After the end of the January government shutdown, one worker reported coming back to nearly 4,500 unread emails. That’s a symptom of a dysfunctional government, to be sure. But it’s also a sign of a tool that’s outlived its usefulness. Our collective email obsession is now, without a doubt, seriously cutting into our days, our...

Wish You Had a “Google Maps” for Initiative Execution?

Change (Really) Is The Only Constant. “The pace of technological and digital advance was rated as the top threat facing global business leaders, surpassing the current churn of economic, political, and environmental changes.” (Forbes) Change is everywhere. And, it’s not just about technology. The very fabric of tried-and-true business models are being turned upside down...