4 March 2011 5:28 pm

The Power of Demand in Project Management

The other day I read an article on how Charlie Sheen set a new Guinness World record by reaching 1 million followers in the shortest amount of time.  With the power of technology, Sheen opened a Twitter account and hit the “1 million” milestone in 25 hours and 17 minutes.  My first thought was – it is amazing the incredible appetite people have to be connected to latest news covering their topic(s) of interest.  Although the Sheen example is an extreme scenario, it does provide insight into the cyclical nature of humanity and the dynamic between people’s wants and needs  Read More

Written by Neil Stolovitsky
on 4 March 2011 5:28 pm

Posted in Manufacturing, PM Best Practices  |  No Comments
23 December 2010 4:58 pm

The Great Canadian Project: Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

As I look out my office window in Montreal I see the familiar Canadian wintry landscape with snow covered trees and buildings.  At the same time I hear the buzzing activity of small and large snow removal vehicles clearing the streets to keep the city moving and allowing the city’s activities to continue uninterrupted.  Although this scene is very familiar to me, I know the impact snow days can have in other cities south of the border where an inch of snow can cause havoc and shut a city down. You may not realize this, but for us Canadians snow  Read More

Written by Neil Stolovitsky
on 23 December 2010 4:58 pm

Posted in PM Best Practices  |  No Comments
29 November 2010 3:40 pm

Stakeholder Management is about walking a mile in another man’s shoes. Just ask Tony Hsieh from Zappos.com

For those who are not familiar with Tony Hsieh, at the age of 24 he sold his first internet venture LinkExchange to Microsoft for $265 million in 1999 and in that same year launched today’s biggest online retailer for shoes Zappos.com with the philosophy that people come first.  From its beginnings, Zappos focused on the customer experience.  When most online retailers were drop shipping goods to reduce costs, Zappos very early on invested in warehouses to improve their delivery time.  Moreover, their primary goal was and is still today to offer the best service in the industry by providing free  Read More

Written by Neil Stolovitsky
on 29 November 2010 3:40 pm

Posted in Information Technology, PM Best Practices  |  No Comments
1 October 2010 1:49 pm

What Project Managers and Business Leaders Can Learn From Branch Rickey

Brach Rickey

With the baseball’s playoff season fast approaching, it is worth a moment to consider how the best get to be the best.  It’s no accident.
Most people know (Wesley) Branch Rickey, the legendary baseball manager and general manager being most known for helping break the color barrier in baseball back in 1940’s, when as General Manager for the Brooklyn Dodgers he signed Jackie Robinson who ultimately became the first African American to play professional major league baseball.
What many do not know is one of his other contributions to baseball, and something that should be well studied, especially in the business world.   Read More

Written by Vasily Klimko
on 1 October 2010 1:49 pm

Posted in PM Best Practices  |  No Comments
19 August 2010 3:41 pm

Defining Project Success: The Best Project does not mean the most Successful Project

Traditionally project success tends to focus on the successful delivery of a planned project by meeting deadlines/timelines, adhering to specifications/requirements and working within allocated budgets.  Although from the project manager’s and team member’s perspective this is true, there are many high quality projects that have met all these requirements and ultimately failed.  In fact, the technology sector has been infamous in delivering mediocre solutions that have quickly dominated their product categories.
You just have to dial back to the late 70s and when the Sony Betamax and the Apple computer dominated their product categories only for a short time.  Both of  Read More

Written by Neil Stolovitsky
on 19 August 2010 3:41 pm

Posted in Famous Projects  |  1 Comment
4 August 2010 12:15 am

Planning for the Unplanned: Including Risk in your Project Management Strategy

risk in your project management strategy

During the last couple of months, we have seen a number of major corporations who have surprisingly mishandled the management of unforeseen crises surrounding their companies.  The most notable ended with Tony Hayward’s , BP’s former CEO, recent resignation for his mishandling of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.    This mismanagement alone provided over 2 months of “work” (which seemed like around the clock coverage) for CNN’s Anderson Cooper.  Then there were the recent product recalls from Toyota that were not addressed quickly enough.  And of course we can’t forget the most recent iPhone G4 problems with its  Read More

Written by Neil Stolovitsky
on 4 August 2010 12:15 am

Posted in PM Best Practices  |  1 Comment
27 July 2010 12:36 am

Why Tony Hayward Will Never Play Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall NYC

We all know the old saying, “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?”

Answer: Practice, practice, practice.

U.S. President Barack Obama often likes to talk about, “teachable moments.”  In the end, the demise of BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico is probably going to provide enough lessons learned to fill an entire university, complete with a broad array of subjects.

What can project managers learn from this disaster?  In short, plenty.

Whether or not you’re going into unchartered waters (no pun intended), if your project is mission critical  Read More

Written by Vasily Klimko
on 27 July 2010 12:36 am

Posted in PM Best Practices  |  2 Comments
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